The Savage Lands
6:31 (6:31 am)
Day 2
"Wake up, sleepyhead! Rise n shine!"
Logan growled and rolled over.
"Fivemoreminutesmum...."
"What?"
"I...said.....fivemoreminutes....mum..."
Rogue started laughing.
"Mum?"
Logan sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"No....I'm not your mum, Rogue....wha...?"
"You said 'five more minutes mum'!"
Logan growled.
"Did not! I did no such thing!"
"Did so."
"Did not."
"This could go on all morning. Let's eat and hit the road."
Logan started to get up when he noticed he wasn't wearing anything.
"Oh...jeeze...ROGUE...at least look the other way, will ya..."
Rogue blushed and turned around while he dressed.
"That's better. Now what's there to eat?"
"Fruit bars and boxed juice."
Logan looked mortified.
"Not again! That stuff is not food!"
"Well it's all we've got, shugah. It'll have to do."
Rogue handed him his ration.
They finished eating a little while later.
"Shugah, did you see any streams or anything last night?"
"There's one a little while that way." Logan pointed behind him. "Why?"
"Ah need to wash up a bit 'fore we set out."
Rogue picked up the blanket and headed out in the direction of the stream.
Logan sighed and stretched out beside the bag.
He started fantasizing about making out with that redhead back at the school, but the image of Rogue kept popping into his head.
His mind started to wander and he actually blushed a little at the things he was coming up with.
"No way," He growled to himself. "She's my friend---just my friend-I'm not- "
He stopped and focused on his hearing.
Where those screams? Yes, they were.
"LOGAN!"
He sprang up and started running in the direction of the screams.
"LOGAN! HELP! SOMEONE! HELP ME!"
He stumbled down the stream banks and looked in astonishment at the sight that greeted him.
Rogue was backing away from a giant ....a giant what? A dinosaur?
Impossible. But that was the only way he could think of to describe this huge reptile-like creature.
It was massive, at least ten meters long , with gigantic razor-sharp teeth and leathery skin , similar to a crocodile's.
He blinked stupidly.
"Logan! Logan! Help me! Please,"
"I....oh yeah..."
*snikt*
"Rogue....back away....slowly..."
Rogue whimpered.
"Rogue..."
She started inching backwards.
With a sudden flick of it's tail the creature started to lunge after Rogue, but it stopped and turned it's big head towards Logan as he growled.
"C'mon ugly, I seen worse things than you in my day."
The dinosaur continued to stare at Logan.
"You're not the only one interested in her, Bub..." He growled in low tones.
The dinosaur chose that instant to attack, throwing itself at Logan with mouth wide and gaping.
Logan shoved his fist into the big lizard's chest and popped his claws, making the creature whimper as he gutted it.
A couple moments later and the dinosaur lay dead at his feet.
"Well," He said shakily. "I guess we shouldn've ruled big lizards out of the possible locals list."
Rogue ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Shhh....don't cry...."
He patted her back and held her to him as she collected herself.
"Ah have a new name for this place. The savage lands."
Logan grinned.
"Sounds like a place for me."
Rogue raised her head.
"Not for me. Ah'm dead scared of big lizards."
She pulled away and she suddenly realized she had nothing on.
"Logan! You could've been killed !"
He was too busy staring to hear her.
"Logan...Logan...LOGAN !"
He blushed and looked away.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"What if our skin had touched? Ah could've killed you!"
"But you didn't."
"Still, shugah, Ah'm not taking no risks. Ah need you to slay ma dino's."
He grinned and turned his back.
"Go on, get dressed, I'll stay on lookout."
"No peeking."
"I won't."
+++++++++++
The Savage Lands
12:53 (12:53 pm)
Day 2
"Logan, you were right, dino does taste good."
Logan chuckled.
"If you like dino then you should try Dragon. It's delicious."
Rogue laughed and finished up her lunch.
"Logan, can you cut me a long strip outta that skin? It's getting pretty hot, a headband would be real nice. "
Logan nodded and reached for the leather.
"About this long," Rogue spread out her arms.
He nodded, made a fist and popped one claw.
"Ouch," he said under his breath.
Rogue looked at him.
"You never said ouch before, shugah. Are you okay?"
He grimaced.
"Just a little.....sore....yeah I'll be fine."
He ignored the pain shooting up his arm as he cut out the strip and handed it to Rogue.
But he began to get a little worried when he retracted the claw and it still hurt like hell.
He looked at his knuckles and saw they were still gaping open and leaking blood.
"Jeeze..." He mumbled as he made a fist and pain screamed through every joint and muscle in his arm.
Under further examination he noticed that his whole forearm was black and blue to the elbow, and tender to the touch. He looked at his other arm and saw the horrific injuries.
"Rogue..."
Rogue looked up.
"What, shugah?"
"Rogue....I think somethin's wrong with me...."
Rogue frowned.
"What's wrong with you?"
He held out his arm to her.
"I'm.....I'm not healing like I should be,"
She gasped and shrank back from his extended arm.
"Shugah...oh wow...that's bad..."
He winced.
"Let's wrap them up....there's some gauze and stuff in the kit."
He stayed still as she bandaged his arms, only grimacing occasionally.
"There we go...how'd you hurt them so bad?"
He stared at them.
"Claws. They're stored in my forearms. That's the only explanation."
She bit her lip.
"Why aren't they healing then?"
He sighed and tried to think. Why weren't they healing ?
Then it struck him. How tired he'd been last night. How he'd had to concentrate to hear Rogue's screaming. And how Rogue seemed weaker, more.vulnerable. Unable to fly.
"Rogue, this may sound crazy, but...I think none of our powers are working."
She looked at him, puzzled.
He sighed. "Think about it. You can't fly. You needed help with that dino."
She smiled.
"Ah'm not that strong, shugah," She said. "And ah haven't been flying for long...ah really need to concentrate to do it."
"Well.... Do you remember last night when you wanted to stop?"
She nodded slowly.
"I was tired too. And I've been noticin' that my senses aren't very....sharp....for some reason...and do you remember at the stream? We touched skin and nothin' happened!"
"Well....there is a way that we could check..."
Rogue slowly raised her eyes to Logan's and pulled off a glove.
"Shall ah?"
He nodded, watching her reach out a bare hand to his cheek, felt the cool touch of skin-to-skin contact.
Nothing happened.
Rogue let her hand linger a moment before she pulled away.
"So our powers really *aren't* working," She said under her breath.
Then she looked away, blushing bright red.
~Ah shouldn't think that, ~ she said firmly to herself as she pictured herself leaning in a little closer to Logan for a purpose other than testing powers.
"We should get going," She said finally, getting up and packing their stuff back in the bag.
"I guess."
She picked the bag up and started to lead the way, her ungloved hand still tingling from brushing against Logan's stubbly cheek.
+++++
The Savage Lands
15:35 (3:35 pm)
Day 2
"How the heck are we gonna cross that, shugah?"
Rogue was referring to the incredibly deep canyon that lay between them and their destination.
"I dunno yet. Let's get closer."
They inched to the edge.
"Look-we could climb down this side and up the other."
Rogue blanched.
"No way, shugah. Ah'm no good at heights."
"This? This ain't heights," Logan scoffed, but his stomach felt uneasy too.
"There's no way ah'm going down that."
"Rogue, it's the only way across."
They both fell silent for a moment.
"Mebbe there's some ropes in the kit," Logan suggested.
Rogue rummaged in the bag.
"No luck, shugah."
Logan sighed and looked down again.
A wave of nausea threatened to overtake him as he gazed at the far-away bottom.
"It can't be that far down," He mumbled.
He turned to Rogue.
"Here's the deal then. I'll go first on climbin' down so if I slip then I won't fall on top of you-metal bones are heavy. And if you slip, I can catch you."
Rogue nodded shakily.
"Rogue, I think you can make it. There's lots of footholds. "
Rogue didn't look any more at ease.
He sighed. "Lots of people climb without ropes," he said.
"Only those who want to die," She whispered. "And ah don't want to die."
"We're not gonna die." Logan took the bag from her and swung it over his shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's get goin'."
He knelt down and swung his leg over the edge, trying not to look down.
Rogue, her face ashen, followed.
+ + + + + +
6:31 (6:31 am)
Day 2
"Wake up, sleepyhead! Rise n shine!"
Logan growled and rolled over.
"Fivemoreminutesmum...."
"What?"
"I...said.....fivemoreminutes....mum..."
Rogue started laughing.
"Mum?"
Logan sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"No....I'm not your mum, Rogue....wha...?"
"You said 'five more minutes mum'!"
Logan growled.
"Did not! I did no such thing!"
"Did so."
"Did not."
"This could go on all morning. Let's eat and hit the road."
Logan started to get up when he noticed he wasn't wearing anything.
"Oh...jeeze...ROGUE...at least look the other way, will ya..."
Rogue blushed and turned around while he dressed.
"That's better. Now what's there to eat?"
"Fruit bars and boxed juice."
Logan looked mortified.
"Not again! That stuff is not food!"
"Well it's all we've got, shugah. It'll have to do."
Rogue handed him his ration.
They finished eating a little while later.
"Shugah, did you see any streams or anything last night?"
"There's one a little while that way." Logan pointed behind him. "Why?"
"Ah need to wash up a bit 'fore we set out."
Rogue picked up the blanket and headed out in the direction of the stream.
Logan sighed and stretched out beside the bag.
He started fantasizing about making out with that redhead back at the school, but the image of Rogue kept popping into his head.
His mind started to wander and he actually blushed a little at the things he was coming up with.
"No way," He growled to himself. "She's my friend---just my friend-I'm not- "
He stopped and focused on his hearing.
Where those screams? Yes, they were.
"LOGAN!"
He sprang up and started running in the direction of the screams.
"LOGAN! HELP! SOMEONE! HELP ME!"
He stumbled down the stream banks and looked in astonishment at the sight that greeted him.
Rogue was backing away from a giant ....a giant what? A dinosaur?
Impossible. But that was the only way he could think of to describe this huge reptile-like creature.
It was massive, at least ten meters long , with gigantic razor-sharp teeth and leathery skin , similar to a crocodile's.
He blinked stupidly.
"Logan! Logan! Help me! Please,"
"I....oh yeah..."
*snikt*
"Rogue....back away....slowly..."
Rogue whimpered.
"Rogue..."
She started inching backwards.
With a sudden flick of it's tail the creature started to lunge after Rogue, but it stopped and turned it's big head towards Logan as he growled.
"C'mon ugly, I seen worse things than you in my day."
The dinosaur continued to stare at Logan.
"You're not the only one interested in her, Bub..." He growled in low tones.
The dinosaur chose that instant to attack, throwing itself at Logan with mouth wide and gaping.
Logan shoved his fist into the big lizard's chest and popped his claws, making the creature whimper as he gutted it.
A couple moments later and the dinosaur lay dead at his feet.
"Well," He said shakily. "I guess we shouldn've ruled big lizards out of the possible locals list."
Rogue ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Shhh....don't cry...."
He patted her back and held her to him as she collected herself.
"Ah have a new name for this place. The savage lands."
Logan grinned.
"Sounds like a place for me."
Rogue raised her head.
"Not for me. Ah'm dead scared of big lizards."
She pulled away and she suddenly realized she had nothing on.
"Logan! You could've been killed !"
He was too busy staring to hear her.
"Logan...Logan...LOGAN !"
He blushed and looked away.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"What if our skin had touched? Ah could've killed you!"
"But you didn't."
"Still, shugah, Ah'm not taking no risks. Ah need you to slay ma dino's."
He grinned and turned his back.
"Go on, get dressed, I'll stay on lookout."
"No peeking."
"I won't."
+++++++++++
The Savage Lands
12:53 (12:53 pm)
Day 2
"Logan, you were right, dino does taste good."
Logan chuckled.
"If you like dino then you should try Dragon. It's delicious."
Rogue laughed and finished up her lunch.
"Logan, can you cut me a long strip outta that skin? It's getting pretty hot, a headband would be real nice. "
Logan nodded and reached for the leather.
"About this long," Rogue spread out her arms.
He nodded, made a fist and popped one claw.
"Ouch," he said under his breath.
Rogue looked at him.
"You never said ouch before, shugah. Are you okay?"
He grimaced.
"Just a little.....sore....yeah I'll be fine."
He ignored the pain shooting up his arm as he cut out the strip and handed it to Rogue.
But he began to get a little worried when he retracted the claw and it still hurt like hell.
He looked at his knuckles and saw they were still gaping open and leaking blood.
"Jeeze..." He mumbled as he made a fist and pain screamed through every joint and muscle in his arm.
Under further examination he noticed that his whole forearm was black and blue to the elbow, and tender to the touch. He looked at his other arm and saw the horrific injuries.
"Rogue..."
Rogue looked up.
"What, shugah?"
"Rogue....I think somethin's wrong with me...."
Rogue frowned.
"What's wrong with you?"
He held out his arm to her.
"I'm.....I'm not healing like I should be,"
She gasped and shrank back from his extended arm.
"Shugah...oh wow...that's bad..."
He winced.
"Let's wrap them up....there's some gauze and stuff in the kit."
He stayed still as she bandaged his arms, only grimacing occasionally.
"There we go...how'd you hurt them so bad?"
He stared at them.
"Claws. They're stored in my forearms. That's the only explanation."
She bit her lip.
"Why aren't they healing then?"
He sighed and tried to think. Why weren't they healing ?
Then it struck him. How tired he'd been last night. How he'd had to concentrate to hear Rogue's screaming. And how Rogue seemed weaker, more.vulnerable. Unable to fly.
"Rogue, this may sound crazy, but...I think none of our powers are working."
She looked at him, puzzled.
He sighed. "Think about it. You can't fly. You needed help with that dino."
She smiled.
"Ah'm not that strong, shugah," She said. "And ah haven't been flying for long...ah really need to concentrate to do it."
"Well.... Do you remember last night when you wanted to stop?"
She nodded slowly.
"I was tired too. And I've been noticin' that my senses aren't very....sharp....for some reason...and do you remember at the stream? We touched skin and nothin' happened!"
"Well....there is a way that we could check..."
Rogue slowly raised her eyes to Logan's and pulled off a glove.
"Shall ah?"
He nodded, watching her reach out a bare hand to his cheek, felt the cool touch of skin-to-skin contact.
Nothing happened.
Rogue let her hand linger a moment before she pulled away.
"So our powers really *aren't* working," She said under her breath.
Then she looked away, blushing bright red.
~Ah shouldn't think that, ~ she said firmly to herself as she pictured herself leaning in a little closer to Logan for a purpose other than testing powers.
"We should get going," She said finally, getting up and packing their stuff back in the bag.
"I guess."
She picked the bag up and started to lead the way, her ungloved hand still tingling from brushing against Logan's stubbly cheek.
+++++
The Savage Lands
15:35 (3:35 pm)
Day 2
"How the heck are we gonna cross that, shugah?"
Rogue was referring to the incredibly deep canyon that lay between them and their destination.
"I dunno yet. Let's get closer."
They inched to the edge.
"Look-we could climb down this side and up the other."
Rogue blanched.
"No way, shugah. Ah'm no good at heights."
"This? This ain't heights," Logan scoffed, but his stomach felt uneasy too.
"There's no way ah'm going down that."
"Rogue, it's the only way across."
They both fell silent for a moment.
"Mebbe there's some ropes in the kit," Logan suggested.
Rogue rummaged in the bag.
"No luck, shugah."
Logan sighed and looked down again.
A wave of nausea threatened to overtake him as he gazed at the far-away bottom.
"It can't be that far down," He mumbled.
He turned to Rogue.
"Here's the deal then. I'll go first on climbin' down so if I slip then I won't fall on top of you-metal bones are heavy. And if you slip, I can catch you."
Rogue nodded shakily.
"Rogue, I think you can make it. There's lots of footholds. "
Rogue didn't look any more at ease.
He sighed. "Lots of people climb without ropes," he said.
"Only those who want to die," She whispered. "And ah don't want to die."
"We're not gonna die." Logan took the bag from her and swung it over his shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's get goin'."
He knelt down and swung his leg over the edge, trying not to look down.
Rogue, her face ashen, followed.
+ + + + + +
