"A girl?" Jack asked, coming closer to Shaen. "What did she do, Take a page out of my book?" When Jack reached out to touch Shaen's hair, the smaller girl retaliated.
She struck out with enough force to cause Jack to stumble backwards and let out a gasp of surprise. Just as Shaen was about to attack again, she felt herself being pinned against someone and, within the next second, she felt the cold metal of Riddick's shiv against her throat.
"Move and I'll slash your throat open." Riddick growled. He turned his head to the left slightly and asked, "You okay Jack?"
Jack nodded and said, "Yeah. She licked my arm. That's kind of gross." Jack turned to Mercuri and asked, "What the hell is she?"
"And why the hell does she click like some damn alien?" Riddick added becoming slightly annoyed with Shaen's obviously angry clicking.
"Riddick. Calm down. Shaen was just playing. Please, let her up. I will explain everything to you both, just as soon as I get her cleaned up." Mercuri said.
"Make one wrong move and you're dead." Riddick said threateningly to Shaen. He shoved her towards Mercuri and received a glare that pierced through his soul.
Shaen clicked something very bad-mouthed towards Riddick and was rewarded with a smack on the mouth from Mercuri and a warning.
"Watch your mouth, Shaen Ayana." Mercuri warned. She sat Shaen down at a desk and handed her some drawing paper and a pencil.
Shaen grabbed the supplies and started to run out of the room, clicking something incoherent, even to Mercuri.
"Shaen. Get back here." Mercuri called. "Riddick and Jack MIGHT take you home, still."
Shaen turned and pretended to be contemplating returning to the room and calming down for a minute. Then she shrugged her shoulder, stuck out her tongue, and darted from the room and down the stairs.
Riddick heard the back door open and Shaen's footsteps go out into the courtyard, where they eventually stopped.
"Shaen is….interesting. What is she?" Jack asked, looking out the window at the colors of the sunset as they washed over the courtyard. Below them, Shaen was busy drawing a lizard she had found lurking behind one of the large flowerpots.
"I'm not sure exactly. All I know is that she's a hybrid; a cross between human and something else. Please understand that I wouldn't ask you to ever return to the planet that I've come to believe that she's from. I just want you to find her a better home. I can no longer keep her." Mercuri said, looking down at Shaen with sorrow. The girl was now crouching upon the garden wall, looking out into the city.
"Why not?" Jack asked. She looked concerned and looked to Riddick for help, but he was gone. I hate it when he does that. Jack thought.
"I'm…well…Promise not to get emotional?" Mercuri asked, turning to her friend. She was glad Riddick wasn't here to hear what she was about to say, though she silently wondered how far away he really was.
"I promise." Jack said, Leading Mercuri away from the window and towards the couch where she and Riddick had just been sitting.