Lair #1 -- Shady Comes To Visit

Shady Comes to Visit

A "Life at the Lair" story
By Moonbeam


::knock, knock!::

"Ack, it's Shady! Quick, hit the lights!" The cave plunged into darkness, and everybody froze in surprise. Moon chuckled evilly, rubbing her hands in fiendish glee. "Shh! Just stay *very* quiet now, and maybe she'll think we aren't home..."

For a few seconds a heavy silence descended, broken only by the occasional whispered giggle. Then..

::stumble, thump, SMACK!::

"OW! Hey, got off my foot!"
"I didn't -- watch where ya put yer hands, buster!"
"Whew! Somebody needs a Tic-Tac..."

There was a sound of a brief tussle; rustling fabric, boots sliding across the stone floor, hard-muscled flesh impacting hard-muscled flesh. Moon glared unseen into the darkness. "Will you guys just--"

"Get your elbow out of my gut!"
"Ow! What the..?"
"That's my knee you just whacked."
"So? Some*one* tried to knee my in the balls!"
"And we're all sure you deserved it..."

Several people chuckled at that, and the supposedly hushed atmosphere of the darkness was interrupted again with a new round of blind pushing and shoving.

"Hey, I didn't do nothin'! Why ya pickin' on me?"
"Stuff it, blue-eyes."
"How can you tell?"
"Nick, that better be a gun in your pocket!"
"Oh, but, Michael... don't you love me anymore?"

::WHUMP!::

"Ooof!"

One raspy voice emerged from the melee, it's soft Texan drawl the only thing to give away its owner's identity. "Say, Cowboy... do ya charge extra for lap dances?"

"VIN!!"

Moon just slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed in disgrace as her boys made idiots of themselves. "Oh, for crying out loud!"

"Uh, Moon?" said an older male voice, close to her shoulder. She could almost hear the grin she knew was there. "I think that's my line."

Moon sighed again. "Shut up, Jack."

Since it was now obvious that her devious ploy was a complete failure, given as how the noise level in the room was probably twice as loud in the dark as it had been in the light, Moon just waved her hand vaguely in the direction of the only thing she could see clearly: a pair of eerie silvered eyes watching her from the corner.

"Riddick, dear, if you'd be so kind... might as well let Shady in to join the party."

"Whoo! PARTY!!!!!"
"Bring on the girls!"
"Let's get some music going! Where's the stereo?!"
"I can't see it... wait, maybe..."
"That ain't no radio dial! Kindly remove your hand before I remove it for you."
"Hey, I got an idea... Kitt? Pal, you there?"

A tiny light flared, the small glow of a digital watch, barely enough to illuminate Michael's face as he brought the comlink on his wrist closer.

"Yes, Michael. I can hear you," Kitt snickered. "I think Miss Gumnut could hear you all the way from Australia."

Michael flinched unconsciously at the mention of his newest fic-whumper, but ploughed gamely on in his request for party music. Kitt grumbled about being left out, all alone with only Karr and a couple of horses to keep him company, but complied.

He need not have feared. The moment Riddick opened the door to the Secret Lair, the group of men within hastily untangled themselves from their otherwise compromising positions and spilled out to join the AIs. Moon and Shady were swept up in their midst, and found themselves suddenly standing side-by-side under the hot summer sun.

Shady stared at the wave of chaos that swirled and flowed around her, then slanted a look at her friend with a raised eyebrow.

Moon smiled weakly. "Surprise?"

~*~*~*~