Who: Riddick riddickr, Deirdre deirdreofamber, & Bex Mikaelson crazyauntbex What: Saving Adoption Day When: Tuesday, May 5, morning Where: Test City Animal Shelter Rating: Audience Discretion is Advised Warnings: Violence, pet death, Riddick, Deirdre, crazed Original Vampire, the usual. It's all kinds of bloody up in this club! Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
Riddick pulled the wild woman closer to him, trying not to take too much notice of the mongrel hugging their legs rather than scampering ahead. Something had happened in the night. That pulse had been wrong in more ways than one. He wasn't about to get in the middle of what was coming if he didn't have to, but the animal doc had been kind to him. The woman with the weird scent---she'd been good. Riddick felt he owed her something more than a fuck you, fend for yourself.
Besides. He'd always liked animals better than people. Anyone who felt the same? Had to be okay by him.
"We're going into something bad. I can hear it. Can you? Screaming. Something's happening in there. The cages are open. Metal hitting metal. Screaming. Blood. There's blood in the air. You ready for this, Wild Woman?"
She could handle herself. Deirdre was a warrior. There was no hesitation in her stance or in her eyes. Riddick was more concerned for their mongrel companion than for her. She'd come from a world of war the same as him. They were the monsters other monsters feared in the dark. It wouldn't be pretty, whatever they were walking into, but it would be over when they got in there. He was sure of that. They weren't the kind who could afford to take prisoners. There was no room for mercy among the gods of war.
Stroking a hand down her back, Riddick murmured, "We can go in through the front. All the cages are in the back, no back door is open right now. We can change that. Don't get too close to anything. Take it apart at the limbs the way the message said. We ain't no fuckin' heroes. We're just passin' through, alright?"
They could do this.
They had to do this.
No one else would if they didn't.
Riddick could stand the death of people, but all those animals in their cages waiting to be slaughtered? It made him angry. Nature hadn't asked to be attacked. Animals didn't seek out wars. People brought them into their battles. This wasn't their fight. It was about to be his and it was about to be hers. They were better than people. They were wild. They were free.
"There's a woman in there. Different. Blonde. She's feral like us. Don't take a bite out of her unless she bites you first. Or unless I get to watch. Might be worth it. She's a looker."
He smirked at Deirdre to do his best to lighten the mood. Who knew how many were already dead inside? They were late. It was going to be bad, potentially a massacre. If they couldn't smile now, when would they ever?
~*~
Deirdre let him pull her close. She didn't need a knight in shining armor, but she couldn't help but feel grateful he had her back. She'd decked herself out in her furs, a smidge of war paint because she felt the urge to do so, and thick leather boots that gave her good footing and protection. But nothing made her feel safer than Riddick.
Her head lifted a bit as she breathed in the air. "Blood, fear. There's a scent to the air. I'm ready." She mused, licking her lips, ready for a fight. A friend of his was a friend of hers.
So she advanced, pausing only when he ran his hand down her back. She arched into it lightly. "This isn't my fight to win, no heroics here, I like living."-she grinned at him and smoothed her hair back. "I might be able to work some magic to protect the animals. I'm not sure letting them run will be good either. But if I can weave a spell it'll be okay."
Her lips curled into a grin. "Why didn't you say so before? I could have obliged at any time." She purred out as she looked up at him then nodded. It was time to get a move on. They were running late as it was.
Slender fingers danced as she prepared a spell for inside. She wasn't sure if it'd help, she could only try. Trying wrong cost her nothing.
*~*
Rebekah had gone to the animal shelter as soon as the sun rose. The pulse that had woven through the city had woken her, but she had her family to check on first before tending to the animals she’d come to love. Tending them had helped her heal from the loss of caring for Hope. Being a mother would never be a blessing she would experience, but this was as close to it as she could come.
The sight that greeted her had been devastating. Creatures were attacking her animals, easy prey given that they were in cages. In a near blind rage, Bex tore through the creatures with ferocity, leaving bloodied limbs scattering the clinic while she protected the dogs that were still safe in their cages. Only half survived still, but they were afraid. Rebekah would rather die than leave them unprotected.
It was during a lull from the creatures that she heard movement from the front door. “Come and get me,” she screamed, anger and pain radiating from her voice. “I haven’t killed enough of you yet to satisfy me.” Rebekah looked as ferocious as she felt, covered in blood and ready to do more violence as needed. She would not fail her charges.
~*~
"Easy," Riddick called out, "Cavalry's in town. We're here to help move the animals to someplace safer than here. Taking you with us, too."
He kicked the door open as his mongrel growled low, crazed at something skittering around under the desk at the Adoptions Center. Riddick didn't give it enough time to settle in before throwing a shiv at it, pinning a tentacle to the ground which the creature helpfully tore free trying to get away from the blade. Smiling at it, he was in, tearing the limbs away before stabbing the thing in its body. It died quicker than he expected; he was almost disappointed.
"Wild Woman, any luck with that magic? I can't tell how many of these things are still with us. Someone got overzealous. All I can smell is rancid blood. Decay. Fuckin' filthy creatures."
Moving close enough to the fierce blonde to put himself in danger, Riddick pointed to the cages, "These got carriers? Or can we put 'em on leashes? Get them out of here before more of these fuckers rise up to start killing them?"
It was possible they'd have to release them to fend for themselves. Riddick hoped not. He wasn't certain these animals would stay near to them. They weren't trained the way his mongrel was nor did they belong to anyone in particular. Their loyalty hadn't been won yet which meant they belonged to no one other than themselves. Deirdre could set up something, he was sure. She was smart. They'd have to be smart to get out of this one with more of them alive than dead on the floor.
He'd have to help hose the place out when it was all said and done. No one should work with the stench of these creatures around them. Riddick wouldn't ask a rat to live in this kind of filth. Hell, he wouldn't ask a merc to live in the shelter in the shape it was in.
~*~
Deirdre’s hands were still moving as they stepped inside. She let Riddick handle the first of what was going to be many as she breathed life into the spell and sent it out. She was no Fiona, no Brand and certainly no Mandor who she swore just thought a spell and it happened, but she was her Father’s daughter and she could at least manage some spell work. Her words were in her native tongue and smooth sounding as she poured her will and used the Pattern to help her guide the spell. It lit up the surviving animals with a light only she could see, but laid a shield around them. It wouldn’t last forever, but hopefully long enough time to clean house and get them to safety.
And the effort nearly knocked Deirdre to her knees. She was not good with this kind of spell work, although she was mentally vowing to work on it, but she recovered fast and called out, “Looks like half are surviving, dropped a shield around them, I got my eye on them, make the clean up quick, can’t tell how long it’ll last.” she drew in a deep breath then called out to Bex. “They’re safe for the moment. Clear this place out and we can get them out of here.” she dove into the fray - letting Riddick handle the woman.
She didn’t know her, and she figured it was easier for her to find the closest creature and tear it limb from limb by hand. She extended her senses with the Pattern, using it to keep track of both Riddick and Bex, and a count on all the surviving animals. She didn’t want to lose track of them when the whole point was coming here and dragging them all to safety.
“If they don’t have leashes I can get some.” she called back over her shoulder to Riddick. “Same way I get everything else.” she laughed a bit as she dropped a limb to the floor. The stench offended her senses, and she quietly decided she’d use all her ability to help this place get back on it’s feet. Deirdre had come to love Riddick’s mutt, she’d never had pets or animal companions before beyond horses, and found herself a little sentimental towards the animals.
Don’t tell anyone.
~*~
She knew that voice, but it did little to ease the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her fight response was hardwired inside of her, leaving no room for reason or flight. What really caught her was the sight of Mutt, looking downright terrified. Bex growled low in her throat at the unfamiliar woman, but the fact that she was helping the dogs meant she could be trusted, at least for now. Though she didn’t hide away her fangs, her features softened just slightly.
“We can put the smaller ones in a crate. I’ll carry it out. The bigger ones can be put on leashes,” Rebekah decided, before yanking one of the larger cages from the bottom out of the row. It had been bolted to the wall; little pieces of drywall were still attached to the back, but Bex didn’t care. She opened it and began to carefully put the four smallest dogs inside. They were all terrified, with good reason. Chew toys were tossed in, hoping it would comfort them, and then she closed the door and gripped the metal tight enough to make the lock jam. Nothing was getting in there unless they had equally superior strength and it would keep the dogs safe.
She grabbed a handful of leashes from the wall and tossed half of them to Riddick before opening up the remaining cages. It was short work, getting the dogs ready for transport.
“We can take them to my apartment. They’ll be safer there than here.” Her tone of voice made it abundantly clear that no more of them would be dying on her watch.
~*~
Killing was something Riddick was both efficient and proficient at given his predisposition. He took no pleasure in dismantling the resurrected beasts which had once been simple animals wanting someone to love them. Their deaths would weigh heavily on him. It was good to notice the heavy steel door to the cat room hadn't been breached. Small comfort only one room had been ransacked, but it was a comfort Riddick would take all the same. Even small comforts were worth something to the last of a race.
He was impressed with the wild woman's magic. She swayed yet kept on her feet. It took something out of her, but not enough to take her out of the fight. Nice. Riddick liked that. There was comfort in knowing Deirdre of Amber would have to be brought to a death blow before she'd hit her knees in battle. He didn't have to worry whether she would hold her own or needed him to stay near enough to her to bail her out of a tight spot. Every day he found a reason to treasure her more.
Riddick had never had anything worth treasuring.
His fist drove an ulak through the body of a lurker, killing it as the last of its kind in the shelter, "Last of them down. Cats are safe behind that steel. All we need are these. We'll get them out. Mutt can herd the pack. Dogs won't get too close to him since he's not entirely theirs."
Leashes weren't something Riddick liked. He thought the idea of chaining anything was repulsive. He'd been kept in chains too long to want to enslave something else. They were necessary to keep the frightened pack together. He'd call it a necessary evil before tearing down some more of the invaders who'd dared to reduce him to a slaver.
Someone would pay for making him as bad as some merc.
Hauling all the leashes together to loop around one hand, Riddick pulled and shouted, "Here! Now, we're going. Ready?"
The woman wouldn't need him to help her carry the large kennel. Her strength was obvious. His wild woman was fleet as a deer on her feet. No one would have to leash her to keep her up with them. The mutt circled the pack at Riddick's feet before darting over to Deirdre. He was ready to go sure enough. None of them needed to linger in the death house which had been the shelter's dog room. It wasn't a place for the living any longer. It wasn't a place for anything except a thorough cleaning crew.
"We're heading for the apartments. Get in front as soon as you can, Rebekah. We'll be heading in hot if there are any of these out there looking for hosts. We're going to be a moving target as it stands."
Riddick didn't mind. He was alight with adrenaline as he headed out the door with the pack in tow, trusting the women to hold their own to come with him.
~*~
Deirdre scooped up one terrified dog and as it went to bite her she curled her lips back and he backed down. She could be dominating if she needed to be and the last thing she wanted was a dog bite while she was busy.
She held the creature to her side, fingers splayed as she transferred the shield to the door to the cat room. They would be alright, she figured. She kept her good hand free so she could help keep ahead clear.
She spared a moment to lay her hands on the mutts head, smiled and started off towards the apartments, after them, tired but content to finish this.
~*~
Riddick was a comforting presence, directing her rage in a way that best suited their goals. Normally, Bex was plenty level headed when it came to violence, but it was as if something inside her simply snapped. Though the dogs in her care would not all be hers, she still laid claim to them. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn’t be a mother, if this was her response.
Hefting the cage up in her grasp, Rebekah tried not to jostle the poor creatures as she pushed forward, leading them toward Hope Springs. Her two bedroom apartment would be enough space for however long this mess lasted for, given that she didn’t have a roommate. Even if she did, Bex wouldn’t have had a problem compelling them or simply telling them to fucking deal with it.
“Let them come,” she growled, more than eager to tear the creatures limb from limb. Even saddled down with the cage, she would find a way to kill whatever creatures came after them. Bex glanced toward Riddick’s companion and inclined her head just slightly. The woman was a witch of some kind, and a far sight more useful than ancestral witches. She’d say thank you later, when they weren’t targets in the middle of some kind of monster war. For now, the nod would have to do.
“Stay close,” Bex advised, allowing her enhanced strength and agility to make her way quickly toward the apartments without ditching her companions. That would just be in bad form. At least she didn’t need to worry about her family; they were more than capable of taking care of themselves.
~*~
"Whatever you say, Rebekah."
Riddick murmured the response as he kept the pack running with him, Mutt nipping at them when they tried to scamper toward the wild woman instead of toward the blonde who was their most vicious protector. He didn't quite blame them for the choice. He'd have moved toward his woman over the other any day. His wasn't likely to tear his head off to drain his blood like a slaughtered pig. At least not literally. The one in front? Racing as if she weren't carrying hundreds of pounds? She wasn't the kind of woman he wanted to fuck with on any level.
He had no problem with strong women. Riddick just had a problem with fucking monsters. He'd tried that. Tried plenty of that in Necropolis. It hadn't been nearly as satisfying as he'd thought at first. Turned out fucking someone who could, would, and always tried to kill him while they were fucking him? Got old. Fast.
Nothing got in their way as they moved from the animal shelter to the apartment complexes. There were bodies littering the ground suggesting someone had been cleaning up the area. He had a feeling they had been enjoying it, too. Some bodies were smoking as if they'd been light on fire yet there weren't any burn marks; other messes existed around them in a way which wasn't so much a body as what a body looked like once it'd been torn apart and the pieces had been put through a blender.
Impressive.
Riddick would have to look whoever did that up to give them a slap to the back. They deserved it for sheer inhuman brilliance if nothing else. He knew they weren't human, too. All the smells were something else. His wild woman didn't even smell human with her magic all over her, not that she tended to smell mortal to him often.
Stopping short in front of the sign for Hope Springs, he waited for everyone to figure out they'd made it safely to what amount to safety.
"You get them inside on your own?"
He directed the question at Rebekah as he offered the tangled leashes to her, moving toward the wild woman as if he too wanted to seek her comfort the way the mongrel did.
"We don't need anything in there."
Riddick looked at Deirdre for confirmation. If she needed to stop? He'd stop in the fucking place. Otherwise? They were going away from the cells this place wanted to house them in as fast as their feet could run. He might even offer to carry her. He knew he'd enjoy it at least.
~*~
She moved lightly and quickly, she didn't want to get caught out with so many to take care of. She wanted them safe and out of harms way so they could move on themselves.
Once they got to the apartments she set the one down and shooed him towards the other woman. She'd given her a nod in return, but didn't expect a thanks. She didn't need it. But she smiled a touch at her before moving to Riddicks side.
"I'm good to keep going. I don't need to stop." A lie he could almost smell. She'd tapped her reserves on the magic. It really wasn't her forte. But she wanted to be away from those she didn't know before crashing.
"I hope they are all okay." She directed at the woman with a smile.
~*~
Bex was relieved to see their path had already been cut through for them, despite how much she wanted to rip those creatures apart herself. She’d deal with it, same as she always did. Feeding was going to have to happen sooner or later as well; she’d gone long enough. Seeing the sign for Hope Springs, she stopped long enough to take the leashes from Riddick.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Short and to the point, and at least this time, Bex let her fangs fade away. She gingerly adjusted her grip on the cage, now that one hand had a number of leashes wrapped around it, and carefully made her way up the stairs to the third level. Bloody inconvenient, but she managed well enough. She set the cage down to open her door and then hurried inside, closing, locking, and barricading her door just in case.
Then she set about getting the dogs off their leashes, out of the cage, and cleaned off. Bloody paw prints covered the carpet, but Rebekah hardly cared.
“I’ll get you sorted,” she promised them, taking a seat on the floor and opening her arms for the scared animals. “It’ll be alright. I promise.” Bex would see them through. She had to.