As the human left eye and earshot, Ben faced his companion. The blood and guts on his fur really made the monster part of the phrase pocket monster stand out. Even more so when he began to clean his fur by licking the blood off. 'I know he's a predator, but, that's still very disturbing.' Logan pulled off what seemed to be part of a small intestine and tossed it over his shoulder like it was a piece of string. "I can tell that my current appearance and actions disturb you. Unfortunately, this is how things work in the wild. I've cleaned myself of blood this way many times. Not like there's any other way of me cleaning off. Even if there was an unfrozen lake around, it's too cold to clean myself with water. The blood also can provide a temporary source of water when it's scarce. Many animals and Pokémon rely on that to live. It ain't pretty, but that's how things go sometimes."

This slightly put Ben at ease. but he was still disturbed by the viciousness of Logan's kills. "Did you have to be that brutal about the kills? They were just hungry ya know?" The quick and violent disposal of the wolves was very shocking for someone like Ben. For the first time, but for just a little bit, he saw Logan, not as a creature close to human, or as a soul in need, but as something else that applied to him. A vulpine killing machine.

"They tried to kill me, so I killed them as quickly as I could. The violent nature of those kills ensured they were quick. You can't show mercy upon creatures trying to kill you, because I can guaran-damn-tee that they won't show mercy to you. Maybe I could've disguised myself, but if I don't use myself as bait there then they would've gone after the human, and you. Like it or not, I'm your partner, my job is to protect you."

Ben's heart skipped a beat. Did Logan just say he would protect him? He didn't get threatened or insulted? "Logan... what did... where is this coming from?"

Logan stopped cleaning his fur and looked away. "It's... complicated. I don't... like when people..." Ben had never seen Logan so unsure of himself. He always had an air of confidence around him, and his actions were always done with certainty. He didn't stutter, he didn't second guess himself. He just acted. That's how he had always been. 'So why now do you seem so vulnerable? Does this have something to do with your past?' Ben was pretty sure that it did. He didn't like to talk about it. It was the only thing that ever gave him pause that Ben had seen. "... You've been nice to me Ben... despite my actions, you've been nice. You care about me, when I don't care about myself. … It would be a shame to lose such a person. There isn't enough kindness in this world when there's people like me."

Ben thought for a moment, considering his next words carefully. "Logan, you recognize your faults. That's more than a lot of people. You can make yourself better. I believe in you." Despite his blood covered pelt, Ben knew what he had to do when Logan's eyes began to glisten with tears. He walked up to the Zoroark and hugged him. Logan stared at him. Unsure of what to do. He had never been hugged by anyone or anything outside of family members, and it had been years since he had been hugged by one of them. He wasn't used to affection, especially physical affection.

"Ben..."

Ben released his hug. He only got a small bit of blood on himself. "Come on Logan. Let's keep moving." Ben then fished a water bottle out of his bag and poured it over the blood on his fur. The waterproof coat allowed the blood and water to slide right off with little trouble, while keeping him from getting cold. Ben kept walking, but Logan stood still for a few more moments before following. He continued to clean the blood off of himself, but he wasn't thinking about that. He was wondering about what had just occurred.

'I've been so mean to him... why does he care for me so much? Why does he continue to stand by me? I've tried so hard to push him away... and yet... I... I feel... attached. I care about him... I tried so hard to avoid this... what if... what if it happens again?' Logan thought back to that night... when the kindness in him vanished. The moment that even a year later, he had nightmares about. He would've woken up in a cold sweat if canids had sweat glands. 'I'm so conflicted. What if it happens again? Can I still push him away? Should I do everything in my power to help him and damn my worries? What the hell do I do?' Logan grit his teeth, which had the effect of him biting his tongue as he was still cleaning his fur. He let out a slight yip, which Ben noticed.

"Everything ok?"

"I bit my tongue. Nothing to worry about." 'He's so caring... why did I have to meet him? I don't deserve to know him. Someone else who is kind should be in my position.' He shook his head violently. 'Damn it! Why did things have to get complicated!? I was supposed to be a cruel bastard for the rest of my life and nobody would want to be close to me! It was supposed to be so simple! Live and die alone! That's what I was supposed to do, and what I deserve! So why is he here!?'

"Logan?" Logan's eyes snapped up to Ben. "You've been licking yourself for a while now. You know that you're clean now right?"

Logan sighed. "I've just... got a lot on my mind."

'Come on Logan, let me in.' "Do you wanna talk about it?" Logan was silent. He seemed to be debating about what to say. 'Come on... I want to help you.'

After a while, Logan shook his head. "No... not yet... I just... I don't know if I can go through it again... it's... it's not a pleasant story... I want to forget, so much. I can't forget it, but I can't go through it again."

Ben was disappointed that he didn't get an answer, but he could tell, he was getting close. 'Just a little bit more. I'm almost through that shell of yours. At least part of it.' "It's ok Logan. If you want to tell me, you will. If not, I respect your privacy. If you want to open up, that's fine. If you don't want to, then that's fine too. Whatever your choice, I'll respect it."

"Let's... let's just keep going. I wanna get off this topic. It brings up a lot of bad." Ben didn't know what Logan would reveal to him, if he indeed decided to tell him, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of what it could be? 'What did you do?' Another thing he asked himself, but quickly dismissed, was if he would be able to be... friends seemed a bit of a strong word at this moment, acquaintances, with Logan when and if he was told. What if he was a murderer? Did he violate someone? What was so bad that he was so scarred by it. He was able to put that question to bed due to Logan's recent behavior. He showed remorse, and that he wasn't good. 'Maybe he wasn't raised right and he didn't know better, and when he learned better, he felt awful. I should ask, but I don't want to dig. He'll tell me what he wants to when he wants to. It's my job to be supportive of my Pokémon, and help make them better. Not to pry into their personal lives.'

They kept going in silence. Neither of them knew what to do after that exchange. The warm sun began to melt some, not a lot, but some, of the snow. This encouraged a couple Pokémon to come out. So they had some battles. Ben rotated who fought them based by Type Advantages and how many battles each of them had in an effort to get them all a decent amount of Exp. After many hours of walking, the sun began to set behind the tall trees, taking away the light sooner than normal. Ben asked Logan to clear an area of snow, which he did with a Dark Pulse since he didn't have to worry about destroying the tent this time, and Ben began to set it up. Logan actually helped this time. They got it set up and crawled inside. Ben rolled out a blanket to make the ground feel softer, and the sleeping bag. He then hung a lantern from the roof of the tent and pulled out a deck of cards.

"Wanna play some poker?"

Logan tilted his head for a moment, before answering. "Ok. I'm in."

They used beef jerky as chips. Whoever won got the extra snack. Logan dealt first, not being able to shuffle properly, partly because he had claws instead of fingers, and partly because he just sucked at it. He elected to pull cards out and mix them in with the others. He looked at his two cards. A five of hearts, and a 6 of spades. They weren't high cards, but they were right next to each other. Good start for a straight. They both checked, and Logan dealt the Flop. A four, seven, and ten of clubs came out. 'Good for me so far. Just need one more.' Logan bet two sticks, which was matched by Ben. He dealt the turn. An eight of spades. Logan had his straight. Since no two cards out there were the same yet, it would be a miracle for Ben to have a three of a kind, but even if he did, a straight beat it. He bet five sticks, again, matched. 'Perhaps he does have three of a kind. Doesn't matter though.' Logan dealt the river. A king of diamonds. Logan bet another three sticks. Trying to not scare Ben off. It was matched. Logan flipped over his cards. "Straight. Four through eight."

Ben then showed his cards. A two and jack of clubs. "Flush. Clubs."

"FUCK!" Just like that, Logan lost half his "chips."

It only took five more hands before Logan was out. He either had shit hands, or Ben would win with a better one. "You are so fucking lucky."

Ben just gave a sheepish smile. After which he yawned. "Well, I think it's about time we get some sleep." He crawled into the sleeping bag and held it open. "It's not gonna be any warmer tonight Logan. Get in." Logan hesitated for a moment, but he knew Ben was right. He crawled in and curled up against Ben. Soon after, they fell asleep.