To all my devoted readers, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I finished my thesis =) the bad news is that LSAT prep class has now started =( Overall I should be able to post more now. Thanks White-Dragon-of-Hope, ArtLightLove, and CeruleanKitten for the great reviews, and special thanks to my beta divine_one. As always I own nothing, please don't sue me.
River didn't go back to their room that night. She had no desire to wake the beast lying dormant within him right now…at least not until retribution had been devised.
River's POV
Several hours later, the girl was still…exploring…so to speak. She was quite amused by the number of hiding places she had discovered while roaming the ship. As she walks back towards the passenger dorms she begins to hear music from his mind, it was a rollicking crescendo.
"He's dreaming of so called glory days," she says with amusement. She smiles a feral grin as she begins to formulate her tactical approach. "Let him have his dreams… he can have his nightmare tomorrow." She says to no one but herself.
She slinks along the halls of the ship, tracing her fingers along the metal walls, following the whispers of dreams, thoughts, and memories of those on board. Sunny days, fights, women, blood, money…it is everything and nothing all at once.
She lets her feet guide her to the bridge, and sits in the co-pilot's seat. The faint hum of the engines and the soft glow of the console lights almost mesmerizing to the girl's senses, the only thing more captivating are the stars in the vast blackness outside.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat…how I wonder where you're at…Up above the world so high…like a tea cup in the sky…"
As the girl sits and tries to count the stars, she feels the gentle caress of sleep on the back of her mind.
…Reality Shifts…
She's locked in shackles in a room she doesn't recognize. She doesn't remember this, for once she has no clue where she is. This isn't like one of her 'usual' dreams. This isn't some repressed memory, some subconscious psychosis, it feels...different. It makes her skin tingle, goose bumps rising on her skin.
She sits up and takes in her surroundings. It's a small dark room, with lockers to her left and what appears to be a shelf of preserves in front of her. As she is studying the room, she hears a gun's safety click off.
…Reality Shifts…
Its deathly quiet, she walks down a corridor until she reaches a door. She walks through it and sees a set of stairs and begins walking down them. She reaches the bottom and walks to the center of the room.
She takes in the scene around her. It appears she's in some kind of pub or other such drinking establishment. There are tables and chairs thrown about, some still standing, some tipped over, some covered in broken bottles and glass, and the floor is the same.
The stench of spilt alcohol, gun powder, and blood fills her nostrils. That's when the vid-screen flickers to life, and she looks up at it, and her eyes go wide with horror.
…Reality Shifts Again…
River's POV
She wakes to the smell of cigar smoke and stale cologne heavy in the air.
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes." Monty says as he sees the girl sit up and right herself in the chair.
"What hour is it?" The girl asks the large man.
"It's still early; others probably won't be up for another hour or so." He says as he blows out a lungful of smoke.
"The girl apologizes for falling asleep in the bridge."
"Ah, no need darlin, no harm done, that and I heard you're a might unpredictable, figured it was best to let you sleep."
They sit in quiet silence for all of a minute.
"So the big guy tells me two ain't planning on sticking around long." Monty says.
"Affirmative. There are things that must be attended to, people to kill, and places to see. You know how it is." She says batting her lashes and trying to look as sweet as possible.
"Well ain't that just a lil' morbid and creepifying." Monty says with a look of slight trepidation.
The girl opens her mind to allow Monty's thoughts in. Girl really is unpredictable like Riddick says. She just chuckles at this.
"What's funny?" Monty asks.
"Nothing," the girl says while again smiling sweetly. Monty just turns his attention back to the console, somewhat confused by 'the strange girl's behavior.'
After another few minutes, the girl breaks the silence. "Monty, the girl is in need of certain information. Information that she believes you can provide."
"Okay…What information would this be?" He asks hesitantly.
"When the girl and the Riddick depart on Persephone, we will need to acquire certain supplies. As such, the girl requires an establishment to procure funds to pay for said supplies. Would you happen to know of such a place?"
Monty takes a moment to process what the girl has asked. "You askin' me where you can weapon up and hustle people out of their credits?"
"Affirmative." She says with a smile. Oh yeah, definitely Riddick's type.
"Do I even want to ask what you're looking for?"
"The usual," She says grinning wider. "Although the girl would also like to procure some more…exotic…types as well."
"You may be just as unsettling as Riddick."
She smirks.
"You want to speak to Mr. Wu. He runs a trade supply store in the Eavesdown Docks, he should have what you're lookin' for, and as for the credits…you any good at pool or cards."
"The girl is…familiar with both." She says confidently.
"Try the Gem Saloon, fella by the name of Swearengen runs the place, but it might be better to avoid him, bit of a hard ass that one."
"Interesting. Thank you for your help Monty."
Riddick's POV
I wake to the sound of Monty banging on the door, "Food's ready Riddick!"
I roll over and sit up, letting the effects of deep sleep wear off. My senses start to pick up on everything around me, or rather the lack of certain things. The girl's scent is nowhere in the room, meaning she never came in here after our little…talk.
I stand up and pull my shirt over my head and grab my goggles from the bed side table. I think it's time to go see where her skinny little ass went last night.
As I exit the room, I can hear voices coming from the mess hall, and walk towards it. Monty, his crew, Shazza, Book, Paris, and River are all seated at the table having breakfast, or at least they would be if they weren't all in hysterical laughter. I pause in the doorway before any of them have seen me.
"No, no, no. That is not true." Shazza says as she clutches her stomach from laughing so hard.
"I swear it is!" Monty says.
"Somehow I have trouble picturing that." Book says recovering slightly.
"On my mother's grave its true!"
"What's so amusing?" I ask as I make my presence known.
That's when everyone turns and looks at me, and there is a moment of silence before another eruption of laughter.
"Monty here was just telling us about one of his more 'colorful' stories from the war." Book says.
"Which one?"
"The one where we got that private smashed and had him dancing around base in that dress we found."
I chuckle at the memory of this and walk up and take the empty seat next to River, but just as I sit she gets up and takes her plate to the sink. "Please, excuse the girl." She says as she practically runs out of the room.
"What's that all about?" Paris asks nonchalantly.
"My money's on Riddick's pissed her off, found her sleeping in on the bridge this morning." Monty says. Hmm, so that's where she was all night.
"Interesting." Book remarks while eyeing me more closely.
"Hey, I just gave the girl a taste of her own medicine. Not my fault she can't take it."
"I don't even want to know what you mean by that." Shazza says.
"She'll get over it." I say as I grab a plate to get some food.
River's POV
It takes him a few hours but eventually, he begins to seek the girl out. She can feel him moving about the ship. She can hear the music become louder as he draws closer. The girl is surprised that it takes him 3.25 minutes to find her; she would have thought he could do it in under 2. When he does arrive at the girl's location, she is meditating in the cargo bay.
"You and I need to have a talk." He says as he looms over the girl's seated form. His mind is static at the moment, and the girl feels no need to acknowledge his presence.
"Are you just going to sit there then?" He asks. Still the girl makes no indication of acknowledgment.
"Fine then." He says as he stomps off back toward the passenger dorms. The static is beginning to face into music and the girl smiles as she picks up a few cacophonous notes. It's time for part 2 of her plan then, and she gets up and moves into a new spot.
A few more minutes go by before everyone in the ship hears it, a roar of anger that could wake the dead.
"RIVER!" he bellows, and the girl's lips curve into a sly smile.
She can feel his anger coming towards her like a tidal wave now, along with the crew, Paris, Shazza, Book, and Monty as well.
"You gorram INSANE little girl! I am going to kick your ass for this!" He screams at her as he enters the cargo bay.
By this point everyone is coming through one of the doors leading into the cargo bay to see what is going on. When they get there, they are greeted with the sight of a very pissed off Riddick covered head to toe in engine grease and flour, and all at once laughter erupts in the bay. What makes it even more amusing is that River has perched herself on some pipes above the cargo bay floor and it is just out of Riddick's reach.
"You insane little monkey GET DOWN HERE so I can kick your ass!" he yells at her.
"I haven't gone completely insane…but it might happen soon." The girl says as she dangles from her knees and taunts Riddick.
"THIS IS NOT FUNNY RIVER!" He bellows again.
"Au contraire, the girl finds it hysterical." She says between giggles.
"Oh come on Riddick, you got to give the girl credit, she got you pretty good." Monty says while gasping for air. This earns him a death glare from Riddick.
"Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren duo gaisi!"
In between fits of laughter Shazza tries to talk sense to Riddick. "Yelling at her will not make her want to come down."
At this point, Riddick is done yelling and but is radiating more anger than before. His mind is full of crashing cymbals and drums. "You little shǎbī, get down here now!"
That has gotten the girls attention and suddenly the entire cargo bay has gone silent as they see the girl go from giggling to glaring daggers at Riddick. "What did you just call me?"
"I said you little shǎbī!"
And with that the girl somersaults off the piping and lands in front of Riddick. The girl imagines that they look like two jungle cats about to fight to everyone else. "One hour, go clean the gao se off and then you and the girl will dance."
"Shiny!" Riddick says and walks out of the cargo bay.
"What exactly does she mean by dance?" Monty says.
"Your infirmary stocked?" Book asks.
"Yeah, why?" Monty says puzzled.
"Because I have a feeling that their little 'dance' is going to break a few things before they are done." And with that he walks toward River to try and talk her into reconsidering.
Monty just cracks a smile and laughs. "Oh yeah, she's definitely his type."
River's POV
As Riddick goes to clean himself off, the girl retreats to the bridge to find what she is looking for on the cortex. She can feel the winged footsteps of Hermes approaching as she searches.
"No use, girl will not change her mind." She says without looking up.
"Are you sure? The man is a trained killer River. And while you may be trained as well, he could easily overpower you."
Through a veil of hair the girl turns and looks at the shepherd and he cannot help but take a step back. She imagines that this is the moment he fully understands what she truly is, and what she can do.
"Nothing in the verse' can stop me if I want it," is all she says.
Riddick's POV
When he enters the cargo bay an hour later everyone is there, waiting to see who is going to win.
Monty approaches him before he gets to the where an area has been cleared. "So since this is my ship, we're gonna follow my rules for this little 'dance' as you two call it, dong-ma?"
I don't say anything and Monty takes this as a sign to continue.
"Rule 1: No killing each other. I don't want to have to deal with getting rid of a body." I scoff at this, like that little girl could really kill me.
"Rule 2: No knives. Girl already objected to this but I don't care, no knives."
"Rule 3: First to make the other tap out wins, dong-ma?"
"Whatever," I say as I walk to where River stands with Book. "You ready crazy?"
"Are you?" She challenges. Oh yeah, I am ready to hand her ass to her.
"Monty if you please?" She says to the ol' man.
"What, cheating already girl?"
"Negative, the girl wishes to dance to music that everyone can hear. Music is what feelings sound like, and the girl wants everyone to be perfectly clear on who is going to win."
"Don't say things you're going to regret later crazy."
"Oh, I won't."
River's POV
Book has moved back to act as a 'medic' so to speak while most of the crew, Paris, and Shazza have moved to the catwalks over the cargo bay to avoid the 'two dueling psychotics' as Paris put it. Monty is on the other side, ready to pull the two apart if need be.
Unlike the last time they danced, this time Orpheus will be able to hear exactly what she does, and he will hear what he makes her feel. When the first few notes come on over the speakers, the girl can feel the electricity ghost across her body. She visible shivers as she feels the hairs on her arms stand on end from anticipation.
"You going to make a move or am I going to have to drag you around." Riddick taunts.
"The girl has no intention of letting you have all the fun." She says with a smile and then she lunges at him with a left hook and becomes a flurry of limbs.
I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact
That everybody can see these scars
He countered her every move, never truly allowing her to get close enough to land a solid hit. Like last time, he was taunting her. But this time, she had no intention of allowing him the satisfaction of seeing her on the ground.
I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you
To just believe this is real
As he moved back again from deflecting another punch, she changed the game and began to flip towards him, her feet catching him square in the chest and knocking him down.
"Comfortable down there?" She asks with a smile.
He gets up growling and stalks towards her, "why don't you tell me when you are looking up at me."
So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got
Now, instead of Riddick simply deflecting her blows, he began advancing with his own offensive attacks. While she had the grace of a dancer, he had the agility and speed of a boxer. He caught her side with a hook from his left. She stumbled for a moment before righting herself and glaring at Riddick.
I can't feel the way I did before
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored
Time won't heal this damage anymore
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored
In a move that surprised everyone in the cargo bay, River ran full speed at Riddick, but changed her path just out of arms reach from him and jumped half way up the support post he was standing near and then jumped off and planted a kick to Riddick's head. He stumbled back a bit, visibly dazed, as River advanced again.
"Come on Riddick! I got 50 credits on you!" Monty yells.
"Working on it Monty!" he says gruffly, keeping his attention on River.
I am, a little bit insecure, a little unconfident
Cuz you don't understand I do what I can
Sometimes I don't make sense
River could feel the anger radiating off of Riddick's skin with every punch or kick she landed, and she knew that he felt the same from her. But unlike last time, there was no tension building; they were already in the flames.
I am, what you never wanna say, but I've never had a doubt
It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out
As River made another daring leaping attack towards Riddick, he caught her mid air and then proceeded to throw her into a wooden crate nearby. It collapsed under the force with which he threw her, and the cargo bay was filled with the sounds of snapping wood.
So I, let go watching you turn your back like you always do
You face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got
"You had enough crazy?" He taunts as she takes a moment to stand.
"Negative, I'm just getting started." And with that she picks up a piece of the broken wood to use as a weapon against Riddick.
Seeing this Monty yells at her. "Hey! No fighting with that! It's against my rules!"
"Negative, Monty stipulated no knives! And rules are meant to be broken!"
I can't feel the way I did before
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored
Time won't heal this damage anymore
Don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored
Riddick watched with mild amusement, as the girl advanced at him with her new 'weapon.' Hell, if she gets to use a weapon, so do I. As he made a move to try and get his own piece of wood to use, the girl swiped at his feet with her staff and knocked him to the floor. But as she moves to hit his stomach with it, he grabs it and pulls her off balance, sending her crashing to the floor on top of him.
Riddick's POV
I instinctively flip her over underneath me, but before I can completely adjust my weight she has her legs wrap around my throat and is beginning to squeeze. I counter her move by bringing my hands to her throat.
Hear me out now
You're gonna listen to me like it or not
Right now, hear me out now
You're gonna listen to me like it or not
Right now
Everything else around us seems to lose focus as we are locked in this stalemate. I am vaguely aware of the music and the voices in the background yelling, but we both just stare into each other's eyes. And I don't think I have ever seen something as gorram beautiful as the fire in her eyes.
I can't feel the way I did before
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored
Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this little 'dance' lol, it was very fun to write.