Four

An intoxicating scent filled Logan's nostrils as he began to wake from the most pleasant sleep he'd had in a long while. Ororo, he thought with a sleepy grin, arms tightening marginally around her warm body. He laid there for a few more minutes, enjoying the contact for just a little longer before he picked up the sounds of rousing students with his sensitive hearing. Not wanting Ororo to feel crowded when she woke, Logan released her gently and got up, grabbing his kit and some clean clothes from his rucksack in the hopes that he could wash up down river before all the kids were running around.

Trekking through the forest, Logan easily found a waist deep pool of slow-moving water. He hung his towel up on a tree branch and shucked off his clothes before grabbing his soap and marching into the brisk water.

He washed quickly, his keen senses on alert for anyone or anything that might be coming through the woods. The last thing he needed was for one of the students to stumble upon him bathing.

Finishing up, he trudged back up on the bank and swiftly toweled off. Staring out across the river, Logan had just pulled up his boxer briefs when the wind shifted and he thought he caught a brief hint of Ororo's scent. Looking around with furrowed brows, he listened carefully, but didn't hear anything that resembled a human being walking through the woods, and didn't get another whiff of her scent, either. Shaking his head, Logan figured he was probably just picking up a lingering scent of Ororo from the clothes he'd taken off, and quickly finished dressing.

Marching back to camp, Logan discovered the kids were all awake, scattered around the campsite either eating their breakfasts or packing their tents up for the remaining few miles of their raft trip. He didn't see Ororo, though, and guessed she was off somewhere washing up.

Stomach rumbling with the scent of food in the air, Logan looked around and noticed a forlorn Kitty sitting by the fire and pushing what looked like a mixture of powdered eggs and mushrooms around in a skillet. He dropped his things off by his tent and strode towards her. "What'samatter Half-Pint?"

Kitty looked up at him, pouting. "I was trying to be nice by cooking breakfast for everyone, but they don't trust my food. No one's gonna eat it and I really don't want it to go to waste." She frowned and shrugged. "I don't even like mushrooms, but I thought they would add a little something to the boring old eggs."

Logan crouched down and peered at the skillet, sniffing as subtly as he could. Smelled alright to him. Pretty much everyone at the institute knew that Kitty had questionable culinary skills, but he'd endured some really awful food in his time, and with his healing factor, how bad could it really be? Deciding to take one for the team in order to keep the kid happy for the rest of the trip, Logan waved for her to pass the skillet over. "Give it here, Kitty. I'll eat it."

"Thanks, Mr. Logan!" Kitty happily got up as she gave him the food. "I'm going to pack up my stuff. I hope you like it!"

Taking a tentative bite, Logan decided that the eggs weren't half bad. A little bland, even with the mushrooms, and it could use some cheese or hot sauce, but it didn't taste terrible, and he was hungry so he ate it all.

When he was done he went to pack up his tent and help the kids load up the rafts. He caught sight of Ororo giving her nephew something for his mosquito bites, and she looked up, making eye contact with him and giving him a warm smile. Logan grinned back at her with a slight nod of his head, and he could have sworn that her cheeks flushed slightly.

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Ororo swiftly turned away from Logan before her face could heat any further, and went to gather her belongings, her mind drifting.

When she'd woken up earlier only to find that Logan was already gone, she'd assumed that he'd left so none of the students would find them together and quietly got out of his tent. She heard some of the kids waking and moving around, and wanted to go wash up in private before they were all scrambling to use the makeshift showers.

With her clothes and toiletry kit, Ororo had taken to the air, floating between the tall, dense trees gracefully in her search for the perfect spot. Not needing a bucket of water to wash up, Ororo merely required a bit of space where she could use a fresh rain shower of her own creation. When she'd spied a clearing down river, Ororo silently flew between the trees in that direction, only to stop in mid-air when she saw Logan on the bank, pulling a pair of tight black boxer briefs up over his toned backside.

Momentarily losing her concentration, she'd unintentionally shifted the wind surrounding her, sending her scent straight towards the feral man. Logan had gone completely still, lifting his head and searching around.

Before he could see her or get a stronger scent, Ororo had swiftly adjusted the atmosphere around her so that she was downwind from him and darted back into the deep woods, flying as fast as she was able.

It had been a close call, and Ororo felt herself flush again at the memory. She found herself unable and unwilling to get the image of Logan's mostly-naked, muscled body out of her mind.

"Hey, Storm, do you think it would be alright if I steered our raft today?" Scott asked, approaching her.

Quickly composing herself and trying hard to drive certain thoughts from her mind for the moment, Ororo looked at the teenager with a smile, sensing his urge to lead. "Do you think you are ready?"

Scott nodded confidently, his jaw set with determination.

"Alright, Scott. You've got the lead today." Ororo picked up her back and started toward the bank where the others were getting into the rafts.

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They hadn't been back on the river long before Logan began feeling unwell. He frowned as they navigated a bend and his stomach cramped so badly that he nearly lost his grip on his paddle. Maybe Kitty's eggs didn't agree with me after all, he thought with a muted groan. Ignoring the discomfort, confident that his healing factor would deal with it soon enough, Logan pushed on, putting all his concentration into steering the raft and barking out orders for his team of paddlers.

Glancing behind him, Logan saw that Ororo's raft wasn't far behind, with Scott seated in the back doing all the steering. He had to give the kid credit; he was a natural leader and always eager to take charge. Turning back around to take a look at his own group, Kitty, Evan, and Jean were all paddling smoothly in sync, even while he wasn't issuing out any commands. Logan was proud to note that these kids had come a long way in just a few days.

He growled when his vision suddenly blurred, the images of the three students on the raft going all fuzzy. An out-of-focus Jean turned to look at him while Kitty and Evan continued paddling. The pain in his stomach worsened.

"Hey Logan, are you okay?" Jean asked him, concern lacing her soft voice. "You're really sweating and you don't look so good."

"I'm fine," he muttered, motioning toward the river ahead. "Just focus on where the raft's goin', Red." Was he really sweating that much?Logan wondered with confusion. He didn't feel very hot. He let go of his paddle with one hand to swipe it across his brow, discovering his face completely saturated with sweat. Looking down at his chest, Logan tugged his dark shirt away from his body, realizing the fabric was plastered to his skin. What the hell was going on with him?

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