A/N- Wow, A double update. Yay for days off.
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The pencil dragged across the paper with gentle finesse. The pad was gripped in slightly numb fingers as the drawers eyes were firmly planted on the wolf in front of her. The female was lounging around on a rock, overlooking a small creek as the canine watched her pups play in the water. The artist sat on a rock on the shore of the body of water, completely at ease with being near the animal.
The artist was wrapped up in a winter coat. It was black and stretched down to her knees, false dark fur lined the hood and cuffs. A fabric belt was wrapped round the artists waist, revealing her as female.
The girl finished the detailing around the wolf's eye with a small flick of her wrist before she studied it and a small smile graced her lips.
"What do you think?" She asked, turning the large mammal that sat beside her. The Buffalo's legs were curved in beneath him as he turned his head to the girl next to him, who was much smaller in comparison, and gave an answer. To anyone else's ears, it would have sounded like a regular Buffalo grunt, but the girl could talk to animals. The animal itself was large and brown with thick dark fur and he had a tell-tale mark on his horn. It was an indent in the ivory like material that curled up the horn like a constrictor. Skye had unwound a length of wire that the Buffalo had gotten trapped round his horn ages before she had met him and it had cut into his horn and left the defining mark.
"It looks great, Skye"
"Thank you, Duke" Skye smiled. Her eyes wandered around the frozen tundra forest around her and she sighed happily, Storm was right. A few years on the road with Logan had been just what she needed. It had been brilliant travelling around the US. She had made a lot of new friends, human or otherwise. And each summer, Logan had driven them to stay with her Aunt Jennifer for almost the entire season. It had been fun, but she longed for the familiar walls of Xavier's school. That was home now.
A small voice knocked her out of her thoughts as a weight placed itself on her shoulder "Is that Sierra?".
Skye moved her eyes towards the small furry mammal that sat with it's front paws on her shoulder. He was a lot smaller that Duke, the size of a domestic cat as he was still a baby. With smooth long fur that ranged in different shades of brown. "Yes it is, Damien. Do you know any other wolves around here?"
The small Wolverine leaped off the rock she sat on and rested on his haunches by her feet "Not personally no, but my Uncle Maurice did. Though that wolf was much more dangerous than Sierra".
"Is that a challenge, Rodent?" A deep feminine voice, mixed with a sultry accent asked.
The little brown creature's ears bent back and he turned slowly "Sierra" He greeted "I was just talking about you!".
The Gray wolf appraised her distant cousin with a look similar to how she would watch her next meal before pouncing. "Shut up". She had fluffy grey fur that kept her warm in the cold climate. And her eyes were pale amber that shone with pride and loyalty.
"Done!" Damien squeaked before he scurried to hide behind Duke, who gave the young mammal a disapproving snort.
"Easy, Sierra" Skye soothed, placing her sketch pad back in her canvas messenger bag, that was now studded with badges from around the states."I don't fancy you killing each other before Logan and I head back to New York".
School was never something skye had looked forward to when she was younger, well human school that is, but now she was looking forward to going back. Seeing the X-men again and her (Almost) human friends.
"I wouldn't kill him" Sierra said "Just throw him to my pups as a fluffy chew toy" She finished with a growl.
Duke let out a laugh "Now now, Sierra. Damien may be annoying but he has his uses and he is our friend".
The Gray wolf padded over to the Buffalo and stared at him "Friend. Prey. I see no difference" Sierra took much satisfaction when Damien suddenly shout out from hiding underneath Duke's tail and slid in the snow as he dove into Skye's bag.
The Buffalo and Skye laughed as a fluffy tail stuck out of her bag. Sierra seemed to find this funny as she padded off towards her vantage point with her tail held high.
Skye watched her go and as soon as Sierra was settled back into watching her pups intently, she poked her bag and the sniffling nose of the young mammal poked out "Is she gone?"
"Yes, Damien, she's gone" Duke chuckled.
The Wolverine let out an irritated snort as he crawled out of the bag and perched himself on a small rock that sat just below the one Skye rested on.
"You know, I'm going to miss you guys and this place when I'm gone" Skye said, staring around at the snow draped trees as her hand stroked Damien behind the ear fondly.
"We'll miss you as well, Skye" Duke answered "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten all those knots out of my coat".
"And that Mountain Lion would have snapped me up for dinner if you didn't step in" Damien piped up.
"Which we are all thankful for" Sierra muttered sarcastically.
Duke sighed before carrying on, hoping to steer the two away from having an argument "And Sierra wouldn't have her pups if you hadn't gotten them out of the trap those hunters placed".
This might not have been the best thing to say as Sierra's jowls curled back into a snarl "Do not bring that up Duke, I am grateful for Skye's help but this is meant to be a reserve. There shouldn't be any poachers out here".
"Don't worry, Sierra. Logan knows a guy who helps runs the reserve and he's a mutant like me, so Logan explained to him what happened and now the guys going to sort it out. There won't be any more poachers here" The girl finished, kicking the snow with a brown boot clad foot. The snow and cold had already seeped into her boot and numbed her foot slightly but she didn't mind.
If a Buffalo could smile, then Duke's would be beaming, however, his lips turned up to reveal his yellowish teeth "You really were a Godsend".
Skye laughed, her hand coming up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face and further into her hood as she thanked her bovine friend. "You should thank Logan though it was his idea to come to Canada for a while in the first place"
Damien made a small noise not unlike a confused squeak "What's so great about this Logan guy anyway?"
Skye's brows furrowed under the thick fur "What do you mean?".
The small mammal stood up on his hind legs unsteadily "What's so great about the 'Great and powerful Wolverine'? Why does he get all the glory? I'm a Wolverine too! Shouldn't I get some of the fame too? What makes Logan so special?".
"Well…." Skye started, trying to word it right "He's...strong….and very brave"
"Well I'm strong too. I could totally take this Logan guy!" To prove his point, Damien began to swipe at the air with his small claws and growling slightly, much to the amusement of his friends. One of Sierra's pups had made it's way over towards the little Wolverine and leant on the rock with it's front paws as it balanced on it's back. Once it had stability, it stretched to his full height and made to bite Damien's tail that was swishing back and force enticingly during the Wolverine's show of strength.
Small wolf teeth closed around Damien's tail and he gave a mingled squeak of surprise and pain and he leapt off his rock and onto Skye's lap, turning his face round to bare his fangs at the young pup who simply barked and padded off to rejoin his siblings.
His companions began to laugh and the mammals ears bent back in embarrassment as he began muttering excuses "I wasn't scared. I was just building it's confidence like Lions do for their young. I could have easily taken him. I just didn't want Sierra to live with the humiliation of having a pup that was beaten by a Wolverine".
"That and the fact that Sierra would have had an early dinner if you even tried it" Duke chuckled.
Damien only curled up in Skye's lap and covered his face with his tail. The girl's silver eyes watched the weasel as a tender smile came on her face. Silence settled over the little creek and it allowed Skye to take in the peaceful sounds of the forest. The trickle of water; the calling of birds; the yapping of Sierra's pups as they fought playfully; the breeze running through the trees; a voice calling out her name.
Skye sat up straighter as she listened intently, her movement caused Damien to get up and sit next to her, growling slightly to show his distaste. The voice bounced off the trees and echoed around the rocks that surrounded the creek. She sighed as she recognised the voice as Logan's, which meant it was time to go.
"I got to go guys" She announced as she stood up "Logan's looking for me".
Damien bounced back onto his haunched "Oh, I want to go with you! I want to see this 'Wolverine'".
"I think we should all go to see Skye off. It's the least we could do" Duke offered as he rose to his feet, the top of his shoulder blades raising high above the young mutant's head, as she pulled her bag strap over her head and let it fall on her shoulder.
"I would" Sierra started "But my pups couldn't keep up" She padded her way up to Skye as the girl knelt down.
"That's alright, Sierra, I understand. These two can wave me off" Skye wrapped her arms around the wolfs neck. As the girl pulled back, the wolf responded by licking the girls face and whining.
"Thank you, Skye"
"Don't mention it"
Skye walked over to Duke, brushing the snow off her knees. "Hop on" The bovine instructed and put all his weight onto his knees. The girl stepped onto a rock and swung her leg over the Buffalo's side and planted her weight on his back, firmly but gently so she didn't hurt him.
Daien scurried his way up Duke's side and Skye lifted him up to sit in front of her as she rested behind his shoulders. "Ready".
The Buffalo got to his feet once more. His long, dark hair dangling below him. "Where to?" He asked.
"Towards the voice" She replied, holding on to locks of thick fur as the bovine began walking. Skye turned around and lifted her hood far enough to see the female wolf watching their retreating forms "Bye Sierra!" She called back, waving enthusiastically. The wolf's reply was a loud howl that her pups instinctively joined in and it played the role of a sort of drum march as Duke trotted through the snowy foliage.
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"Skye!"
The voice echoed through the serene forest as Logan walked through the forest. He had told her to stay with the truck. But she had once again disobeyed and ran into the wilderness. He would have been livid with her for going off on her own but he couldn't be. He should have been, but couldn't. She reminded him too much of himself like that.
"Logan!"
A new voice called out. It wasn't Skye, it was too deep and masculine to be her. Logan turned and found a blond haired man oggin towards him. He had a trapper hat pushed down over his forehead and Logan could see another pair of cornflower blue eyes peering at him from under the rim.
As the other mutant neared, Logan raised a hand in greeting.
"What's up Wolverine?" The four eyed man asked as he came to a stop, panting slightly.
"Nothing much, Insight. Just waiting for Skye to get back before we make our way back to New York"
"Professor X?" Insight panted. Logan sent a nod his way.
"Vans all packed all I need to do is find that girl" Logan growled in annoyance. He longed for the warm interior of his truck, the heater warming his frozen fingers. He did not, however, want to spend his time traipsing round the forest looking for someone he told to stay with the truck.
"She shouldn't take too long. I saw her on her way back"
"How?"
Insight moved his hat up and gave Logan a double wink "Skye may have her thrid eye on the odd occasion but I have four eyes"' He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, panting "Though I wish I had two pairs of lungs".
The dark haired man laughed at his companion and lead the way back to his truck. "So you're going to talk to your boss about the poachers that were on the reserve?" He asked as they left the forest.
The blond nodded and met Logan's blue eyes as the pair leaned against the side of the truck "We'll sort something out. When we're done, the animals will be safe and no more poachers will be able to gain access to the reserve".
"Well it's about time" A younger softer voice spoke from behind Logan.
All four of insight's eyes widened as he took in what was behind him. Logan raised an eyebrow and turned round to find himself face to snout with Duke.
"Hi!" Skye smiled and waved from where she sat on her bovine companion
"I guess you weren't joking when you said she could talk to animals" Insight murmured as he took in the large creature in front of him.
"Nope" Skye grinned.
The mutant took a wary step back as he noticed the small weasel in front of the girl growling at him. "Meet Duke and Damien" She introduced, gesturing to the animals respectively. Duke let out a below in their direction which Skye heard as a clear "Nice to meet you".
"I think I'll let you two be on your way" Insight said as he began to make his way back up the mountain and to the ranger station.
"Thank you, Insight!" Skye yelled after him as he disappeared into the bushes.
Logan stared at the weasel and bovine with mild interest "So this is where you've been disappearing off to?".
"Yep. Guys, this is Logan" She introduced, sliding off of Duke's back and walking round to be level with the Buffalo's head.
"This is the famous 'Wolverine'?" Damien yelled, though all Logan could hear was irritating growls. He sat back on his haunches and began scratching at the air again "Put 'em up! Come on, you big lug, I'll take you on!".
Skye laughed at him while Logan gave him a weird look. "They remind me of you".
He received a glare from her silver eyes as she reached up and scratched the weasel behind the ear. "Well, I think he's more like you".
"Oh really?" He smirked and crossed his arms.
"Yeah. He is a Wolverine after all".
Logan's face fell and Skye started laughing.
"Just get in the van" He muttered, turning around and pulling open the driver's side door.
Skye turned to Duke and sighed "I'm really going to miss you guys. I wish you could come with me".
"We wish we could to. But I have a herd to look after and Damien has Sierra to annoy" Duke replied.
Her arms wound round the Buffalo's neck and she dug her face into his fur "I'll try and come back. I promise".
Duke nuzzled her with his large head "You know where to find us".
Skye nodded and stood up, turning to the bundle of brown fur who sat on Duke, staring at her with sad brown eyes "At least try to stay out of trouble, Damien. Duke can't always be around to make sure Sierra doesn't turn you into lunch".
"I think I'll be fine, Skye" He replied.
The young mutant grabbed the Wolverine and hugged him "I know. I'm only saying".
She placed the small weasel on the floor and turned away before opening the door on the passenger side and looking back at her friends over her shoulder. Tears stung her eyes as they met two pairs of brown eyes. With one last wave, she pulled herself into the truck and shut the door. Forcing her eyes to stare at the ground as she heard Duke cry out in goodbye.
"Seems like they were good friends" Logan stated as he started driving.
"They were" Skye muttered quietly, leaning her head against the window and snuggling into the warmth of her hood.
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"Such a shame to see her go, isn't it Damien?" Duke said forlornly, turning his great head to look at where the small weasel was sat by his side. Only, he wasn't there. "Damien?" He called, looking around "Damien!". The large bovine's brown eyes landed on the truck that was turning the corner that headed towards the interstate. "Oh boy".