author: Lucinda

for teens and older.

main characters: Logan (Wolverine) and Angel

fourth in Drink & Be Merry

disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to Angel, the creation of Joss Whedon for the series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. I hold no legal rights to Logan or the Hudsons, the creations of Marvel Comics

distribution: Jinni, Paula - anyone else just ask.

notes: this takes place just after the Weapon X program. Considerably before the BtVS series takes place.

They'd spent the rest of the winter in a rather feral life-style, hunting animals, and Logan eating the meat raw. Logan hadn't really started using words at all until that spring, and then they had been slow. Angel had stayed with him, trying to support Logan as much as he could.

He still didn't know what had happened to Logan, not really. He knew that it had involved scientists, and that things had been done to his friend, and that somehow, his friend's past had been stolen from his memories. Once in a while, Logan would dream things that might have been memories, but it was so hard to be sure. Angel hadn't been privy to much of Logan's life. Other times, they were nightmares, horrible images of pain and suffering that they both hoped had never been real.

The animals had already started to teach their young how to survive before Logan asked. "Why do you smell different? Why does the sunlight hurt you when it doesn't harm me?"

Angel had pondered for a while over how to answer that. Finally, he decided that only the truth would do, though he'd try to avoid some of the details. "I burn in the sun because I'm a vampire. You aren't a vampire, so the sunlight doesn't hurt you the same way. It probably changed my scent as well, but I'd never really given that much thought."

Logan stood there, looking over the valley filed with trees, and nodded. "I knew that before, didn't I? It feels like it fits."

Angel nodded, familiar by now with the way that some things that Logan had known, places that he'd seen, would 'fit' into the many gaps in Logan's memories. "You did. I'm not the only vampire that you've encountered, though as far as I know, I'm the only one that you're on decent terms with."

"You said once that I was almost family," Logan murmured, the phrasing a subtle request for more information.

"The first time we met was in Kyoto. I thought that you'd make a wonderful childe, a wonderful vampire." Angel paused, remembering that night. "Things didn't go as I'd thought, and as near as I can figure, we went to a bar, got into a drinking contest, and I woke up hung over, laying under a table."

Logan chuckled, his head shaking slightly. "Do you always go drinking with strangers?"

"Back then, I was more likely to drink the strangers than go drinking with them," Angel admitted. "I'm not the same as I used to be. You aren't quite either; you didn't have those metal claws then."

Logan's skin quivered, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. "But I knew who I was, knew my past."

"Yes," Angel agreed.

The glint of moonlight on metal and the sound of a man's voice cursing at the pine branches caught their attention. Below, they could see two figures moving through their valley, dressed in dark clothing. One of them had long red hair and was slightly smaller, probably a woman.

"Think those are hunters?" Logan asked, crouching a little, as if trying not to bee seen.

"I'm not sure," Angel mused, his mind pondering that very question. It wasn't the right season for normal hunting, so that left poachers, or scientists. If they were poachers, maybe he could have a nice bite, enough to convince them that it was a bad idea. But if they were scientists... No, if they were looking for Logan, they would have come sooner.

"I want to find out. Who they are, why they're here," Logan declared, starting down the hill to intercept the probable path of the humans.

Angel just nodded, curious about those very questions himself. They moved with very little sound, seeing easily in the darkness, and in the shadowy areas under the trees. This was familiar ground now, and they weren't about to be taken unawares by enemies. For that matter, neither one really had any interest in leaving enemies alive. OF course, it was always best to make certain before acting.

"Look at that stag, James. I think he's be a perfect subject." The red haired person spoke, the voice that of a woman with an education.

Raising his rifle, the man grumbled, "If the tracking devices work, he will. But I'm not sure that your colleagues have all the problems worked out just yet..."

The man shot, and the stag bounded away, crashing through the underbrush and smelling of blood and fear.

Logan growled.

The woman made a frightened squeak, grabbing at the man's arm. He twitched his shoulder, muttering, "Animals can smell fear. Try to stay calm, Heather."

Slowly, the man turned around, the gun moving slowly towards his shoulder. His eyes scanned the darkness, searching for the source of the noise.

Catching sight of Logan, he gasped, stumbling back with a loud exclamation of "Oh my God! A wild man."

"Why are you here?" Logan demanded, eyes narrowed as he glared at the people.

Angel shook his head in the darkness. Granted, Logan was dressed in roughly cured hides that they'd sewn together over the winter, but he was hardly the near-wild beast that he'd been upon his first waking. Besides that, the man with the rifle had completely missed him, had no idea that Logan wasn't alone. Sadly, the probably weren't poachers or criminals, so it was unlikely that he'd eat them. Too bad, the small amount of blood the stag had shed was reminding him that he could use a good meal.

"Maybe not as wild as that after all, James," the woman murmured. "You might want to lower your gun before he decides that you're threatening him."

With a stiff nod, the man lowered his gun a little bit, just enough that it was no longer pointed at Logan. "My wife and I are here as part of a nature study. We work for the Canadian government."

For a moment, Logan watched them in silence. Finally, he asked, "What do the two of you do?"

"I'm a biologist," the woman offered, her voice tight with worry and fear. "I'm working on a study of the wildlife populations of the area. My husband wanted to come with me."

"Just a few research projects," James spoke, his words careful. "I'm a researcher attached to the military."

It was obvious to Angel that the man was hiding something, though that could have just been fear of the supposed wild man. Maybe his research was supposed to be a military secret. Or maybe he'd been involved in some rather nasty things.

"The military…" Logan's words were a growl. Taking a step closer, the claws slid free with a few drops of blood and a very faint scraping noise. "You'd better not have had anything to do with these…"

Angel immediately decided that if this man had been at all responsible for what had happened to Logan, he'd kill him, soul or no soul. Logan looked furious, and the growl was still rumbling in his chest.

"Lord have mercy, how could that…" Heather's shock was something that could almost be tasted.

"No, I work with electrical systems, research on electronics." James sounded shaken, though not quite as terrified as the woman. "I've been researching a few prototypes of modern armor, but this… I've never seen anything like it."

"Logan's not a savage." Angel stepped into view, restraining a smile as the couple jumped. "He's a man that's suffered, and it was most likely at the hands of those he should have been able to trust."

"And who are you?" James demanded, the gun raising a few inches as he face Angel.

With a tight smile, Angel replied, "A friend."

"You're not one of my friends," James insisted.

"No," Angel agreed. Letting one hand rest lightly on Logan's shoulder, he added, "I'm his friend."

"Maybe we should go somewhere and talk about this?" Heather offered. "There's a cabin that we've rented for our stay…"

Angel glanced at Logan, a tiny shrug of his shoulders letting his friend know that the decision was his. Personally, he believed that they were surprised and a little afraid, but he still didn't trust them, not yet.

Logan nodded. "Talking might be good. Lead on."

As they followed the two people out of the valley, Angel sighed. It looked like he'd have to wait a bit longer for dinner after all. Unless… Leaning towards Logan, he whispered, "You stay with them, I'll grab a quick bite and catch up."

"Best not to have hunger clouding your judgment," Logan agreed, his words just as soft.

As Angel moved on a diagonal course, searching for a rabbit, he hoped that these people weren't a sign of trouble to come. He'd known that they wouldn't end up staying in a remote valley forever, but he hadn't expected to leave just yet. But sometimes, fate got tired of waiting, and delivered a swift shove. He had the feeling that it was time for things to change again.

End Drink and Be Merry 4: Dinner, or Guests?