Hello! Excited about the new chapter? Tobi hopes so ^^ !
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I have no rights to the X-men franchise. If only I did...
Logan eyed the child, looking him over one more time, deciding the first thing to do. The mouthpiece had to go, but in order to do that Logan had to get the boy to trust him, especially since twelve-inch adamantium claws were likely to be used somewhere down the line. Yeah, bet those'll get the kid to like me.With his hands still in the 'I surrender' position, Logan slowly crouched down to become eye-level with Sean.
"Look kid, I'm not here to hurt ya—I just wanna help."
Sean began to slowly back up, clearly stating he believed otherwise. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for an opening. The boy's body trembled, the smell of fear it emitted piercing the larger male's nose.
Logan needed to do ...something, fast, before the boy bolted. Thinking fast, Logan reached into his pocket. This was obviously the wrong move because Sean looked panic stricken and tried to take off.
Logan mentally cursed at himself. With his lightning fast reflexes, the Wolverine grabbed the kid before he could get away.
The boy promptly began to kick and squirm, making small distressed noises. But due to the gadget around his mouth, if he had been in any real danger, no one would have heard his poor attempts at calls of distress. That thought didn't sit well with the mutant.
Logan attempted to calm him down, but to no avail; the kid was desperately trying to get away. Desperate, Logan hastily pulled out the candy bar he had previously been digging for. "Look, candy? Do you want candy?"
Nothing, no response other than scratching and biting as the kid attempted to free himself, seriously believing he was danger. God bless him.
After a few more kicks, punches, and wild movements, Logan decided he'd never look at parents the same way again. They have to deal with this every day, and they enjoy it? The mutant was quickly finding out he was not parent material. Finally getting fed up, Logan grabbed Sean by his shoulders and shook him—gently—to grab his attention.
"Kid! Kid! Kid! Sean, stop it!"
And just like that the boy stopped, wide, grey-blue eyes staring at him in shock. Huh. Taking the opportunity, Logan set the boy down and held the candy bar from earlier in his face, offering it again. In seconds it was unwrapped and broken into small bite-size pieces and, even faster than that, they were down the boy's throat. The recluse's earlier feelings of protectiveness stirred at the sight. Yes, this boy needed his help.
After licking his finger dry and deciding there was nothing left to be gained from them, Sean turned his attention back to Logan. "Ow…ow…no…nane?"
The voice was raspy from a long period of disuse, and the bear trap was plainly difficult to speak through, Logan barely deciphering 'how do you know my name?'. But at least he wasn't screaming, or at least his pitiful version of it.
Logan sighed wearily. Now they were getting somewhere. "Cause yer famous, kid," Logan answered slowly and gave a small tentative smile, taking extra measure not to scare the boy, hoping that a little joking would ease the tension. Sean didn't seem to be smiling, which would be hard to tell anyways with the contraption on his head, but he didn't seem like he was going to take off anytime soon either. Great. Progress.
Maybe now we can get that thing off his face.
Logan looked at the child, mentally trying to gauge his reaction for what he was about to ask. Sean was watching him with a bit of uncertainty, likely wondering what the stranger wanted. It cemented the idea that the next order of business had to be some sort of an explanation.
Logan carefully got down on one knee, and looked the boy in the eye, trying his damnedest to seem friendly. "Now I'm goin' to ask ya a question. Is that okay?"
The redhead still seemed to be wary of him, his eyes studying him as he considered the question. After a moment he nodded his head yes.
So far so good.
"Will ya promise to be honest?"
Again the boy nodded, albeit slower this time.
Logan sighed inwardly, now for the kicker. "Does this," Logan lifted his left index finger and raised it to his face and tapped his jaw. "Does it hurt?"
Sean visibly shrunk, his shoulders hunched as he stirred his foot and shrugged, almost as if he was ashamed of his answer. "…son…tines…"
Sometimes?
Logan bit his tongue. The thing clearly caused the child discomfort a lot more than sometimes, but no need getting upset about it; it would only freak the kid out.
"Do…do ya want it off?" The mutant was slow and deliberate with his words, making sure that the child understood it was his choice and that he wasn't about to be forced into anything.
Well, he'd let him think that. The thing was coming off come hell or high water.
Sean hung his head, his attention thoroughly invested in the bits of trash littered at his feet, his shame having increased with the last question. "…ye…yesss…"
Logan let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He could do this, but he needed to explain something to him first. "Sean, look at me, kid."
Sean looked up at Logan, shame still present.
"I can take it off yer head if that's whatcha really want."
Sean's head snapped to full attention, amazement etched on his face. "Ye…take…oghh?"
Logan nodded.
The gap that existed between the two of them began to gradually close as the little Irish boy moved towards the older man, eventually ending with the child standing mere inches from Logan's face. Sean raised his impish hands to his mouth brace, closing his itsy fingers around the steel metal, and looked up; his gaze centered on the set of honey browns eyes watching him.
"...Oogghh…l…leese…"
Logan scoffed a laugh, the kid had said please.
"Course, kid, but there's somethin' ya need to know before I do that."
The Cassidy boy tilted his head slightly to the right, clearly asking the question he couldn't say. Logan taking the invitation, delicately grabbed Sean's left hand and placed it on his own right one, he gingerly pressed the boy's hand hard enough for him to feel the bone beneath his rough skin.
"Feel that?"
Sean nodded. "….aarrdd…"
Logan smirked. "Yeah, kid, very hard. Ya see my bones are made a' metal."
"Etal?" The surprise in Sean's voice was evident, his eyes widening in slight surprise.
It was odd having his claws thought of as something special, especially after people have hated or feared him for it. But it wasn't a bad kind of odd, in fact he felt slightly privileged. Something he hasn't had the chance of experiencing quite too often.
"Yup, and I can make 'em come out too."
"…earlly?"
"Really, really." To prove his point Logan slowly extended the claw between his index and middle finger, keeping his eyes on Sean and gauging his reaction. The boy seemed to be spellbound, awe illuminating his face while he watched the metallic blade surge forward. It crept steadily like a snake slithering from its hole before fully exerting itself, all twelve-inches.
The fear that Logan had been expecting never appeared, and he was mildly surprised by this. Even if the boy was only four years old, pointy sharp things should send off an instinctive alarm to warn the boy away from danger, but the boy was transfixed. Sean reached to touch it, but Logan stopped him.
"No Sean, it's too sharp. It'll hurt ya." Sean seemed to consider this before looking at the silver talon and then back at Logan.
"…ogh?"
Logan smiled, the kid was smart. "Yeah, I'm gonna use this to get that thing off yer face, but don't worry. I ain't gonna hurt ya." And to Sean's credit, he believed him. Huh, must be desperate to get it off.
Suggestion: Logan decided to use this lull in fear to hurry up and get the job done before the kid realized the danger he was in, or at least would be if the older man didn't know what he was doing. He lowered his other leg so that he was on both his knees and using his right hand he placed a firm but gentle grip on the boy's right shoulder to steady him.
"Now whatever ya do, don't move, 'kay? I'll be quick, promise."
Sean nodded.
The clawed mutant retracted his claw a little to shorten the length of the blade. "Now turn around." The redhead complied and turned his back to Logan, who had concluded the best way to handle this was to cut it from the back that way it wouldn't get caught around the munchkin's neck.
"Alright, here we go."
As Logan promised, it was over swiftly, the mutant using one quick slice and cutting the back of it in half. The mouth trap fell forward away from Sean's face, landing a few inches from his tiny feet. The boy stared at the heap up metal for a long moment before reaching down and picking it up. He turned to face Logan who had been watching him from behind; there was a small moment where the two just watched each other.
A smile sprouted from the redhead's face as he held up the contraption. "Off!"
Logan sighed in content, a tender smile of his own making an appearance. "Sure is, kiddo, and ya were very good 'bout not movin' like I told ya." The fierce, feared Wolverine... ruffled the carrot, curled hair. "That gets ya a treat."
The boy giggled with the small display of affection, but soon stopped, grabbing onto the older man's wrist at the word treat. "Treat?"
Logan gave a soft chuckle as he pulled out a second candy bar. Originally, he had bought them to snack on, but apparently they had a higher purpose. Sean's eyes lit up like the night sky as he snatched the bar, ripping it open to tear it into small pieces.
Old habits die hard.
The little Irish man shoved fistfuls of the candy bits into his mouth, and Logan grabbed his hand. "Hey tyke, slow yer roll. Nobody's gonna take it from ya." Sean looked down at his hand then back up at Logan before giving a promising smile.
"Kay." Sean then slowly finished his snack.
A tiny feeling of pride swirled in Logan's stomach, He's a good listener. The mutant watched as the boy childishly licked his hand; the kid was darn cute, reminding the elder of a little leprechaun what with his red hair and tiny body. Logan laughed inwardly. The boy was probably too small to even be considered a leprechaun—he would be impish in comparison.
Heh, imp. I like it.
Logan came out of his thoughts to notice Sean yawn tiredly and then wrap his arms around himself to stave off the cold. In that moment reality set in like dried cement. As of right now, Logan was responsible for the child.
A seed of doubt settled into the back of the mutant's mind and took root. He couldn't care for a kid! He could barely leave a bar without getting into a fight, so how was he going to take responsibility for a child?! He had his own agenda to tend to, namely catching that cloaked figure and beating every goddamn bit of information he could get out of it.
Logan felt something wrap around his leg. When he looked down, Sean had both arms... around his right leg, his impish fingers curling into his pants leg as he blocked his head from the chill, cutting wind. The mutant's heart squeezed.
Right.
Taking off his jacket, Logan placed it on the boy before picking him up and heading in the direction of the Inn he was currently residing at. No use in worrying about responsibility, right now he had to get the boy somewhere warm—he sniffed—and possibly a bath.
Sean curled neatly into the crook of Logan's arm, his breath already beginning to even out. "Thanks mister," escaped his lips.
Logan smirked as he readjusted his hold on the child to make him comfortable and secure. "It's Logan."
Sean yawned. "Thanks Logan."
Then sleep took him. A gentle smile pulled at Logan's lips, the imp's sleeping form causing something to stir within him. "Maybe I'll give ya a bath in the mornin'." And with that he continued for the hotel.
XX_XX
Moments after their departure there was a rustle in the trees. The leaves tossed and swung, a message clinging to their branches. The message wisped and swirled before coiling itself into the bark, slowly spiraling to the roots of the trees. It slithered its way from them into the soil before worming its way into the roots of the grass, and the grass itself began to sway back and forth, creating a wave. The message wiggled to the surface of the grass and surfed the wave it created across the forest floor, the chilly wind helping speed it along.
In minutes an immense, stone mansion came into view, the message raced to the wall covered in forest-green ivy. It quickly spiraled down back into the roots of the grass, into the soil, and into the ivy roots and twisted upwards. It darted into many separate ivy roots, hurrying it's way along until it came to a root that led into a window. The window, which was closed, had a small hole cut into its glass just big enough for an ivy root to grow through. The ivy root grew down the wall, across a pebble-stoned floor, up the leg of a nearby wooden table, and into an orange, clay-baked pot containing a single flower. The message slid through this root right into the pot; it curled out of the ivory root and into the root of the flower. The flower, which had been closed, opened to reveal bright red petals and a sun-yellow center. The flower waited, ready to relay the message.
After a few moments the door to the room opened, yellow light pouring in to the room which had only been lit by the full moon through the window. A tall, lean, mass stepped into the room, its silhouette casted on the floor in front of the dark outline at the door. It turned its head and faced the open flower.
"Ah…so it is done then?"
A distinctly male voice erupted from the mass, its Irish accent light but noticeable. The lean frame began its trek across the room and over to the pot. As it got closer, the moonlight from outside gradually exposed the dark form. His black suede shoes appeared first, before the light steadily lifted. It passed an expensive pair of navy blue pants, before stopping as it reached the table just below the chest, which was donned in a silk black button up shirt. Two pale arms lay at the sides, their hands sitting in navy-blue pockets, before one lifted smoothly from its resting place and and exposed a slender finger that languidly reached for the plant.
"Let's have it then."
The finger delicately touched the flower's yellow center and the message surged through the digit, buried into the nervous system, and shot to the brain—the finger moved slightly.
"Oh."
A bright grin crawled onto the face of the partly obscure figure, his pearly white teeth becoming visible. "Well this is interesting…hmmm." There was a moment of silence as the mass pondered over this new development, a wicked smirk curving into the corners of his mouth as an idea struck him. "Yes, this could work…"
The finger placed itself back on the flower. "Keep an eye on 'em for me, won't ye, Clover?"
The pale digit was removed once again, but this time returned to the deep pocket it had been lounging in. Clover closed her petals, bowing forward before leaving the pot and exiting out the ivy root through the window.
A smile returned to the dark stature. "There's a good lass."
The shaded character stared out the window, before sauntering out the door with a slight look to the empty vessel in the pot. Going through the open door, the shadows swallowed him up as he left the light of the moon. As he reached the door, the mass took a short pause, and then just as quickly continued through the door, closing it behind him. A resounding click of the locked door echoed in the dark and vacant area, it's only resident being a sleeping pod sitting on the single wooden table in the room by the window, lit by the moon in the otherwise darkened room.
XX_XX
Logan pulled the sheets up to rest just below the sleeping form's neck. The boy turned on his side and curled into the warmth of the bed. The adult of the room sighed exasperatedly before falling into a wooden chair and running his hands over his face.
"I'm in a fix." He said aloud to himself, the statement certifying that he was in a difficult situation.
And he was.
He was millions of miles away from home, chasing a scent in a foreign country; all he had was just enough money for him to eat and pay for rooming. And all those things were just fine with him. He's been living like this for twenty years now—just getting up and heading wherever the wind took him; catching rides, hopping trains, doing odd jobs to earn a quick buck in order to eat or any other necessity that requires money. No worries.
It was the child currently sleeping in the only bed in the single room that turned things on its heels.
Logan got up, walking over to the mini fridge to pull out a bottle of bear. Popping the lid clean off, he returned to his seat. He took a swig before giving a grunt of satisfaction. It seemed even the cold bottle of beer was pretty damn good. Taking another drink, he sat the bottle down on the table next to him, before running his hand through his hair. His focus went back to the curly, red hair sprawled on the pillow.
What to do?
The obvious thing to do was to turn the boy over to the authorities, explain what happened, and then leave it the hell alone. Except that's not how it would happen, it wasn't how the modern world worked. He would be glorified as a hero, "Oh savior, of the Cassidy heir!" And he really hated being idolized, especially since he'd done nothing to deserve it. There would be questions, people would want interviews, which meant he wouldn't get a moment of peace until he was out of Ireland, maybe even out of the UK; the story was likely big enough to be nationwide.
Great. Just what he needed, his face all over British television.
Then again, he could be played as the villain. He really could, with what he looked like.
What are the odds that out of the millions of resident Irish men, an American who was just traipsing the globe for no apparent reason (because he'll be damned if he explains about the scent, wouldn't that be a fun discussion) would just so happen to find the late Cassidy heir alive and well… Well maybe not well, but alive. It sounded suspicious even to him. So what else could he do?
Ya could take 'em in.
Where the hell did that idea come from? The thought was discarded as quickly as it came, the identity of its origin a mystery to the mutant.
Logan gave an inward snort. It sounded like the beginning of a crappy joke.
So Logan walks in from the woods after adopting a child…
Just how insane was he supposed to be in order to even think about taking in a kid he just met last night? Not to mention it would be kidnapping seeing as nobody with a brain would let him walk away with a kid, especially not the heir to the Cassidy fortune. People would have to be right crazy! He wasn't fit for that; he didn't even have a place he called home, so how was he to raise child? Did he even want to?
Logan let out a long, frustrated, sigh before downing the rest of his beer and then tossing it in the trash, his hand running over his face and through his hair again. He needed rest. He'd think about it in the morning after he gave the kid a much needed bath.
The exhausted mutant turned out the light before settling into a spot on the floor, knowing that by morning he was going to be hurting. Logan shifted a few times, trying to find a good spot and failed miserably. Yup, he thought. Next time I'm getting the double vacancy.
Okay! Second chapter down! Yeah! Go Tobi! Well Tobi actually is still working on the fourth chapter so really he has three done...but you guys know this. What you don't know is that Tobi is pulling teeth to get the fourth finished. School started and now Tobi is going to have a hard time finding time...
Encouragement would be nice...?