XIX.

2/3

… still on that jungle planet …

She was used to a prospering flora from her home planet but the flora there was nothing compared to that jungle. Green in all shades wherever she looked, interrupted by just a few flowers, orchids maybe … hard to tell without her tricorder, vines dangling down from trees that high they seemed to reach the little sky she could see between all the branches, leaves and fronds. It was warm, maybe 107°F and damp; a humidity between 90 and 100 %. The moisture had already started to soak into her shirt and her hair felt heavy and like glued to her head. She didn't like the feeling of wet hair in her neck in the least and so she rolled her braid up into a bun and stuck a little wooden stick into it to hold it in place; much better.

She heaved a sigh and oriented herself; he had shown her how to use that crappy ancient device and to get it over with she finally set off. How she hated that antiquated thing with its magnetized pointers.

After two klicks of crawling over rotten tree trunks and wading through muddy puddles she didn't want to know which animals inhabited it she wasn't grumpy anymore … she started to hate that place and that field training thing wholeheartedly. She would make him pay for that; big time. She wasn't cut out for jungle excursions. After all what where the odds to get found by a merc in a fucking jungle? She still couldn't see the point in this whole walk through the mud, get bitten by strange insects and look for somebody you are not able to find in 100 years without your tricorder kind of thing.

And what would come next? Wading through hip dip snow and freezing her ass off? Getting roasted on a desert planet? Not long and he would have turned her into a fucking Rambo. Riddick definitely had a sadistic streak.

She was so angry, so completely not aware of her surroundings she nearly ran into that big ... no make that giant … snake dangling down a branch in front of her. To her relieve the snake ignored her and kept hanging motionless down that tree; the jungle was creepy enough without an angry snake chasing her. She carefully stepped around the tree and continued her march; she paid much more attention now, listened closely to the cacophony of the jungle; Riddick would have been proud of her. Probably.

20 klicks hadn't sounded very far but over that terrain it felt like a walk across the whole planet. The already dim light had gotten less and less in the last hour and she hadn't made even half of the way yet; she would have to find a place where she could stay the night. She was too afraid of night active carnivores to stay down on the ground and so she started to look for a tree she would be able to climb up. She made herself comfortable on a big branch, took out one of the rations and sipped some water. She wondered where Riddick was; she hadn't bothered to look for him knowing it would be in vain anyways. Most likely he was already at the lake laughing his ass off about her inability to move faster; she was sooo pissed with him. Sadistic power monger.

In her fear to fall off the branch she just dozed and was wide awake when the black of the night faded to grey and finally turned into the semidarkness of a jungle day. She ate another one of her rations and was ready to climb down when she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't suppress a grin when she saw what … who it was. 'Not able to find him, huh?' she swung her leg across the branch and let herself drop down on him ... just to get caught by two strong arms attached to a wide grinning Riddick.

"Nice try, babe, what took you so long? I already thought I'd have to hire a band so you'd find me."

Hope struggled to get her feet down to the ground and glared at him. "Come on, you are a lousy loser; I've found you, deal with it."

When his grin just broadened she let her head fall onto his shoulder. "OK, I haven't found you. Are we finished now? Can we go back? Please! I really hate it here. There was that big snake yesterday and that creepy monkey thing and all those insects …"

Riddick finally let her stand on her own feet but still didn't release her. "Babe, the snake was full of a meal bigger than you and ignored you and the monkey was more afraid of you than otherwise. As for those bites … I'll kiss them better later when you get to the lake but now you should get going if you don't want to spend another night out here." He met her glare with a light kiss on her lips.

"You've watched me the whole time? You've doubted from the beginning that I could make it out here, haven't you?" Now that pissed her off even more.

"No, babe, just wanted to make sure you are doing OK. It's your first time in a jungle; I'd never endanger you and I'd never let anything happen to you. Now keep going. That direction." He turned her around and before she was able to give him a piece of her mind he was gone again. He was soo up for some revenge.

That day she seriously tried to find him; she didn't succeed though but her looking for him let her have a closer look at the jungle and when she finally started to see more than dirt and biting insects she actually started to appreciate the wild beauty of the planet.

Since the landscape ascended a bit the ground got drier and she made good progress; she reached the rock formation with the lake on its first plateau short after noon. Climbing was her choice of sports and it didn't take long for her to reach the plateau. It was a breathtaking sight that greeted her when she heaved herself across the edge. The lake wasn't big, the water deep blue and crystal clear; she was able to see straight down to the bottom. The lake got fed by a broad waterfall falling down a rock face, producing a rainbow across the edge nearby. The stones were sun warmed and the sounds of the jungle seemed far away; after all those sounds down there it was nearly silent. Pulling off boots and socks and sitting down with her feet in the water didn't even take half a minute.

She knew that Riddick was near, she had no problems sensing him; not seeing him didn't mean anything. The water felt incredible on her naked feet, she would have loved to go for a swim. She took a closer look and couldn't see any animals in the water ... so why not? She stood up to unbutton her cargos when a thought crossed her mind, putting a wicked grin on her face. 'Payback's a bitch, Riddick.'

She took her time to unbutton her cargos, opened slowly one button after the other. She knew Riddick had to be on the other side of the lake, maybe up the next plateau or hidden behind the waterfall and made sure he had a good sight of what she was doing. And she knew he would be curious enough to watch; not to mention the fact that each man would. She held up her face to the sun, let it warm her cheeks, her right hand sneaked slowly into her pants; she knew Riddick wouldn't miss a detail. A sensual smile graced her face when her fingers reached the waistband of her undies and then got farther south. She bit her bottom lip to contain the moan that wanted to escape her lips… mmmh, that felt damn good but she had more in her mind.

She pulled her hand out, sucked at her finger before she turned around and started to slip down her trousers, caressing her hips and her thighs in the progress. With straight knees she bent down to pick them up, giving Riddick a good sight; she folded them and placed them on her boots, making sure her shirt rode wide above her hips.

She was glad she had put on her white shirt yesterday … the effect would be much better. She waded into the water until it reached up half her thighs. She put out the stick that held her bun together, removed the tie and with a lazy gesture she loosened her braid, combed with her fingers through her hair until it fell down in soft waves.

She put on quite a show wetting her arms and face, 'accidentally' dripping as much water as she could over her shirt, drawing a deep, shirt expanding breathe before submerging into the surprisingly cold water. She did some laps and dived for some glimmering stones until she started to freeze.

Her shirt clung to her, leaving not much to the imagination when she finally stepped out of the water. She wrung most of it out of her hair and laid down on the warm, flat stones near the lakeside, her knees slightly pulled up, her hair in wild wet curls around her head. She didn't bother to undress her shirt, it had already started to dry in the warm sun. The warmth and the quiet were sleep-soothing … but she had a man to tease, no time for a nap; timing was the linchpin of the entire 'operation'!

With a silent moan she slid her hands slowly down her shirt, stopping over her breasts, caressing them before going farther down to the hem of her shirt, ever so slowly pulling it up over her tummy and up to her neck, exposing herself to his eyes; she definitely savored the situation. While her right hand teased her already erect nipples the other slid into her panties, caressing the soft skin below her navel. Her breathing had started to quicken, she imagined Riddick kneeling between her legs, imagined his hands on her. She spread her legs a little further, bit her bottom lip when her fingers reached her dripping wet folds. She had completely forgotten that it had started as a game to tease Riddick when her index finger circled her clit; all that mattered at the moment was her own satisfaction. Her breath came in short pants, she already could feel her climax building up when she plunged a finger inside her. Her hips thrust against her hand, quicker, and then it washed trough her, leaving her panting and aching for more.

She waited until she had her breathing under control again and then sat up; she had to get dressed before Riddick reached her or the effect would be ruined.

She had her cargos back on and was already lacing up her boots when a shadow fell over her.

"Oh, hi, Riddick, what took you so long? I'm already here for quite a while." Her eyes were bright, she was smiling innocently and she was clearly acting like an Oscar nominee.