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Riddick's cool exterior spoke nothing of the seething, writhing anger inside. For months he had tolerated Dame Vaako and her husband's attempts at his life. And now, despite his beliefs, he could almost see himself putting an end to it. And end to them both.

On the platform of the massive ship he now called home, just down from his throne he stood partially stooped. Wind from below, the rebuilt city, ruffled his bright striped fur. He was staring at Vaako. Reading him. Judging, weighing his anger to what he could see in the other's own stance.

Lowering his haunches he simultaneously leapt for the other and grabbed his favorite blades from their thigh sheaths. This would end now. But not in Vaako's death. Riddick hadn't killed another since Kyra had died without him.

Vaako had expected this to come to a head sooner or later. At first there had been the bitter disappointment when such carefully laid plans to become the leader of the Necromongers had crumbled to bitter dust in one well placed thrust of a knife. And he had knelt among those ashes of a dream, acknowledging Riddick as the new ruler.

That acceptance had been short lived. The lovely Dame Vaako, his beautiful wife, had resumed her whisperings not long after Riddick had assumed the Necromonger throne. Although he had doubts of his own worthiness, Dame Vaako had a point. He was a full fledged Necromonger. Riddick was not. How could one who was not a Necromonger, who did not believe in the glorious Underverse, be fit to rule them?

And with the whisperings began the assassination attempts. None of which had been successful. And to all appearances, Riddick had been ignoring. Until now. Teeth bared in a fangy snarl, Vaako's gray hackles rose as he reached behind him for the six bladed axe. Snarling, he swung the axe forward, stepping into Vaako's charge.

Coming up short Riddick dodged the axe, though he could feel it snip a centimeter of his fur as he went by. He had never taken to large weapons, they were awkward and unbalanced. You put too much time into properly balancing yourself to use them, your body in constant tension from the weight. He preferred to get in personal with his fists. His very knives were designed to give his fists freedom as the blade wrapped around behind the knuckles. He could punch with his knuckles or slash with the blade. An axe required both hands to grip.

And who could duck or dodge or roll with a large axe in their hands? Popping up to Vaako's side Riddick swiped at his ribs in an upward jab of his blade before needing to twist away again.

He wouldn't kill Vaako. But the Necro would be made example of, unlike the rebels who openly killed each other or took the lives of the town people- those he disposed of. He wouldn't kill him for four simple reasons: Fry, Kyra, Imam, and little Ziza who reminded him so much of Jack, who he longed to run away from and take all her monsters with him.

For Vaako... a special punishment just for him.

Vaako had barely been able to dance away from the knife blade, a thin line of blood tracing over his side. But the Necromonger ignored the pain as he rotated, swinging the axe around and just barely missing Riddick yet again. Ignoring the pain came as second nature to him. He had learned to make the pain go away ever since his indoctrination so many years ago.

He followed through with a backslash, but the Furyan was just out of reach. Vaako's previous experience had taught him that he needed to take Riddick down. That window of opportunity was rapidly closing. And he still fought by the Necromonger code. You keep what you kill. This was a fight he couldn't lose.

Closing with his fists a few times Riddick came in hard under Vaako's jaw. If the ending to this was to turn how he wanted he would need both hands free come that time: he sheathed one blade as he sliced with the other.

Pausing for a second he glanced at his cut bicep and growled softly. Ducking the next attempt with flattened ears he sheathed the other blade and came in on all fours. Wrapping a leg around Vaako's and pulling down while he grabbed the axe handles in-between Vaako's wide spread hands.

His hands immediately tightened on the axe, arms going stiff. Vaako wasn't certain which Riddick intended to do - pull the weapon from his hands and turn against him, pummel the haft back against his chest, throat and chin like his fists had tried to do, or even attempt to snap the handle in half. But he couldn't concentrate on that and his balance at the same time. So he allowed himself (or so he mentally said) to fall.

It wasn't a graceful landing. He hit the ground on his tail with a grunt, still gripping the axe. And he didn't let go, but jerked the shaft towards him as he swung his legs in a short arc, intending to sweep Riddick off his feet as well. His teeth were bared in a desperate snarl as he glared at the new Lord Marshall. Pain may have disappeared upon becoming a Necromonger, but fear was an all too constant companion. And he feared he may be in a fight that he couldn't win.

Riddick was jerked down. The move surprised him but he didn't have time to register that emotion. From the corner of his eye he could see a blur headed his way. Another shock, Vaako was surprisingly agile and swift without the weight of his axe. Releasing the axe handle he leaped into the air trying to avoid Vaako's clawed feet. They knocked him off balance in mid air, causing him to come down onto his hands and side of his hip. Blood painted his orange calf.

Simultaneously kicking to right himself he turned the move into one of advantage and aimed a heavy paw to the axe handle, trying to kick it from Vaako's grasp as he jumped to his feet.

He wasn't expected the kick. The axe flew free from his grip, spinning around its center of gravity as it skidded across the floor. And he knew that he had no hope of winning in hand to hand combat. Kicking free from Riddick, Vaako scrambled for the axe. He was all too aware of the eyes of the other Necromonger's on him. And most importantly, the eyes of Dame Vaako on him.

Riddick's eyes were on him as well. As the Necromonger scrambled for his axe Riddick slid into motion behind him, coming down upon him like a serpent. His jaws gaping wide he placed them around Vaako's neck, tongue quickly pinpointing the area he wished to plant a long canine before biting down, though not with all the force he possibly could or his rebel would die.

Not a sound came from him. Though he had growled before the fight he was now returning to his unearthly calmness as he held the Necromonger in his jaws. His blood tasted strong. Tasted alien. Beautiful, he'd almost say.

Immediately Vaako froze hand outstretched inches short of the axe. He could feel Riddick's breath stirring the braided fur on his head, could feel a trickle of blood seeping into his neck fur. As he waited for the Underverse to embrace him, he looked upwards to where Dame Vaako watched. His amber wolfen eyes met her reptilian ones.

The crocodile woman stared at him for a moment. And their gaze broke as Dame Vaako, the woman who had said she would be at his side until Underverse came, turned her back on him.

Riddick saw the bitch from the corner of his eye. So the seductive and manipulative reptile would turn her back on her husband. This didn't surprise Riddick. Even he had fallen for her tricks after knowing her dangerous ways.

He didn't bite down any further. And he didn't bother with the axe anymore. Shaking Vaako in his jaws, though not enough to cause further damage he growled just loud enough for the Necromonger to hear. And then his grip on his neck relaxed. He licked at the wounds, tasting his blood, before standing and glaring down at him.

Vaako was certain when Riddick growled that it was the end. But much to his surprise, he felt his neck being released and Riddick standing. But Vaako didn't move. He knew his fate now, and waited stoically for the delivery of the death blow.

Which he seemed to be taking his sweet time delivering. The blood had matted on his fur before Vaako risked a look up at the Lord Marshall, wondering what was going on and why he was waiting.

Riddick waited until Vaako finally looked at him. He locked his eyes for a moment, removing his goggles to show his silvery eyes. He stared at this Necromonger, seeing the expectancy in them. He wondered if it would be a disappointment not to die for this creature. Then he turned and walked away, the crowds parting before him until he reached the doors to his own ship. He disappeared in those large halls, slipping into the shadows until he was in his own quarters.

It had taken him a long time to get used to calling this place "his". But it still wasn't home. He still lived here as if at any moment he'd vanish again, some crazy band of fucked up mercs on his tail.

The mercs had long since stopped tailing him. The last ship who appeared to collect him was taken care of by the people who now called him their leader. Riddick wasn't used to others taking over his fights. And at first it made him bristle. Now, it just made him wary.

Vaako's ears flicked backwards in surprise as he watched Riddick leave. The other Necromongers seemingly ignored his presence, acting as if the death blow had been delivered. The fact that Riddick had withheld the Underverse from him only confused him further.

Rising to his feet, he followed Riddick's trail to his personal quarters. After a moment's hesitation he raised his fist to the sealed door and knocked. "Lord Marshal?" he called out, hating the uncertainty in his voice that made him sound like a raw recruit.

Riddick thought he might be followed. His un-Necromonger ways still unsettled his underlings. And now Vaako had by all means been stripped of both his rank and social standing. If the Necromonger's revered death as much as they seemed to then his rebel didn't deserve it.

Riddick hated this ship. There were no windows. It felt claustrophobic most days.

His eyes flashed as he looked up from his meditative crouch in the corner. "What is it?" His voice rumbled soft and calmly, already back to his typical attitude of knowing more than he let on.

Vaako didn't take a visibly deep breath as he opened the door and stepped inside. So few were allowed into the Lord Marshall's chambers that he wasn't quite certain what to expect.

"I..." He wasn't going to ask why he was attacked. He had attacked Riddick to usurp his place, and there was no way around it. It was the aftermath that had him confused. And sick of Dame Vaako's subtle probing for information, he decided to take the blunt approach. "Why didn't you kill me?"

Riddick rose and walked over to Vaako. He placed himself a hair's width away from Vaako, reaching past the Necromonger's shoulder to push the door closed again. "Perhaps I should have," he sniffed at his wound. "Your race is slow despite their numbers." Still... he glanced down at his wounded arm, the dried blood still glistening a bit in his fur. He could feel his calf throbbing. It would need to be tended to soon.

He rounded Vaako, standing at his side. "But isn't death what you want? You call it 'Underverse' as if it's some slick prize." He sneered, close enough his breath was warm on Vaako's ear. Some days he thought death would be a blessing, if only some one worthy of killing him could come along. "Getting rid of you isn't what I want. Giving you your Underverse isn't what I want."

Vaako had immediately straightened up more as Riddick approached. He may have been disgraced and lost his standing in the Necromonger society, but old habits would die hard in him. Although defeated, he would not show further weakness.

Even though he had to suppress a shiver at Riddick's breath against his fur. He stared straight ahead, staying at military attention. "Then what do you want?" he asked.

Riddick could sense a slight... unease of sorts beneath the cool exterior of Vaako at his close proximity. His whiskered quivered slightly as he scented Vaako again. What did he want? "Your wife has left you. Your comrades will now avoid you... you have nothing." He inhaled his scent again, walking around to stand behind him.

"I have nothing," his voice dropped low. Fry. Kyra. The holy man... every one he had ever cared for, gone. So why was he taking the risk that he might care again? He leaned in, his sensitive nose barely brushing Vaako's shoulder as he took his scent in again... a scent he seemed unable to get enough of.

His ears twitched as Riddick outlined his bleak future. While not the most social of races, Vaako had leaned heavily on the support and guidance of his wife. That loss would be echoing in his soul for a long time.

His nostrils flared slightly, scenting the Lord Marshall, and puzzled by what he was smelling. Vaako's head snapped to the right to look Riddick in the eyes. "And what are you suggesting?" he asked.

Hunter and hunter, eye to eye. Riddick found himself suddenly so close to the other predator that his whiskers brushed the canine. He stared at him a moment before replying. "What is it you would like me to suggest?"

He wasn't so sure he was keen on his own idea. First he had to see how the other would react to the notion. Would Vaako accept his proposal? Or prefer to live in exile, where Riddick had just placed him?

Vaako stared at Riddick, not quite understanding his question. Was there a way to regain his status as if nothing had happened? As if he hadn't been publicly humiliated? But if so, why did Riddick bother to bring him low? Was this some sort of lesson?

"Lord Marshal," he said somewhat hesitantly. "Your ways are not our... Necromonger's ways." He couldn't be certain that he would ever be considered a Necromonger again with his defeat. "What must I do?"

Riddick found himself aroused by this confused and hesitant demeanor from a once high-standing member of Necromonger society. He had to refrain from touching and licking Vaako too soon in this hunt.

"You don't have to do anything," Riddick knew he'd be safe from further attacks by this Necromonger. He stepped around again to Vaako's side. "You'll be safe in these walls," referring to his personal quarters. He tilted his head just a bit, his usual hard to read and rigid body language speaking volumes now as he did brush up against the other. "And you're actions shouldn't be ones you think I want... but your own wants."

It was true he wasn't of their ways. He never would be. And he had never asked for this. To lead the very people who had taken everything he ever cared for away. Often he was tempted to abandon it.

Vaako's eyes widened slightly as he realized exactly what Riddick was saying. The brush of the feline's fur against his also left nothing to the imagination. A shiver ran through his frame, one that he couldn't even make a pretense at hiding.

Such pairings, while not unheard of among the Necromancers, was rare. But from his observation of the Lord Marshal, he never would have thought his desires would turn in his direction. "That is why you spared me?" he hazarded.

Riddick frowned. "I only kill when it's necessary," he said simply. "It wasn't you I spared, it was her." There was no question who the female he referred to was. And it was true, he had never seen Vaako as the true threat. It was that wife of his. And the only way to temporarily quiet her was to take away her tool.

The shiver hadn't gone ignored. Riddick tilted his head forward and licked Vaako's neck wound. The one he had received as a new Necromonger, just below the ear: the one Riddick has reopened.

The shiver returned as Vaako closed his eyes. So he had done it to spare her. It would take time for Dame Vaako to choose a new consort and manipulate him into a position to challenge the Lord Marshall. Much as he had been manipulated. It was a painful realization, and it didn't lessen his pain at her loss.

He leaned into those soft licks. He had only known pain and violence at Riddick's hands. It was surprising to find out that he could be gentle as well. And surprising to find that he felt some of the same stirrings he had felt with Dame Vaako. "My choice is exile or shelter here," he said, eyes blinking open. "I choose shelter."

Riddick gave the wound a few more soft licks. He knew Vaako was shocked by this other side of him. And was probably reeling from Dame Vaako's rejection. Right now wasn't the best time to go any further. "Clean yourself up," he didn't move from Vaako's side. "You can use mine," he referred to a door in his quarters, a personal bath and toilet.

Vaako nodded and moved off to the door Riddick had indicated without a word. He shut the door behind him, mind still turning over all the events that had conspired in the last hour. And this unexpected side of Riddick that had him equally puzzled. If the situation had been reversed, he would have killed Riddick without a second thought. The concept of mercy was known to the Necromongers only as a weakness.

And while he thought, he mechanically stripped off his decorated armor. Armor that he had fought so hard for, killed so many for, he wouldn't have the right to wear again. Letting the last of the metal drop to the floor, he stepped into the shower unit and turned on the water. he let the moisture soak into his fur, and his muscles relaxed.

Meanwhile Riddick closed his eyes as he lay curled on his bed. It had taken him a long time to get used to being safe in this room. Though he still had trouble letting down his guard, part of him always alert, never really asleep. Making his ears follow sounds and eyes slit open.

He wasn't a leader. Had never wanted the role. It was a far jump from his last life. People listened to him instead of cuffing him. There were still conspiracies behind his back, that much he knew would never change.

He rested until he could hear the door reopening and Vaako emerging. From the way he lay he didn't have to move to open his eyes and see his ex-enemy. So that was all he moved.

Vaako had stood under the hot water as long as he dared, trying not to think. But try as he might, he wasn't able to numb his mind. And he knew he would have to face his... destroyer? savior? So he stepped out of the shower, and shook himself dry. The glint of his helmet caught his eye and he nudged it with his foot. No, he couldn't bring himself to put his armor decorated with now meaningless rank insignias on again.

Instead he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out to where he knew Riddick would be waiting. Even though he was disgraced, Vaako still had some shreds of his pride. He would need clothing to wear, but he wasn't about to beg. Instead he waited silently for Riddick's next move.

Riddick's own garb consisted of forearm guards, a loin cloth/guard, and his thigh blades. He had kept the armor from the former Lord Marshal but he refused to don it. Wearing as little as possible was his own challenge to the rebels, who clad from head to toe and yet whose armor never did protect them from Riddick who barely dressed.

Seeing the vulnerable Vaako made Riddick's tail twitch. He didn't bother hiding his arousal as he looked Vaako over. He knew the Necromonger would need his armor. He would be dead meat without it. But seeing him without it... Riddick had to restrain himself as he glided off the bed and over to him.

"Does it bother you?" He spoke low, deep. "That I want you?" He stood to Vaako's side.

"It... confuses me," Vaako said. He hadn't thought himself attracted to males, but then his experience with them was limited to fellow soldiers he was ordering about or targets he was slaughtering. It had been years since he had been alone with another man that he wasn't actively trying to kill.

"You are the Lord Marshal," he said, almost as if he was explaining it more to himself than to Riddick. "By all rights, my life is forfeit to you. And yet you are protecting me, asking my permission. It is not the Necromonger way." Confused eyes sought out the other males. "I do not understand."

It had confused Riddick at first too. But never being one to hesitate, he reacted to it as he did with most things: when he saw a chance to do something about it, he did it. You didn't get far in life, or survive, if you hmm and hawed. "I am not a Necromonger," Riddick reminded him.

He reached up with his claws sheathed and lay his hand on Vaako's shoulder. "Or is it your reaction you don't understand?" The small scents of arousal with everything else Vaako was feeling had been picked out by Riddick's nose earlier.

"Yes." Like Riddick, he had survived by reacting and not overthinking his reaction. Only when he had started to listen to Dame Vaako did his doubts about the original Lord Marshall creep into his mind. Doubts about the Lord Marshall, whom he felt a sense of loyalty towards even as he and Dame Vaako plotted and schemed against him.

And doubts about himself. "I have never..." No, that wasn't quite the truth. There had been sparks of interest between him and other soldiers, but nothing that had been acted on. And never had he been in the submissive position. But something about this man made Vaako want to bare his throat to him, much as he had kneeled when Riddick killed the Holy Half Dead.

Riddick waited for Vaako to finish his line of thought, watching the hard face closely. The jaws who, if fast enough, very well could put him out in a single slash. He tilted his head in question after a few seconds. Only speaking when he realized he knew already what Vaako wasn't saying: "But you've wanted to."

Riddick edged closer as he stepped to the side, his chest against the other's back. So warm. Inviting. He had never taken another without consent... and if Vaako gave his consent he wasn't sure what the outcome would be. His want for this animal was nearly painful now. He breathed Vaako in deeply near his ear. "Do you want to with me?" Had he been able to purr, he would have.

Vaako's ear twitched as Riddick's words blew past, stirring his fur. He could feel the heat of his body radiating off of Riddick, warming his slightly damp fur. It had been a feeling that had been sublimated during his rise to power, tucked into a corner of his soul but never truly forgotten. And with his botched attempt at becoming the new Lord marshall that placed Riddick on the throne, he found those feelings growing again.

And Dame Vaako may have sensed those feelings. Never one to suffer a rival, she had began to urge him to take the throne for his own. Now he knew that he would not be sitting on the throne. There was no reason to deny those feelings, to listen to her voice whispering in her ear any longer. So he answered both questions with one word. "Yessss..."

That was all Riddick needed to hear. He pressed heavily against Vaako, arms wrapping around and stripping the towel away from his grasp. Claws unsheathed in a blink, digging into Vaako's thighs. The armor protecting his loins had been shed, leaving just a cloth between him and his need.

He ground against Vaako with a growl, claws digging deeper into the other's thighs. "How do you see us together?" His growl dripped with lust into Vaako's ear.

Vaako bared his teeth in soft growl as his head jerked backed to look Riddick in his quicksilver eyes. His nostrils flared at the scent of his blood oozing out from under Riddick's claws. Groin to groin, he could feel the Lord Marshall's arousal, and his body responding.

"Rough," he growled. His jaws snapped close to Riddick's muzzle. His claws were not nearly as long or sharp as the Lord Marshall's, but he dug them into the small of his back.

Riddick bared his teeth, tongue snaking out between them to lick Vaako's muzzle. "Yeah, fits you," he rumbled. He nipped at his muzzle. Relaxing his claws he brought them up, sniffing at them before licking them clean. The blood scent and taste sending his senses reeling.

He pointed back to the bath and toilet. He would not be replacing his bed and doors by having his lover drive him to a mad sexual frenzy in this part of his personal quarters. The bath portion was sturdier and could handle the abuse he knew they'd be dealing out.

"Crawl," he ordered, eyes heavy with sexual yearning.

And Vaako's eyes never left Riddick's. His lips pulled back from his teeth even further as he glared up at the Lord Marshall. His hackles rose as his fingers curled into fists. He may have been stripped of his standing, but part of him still thought like the high ranked warrior that he had been.

"Make me," he growled.

With the swiftness he was known for Riddick had his hand between Vaako's legs. He squeezed gently. Massaged teasingly. Pumped his length with slow, firm movements. All the while staring at Vaako. He started to kneel, legs barely bending and lips parting.

But he paused and straightened up again. Then claws began to unsheathe. Just the tips. A tug on Vaako's cock, slowly increasing in strength as his claws slowly threatened to dig deeper into the sensitive organ. "I said crawl," he growled.

He stared into Riddick's eyes defiantly although he just wanted to melt. But he didn't intend to cede to his dominance, until his claws lanced tender flesh. Although Necromongers were tough, there were some pains that just couldn't be borne. He let out a soft whimper and gave a slight nod.

Once the claws were safely retracted, Vaako dropped heavily to his knees, much like he had when he first acknowledged Riddick as the new Lord Marshall. Only he continued downwards to prostrate himself on all fours, head bowed low. Turning and keeping his tail tucked between his legs, he crawled to the bathroom as Riddick had ordered.

Following a few seconds later Riddick stood in the doorway, gazing at Vaako for several more seconds. How strange things had turned out. It wasn't long ago Riddick too had knelt in front of Vaako, though of course not of his own will but from injuries. Despite having ordered the Necro to his hands and knees he found himself needing more contact.

Coming to Vaako's side he ran his hand down his neck and back to his tail. His claws lightly penetrated the fur. Lightly scratched the skin beneath on the second pass. Kneeling next to Vaako he grabbed his braids and pulled his head back sharply. He licked Vaako's muzzle, teeth nipping at his whiskers.

Vaako's lips curled back as he felt Riddick's breath on his muzzle. Balanced on his fingertips, he tried to relieve the pressure on his neck, but made no real effort to get away from his muzzle. A long shiver ran through his frame as his hind quarters shifted, seeking a new center of balance.

Riddick's touches were... strange to him. The only time he had touched or been touch was when fighting. Even with Dame Vaako, their caresses had been a thinly veiled challenge for dominance. But he sensed no challenge in Riddick's touch. An assertion of dominance, but no question as to who was in charge at this moment.

Riddick rumbled softly and ran his tongue over Vaako's exposed canines. Though blunt they were broader and stronger than his own, crushing where his would pierce. Like their claws. Like their beliefs.

Releasing his braids Riddick rubbed the side of his muzzle along Vaako's, licking gently. His hand rested on his neck, massaging, claw tips teasingly scratching.

He couldn't help himself. Vaako leaned into those teasing touches of claw and tongue. His whole body shifted to lean against the tiger, muscles relaxing. Slowly his tail untucked from between his hind legs.

Tentatively, wondering exactly where the boundaries were that he wouldn't be allowed to cross, he nuzzled Riddick back. And he wondered what he could do encourage Riddick to continue making that sexy, low rumble.

Riddick sighed as Vaako responded to his attention. Scent glands on his face would be marking Vaako as his as he rubbed his jowls along Vaako's neck and jaw. He encouraged Vaako closer, hands scratching down his neck to his shoulders.

His tail contentedly wove from side to side in a slow arch on the floor. His rumbled fluctuated as his attentions became more detailed and encouraging. He gently nipped into Vaako's neck fur. Grazing his skin but not breaking it. His hands scratched lower to the small of Vaako's back.

His first impulse was to pull away from his fangs, to protect his vulnerable neck. But he held stock still, especially when the teeth grazed the circular scars. Slowly Vaako shifted his weight to his outside hand. His inside hand slowly reached around to stroke up the inside of his leg. Another shiver ran through his frame at the feel of rough fur under his palms.

And in spite of himself, something happened that hadn't happened in years. Not even with Dame Vaako, not since he had been initiated into the Necromongers. His tail began to wag.

At the feel of Vaako's hand, Riddick's nostrils flared and scented deeply. The smell of arousal was almost intoxicating now. He pressed closer to the Necro with a moan. Pulling away so his silvery eyes could look at Vaako.

"More," he rumbled, eyes slitted. He placed his own hand on Vaako's inner thigh. Fingers teased upward, claw tips barely unsheathed to tease.

Vaako's trembling was constant now. His legs splayed a little wider for both balance and to allow Riddick easier access. He breathed heavily of their mingled scents, eyes almost slitting shut to better concentrate on it.

And to concentrate on his touch. Slowly Vaako's hand crept higher up Riddick's leg, shifting and swirling against his fur. It wasn't that different from touching a female, he thought. And just as pleasurable.

Riddick found himself having to reign his needs. He needed to move faster, harder. He needed to slam this canine against a wall and take him rough. But something in Vaako's first-time ways was... endearing. Much as he hated to admit it he liked letting the Necro explore at his own pace. He murmured softly, shifting his hips to press his cock closer to that hand as he too crept higher and eventually was touching Vaako's length.

He growled lowly as he felt the throbbing flesh in his hand, claws sheathed this time. He stroked it's length slowly, pressing a fingertip into the swollen vein on the underside. It was too much. He needed him. Now. Claws out he pushed Vaako back down on his hands and knees. In a flash of orange fur he was crouching behind him, rising up and resting his crown at Vaako's puckered entrance.

As Riddick had reached between his legs, Vaako had threatened to fly apart from how hard he was shaking. His hand had almost ghosted along Riddick's length when he found himself being smashed back to the floor, air knocked from his lungs and jaws coming together with an audible click.

But the return of roughness snapped Vaako back to himself. This he knew how to answer while those gentle touches left him baffled. He was torn by the desire to back against Riddick, to push himself onto him. But instead he twisted his head, trying to snap at the wrist and arm that had pinned him by the neck to the cold floor.

Riddick's hand withdrew from his neck with a snap, instinct kicking in. Before he could let Vaako escape both sets of claws dug hard into the Necro's thighs. He growled and pulled hard while pressing with his hips.

Raising his head he roared as he was driven in up to his hilt. Vaako was tight. Painfully tight. And hot. His cock throbbed with his fast heartbeat.

Vaako let out a roar of his own, ears flat against his head. The ten stabbing pains in his thighs was nothing compared to the pain below his tail. He could smell his own blood mingling and enhancing their shared scent of arousal.

His claws scraped against the tile of the floor as he dropped his head lower, trying to find some position to relieve the pain. But there were no other attempts to snap at Riddick, knowing that would only bring additional pain.

Riddick shook at the intensity of the pain and pleasure that swept through him. He held his position for several minutes before moving again. When he did move it was a slow withdrawal to his crown, back to where the waves of pain and pleasure had begun.

Forcing his claws to relax he sheathed them, gripping Vaako with just his fingers. Those too he forced to release their grip, coming up to stroke Vaako's back, fingers soothing the fur. Fur that was soft beneath it's rough surface, almost downy smooth.

Reaching to his neck he grasp a hand full of braids and gently tugged Vaako back up to where his muzzle could reach him. He had dealt him a lesson but now Riddick wanted to prepare him properly. Beneath his tail Riddick was stroking himself, spreading his seed along his length for lubrication.

Riddick rumbled as Vaako licked him, his own tongue flicking past bared teeth to lick the Necro's mouth. Hands stroked Vaako's arms, ruffling the fur backwards as they came to rest on his upper arms.

Pressing his crown against the Necro once more he made this time much slower, giving them both time to adjust to each other. He pressed in slowly, pausing and withdrawing several times to give Vaako a chance to stretch. When his thighs finally pressed against Vaako's he shivered at the feeling of his once-enemy surrounding him.

Vaako was quivering as well, thighs tense despite the efforts to relax. But now they were tense for a different reason. The pain had mostly disappeared, leaving only a pressure that shocked him by how good it felt. His tail, forced to one side and pinned between their loins, twitched the barest beginnings of a wag.

His jaws parted wider at the taste of Riddick's tongue. Again he nipped at Riddick, but this time much gentler, clearly with a different intent.

With the change in demeanor of Vaako, Riddick too relaxed. His teeth disappeared though he continued to lick Vaako's mouth. Easing his thighs up to the Necro's he slitted his eyes in bliss. How strange that such opposites always attracted. Though they really were not so different.

Running fingers through the fur down Vaako's side and between his legs Riddick gripped his cock. Setting a slow pace now that his seed had lubricated the way his hand followed in tune with the gentle pumping of his hips.

Vaako let out a quiet gasp as the large hand wrapped around his cock. He let out a soft hiss, arching his lower back. His body felt on fire where Riddick's touched his body - thighs and flanks and back and cock.

This didn't feel like relations with his wife. Everything about her had been cold - her touches her passions. She had inspired a need in him, but not one that had lit such a fire in his belly. Whimpering, he shoved back against Riddick, wanting more.

Riddick ran his tongue over his curled lips. This was becoming more than he had hoped for, his soldier demanding more. Leaning close to Vaako's ear he licked it slowly. "Tell me," he growled, both hands and hips pausing for the moment. "Tell me how you want it, Vaako. I need to hear it." He was breathing hard in anticipation. But he wouldn't budge until he heard, in detail, what his good little soldier wanted from him.

His finger and toe claws scraped against the tile of the floor as Riddick's breath ghosted past his ears. But how to ask for something he never had before? He wasn't certain what to ask for. Or more accurately, how to ask for it.

"I want..." he started and trailed off. "Hard. Rough." He shoved backwards again, trying to let his body tell him what he couldn't verbalize.

Hips jerked forward against the shove, a hissing growl leaving his curled lips as his eyes slitted. His hand fondled, teased Vaako's impressive cock for an instant. It's weight felt good in Riddick's pawhand but he'd need both hands to steady himself. Could he make Vaako scream by just brutally fucking him? He smirked at the thought. If not, all the more fun.

Releasing Vaako's cock he steadied both hands on his hips. He started out slow, groaning softly and licking Vaako's ear. If he bowed to a god he might be whispering it's name right now.

Straightening his spine he braced his weight against Vaako's hips, thrusts coming faster and faster. Harder. Until he was baring his fangs, growling with each brutal entrance, fingers gripping tighter claws puncturing hips slamming.

Vaako's lips curled back from his teeth as Riddick's claws sank into his hips. His nostrils were widely dilated, taking in the bathroom's scent of sex and blood. Each thrust ripped a sharp grunt from his throat. Each thrust brought a renewed spike of pain and pleasure both inside and out.

And there was little more that he could do but crouch there and take it. This was unlike anything he had experienced with Dame Vaako. And despite the pain, or maybe because of it, he dropped his shoulders lower, pushing his hindquarters higher into Riddick's brutal pummeling.

It had been too long since Riddick had taken a mate. It made him vulnerable. Right now if his enemies chose to attack he's be defenseless, easily taken down in the mixture of needs to mate and defend himself. It made him dull, his sharp senses clogged with this needless desire.

And he could care less in his rapture. If he died now he'd die happy.

As Vaako adjusted the angle he snarled, teeth gnashing thin air full of the scents of sex and male musk. Hunching his shoulders he grunted with each thrust, his climax on the verge. With a roar he slammed into Vaako, hips jerking as he erupted inside him.

Vaako let out a loud yell feeling Riddick surge inside of him. The pain and pleasure and heat all blended together and he felt himself letting go without his cock being touched. His legs were trembling from the effort to hold up their combined weight.

Slowly his back legs gave out. He sank to the floor, going limp beneath Riddick. The submissive posture felt alien to him, but he didn't have the energy in the post orgasmic haze to move. One ear remained flicked back to listen for Riddick's moments, wondering what would be next.

Panting, Riddick got to his hands and knees, hovering over Vaako. Bending down he licked Vaako's neck. Raising his head he watched Vaako for a moment, aware of how vulnerable the Necro was. Something reminding him of Fry, though the resemblance in this moment, and her last, stopped there.

Licking one hand clean he crawled down Vaako to his thigh, sniffing where his claws had dug in for balance. "Get up," he spoke, still crouched on all fours.

The fur stirring on the back of his neck from his breath, Vaako had expected to feel Riddick's teeth clamp down as well. Instead he held stock still as his tongue rasped over his fur. Slowly his ears came forward as he felt Riddick's breath travel down his spine to his flanks.

Mastering protesting muscles Vaako rose to a crouch. His thighs were sore from Riddick's claws, as did his whole hindquarters from the pounding he had received. But slowly and with some dignity he pushed further upwards and slowly rose to his feet. He locked his knees to stop the trembling from the pain as he locked eyes with Riddick.

Riddick looked up at Vaako, slowly running his tongue over his whiskers. Vaako's scent right in front of him was intoxicating. The sex and blood overwhelming his nostrils. Reaching up he rubbed the Necro's lower back, leaning forward to lick his thigh, rumbling at the taste of his blood.

Proceeding to clean the fur around the wound he slowly worked down to the five gashes, gently cleaning them with slow laps. He would have to take care not to cause so much damage next time, he didn't want to exhaust the canine's levels of tolerance and pain acceptance.

Vaako hissed at first as that talented tongue dragged over fur that had already began to matt with dried blood. His hands came to rest on Riddick's shoulders for balance. The wounds would heal eventually and just be another set of scars. Like the ones he had gained becoming a Necromonger, or in his service to the previous Lord Marshal. Those were worn with a sense of pride, a badge of honor.

These, however, he knew he would feel different about. They were much more intimate, much more personal. And a reminder of his new position in life. He was no longer the up and coming commander of the Necromongers. Exactly what he was now he'd have to figure out.

Riddick thoroughly cleaned the right thigh, rumbling softly. Where moments ago he had been violent he was completely on the other side now. He didn't want Vaako to always be waiting for an order. He wasn't a leader. This wasn't his life. He would have to slowly wean Vaako from his soldier mindset. They were equals if Vaako saw it now or not.

Looking up at Vaako he made his next movements slow and deliberate, licking the length of the sheath protecting and hiding his member. His tongue didn't stop it's trail, slipping off the tip of the sheath to his belly. Rumbling softly he nuzzled the Necro's side.

Vaako's ears flicked back in surprise when the tiger's touches softened. The hot tongue working through the short fur sent quivers through his body. Lightly his fingers kneaded the firm muscles of Riddick's shoulders. And some of his tension drained out of his muscles. It was easier to react than to think. Especially with Riddick's breath stirring against his belly.

Riddick wanted Vaako to realize they were equals but he was willing to kneel to the Necro for only so long. Cleaning his other thigh he rubbing his chin along Vaako's hip and then stood. Turning he set the shower going, steam swirling out of the tub in thick clouds.

Without submitting an invitation to Vaako he didn't tell him to get lost either as he entered the shower's hot comfort.

Vaako blinked for a moment, standing there wondering what to do next. He stank of blood and sex, although oddly enough, Riddick's musk smelled a pleasant compliment to his own. But pleasant scent or not, he wanted to get a shower and let the hot water ease out some of the aches of his muscles.

Even though there was a tiger already occupying the tub. But even though a soldier's discipline had been drilled into him, one did not become higher ranking in the Necromonger's army by not taking the initiative on occasion. Since Riddick didn't seemed inclined to kill him (yet), Vaako decided to take a chance on receiving another beating and stepped in behind him.

Riddick's ear flicked backwards as the Necro stepped in behind him. His tail flicked against Vaako's ankles. Turning he greeted Vaako with a lick to his muzzle, hands on his shoulders drawing him to the side so they both stood in the hot spray of the shower.

Turning and bending slightly he reached behind Vaako's thigh to grab a bar of soap, coming up and pulling closer to start rubbing the bar behind Vaako's ears.

The water hitting his fur felt wonderful, as did Riddick's touches. The gentleness in his greeting and touches surprised Vaako. And confused him further. Dominance displays were almost a daily occurrence in Necromonger society. Even when with Lady Vaako during his relaxed downtimes, there had still been a testing, one that he had lost more than one, if forced to admit it.

It was because of that confusion that his guard slipped. "I don't understand," Vaako said. "You should have killed me. Any other Lord Marshal would have. The others... they'll see it as a weakness."

Riddick paused in his grooming of Vaako for an instant, regarding him steadily with silvery eyes. He resumed rubbing the soap into the brown fur along his shoulders after several heart beats. "I am not one of you," the sigh was silent, a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But if I'm to... rule I may need your help." The word 'rule' felt heavy on his tongue.

Vaako blinked, his frown becoming more pronounced in his confusion. "I did not think you wished to rule." And despite himself, Vaako found himself sinking backwards into the touches on his back. But Riddick was right. He would need help if he wished to remain in power. And because Vaako didn't feel it was his due time to die, it would be up to him to provide that assistance. "What do you need me to do?"

He did not wish to rule. But the alternative was even less tasty. These Necros had taken everything he cared for. He wasn't going to let them take anything else from him.

"Tell me what I need to stay alive," his hands reached Vaako's lower back and paused, coming around to his chest in the same scrubbing motion.

It was hard to think with the feel of Riddick's hands digging into the fur of his chest. But Vaako closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate. What was it that Dame Vaako had always said they would do to consolidate power? Crush any opposition from Toal or Scales was the first, but there was something else...

"The Threshold," Vaako murmured, opening his eyes to look squarely at the tiger. "You need to make the pilgrimage to the Threshold. Every Lord Marshal has done so. Otherwise, there will be those who say you are no true Lord Marshal, but a pretender to the throne." And he knew who would behind the whispers.

"So I become like him? Some holy half dead?" Riddick smiled, though it wasn't out of humor. "A lot of good it did him: there were those who still whispered." He wasn't sure he wanted to be one of those things. He didn't even remember what he was actually was. What was a Furyan? All he could remember was him, hovering. Bits and glimpses of his past but he had so much more to learn.

What had swept through him, clearing his foes in his final hours on Crematoria?

He had to put that aside. Again. Though he doubted he'd ever be considered the rightful leader he would need the powers to back his claim if not protect, keep, it. He brought his eyes back to Vaako, hands now scrubbing at his sensitive... exposed belly. "Take me to the Threshold."

Vaako's stomach muscles flexed at the touches. "You are the Lord Marshal," he reminded Riddick. Probably unnecessarily, but it bore repeating. "Just issue the order and we will take you there."

"As for the whispers, most of those came from one person." Vaako's voice became distant as he started thinking tactics, the soldier coming to the fore. "No doubt she is already stirring dissent. Possibly has her eyes on who she will be able to manipulate easily." Much as he had been manipulated. "And take another consort." His ears dipped slightly at that painful thought. Despite everything she had done to him, he had truly loved her.

It was said that Necromongers felt no pain. That wasn't quite true. Physical pains could be blunted, shunted aside, and embraced and absorbed. But mental pains, those were harder to deal with.

Riddick's scrubbing hands slowed and eventually stopped as he saw the grief pass over Vaako's face. He narrowed his eyes as he looked away. Drawing Vaako against him he took a breath and rubbed his hands up Vaako's arms.

"I want you there with me," he admitted.

Without thinking what Riddick had meant, Vaako answered. "That will not be permitted. Only the Lord Marshal is allowed to look upon the Threshold. Even the ships approach it aftwards..." But if he misunderstood the words, Riddick's actions sunk into his brain. And all he could do was stare speechlessly, mouth hanging open, at the Lord Marshal.

"Rule with me," Riddick watched Vaako closely. He didn't care what was permitted. He wasn't one of them and things in his wake would change.

At first Vaako wasn't certain that he had heard Riddick correctly. What he had been working towards diligently under his consort's guidance. And the moment that he was out from under her manipulative thumb, he obtained it.

He opened his mouth to protest that it was not the Necromonger way, but realized that as Riddick had pointed out, he wasn't one of them. If Riddick was to have a chance at staying alive until his due time, he would need Vaako's help. If Vaako was to survive and have a chance to regain his former status, he would need Riddick's help. "Yes," the canine nearly hissed and then stepped closer to kiss Riddick on the mouth.

Riddick kissed his hard, pulling his close and felt his sheath rubbed against the other's. Slamming his against the wall he broke the kiss. "Do not let it go to your head," he said flatly and for an instant he wondered if he could trust the Necromonger.

Reaching between them he rubbed Vaako's sheath, the first signs of arousal showing from the emerging pink head and gradual filling. He gently pinched the loose skin and used it to rub the hidden cock up and down, encouraging it.

And Vaako was wondering the same thing. Except that the hand massaging his groin made it hard to think. His hands went to Riddick's shoulders to brace himself, blunt claws digging into the striped fur. Back against the wall, there wasn't much room for him to maneuver. Not that it mattered - he didn't want to pull away from Riddick's talented hand.

Still there was a curiosity, or perhaps a desire to see how far his boundaries were. Slowly one hand drifted from Riddick's shoulder down to his chest to feel the firm muscles there.

Riddick rumbled at the touch, tilting his head to lick Vaako's neck. His hand slowed, keeping his touches light and sporadic. "Lower," he encouraged. Though seeing Vaako's hunger for power had nerved him somewhat he still wanted to be on equal terms with the canine.

"Turn me," he added, knowing Vaako's earlier pummeling would have him too sore to enjoy Riddick.

Vaako's hand, which had slid down to feel the well formed abdominal muscles, pauses when he heard Riddick's voice. He wasn't offering what Vaako thought he was offering. Could he?

Still the Lord Marshal had given him an order, and he was a soldier. Taking Riddick's hips in either hand, he rotated Riddick to where he was facing away from him. A vulnerable position in some respects, and an easy way for Vaako to regain and surpass his lost status would be to snap the unprotected Lord Marshal's neck.

But he didn't do that. Instead his hand resumed stroking the rippling belly, working his way down to the sheath, just barely touching the firm head that was emerging.

An approving rumble. Riddick closed his eyes at the touch knowing well enough this could be a mistake. What, or who, else did he have to lose though? Vaako was a risk he was willing to take.

Pressing back against the canine he turned his head to look at him, eyes hooded and afire. Reaching back with both hands he inched away to move his tail to the side. Hands on Vaako's hips he pressed back again, rubbing against the canine's emerging member.

Still not quite believing what Riddick was offering, it took Vaako a moment to move. He squatted slightly to achieve the proper angle as his hands slid down to his hips. His claws dug into the striped fur as he pushed against the puckered hole.

If you had asked him earlier, he would have said that there was no softness to this man. Like most warriors he knew, there was only hardness and unrelenting will. But much to his surprise, He felt his cock being allowed entry and surrounded by a different sort of heat.

A hiss and his head tilted back as he felt Vaako enter. Fingers flexed slightly on Vaako's hips but otherwise just encouraged him deeper until his hips rested firmly against Riddick. Turning his head he nipped at Vaako's muzzle.

Before meeting this Necro he would never have guessed he'd derive pleasure from a male, much less a former enemy. But he felt like ... home. Or as much of one Riddick had ever had.

Vaako kept a firm grip on Riddick's hips as he felt his body nestle against the Lord Marshal's. It was like, and yet unlike his trysts with Dame Vaako. He was just as hot and as tight. There was a friction that was new and exciting to him.

Drawing in a deep breath, Vaako pulled back and thrust forward. His fingers tightened in Riddick's fur as he repeated the motion. His eyes closed in bliss as he returned Riddick's nips with bites of his own.

Riddick moaned, the pressure beneath his tail something he had been wanting... But did not know he needed. Vaako was being slower, kinder than he had but all the same, it was home and didn't matter how it came to him.

Moving his hands from Vaako's hips he ran them down his chest to his member, one wrapping firmly around himself while the other braced against the wall. He timed his strokes to Vaako's thrusts, groaning and eyes slitting.

The groan encouraged him onwards. Gaining confidence, Vaako pushed harder and faster into Riddick's welcoming body. His hands moved from his thighs to his chest, fingers digging through the stripped fur. It was strange to feel firm pectorals instead of soft breasts beneath his palms, but he found himself liking the difference. Turning his muzzle, he nipped at Riddick's ear, breathing heavily into it.

Riddick grunted, teeth clinched as he matched Vaako's speed. "Vaako..." His voice surprised him, the passion, lust... And Vaako's name on it. Turning his head he locked hooded eyes with the canine, inviting his tongue to dance as he pressed his muzzle at an angle to the canine's. He was close, could feel himself building, balls climbing...

Vaako could feel the pressure building between his legs the longer he pumped himself into the tiger. Hearing his name, seeing the lust in Riddick's eyes intensified that even more. Feeling Riddick's tongue stab into his mouth pushed him over the edge. His claws dug into Riddick's pecks as he let out a loud grunt as he came.

Riddick growled in feeling a white hot pain inside him, hips jerking as his seed sprayed the shower wall. Panting softly, he mused how sex was one of the only things that tired him... And yet it usually was over too soon. Rumbling deep in his chest he licked Vaako's nose as he pulled away to turn and face him, arms around his neck, head tilting to kiss him tenderly.

Vaako had been panting heavily, as if he had fought a long, pitched battle. Riddick's tender touches still left him baffled. But he felt himself enjoying them immensely. And he found himself returning them as well. Soft kisses were placed against his mouth, and a long, wet tongue lightly caressed one of Riddick's canine teeth.

Reaching behind him Riddick turned the water off without breaking the kiss. There were few things Riddick was tender about. Women. Children. A lover. Lovers were so few and far between and rarely people he'd allow to stay in his fucked up life for long. This time... it was different. While he still thought of Vaako as a potential threat there was also thoughts of... other potentials. This pilgrimage to the threshold would answer his unasked questions about the soldier and where exactly he stood.

Breaking away from Vaako he stepped from the canine and grabbed a towel, an air vent opening and blowing warm air next to the shower where he stood. Wrapping the towel around Vaako's shoulders he rubbed it into his neck fur.

For the second time in recent memory, his tail began to wag. That was unbecoming a Necromonger warrior, but it was happening all the same. Not even Dame Vaako, despite her considerable prowess, had been able to inspire his tail to wag. But something about the Lord Marshal's touch just inspired his tail to start moving when his guard was down.

He stepped a little closer to the vent, fluffing his fur to allow the heat to reach his skin. Turning around he took a towel from Riddick and began to dry his chest. "You will have to give the order to the navigator to take you to the Threshold," he commented. None of the others would listen to him now that he had failed in his assassination attempt. "It will be a journey of several days to reach it even traveling at faster than light speeds."

Flicking an ear Riddick began to rub himself down with a towel. "I didn't know we were that close," he mused. Another trip in cyrosleep where he wouldn't sleep at all. He wondered if the female Furyan would visit again., help him remember.

Still slightly damp he took a curry comb and began to brush the dead fur from his chest. "She will not like seeing you rule alongside an outsider, are you ready to keep her in check?"

Vaako flicked an ear back in a rare display of humor. "No one will like seeing me ruling along side of you. There has always been only one Lord Marshal, although there were those who were groomed their successors." There would be those who protested, but the Lord Marshal's word would be considered law.

"As for keeping her in check..." Vaako rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "She will be difficult to handle. She will not move openly against you, but use a pawn." Much as he had been used. Although his affections for her had been honest, Vaako wondered how much of hers were an act, and if any were genuine. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she has not already chosen another to partner with." No longer would she be Dame Vaako, although that would always be how he thought of her.

Idly Riddick wondered how long the canine would mourn his love for the little bitch. Every time she was mentioned he had a look in his eyes, brows and forehead. Tossing the curry comb aside he stalked back into his quarters, taking the various straps for his blades and abdomen guards to his body. Last were his goggles.

He glanced at Vaako. "You haven't been stripped of rank, but if it's too early to reveal this then stay here. I'll send for you." How long would the fleet take to prepare for their journey?

Vaako let out a harsh snort as he followed Riddick back to the the main room. "I lost my rank the moment that I hit the floor. They're probably already fighting to see who will take my position." It was the Necromonger way, and their society was quick to fill any vacuum in the power structure.

His ears flicked back thoughtfully as he pulled on the undersuit that padded his body armor. "It would be best for you not to summon me until just before we arrive at the Threshold. Let everyone think that I am just your bedwarmer for the moment. It will keep everyone off balance that way."

Riddick flicked his tail tip in acknowledgment and departed. Let the soldier wallow in his memories of the bitch for a while... He stopped short on his way down the hall. Jealousy was making him spiteful, and for what? Was the canine's companionship so important to him? He had lost his own in the past, knew exactly what his once-enemy was going through.

It was one of many things he'd have to sort out on the journey, his emotions. Though his expression never changed he wondered if his anger would finally explode while he waited for the threshold.

Stalking to his throne he signaled to the nearest Necro. "To the Threshold," his blank and unnerving stare halted the questions before they reach the Necro's lips. He watched the hesitancy change back to obedience on the commander's face. Settling into his throne he waited, mind turning.

Vaako knew that Riddick wasn't pleased with his decision to stay behind. But there were customs and expectations in the Necromonger society that couldn't be overturned in one day.

Or was that really the truth? Was he hiding, unwilling to face those who he had fought beside and led? Or more accurately, was he hiding from the female he had partnered with? The one who had encouraged him and drove him onto the position he had obtained? Who had goaded him into attacking Riddick and then abandoned him upon his defeat?

It was something he would have to puzzle out. And also his conflicted feelings towards the new Lord Marshal. It hadn't been a hatred or even a dislike that had let Vaako to attack him. He come to feel, thanks to Dame Vaako's whisperings, that although Riddick had ascended to the Necromonger throne by honored means, a nonbeliever had no right to be leading the faithful. And yet here Vaako was helping Riddick cement his rule. Was it because he knew if Riddick fell, he would as well, or was there something more altruistic motivating him?

And that was the big question. One that he wanted an answer to before he appeared voluntarily in public again. But if Riddick summoned him, he would come.

Riddick oversaw the preparations for the pilgrimage, indulged his commander in a brief celebration and tolerated a brief toast for the crowds sake.

Slipping away like a ghost he knelt in a dark confines of a large statue, reflecting on the last 48 hours. The masses had finally retired, giving Riddick a day to rest and mentally prepare himself before his entrance into the Threshold.

The night before their arrival Riddick slipped back into his quarters, seeking the counsel and, though he didn't want to admit it, comfort from Vaako's presence. "We are close," he said upon entering, closing the double doors behind him.

When Riddick didn't return, at first Vaako was worried. He didn't think that an assassination attempt would be made so quickly after his botched failure, but there might be someone foolhardy enough to try. However as time passed on, and no one came to claim Riddick's quarters as the property of the Lord Marshal, Vaako relaxed. Which left him time to plan out the next steps of what would come.

Still it was a relief to see Riddick return. And he had to admit, it wasn't just because that the Lord Marshal still retained his position. For the first time in a long while, Vaako had felt... lonely. But his training as both a Necromonger and a soldier would not allow him to show those feelings to the Lord Marshal. And the new relationship between him and Riddick as, dare he think lovers, was too new for him to risk it.

Besides, now was the time for instruction. Time was drawing near, and Riddick needed to know what was expected of him. "When we make the final approach, just outside of visual distance of the Threshold, the ship will reverse 180 degrees and approach aftward. Only you will be allowed to look upon the Threshold as a living one. Others, like myself, must wait until it is our due time, or until this plane has been purified."

Riddick bit back the urge to grab Vaako by the neck with his jaws, seduce him and then take him voraciously. The soldier was all business after being left alone for 2 days. Infuriating. But Riddick hid it with his cool gaze, eyes ungoggled.

He had one night before he'd be forever changed. No going back. And he wasn't about to let this Necro make it a night of discussing traditions and culture and "the Necromonger way". While he considered walking back out the door he was approaching Vaako, standing chest to chest.

And Vaako held his stare and his ground as the Lord Marshal approached. Those silver eyes were unnerving, but fitting on Riddick's face. It was easy to get lost in those reflective eyes. Eyes he could get used to waking up to stare into...

Vaako pulled himself out of that thought. The relief of seeking Riddick was now giving way to anger. True he had not been worried during his absence, but now he was wondering what had happened during his two day absence. "Where were you?" he growled softly.

Riddick's ears perked. So the Necro had been just as angry as he at being left alone. He had given him the choice though. "Not where I wanted to be," he rumbled, ending in a growl.

He stepped closer, threatening to push Vaako by their sheer proximity. A hand gripped Vaako before he could move back, though Riddick knew the Necro would have done no such thing. He held Vaako where he stood, a hand on his shoulder and bodies nearly pressing.

It was odd how Vaako's rising anger was cooling his own. Riddick wondered what Vaako had been thinking while he was gone, what suspicions rested in his mind. He kept his own gaze calm, ignoring the bared teeth and pinned ears and focused on his eyes.

"Here."

Vaako's teeth clenched harder. It was a rare occurrence, but Riddick was managing to get under his skin and irritate him. Only one other person had managed that. And he wasn't certain he was entirely comfortable with the implications of that. "Then why didn't you return?"

Starting to become amused Riddick spread his whiskers, flicked them before they resettled. "Wasn't sure I would be welcomed," indeed, had the situation not been found humorous as it were now he wasn't sure he could handle Vaako's love sickness undertones about his ex mate. He had stayed away from sheer jealousy at Vaako's feelings. "Did you want me here?"

And that was the question when it came down to it. What he had been thinking over during Riddick's absence. What he hadn't been able to admit to himself earlier, but seemed so crystal clear at the moment. "Yes," was all that Vaako would say. His eyes stayed locked on Riddick's, not willing to show any further weakness.

Riddick's gaze softened. He had wanted to be here as well, but had decided to give Vaako some time. Time to think, dwell, whatever he needed. Wasn't everyday the Lord Marshal defeated you, your mate left you, and then the Lord Marshal seduced you.

"I'm here now..." he rumbled, he could care less about weaknesses. He was sick of being alone to protect those he loved. He had no one. But if Vaako would have him he was one that Riddick wouldn't have to worry about. A trained Necromonger soldier succumbing to merc weapons?

Tilting his head the feline gently bit the Necro's neck, teeth barely grazing flesh. "...if you'll have me."

Vaako's eyes shut as he felt the fangs descent on his neck. This one was different from Riddick's dominating bites. These were tender just slightly more forceful than a kiss. No one had ever bitten him like this, and it was easy to get addicted to them.

But there was something he had to know. "Are you asking me as the Lord Marshal? Or as Riddick?" One meant as a companion, one meant as a mere pawn and source of information. He had played the role of pawn with Dame Vaako from day one, and he was sick of it. No more, he promised himself, even if it meant that he had to walk away and forge his own path to the Threshold.

Riddick licked the tiny purification scar beneath Vaako's ear. His hand descended from the shoulder and moved to pull him closer about the hips. "With you," he nuzzled his ear. "There is no Lord Marshal." The very title sometimes brought bile to his throat, he despised it and yet needed it.

Vaako trembled slightly at Riddick's words and the light flick of the tongue. His jaw moved once, and then a gain, no sound coming out. It was the third time that he managed to whisper "yes" as his hands clasped Riddick's flanks.

Riddick moaned lowly. That single word was all he wanted to hear. No more loneliness. No more death. Vaako would willingly share his life, though Riddick might still have to wean him of some habits that 'rank' had ingrained into him.

Nuzzling his neck with his nose Riddick inhaled slowly, releasing the breath in a sigh. Raising his muzzle he licked Vaako's short whiskers, inviting his tongue to join his in a kiss.

The tension that Vaako didn't realize he had been carrying in his shoulders melted away at that gentle nuzzling. Whiskers twitching at the light flicks, he twisted his head and returned the gesture. At first the tongue flicks were light, but they quickly became more serious as the kiss became deeper. The hands at Riddick's flanks dug in harder, blunt claws scratching against his skin.

For this moment there was no display of dominance or challenges. There was no soldier, no lords. Just two beings finding a similar need to be together, and not alone. A seeking for warmth and companionship.

Riddick reached around, cupping Vaako's ass and pulling him closer. He felt the claws raking his skin and encouraged Vaako further by digging his own fingers in and teasing the canine beneath his tail, wanting him to demand with his body. To forget their social statuses and any consequences. To take.

Vaako let out a soft growl, but his ears were laid back in a neutral position. He melted against the tiger, his hands sliding around to cup the muscular ass. His hands kneaded him as his tongue flicked against his whiskers. He didn't relax his grip on Riddick as his tail arched, inviting him to probe deeper. Slowly he stepped backwards towards the bed, pulling his tiger lover with him.

This was different than any other coupling that Vaako had experienced. All his previous experiences had been tinged with a struggle for dominance. He felt like he was heading in uncharted space, feeling each sensation as if it was his first time.

Riddick chuffed gently at Vaako, fingers teasing further by seeking entrance. Finding he needed little askance he pressed in slowly, turning them as they reached the bed and giving Vaako no choice but to straddle his tiger as Riddick sat on the bed.

With a sheathed claw buried within Vaako the tiger pressed his claw tip out. Not enough to scratched but enough to be felt, teasingly.

Vaako let out a surprised yip, but didn't move away from the probing digit. Settling onto Riddick's thighs, he arched his tail, allowing Riddick deeper access. Slowly he let his torso tip forward to rest against Riddick's, allowing their cocks to rub together. He let out a soft growl as he nipped at his lover's chin, wondering how far this new found trust extended. Feeling curious and just a bit daring, his fangs brushed against Riddick's throat.

Eyes slitting for a moment as if in anger they closed a second later, ears cocking back and head tilting to give his canine lover more access. In a way he was submitting to Vaako by exposing himself this way. His claw tip disappeared as Riddick gently pumped his finger within Vaako's hot walls.

His teeth gently tugged at Riddick's fur. Vaako had expected to be back handed across the room for his temerity. He hadn't expected for his tiger to encourage him with a further bared throat or a probing finger. Letting out a soft moan, he pushed back against Riddick's finger, rubbing their groins together.

Riddick raised his hips as Vaako rubbed their cocks against each other. He dug his finger harder, insistent. Tilting his head he nipped gently at Vaako's ear. "Take what you want," he rumbled lowly.

Vaako let out a soft growl at Riddick's words. He tumbled them both onto the bed, rolling them so that Riddick was beneath him. Shifting so their cocks slid together until Vaako backed away. He pulled the tiger's legs up to rest on his shoulders as he positioned his cock against the underside of Riddick's tail. With a soft growl, he pushed forward.

Riddick bared his teeth as a snarl was torn from his throat. But it had nothing to do with anger. His relaxed ears and arching back spoke of bliss. As Vaako came to his hilt the tiger moaned. He panted softly as he looked up at Vaako and squeezed his throbbing cock deep inside him. "How you want it," he rumbled, his voice holding the barest edge of a husky growl.

A tremor ran through Vaako's body at the growl. He pushed Riddick's knees towards his chest as he drew closer. Once close enough, Vaako's tongue swept along the length of Riddick's neck, the point jabbing lightly where the scars of purification would be.

Riddick tilted his head to the side, giving Vaako a better angle as he licked his neck. He growled softly, realizing where it was the canine centered his attention on for a moment. He'd never have those scars. Reaching up Riddick ran unsheathed claws through Vaako's fur along his back.

Vaako let out a soft growl of his own. His hips started to move slowly as he nibbled up Riddick's jawline to focus on his lips. They looked like the rest of the man, chiseled rock hard. But they were surprisingly soft, and definitely talented as Vaako kissed him deeply.

The tiger known for his unforgiving and loner ways was starting to melt. He moaned softly as he kissed Vaako. Claws disappeared into his fingers and he clung tighter to the canine, fingers digging in, kneading. The gentle massaging pressure beneath his tail made him arch and ache. Gentle was something nearly foreign to him but Vaako was showing him another way to make love.

And it was something almost forgotten to Vaako as well. With his former companion, there had always been a need to possess, to dominate. The act had always been tainted with a brutal desire to make it so that she would not turn her gaze to another, be it in bed or in the throne room.

Btu this, this hearkened back to the days before he had even heard of the Necromongers, when he had been little more than a boy on a world that was now little more than a wasteland, discovering the delights of the flesh for the first time. His hips kept up the same steady rhythm as he kissed the tiger, not wanting this to end soon.

Riddick had never known this feeling, this way of being with someone. Since birth his life had been nothing but survival. And survival was brutal. His brief love affairs with females always ended with him leaving them, tied up if he had to. And the passion of sex itself was always full of fight or flight adrenaline.

Dare he say he was safe? His instincts wouldn't be letting him relax if he wasn't. Wouldn't let him lose himself in Vaako. And definitely wouldn't let him show that he was relaxed. But he was. And he did show it. And it was beautiful.

He arched with a groan, tongue dancing with Vaako's as their bodies moved with one another slowly. He didn't mind the slow dancing of their kiss and bodies. His whole life he'd been running. "Vaako," he moaned in-between kisses.

"Riddick." This wasn't the Lord Marshal who was beneath him. This wasn't a consort that had chosen him and could choose to leave him at a moment's notice. No, this was a lover, something that Vaako hadn't experienced before.

His fingers tightened in that bright striped fur as his hips moved faster. The tighter that Riddick gripped him, the faster and harder Vaako pounded into him. His breath was coming in heavy gusts through his nose, and one hot paw wrapped around the hotter flesh that had emerged from Riddick's sheath.

Fingers tightened their hold on Vaako. Riddick was lost in ecstasy, rumbling groans with each breath every time Vaako slammed into him. Faster. Tighter. Faster. Riddick was spiraling. He bucked with a grunt as Vaako wrapped a hot paw around his aching cock.

And then blinding white passion as Riddick fell clinging to his lover. He came hard and long with Vaako's name in his cry.

Vaako's answering cry was less articulate, but no less passionate. His hips twitched spasmodically as he orgasmed hard. He gripped Riddick tightly as he collapsed against his lover, trying to ground himself in the midst of the spiraling pleasure.

Slowly his body relaxed, but he didn't release his grip. His head lowered until it was resting on the well muscled chest. There was a small wry smile on his face. This was the last situation he ever expected to find himself and the Lord Marshal in.

Riddick hadn't felt so relaxed and safe for a very long time. The harsh tiger couldn't help the half smile on his face as he lay beneath Vaako. Fingers idly petted the canine's neck and back and his tail twitched slowly.

Tilting his head down Riddick began to groom Vaako's head and face. His eyes slitted in pleasure and heart still pounding from their union.

Vaako's ears flicked in surprise feeling Riddick's tongue glide over his face. He found himself squirming closer as his tail wagged. His hands gently glided over his biceps, tracing along the dark stripes in his fur. He lay limply on Riddick's body, feeling content for the first time in a long time.

Claws gently emerged to scrape and rub his lover's fur, making themselves known as they teasingly scratched through to his skin. Eventually the grooming slowed and then halted as Riddick relaxed and drifted into a light slumber with a soft rumble.

It was only then that Vaako understood the extent of Riddick's trust. Now would be the perfect time to strike, to eliminate the Lord Marshal while he was helpless, and to keep what he killed. All he had to do was open his jaws and sink them into the unprotected throat before him, much as Dame Vaako would urge him to.

Instead, he just nuzzled it lightly. No one could urge him to move against Riddick now. He nestled his head on Riddick's broad chest and let out a contented sigh. And after a few minutes, he was sound asleep as well.

It was the deepest sleep Riddick could remember ever having. He woke in stages, slowly becoming aware that he was starting to wake and in no hurry to do so. Vaako's warmth still draped over him made him sigh. As he came to he could feel their heartbeats beating out the same rhythm side by side. Could smell him. Could still smell the faintest hints of their love making the night before.

This wasn't how he was used to waking up. Even when he had been with Dame Vaako, or perhaps because he had been with Dame Vaako, he had always slept lightly and left the bed without lingering. Gently waking in a lover's arms was a new experience, one that he found himself enjoying.

Sleepily, he reached up to run a blunt claw tip through Riddick's cheek fur. It amazed him that for such a harsh persona, he had such soft fur. Stretching against Riddick's body, Vaako kissed his lips lightly. Before he could deepen the kiss, the buzzer announcing a visitor to the Lord Marshal's quarters.

Riddick looked at Vaako with a fondness as his lover awoke. Where only days ago he would have glared or given a blank gaze. He licked Vaako's nose with a soft snuffle as the buzzer announced an unwelcomed visitor.

Growling softly he glanced at the door with minor annoyance. "You could hold me captive..." There was a sultry dare in his voice as he smiled at Vaako.

Vaako gave him a grin with just a hint of a fang. It would be hard when he returned to a public life to maintain his stone cold Necromonger demeanor around Riddick. "Unfortunately, that won't be practical. Nobody will believe that I would be able to hold captive. Though I can give it a try," he said.

Stretching against the firm body beneath him, Vaako grabbed Riddick's wrists and pulled them over his head. He was delicately nibbling on that striped fur on his neck when the buzzer sounded again, longer and more insistent.

"I think you can..." Riddick rumbled as his arms were lifted. He stretched beneath his lover, head tilted back as he closed his eyes with a sigh. He ignored the buzzer for several moments, legs wrapping around Vaako. "Will they catch us?" There wasn't worry in his voice, though perhaps a hint of hope. To see the look on their faces...

"Only if you want them too," Vaako said. The idea did have certain appeal. Especially as he pictured the expression on the former Dame Vaako's face. He nuzzled the base of his lover's throat as the buzzer sounded yet again. "If you wish them to discover us," he murmured, "Hit the yellow button on the panel next to the bed."

Nuzzling his chin on top of Vaako's head the tiger rumbled softly. Then, extending an arm he slapped the button. The officer waited, eyes lowered until the double doors had fully opened before looking up and taking a step forward. He halted somewhat short.

Riddick kept his face neutral at this though he was smiling inwardly. A figure behind the man, confused at his actions, stepped to the side slightly... Dame Vaako. Riddick's subconsciously wrapped his arms possessively around Vaako.

Vaako turned his head to glance at the door, a lazy, sates smile on his face. He had expected to feel regret at seeing her again. But the only thing he felt was a sense of revenge. He knew she had been playing him since day one, and now he was beyond her grasp.

His glance then dropped on the soldier, who clearly didn't know what to make of the situation. Of course, the young soldier probably never had walked into a situation like this like the previous Lord Marshal. And the soldier in him responded just like he had been trained. "Report," he barked.

Riddick bared his teeth in a smile, though left the soldier to wonder what kind of intentions the smile held. He waited as the soldier composed himself.

"We near the Threshold and await your command, Lord Riddick." What might have been given with gusto and a firm voice was a bit lax, to say the least and Riddick sneered.

"Dismissed," Riddick growled. Make them wait a while longer. As the doors closed he licked Vaako's muzzle. "Come with me."

Vaako hadn't let his eyes drift from the former Dame Vaako. Her expression had been one of shock. Obviously, in all her calculating, she hadn't taken into consideration that he would become the willing partner of Riddick. He knew her plans would now be altered to include him as well.

Lazily he rolled out of the bed. "Where did you want to go, Lor... Riddick?" he corrected. Wherever they were headed, he hoped that they wouldn't have to get dressed to get there.

Reaching out Riddick caught Vaako about his abdomen, admiring his sleek and thin hips. On his stomach this put his stripey head even with Vaako's navel. He looked up at his lover. "I know when you call me that title it means something different for us," his way of telling his lover he didn't mind.

Sitting up he loosely wrapped his legs around Vaako's thighs. "Go with me to the Threshold," he knew the custom when approaching this place but hoped Vaako might break custom for once.

Vaako couldn't resist digging his fingers into the fur behind his ears. "I can't," he explained with a gentleness that seemed foreign to a Necromonger. "Only the Lord Marshal is to look on the Threshold, until it is time for us all to enter it. The others will only tolerate so much of a change to tradition. This one cannot be violated."

"But I will be waiting for you to return. And I will be making certain that your back is protected. Even if I can't look at it,' he added with a grin.

Riddick licked Vaako's chest, looking up at his mate. Standing, forcing his mate back a pace as they came chest to chest he kissed him hard, teeth and tongue fierce. "Then let us get it done," he scratched and squeezed an ass cheek. "They won't keep us apart for long." He turned to dress.

Vaako forced himself to look away from Riddick and dress as well. "The sooner that this is done, the better." There would be less challenges to the legitimacy of Riddick's rulership. But there was a small worry starting to nag him at the back of Vaako's mind. He had seen how the previous Lord Marshall change, the strange, supernatural power he had gained. Would something similar happen to his lover? And how would it change him?

Riddick wore his protective armor this time, he didn't know what would be waiting for him but he too had noticed the previous Marshall's astral self. It had contained such strength and power.

Riddick buckled the last strap and turned to look at Vaako. He didn't say a thing as he headed toward to the doors, squelching a need to kiss Vaako long and hard.

And Vaako wasn't going to have any of that. He had studied Necromonger history, and knew that visiting the Threshold changed each Lord Marshal. And who knows what way it may change the current Lord Marshal, who had not undergone Purification. This could be the last time he saw the Riddick he new. The tiger who returned from the Threshold could very well be a stranger to him. Grabbing Riddick's shoulder before he reached the door, Vaako pulled him back into a feral kiss.

Riddick responded with a soft growl, arms gripping Vaako tightly as they kissed. Inhaling sharply he backed Vaako against a wall, pressing against him hard and kissing him deeper. Before he could change his mind and spend eternity making wild love to the canine he grabbed Vaako's wrist and pulled him to the door. Better to get it over with now, then he'd have as long as forever lasted to be with his lover.

Although he wanted to pull Riddick back into the room and continue kissing him, Vaako followed willingly. The corridors leading to the command bridge/throne room were deserted so that, though Purified, they did not catch a forbidden glimpse of the Threshold.

When they reached the throne room, a change came over Vaako's demeanor. He started to deferentially walk a few paces behind the Lord Marshal. "Your personal shuttle will be prepared for you to enter the Threshold," he said, giving him last minute instructions. "But you will be able to look upon it from the throne first. All in the throne room will be looking away from the display."

Riddick looked back at his lover before Vaako was forced to turn away, his gaze hard to read except for Vaako in Riddick's ungoggled eyes. Then he turned to hasten through with this deed, to be caught by the sight from his throne. A path for him through the soldiers, each one watching until he passed them, row by row, to his throne.

As he passed his throne and the view of the Threshold disappeared from sight another path opened to him from his shuttle. It seemed to him he was gone an eternity, and though he saw long lost friends and family, Furyans, his mother... he wasn't meant to remember them when he returned.

Two subjects warred inside his body as he departed the Threshold. The memories conflicting, clashing for control. Kill the Furyan, Kill the Necromonger. How dare he become Necromonger. What would become of the Furyan. He emerged from the shuttle gripping his head, muscles bulging, a bright, double aura in turmoil around his collapsing form.

Vaako had the shuttle bay cleared just in case of this. There was no record of one who had not been Purified having crossed the Threshold and returned. And he had been afraid that this would be Riddick's reaction. And the collapse would be viewed as a weakness by other Necromongers watching his return.

He knew it for what it really was - a sign of strength. His tiger had returned from something that would have killed a lesser being. Crossing over to the shuttle, Vaako knelt down next to his lover and placed a hand on his back.

A white being with bared fangs lunged from Riddick's back to attack, catching itself inches from Vaako's face as it recognized him. Its snarl melted into fear, blurring as it was drug back into Riddick by...