Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
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"You know, when I pictured backpacking across Europe I didn't expect this."
Looking to her friend in exasperation, Rogue continued clearing the forest floor for their campfire. Rummaging through the woods at a distance Jubilee was off on the errand of finding more firewood to see them through the night. Satisfied at last, she set to the art of fire building as Logan had taught her. With flint and steel in hand the first sparks fell on the tinder and began to burn, blowing gently to feed the flame and adding shavings of wood and moss before finally setting the little blaze beneath her ready stack of sticks.
"Well, everything from hotel to motel to hostel was sayin' the same thing every time we asked, No Vacancy." Rogue shouted off to the woods.
"Eeeeyikes!" Came the reply from the forest.
Wondering just what the City Mouse had got scared by this time, she shrugged it off and kept feeding the flames until finally a nice cozy campfire was burning. They'd be sleeping under the stars, a cloudless night with no rain in the forecast and a full moon at that. It was romantic and wonderful and everything she wanted out of this trip. Peeking in her knapsack, she pulled out her camera with a mind to take some photos later.
"Snake?" Rogue asked as Jubilee came back with an armful of wood.
"...squirrel, but it was dark and it was running through the brush and...shaddup." Jubilee muttered, tossing the wood down where her friend was pointing.
"So, whaddya want for dinner? Canned stew, canned beans, or...uh, don't recognize what it's selling but it's got a picture of a pig on it?" Rogue asked, rummaging through a gas station grocery bag.
"Yeah, how about we split the beans and stew, I don't wanna find out that's German for Spam." Jubilee said, fishing in her own knapsack for a pot.
"What's wrong with Spam?" Rogue asked, trying her best to find the German she understood under the ingredients.
"Walking talking nutritional disaster that I am, when I turn my nose up at something it means no one should eat it." Jubilee said with a sniff of disdain.
"You turn your nose up at vegetables." Rogue muttered still trying to decipher just what part of the pig got canned.
"Brussel sprouts aren't a vegetable, they're a weed." Jubilee muttered back.
"Other than tomatoes because I think they're technically a fruit, name one vegetable you eat." Rogue asked, looking up from her can to her friend in challenge.
"Broccoli." Jubilee replied, working on opening a can of stew.
"...that you don't drown in cheese sauce, whiz, or peanut butter." Rogue clarified, instantly ruling out broccoli and celery.
Twisting her lips in dissatisfaction at the way the conversation had just turned on her, Jubilee dumped the stew into the pot and started working on opening the can of beans. Waiting for an answer and wondering just what spices to add to their dinner, Rogue added some chili flakes and pepper to the mix. Seeing a light in her friend's eyes, she knew just the answer and thought to nip it in the bud.
"Or drench in ranch dressing, so no carrots either." Rogue added to the list.
"Didn't the Gov make Pizza a vegetable?" Jubilee asked, dumping the beans on in with the stew.
Rolling her eyes and leaving dinner to simmer, Rogue got to setting up her side of the little camp. The night was already cold and she wanted a nap sometime before she got to taking some pictures of the majesty of the forest bathed in moonlight.
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Creeping through the foliage and flora of the forest, the further she got from the camp and the crackling fire the more her eyes adjusted to the darkness. After a time the world became tinted blue, the moon already high overhead and lending light to the night. Her breath became fog and she wondered if an early frost would greet them in the morn. Leaving those thoughts for the dawn, the closest living soul she knew of was fast asleep bundled up in her sleeping bag back where the flame warded off the shadows that hung in the trees.
Switching lenses that had seen her from Rome to Paris, over the miles and across borders her mistakes had become her teachers. Now she knew just how to bring out the beauty she saw, capturing a flower here that it would never wilt, stealing a moment from a stream that ran through a wooded glade that would never come again. Fearless as she wandered, never a worry of getting lost came to mind as she sat in wait for an owl to take flight.
Finding a clearing after a time, the stars were out with a swath of starlight cleaving the heavens in twain. Laying in the soft grass and switching lenses again, changing settings and exposure, she set her camera down and searched the heavens for the constellations of old as another moment was captured for the day when a sense nostalgia would remind her of this night.
"It's almost over..." Rogue whispered, thinking of how far they'd come since landing weeks before.
Just how many postcards she had sent home she couldn't count, keepsakes from a journey she'd long to take since her world had been turned upside down. It was a tradition started the summer before when it had been just her and Logan, heading off to Alaska to see through that jaunt. Those postcards hung on her wall, the world painted for her by Pete stealing the mystique and allure of an old map that had seen the explorers of old through their expeditions.
This time she had someone else to keep her company for the times she wanted it, just as ready to leave her alone to her own little adventures and play tourist herself. And as much as she had missed Logan, there were times she enjoyed herself in ways she never could have with him. Exploring Italian villages on a scooter that barely seated two, the beaches of the south of Spain learning to lover her skin again, sun kissed and freckled. Dragged to clubs in Paris with Jubilee flirting with every boy who came to her with a cute smile and an uttering of French.
He was the one thing above all else she was looking forward to at the end of her trip, dreaming of walks though the forests painted by the promises Fall she could now feel in the air telling him of all the moments she missed him. She had so many more stories to tell him than could be said through postcard alone. With some she shared anecdotes of their mishaps and adventures, others just had the sketches and doodles drawn from the backs of busses and riding along in trains. But all of them ended the same way, two little words, Missing you.
Finding her camera and looking to the captured heavens framed by branches and trees, she rolled to her side and got to her feet thinking maybe it was time to tread back to camp and get a good night sleep. Looking to the moon one last time and thinking just how long it had played shepherd to humanity as it slept, the woods around her felt old and ancient and full of mystery as she walked under its light.
Her path was easy to find, told by the trees she remembered and the stars above and the many things Logan had taught her on their Trek across Canada until they came to that distant remnant of America. The wooded places and forgotten forests were nothing to fear, wondering just what it must have been like for those first explorers from this side of the world to set sail across the sea and find a land so vast and wild that the people who called it home lived with it and not apart from it.
Hearing a wolf's howl she turned and forgot just where she was, remembering nights like this when their song carried across wilds. Flowing this song and thinking it sounded sad, she saw it at last with it's silver coat sparkling in moonlight. Letting go of a slow breath as she tried to quell the hammering of her heart, it was not fear but exhilaration that had her so excited. Kneeling down and bringing her camera to bear, as the distance between them was closed and she saw the majesty of the animal before her she noticed the intellect she so admired in eyes staring back at her.
"You're beautiful..." Rogue whispered in utter and complete awe, marvelling as the length of the forest between them fell as the wolf crept forward.
Finding herself caught in the pale green eyes that watched her so intently, without knowing why she knew this was an old lady of the forest. No answering cries came to her song and man had hunted them for too long in this very Old World. Reaching out with a hand both brazen and foolish, she was amazed as the wolf took those last few steps and let her feel her fur and stroke her.
"You're all alone ain't ya?" Rogue asked, her heart aching and knowing just how that felt.
She'd been alone from Meridian to Laughlin, scared and running and not knowing where she was headed other than from the map she had in her backpack. Then she met someone who looked just as alone as she was and she took a chance. Missing you. Staring deep into those eyes, they held a weary sadness that said she would not live to see the spring. It was only after she knew that those eyes had been looking back, looking for so long to finally find just what it had been hunting after for so many years.
The bite was quick and feeling so many kinds of stupid and foolish she could only blame herself for it. Hissing in pain and clutching her hand to her chest, the fresh sent of blood marred the chill breeze that blew through the woods. Hearing that song again, she looked to see the old wolf howling off in the distance bathed in moonlight. She couldn't be mad feeling the ache and distance of just how far away the one was that she missed.
Pain lanced through her, from her wound to her breast to strike her heart, screaming in torment as she fell in a heap. Her bitten hand burned so hot that the very tips of her fingers felt like the bones might burst through as she clawed at the earth. Heaving and gasping for breath as she fell on all fours, her very bones ached as her muscles strained to twist her frame in the throes of agony. Throughout it all some part of her being heard that song once more and she knew it would be the very last time it was sung, it was a howl full of sadness and apology.
A new song answered it, full of sympathy and forgiveness and feeling her lungs burn she realized it was her own. She was alone again knowing she'd never hear the howl of that old lady of the forest, alone and in pain and so very far from the one who she had found when last she felt these feelings. Crying and whimpering and rolling through the bedding of the forest a memory struggled and clawed and drove her to her feet. She wasn't alone, there was one who had been with her ever since she had set foot in this Old World, all she had to do was find them and then maybe she could endure the night and meet the dawn.
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Waking from a nightmare with eyes unseeing of the world around her, still caught in the clutches of the darkness that she had dreamt, Jubilee jolted to her feet and fell as a branch laid her low. Hissing and muttering in pain, the first thing she noticed was the damp sweat quickly cooling against her bare flesh and feeling a sense of dread and panic grip her heart wondering just where she was. Gasping for breath and remembering running in her nightmare, with no sign of her campsite she began trying to piece through the figments that already were fading under the light of a new day.
"Holy shit! Rogue!" Jubilee gasped, twisting and turning as she scanned the forest able to breath again as she saw her friend laying naked curled in the knotted and gnarled hollow roots a tree.
"Okay, breath in, breath out, breath in...woo, breath out. Don't panic...anymore than you already have Lee." Jubilee said to herself as she tried to calm her racing heart.
Her nightmare had been being chased by a wolf through the woods, and had she woken dressed and in her sleeping bag she might let the Country Mouse laugh it all off. Instead she woke damned near nude with just a few tatters of torn clothing clinging to her that was doing nearly nothing to keep her from freezing with how cold it was. Heaving a breath, it fogged before her and she ran to Rogue to try and wake her.
"Rogue, Rogue...wake up Rogue. Roguey? Rogue?" Jubilee sputtered, shaking her friend vigorously trying to rouse her.
"She's not going to wake up."
Freezing in fresh terror and ignoring the voice, she checked for a pulse that came strong and fast as if how warm she felt in the cold morning wasn't proof she was alive. Clenching her fists and not caring about her state of undress, she spun to look to whoever had just lied to her and likely had been the real nightmare she couldn't remember. Empty forest greeted her, just a couple of crows cawing away in the distance the only thing to be heard.
"At least not until tonight or maybe tomorrow, so you might want to find some boughs to blanket her with. If you could get her to drink some water too that would be helpful."
The voice was near and calm and actually sounded a touch disinterested, yet nowhere she looked could she see anyone who could be talking to her. Biting her lip and thinking to her friend who laid so prone beneath her, she decided to act on the good advice and tried to remember a few lessons from the Wilderness Survival trips Logan had dragged them on for gym class.
"Okay, okay, breath in, breath out. You're probably just a bit crazy right now, hearing voices and shit but...shelter. Check. The hollow. Gotta get her up off the forest floor cause that's gonna just suck the heat right outta her. Okay...we got, jackpot, pine trees." Jubilee rambled, rushing through the woods but keeping her friend in sight at all times.
Breaking branches bare handed and not giving much care to how many times she was cut, after a time she finally had a bed of boughs made and a blanket of branches over her friend to keep her warm. As much as she just wanted to curl up with her and keep each other warm, part of her kept nagging about water and in the distance she could hear a stream.
"Oh big surprise, garbage. Is there any place humans don't throw their trash out? Well, maybe just this once I'm not complaining since it's something you can use to bring some water back to her."
"Shaddup..." Jubilee spat, twisting and turning and looking for the voice.
Breathing deep and trying to calm herself, she noticed just what the voice must have been bitching about because in a tangled mess of branches was a water bottle. Rinsing it out a few times and filling it up, she ran back and thanked whatever lucky stars had decided to step in that Rogue drank deep without any need to coax her.
"Okay, so she's good for the moment. How about I lead you back to your camp and you can bring all that garbage you humans are always hauling about back here."
"Alright Lee, forget crazy you're probably just a little psychotic right now. Something bad happened last night, something you don't want to remember so..." Jubilee began on the verge of breaking down, her nightmare coming back to her of running for her life until something out of the darkness caught her to fill her full of terror.
"Something happened last night, but it wasn't bad. It was something of the natural order that most of you humans have forgotten, that's why the Lady had to look so long for a suitable heiress."
"Newsflash! Not Human! Mutant!" Jubilee yelled, throwing a thumb against her chest.
"Well la de da, that makes all the difference!"
"Breath in..." Jubilee began her mantra anew.
"Just look up and listen for a moment..."
Looking up Jubilee saw a raven looking down at her somehow conveying just how weary it was of the conversation it shouldn't be having. Staring into the beady black eyes, she felt more naked than ever as the bird looked back at her.
"Do you know what a Spirit Guide is?" The raven asked.
"Holy shit that crow just talked!" Jubilee squeaked out, throwing her hands over her mouth and staring up at the raven with wide eyes.
"Ahem?" The raven coughed, staring pointedly at the human below him.
"Okay shit...did Rogue throw some fucking peyote in the pot when I wasn't looking?" Jubilee gasped.
"I'll take that as a Yes, so you do know what a Spirit Guide is? Well, I'm not one of those. I'm just a Spirit. I just happen to have owed the Lady a pretty big favour so here I am dealing with you and her heiress." The raven continued, hopping down a branch and looking back to where Rogue slept.
"So I'm not crazy?" Jubilee asked hopefully, somehow thinking the way the raven was looking at her was a bit patronizing.
"No, this is all really happening. So, are you going to let me lead you back to your camp so you can bring some of that garbage back for the heiress?" The raven asked.
Looking back to Rogue blanketed in what was just sticks and branches and completely naked otherwise, camp sounded like a good idea so with a wary nod she started following after the raven. As it turned out As the Crow Flies wasn't just an expression but a fact of life, having to transverse a lot of obstacles along the way as the bird just sat cawing at her to hurry up. Finally reaching their camp, the first thing she set to was digging through her knapsack for some clothes.
"I might as well fill you in on this before you go putting that stupid hat on, but you might find it a bit snug." The raven called from a nearby tree.
Toque in hand, a gift from Rogue that she had brought back from Alaska, a quick feel of her head found out why.
"What the hell happened to my ears!?" Jubilee shrieked, turning on the bird for answers.
"I'll answer your question with a question, do you know what a Familiar is?" The raven asked.
"Isn't that like a witches cat or something?" Jubilee asked, Halloween after all was one of her favourite times of year.
"Yes and No, it's a witches servant. I'll give you humans one thing, you're great storytellers. You my twitchy little friend are now a Familiar, meaning you've taken on part of your mistress. Nice fangs by the way." The raven explained, hopping about on the branch to tend to a bit of business once he had finished chatting.
"Fangs...what do you," Jubilee started to ask until she ran her tongue over her teeth and felt them, "What happened to my teeth!?"
"As I was saying you've taken on part of your Mistress, she's marked you. There's some quid quo pro I'm sure you'll figure out along the way..." The raven tried again.
"Whoa, back up, my Mistress?" Jubilee asked.
"Yes, you called her Rogue? She's the Lady's Heiress. All that was the Lady's is now hers, all her power and in time her knowledge. It's the way of the world all but a few of you Humans have forgotten, but for better or worst with just how fast you breed there's still enough of you out there to be taught how things are supposed to work." The raven carried on, flying down to alight on one of the sleeping bags.
"...so what happened to my ears...?" Jubilee mumbled, frowning and gently stroking the very wolfish ears growing out of the side of her head thinking they should rather be popping off the top.
"Every. Single. Time. You Familiars always ask this! Were else do you think you're ears are going to grow? They've just taken on the appearance of whatever aspect your Mistress serves. The Lady served the Wolf Spirit, so ergo you are marked thus. Just be glad she wasn't serving the Catfish Spirit, even I have to say I feel sorry for them." The raven shouted, cawing and crowing for a time to work through his frustration until he found fit to try and put a good spin on the situation.
"I look like some kinda of anime character." Jubilee mumbled stroking her ears.
"If I tell you you're kawaii will you shut up and do what I brought you here to do?" The raven asked.
"Fuck, why couldn't it have just been peyote." Jubilee muttered, kissing her teeth as she ran her tongue over her new fangs before getting down to breaking camp and heading back to Rogue.
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Jolting awake and hearing bird song in the trees, Rogue looked around and remembered the dreams she had before. She was alone in the forest but walked without fear, found beauty in the mundane, and thinking herself lost had found a lady who was truly so and completely alone. Shutting her eyes tight as a vision of teeth and blood and pain assaulted her, she breathed hard through her nose with clenched teeth trying to forget it.
"Hey, you're awake. Here, drink this."
Spinning to find Jubilee sitting there with a mug of what smelt like instant coffee, she greedily drank it and started to look at her friend. She was dressed different but that wasn't the only thing that was screaming for her attention. The campsite she had so thoroughly prepared was gone with a new one taking its place. Bundled up in both their sleeping bags, she was warm and safe and as the coffee coursed through her system she felt alert after what felt like such a long time. That was when she noticed it.
"What happened to your ears Jubilee!?" Rogue gasped, spotting the rather doggy looking ears poking out of the side of her head, two little triangles of fur that peeked out from her silky black hair.
"Every. Single. Time." A tired voice muttered.
"Who's there!?" Rogue asked anew.
"Okay Familiar, she's your Mistress so why don't you tell her." The voice added with a hint of humour.
"Roguey, do you...remember anything from the other night?" Jubilee asked, her new ears twitching and falling limp.
"You don't mean last night do you?" Rogue asked with a look to the campsite only to get a nod that did her no favours telling her thus.
"We were making stew, with...beans? We couldn't find a hotel so we camped out, because...we're going to Oktoberfest in Munich..." Rogue recalled, the first memories the easiest.
"Yeah, Kurt and Logan are gonna meet us there to party it up." Jubilee replied, her nod far more cheerful now.
Logan, that name alone had power, memories of wandering through the woods feeling lonely and missing him so much coming back to her. She had been taking photographs, looking forward to showing him them and telling him about everything she had experienced...and then she heard it...
"My camera!" Rogue gasped, forcing back the flood of recollection to see Jubilee scrabble across the camp to retrieve it.
"Found it Mistress!" Jubilee cheerfully replied, offering the item to her.
"What did you call me...?" Rogue asked slowly in an afterthought as she took the camera.
"What do you mean?" Jubilee asked, tilting her head too much like a confused puppy.
"You called me Mistress." Rogue said.
Looking like she just realized it herself, Jubilee turned her angry eyes on of all things a raven sitting in the nearby three that somehow looked...smug. Thinking again what was important and turning her camera on, it held all the keepsakes she had taken from the night that had ended so strangely, had ended so sadly and so very lonely for her.
"What the hell is going on Jubilee?" Rogue asked.
"Hey, I'm just a dumb human, a stupid Familiar that can't even figure out where ears are supposed to go! Why don't you tell her just what's going on if you're such a high and mighty spirit huh?" Jubilee growled at the raven.
"You're really going to Oktoberfest?" The raven asked.
"Holy shit that crow just talked!" Rogue gasped with a finger thrown at the offending bird.
If a bird could sigh and look to the heavens asking for strength to suffer and endure, the raven did so in that moment.
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"So I'm a Witch?" Rogue asked, walking along down the highway with her knapsack thrown over her shoulder.
"You're the heiress the Lady chose, so yes." The raven said from his perch atop said knapsack.
"And Jubilee...?" Rogue asked with a look to her friend who was hiking along with her.
"Your Familiar, a servant to help you. Normally you'd take a little longer to choose one but with how long the Lady had looked for someone to succeed her I have to imagine the Rite didn't go as smoothly as it should have." The raven remarked, cawing down to the girl that was now looking up at him feeling insulted.
"So that's why...she called me Mistress when she gave me my camera?" Rogue asked, that had been a question she had been saving for a while now.
"That's all based on strong emotions, so lets say you asked her to touch her nose she would only do it if she wanted to humour you." The raven explained.
"So why did she...?" Rogue asked, holding up her camera for show.
"That's what I was asking when she kept looking for it, but she said it was a gift from someone that was special to you. So...strong emotion, strong response. I guess she knew you'd be upset if it was lost so she went and found it." The raven carried on, looking down to the girl who had been given him a foul look who now appeared sheepish.
"Thank you Jubilee." Rogue said with a smile to her friend, noticing just how her ears perked up.
"You're welcome...Mistress..." Jubilee mumbled, struggling against the last bit until it flew out.
Acting on impulse she reached out to tenderly stroke her ear, Jubilee leaning in to the touch and blushing until she caught herself. Giggling and laughing, Rogue found her mood brightening.
"So, I'm guessin' this is a pretty big deal huh?" Rogue asked, looking up to the raven nesting atop her knapsack.
"You humans and you're stories, why does everything always have to be so important? Can't you just accept you're the Wolf Spirit's Witch and leave it at that? If the Wolf Spirit needs you then the Wolf Spirit will call you. Otherwise, just do whatever you were doing before all this happened, which as I've heard is going to Oktoberfest. Right along with your storytelling I have to say beer was another great thing you Humans came up with. Nothing says easy scavenging like a bunch of humans getting together to drink beer." The raven prattled on, his feathers getting flustered to the point he started preening.
"So you're coming all the way us to Munich with us?" Rogue asked.
"Mainly for the easy scavenging, oh and to try and keep you out of trouble until you start figuring it out, but mostly because I know it will annoy her." The raven cawed and crowed sounding to laugh as it looked to Jubilee.
"How am I gonna tell this all ta Logan..." Rogue sighed, clutching her camera to her chest.
Feeling arms wrap around her and a fluffy ear twitch and tweak her cheek, she smiled down to her friend and Familiar, glad she had someone else to talk to about it than just the Raven camping out on her knapsack. Returning the hug and feeling all the better for it, if her map wasn't wrong they'd be to the next town in a few hours travel and could see about catching a bus for the last leg of their trip.
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She was alone and the ache in her heart was overpowering to the point she couldn't breath, racing through the woods that had been so magical and beautiful before feeling empty and desolate in a way that had her cry. There was one who alone could fill the void, who could make her suffering cease and he was lost to her as visions of a lake she could never swim across struck her as so absolute and final she just might as well curl up and die.
Then out of the darkness of that despair came the flicker of a candles flame that could save her, someone that could see her through the dawn. Strange visions came of racing with the girl through canyons of stone, laughter and alluring scents remembered. Visions of that endless lake became a thing of pleasure, the sun remembered with the same reverence as she had for the moon. Tearing through the woods she knew this fragile flame was close, the one that would help her until she could find the other half of her heart.
Crashing through the clearing and seeing her struggling to wake, it was an easy task to tear her out of the cocoon of cloth she nested in. Screams echoed through the forest and she didn't know this light to brighten her darkness ran, but instincts called and she gave chase. It became a game just like when they had raced through the canyon of strange stone, but instead of laughter there were tears.
Finally cornering her as she tired, she laid cowed in the dirt and trembled like fearful prey. A bite was all it took to mark and claim her, her claws rending the ridiculous clothing off her. Curling up against her to keep her warm against the night, her coat was enough to stand against any chill and finally she felt arms snake around her neck to hold her close as the crying quieted. She remembered being friends but now they were more, when they dawn came she wouldn't be alone and that helped her to sleep peacefully under the light of the full moon.
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Waking with a start in the back of the bus, the dream was too real but to be anything but a memory she could only now recall. Feeling a warmth against her she looked to see Jubilee curled up with her head nestled in the crook fo her arm, already fast asleep just like any trip by plane, train or automobile. Pulling her onto her lap so their legs dangled together, she hugged her close and looked out the window as the bus trundled along.
"It's always hard to think when the full moon is out, I think that's why the Lady couldn't wait for the morning. Too much instinct running through her head, too much wolf coursing through her veins. She finally found her Heiress and could rest in peace at last."
Tilting her head just enough to peek past her friend, she saw the raven roosting across from her on an empty seat. Tears came as she thought back to that night, a lone wolf looking so tired and alone, stroking her fur and seeing a sadness in those pale green eyes.
"She's...?" Rogue whispered with a look to the few other passengers on the bus.
"Was sorry, but you already know that. I remember how beautiful your howl was when you forgave her, it brought her the solace she needed to go in peace. The forest saw to her funeral as you humans call them." The raven said all the more kind now, gone was his biting humour and weary approach to explaining things.
Looking to one she felt sorry to herself, the dream was fresh and left her feeling sick, remembering every moment now as she chased her friend down until she fell spent and weak and ready to let nature take its course. Hugging her tight and whispering meaningless words of apology, the arms holding her clutched tighter. Looking to the raven, she thought over the words trying to find voice and picked one question of the many she had.
"I'll answer your question with a question." The raven said, his eyes looking deep in hers.
"Do you know just where the myths of Werewolves came from? There was a time when the Spirits needed more help than they do now so they had many witches and just a few warlocks now and again. Of course all these had their Familiars just as you do now, all marked by their Mistress or Master who is marked by the Spirit they serve." The raven explained, hopping to his feet and strutting across to her utterly unnoticed by the other passengers.
"I could tell you just about every myth or story that was conjured out of you humans getting the natural order of the world wrong, but that's the one you need to know right now. Just like those stories when the moon is full so too will your connection to the Wolf Spirit be at its strongest. Healthy and hale you won't have to worry too much, but hurt or injured or so very weak like the Lady...and instincts start to try and make sense of your wants and needs." The raven finished, settling down in the empty seat beside them.
Taking the warning to heart, for a second time in her life she had to worry about hurting the ones closest to her. Letting her friend sleep and keeping her warm and safe, it was all she could do in apology for what she had done to her. Watching the signs they passed from the window, they told her with every stretch that she was getting closer to the one who might be able to make her feel safe and secure again herself.
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"What the hell happened to yer ears?"
"Can I kick him? Please, please Roguey can I kick him?" Jubilee asked eagerly.
"No." Rogue said finding herself able to laugh after the long hug she was enjoying from the man.
"Fine...mistress." Jubilee mumbled sullenly, walking up to get a hug for herself from Kurt.
Breathing in his scent and wondering if this is what it had been like for him all this time, he smelt of the wilds he had shown her and so many things she didn't have words for. Daydreaming of the moon high overhead and racing through fields, she felt the throaty growl come with the need to sing for him a song she felt in her heart thinking him forever lost to her on that first night.
"Mistress?" Logan asked, looking between them for an answer.
"Long story." Rogue whispered, reluctant to let go of him after finally getting him back.
"Well, given just where we are and just what time o' year it is, why don't we go find a drink somewhere and ya can tell us all about it." Logan said with a nod to Kurt who was suffering Jubilee as she poked him.
"Wow, so cool! I mean, you look like you but...not you, except I can still feel -you- you under there." Jubilee rambled.
"I have Henry to thank for this, it was a longtime dream of his that he has made a reality." Kurt chuckled.
"Maybe I can get an image inducer for my ears." Jubilee mused, pulling her hoodie back up to hide them.
"I still wanna know what the hell happened to 'em but I guess that'll wait fer a beer so we can chew the fat." Logan said, looking down to the lady in his arms.
Hitting the street with the rest of the revellers of the festival and finding a pub with seating for four in the back, the first round was laid out. Telling the story from all the highs and lows that had come with it, the only proof she had of it was her friend and Familiar across the table from her and the fact that Logan could tell a lie with just one sniff. As she finished she finally noticed just how Logan held her hand, clenching it tight in return and never wanting him to let go. Finishing their drinks in silence, another round was ordered along with some food.
"You know I gotta do this." Logan said, reaching across the table to touch one of the taunting ears.
"I got fangs too Mister, ya want me ta bite you just so you can see how real they are?" Jubilee growled throatily, baring the aforementioned teeth.
Kicking her friend from under the table and tossing a nod to the rest of the patrons, while no one was looking it didn't hurt to keep things on the down low. With a submissive shrug and pursed lips Jubilee did as told, setting to task devouring the steak she ordered up to keep herself out of trouble.
"Finally got someone ta keep her in line." Logan chuckled, looking down to his occupied hand and his awaiting plate.
Reluctantly letting go noticing her own plate, the sight of so much red meat bloody and rare once would have turned her stomach. Now she just felt famished and hungrily set to stripping meat from bone and cutting away the fat to leave just scraps behind. It was only when finished did she noticed she had beat out even Logan with Jubilee keeping pace with the normally ravenous man.
"Don't go bein' bashful on account o' us, if yer still hungry feel free Darlin'. My treat." Logan said with a nod to her empty plate.
"Me too?" Jubilee asked, nearly finished herself.
"Considerin' the closest ya normally get ta real meat is a hamburger, eat up." Logan chuckled, catching the eye of the waitress.
"Chicken fingers are real meat." Jubilee shot back, not looking for permission this time as she kicked him from under the table.
"Keep tellin' yerself that, and there ain't no nuggets on chickens either. Comes down ta wings, drumsticks, thighs, and..." Logan started, counting off each on his fingers.
"Breasts." Rogue supplied, not knowing just why she had interrupted him but feeling herself blush and busying herself with her beer.
"What she said..." Logan said with a look to her, his eyes lingering there for a long while.
"Perhaps we could find a more suiting topic while eating." Kurt asked with a look to his own plate.
Whispered apologies were offered and in time the waitress returned with two more steaks to mistakenly place them before the men. Watching in awe as the ladies of the table corrected this the waitress uttered an apology and set off to help other patrons. It was then Logan noticed Jubilee look to her own to see it was just that much bigger than Rogue's and take it upon herself to switch plates.
"Yer not kidding about this Mistress stuff are ya?" Logan asked of the spitfire across from him.
"What, I can't eat all that...?" Jubilee said between bites.
Knowing a lie when he smelt one, he let it go and got down to watching the meat vanish about as fast as his own couple of beers he had in that same time. It was about the time he cracked a joke around saving room for dessert any of his last doubts where cast aside.
"Don't want none." Jubilee said, giving her bone a few experimental chews.
"Right, well, while you ladies let that digest I'm gonna call up Blue 'n get him hittin' the books ta find out just whatever he can on all this." Logan said, excusing himself to go make a call.
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The hotel was nicer than any she had stayed in across Europe, most just little more than a room with a communal bathroom and the only view she had was the person next to her. Sitting out on the balcony she enjoyed the view of the city lit up for the festival. Dragging out the sofa had been easier than she thought, Jubilee talking about some quid quo pro the raven had talked about back when they had just been two lost girls out alone in the woods. Looking to her friend and Familiar fast asleep with her head resting upon her lap, she gently brushed a few stray hairs back into place.
"It's unlocked Logan." She called.
Hearing the door open and doing her best to hide her smile, years of being on the other end of that trick thrilled her as she waited for him to find her. He was fresh from the shower, barefoot and by the sound of things had raided the mini-bar of his room if the clinking of tiny bottles was any tell. Joining her at last, he looked from her to the sofa and then the suite in question but then shrugged it off and sat down.
"Nightcap?" Logan asked, offering a tiny bottle of scotch.
Letting her smile speak for her, she accepted it and raised it in toast. Weird was what they did, she recalled Jubilee saying those words after their meal. It helped her to forget just how her life had so suddenly changed again and simply enjoy the rest of their day now turned night as everything she wanted at the end of her trip.
"You get my postcards?" She asked softly.
"Got 'em all ready ta pin to yer wall when we get back." Logan replied just as quiet as her, drinking down his own tiny bottle of scotch.
That had been the promise they had made at the airport as he had seen her off, something to look forward to when she returned to the everyday with just memories of the places she had been. The stories she could tell him, but looking out at the city now with him so close to her she remembered another promise. It had been made one night from a payphone in Spain as she enjoyed the sunset thinking of him across the ocean. He swore to come and make a few memories with her at his kind of party, never imagining then the story they'd have to tell someday from their trip to Oktoberfest.
"I'm alright Logan." She said, feeling his concern for her.
"You sure?" He asked, cracking open another bottle to sip just as slowly as she was still her first.
"Weird is what we do..." Rogue replied, smiling as she caught him looking to the girl between them with just as much concern as she felt.
"I...know a thing or two about, about havin' somethin' inside that..." Logan whispered, stumbling over his own tongue as he looked for the right words.
"That takes what it wants, what it needs without thinkin' o' what happens after?" Rogue asked, blinking as her eyes grew misty with a hint of tears.
Drinking down the last of her scotch, from the corner of her eye she saw how gently he lifted Jubilee's legs into his lap to slide over the space between them. Seeing her curl up against them both still fast asleep did nothing to help her tears, but as another bottle was offered she gladly took it.
"What did you need when..." Logan began, biting back a few hasty words that didn't just quite say what he felt.
"When I saw her...I just felt how alone she was. I just didn't want to be alone..." Rogue said as hardly more than a breath, the ache in her chest making it hard to speak.
"Never gonna leave ya alone again." Logan said soft as he draped an arm around her.
Though he smelt of the shower she imagined it as rain, remembering then so many nights spent listening to the patter and spray of passing storms in tents and rented cabins along their way off to Alaska. She knew in her heart his promise was one he'd keep, a sniff was all it took to find that undeniable truth. And as he sat there so close to her, the Wolf in her knew he hadn't lied about knowing what it felt like to have something that just took what it wanted or needed, because her gut told her that she was what he needed now.
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