Chapter 17-Meetings and Reunions
"Victor?...Did you hear that?" asked James, his eyes scanning the trees and thick brush of the forest the brothers were trekking through in search of a campsite for their platoon.
The feline feral paused, his ears perking in interest as he listened for anything outside of the usual sounds of the woods; a frown marring his feature as he heard some leaves rustling on the forest floor, the smell of blood and something else wafting faintly from a dense crop of brush, followed by a faint cry, about a quarter mile in front of the two brothers. Nodding once, the older mutant began slinking forward toward the noise, Victor's feral instincts taking hold as he made his way toward the copse of tree, James following, less quietly, behind. Ten minutes later brought the two brothers onto a sight that would forever be etched into their minds.
The smell of blood was heavier within the copse of trees. Its source was a pair of boys, one of which held the other down with his superior weight, thrusting into the other with the clumsy fervor of youth; one hand over the smaller's nose and mouth, while the other held the boy's arms above his head. The other struggled against the hands futilely, his cries muffled against his attacker's hand, tears streaming down the smooth pale face of the youth as his body was ravaged.
Victor was the first to react, charging toward the pair like a deranged animal, snarling as his eye-teeth elongated to fangs and his fingernails to claws as he tore the attacker away from his victim; Jimmy followed close behind, tending to the injured boy, as Victor took the offending youth, screaming, into the brush outside of the ring of trees. As James approached the ill-treated teen, his hands spread in front of him as he crept forward, showing he was unarmed and meant no harm.
The teen inched backwards away from Jimmy as the older man came forward, pained whimpers escaping his bruised throat as he tried to get away. "S-st-stay away! Don't t-touch me!" The youth cried as his foot slipped in his own blood, causing him to land painfully on his injuries and curl in on himself as this uniformed stranger came ever closer.
James came up to the youth, removing his jacket to wrap around the teen, who lay shivering on the ground; a short ways off Jimmy could hear the other youth's screams as Victor tore him apart in a fit of rage that was becoming more apparent as of late. Calmly, the older mutant knelt beside the boy, covering the shaking form with the jacket, smoothing the tangled mess of curls away from the sweat-soaked brow as he looked over the bruises and gashes that marred the pale skin. "Shhh, shhh, shhh. I've got you. It's all right, you're safe now." He murmured as the youth looked up at James for the first time.
Deep forest green eyes met Jimmy's, clouded with tears, the long, thick lashes clumped together with the moisture, the youth's chest heaving with hiccups as his crying began tapering off. "….I….I…-"
"Shh, I know. I know. Come on, let Jimmy have a look at you. Make sure everything's all right." The older mutant soothed, gently pushing the small form to lie back against the blood-smeared grass. He could hear Victor on the edge of the ring of trees, but that was as far as the other mutant would come to the youth Jimmy was seeing to.
Gently, so as not to spook the frightened teen, James shifted to the youth's feet to grasp the slender white ankles and spread the bloodstained thighs. "…St-stop it! G-git away from meh!—" cried the teen, trying to wrench away from James, as strong, rough hands took hold of his legs opening them to what seemed like even more abuse. He thrashed about, though this caused more agony to race through his body, a little more damage would be welcome to whatever this man would do to him.
"Hey, hey! It's all right! We're not here to hurt you. Calm down! You're gonna hurt yourself more. Hey bub, shh—" grunted Jimmy as he was pushed away from the young man as he flayed about, a foot connecting with the older man's face as he fell back against the blood slicked grass.
It was then that Victor came forward, quietly kneeling beside the struggling teen and grabbing hold of the thin bruised wrists. "Hush, now," He said softly, locking eyes with the glowing emerald green of the youth, "hush. I've got you. I've got you."
Victor leant forward, pressing his forehead against the sweaty teen's, a low purr starting in the back of his throat as he nuzzled his nose against the younger male's when a scared whimper escaped. "Shh, shh, I've got you. Nothing's going to hurt you anymore. I've got you."
Slowly, the teen relaxed against the grass, his eyes locked with Victor as he allowed James closer again, the same rough hands gliding along his ankles to his knees, soothingly pressing them open; the more compact male genteelly peered under the cover of the coat, poking deliberately against the misplaced and bruised entrance of the boy. Finding the bleeding tapering off and the bruises already turning a sickly yellow, Jimmy moved away, making a point to close the marred thighs before turning to his brother, who continued to press his head against the smooth, pale brow of the newly identified changeling.
"Victor, we should go. Sherman is probably wondering where we are." Said James, his voice soft as he pressed a firm hand to his brother's shoulder; the older man shrugged away from his younger sibling. A low growl, reverberating in his throat as he pulled away from the youth.
"He comes with us." Murmured Victor, as he looked at his brother, his dark eyes firm and possessive; the remnants of animal pheromone still hanging in the air, as the teen seemed to settle achingly against the grass, a feeling of safety lulling him into a doze.
Jimmy looked from his older brother to the sleepy teen, lying bruised and naked on the forest floor, his mind weighing the pros and cons of having an obviously Southern teen come with them. "I'll look after him." Said Victor, reading into his younger brothers thoughts as they stood together.
"I don't think it's that simple Victor. Too much is at stake right now and besides, you can't just take a child from his family." Grunted James, his eyes taking in the hard line of Victor's jaw as the muscles tensed under the strain of the older man's teeth gritting together.
"Well, they obviously didn't want him as family. That boy, there was his family."
James's eyebrows rose slightly before stepping closer to the napping teen, inspecting the slowly healing injuries. "Did you kill him?"
"Had too. He would have done that same to this one."
The wolverine nodded once, his eyes softening as the aching youth turned on his side and curled up tightly in a ball, the oversized coat drifting down the smooth torso to rest on yellow-bruised hips. "He's one of our kind, then?" Asked Jimmy, something burning in his chest, as he watched the marks slowly heal before his eyes.
Victor watched his brother closely for a moment before answering, his eyes more feral than usual. "Yeah, though I reckon he's more of a housecat than a wildcat. He's not built like we are; I don't suppose he'll grow much more than this."
The older mutant was right, of course, the youth was definitely a more domesticated kind of animal when one compared his slight form against the brawn of the brothers. "Well we don't have much choice then."
"Nope," Said Victor as he grinned in triumph, crouching down next to the riotous mass of dark curls, his voice turning soft as he nuzzled affectionately against the shadowy tresses.
"Hey,"
The youth, opening his eyes fully, looked at Victor trustingly; something innate telling him to rely on this strange man infront of him. "'lo."He said shyly, pressing his face into the older man's shoulder to hide his embarrassment.
Victor smiled softly, his hand coming up to gently card through the glossy curls that hung about the youth like a cloak, "You're coming with me. Sound good to you?"
Slowly, purring against the warmth surrounding him, the youth nodded; smiling as he felt himself lifted into strong arms and carried into some direction away from his family. A feeling of perfect tranquility and absolute safety permeating his senses into laxness and causing his eyes to drift shut once more. "….'den." He murmured almost as an afterthought, as he felt the large man bend over him to smell him, a deep rumbling purr sounding in his chest as the smell claimed his senses.
"Hmmm?" hummed the older man.
"Hayden." The youth said again, a little louder this time, though his skull felt heavy against the broad chest beneath his head and he found it impossible to keep his eyes open when surrounded so comfortably by warmth. "Ma name."
It couldn't have been spoken in more than a soft whisper, but the man heard it and nuzzled the soft hair once more against in acknowledgement, before murmuring something to the other man.
There was something else that Hayden needed to say, something important, something that couldn't wait. But his head was far too heavy and the sound of horses coming toward them was making him even more tired than before.
"Sleep," whispered the older man, his voice nothing more than a feather's touch against the shell of his ear, before Hayden was pulled softly into slumber.