Pitch Black Cyn

Things got slightly tense after that whole fiasco, though Cyn couldn’t see why.

Jack was perfectly fine with it, even excited, but the others were decidedly more wary of her claws.

So far, the only really good outcome was that Johns kept his distance, allowing the stench of morphine to clear out of her nose.

Jeez, they were acting like she ATE the guy!

“You’re lucky we’re not chained up right now.” Al scolded, arms crossed.

Nodding, Cyn looked back at the ship, where Riddick was likely chained up by now.

“…”

“…He’ll get out by himself.” Al assured, though her hidden eyes flickered towards the ship as well.

She hadn’t fought the group’s insistence to chain the man up again, but only because it would draw more unwanted attention.

Leave them with the assurance that she had control over Cyn’s impulses and was compliant, and it would leave both of them out of chains themselves.

But the logic didn’t settle her nerves as well as it should have…

“Fry’s gone in.”

Tilting her head towards the mangled vessel, Al nodded once she ‘spotted’ the captain inside.

“…There’s something…off about her.” Cyn admitted, tapping her claws on the weak metal.

“She’s twitchy and moody, don’t you think?”

“Like she’s guilty about something.” Al agreed.

“What’s she have to be guilty about?” Cyn wondered aloud to herself, tail flicking behind her.

“Ever wonder who expelled all of those containers?”

Ears flicking in surprise, Cyn tilted her head while staring up at the cloudless sky.

“…Guess not.”

Shrugging, the cat-girl stretched out her back with a few satisfying pops and stood up, looking towards the burial site everyone else was steering clear of.

“Is she a liability?”

“…”

Staying silent for a few moments, Al shook her head.

“Not yet. But there are only eight seats on the emergency skiff.”

That meant that a few of the survivors had to die, if the majority were to get out of here alive.

“…I say Johns goes first.” Cyn growled, still itching to sink her teeth into the merc’s neck.

“Not until they’ve all served their purpose.”

Looking towards her mate, and knowing that Al always had a plan, Cyn nodded.

“Fine.”

Jack, and then Fry, exited the ship’s hold, the latter going straight towards the graves.

Sharing a glance, the two jumped down from their perch and followed.

Curious as a newborn kitten, Cyn flicked her ears towards the group converging on the young captain.

“…She wants to investigate the hole Zeke was pulled into.”

Brow furrowing, Al sighed in exasperation.

“She doesn’t know.”

Reaching the group in time to hear Johns and Fry’s argument, Cyn was once again surprised by her mate.

“I’ll go in.”

Silence fell as the entire group stared at Al in astonishment before the cat-girl found her voice again.

“WHAT?!”

“I’m the smallest adult. It makes sense that I should go.”

“Over my dead body!” Cyn snarled, blades sliding out of her tail as it flicked dangerously from side to side.

Putting a hand on her mate’s neck, Al felt her relax minutely at the reassuring pressure.

“I trust you, Cyn.”

“…”

Blades sliding slowly back into hiding, she flexed her claws while attempting to rein in her instincts.

Nodding at the signs of agreement, Al marched towards the communal grave, taking the rope and flashlight from Fry’s hands as she passed.

The captain didn’t object, didn’t try to stop her, and it grated on Cyn’s thinning nerves.

With the rope tied around her waist and secured to a sturdy rock, Al pulled her mate down for a deep kiss.

“Stay close.” She whispered as they separated, waiting for Cyn’s acknowledgement before slipping into the hole.

Ears constantly at attention, the cat-girl slowly followed her mate’s progress from above ground, hissing whenever someone tried to ask what she was doing.

It was hard enough to pinpoint Al’s location without them distracting her…

When a high-pitched screech reached her ears, it cut straight through to Cyn’s heart.

‘AL!’

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Once she couldn’t feel the warmth of sunlight on her back, Al pushed her visor up to hold back her hair and finally see.

Half-glazed black eyes took in the extensive caverns tunneled beneath the sand, and she moved along at a silent pace while her ears twitched in annoyance.

The sonar was much louder down here, most likely from the close proximity, but at least she didn’t have to worry Cyn by making it herself.

Keeping the beam of her flashlight pointed steadfastly forward, Al clambered up a slight incline and took a deep breath in surprise.

There were only bones here, picked clean by sharp teeth, with only a few tatters thrown around to show that at least one victim had been human.

Getting closer, she touched a ribcage, finding it sticky and fresh.

‘They didn’t waste any time.’

She was about to explore the other, larger bones when something moved a few yards to her right.

Al went completely still, eyes following the unfamiliar form as it hissed and clicked nearby.

It was massive, reptilian and with a hammer-shaped head that unnerved her.

Staying low, the bat-girl retraced her steps backward in the hopes of leaving undetected…

Her luck had clearly run out.

The moment Al’s feet shifted some loose pebbles, the creature was onto her and rushing for a taste of her blood.

Cursing, she ran towards the first hint of sunlight she saw, pulling her visor down to protect her light-sensitive eyes.

The creature’s spear-like tail pierced her side, and Al winced before cutting herself free with her shiv, climbing up the spire that was her escape.

Sharp teeth sunk into her shoulder, and she let out a screech louder than ever before as the pain shot straight to her brain.

Only a moment later, the rock walls just above her were smashed away, and the sudden intrusion of light had the monster releasing its hold.

Strong hands grabbed her shoulders, pulling Al into the safety of the light, and Cyn’s voice was in her ear whispering comfort.

The rope went taut for one frightening moment, but Cyn’s tail-blades severed her link to Hell with one swift movement.

With that concern dealt with, the adrenaline rushing out of her system and taking her consciousness with it…

“I knew you’d find me…”

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Cyn was incensed, more than she could ever remember being before.

Lifting Al’s bloody body into her arms, pupils narrowed to slits, she immediately ran back towards the ship, ignoring the others entirely.

Her instincts were in control now, telling Cyn to take her mate somewhere cool and safe.

In the shade of the mangled vessel, she finally put Al down on the cleanest patch of metal, only sparing a bound Riddick a glance before counting the injuries.

There were only two, a hole in her side that seemed to be from a pointed weapon and a bite-mark that encompassed Al’s entire right shoulder and upper arm.

Leaning forward, she started cleaning the wound on Al’s side with her tongue, pausing halfway through when the others arrived.

“What are you-?!”

Snarling and bristling, Cyn crouched over her mate, startling Fry a few steps backward.

Riddick was interested at this new development, chuckling at everyone’s fear.

“I wouldn’t get too close, if I were you.”

Once sure that no one was going to try and stop her, Cyn returned to licking the wound clean.

Before everyone’s eyes, the torn edges of flesh and skin stitched themselves together, and soon there was no sign of any injury at all.

Purring in contentment at the effect, Cyn leaned up to give the shoulder wound the same treatment.

Hissing at the scent of another creature on her mate, the cat-girl licked at the individual teeth marks carefully, ignorant of all the worried, confused, interested eyes on her back.

With that done, Cyn’s pupils returned to normal.

Letting out a tired breath, she sat back on her haunches and blinked at the group in mild confusion.

“What’s gotten you guys all nervous now?”