Riddik's Story: Escape

A few days of peaceful travel seemed to do nothing for Gara's general routine, it seemed. He was still wandering, lurking, shorting himself of sleep, and not eating near as much as he should. There were probably reasons for that, and Riddik could think of half a dozen off the top of his head, but it was also... vaguely frustrating, in a strange and unexpected way.

The realization of that was also frustrating. Big Girl didn't like it much, either.

But at least in the little ship they were stuck in, it was all but impossible for Gara to hide from him for long, and he was bound and determined that the kid was going to at least eat, if he wasn't going to sleep. Hey, it gave him something to do, since otherwise he was very bored. There was very little to do on this ship besides converse with crew-mates, and Riddik wasn't exactly a star conversationalist. He wound up mostly exercising, plotting, and perusing the ship's main database, which wasn't very big.

And cooking, since no one else seemed to want to. He threw together sandwiches for people or experimented with pastas on occasion, seared something for the cat, and tossed uncooked meat to the grues, glad the captain had bought plenty for the trip, anticipating their needs. Or maybe just not wanting to become lunch, herself. Maybe she was more observant than Riddik had taken her for, originally.

That day, he was doing the sandwiches part and decided to hunt down Gara to deliver the meal in person, rather than leaving it somewhere for him to find and then subsequently not touch.

Currently the kid was in the docking room, half-hiding behind one of the docking clamps. Riddik followed the scent and the sound of his bland thoughts, and stopped just within his sight-- had he been looking around, anyway. The boy's eyes were closed, his tail curled around him, his seat neat on the floor, and his hands held up to his chest like he was praying. Or meditating. Or some other pointless, solitary thing that Riddik himself would never engage in.

Riddik stood there a moment, wondering if he was going to be noticed; his paws were quiet, since he never wore shoes if he could help it and had, as far as he knew, been born with the instinct to keep his claws held well off the floor when he moved. Plus, he was downwind. He watched Gara for a moment, head cocked, before clearing his throat loudly.

It was always nice to see he could still surprise people, despite being stuck in that ship full of cheaters with runes. Gara jerked, opened his eyes, and made as if to summon his sand, but when he saw Riddik he hesitated, sand uncalled. "What?" he asked curtly.

"Dinner," Riddik answered simply, and came over to offer him the plate.

There was a long pause while Gara stared at him with a faint crease between his brows. "Leave me alone," he finally said in answer.

Riddik had pretty much expected that, given everything he'd seen about the boy so far. Nothing had changed, for him, except the locale. He'd not chosen a room, he'd not spoken to anyone, he'd not given any thought to his future, he'd not even taken the offered meals. At least Riddik was prepared, and he answered with a toothy grin and a simple, "No."

In answer, Gara's ears flicked back briefly in some faint whiff of affront, and then he shut his eyes pointedly and made an obvious attempt to ignore him. Rolling his eyes behind his goggles-- it was another perk to wearing them; then no one could see when he did something like roll his eyes or look like he was lying-- Riddik crouched to set the sandwich in front of Gara on the floor. "When you're done being too proud to eat something real," he rumbled, "bring the empty plate back to the mess."

Gara didn't so much as twitch, but Riddik was still sure pride had everything to do with it. Gara knew by now that Riddik wasn't going to harm him, or he would have by now. The only reason he refused any help now was pride.

He was starting to straighten up, dusting off his hands to leave the brat to his solitude again, when Gara spoke again. "You said you'd stay away."

Riddik looked back at him, wearing a faintly amused expression. "I suppose I did." If Gara wanted answers, he was going to have to ask for them.

"So leave me alone," Gara said again.

Crouching down again, on Gara's level, Riddik said, "Maybe when you start takin' care of yourself, I will." He pushed the plate closer with a toe, and straightened up again, turning on his heel and starting away with a flick of wings and tail.

Gara said nothing, so he went in search of Twenty-Eight. Maybe taunting the too-quiet beast would put him in a better mood.

The too-quiet beast was in his cabin, or the one Hupomone had picked out for them anyway, and she was still spending all of her time hidden inside of him. It was driving him up the walls, sometimes literally as she tested what he could do-- which rather disappointed her, to be honest. He had never been good at much besides running and not caring, and here there was nowhere to run and he definitely wasn't doing so well with the not caring.

When Riddik knocked, he was sprawled out on the bed, tentacles flopped everywhere and tails stretched out, drooping onto the floor over the edge of the bed. Immediately he could sense who it was, and so could Hupomone, who rolled him over onto his back, paws folded over his chest and eyes fixed upside-down on the door, like some idiotic cub.

"Come in," she called, using his voice, and he growled in the back of his mind.

Riddik came in, and stopped short, staring at him behind those awful goggles of his. "Well, don't you look comfy," he said after a pause.

Twenty-Eight felt his body roll back over. "You interrupted a nap," his voice said, sounding unconcerned. "I was comfortable."

Seeing as in all the time Twenty-Eight and Riddik had been tethered together, never had he slept on his back like that, Riddik was obvious unimpressed. His face didn't show it, but Twenty-Eight was still empathic, and Riddik was still bound to him magically. He could tell. He didn't know if Hupomone could, though.

If you think about it, I know. We are bonded, just as you are with the Riddik, after all.

Of course. Curse it.

"You got plans for when we get back to the ship?" Riddik asked, still staring at him with that expression that was no expression.

"I go where you go, until we are separated," Twenty-Eight's voice said, and Riddik bared his teeth in a grin that looked more fierce than cheerful.

"Hopefully we'll find someone to take care of that soon."

Oh, I think not. "I'm sure we will."

What in the name of all the princelings Twenty-Eight had ever been enslaved to did that mean? She wasn't going to separate them? The one thing they had hoped she would do?

I could use someone like him. You really think I'd let him go?

Whether Riddik sensed Twenty-Eight's true reaction to that or not, he merely snorted lightly and turned back to the door and the hall past it. "Hopefully very soon," he muttered. Twenty-Eight stared out after him, prisoner in his own skull, and wished Riddik were, for once, a little more observant.