Elaine had nothing major planned for Thanksgiving. She wasn’t close to too many people here and she had no desire to impede on anyone else’s celebrations. And the mere thought of being in the city around Black Friday had her ready to really be a hermit. But she liked turkey so she had started to prepare a bird, and sage stuffing and all sorts of little things for herself. The scents of delicious food wafted out of her house through an open window.
She set a pie to cool and smiled a bit as she rested her hands on her hips. The house was clean, and simple, but she had strung herbs to dry from the loft balcony beams and set up a couple candles to make the house look nicer. She wasn’t sure who she was decorating for, but she certainly was glad it looked nice.
Elaine settled by the fire in a comfortable chair to read, she was roasting the bird over the open flames, set high enough to not burn but low enough to cook. She’d rubbed it with lemon and garlic, sage and rosemary. She was getting hungry just smelling it, and was eager for it to finish. She could cheat, but there was no point, not really.
The wards had been modified, tweaked to allow a certain stalker to get closer to the house without turning into a slug. She no longer minded his presence, it was welcoming in fact, although she would never admit to it right now.
***
Holidays weren't something Riddick observed. He thought the whole concept of celebrating anything created by Man was ridiculous. Humans only wanted to make themselves feel less alone by dreaming up fake dates of importance to use as excuses to host gatherings. They hid their weakness behind things like 'tradition' or 'religion' or both which was pretty much the same to him. He'd never understood the difference or cared to look too deeply into it.
Elaine surprised him with her preparations. He could smell her cooking all the way in the trees outside. She was alone in there. Riddick knew. No one got past him. There was no one in the house except her, but was she having company? Family? Some of those witches she knew? Who would be coming to visit her on Thanksgiving?
More importantly, Riddick wondered why he cared so much.
It wasn't like him to be jealous.
With Elaine? He was beyond jealous. He was almost territorial.
Making his way over to the house, Riddick tossed a pebble at the window carefully. He wanted to get her attention. It would be better to have her tell him what she was up to than for a horde of strangers to descend on her, disrupting his peace. It had somehow evolved into his peace while he was watching her home. Riddick liked being a part of her natural landscape. She didn't expect him to go away but she didn't expect him to become domesticated for her either.
It was---nice.
~*~
Elaine had no one coming and that was alright with her. She wanted to prepare for winter with extra food tucked away. This place was weird and goodness only knew what crap the OC would lay on them. She wanted to be prepared, just in case. And turkey sandwiches? Always a delicious thing to have.
She expected nothing from Riddick. He had become part of her area of the world and it was comforting to know that nothing really would get past him. Not that Elaine had people that would come after her, but living alone and out away from general civilization meant that she was a good target. So having him around was nice. His presence eased her mind and that was worth his weight in gold.
Elaine wasn’t celebrating, following tradition, or anything - she’d never had a real family gathering for Thanksgiving. Family was a strange concept for her, but she cooked because she felt she should. And because the leftovers were worth it. She was trying to create her own traditions, a routine that she’d rarely had yet she craved.
The pebble caught her attention and she lifted her head to look. She knew who it was before she saw him, who else tossed pebbles at her windows? She rose from her chair and headed over to the window, opening it further and leaning on the sill to look at him.
“Why, hello Riddick.” she greeted him with a smile.
~*~
"You got company coming? Someone I should be looking out for---or someone I should be making myself scarce around?"
He didn't bother to hold back the distaste in his voice at the thought. Riddick wasn't a man for pretense. Most days? Riddick didn't feel like a Man at all. There was too much animal in him even in this life for him to blend with society's expectations. It took a special kind of spirit to cope with someone like him haunting their house. Elaine seemed to understand better than most which made Riddick even more likely to want to keep her away from the so-called civilized world.
Folding his arms over his chest, Riddick rocked back on his heels. Elaine didn't look dressed for company. What kind of indication of anything was that? She wasn't a woman who spent a long time on her appearance. That was one of his favorite things about her. Natural. Elaine was a natural woman in a way few could claim to be in this day and age---or on this planet, Riddick supposed.
"Everything within a ten mile radius is probably wondering who you're cooking for so I thought I should prepare myself for the answer. I like a little warning. It keeps me from responding badly."
His smile was sharp to match his words. There was no reason to pretend to be anything other than rabid around Elaine. She already knew what he was at heart even if he hadn't given her the words for his kind.
~*~
Elaine smiled patiently at him, his protectiveness was interesting to her. No one had given her much thought when she was growing up, no one cared to protect her. Not even the soldiers she had been embedded with had gone so far for her. This was an interesting change in her life and she was comfortable with it.
“I have no one coming, it’s just me. And well, considering you are in my window, you.” she said with a slightly teasing tone. She really didn’t mind his intruding into her home, he presented himself as he was, and she returned the favor with being herself. Not wearing the mask of civility. She was dressed in simple linen pants and a tank top, nothing special, and no indicator anyone was coming over. There wasn’t even a table set up for anyone extra.
Her lips quirked into a smirk as she watched him. His behavior was fascinating, he was what he was and made no move to hide it around her. She liked that because she’d learned people were rarely themselves these days. Always looking to present themselves as more or different to blend in and be accepted.
“You might as well come inside instead of standing at my window. The only things I worry about coming are the carnivores in the woods. Not that I find myself worrying too much about them.” the unspoken with you around hung in the air.
~*~
A pleased smirk softened Riddick's harsh features as Elaine spoke. She was cooking to cook. There wasn't going to be any men, women, or witches wandering in to break up their peace. All Riddick had to do was come inside. The door was open. Her wards weren't as strong or sending off the wordless warning they'd done before which had kept him at bay. The day was salvageable still and he was forgiven for jumping to conclusions.
Riddick didn't need Elaine to tell him he was forgiven to know he was; her acceptance of him was written all over her face and carved into the soft stance she held before him. Nothing about the way she was looking at him suggested she wanted to make war even though the heart of a warrior beat in her chest. She was a witchy woman. Riddick never took for granted the smell of ozone which clung to her in warning.
"Thank you for the invitation. Don't mind if I do."
He let himself in with a silence born of years of practice.
"You shouldn't worry about carnivores in your woods. They stay away. Predators know when they're outclassed and nothing around here is hungry enough to brave what's waiting for them if they trespass."
~*~
Elaine noticed the smirk and shook her head gently, he was fascinating. She liked to cook, and it was not in her nature to invite many people over. She was not fond of crowds, so she wasn’t likely to fill her house with them. She was a quiet person, she liked the solitude. Or small gatherings. Her cats and Riddick were enough company.
She forgave him for jumping to conclusions without words - she had grown to find an understanding of him and learned he was who he was. There was no need for words at that point, he was just being him. Elaine was unlikely to begin a war with him, he had found a place as guardian, without either of them planning on it.
Once he stepped inside she smiled a bit. “My pleasure.” before she moved to gently rotate the turkey over the fire. “Well then, that’s good to know. I suppose I shall not harbor any more worry about them, then.” she glanced over her shoulder, a grin there.
“Make yourself comfortable. The bird will be done soon. Help yourself to whatever you need, there’s plenty to drink in the fridge.” she even turned her back to him to tend to the bird, knowing he was capable of killing her but trusting that he would not. After all, she knew he was fascinated by her and it was no fun if she was dead.
~*~
Riddick preferred his food cooked naturally. There was nothing so good as a fire-roasted hank of meat. His dreams were filled with the things he'd eaten when he'd had to and of the things he'd chosen to use to feed himself; this life was a mess of memories of scavenging for food or foraging for it. Some who lived a vagabond lifestyle chose to seek out local soup kitchens or the charity hostels. Riddick had always preferred to do for himself as much as possible.
He'd taken charity to avoid dying.
These days he wondered if he could die.
Choosing to move closer to Elaine, Riddick leaned over her to breathe in the scents of cooking and warm woman. She was special to him. There was danger in her yet she offered nothing more than acceptance to Riddick regardless of how he'd come into her life. He'd nearly forced his attention on her. Elaine could have defended herself with magic against him. Riddick wondered even in that moment if the time would come she'd set him away from her by force.
"I think I'd rather spend my time taking in the smells. You smell better than the bird. I promise I don't bite. Much."
Elaine made him want to change his opinion on being close to someone else. She brought out the better qualities in him as much as she made his primitive side stand up to take notice. He thought he could get used to letting himself into her little home, burrowing close to her so she smelled like him all day, so he smelled of the storm she carried inside her, so they became a part of a whole together instead of two separate pieces of wilderness wandering around lost.
~*~
Elaine was getting comfortable with more naturally cooked meals. She didn’t dare have a conventional oven in her home. Her magic was too unpredictable. Well, the side effects anyways. She had no desire to short it out and lose her little home. She liked this place too much to watch it burn because of her. Even her fridge was powered by actual ice and magic. Electricity had no real place here.
She paused for a moment as he drew closer, but she didn’t push him away, she merely laughed softly when he commented on both her and the food. “Goodness what is a woman to do with that kind of statement?” she teased as she tilted her head just enough to look at him. She could wreck his life, make him hurt, but she wasn’t planning on it. His invasion of her personal space caught her slightly off guard but she allowed it.
He had forced her to pay attention when he began stalking her. And she gave it willingly because he fascinated her as much as she did him. Life handed you a most interesting hand some days and she was more than pleased to see where it went. Because she was a curious sort, even if she was much more cautious than she had been.
“Tell me, then. What do I smell like?” she grinned.
~*~
'Home', Riddick thought yet did not say. He backed away from her with a shake of his head. His face was not meant for smiling yet Elaine made him want to all the same. Riddick didn't care if his features were too used to hateful glares or harsh words. He wanted to find a way to express something else to this woman with her witchy ways and kindness. Her generosity of spirit was enough to stay his tongue from something crude.
"I think I've told you before. Maybe you just don't listen to me. Storms and magic. Right now? Mixed with smoke and fire and something delicious you've got cooking."
Elaine wouldn't say much if he went closer to her again. Riddick had tested the waters. He'd found them to be safe. There was nothing more dangerous than tricking a wild animal into thinking it was safe. Riddick was feeling grateful to be able to have the occasional warm place to make his bed. Elaine was simply playing with fire in letting him think he could make his bed with her. She hadn't said as much, hadn't even really invited it, but the thought was there which was enough for Riddick.
"Senses. The eyes. Strength. Stamina. Those all came from Dreams for me. Here in this place? I suppose magic is real even for the likes of me. What about you? All your magic---you didn't get a little boost to your senses? I can't imagine a different life now. I've relied too long on what I can see, smell, taste, touch…"
~*~
Elaine smiled a bit, a cautious smile. “You have but I do like the reminder. And I do not know if it’s changed.” she said simply as she looked at him. “I like to think I smell of storms. I like the scent of rain and lightning.” She did, too, storms were always some of her favorite times of year. Any storm was wonderful, and she could sit and watch them for hours.
She pulled the potatoes out of the fire with quick fingers, she constantly tested her ability to ignore fire. Fire held so many nightmares for her that she wanted to face it head on. That included learning to move quickly around it. She set the finished fire baked potatoes on a plate and ran her hand through her hair, looking down at them for a moment. Wondering if she had enough for him, she figured he had a healthy appetite. Then she smiled, there was sure to be more than enough.
Elaine lowered her lashes as she looked at him, a wicked little smile on those lips. “Oh, I have some boosts, and a few negative things, but most of them I give myself.” she decided that while they were comfortable around one another, he hadn’t seen what she could really do. In that moment? She didn’t have to speak, she’d figured this one out in a fashion that allowed her to do it near silently, she took a step and vanished.
~*~
Her scent lingered after she vanished from sight. Riddick cocked his head as he listened for her in the room. Was she still there? Had she floated away from him to somewhere else? Magic could do miraculous things from all Riddick knew of it. He doubted it could take a woman completely out of touch from the world she belonged in, but what did he know? The OC was the first place he'd ever encountered magic.
"Elaine?"
Riddick hated the way her name seemed to echo in the house. It was her house. She should have been there to breathe in her name on his lips, taste the sound of his voice identifying her, feel how Riddick felt when he did nothing more than remember her name. He hated thinking she was gone.
Prowling closer to where she'd vanished, Riddick's hands fisted at his sides as if gripping shivs he didn't have with him.
If he would fight for anyone in Orange County, he'd fight for Elaine.
"Where'd you go, witchy woman? I can smell you, but you're not here. Don't---don't stay gone too long. Dinner will get cold."
Given her potatoes were nearly hot as coals from the fire, Riddick doubted that would happen so soon, but he couldn't say what he'd been thinking.
Not yet.
~*~
Elaine didn’t move too far, watching him silently. Her scent lingered, she hadn’t been able to hide that. If she made a noise, he’d find her easily. But she was as silent as possible, listening to him. She wanted to demonstrate her abilities. She didn’t know why she was drawn to do so but she had.
She moved a little sideways, her lips parted as she spoke softly. “I’m still here.” her voice floated on the air, not too far from where he stood. She watched his hands clench at his side, and was curious. Would he fight for her? Fascinating.
But she couldn’t hold the veil too long. Oh, she was good in her dreams but she was only just beginning to be good here. She let it fall as she stepped up in front of him, eyes sparkling, the taste of magic on her lips, her skin tingling. She liked the feeling of her magic.
“Dinner won’t get cold. I promise that much.”
~*~
Riddick grabbed her impossibly fast, pulling her to him to make sure she was real. Her heartbeat was back, her smell was stronger, she felt like a wild winter storm in his arms. He wondered how long he could hold her or if he should even dare. Some things a man wasn't meant to hold onto, a storm was one of those things. Everything about her felt differed for a moment. He supposed that was what magic felt like to a man without any.
"Good to know, witchy woman. I like seeing you too much to want to be the one watching you disappear again. It's good to know you can manage it in case you need to sometime I'm not around."
Not that Riddick intended to go anywhere, but he knew from experience a man didn't always get to do what he wanted in life.
He'd never managed to find anything approaching his own kind of anyone in this life.
Didn't seem as if he'd manage any different in any other life either.
Pressing his cheek against Elaine's hair, he breathed her in deep, "Let's see about eating some of this and then? I might show you something I learned in my Dreams."