AN: Pika pika!
Turning, Logan saw Ororo behind him, and paused to allow the tall woman to catch up. "Yeah, darlin'?"
Scanning the area, Storm observed both Cyclops and Rogue wandering the halls, and frowned. "Would you mind taking a quick detour to the attic?"
Logan drew his eyebrows together for a brief moment, then shrugged, releasing the momentary confusion. "Sure. Let's go."
As they were ascending the stairs, Logan noticed that the tall woman's posture was ramrod straight, bordering on the edge of inability to move. She was nervous about something, but what exactly it was, he wasn't sure. In fact, if he could have seen the fine, downy hairs on the back of her neck, he was sure they would be bristling with alarm. Thing was, she didn't smell nervous. That worried him more than all the non-verbal clues put together. People can't mask or change their base scents, Logan thought, so if she's so outwardly on edge, why isn't it palpable to the nose?
Upon arriving at the attic floor, Ororo swiftly turned the knob, led Logan inside, and clicked the door shut behind him. She sat down on the lip of her overstuffed mattress, and brought her feet under her, taking a deep breath before exhaling it in one quick motion. And, in that exhalation, Logan figured out why he couldn't smell her nervousness: shame. Shame disguises all other scents, throwing them all off. The mind becomes so fixated on its remorse; it messes with the body's natural chemistry. Shame doesn't have a scent by itself, but wreaks havoc with the few that are tangible.
"I have to leave, Logan." A sad note, regretful even, as Storm looked down at an imperfection in the wood floor, focusing on that rather than the man in front of her.
Puzzled, Logan tried to find the weather witch's eyes, but settled on looking at the part in her hair. "For how long?"
"I do not know."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Logan leaned back against the far wall. "Why are ya telling me this in secret? Shouldn't this be a team meeting thing?"
"No." Scooting back a bit, Ororo made enough purchase on the bed to hug her knees to her chest. "They cannot know that I had to leave."
"Ain't they gonna find out anyway? It's not as if they won't notice you're gone."
"Really, Logan? You are correct, they will eventually notice, once someone needs a problem solved, or to cry somewhere. Until that point, they will not."
"So, you're gonna leave because you're unappreciated? Seems like the bitch way out to me."
Ororo slammed her feet down, rose and walked over to the feral man, eyes dangerously shifting from blue to white. "What did you call me?"
If Logan was nervous, he didn't show it. "A coward. Instead of confronting your problems, you're running."
Rolling her eyes, Ororo spun around in a dramatic gesture. "Oh ho ho ho…. this is rich, coming from someone who runs off to Canada every time the slightest mental problem occurs!"
Eyes narrowing in irritation, Logan fixed the smirking Goddess with a glare. "That's different. I'm running to make sure I don't hurt you all, not running from the others. Something in your head's different."
"And by the Goddess, Logan," Storm replied in exasperation, "what do you think I am running from? Honestly, you must not know me at all to think that I am running from the problems of others."
Logan nodded in recognition, and laid a hand on Ororo's arm. "Where are ya going to clear your head?"
"Japan, to visit Yukio."
"And ya think that'll work? That she'll help you?"
Ororo turned, and sat back down on her bed, Logan following, and setting his heavy form next to her. "She helped me cope with the complete loss of my powers, Logan. I would believe that she could assist me with dealing in a mere insecurity over them."
"Darlin', I hate ta say this, but you've been out of control lately. Mentally, and physically. Ya think that the best decision is to go room up with someone who makes you wilder?"
"Yes. As you said yourself, my emotions are ruling me. Yukio may be able to help me reverse that."
"She who lives on impulse and emotion alone, helping ya control your emotions? Hardly!"
Ororo let out a sharp breath, and angrily spun to face Wolverine. "Oh, and what would you have me do, oh wise one? Control over emotions is hardly my problem; I can do that quite well. I need an opportunity to release my current control, and rebuild it from the ground up. This time, instead of walling off the emotion, I shall learn how to not let them overwhelm me."
Sighing, Logan conceded. "Fine. So, you're off to Japan for who knows how long. Who all's gonna know where you are?"
"Yourself, Jean, and Remy. Everyone else shall be led to believe that I am off on a mission."
"What do ya think One-eye and Chuck are gonna say?"
"Scott will merely be peeved that he was not let in on the 'mission.' The Professor, I do not know."
"Why aren't you telling Chuck?"
Ororo laid her head on the cool, dark wood of her four-poster bed. "Because it would be akin to telling him that his help teaching me mentally led to this."
"I thought the girl led to this."
"Yes, but it was just the culmination of years of this sort of work. It was bound to happen, and I can't just fix my physical abilities to compensate anymore."
Logan draped one hairy arm around Ororo's shoulders, pulling her into his chest. "Just don't come back with another mohawk, alright?"
Laughing, Storm got a thoughtful look on her face. "Buzz cut? Shaved? I know, spiked!"
Logan joined in her laughter for a bit, and then asked, "When are you headed off?"
"Tommorow. My first stop is a minute, deserted island in the Indonesian region."
"Why are ya going there?"
"To stop a massive hurricane."
"But there isn't one that I've heard about."
"I know. I must first create it."
AN 2: Next chapter, we kick it into a higher gear, cause Stormy's gonna meet back up with Yukio!
Lori and Rhapsody: No, Logan won't go with her, but that doesn't mean he can't follow her. ;) He just might decide to up and head off to "visit."
RAP, Sarge, and niala: Thanks!
Icequeen: Only if by "perfect job," you meant "horrid, should never have seen the light of day" job. Sigh, when Remy reappears, maybe I'll have him speak in French. I can write that.
SLH: Thanks, I'll certainly keep that in mind for our Cajun friend, that's a huge help.