Chapter 26

Schwarzwald

Nightcrawler clung to the flimsy top of a fir tree at the top of the dense forest canopy. It was still very early in the morning meaning that it was nearly pitch black in the forest below. He looked up at the brightening sky with only his thoughts for company. In just a few days they would reach Stüttgart and he would be alone again. He knew that he could very easily follow them into the city secretly, but then he risked being spotted by them, by her. He couldn't afford her seeing him; it would bring too many difficult and painful questions. But if he didn't follow along something bad might happen and he wouldn't find out about it until it was too late to do anything. With a low growl of frustration his tail slipped around a prickly pine cone, snapped it free of its branch, and sent it flying over the tree tops.

A small flock of crows exploded from the canopy cawing their anger at being driven to flight by a spiny pine cone that had landed amongst them. Nightcrawler winced at the harsh cries of the crows and decided to head back down to the Engländer that he was guiding. With grace and ease that put squirrels to shame he dropped down the tree's trunk and moved from branch to branch. In a few short minutes he arrived back at the tree where he'd spent the night with only Logan knowing that he had been gone at all. He kept his movements careful and quiet as he crept down the tree trunk so that he didn't disturb anyone who still might be sleeping. With a silent leap he flipped off of the tree and landed clear of the nearby sleeping shapes. He was about to get last night's fire going again when the sound of a throat being cleared loudly interrupted him.

"Where did you go off to bub?" Logan growled suspiciously.

"I went up to watch the sunrise." Nightcrawler replied.

"Leave the fire alone and go see to the horses." The feral man grunted.

"Jawohl!" Nightcrawler cried giving a mock salute before scampering off to do as he was told.

Once Nightcrawler was safe from Logan among the horses in a nearby clearing he let his true feelings show. He really hated being pushed around, especially when it was Logan who was doing the pushing. With barely restrained irritation he set about re-saddling the sleepy horses. Schwarzi gave him no trouble and most of the Engländers' horses, while nervous of him, were just as well behaved. But Kitty's horse, Phantom, was another story entirely. The half wild mare appeared to hate everyone but her rider. The pale gray and black beast eyed him defiantly while making sure to stand just out of reach. Nightcrawler made it a point to ignore her and lavished attention and affection on the other horses instead. Only when he had completely finished with all the other horses did he look towards the rebellious Phantom.

Casually Nightcrawler lounged on a tree stump opposite from the ill-tempered Phantom. Silently he observed his stubborn adversary with a critical eye. He admired the mare's beautiful yet subtle coloration. Her coat from a distance looked a solid pale gray, but up close he could see many different shades of light gray that gave her flanks and hindquarters a dappled appearance. A solid black went up from her hooves and smoothly blended together with the gray halfway up her powerful legs. Her mane and tail were solid shining ebony that starkly contrasted with her mostly pale colored coat. Overall, Phantom was a truly beautiful horse. If she were up for sale he would've bought her in a heartbeat. But she wasn't up for sale; she belonged to someone else so he would just have to forget about it. With a lazy stretch he prepared to enter in a battle of wills, man versus beast.

"Hello there! How are you today?" He asked in his friendliest, least threatening voice. Phantom regarded him warily but did not move from her spot. "Doesn't this look like it will be a lovely day today?" He asked her and gestured towards the few strengthening beams of sunlight that managed to break through the canopy. Phantom snorted derisively at him, but Nightcrawler didn't mind. "Do you want to come over here and talk with me or are you going to stay all the way over there by yourself?" He asked the horse curiously. She gave a neigh and tossed her head violently. "Suit yourself then." Nightcrawler sighed before pulling a small wild apple out of his pocket and crunching into it. Phantom's ears swiveled forward at the sound with intense interest. "Oh, do you want one too?" He asked. She gave a low whiny and took one tiny step forward. "Well, it just so happens that I have one more. All you have to do is come over here and take it." He promised holding out the second apple that he'd picked on his earlier canopy excursion. Phantom very slowly approached and when she was only a few inches away they were interrupted.

"What do you think you're doing?" A female voice demanded in an icy tone. Nightcrawler turned to see a very angry looking Kitty glaring back at him.

"Just making friends. Is that a crime?" Nightcrawler asked with perfect innocence. Kitty marched right up to him and snatched the apple from his fuzzy blue hand.

"Never, ever touch my horse." She hissed.

"Yes my lady, I will remember next time." Nightcrawler cheerily promised burying his disappointment beneath a smile.

She didn't look the least bit convinced of his sincerity and stalked off with Phantom in tow. With all the other horses taken care of there was no reason for him to hang around. Silently he walked away in search of breakfast trying desperately not to hear the affectionate words she saved for her beloved mount. She never said anything half as nice to him, not ever. He paused on the edge of the slowly waking camp and rested against a tree. Wordlessly he watched the others stumble about in the dim light as they struggled to eat some breakfast and get ready to leave at the same time. A sudden wave of doubt and melancholy washed over him. Why was he doing this? They didn't like him and they didn't trust him. And then there was the fact that the longer he followed them the worse his trouble would be when he returned home. So why did he even bother?

He did it because of her. It was all because of her. He followed to protect her, to help her, and to try and make her happy again. She might resent and despise him, but he would always be loyal to her. So what if being away for as long as it took got him into trouble with his father. He would take whatever punishment was given with a smile. So what if they didn't like him. He would find a way to charm each and every one of them. He'd prove to them that he was useful and trustworthy. With renewed purpose and confidence he set off to get some food and make some friends.

Jean stiffly lowered herself off of her horse. Today's ride had been unusually rough so far. They had encountered several different streams of varying depths and widths that they had to cross. The terrain around these streams was also very irregular and the banks were quite steep. Then they'd run into several areas where the trees were denser than average making it very difficult to make their way through. This combined with the poor light made today the most miserable day yet in this forest of eternal twilight. But thankfully it was finally time to stop for lunch. Now Jean stumbling on nearly numb limbs to a fallen log to rest. She wearily slumped down onto the log and rifled through her pack for something to eat. She settled on a few hard biscuits and a handful of smoked meat strips that she washed down with water. As she ate her simple travel meal she relaxed and began to enjoy the peace of the moment.

"Hello Fräulein! Enjoying your lunch?" A masculine voice with a noticeable Germanic accent politely asked. Jean flinched and turned to find a blue-furred demon sitting beside her.

"Yes, I was enjoying my lunch." Jean replied in a clipped tone. After her first encounter with him he had put up very strong mental shields. She could barely sense even the strongest of his emotions through it, let alone his surface thoughts. Without being able to read his mind she couldn't bring herself to trust him. And then there was his 'relationship' with Kitty. She was unhappy with him about how he constantly tormented her friend.

"You aren't very happy with me." Nightcrawler quietly stated.

"You're right, I'm not." She confirmed focusing solely on her food.

"That's what I was afraid of. May I ask what I might do to make you happier with me?" He politely asked. Jean fixed him with a frigid glare.

"Stay away from her?" She commanded in a low, cold voice. Nightcrawler looked very sad upon hearing this answer.

"I am not sure that I can do that. But I will promise you this, if I do anything that truly hurts her, then I will gladly accept whatever punishment you unleash upon me." He replied sounding unusually serious.

"What good are your promises?" Jean demanded.

"I brought you back your lost man. I led you to Karlsruhe and now I am taking you to Stüttgart. The only question that I haven't answered is my name. If you refuse my word, then why do you still follow me?" Nightcrawler asked her. Jean found that she had no answer.

"I still don't trust you." She muttered stubbornly.

"I can understand that." He replied. A heavy silence fell, softened only by the soft conversations of Logan and Kitty, and Remy, Bobby, and Piotr. When the rest hour was almost up Jean voiced a final question.

"Why are you so interested in Kitty?" Jean asked. Nightcrawler didn't answer right away, which made Jean grow suspicious.

"She reminds me of a girl I knew once." He answered finally.

"She does?" Jean wondered, hoping to get more out of him.

"Yes, they look similar, but Kitty seems more angry and far less forgiving than the girl I knew." Nightcrawler sighed sadly.

Jean was about to ask more when Logan declared the break over. Nightcrawler quickly seemed to regain his cheerful attitude and he bounded off towards his horse. The fire-haired mind-witch blinked at such a sudden change in demeanor. With a tired sigh she shook off her surprise and struggled to her feet. Her lower half still wasn't fully recovered from the morning's ride so she had some difficulty getting back to her horse and getting back into the saddle. In a few short minutes everyone was mounted and ready to go. Nightcrawler took his place at the head of the line and they got underway once more. As the gentle rocking motion of the saddle became regular Jean's thoughts wandered. There is far more to this Nightcrawler than meets the eye. Hopefully allying ourselves with him won't bring any mysterious trouble down on our heads.

Nightcrawler crouched on a bare dead branch that sprouted out of the canopy like a twig in a sea of grass. It was night now and the others were back in their camp fast asleep. Only he and maybe Logan were still awake now. With his services no in demand at this time he was free to do as he pleased. So now here he was, relaxing at the top of the canopy and enjoying the beautiful night sky. A gentle breeze swept by with just enough strength to ruffle his fur a bit, which was a stark contrast to the stuffy forest floor below. There were so many stars crowding the clear night sky that it was almost impossible to find an open space of blackness. The moon was about half full and it shone with a mixture of white and silver light. It was a beautiful night, but he had too much on his mind to completely appreciate it.

He hadn't gotten the reaction that he'd hoped for when he spoke with Jean. She revealed a great deal more hostility than he had expected. She saw him as nothing more than an untrustworthy guide that threatened her friend and treated him as such. He'd ended up saying far more personal information than he'd ever intended to. And while he hadn't told any lies, he hadn't been exactly truthful either and that bothered him. He hated lying to people, but his very life depended on a web of lies and illusions. While the Church claims that the truth will set you free, if he spoke too much truth his life might become forfeit. So when he told Jean his story about the girl he knew he was forced to leave out a great deal. And still he knew that he had failed to improve his standing with her.

And just recently he found out about a new difficulty. A few hours ago after dinner he'd tried to have a conversation with Bobby and received quite a shock. The last time that he had really sat down to talk with the Iceman they had gotten along very well. Bobby had been warm, friendly, and trusting and that's what he was expecting this time. However, this time was the complete opposite of last time. Bobby was now cold, unresponsive, and very suspicious of everything that Nightcrawler said or did. Whatever trust the English boy had had in him had mysteriously vanished. Now he was left wondering what it was that he'd done or hadn't done to lose Bobby's trust. One person who he had felt that he could count on for support he suddenly found that he couldn't. Now he had a long road ahead to win Bobby back over again along with everyone else.

With an exhausted sigh Nightcrawler slowly headed back to camp. Whatever energy that had possessed him and brought him up here had abandoned him. He slunk through the trees taking a longer, more scenic route back to the tree that he had selected to spend the night in. When he finally did return to his sleeping tree he carefully settled himself on a wide sturdy branch and relaxed. He looked down briefly and checked to see if Kitty was alright in her blanket below him. While he whispered to himself that it was a nice coincidence that he happened to pick the same tree that she did, his inner self wasn't fooled. He might be good at lying to other people, but he could never lie to himself.