A Dark Retreat

Fireside Dinner

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Pitch Black, Riddick, and music assets used. I only own any original characters I include.

~ Riddick ~

I follow Quinn outside. Trailing a few feet behind her as she trots across the overgrown yard, her duffle bag sung haphazardly over her shoulder. She heads to the other building and grabs a hidden ax and machete. Giving me the ax. Weaving through the overgrown path, she starts clearing away the underbrush. We work our way to the remains of a burn pit, which is under a fallen tree. While she is clearing the brush I break down the tree into firewood. With us working in tandem, the fire pit is soon clear. Quinn rolls two of the log rounds over side by side and levels out the tops of them.

I watch her work for a few minutes, attempting to work out why she's out here. She knows the area and probably had this planned out. Expertly she builds a fire in the pit. Planting two long branches with forks on top of either side of the pit, and scraping off the bark of another to go across them. I sit, facing away from the fire, on one of the seats she made. 

Closing my eyes before turning around. I hear the rustle of her duffel bag, a pot clinks as she pulls it out, bottles of water swish, a few plastic packages crinkle, a stiffer plastic package makes a popping sound, and a can clinks. She sets the pot on a set of hooks over the fire, the water splashes as she pours it in.

I hear her sit and feel her gaze fall on me though my eyes are closed. I am aware of every one of her movements. She rummages in her bag, looking for something, and walks over to me. "Riddick… "

"Yes?" I tilt my head in her direction. 

"I have something that may help you." Quinn takes another step closer to me. 

"ok", I lean back and wait to see what she will do.

Her shadow falls over me as she steps up to me. Her legs are on either side of mine but not touching me yet. I take the opportunity to open my eyes. Hovering over me she loses her balance just as I adjust in my seat. She falls, landing on top of me. If I hadn't  caught her by her hips to steady her, she would have toppled us both to the side. She places a pair of sunglasses over my eyes, before trying to regain her footing. I look down at her and smirk. "Careful I might think you want me." 

"I am nothing more than clumsy at times. But that would imply that I have low self-control, which is not something that I have been accused of in a few years." Quinn tries to rise again but can't move because I still hold her by her hips. Arousal and irritation flood the air again. Her hips fit my hands perfectly. I press her down on me. I take in her scent fully now that I have a moment. She smells of steel, oranges, blackberries, and honeysuckle. I move to pull her down, to take in her kiss. She pulls away and looks over her shoulder at the pot of water.

'She smells good enough to eat. My beast had never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. He never had any reaction to the kind of company that charges by the hour. But I won't get close... Yet... Well... maybe some light mindfuckery '

I repress a possessive growl as it makes its way up my throat. Don't wanna scare her off.

"The water is boiling, I should finish dinner." Her voice is lower. Quinn slowly climbs off my lap. I smirk and chuckle.

She turns away and walks to the pot. Opening the thicker plastic package. Ripping up the jerky she pulls out, dropping it in the water. After a few minutes, several thinner packs of noodles followed. The can of vegetables was drained and added. Then the seasoning packets. 

"Five minutes and dinner will be ready." She sits on her log, digs in her bag, pulls out a brush, and quickly runs it through her hair then braids it. I observe as she pulls out a few bowls and forks from another pocket. The noodles and broth are poured into the bowls. I take one and we dig in, slurping noodles and broth.

"Thank you, for dinner, you didn't have to share your supplies, but you have despite knowing some of my background."

Quinn smiles over at him, "Well you were dropped here, with no resources of your own, no knowledge of the area, and we have no idea how long you will be here. So, of course, I'm going to help you. Riddick... You are NOT a bad man, you are a survivor. I'm not helping you despite what I know about you but because of what I know. When you take an innocent life for no reason other than your gain, then I'll hold it against you. Despite being handed a shit hand in life you have never once taken out your pain and anger on an innocent."

"Put it that way is one way to see it. I wanna live and be free, not fighting for my life at every turn. But I'll be damned if anyone thinks they can bring me down. If it's me or them? You can be damn sure I'm going to make it out alive."

The fire is banked with dirt and we head back inside.

Quinn pulls blankets out of her bag and lays the biggest one on the bed first and the others on top, then out comes a pillow.

'She did have this all planned out. I would love to get her on that bed but not now, don't wanna make her uncomfortable. She trusts me so far, I don't want to do anything that will lose it.'

I start to lie down in the far corner when Quinn stops me.

"Riddick?" I look over at her, she's sitting on the edge of the bed facing me. 

"Yes?” I ask simply.

"What are you doing? I still need to show you how I know so much about you. The bed is big enough to share, and so are my blankets. Leaving you with nothing would be inhuman. So get your ass over here. " 

'She has a point…  We might as well share body heat and be more comfortable.'

I sigh but only respond "ok" as I rise and settle into the opposite side of the bed from her and slide under all but the bottom blanket. She has stripped her shoes and socks off, then her blue jeans off, pulling her bra from under her shirt, leaving her in a baggy t-shirt and underwear. I pull my muscle shirt over my head and drop it next to the bed. Kicking my boots off before moving my feet under the blanket.

'This woman is going to kill me if she thinks I can sleep in the same bed as that sweet, sweet scent and not touch her…'

Quinn smirks at me, "Also it's supposed to get down in the 50's tonight, now I'm a human heater but I do have my limits. I know you can handle it better than the average human but I'd rather be in bed with you than alone and freezing."

'Yep… She is going to be the death of me talking to me like that.'

She lays on her stomach and pulls out the antique phone she showed me before.

Talking as she opens something up on it, "This is supposed to be a fictional story in our world/universe at least. But it's one of my favorites, I don't have many movies downloaded onto my phone but the ones I do have I watch weekly. This movie is called Pitch Black, it's about... you... in a sense"

She watches it with me giggling or jumping excitedly at certain points. Most of the time I have my focus split between watching the movie and watching her reactions to it. She growls during the times Johns is beating on me, and at the group's treatment of me once I am released. 

'How is there a movie 'bout me, 'bout something that hasn't even happened yet? Are there others? How'm I ev'n here in th' first place? Why would I go back for the other two at the end when I coulda left? How would those events change if she was there? I'll ask her some of these questions after I think this over. For now, I'll be cautious as usual, but I don't sense any danger at the moment.'

~ Update:08/21/24 ~
~ Please, please comment. I need feedback! ~