AN: I own nothing except Mercuri, Shaen, and the situations that I write here. Though I can assume that you all know who I'd like to own…it is my sad duty to write that I don't own the Sexy Beast known as Riddick.

Riddick: No one owns me.

Jack: I sure do!

Riddick: Whatever, Princess.

Mercuri: what are you talking about Shaen for?

Riddick: I'm not.

Shaen: SHUT UP AND LET'S GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!

All: -random comments-

Onward! With the story. Chapter Seven: Everyone's got a Beast.

It was late morning before Shaen woke up. Without opening her eyes, she sensed several figures in her room. Mumbling something incoherent she rolled over and pulled both of her soft and fluffy comforters over her head. She then curled up in a little ball and wrapped the comforters around her.

"Shaen. Are you awake?" Mercuri asked, looking over at the dark red and black ball of fluffy blankets. She silently wondered how Shaen could stand sleeping under two down comforters in 85 degree weather.

"Why are they in my room?" Shaen asked from the little air space she had made for herself within the comforters.

"Jack wanted to make sure that you had come back and Riddick needs one of your comforters." Mercuri said, happy that Shaen bothered to come back.

"So what, you were just going to take it from me while I was sleeping?" Shaen questioned, clearly getting flustered. First they come into my house and want to take me away, then they fight with my mom, now they want my blankets! Why are they so special? What makes them so different from mom's other visitors? And what the hell? Shaen's thoughts were interrupted by suddenly being pulled out of bed. She hit the cold stone floor and screamed.

At the sound of her scream, Jack fell down and held her head. Mercuri looked from the screaming child, to the stunned Jack, to Riddick, who appeared to be unfazed by the high pitched screaming. "Shaen…" Mercuri started to speak but her words were drowned out by the screaming. Instead, she helped Jack out of the room. Upon closing the door, the noise was silenced.

"What the fuck?" Jack asked, standing up and shaking her head, as if trying to clear her brain of the screaming. Her ears were ringing and she wondered why no one else was really affected.

"I warned him." Mercuri said softly. She shook her head and added, "You can't hear her now because she has a sound proof room."

"Why didn't it cause you or Riddick to even flinch?" Jack asked, a bit rudely. She almost sounded accusing.

"I've put up with it for a while. It affects me, yes. But not like it affects you. And I couldn't tell you why it doesn't affect Riddick. He's a mystery…even to me." Mercuri added the last part in a whisper.

Meanwhile, in the room—

Shaen saw the door close and a split second later, she felt a large hand cover her mouth. Riddick. She thought. Then, she felt his other arm wrap itself around her, just under her ribcage, and lift her up. Even though she knew who it was, she still fought against his hold. Shaen's true nature, her beast, so to speak, was constantly alert. It surfaced instantly and consumed her body in mere seconds. That was what made her fight against everyone and anyone that tried to help her, silence her, or most importantly, tame her. Shaen was still screaming, but it was muffled by Riddick's hand.

"Stop screaming." Riddick's deep thunder-like voice commanded. He held her tightly against him as she struggled.

Shaen stopped screaming and continued to struggle, just barely noticing that each time she did so, Riddick held her tighter to his chest. It's nice and warm. She thought. And very hard. She added.

You know what else could be hard? Her beast taunted in her head. If you just moved the right way he might...

EW! No. Shut Up. Who asked for your primal advice anyway? Shaen's tame side snapped back.

I don't need to have anyone ask for it. You were thinking it so don't start that 'oh I'm grossed out' bullshit with me. I'm your primal side. Just because you let that stupid woman tame part of you doesn't mean you're child friendly. It just means I have a fight to win. Her primal side snarled

What the hell are you talking about? What fight? Why the hell am I talking to myself? The tame side of her questioned.

"Got it?" Riddick's voice asked, snapping Shaen out of her battle with herself.

"What?" She asked, noticing that Riddick had let go of her and was now staring her down, like a cat.

"Were you listening to a word I said?" He growled. You know she wasn't. Why bother asking that question?

Because you just witnessed her fighting back her beast.

Did I?

Look dipshit. You've seen the way Jack looks when she's fighting with her beast. This kid just did what was either a fucking great impression, or it was her fighting with her beast. What the hell are the odds of it being just a great impression? None. Exactly. Damn, Riddick. You're going soft. Now I've got an internal skirmish to win.

It's more of a street fight. And I'm not fucking going soft!

The more humane part of Riddick just shut up, though it refused to relinquish control.

That's more like it. Back in control. Now…

"No I wasn't listening." Shaen said, pulling Riddick from his thoughts. "Would you care to repeat yourself?" She gingerly walked over to her closet and pushed some buttons on the side consol. When she opened the closet, there was a slightly more girly outfit inside. Shaen grabbed the clothes and went behind a changing screen that was tucked into the corner of her room.

"I said you need to learn to control yourself before we'll take you with us. We're staying for a few weeks. In the mean time, you'll train with Jack and me. Every morning. Got it?" Riddick repeated, turning his back to Shaen and leaving the room.

"Whatever." She muttered and stepped out from behind the curtain. She was wearing the loose black shirt that she'd slept in and some form fitting dark blue jeans. After fixing her hair into two ponytails and swooshing her bangs in front of her left eye, she put a backwards baseball cap on and pulled her skate shoes on as well. I need to make my bed before I meet up with Seth and Danny. She subconsciously thought. Shaen turned towards her bed and growled. "Not the black one." She sighed, before making the bed with only the red comforter. I'll get you for that Riddick. She thought before leaving her room and running past Jack and Mercuri in the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Mercuri called after her.

"Outside." She called back. "I'm meeting Seth and Da-" Shaen ran into someone and fell backwards. "Jesus, Riddick. Watch where the hell you're going!" She spat, standing up and starting towards the door. She was stopped by Riddick grabbing her arm and pressing a shiv against her neck.

"Watch your mouth." He growled. Riddick shoved the girl away and watched as she walked out the door. He was tempted to follow her and find out exactly where she went during the day. Maybe then I can find her when she decides to run away again. He subconsciously knew that he couldn't go outside during the day. But that didn't stop him from wanting to. "Where is she going?" He asked Mercuri.

"Heck If I know anymore. All she said was that she was going to meet up with Seth and Danny." Mercuri replied, motioning for Riddick to join them for breakfast. She set an empty plate down in front of him and told him to help himself.

"Who are they?" Jack asked, hoping to possibly shed some light on what Shaen did during the day.

"They're her 'friends'." Mercuri said, making air quotations when she said friends. "Personally, I wish she'd make some female friends. But she seems to only be interested in the future convict type of boys. So far, Seth and Danny are two of the biggest trouble makers and womanizers in the community."

"What do they do?" Jack asked. She remembered a time when she was like Shaen, always hanging out with the bad boys of the neighborhood and doing everything from toilet papering someone's house to killing someone and running away. That's when I met Riddick. She thought.

That's when you got soft. Her beast growled.

Shut up! Jack told herself.

Mercuri was about to respond to Jack's question, when they heard a thud from overhead. "Not again." She sighed.

Riddick's hearing registered the thud as something equal to a teenage human falling from the window sill, onto the floor. Then he heard Shaen whisper, "Be Quiet. There are people downstairs." Riddick chuckled to himself and looked at Mercuri for an explanation.

"Shaen, Seth, and Danny." Mercuri said, getting up to take care of breakfast. She and Jack put away the food and Mercuri took care of the Dishes, while Jack followed Riddick into his room.

"Jack…Do you still think it's a good idea for Shaen to tag along?" Riddick asked, gently rubbing Jack's arms.

"She reminds me a lot of myself. I think we should give her a chance." Jack said, surrendering herself to Riddick's touches. She felt him wrap her in his arms and nuzzle her neck.

"You know what I think?" Riddick asked, his lips grazing Jack's neck. He felt his beast flare up and he tried to repress it some. "I think it's time we had some fun." With that, he picked Jack up and carried her over to his bed.

"I think you're right." Jack said, bringing Riddick close enough and Kissing him.

(I'll leave you all to use your imaginations and figure out what happened then.)