Part the Twelfth: Purr-fection
Kurt was slightly bluer than normal, mostly because of his self-
enforced isolation from his teammates and friends. His quarantine was
induced by the creeping awareness that he'd been doing It again. Sure,
at home, in Heirelgart, the little mountain village in the middle of
nowhere, everyone knew him. They knew his little peculiarities and wrote
them off as 'just Kurt'. A mere statistical blip when compared to the
centaurs that lived in the next valley, and the possibility of fey folk
in the woods near the snowline.
In Heirelgart, Kurt was just someone else who was deemed slightly
magical. Perfectly normal for an area that not only believed magic, but
lived it. There, his funny little noises were part of him.
Here in America, where everything was technology and science, where
everyone thought that his lifelong best friend and his species was a
running joke; Kurt was less than certain.
They'd laugh at him. He was certain of that.
Just like the boys from Statleindorf laughed when *they* found out.
More animal than human, they'd said; next, he'd be wearing a leash and
a flea collar.
*That* careless remark still filled out some of his nightmares. It was
amazing how often a word here, a comment there, or a silent stare would
bore into his mind and create bad dreams. It was one of the reasons why
he tried to look for the good in people. Almost obsessively. Because he
was terrified of harming others like others harmed him.
Just like he was afraid of the laughter.
Or the screams.
There were other noises that weren't so little. When he was truly
angry or terrified, he couldn't help but give vent to a noise not meant
to be heard by the ears of the living. Kurt truly was worried that it
couldn't come from the throat of anything human, which would mean that
*he* wasn't human, and the question he'd heard from others all his life
would plague him in an existential quandry.
Thus, he hid from his teammates, covering his trepidation in a thin
veneer of exhuberance and jokes. He could keep them distracted, oh yes,
but he couldn't keep It from happening.
Especially around Kitty.
She was the real reason he was feeling blue. Kurt wanted nothing more
than to be close to her. Every day. Preferably as girlfriend and
boyfriend. But that couldn't happen if he kept doing It.
She had a hard enough time dealing with the fur.
She'd never be able to deal with It.
Kitty parked herself between Kurt and Jean and stuck her fork into her
salad. It was one of her secret little vices to 'accidentally' brush up
against Kurt and get a good feel of his fur. He was *so* funny. Whenever
her bare skin touched him, he'd kind of freeze, as if he didn't know
what to do. Then, in a matter of seconds, he'd start to blush.
She worked her foot out of one of her sandals and complained bitterly
about what they were doing to her feet. "Ugh. I like, *hate* having to
wear new sandals around. They like, *totally* chafe. Ow..." She played
at massaging her foot, then dropped it under the table and found Kurt's
foot with hers.
_Mmmm... Nice._
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"Have you ever tried asking for that goop they sell?" asked Jubes.
"You sorta rub this brownish gunge into the leather and it makes it soft
and stuff? I forget what it's called, but just ask for the goop and
they'll know what you mean."
Kitty was ruffling and smoothing his fur while pretending not to have
the slightest clue as to what she was doing.
Kurt was turning pink, a reflection of the real blush that was making
his fur look dark under the hologram.
{...thrrrrrrrmmmmmmm...}
"Like, no *way*. That stuff like, totally changes the colour of the
leather. I spent all day like, looking for *this* colour. Not like,
three shades like, darker."
{...thrrrrrrrrummmmmmmblllllle...}
"Your loss. Though I heard that blood can completely ruin leather."
"Blood? Ew. Like, thanks a *bunch*, Jubes."
"You're gonna cut yourself open on those things, I know it."
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"What's that noise?"
Kurt choked on a fry. "I don't hear anything," he finally managed.
There was a moment of silence as the team tried to hear the noise.
"Eh. It's gone, now."
Kitty resumed petting Kurt's 'instep' area with her toes. "That was
like, unnecessarily gross, Jubes."
"Hey, I just call it as I see it, girlfriend."
{...thrrrrrrrmmmmmmm...}
"Damn, there it goes again."
Kitty was teasing Kurt's dewclaw-toe, making it flex and wriggle.
"Like, what's *making* that?"
"Verdammt!" Kurt had spilled his soda all over his shirt. "I gotta go
clean this up."
Kitty sighed. These things never lasted. More's the pity. Kurt was
like, major league nervous. Maybe she should like, go easy on him for a
while or something. Either that or tell him how much she was enjoying
his fur lately, and see what happened next.
The problem was, Kurt was like, hypersensitive about the strangest
things. Like the whole winter coat thing. One bright little comment
about how cushy he looked and he locked himself in his room for a whole
week, apparrently trying to brush the lot down into a semblance of its
Summertime smoothness. Kitty never knew if something meant as a
compliment would result in some truly bizarre obsessive-compulsive
'correctional' behaviour.
Maybe she could like, call his Mom or something, and wheedle out what
he was truly proud of.
But then, he was such *fun* to tease like this...
_Calm. Calm. Calm. Keep calm._ Kurt tried the three deep breaths, and
got an anguished warble out of the back of his throat. _Thank God
there's no-one else in here and get *CALM*!_ Howling was not going to
solve any problems. It was going to *amplify* them.
He had to calm down. Relax. Find his centre. Get back to a semblance
of order before--
"Hey, Kurt. You okay?"
--someone checked up on him.
"Leave me alone," he murmured, fighting to keep his voice clear. "I
just need a minute."
"It's already been ten," said Scott. "Are you worried about
something?"
Sigh. "Ja."
"Look, whatever it is, no-one's gonna hassle you about it. It's
probably no big deal in the first place. You know how these things turn
out, dude. You spend way too much time stressing about nothing."
"This is hardly nothing, mein fruend."
"Is it Kitty, or Kitty related?"
Kurt glared at him. Was he that easy to read?
"Bullseye," Scott smirked. "I think you can relax about it. Word is
that Kitty's starting to like you back. Just play for time and she'll
come around. Trust me."
"You just made it worse," Kurt groaned and rested his forehead against
the mirror. "If she finds out, I'm doomed..."
"Okay... It's going to be twenty questions. Fine. I can play." Scott
took a deep breath. "Animal, vegetable or mineral?"
"Piss off." _Human. I'm *human*, damn it! I *have* to be..._
Scott whistled. "*Real* serious. Okay. You've got your space. When you
get sick of chewing yourself up over whatever-it-is, you know you can
talk to us, right?"
"Just go away," Kurt pleaded. _Not an animal. Not._
Sigh. "Right."
"And?"
"And nothing. Kurt needs a little space. Just let *him* choose when he
gets close, okay?"
"Not *one* clue about what's up with the K-man?" asked Evan.
"Not even a hint of a clue. Leave it alone. Kurt knows enough to come
to us if it's something he can't deal with."
"I dunno. He kinda felt pretty stressed about *something*," mused
Jean.
"If he doesn't wanna talk, he doesn't wanna talk," said Rogue. "Let it
lie fo' a change. Kurt's a big boy. He can deal."
"Dankeshoen," said Kurt. He moved so *quietly*, no-one noticed he was
there until he made his presence known.
"Don't fret, bro'," Rogue soothed. "They're all just worried about ya."
"I know."
{...thrrrmmm...}
"Maybe it's construction work or something," said Amara. "Those
vibrations carry for *miles*."
Kurt coughed, hunching in on himself. He took an intense interest in
both his holowatch - fully operational and not fritzing - and his food -
cafeteria fish platter and tapioca. Every atom of his body language
demanded isolation.
Somehow, he'd survived another school day. His throat was raw from
clearing it all the time. Maybe he could fake a respiratory infection
and stay home for a day. Get some R&R without having to fret about It
all the time.
Kurt leaned back against the couch and drowsed while the girls watched
some drama. He only stayed where he was because he was both comfortable
and nearly exhausted. The rest of the guys had cleared out for a video
game grudge match down the hall. All that truly mattered, right now, was
that he was right next to Kitty and It wasn't happening.
He was nearly asleep when someone started playing with his tail.
Kurt opened his eyes a crack to find out who it was. Kitty, absorbed
in the goings-on on the TV, had picked up his tail and was running it
through her fingers. It was a nervous habit, of sorts, though the target
was usually some fabric object, like a corner of her sweater.
He decided not to interrupt her enjoyment of the show and let her play
with him. So what if she shrieked when she found out? The moment as it
happened was enough for him.
Few people thought of his tail as a body part. They just seemed to
think it was a decoration or something. Or a handle. So many people
yanked on his tail to move him about, little realising that their grip
alone was painful enough to make him yell. As for pulling it - that sent
a powerful jolt right up his spine.
Kurt *tried* not to hold it against people, since they didn't think,
nor make the connection between its prehensile nature and its ability to
feel. Just like any other grasping body part, Kurt's tail was rather
sensitive, to put it mildly. He got very *personal* about injuries to
the tail, and would hold the grudge until he'd nearly healed.
Very few people had ever treated it kindly. Which was why he was even
*less* inclined to interrupt Kitty. Heck, he could feel it curling into
her fingers of its own accord. Its spaded tip brushed against the back
of her hand.
_Her skin's so smooth. So lovely._ Kurt couldn't hide his smile. _So
very, very nice._ He subtly shifted position so that certain anatomical
responses to Kitty's - ministrations - would remain unnoticed. He
sighed. _Ah, if only she'd touch me like this voluntarily... Not out of
some nervous habit, but because she wanted to make me happy..._
But Kitty had desires for more - he hated to use the word - normal
boys. Even though she was warming to him, if rumour could be believed,
she'd never want to be near the fuzzy dude full time.
Kurt stifled a grunt. She'd put his pointy tail-tip in her mouth. The
only people who'd ever done *that* before were babies. There was a world
of difference. Babies never played with him with their tongues, and the
pressure they used was constant and instinctual.
_Oh no... oh no..._ he could feel It starting as a low, subliminal
vibration in his chest.
It was all he could do to regulate his breathing.
{...thrrrmmm...} _No. Not now. Not in front of *her*..._ Whatever he
did now, she was going to hate him. It felt wonderful, and he wanted it
to never stop, but any minute, now, he was going to be revealed.
More animal than human.
And he couldn't stop It.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
She was running her fingers along the sensitive underside of his tail,
squeezing it gently in a series of quasi-massages. He was in heaven,
because of what she was doing, but he was also in hell, because he knew
what was going to happen.
{...thrrrrrrrrummmmmmmblllllle...}
Someone was going to notice. Someone was going to find out and it
would all be over.
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"Is that thunder or what?"
_No... please, no._ They were going to find out and send him away. All
the way back to Germany. _Please, make something happen. Help me._
Kitty sank her teeth into his tail.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH!! *Katzchen*!" He
didn't care if he scared the living hell out of everyone else. "That
*HURT*!" He forced his tail out of her grasp and all but bolted for the
infirmary.
He was bleeding. Wunderbar. He lifted his injured tail up to stop it
throbbing so badly, and blew on it to try and cool it while he walked.
He'd appologise for the disturbance, later. Right now he needed ice,
antiseptic cream, gauze and maybe even a whole tab of tylenol. With a
little luck, he may even still be friends with everyone by the time he
came back.
"Kitty, how *could* you?" demanded Rogue.
"But I didn't even like, know I was doing it!" Kitty protested. "You
like, *know* I play with junk when I'm like, tense."
"It was Kurt's *tail*. You *bit* him!" said Jean.
"I didn't know it was *him*!"
"Hel*lo*... what *else* around here is fuzzy and serpentine?"
sarcasmed Jubes. "Gee, let me think - 'cause you obviously didn't."
"Fine. I'll like, go appologise right now."
"Good. Go."
Kitty wiped tears from her eyes. She really *hadn't* known what she
was doing until Kurt screamed. It was just something soft to play with
while she got increasingly involved with the characters on the screen.
She hadn't even known she'd put his tail in her mouth.
_He must think I'm like, totally cruel or something..._ Kitty stared
at the floor as she walked, and saw the tiny spots of red. _Oh, ick.
He's like, *bleeding*. I did that to him and I didn't even know it._
She heard a moan from the infirmary, and risked a peek through the
door. Kurt was on the examination table, sandwiching his injured tail
between enormous ice packs. His eyes were screwed up, just like his
face, in an attitude of extreme pain.
"Are you like, gonna be okay?" she risked, hanging on to the door
frame as if it would keep her safe.
"Nnnhhh..." he said. "Eventually." He hissed a few breaths out between
his teeth.
"Do you want help?" she offered. "A painkiller?"
"Not yet. Gotta get fixed up, first," he managed. His voice was
totally stressed. "Painkiller's gonna knock me out in a minute or two."
"There's this like, topical anasthetic cream," Kitty crept into the
infirmary just far enough to take it out. "I could like, put it on for
you. If you're not like, mad at me?"
"Did you bite me on purpose?"
"*No*! I like, didn't even know I was like, doing it! I didn't even
know it was you!" Her lip trembled. _Oh no. Don't cry. Don't cry..._
"I'm like, so sorry-eeeeeeeee..." and with a final squeak, Kitty burst
out crying. She didn't want to lose her fuzzy elf, not now; and
*especially* not over something so - so - *stupid*.
Somehow, he'd got her into a hug, and was gently shushing at her while
he patted her shoulders. "I'm not mad at you, leibe. Never. I'd only be
mad if you hurt me on purpose. Shhhhh... If anything, it was my fault
for not saying anything. Don't cry, meine leibe. Shhh... We can still
fix it, ja? I'll heal. You'll see. Shhhh... There, there, there, now.
Shhh..."
Kitty sniffled to a stop. His cheek was against her forehead, and
every now and again, he'd kiss her forehead. His fur felt *so* nice. And
*he* was so nice. Why couldn't she like, *say* something?
Because she never knew how Kurt'd take it, and she always seemed to
put her foot in her mouth.
She hummed her appreciation of the hug, and gave him a little extra
squeeze before she let go. She was like, safe as long as she didn't
speak. Kitty waved the topical anasthetic at him. "Want me to like, put
this on?"
He was smiling, but his eyes still held pain. "Be gentle with me?"
In spite of how she was feeling, right now, she laughed. Kitty made
sure she pulled a pair of gloves on before she spread any of the goo
around. She didn't want numbed hands by the time she finished. "Okay,
but you like, gotta let me know when I'm like, being too rough."
"Fine by me," he said.
Kitty gingerly lifted up the top ice bag. "Ooooooohhhh..." Even *with*
the ice, it was swollen and distorted. Bruising showed through the fur.
Blood still leaked through the broken skin. "I'm gonna have to wash this
first, okay?"
Kurt nodded. "Ja. I may jump a bit, but don't be afraid, okay?"
_Thank God we did first aid training..._ Kitty daubed at him with a
saline solution. Her hands were shaking, but she actually got it done.
All by herself. Next, came the anasthetic, which made Kurt sigh. After
she'd made sure he was quite numb, she gingerly probed his wounds. He
wasn't going to need any stitches. Just a lot of antiseptics and a whole
bunch of gauze.
He was shivering a little by the time she was done. Kitty guessed it
was shock from the pain, and made sure he was warm before she guided him
to his room for the painkiller.
_He wasn't like, joking about the painkiller,_ Kitty realised as she
tucked the comforter around his slumbering form. _He's really out of
it._
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
There was that noise again, too low into the bass registers to trace
accurately, but loud enough to be heard. Kitty sneaked a goodnight-kiss
near Kurt's upturned elfin ear before she crept out of his room.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
Whatever it was, it was only annoying because no-one could figure out
where it came from. Otherwise, it was kind of appealing. Kitty figured
it had to be some mystery generator or something. It only ever happened
at the Institute or at school.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
Personally, Kitty was amazed by Kurt's ability to sleep through it. If
that were her, drowsy on meds, she'd be tossing and turning trying to
figure out what the sound was.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
But then again, it *was* kinda hypnotic.
"Will he live?" asked Amara.
"He'll be okay. His tail's gonna be like, sore for a while, but he
should be like, back to normal real soon, now."
"Hmph." Amara stomped off.
Kitty rolled her eyes. They *really* didn't get along. Kurt, the
uncommon common-as-muck gypsy boy and the Princess were like oil and
water. No, like *sodium* and water. Fizzing and sparks and sometimes,
the odd explosion.
She closed his door for him and crept away, hoping he'd be all right
in the morning.
Kurt woke up in a panic sometime around four in the morning. He was
*sure* he'd done It right in front of her. The details were a little
vague, but he knew she'd been in the same room as he was and he was -
_Gott, nein..._ - he was *purring*.
More animal than human.
Kurt crept out of bed. His tail was an uncomfortable throbbing knot of
hot pain, but it didn't ache as much as his heart did. By now, it would
be all over the mansion. He couldn't bear it. Tears fell down his face.
They knew. They all knew.
It was a disaster.
More animal...
_*NO*! Not an animal. Not. I'm human. *Human*. Have to be. Not an
animal..._
Kurt choked down a howl of anguish. Not what he needed right now. If
he howled, no-one would be able to shut up about it. There was only one
thing he could do.
Hide.
He grabbed a few changes of clothes, his essential mementos from home,
and ran blindly into the cavernous underside of the Xavier mansion.
There were places down there that no-one knew about. He could probably
survive for weeks on the emergency stores alone.
Alone...
He *hated* being alone. But he hated being laughed at even more.
Kurt wondered if he could hide until the laughing stopped.
Well. He'd just have to find out.
"No note, no sign of a struggle, no phone calls, nothing," explained
Scott. "Disa-Elvis-has-left-the-building-appeared. That's what I mean by
'gone'."
"He took his brushes," said Hank. "As well as his -er- personal
mascot."
Kitty bit her lip. _For 'mascot' like, read 'treasured childhood
toy'... What did I *do* to make him pack up and book like this?_ She was
*positive* she hadn't babbled, nor done anything overtly obnoxious.
She'd even *asked* Kurt to tell her if she did anything wrong.
_Congratulations, Pryde. You've hurt him again. Huzzah._
Jean surfaced from her Kurt-hunting telepathic scan. "He's alive, and
he's still on Institute grounds. I'm sorry, but he's blocking the rest.
I couldn't tell you where he was if he was right under this table."
"I'm afraid I had the same results," Xavier sighed. "Obviously, Kurt
has no desire to be found."
"Something had to set this off," said Evan. "Anyone have any ideas?"
All the girls glared at Kitty.
"*What*?" Kitty demanded. "I like, appologised for all that. He like,
totally forgave me. If it's something I like, did? I don't know what it
like, *is*, okay?" _Leave me alone. I like, hurt too much right now._
As a unit, the remaining girls turned on Amara.
"*What*? I haven't said *anything* to the stupid peasant for a *week*.
*At* the Professor's request, I might add."
"What I said was, 'if you can't say anything nice--'"
"And I *have* been! It's not *my* fault if the bootless gypsy takes
offense at a simple 'good morning'."
"It's not *what* you said, Princess," said Rogue. "It's the way y'all
said it. You know - like ya wished his head'd drop off for ya?"
"Hmph." Amara folded her arms. "It's beneath me to speak to him at
*all*," she muttered. "Stupid peasant."
"But it ain't beneath ye ta pull a few pranks, now an' then," said
Rahne. "Do anything to him, lately?"
"*I* am a Princess of the Crown Royal," Amara huffed. "*And* I happen
to be completely innocent. This time."
"You're also a royal pain in the ass," grumbled Logan. "Consider
yourself under suspicion until we get proof either way."
Mumbled, "Stupid peasant."
"Can't you like, sniff him out or something, Mr Logan?" Kitty pleaded.
Logan's nose was legendary.
"I would, except everyone and their kid brother's been walkin' over
the trail to make certain the Elf ain't there. It's gonna be a while
before I find a fresh track I can use."
Kitty bit her lip again. She'd been one of the many tromping all over
the place, trying to figure out where Kurt had gone. At least it was
like, a weekend. They could look for him in peace and quiet without
having to make up some bogus epidemic.
They searched the grounds first. Kitty spent a teary handful of
minutes perched on an otherwise ordinary boulder. It was where Kurt went
to be alone so he could argue with the Almighty about whatever was
getting on his pecs. From what she'd heard, it was mostly human nature.
But then, he wouldn't come here, because he knew that she knew about it.
She knew he came here, sometimes.
Therefore, she must have like, *really* ticked him off.
Kitty looked up at the sky, and whispered, "Help me find him? Please?
I just want everything to be like, all right again. If that's like,
okay..." _Well, it can't hurt to ask._
To a casual observer, it looked just like every other stack of crates
in the gloom of sub-basement thirty-three. To the casual listener,
however, something wierd was going on.
There was a bizarre, ululating noise that warbled at odd moments, and
occasionally broke off into a more human sobbing. Someone - or
some*thing* - was incredibly upset.
You'd have to be quite a climber and something of a contortionist to
even see who was making both noises, let alone get down to the tiny
cubby that Kurt had made amidst the pile of crates. He huddled there in
a nest of old army surplus blankets, clutching a knitted blue doll with
gold button-eyes to his chest and weeping piteously.
"How long do you think, Schmerzmann?" Kurt whispered through the
tears. "Would they forget at all? Or will it be like the last time?"
Another string of broken sobs. "Gott, I couldn't stand that again. I
*can't* stand that again."
The memories felt real enough to him, but they only happened inside
his head. Only he heard the echoes of other's voices.
'Hey, cool!' they said, 'Check out what he does when you do *this*!'
and, 'Make him do it again!' And the hands, always the hands, in that
welcome/unwelcome way. Touching him in ways that he loved/hated. Making
him do It for their entertainment.
And because they were bigger than he was, he couldn't stop them,
couldn't escape. At least, not until Andrei came by and beat them up.
Even though they were the same age, Andrei could always make four of
Kurt, easy.
He needed his centaur friend, now. He always felt *safe* when Andrei
was around.
But there was no-one here but him, and a doll that couldn't do
anything at all but help him communicate his pain to parents that
weren't even there.
Softly at first, his howl rang out through sub-basement thirty-three.
Kitty was wandering through basement level four. The one everyone
called the Labyrinth, because of its twisting corridors and bizarre
little rooms. It was easy to get lost there. So easy that no-one went
down there without a piece of chalk. Only the Professor knew the twists
of the Labyrinth by heart.
No turns or doors had any KW's on them with that day's date. Nor
yesterday's date. Like, how could anyone find him if he like, didn't
leave a trail?
_Maybe that was the point. Maybe he wanted to get so lost even *he*
couldn't find himself._ Kitty jotted her initials and the date on a
corner, with an arrow, in case anyone needed to find her. _Or maybe he
doesn't like, need it with his famous sense of direction._
_Left._ said a voice in her head. _Go left. Now._ It sounded like her.
Sort of. Maybe this was like, the help she'd asked for.
Kitty made her mark on the relevant piece of wall and headed left.
Then she followed the corridor until her voice said, _This door._ in her
head. After her mark was left, yet again, she found out it was a
staircase.
_Down,_ said her voice. Kitty left an arrow on the door and went down
for what felt like forever.
Around basement twenty-eight, she heard this *noise*. It was
terrifying, even at this distance. She could tell it was pretty far
away. Was Kurt in trouble because of whatever-it-was? Was it hurting
him? Terrors filling her head as she went, Kitty increased her speed.
It was coming from basement level thirty-three.
_Hang on, Kurt. I'm coming._
She ran through boxes, focussing on the sound. All she had to do was
find him, then keep him phased and scream for help from the Professor or
Jean.
Wierd thing, though. Every time it stopped, she could hear Kurt
gasping, as if in the extremities of sorrow and anguish.
There. Behind those boxes. No, *in* those boxes. Kitty concentrated
and walked through.
She only found Kurt, curled up on himself, tears streaming down his
face. *He* was making that noise. By the looks of things, he neither
wanted to, nor could help it.
Kitty let herself solidify so she could comfort him, snuggling in
beside him in his little nest/cubby/hidey-hole. He clung to her like a
child, and poured his misery into her shoulder. She could only
understand one word in ten, but it was a repeating litany and she
eventually got the whole of it.
When she did, she slammed him into a crate and yelled, "You stop that
right *now*, Kurt Wagner!"
The shock, or the voice of authority broke him out of it. "Vas was
that for?"
"None of us think of you like that! *None* of us. Do you understand?
You're our *friend*! And some of us - some of us --" _Say it._ "We love
you. I - love you."
He'd closed his eyes. He looked exhausted and defeated. "You're
teasing me," he whispered. "Who could anyone fall in love mit - *this*?"
He gestured with his tridactyl hands. They did no more than shake an
imaginary globe in front of him, yet they encapsulated the entirety of
his peculiarities.
So did the little doll he'd just dropped on the blankets. It looked
just like him.
Kitty picked it up and cradled it in her arms like a baby. "Your Mom
made this for you, didn't she?"
"Ja." After a beat, he decided she needed more information. "I didn't
want to talk when I got hurt - when I was a child. And no dolls were
like me."
"So she like, made you this little fellow because she was like,
worried about you."
"Ja..."
"I guess that like, means she loves you."
"She's my Mama." A sigh. "Mamas don't count."
Oh. *That* kind of love. "Do *I* - count?"
"Oh, ja. You count like anything."
Kitty moved around so she could hug him. It was a bit of a tight
squeeze, but she didn't care. "So why don't you like, believe me when I
like, tell you I love you?"
He looked at her. "You heard what I was doing before. You heard what I
did last night. They're just two of the things I can do that - that no
*human* can."
"No *other* human," Kitty corrected. "And FYI, I don't have like, the
faintest clue what you think you did last night."
A very small voice. "Please. Let go? I'm starting to do It again."
"I can't hear--"
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"--anything?"
Kurt had his eyes squeezed shut. Tears still leaked from their
corners. He took a shuddering breath in, tried to hold it, and let it
out.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"I can't help it. Whenever I feel happy, or - or very good... I --"
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"I *purr*."
Kitty smiled. "I like it," she said. "It's cute. Just like you."
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"You - mean it?"
"Do you like, see me running around and like, screaming?" Kitty wiped
the tears from his fur. Incedentally petting his silky pelt. "I love
you, Kurt. Funny little noises and all."
{THRRRRUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMBLLLLEppppprrrrrrrrrrrrrr...} Kurt grinned,
purring like thunder, just to have her in his arms.
Kitty snuggled into him, brushing her forehead against his neck and
holding him close. His hair was almost as soft and fine as his fur.
_It's official. I'm jealous. I want hair like that._ "You feel *so*
nice," she told him. "You're like, *the* nicest person to like, cuddle
up to."
He practically boomed, he was purring so loud. He was wearing the
goofiest I'm-in-love-and-I-don't-care-who-knows-it grin she'd ever seen
on him.
Kitty had to giggle. "You're welcome."
His voice warbled, because of the now-continuous purr. "Am I funny to
you, leibe?"
"No, silly. You like, *tickle*. I like it. I love it."
"I'm going to have to throw you off, you know. I'm sorry, but I'm
getting a cramp, all scootched up like this."
"Like, *totally* ditto. Wanna like, phase outta here?"
They took a walk around the basement. Not exactly the best scenery for
a brand-new couple, but they weren't really paying attention to the
scenery anyway.
"I also growl," he confessed at length. "But I'm in too good a mood to
show you, right now."
"And how often have you like, done that?"
"How often have you made eyes at Lance?"
Kitty laughed. "I *never* made so much as a like, *eyelash* at him!
Get a clue..."
"But - you and he... I *saw*..."
"I was like, laughing *at* him, Kurt. He's like, mega-pathetic."
Murmured, barely audible over his purr. "I'd thought you liked him."
"Aw. Poor Elfie..." Kitty gave him a hug.
"Ew... *That* one better not catch. No offense, Katzchen, but 'Elfie'
ist not me."
"I was trying to be like, cute."
"You're cute enough without trying, Schatz."
Kitty giggled as they sat back down outside his former hiding place.
"People are gonna be like, wondering where we are, pretty soon."
His purr toned down. "Ja."
"Are you like, *still* worried about like, how people will react?"
Kitty hung herself around his shoulders with her arms. "Don't like,
sweat it, okay? It's just like, part of who you are."
"So you say. Es ist only a matter of time before - someone will want
to make me do something. So they can laugh."
"So we'll like, cover for ya. I mean the whole 'construction work'
thing kinda like, works."
He sighed. He really should have trusted his friends.
Logan found his fresh scent. Unfortunately, it was the sulpherous
residue of a 'port. Well, by the smell of things, the elf was back.
Half-pint was with him, and something had changed in their relationship.
He found them snuggled together in a window seat, just leaning against
each other and watching the world go by.
_Call off the search, Chuck. They're okay._
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
_What the--?_ That was the same sound that had been mystifying the
kids for about half a week. "What the hell *is* that noise?" he wondered
aloud.
"It's just Kurt," said Kitty, as if guys who purred were an everyday
occurrence. "Deal."
"Huh," announced Logan. So that was what the little squirrel had been
uptight about, lately. It was just another item in the growing list of
Kurt Things that were fast becoming background noise. "Don't think your
new sound's gettin' ya off of anythin', Elf."
Kurt grinned. "Jawohl."
"*Told* you so," Kitty said.
They fit together like two pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, and it was a
very *cozy* puzzle at that. It felt very right just to share time with
each other, touching.
"Kurt?"
"Mmm?"
"Dare you to like, howl at Logan during a training session."
Kurt laughed. "All right, leibe, but you have to be there to phase me
if he loses it."
"Deal." Kitty laughed, too. "I just like, want to see the look on his
face."
"Evil leibe, *evil*..."
"You gotta admit, having something like that is like, *totally* going
to like, unnerve the opposition."
"Ja. I can see that. Es ist the *allies* I worry about."
"Don't. We love you."
"Ich leibe dich, too."
Kurt was slightly bluer than normal, mostly because of his self-
enforced isolation from his teammates and friends. His quarantine was
induced by the creeping awareness that he'd been doing It again. Sure,
at home, in Heirelgart, the little mountain village in the middle of
nowhere, everyone knew him. They knew his little peculiarities and wrote
them off as 'just Kurt'. A mere statistical blip when compared to the
centaurs that lived in the next valley, and the possibility of fey folk
in the woods near the snowline.
In Heirelgart, Kurt was just someone else who was deemed slightly
magical. Perfectly normal for an area that not only believed magic, but
lived it. There, his funny little noises were part of him.
Here in America, where everything was technology and science, where
everyone thought that his lifelong best friend and his species was a
running joke; Kurt was less than certain.
They'd laugh at him. He was certain of that.
Just like the boys from Statleindorf laughed when *they* found out.
More animal than human, they'd said; next, he'd be wearing a leash and
a flea collar.
*That* careless remark still filled out some of his nightmares. It was
amazing how often a word here, a comment there, or a silent stare would
bore into his mind and create bad dreams. It was one of the reasons why
he tried to look for the good in people. Almost obsessively. Because he
was terrified of harming others like others harmed him.
Just like he was afraid of the laughter.
Or the screams.
There were other noises that weren't so little. When he was truly
angry or terrified, he couldn't help but give vent to a noise not meant
to be heard by the ears of the living. Kurt truly was worried that it
couldn't come from the throat of anything human, which would mean that
*he* wasn't human, and the question he'd heard from others all his life
would plague him in an existential quandry.
Thus, he hid from his teammates, covering his trepidation in a thin
veneer of exhuberance and jokes. He could keep them distracted, oh yes,
but he couldn't keep It from happening.
Especially around Kitty.
She was the real reason he was feeling blue. Kurt wanted nothing more
than to be close to her. Every day. Preferably as girlfriend and
boyfriend. But that couldn't happen if he kept doing It.
She had a hard enough time dealing with the fur.
She'd never be able to deal with It.
Kitty parked herself between Kurt and Jean and stuck her fork into her
salad. It was one of her secret little vices to 'accidentally' brush up
against Kurt and get a good feel of his fur. He was *so* funny. Whenever
her bare skin touched him, he'd kind of freeze, as if he didn't know
what to do. Then, in a matter of seconds, he'd start to blush.
She worked her foot out of one of her sandals and complained bitterly
about what they were doing to her feet. "Ugh. I like, *hate* having to
wear new sandals around. They like, *totally* chafe. Ow..." She played
at massaging her foot, then dropped it under the table and found Kurt's
foot with hers.
_Mmmm... Nice._
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"Have you ever tried asking for that goop they sell?" asked Jubes.
"You sorta rub this brownish gunge into the leather and it makes it soft
and stuff? I forget what it's called, but just ask for the goop and
they'll know what you mean."
Kitty was ruffling and smoothing his fur while pretending not to have
the slightest clue as to what she was doing.
Kurt was turning pink, a reflection of the real blush that was making
his fur look dark under the hologram.
{...thrrrrrrrmmmmmmm...}
"Like, no *way*. That stuff like, totally changes the colour of the
leather. I spent all day like, looking for *this* colour. Not like,
three shades like, darker."
{...thrrrrrrrrummmmmmmblllllle...}
"Your loss. Though I heard that blood can completely ruin leather."
"Blood? Ew. Like, thanks a *bunch*, Jubes."
"You're gonna cut yourself open on those things, I know it."
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"What's that noise?"
Kurt choked on a fry. "I don't hear anything," he finally managed.
There was a moment of silence as the team tried to hear the noise.
"Eh. It's gone, now."
Kitty resumed petting Kurt's 'instep' area with her toes. "That was
like, unnecessarily gross, Jubes."
"Hey, I just call it as I see it, girlfriend."
{...thrrrrrrrmmmmmmm...}
"Damn, there it goes again."
Kitty was teasing Kurt's dewclaw-toe, making it flex and wriggle.
"Like, what's *making* that?"
"Verdammt!" Kurt had spilled his soda all over his shirt. "I gotta go
clean this up."
Kitty sighed. These things never lasted. More's the pity. Kurt was
like, major league nervous. Maybe she should like, go easy on him for a
while or something. Either that or tell him how much she was enjoying
his fur lately, and see what happened next.
The problem was, Kurt was like, hypersensitive about the strangest
things. Like the whole winter coat thing. One bright little comment
about how cushy he looked and he locked himself in his room for a whole
week, apparrently trying to brush the lot down into a semblance of its
Summertime smoothness. Kitty never knew if something meant as a
compliment would result in some truly bizarre obsessive-compulsive
'correctional' behaviour.
Maybe she could like, call his Mom or something, and wheedle out what
he was truly proud of.
But then, he was such *fun* to tease like this...
_Calm. Calm. Calm. Keep calm._ Kurt tried the three deep breaths, and
got an anguished warble out of the back of his throat. _Thank God
there's no-one else in here and get *CALM*!_ Howling was not going to
solve any problems. It was going to *amplify* them.
He had to calm down. Relax. Find his centre. Get back to a semblance
of order before--
"Hey, Kurt. You okay?"
--someone checked up on him.
"Leave me alone," he murmured, fighting to keep his voice clear. "I
just need a minute."
"It's already been ten," said Scott. "Are you worried about
something?"
Sigh. "Ja."
"Look, whatever it is, no-one's gonna hassle you about it. It's
probably no big deal in the first place. You know how these things turn
out, dude. You spend way too much time stressing about nothing."
"This is hardly nothing, mein fruend."
"Is it Kitty, or Kitty related?"
Kurt glared at him. Was he that easy to read?
"Bullseye," Scott smirked. "I think you can relax about it. Word is
that Kitty's starting to like you back. Just play for time and she'll
come around. Trust me."
"You just made it worse," Kurt groaned and rested his forehead against
the mirror. "If she finds out, I'm doomed..."
"Okay... It's going to be twenty questions. Fine. I can play." Scott
took a deep breath. "Animal, vegetable or mineral?"
"Piss off." _Human. I'm *human*, damn it! I *have* to be..._
Scott whistled. "*Real* serious. Okay. You've got your space. When you
get sick of chewing yourself up over whatever-it-is, you know you can
talk to us, right?"
"Just go away," Kurt pleaded. _Not an animal. Not._
Sigh. "Right."
"And?"
"And nothing. Kurt needs a little space. Just let *him* choose when he
gets close, okay?"
"Not *one* clue about what's up with the K-man?" asked Evan.
"Not even a hint of a clue. Leave it alone. Kurt knows enough to come
to us if it's something he can't deal with."
"I dunno. He kinda felt pretty stressed about *something*," mused
Jean.
"If he doesn't wanna talk, he doesn't wanna talk," said Rogue. "Let it
lie fo' a change. Kurt's a big boy. He can deal."
"Dankeshoen," said Kurt. He moved so *quietly*, no-one noticed he was
there until he made his presence known.
"Don't fret, bro'," Rogue soothed. "They're all just worried about ya."
"I know."
{...thrrrmmm...}
"Maybe it's construction work or something," said Amara. "Those
vibrations carry for *miles*."
Kurt coughed, hunching in on himself. He took an intense interest in
both his holowatch - fully operational and not fritzing - and his food -
cafeteria fish platter and tapioca. Every atom of his body language
demanded isolation.
Somehow, he'd survived another school day. His throat was raw from
clearing it all the time. Maybe he could fake a respiratory infection
and stay home for a day. Get some R&R without having to fret about It
all the time.
Kurt leaned back against the couch and drowsed while the girls watched
some drama. He only stayed where he was because he was both comfortable
and nearly exhausted. The rest of the guys had cleared out for a video
game grudge match down the hall. All that truly mattered, right now, was
that he was right next to Kitty and It wasn't happening.
He was nearly asleep when someone started playing with his tail.
Kurt opened his eyes a crack to find out who it was. Kitty, absorbed
in the goings-on on the TV, had picked up his tail and was running it
through her fingers. It was a nervous habit, of sorts, though the target
was usually some fabric object, like a corner of her sweater.
He decided not to interrupt her enjoyment of the show and let her play
with him. So what if she shrieked when she found out? The moment as it
happened was enough for him.
Few people thought of his tail as a body part. They just seemed to
think it was a decoration or something. Or a handle. So many people
yanked on his tail to move him about, little realising that their grip
alone was painful enough to make him yell. As for pulling it - that sent
a powerful jolt right up his spine.
Kurt *tried* not to hold it against people, since they didn't think,
nor make the connection between its prehensile nature and its ability to
feel. Just like any other grasping body part, Kurt's tail was rather
sensitive, to put it mildly. He got very *personal* about injuries to
the tail, and would hold the grudge until he'd nearly healed.
Very few people had ever treated it kindly. Which was why he was even
*less* inclined to interrupt Kitty. Heck, he could feel it curling into
her fingers of its own accord. Its spaded tip brushed against the back
of her hand.
_Her skin's so smooth. So lovely._ Kurt couldn't hide his smile. _So
very, very nice._ He subtly shifted position so that certain anatomical
responses to Kitty's - ministrations - would remain unnoticed. He
sighed. _Ah, if only she'd touch me like this voluntarily... Not out of
some nervous habit, but because she wanted to make me happy..._
But Kitty had desires for more - he hated to use the word - normal
boys. Even though she was warming to him, if rumour could be believed,
she'd never want to be near the fuzzy dude full time.
Kurt stifled a grunt. She'd put his pointy tail-tip in her mouth. The
only people who'd ever done *that* before were babies. There was a world
of difference. Babies never played with him with their tongues, and the
pressure they used was constant and instinctual.
_Oh no... oh no..._ he could feel It starting as a low, subliminal
vibration in his chest.
It was all he could do to regulate his breathing.
{...thrrrmmm...} _No. Not now. Not in front of *her*..._ Whatever he
did now, she was going to hate him. It felt wonderful, and he wanted it
to never stop, but any minute, now, he was going to be revealed.
More animal than human.
And he couldn't stop It.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
She was running her fingers along the sensitive underside of his tail,
squeezing it gently in a series of quasi-massages. He was in heaven,
because of what she was doing, but he was also in hell, because he knew
what was going to happen.
{...thrrrrrrrrummmmmmmblllllle...}
Someone was going to notice. Someone was going to find out and it
would all be over.
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"Is that thunder or what?"
_No... please, no._ They were going to find out and send him away. All
the way back to Germany. _Please, make something happen. Help me._
Kitty sank her teeth into his tail.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH!! *Katzchen*!" He
didn't care if he scared the living hell out of everyone else. "That
*HURT*!" He forced his tail out of her grasp and all but bolted for the
infirmary.
He was bleeding. Wunderbar. He lifted his injured tail up to stop it
throbbing so badly, and blew on it to try and cool it while he walked.
He'd appologise for the disturbance, later. Right now he needed ice,
antiseptic cream, gauze and maybe even a whole tab of tylenol. With a
little luck, he may even still be friends with everyone by the time he
came back.
"Kitty, how *could* you?" demanded Rogue.
"But I didn't even like, know I was doing it!" Kitty protested. "You
like, *know* I play with junk when I'm like, tense."
"It was Kurt's *tail*. You *bit* him!" said Jean.
"I didn't know it was *him*!"
"Hel*lo*... what *else* around here is fuzzy and serpentine?"
sarcasmed Jubes. "Gee, let me think - 'cause you obviously didn't."
"Fine. I'll like, go appologise right now."
"Good. Go."
Kitty wiped tears from her eyes. She really *hadn't* known what she
was doing until Kurt screamed. It was just something soft to play with
while she got increasingly involved with the characters on the screen.
She hadn't even known she'd put his tail in her mouth.
_He must think I'm like, totally cruel or something..._ Kitty stared
at the floor as she walked, and saw the tiny spots of red. _Oh, ick.
He's like, *bleeding*. I did that to him and I didn't even know it._
She heard a moan from the infirmary, and risked a peek through the
door. Kurt was on the examination table, sandwiching his injured tail
between enormous ice packs. His eyes were screwed up, just like his
face, in an attitude of extreme pain.
"Are you like, gonna be okay?" she risked, hanging on to the door
frame as if it would keep her safe.
"Nnnhhh..." he said. "Eventually." He hissed a few breaths out between
his teeth.
"Do you want help?" she offered. "A painkiller?"
"Not yet. Gotta get fixed up, first," he managed. His voice was
totally stressed. "Painkiller's gonna knock me out in a minute or two."
"There's this like, topical anasthetic cream," Kitty crept into the
infirmary just far enough to take it out. "I could like, put it on for
you. If you're not like, mad at me?"
"Did you bite me on purpose?"
"*No*! I like, didn't even know I was like, doing it! I didn't even
know it was you!" Her lip trembled. _Oh no. Don't cry. Don't cry..._
"I'm like, so sorry-eeeeeeeee..." and with a final squeak, Kitty burst
out crying. She didn't want to lose her fuzzy elf, not now; and
*especially* not over something so - so - *stupid*.
Somehow, he'd got her into a hug, and was gently shushing at her while
he patted her shoulders. "I'm not mad at you, leibe. Never. I'd only be
mad if you hurt me on purpose. Shhhhh... If anything, it was my fault
for not saying anything. Don't cry, meine leibe. Shhh... We can still
fix it, ja? I'll heal. You'll see. Shhhh... There, there, there, now.
Shhh..."
Kitty sniffled to a stop. His cheek was against her forehead, and
every now and again, he'd kiss her forehead. His fur felt *so* nice. And
*he* was so nice. Why couldn't she like, *say* something?
Because she never knew how Kurt'd take it, and she always seemed to
put her foot in her mouth.
She hummed her appreciation of the hug, and gave him a little extra
squeeze before she let go. She was like, safe as long as she didn't
speak. Kitty waved the topical anasthetic at him. "Want me to like, put
this on?"
He was smiling, but his eyes still held pain. "Be gentle with me?"
In spite of how she was feeling, right now, she laughed. Kitty made
sure she pulled a pair of gloves on before she spread any of the goo
around. She didn't want numbed hands by the time she finished. "Okay,
but you like, gotta let me know when I'm like, being too rough."
"Fine by me," he said.
Kitty gingerly lifted up the top ice bag. "Ooooooohhhh..." Even *with*
the ice, it was swollen and distorted. Bruising showed through the fur.
Blood still leaked through the broken skin. "I'm gonna have to wash this
first, okay?"
Kurt nodded. "Ja. I may jump a bit, but don't be afraid, okay?"
_Thank God we did first aid training..._ Kitty daubed at him with a
saline solution. Her hands were shaking, but she actually got it done.
All by herself. Next, came the anasthetic, which made Kurt sigh. After
she'd made sure he was quite numb, she gingerly probed his wounds. He
wasn't going to need any stitches. Just a lot of antiseptics and a whole
bunch of gauze.
He was shivering a little by the time she was done. Kitty guessed it
was shock from the pain, and made sure he was warm before she guided him
to his room for the painkiller.
_He wasn't like, joking about the painkiller,_ Kitty realised as she
tucked the comforter around his slumbering form. _He's really out of
it._
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
There was that noise again, too low into the bass registers to trace
accurately, but loud enough to be heard. Kitty sneaked a goodnight-kiss
near Kurt's upturned elfin ear before she crept out of his room.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
Whatever it was, it was only annoying because no-one could figure out
where it came from. Otherwise, it was kind of appealing. Kitty figured
it had to be some mystery generator or something. It only ever happened
at the Institute or at school.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
Personally, Kitty was amazed by Kurt's ability to sleep through it. If
that were her, drowsy on meds, she'd be tossing and turning trying to
figure out what the sound was.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
But then again, it *was* kinda hypnotic.
"Will he live?" asked Amara.
"He'll be okay. His tail's gonna be like, sore for a while, but he
should be like, back to normal real soon, now."
"Hmph." Amara stomped off.
Kitty rolled her eyes. They *really* didn't get along. Kurt, the
uncommon common-as-muck gypsy boy and the Princess were like oil and
water. No, like *sodium* and water. Fizzing and sparks and sometimes,
the odd explosion.
She closed his door for him and crept away, hoping he'd be all right
in the morning.
Kurt woke up in a panic sometime around four in the morning. He was
*sure* he'd done It right in front of her. The details were a little
vague, but he knew she'd been in the same room as he was and he was -
_Gott, nein..._ - he was *purring*.
More animal than human.
Kurt crept out of bed. His tail was an uncomfortable throbbing knot of
hot pain, but it didn't ache as much as his heart did. By now, it would
be all over the mansion. He couldn't bear it. Tears fell down his face.
They knew. They all knew.
It was a disaster.
More animal...
_*NO*! Not an animal. Not. I'm human. *Human*. Have to be. Not an
animal..._
Kurt choked down a howl of anguish. Not what he needed right now. If
he howled, no-one would be able to shut up about it. There was only one
thing he could do.
Hide.
He grabbed a few changes of clothes, his essential mementos from home,
and ran blindly into the cavernous underside of the Xavier mansion.
There were places down there that no-one knew about. He could probably
survive for weeks on the emergency stores alone.
Alone...
He *hated* being alone. But he hated being laughed at even more.
Kurt wondered if he could hide until the laughing stopped.
Well. He'd just have to find out.
"No note, no sign of a struggle, no phone calls, nothing," explained
Scott. "Disa-Elvis-has-left-the-building-appeared. That's what I mean by
'gone'."
"He took his brushes," said Hank. "As well as his -er- personal
mascot."
Kitty bit her lip. _For 'mascot' like, read 'treasured childhood
toy'... What did I *do* to make him pack up and book like this?_ She was
*positive* she hadn't babbled, nor done anything overtly obnoxious.
She'd even *asked* Kurt to tell her if she did anything wrong.
_Congratulations, Pryde. You've hurt him again. Huzzah._
Jean surfaced from her Kurt-hunting telepathic scan. "He's alive, and
he's still on Institute grounds. I'm sorry, but he's blocking the rest.
I couldn't tell you where he was if he was right under this table."
"I'm afraid I had the same results," Xavier sighed. "Obviously, Kurt
has no desire to be found."
"Something had to set this off," said Evan. "Anyone have any ideas?"
All the girls glared at Kitty.
"*What*?" Kitty demanded. "I like, appologised for all that. He like,
totally forgave me. If it's something I like, did? I don't know what it
like, *is*, okay?" _Leave me alone. I like, hurt too much right now._
As a unit, the remaining girls turned on Amara.
"*What*? I haven't said *anything* to the stupid peasant for a *week*.
*At* the Professor's request, I might add."
"What I said was, 'if you can't say anything nice--'"
"And I *have* been! It's not *my* fault if the bootless gypsy takes
offense at a simple 'good morning'."
"It's not *what* you said, Princess," said Rogue. "It's the way y'all
said it. You know - like ya wished his head'd drop off for ya?"
"Hmph." Amara folded her arms. "It's beneath me to speak to him at
*all*," she muttered. "Stupid peasant."
"But it ain't beneath ye ta pull a few pranks, now an' then," said
Rahne. "Do anything to him, lately?"
"*I* am a Princess of the Crown Royal," Amara huffed. "*And* I happen
to be completely innocent. This time."
"You're also a royal pain in the ass," grumbled Logan. "Consider
yourself under suspicion until we get proof either way."
Mumbled, "Stupid peasant."
"Can't you like, sniff him out or something, Mr Logan?" Kitty pleaded.
Logan's nose was legendary.
"I would, except everyone and their kid brother's been walkin' over
the trail to make certain the Elf ain't there. It's gonna be a while
before I find a fresh track I can use."
Kitty bit her lip again. She'd been one of the many tromping all over
the place, trying to figure out where Kurt had gone. At least it was
like, a weekend. They could look for him in peace and quiet without
having to make up some bogus epidemic.
They searched the grounds first. Kitty spent a teary handful of
minutes perched on an otherwise ordinary boulder. It was where Kurt went
to be alone so he could argue with the Almighty about whatever was
getting on his pecs. From what she'd heard, it was mostly human nature.
But then, he wouldn't come here, because he knew that she knew about it.
She knew he came here, sometimes.
Therefore, she must have like, *really* ticked him off.
Kitty looked up at the sky, and whispered, "Help me find him? Please?
I just want everything to be like, all right again. If that's like,
okay..." _Well, it can't hurt to ask._
To a casual observer, it looked just like every other stack of crates
in the gloom of sub-basement thirty-three. To the casual listener,
however, something wierd was going on.
There was a bizarre, ululating noise that warbled at odd moments, and
occasionally broke off into a more human sobbing. Someone - or
some*thing* - was incredibly upset.
You'd have to be quite a climber and something of a contortionist to
even see who was making both noises, let alone get down to the tiny
cubby that Kurt had made amidst the pile of crates. He huddled there in
a nest of old army surplus blankets, clutching a knitted blue doll with
gold button-eyes to his chest and weeping piteously.
"How long do you think, Schmerzmann?" Kurt whispered through the
tears. "Would they forget at all? Or will it be like the last time?"
Another string of broken sobs. "Gott, I couldn't stand that again. I
*can't* stand that again."
The memories felt real enough to him, but they only happened inside
his head. Only he heard the echoes of other's voices.
'Hey, cool!' they said, 'Check out what he does when you do *this*!'
and, 'Make him do it again!' And the hands, always the hands, in that
welcome/unwelcome way. Touching him in ways that he loved/hated. Making
him do It for their entertainment.
And because they were bigger than he was, he couldn't stop them,
couldn't escape. At least, not until Andrei came by and beat them up.
Even though they were the same age, Andrei could always make four of
Kurt, easy.
He needed his centaur friend, now. He always felt *safe* when Andrei
was around.
But there was no-one here but him, and a doll that couldn't do
anything at all but help him communicate his pain to parents that
weren't even there.
Softly at first, his howl rang out through sub-basement thirty-three.
Kitty was wandering through basement level four. The one everyone
called the Labyrinth, because of its twisting corridors and bizarre
little rooms. It was easy to get lost there. So easy that no-one went
down there without a piece of chalk. Only the Professor knew the twists
of the Labyrinth by heart.
No turns or doors had any KW's on them with that day's date. Nor
yesterday's date. Like, how could anyone find him if he like, didn't
leave a trail?
_Maybe that was the point. Maybe he wanted to get so lost even *he*
couldn't find himself._ Kitty jotted her initials and the date on a
corner, with an arrow, in case anyone needed to find her. _Or maybe he
doesn't like, need it with his famous sense of direction._
_Left._ said a voice in her head. _Go left. Now._ It sounded like her.
Sort of. Maybe this was like, the help she'd asked for.
Kitty made her mark on the relevant piece of wall and headed left.
Then she followed the corridor until her voice said, _This door._ in her
head. After her mark was left, yet again, she found out it was a
staircase.
_Down,_ said her voice. Kitty left an arrow on the door and went down
for what felt like forever.
Around basement twenty-eight, she heard this *noise*. It was
terrifying, even at this distance. She could tell it was pretty far
away. Was Kurt in trouble because of whatever-it-was? Was it hurting
him? Terrors filling her head as she went, Kitty increased her speed.
It was coming from basement level thirty-three.
_Hang on, Kurt. I'm coming._
She ran through boxes, focussing on the sound. All she had to do was
find him, then keep him phased and scream for help from the Professor or
Jean.
Wierd thing, though. Every time it stopped, she could hear Kurt
gasping, as if in the extremities of sorrow and anguish.
There. Behind those boxes. No, *in* those boxes. Kitty concentrated
and walked through.
She only found Kurt, curled up on himself, tears streaming down his
face. *He* was making that noise. By the looks of things, he neither
wanted to, nor could help it.
Kitty let herself solidify so she could comfort him, snuggling in
beside him in his little nest/cubby/hidey-hole. He clung to her like a
child, and poured his misery into her shoulder. She could only
understand one word in ten, but it was a repeating litany and she
eventually got the whole of it.
When she did, she slammed him into a crate and yelled, "You stop that
right *now*, Kurt Wagner!"
The shock, or the voice of authority broke him out of it. "Vas was
that for?"
"None of us think of you like that! *None* of us. Do you understand?
You're our *friend*! And some of us - some of us --" _Say it._ "We love
you. I - love you."
He'd closed his eyes. He looked exhausted and defeated. "You're
teasing me," he whispered. "Who could anyone fall in love mit - *this*?"
He gestured with his tridactyl hands. They did no more than shake an
imaginary globe in front of him, yet they encapsulated the entirety of
his peculiarities.
So did the little doll he'd just dropped on the blankets. It looked
just like him.
Kitty picked it up and cradled it in her arms like a baby. "Your Mom
made this for you, didn't she?"
"Ja." After a beat, he decided she needed more information. "I didn't
want to talk when I got hurt - when I was a child. And no dolls were
like me."
"So she like, made you this little fellow because she was like,
worried about you."
"Ja..."
"I guess that like, means she loves you."
"She's my Mama." A sigh. "Mamas don't count."
Oh. *That* kind of love. "Do *I* - count?"
"Oh, ja. You count like anything."
Kitty moved around so she could hug him. It was a bit of a tight
squeeze, but she didn't care. "So why don't you like, believe me when I
like, tell you I love you?"
He looked at her. "You heard what I was doing before. You heard what I
did last night. They're just two of the things I can do that - that no
*human* can."
"No *other* human," Kitty corrected. "And FYI, I don't have like, the
faintest clue what you think you did last night."
A very small voice. "Please. Let go? I'm starting to do It again."
"I can't hear--"
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"--anything?"
Kurt had his eyes squeezed shut. Tears still leaked from their
corners. He took a shuddering breath in, tried to hold it, and let it
out.
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"I can't help it. Whenever I feel happy, or - or very good... I --"
{...thrrrrmmmmm...}
"I *purr*."
Kitty smiled. "I like it," she said. "It's cute. Just like you."
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
"You - mean it?"
"Do you like, see me running around and like, screaming?" Kitty wiped
the tears from his fur. Incedentally petting his silky pelt. "I love
you, Kurt. Funny little noises and all."
{THRRRRUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMBLLLLEppppprrrrrrrrrrrrrr...} Kurt grinned,
purring like thunder, just to have her in his arms.
Kitty snuggled into him, brushing her forehead against his neck and
holding him close. His hair was almost as soft and fine as his fur.
_It's official. I'm jealous. I want hair like that._ "You feel *so*
nice," she told him. "You're like, *the* nicest person to like, cuddle
up to."
He practically boomed, he was purring so loud. He was wearing the
goofiest I'm-in-love-and-I-don't-care-who-knows-it grin she'd ever seen
on him.
Kitty had to giggle. "You're welcome."
His voice warbled, because of the now-continuous purr. "Am I funny to
you, leibe?"
"No, silly. You like, *tickle*. I like it. I love it."
"I'm going to have to throw you off, you know. I'm sorry, but I'm
getting a cramp, all scootched up like this."
"Like, *totally* ditto. Wanna like, phase outta here?"
They took a walk around the basement. Not exactly the best scenery for
a brand-new couple, but they weren't really paying attention to the
scenery anyway.
"I also growl," he confessed at length. "But I'm in too good a mood to
show you, right now."
"And how often have you like, done that?"
"How often have you made eyes at Lance?"
Kitty laughed. "I *never* made so much as a like, *eyelash* at him!
Get a clue..."
"But - you and he... I *saw*..."
"I was like, laughing *at* him, Kurt. He's like, mega-pathetic."
Murmured, barely audible over his purr. "I'd thought you liked him."
"Aw. Poor Elfie..." Kitty gave him a hug.
"Ew... *That* one better not catch. No offense, Katzchen, but 'Elfie'
ist not me."
"I was trying to be like, cute."
"You're cute enough without trying, Schatz."
Kitty giggled as they sat back down outside his former hiding place.
"People are gonna be like, wondering where we are, pretty soon."
His purr toned down. "Ja."
"Are you like, *still* worried about like, how people will react?"
Kitty hung herself around his shoulders with her arms. "Don't like,
sweat it, okay? It's just like, part of who you are."
"So you say. Es ist only a matter of time before - someone will want
to make me do something. So they can laugh."
"So we'll like, cover for ya. I mean the whole 'construction work'
thing kinda like, works."
He sighed. He really should have trusted his friends.
Logan found his fresh scent. Unfortunately, it was the sulpherous
residue of a 'port. Well, by the smell of things, the elf was back.
Half-pint was with him, and something had changed in their relationship.
He found them snuggled together in a window seat, just leaning against
each other and watching the world go by.
_Call off the search, Chuck. They're okay._
{...ThhhhrrrrrRRRRUUUMMMMMmmmmmmmbllllllle...}
_What the--?_ That was the same sound that had been mystifying the
kids for about half a week. "What the hell *is* that noise?" he wondered
aloud.
"It's just Kurt," said Kitty, as if guys who purred were an everyday
occurrence. "Deal."
"Huh," announced Logan. So that was what the little squirrel had been
uptight about, lately. It was just another item in the growing list of
Kurt Things that were fast becoming background noise. "Don't think your
new sound's gettin' ya off of anythin', Elf."
Kurt grinned. "Jawohl."
"*Told* you so," Kitty said.
They fit together like two pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, and it was a
very *cozy* puzzle at that. It felt very right just to share time with
each other, touching.
"Kurt?"
"Mmm?"
"Dare you to like, howl at Logan during a training session."
Kurt laughed. "All right, leibe, but you have to be there to phase me
if he loses it."
"Deal." Kitty laughed, too. "I just like, want to see the look on his
face."
"Evil leibe, *evil*..."
"You gotta admit, having something like that is like, *totally* going
to like, unnerve the opposition."
"Ja. I can see that. Es ist the *allies* I worry about."
"Don't. We love you."
"Ich leibe dich, too."