Chapter XXII: Preparation for the Beach!
The next morning the house was silent as its occupants woke, one still tired from the day before. Liege felt the responsibility of her family weighing down on her and knew it wasn't long before she either willingly returned or was forced to.
Jack was still worried about her friend, but Riddick kept his word and distracted Jack as much as possible. When they both woke, Jack sat on the edge of the bed, worrying what would happen to Liege.
As she sat, biting on her lower lip, she felt Riddick slip up behind her and encircle her small waist with his muscled arms, causing her to momentarily forget her worries. She closed her eyes as he nuzzled her from behind, knowing she would be content and safe in his arms.
The day passed quietly, almost no words being spoken, except for the occasional greeting or formality. Finally, Imam had had quite enough of the nonsense and called the other three into his study.
As he sat behind his desk, he viewed the trio as if he were the teacher and the three his disobedient pupils. Sighing, he tried to think of some activity for them to do, to maybe loosen up. It was unhealthy and in his opinion, ruining the atmosphere of his normally light-hearted home.
"The three of you, sit." He ordered, seeing how Liege stood for a moment, as if debating whether she was actually allowed to sit. Jack sat curled up next to Riddick on the couch, his arm protectively draped over her body.
"This has gone on long enough. This evening we will go out to the water and have a dinner…of sorts, there. There is food from last night, which no one ate, so we will pack that." He was glad at how both Liege's and Jack's face lightened at the idea.
"Holy man, I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I'm not much of a beach guy." Riddick commented, secretly pleased to see Jack happy.
"First time for everything." Jack replied, poking his stomach and giggling at his growl.
"Indeed. Liege, are you willing to go?"
"Sure thing, Jack and I were just discussing swimming." Liege agreed, sounding much better than before.
"Good, I except everyone to be ready in fifteen minutes." Imam said, standing as the other three did. Liege walked out of the room first, followed by Jack and Riddick.
Liege and Jack were reunited in their room, and Liege smiled at Jack's exclamations of joy. Both had been to a 'beach' before, although Liege was a better swimmer than Jack.
"Liege, do you think Riddick can swim?" Jack asked, digging through her drawers, looking for her bathing suit.
"I'm sure he can swim. He'd be an outright sissy if he couldn't." Liege replied, wondering where she could put her knives.
"Well, if he can swim, that means he'll be wearing swimming shorts right?" Jack asked, blushing at Liege's immediate smirk in response.
"I suppose it does…me little Jack is oogling over 'er lover. How…cute." Liege added, still smirking as she slipped on surfing shorts and a bikini top. Pulling on a shirt over her outfit, she grumbled as she looked for proper footwear.
Jack was ready to go and sat in the entry hall, just dying to see Riddick in swimming shorts. Thanking her luck, she remembered to bring a camera, just for rare moments like these. Sure it was an ancient device, but it did its work well.
She laughed outright and Liege came stomping down in her complete (normal looking) beach outfit and then her black leather boots, completely mismatching the entire fashion. Stifling her giggles at Liege's snarls, Jack wiped away tears of laughter as Liege sat down next to her.
"Oh my…" Jack barely whispered, watching Riddick walk down the steps, wearing a tight white wife-beater and yes, shorts. They were actually cargo shorts, but he too was wearing his working boots.
"Ye don't 'ave beach sandals either?" Liege asked, motioning at his feet.
"Don't talk about it, leprechaun." He snapped back, not excited by this beaching idea. Sure he had traveled around a few desert-climate systems, but never did he stop to relax a beach.
"You look…positively…"
"Don't say it Jack." He warned.
"Dashing." She finished, breaking into laughter once more as he scowled at her.
"If anyone looks 'dashin' Jack, it be Imam." Liege said, jerking her head in front of her where Imam was proudly walking down the hallway, beach necessities in hand.
