XII.

Hope stood on the landing field, waiting for the hatch of the just landed ship to open. It slowly slid down revealing an old, white haired woman she only knew too well. She sighed again and went to meet the inescapable.

"Aereon, how nice to see you. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

Aereon took a quick look around and then stepped down the ramp to Hope and hugged her. "Hope, my dear, I'm so glad to find you well. I wondered how you were doing here and wanted to ask if you'd need any further help. And there are some artifacts in the cargo hold for you. Where is Riddick? How is he?"

Hope swallowed hard. Since he had left nobody had even mentioned him in her presence and it still was hard to act like it wouldn't bother her.

"He left Furya ten days ago and if your next question is whether I know where he is or when he will return then the answer is 'no'. He hasn't hailed us yet and I'll rather cut out my tongue than hail him myself. If you want to know something about his whereabouts feel free to use the com room. Shall somebody take you there or do you want to see what we have attained here by now?" Hope turned around without waiting for an answer; she needed an intrusive Elemental like the Terellian plague.(xx)

"Hope!" Aereon's voice was awe-inspiring, causing Hope to stop dead in her tracks. "Are you telling me you two split up? You and Riddick are supposed to stay together; didn't I make myself clear about the importance of that?"

Hope's hands balled up into fists. 'How dare that Elemental come to her planet and start making a fuss coz that jerk left?'

She turned around and glared at Aereon. "It's none of your fucking business, Elemental!" Hope was too angry to watch her words. All the anger she could not take out on Riddick let her vent her wrath on Aereon.

Pooh's spikes were ruffled, his fangs bared and he was growling dangerously; he had sensed Hope's distress and only her hand on his back prevented Aereon from an attack of the hellhound.

Hope could tell that Pooh was ready to rip up that damn Elemental. He wasn't old enough yet to go for pray himself but Aereon would be a welcomed first one … just for training … maybe she should encourage him a bit.

Before she could concede to that urge she stomped through the tiny group that had followed her to the landing field, Pooh in her bow wave.

"Hope, everything all right?"

Carlos … nearly as overprotective as Riddick. He loomed over Aereon, waiting for her command to do something. First Pooh and now Carlos … Hope had to suppress a hysterical giggle; wouldn't it be nice to tell him that he should send Aereon to hell where she belonged to? It was Aereon's fault that Riddick had left, her fault that they nearly had captured them on that planet, her fault that she was looking for a brother that possibly didn't even exist, her fault that she and Riddick weren't together anymore ... after all without that damn Elemental they would still live on the ship cruising through space and be happy together. "Everything's fine, Carlos, thank you. Laney, would you please show Aereon around? I'll meet you at dinner."

She left the landing field without waiting for Laney's affirmation and went back to her workroom. The work would help her clear her head and to calm down; she knew Aereon well enough to be sure that that there was another, off the record reason why she came to Furya.

She worked undisturbed for the rest of the day and when she went to the mess she felt calm enough to face Aereon without having to suppress the urge to unleash Pooh.

The artifacts Aereon had brought with her were already stored in the mess and Hope had to admit that they were more than interesting.

She surveyed each of the objects, stalling for time but when the meal got served she couldn't avoid Aereon any longer. She took place on her chair at the head of the table, Aereon as the guest of honor next to her and face to face with Laney. She could see Aereon's pilot, a young Elemental sitting on the other end, having a vivid conversation with Carlos … pilots amongst themselves. At least somebody had fun tonight.

"So, Aereon, did you enjoy your day? What do you think about the rebuilt houses? Kerry did a great job on them, didn't she?" After all she wasn't raised in a barn and knew how to make a polite conversation. "Do you want to sleep on your ship or shall we prepare a room for you. And what about your pilot?"

Aereon smiled at her. "If you don't mind both of us will sleep on the ship; you shouldn't trouble yourself on our account. Hope, can I talk to you in private? We have things to discuss."

Hope suppressed the urge to sigh; sometimes she'd love to be proved wrong. "We'll talk after dinner."

Dinner went by way too fast for Hope's taste and much earlier than she would have liked it she sat opposite Aereon at the table in her house, sipping a cup of tea and waiting for the rock to drop.

"Now, Aereon, what's that important that you came here by yourself and didn't just call?"

Aereon watched her silently for a minute and then closed her eyes, gathering herself. She liked Hope and would have been glad if her calculations would have shown a different picture. She had seen that there was something wrong and she had seen what would happen if she wasn't able to do something about it.

"Hope, my dear, I know you don't want to talk about Riddick and the others wouldn't answer any questions either but I really have to know … why did he leave? And when do you think he will be back?"

That Elemental was really pushing it; Hope's anger rose. "As I told you that's none of your business, Aereon. But if you really want to know … he is hunting a man he thinks is a traitor. And he won't be back until he got his revenge."

Aereon nodded thoughtfully. "So everything is all right between you and Riddick and the separation is just temporary?"

Hope shrugged her shoulders. "Only Laney knows by now and I don't want you to spread the news, they'll learn it early enough but when he left he ended our relationship; he knew the consequences his departure would have. I'm through with him."

"Hope, you can't be serious! You love each other too much to …"

Hope interrupted her, boiling over with anger "Too much for what? For not forgiving him that he ignored my decisions again? Too much for not being hurt coz of his behavior? Too much to not refuse being his possession? No, Aereon. You are right, I do love him, but I won't let him or anybody else treat me the way he does. As for him … I don't know anything about his feelings. All he keeps telling me is that I'm his property. Riddick is an ass and I won't take him back and nothing can ever change my mind."

How stubborn … Aereon was at her wits' end; maybe her news would shock Hope enough to get herself together again. She didn't like what she had to tell her but she had no choice, Hope had to know. "Hope, listen, there is that foretelling I have to tell you about. The universe needs you two together; someday you'll have to face and fight a menace worse than you can imagine, but you'll only succeed as long as you are together; it has to be the both of you to restore balance. If you split one of you will die. And ... Hope …" Aereon took a deep breath before she continued "Hope my dear … I'm afraid you are the one who will die."

Hope felt like she got hit; she could feel that Aereon was sincere. Does Aereon's foretelling mean she had to choose between surrender and death? Between staying herself and life? What menace? Balance … that's all Aereon can think about!

"When? How much time do I have left?"

Aereon had taken one of Hope's hands in hers. "I don't know when, but I know it will happen. Don't let your pride get you killed."

"Aereon, we all have to die someday. You have to admit that you don't know when it will happen; it could be in ten years or in fifty, nobody knows. And I will not surrender. His behavior is unacceptable and I know he will not change, neither for me nor for anybody else. I refuse to be his property and I refuse to sit at home waiting for his majesty to come back and grace me with his attention. That simply doesn't work for me. I follow his orders in case of danger but I won't get myself bullied around, left behind when it suits him and taken with him when he …"

"Hope, this is not the time for your personal little fight. You have to get over that and stop whining. Your heart will tell you that his only intention was to keep you safe. He is an alpha male, he has to protect what is his. You might see it as possession but you know that it is his way to show you his love. Just because he is not able to say it out loud does not make it less true, you should know that. I would have expected more of you! You are more like a little child now, acting out of hurt pride than to see the truth behind his behavior." Aereon's voice was calm but the hint of disappointment couldn't be missed.

There was another thing she wanted to discuss with Hope but that could wait until morning; she wanted to let the said sink in and wanted to give Hope time to calm down. And so she left her without a glance back knowing Hope would start thinking as soon as she started to get over her anger.

…

(xx)The Terellian plage is a devastating viral infection