A/N: Ooohhh….I'm sorry, guys! I've been so busy, and I couldn't find the time to type anything up! XP I mean, I could probably have typed at night, when I'm supposed to be asleep, but I've been going to bed around 9 as opposed to the usual 11 or 12 o'clock… And there's that little fact that I've started school again (Senior year in high school!)… Updates may not be as quick to come as they've been in the past few weeks…

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Chapter 6: Meeting a Sabretoothed Lion
or
In Which Kuga Totally Loses It

"He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy." -Socrates

She knew she was lost; Kuga had never visited New York before. The only city she knew of was New York City and its capital, Albany. But no matter what she told herself, the young Feral couldn't bring herself to follow her scent trail back to Xavier's. So she pressed on.

Kuga ran until she reached a town. Well, she'd passed through a few towns, but this one smelled like river, the scent helping to calm her unreasonable fear. The whole time she had to fight the Cougar for control; the beast thought she would be better in a situation like this because she knew how to stay hidden. The teen didn't give up, though. She just kept running through towns and streets, denying the beast freedom.

She knew she was in trouble when an expensive black car parked on the curb of the empty street she was traveling down. Kuga knew it was expensive because it had a 3-D Jaguar hood ornament, and she reasoned the car was a Jaguar based on it. She didn't really know a lot about cars, just that she wanted a Dodge Durango, one of the older models.

She stared at the spot she knew the driver was sitting; she couldn't see him because it was dark and the windows were blacked out. After a few seconds, Kuga felt a shiver go down her spine. There was a dangerous person in that car, and something told her that person wanted her. She didn't know what for, and she didn't want to find out.

The driver's side door opened just as Kuga was about to turn tail and flee. She froze as the wind carried his—it was definitely male—scent to her. If any other man had stepped out, with maybe a few exceptions, she'd've been off like a startled rabbit. But the scent of old blood, pine, dirt, mint, and man froze her solid. Faintly, she could smell something else, something familiar, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

A second later, out stepped what could possibly have been the largest man she'd ever seen. It wasn't just his physical size that made him so large, though that helped immensely; he had this personal aura of largeness. It almost overwhelmed the poor teen. If that didn't, the man's looks sure would.

His eyes were blue-grey and his dark hair was cropped short; military, she surmised, but his muttonchops made her think otherwise. (In the military, you can only have a mustache, and a small one at that.) He wore black clothes and combat boots, with a faded black trench coat. All in all, he was handsome, in a rough, rugged, and unfinished sort of way.

He didn't appear to have a weapon of any sort, and Kuga couldn't smell any gunpowder, but that didn't mean he wasn't armed. He could easily have a knife sheathed in his boot or something.

Her gaze flickered to his hands as he twitched slightly. She inhaled sharply at the sight of claws instead of nails. Just like her… Kuga met the man's sharp gaze in wonder as he smirked.

After a few heartbeats, the man ordered, "Get in." His voice was enticing, like silk, but there was a sharpness that the teen could only guess came from seeing so much death. She could tell he'd been in a war or two in his life.

However, the order was all she caught, and Kuga narrowed her eyes and growled deep in her chest.

She was young, and still trying to learn how to control her beast. That job was made even harder because of this man who stood in front of her. Even with the human mind in control, she was more animal; a side effect from being Feral for so long. The Cougar was influencing her actions because she herself hadn't been able to push the beast down enough.

Being ordered like that had the Cougar clawing to the surface, fighting fang and claw for control and screaming in anger.

'No one, person, mutant, or otherwise, orders us around!' she roared. 'Tear lion-man apart! Show him We. Are. Not. SUBMISSIVE!'

The idea was tempting—so very tempting—to the Feral teen. Instead of following her instincts, though, Kuga took a deep breath, struggling to keep the Cougar back. The beast had given her something to ponder; why had she called him 'lion-man'?

She didn't look in the man's eyes, but over his shoulder, a habit from her childhood. Whenever she had been upset or mad at someone, Kuga would look over the other person's shoulder, trying to distance herself from the stressor. More often than not, it would work.

"I have no reason to listen to you, sir," Kuga forced through clenched teeth. Her hands fisted tightly, claws digging into her palms. Blood dripped through her fingers and to the cement, filling the air with its metallic scent.

She saw his nostrils flair and his blue-grey eyes dilated in hunger as a smirk revealed sharp fangs.

"Either get in, or I'll make ya," the man growled. He wanted a reason to attack; the anticipation was thick in his voice.

Kuga's eyes darkened to a shadowed ocher as she met the man's blue-grey gaze. Her slit pupil contracted to a sliver of black as defiance flared in her darkened orbs. She snarled, baring her own fangs in response.

The Cougar fought harder against the chains keeping her back, wanting to teach the beast of a man what happened to those who ordered her or her other half around. Kuga's control slipped a fraction of an inch, allowing the Cougar closer to the surface.

"Fer the record, I offered," the man commented. Anticipation and dark amusement sparkled in his now shadowed gaze. He crouched down, extending his claws as he prepared to fight.

Kuga snarled as the Cougar broke free of the chains holding her back.

Logan was doing his rounds in the institute when a noise caught his attention. It sounded like someone packing…

He doubled back, listening carefully as the sounds grew louder the close he got. They stopped, but he already knew who it was. Logan threw open the door to the cub's room, but he was too late. The window was open, no sign of the girl.

The stench of fear was strong, especially around the bed. 'Nightmare,' he realized.

He checked the drawers, but they were all empty. The only thing left was Jean's nightgown the telepath had let the cub borrow. With a growl, Wolverine leapt out of the window, following the cub's scent through the trees. He ran, trying to catch up to her, but she had a head start, and she was running in fear. He knew for a fact fear lent speed to a person.

Growling, the feral headed back to the institute and took Cyke's bike. He wouldn't mind. 'Much,' Logan added with a smirk.

The man followed the faint scent of the cub as the wind brought it to him, and he tore down the quiet roads. She was going in a westerly direction, Logan realized, heading towards the Hudson.

'At least she ain't headin' toward the city. Not yet,' he grouched, turning onto the highway. He passed through a few small towns, stopping only to check for the cub's scent and to fuel up the bike. A few late-night drivers yelled at him as he passed them, but he ignored them.

After about 40 minutes of driving, Wolverine found himself in Peekskill, a small-ish town on the Hudson River. He casted his senses out, searching for the cub's scent. She was close, her scent strong in the air.

He parked the motorcycle in a park, somewhere easy to get to should he need a quick getaway, but hidden from casual observers. Once that was done, the Feral took off, following the cub's sweet scent. He was crossing a street when a challenging scream—he almost mistook it for a mountain lion's—tore through the air, followed by a deeper, familiar lion-like roar.

Wolverine's nostrils flared as a dark growl rumbled in his chest. "Sabretooth," he spat, heading in the most direct route toward the challenges as he broke into a run.

I owe everyone a great big apology. I would have gotten this out last weekend, but I didn't have time to type anything. School had started that Thursday, and my last day of work was Wednesday. I had chores to do, and I was soo tired… But that doesn't excuse the fact I promised some of you I'd get it out last weekend.

And I apologize for the short chapter. I didn't want to break up the next part, so I broke it off there…

Once again, I apologize. And please check out the poll. I need your opinions… Thank you for your kind reviews! Those actually encouraged me to get this one typed as fast as I did. But...I'm not happy with it... It seems...dull. Like it's missing something...

I'll get started on the next chapter ASAP.

Risika

Edit: I fixed a grammar mistake. Thanks for spotting it, Hoovesahoy! (Yeah, that'd make me smirk, too.) So, if some to the line breaks are missing, it's because it's 1 in the morning and I am to freaking lazy to go through and deal with that crap right now.