Elf Hunt
By Neemers
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
Kurt's thoughts are in [brackets.]
[Such a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the temperature is perfect for someone forced to wear a light fur coat.]
Kurt couldn't be silent any longer, and both old and new X-men were outside with him. "Beautiful morning isn't it?"
"Shut up."
"I oughta fry the Fuzzy Morning Person."
"Zzzzzzzzzzz"
" 's too early for this."
Of course, few of his friends were cheerful after being dragged out of bed on a Saturday morning into the middle of nowhere for a training session.
"Listen up, troops!" Logan growled. "Here's the deal. Mutant battles are rarely quiet and unnoticed, so you needed training in how to get away without getting caught. For the past month I've taught you everything about stealth I know. Now it's test time. I give you five minutes to get as far as you can. Then I hunt you down. Last person to get caught gets out of the chore of their choice for the next month. No powers allowed. NOW MOVE!"
[Dishwashing. If I win I'm getting out of dishwashing. Why won't anyone listen to me when I tell them that dishwater and fur don't mix?]
Kurt ran off with the others, two-legging it due to Logan's demands. This was probably a good thing too, since he had his backpack with him, to pack both schoolwork and a snack.
[Good thing I have an advantage here. There are WAY too many people more than willing to hunt down the demons they see if they can find any physical trace, and way too many with trained dogs. I have more experience than anyone else in this kind of thing.]
Kurt took his time in laying a difficult trail, leaping from tree to tree in jumps small enough for a normal, if skilled, to make. He ran through a stream he found and crawled out of it by means of an overhanging branch to avoid leaving a scent trail for Logan. He'd had plenty enough experience with this kind of thing - enough to avoid leaving any footprints or fur clumps.
Kurt soon left the drop-off area far behind and started coming into some rockier territory. Broken-up boulders gave him the chance to leap from one to the next in a random fashion, further confusing the scent trail.
[Was is that? It looks like there's something red and shiny off in the distance there. Some weird rock formation? No. It's manmade, or at least the finish is. Heh. I wonder if that's someone's car. I have my image inducer. I could hitchhike. Wonder how long it would take Logan to find me then.]
Kurt cautiously crept closer. Whatever it was, it was muck bigger than he thought. He finally came close enough to see what it was - and immediately dived into the bushes.
[What on earth is a Sentinel doing here? Maybe it won't sense me if I don't use my powers. But I've got to get out of here and warn the others. Would it pick up my comm signal?]
Kurt finally noticed that the sentinal had not moved. He slowly, cautiously turned so he could get a better look at it, and nearly laughed in relief when he did. Yes, it was a Sentinal, but it was long dead. The glass bits were shattered, the rest was worn, and the left leg was missing.
[I have to hole up somewhere. Might as well stick around here. Logan would probably smell this thing before he saw it, and call off the hunt. If that happens, then this is the perfect hiding spot. Game's over before he finds me.]
With this in mind, Kurt climbed up and sat on the Sentinal's left shoulder.
"I never did get a chance to tell your 'brother' how I felt about him exposing mutants to the world, so I guess you'll do. You know, we aren't really any threat. Did you notice just who tore up the downtown area. It wasn't us. It was you. Guess there's nothing you can do about it now. You know, You're really not that bad when you sit still."
Kurt merely sat in companiable silence with his odd companion.
Kurt jumped six inches - literally.
[Logan can't have found me already!]
A slight rustle of feathers and an aristocratic voice sent that misconception out of his head.
"Morning." the winged stanger greeted.
"Indeed. Are you Warren? The others were telling me about meeting you around Christmas." Kurt returned.
"Others being?"
"Rogue, mainly."
"Ah. Interesting place for a perch."
"I wanted to chew it out for the way it's 'brother' acted."
"Pity it's not just the robots. It seems humans are destined to hate what they don't understand. Either that, or in my case, start begging for forgiveness of their sins. It's somewhat amusing the first time or two, but I wish that they'd just see me for me."
"They will."
"You give humans too much credit in my opinion."
"They accepted your help."
"They thought I was an angel. Angels are good in the public's eyes. Mutants aren't. Maybe Magneto was right, and it is us against them."
"heh."
"Why do I get the impression you're thinking about something else?"
"Ever watch those old Looney Toons, where some guy has to make a moral decision, then has an angel and a devil pop up on his soldiers to council him?"
"Yes. And your point is...?"
"We're sitting on the guy with the problem. And you, my angelic friend, are playing the devil's advocate, while I'm on the side of the angels. Somewhat amusing, if you think about it."
"Heh."
"I just remembered! I've got my camera in my bag. This is a perfect photo op."
"Won't the developers get curious."
"Polaroid."
"Ah."
"Let me set it up on the timer. Smile."
"I don't do smiling. I get enough of that posing for the paparazzi with father."
FLASH
"Spoilsport. Ah, well. It'll still be a good picture."
"What are you doing out here, anyway?"
"Training exercise with Logan. He's tracking us down."
"Short guy with the nasty attitude?"
"Ja."
"I don't like him. I've got my car a few miles up the road. I'll bring it down and give you a lift back to the Institute. I'm headed back that way, anyways. I'd like to see him track you down, then."
"Sounds like a plan."
By Neemers
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
Kurt's thoughts are in [brackets.]
[Such a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the temperature is perfect for someone forced to wear a light fur coat.]
Kurt couldn't be silent any longer, and both old and new X-men were outside with him. "Beautiful morning isn't it?"
"Shut up."
"I oughta fry the Fuzzy Morning Person."
"Zzzzzzzzzzz"
" 's too early for this."
Of course, few of his friends were cheerful after being dragged out of bed on a Saturday morning into the middle of nowhere for a training session.
"Listen up, troops!" Logan growled. "Here's the deal. Mutant battles are rarely quiet and unnoticed, so you needed training in how to get away without getting caught. For the past month I've taught you everything about stealth I know. Now it's test time. I give you five minutes to get as far as you can. Then I hunt you down. Last person to get caught gets out of the chore of their choice for the next month. No powers allowed. NOW MOVE!"
[Dishwashing. If I win I'm getting out of dishwashing. Why won't anyone listen to me when I tell them that dishwater and fur don't mix?]
Kurt ran off with the others, two-legging it due to Logan's demands. This was probably a good thing too, since he had his backpack with him, to pack both schoolwork and a snack.
[Good thing I have an advantage here. There are WAY too many people more than willing to hunt down the demons they see if they can find any physical trace, and way too many with trained dogs. I have more experience than anyone else in this kind of thing.]
Kurt took his time in laying a difficult trail, leaping from tree to tree in jumps small enough for a normal, if skilled, to make. He ran through a stream he found and crawled out of it by means of an overhanging branch to avoid leaving a scent trail for Logan. He'd had plenty enough experience with this kind of thing - enough to avoid leaving any footprints or fur clumps.
Kurt soon left the drop-off area far behind and started coming into some rockier territory. Broken-up boulders gave him the chance to leap from one to the next in a random fashion, further confusing the scent trail.
[Was is that? It looks like there's something red and shiny off in the distance there. Some weird rock formation? No. It's manmade, or at least the finish is. Heh. I wonder if that's someone's car. I have my image inducer. I could hitchhike. Wonder how long it would take Logan to find me then.]
Kurt cautiously crept closer. Whatever it was, it was muck bigger than he thought. He finally came close enough to see what it was - and immediately dived into the bushes.
[What on earth is a Sentinel doing here? Maybe it won't sense me if I don't use my powers. But I've got to get out of here and warn the others. Would it pick up my comm signal?]
Kurt finally noticed that the sentinal had not moved. He slowly, cautiously turned so he could get a better look at it, and nearly laughed in relief when he did. Yes, it was a Sentinal, but it was long dead. The glass bits were shattered, the rest was worn, and the left leg was missing.
[I have to hole up somewhere. Might as well stick around here. Logan would probably smell this thing before he saw it, and call off the hunt. If that happens, then this is the perfect hiding spot. Game's over before he finds me.]
With this in mind, Kurt climbed up and sat on the Sentinal's left shoulder.
"I never did get a chance to tell your 'brother' how I felt about him exposing mutants to the world, so I guess you'll do. You know, we aren't really any threat. Did you notice just who tore up the downtown area. It wasn't us. It was you. Guess there's nothing you can do about it now. You know, You're really not that bad when you sit still."
Kurt merely sat in companiable silence with his odd companion.
Kurt jumped six inches - literally.
[Logan can't have found me already!]
A slight rustle of feathers and an aristocratic voice sent that misconception out of his head.
"Morning." the winged stanger greeted.
"Indeed. Are you Warren? The others were telling me about meeting you around Christmas." Kurt returned.
"Others being?"
"Rogue, mainly."
"Ah. Interesting place for a perch."
"I wanted to chew it out for the way it's 'brother' acted."
"Pity it's not just the robots. It seems humans are destined to hate what they don't understand. Either that, or in my case, start begging for forgiveness of their sins. It's somewhat amusing the first time or two, but I wish that they'd just see me for me."
"They will."
"You give humans too much credit in my opinion."
"They accepted your help."
"They thought I was an angel. Angels are good in the public's eyes. Mutants aren't. Maybe Magneto was right, and it is us against them."
"heh."
"Why do I get the impression you're thinking about something else?"
"Ever watch those old Looney Toons, where some guy has to make a moral decision, then has an angel and a devil pop up on his soldiers to council him?"
"Yes. And your point is...?"
"We're sitting on the guy with the problem. And you, my angelic friend, are playing the devil's advocate, while I'm on the side of the angels. Somewhat amusing, if you think about it."
"Heh."
"I just remembered! I've got my camera in my bag. This is a perfect photo op."
"Won't the developers get curious."
"Polaroid."
"Ah."
"Let me set it up on the timer. Smile."
"I don't do smiling. I get enough of that posing for the paparazzi with father."
FLASH
"Spoilsport. Ah, well. It'll still be a good picture."
"What are you doing out here, anyway?"
"Training exercise with Logan. He's tracking us down."
"Short guy with the nasty attitude?"
"Ja."
"I don't like him. I've got my car a few miles up the road. I'll bring it down and give you a lift back to the Institute. I'm headed back that way, anyways. I'd like to see him track you down, then."
"Sounds like a plan."