Author's note: Guess what---it's update day! ^-^ That's right, I'm updating all my stories today.
Well, enjoy my wonderful works of literature…and as always..
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~ 1LiLRoGuE / KaTe ~
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Over the next few days, the two traversed city after city, town after town, with the unspoken hope of finding even one living soul amongst the chaos of rotting bodies.
They were luckless in that area—finding only decay and despair wherever they went, until they reached the city of Seattle, Washington.
"Can we pull ovah foah lunch now, shugah?"
Logan glanced at the gas meter.
"Yeah. We need t' fill up anyhow."
Rogue smiled sadly and leaned her head against the cool glass of the passenger window.
"Y' okay?" Logan asked her, glancing worriedly at her pale face.
"Yeah," She said slowly. "Ah got ah headache though. Wish Hank was around t' work some ahv his blue magic on meh."
Logan frowned, knowing how hard illnesses were on her---being invulnerable wasn't a piece of cake.
Medicines had to be much stronger than normal to have any effect on her, and most heavy-duty prescription drugs had to be administered through a needle.
And there lay the main problem----Rogue's skin was impenetrable.
Rogue moaned softly and put a hand on her throbbing temple.
"Is 't that bad, darlin'?" Logan asked, concerned.
"Yeah—it's bad, shugah----" Rogue said through gritted teeth.
"I could always touch y', y' know," Logan suggested.
"No!" She exclaimed, backing up into the far corner of her seat.
"'S okay, darlin', y' don't hafta do anythin' y' don't wanna do." Logan said in a soothing tone, his eyes scanning the road ahead for a good resting spot.
"Ahwl ah need is some fresh air. Pull ovah heah."
Rogue's hand sprang for the latch on her seatbelt as Logan parked the truck.
"Whoa, wait fer me!" He said as she bolted out of the door and took to the air, her tense expression vanishing as the wind swirled around her.
"Ah'll be back in ah second, shugah!" Rogue yelled back as she shot out of sight.
"Great," Logan mumbled, hauling out the heavy cooler from the unheated back of the truck, where they had left it to stay naturally cool in the freezing January weather.
He stretched and, with a yawn, sat down on the lid to wait for the young southern woman with the skunk-striped hair to return.
After what seemed to be centuries, but was in reality only ten minutes, Rogue landed softly in the snow in front of him, her cheeks rosy and split with a grin.
"Y' feel better?" He asked, running a hand through his unruly black hair.
"Uhuh," She said breathlessly.
"Y' shoulda come! It's so…exhilarating!"
Logan shook his head fervently.
"No! I nearly froze my ass off th' last time I came! I'm not comin' again. I'm too old t' be up t' those kinda stunts, darlin'."
Rogue giggled.
"You? Mr. BadAss Wolverine with ah healing factor? Too old? Naice traihy!"
She punched him playfully.
"Ow!" He said, rubbing the disappearing bruise on his arm.
"Ahre y' okay?" Rogue asked, a hint of fear creeping into her voice.
"No…" Logan moaned, clutching the non-existent injury.
"Oh, gee, lemme see it then. Hank showed meh a few thangs—maybe ah could fix it. Is it broken?"
He nodded, waiting until she took hold of the arm in question and began to rotate it, feeling the bone along the upper portion for a fracture.
"It don't seem bro---ahhh!"
She screamed as he dumped a load of icy snow down the back of her shirt.
"Oh mah---eek!---gawd!" Rogue squealed as she attempted to shake the clumps of melting snow off of her tender back.
"Ah'll getcha, y' lil----!!!" She shouted, scooping up a massive load of the white powder and taking to the air with a determined scowl.
Logan ran for cover as she started to hurl the loads of snow at him, occasionally stumbling as they impacted on his head.
"No fair!" He yelled up at her.
"Yer outta range! Come back down here, y' coward, or I'll---"
He stopped in mid-word, his ears picking up a minute sound from somewhere near the area.
"Hang on!" He yelled at her as he ran towards the source of the noise, taking in deep breaths of air through his nose in an attempt to recognize the scent of his quarry.
Rogue raised an eyebrow as she watched Logan abandon the snow fight, then curiosity got the better of her and she dipped down to the ground after her friend.
"Logan?" She asked, glancing around in panic.
"Over here, darlin'!" Came Logan's voice from behind a little copse of trees.
She sped off in the direction of the familiar sound, first using her feet then remembering her additional and very useful gift of flight.
In moments she was kneeling beside the somewhat feral mutant.
"What is 't?" She asked.
"I heard somethin'," He said, his breaths coming out in frosty clouds.
"What'd y' heah, shugah?"
Logan held up a hand.
"There---sounds like somethin' in pain."
She followed him warily as he got to his feet and headed to a fallen tree, sniffing the air as he did so.
The source of the noise became immediately visible--- a muddy, matted mess of blood and dirt in the shape of a dog lying down.
"Oh…" Rogue breathed, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Hang on," Logan said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"'S injured," He continued after a moment of smelling the area.
"I kin smell blood pretty clear."
A tear leaked out of Rogue's emerald green eyes.
"Th' poor thang!" She exclaimed, running over to the animal's side before Logan could stop her.
His fears where eased when the dog whined pitifully.
"Hello, shugah," Rogue murmured, holding her gloved hand under the dirty canine's nose for inspection.
It sniffed for a moment, then wagged its tail with acceptance.
"Aww, yah're so cute," Rogue said, stroking the dog's head with a smile that only animals can produce.
"But yah're so dirtahy, shugah! What happened t' yah?"
As in answer, the canine whimpered and turned its head towards its hind legs, one of which was covered in dried blood, caught under the trunk of the downed tree.
"Oh mah! Y' poor thang! Logan, come see!" She said with a gasp.
Logan knelt beside the dog and visually examined the trapped leg, shaking his head.
"The leg looks like 't's broke," He said sadly. "Best thin's t' put him outta his misery."
Rogue's eyes filled.
"Y' wouldn't do that, shugah!" She cried in protest. "He needs help, an we can do that! Please…"
Her eyes grew big and round, like a doe's.
"Please…Logan…shugah…can we keep him? We could make him all bettah, an he could sleep besaide our bed in our new home…please?"
Logan felt his inner resolutions crumbling.
"But it's a lot of work, Rogue," He said, a lump growing in his throat as the creature thumped its scraggly tail pathetically.
"Ah know!" She said, scratching the animal's ears.
"But he would be such good company! An he could help y' hunt…an he'd be such a good boy t' have if y' had t' go somewheah an leave meh alone…"
Logan sighed.
"But we might not be able t' fix his leg, darlin'. It looks pretty bad, and I ain't know nothin' about helpin' out animals like him."
The dog whined again, looking at him with big chocolate eyes.
"Please, shugah," Rogue said, her voice thick with unshed tears.
"He needs us! An, besides, he could touch meh."
Logan suddenly realized this was true, being as the scruffy canine was covered in a thick layer of fur.
"All right," He agreed, heaving a sigh.
"We'll give him a chance. But if it gets too bad, darlin', we'll have t' put him outta it. Deal?"
"Deal," Rogue said, kissing her newfound companion between his deep brown eyes.
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