Hunted and Hated

An X-Men Evolution Fanfic by Quill N. Inque

I do not X-Men.

Chapter 10: Quickening

KRANG!

Kurt grunted with effort as Kitty's slender blade rasped against his own, and the force of the collision sent a swarm of birds squawking from the nearby trees. His blade was curved and single-edged, with a half-basket hilt and S-shaped quillons, tapering to a wickedly sharp edge that glimmered in the midmorning sunlight. Sweat ran down the mutant's forehead in a steady stream, and Kurt shook his head like a mad bull to get the moisture out of his eyes.

Kitty, meanwhile, had taken to her sword like a fish to water. It was more exotic and more lavish than Kurt's, with an ivory handle and rounded hilt. This was studded artfully with rounded pieces of pink and blue coral, and its deeply curved blade rang almost musically against the opposing steel. Kitty's weapon was obviously of Muslim make, perhaps a trophy taken from a far-off battlefield. But whatever its origins, the sword served a new owner now.

Kitty stepped to the side as Kurt had taught her, parrying his thrust and slashing downward toward his legs. Kurt leapt a short distance into the air, and the massive recovery time of Kitty's strike gave him an opening to her neck and torso. His blade hummed as he swung it in a graceful arc, but Kitty had just enough time to bring her guard back up and deflect Kurt's weapon away from her.

CLANG!

Again the two swords clashed, and Kitty's face was inches away from Kurt's blue, familiar features. He smiled roguishly at her, his voice tight as they strained back and forth.

"You're getting better every day," Kurt said proudly.

"Better than you," she retorted playfully, sweat staining the dress Kitty wore. Kitty's clothes, Kurt noticed, looked as if they had been through a war zone. He made a mental note to swipe some new ones on his next shopping trip of dubious legality.

Something slammed against the back of Kurt's ankle, and his knees buckled automatically as he dropped his sword in shock. Kurt lay on the ground, stunned, and Kitty smiled sweetly at him with her blade outstretched.

"Do you yield?" she asked.

"Never," Kurt replied with fake gruffness. His tail made a noise reminiscent of a whip's crack, curling around Kitty's lower leg and taking her balance right out. She fell, and Kurt used his superior weight to pin her to the ground.

"Do YOU yield?" he asked, imitating the tone Kitty had used. Kurt's fangs widened slightly with his panting breath, and he gazed down at Kitty, trapped as she was beneath him.

Her eyes seem to ensnare him, and for the first time Kurt noticed how…pretty they were. He had never seen a color quite like it: the brown of Kitty's pupils reminded him of light brown leaves in autumn, or a fresh tan after a day in the sun, or…

Coherent thought was lost, and Kurt could not make himself tear his eyes away from hers.

Then Kitty spoke, her voice husky, as if she were consumed by nervous excitement. "Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let me up, please?"

A furious blush turned Kurt's face an even greater shade of blue, and he hastily got to his feet, offering a hand of assistance as he did so. Kitty took it gratefully, tired as she was, but the feeling of his hand in hers was…extraordinary.

They seemed to be as soft as velvet, blunt but possessing a rare dexterity, and the fuzziness of his palm felt not unlike a cat's. Electricity, a pleasant fire, crackled up Kitty's arm and made her knees weak. Kitty felt somewhat lightheaded, but not in a bad way, and she found herself wishing that she did not have to let go.

She glanced over at him, with those kindly golden eyes…if only the Church could see the compassion and inherent goodness that lay behind those eyes…

Kitty barely remembered being helped to her now-unsteady feet, but when Kurt abruptly removed his hand, all these feelings deserted her as if scattered by the wind. When she spoke, Kitty couldn't help her voice shaking a little.

"I'm…going to go bathe," she said. "I would not like to be malodorous, in case the Inquisition has dogs with them."

"Good idea," Kurt said. "I'll wait here and fix us something to eat."

Kitty nodded, and headed off a short distance away to the stream she had discovered only that morning. It was no warm, sunny creek; the waters were running in a fast current, and the temperature was starting to drop with the first tendrils of winter's chill. Kitty shuddered involuntary as she tested it herself, and goosebumps broke out on her arms. But hesitation would not make the water any warmer, she knew. Best to just get it over with as quickly as possible. With this in mind, she stepped out of her now-ragged dress and slipped into the stream just a few feet above her knees.

Normally, Kitty would have been on the lookout for any unscrupulous men watching her, but this was wild country. No one lived all the way out here, and Kurt didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd do such a perverted thing. She rinsed herself slowly, thoroughly, and the day's grime and sweat was carried away by the current. As Kitty finished washing herself, a movement on the peripheries of her vision distracted her. She half-turned, curiously, and her eyes widened in horror at the sizeable snake on the bank not two feet away. In all likelihood, the creature was harmless, but the fact was lost upon Kitty as she eyed the two feet of scaly skin with speechless terror.

It hissed at her.

She screamed.

Meanwhile…

Kurt stiffened at the high-pitched shriek that rang through the trees. It could be no other than Kitty, he knew, for this vast wilderness was largely uninhabited, save for the tiny towns and farms he passed occasionally. The curved sword rasped as he drew it from its sheath, and he sped off through the trees with a speed borne of urgency, his maddeningly twitching tail a hint of the worry he was feeling.

Back at the stream, Kitty tried to back away as the serpent bared its fangs at her again. The fearsome sight was almost enough to make her faint, and enormous relief washed over her as Kurt bounded over the nearby shrubbery with his sword in hand.

She pointed wordlessly, and Kurt immediately inferred the cause of Kitty's distress. The shining blade whistled as he swung it, and unfortunate reptile slumped like a wet piece of cord, dispatched in a single blow.

Kurt's voice was full of concern as he turned to address her. "Are you all-" Speech failed him when he realized that Kitty was standing there completely naked. Kurt's mouth worked up and down, but a croak was all that he managed to utter.

"EEEEEK!" Kitty realized the awkwardness of the situation in a trice, and turned away, clutching herself. Kurt, meanwhile, suddenly regained his sense of propriety and high-tailed it out of there, his face burning like Hell's furnace.

Kitty thought she would die of embarrassment. First she had acted like she'd never seen a little old snake before, but then Kurt's admittedly good intentions had gone horribly awry. Her cheeks turned a rather lovely shade of vermillion as humiliation swept over her. I don't think I can even look him in the face, she thought despondently. He probably thinks of me as a loose woman now! What if he leaves? How will I evade the Inquisition without him to protect me?

Kitty's stomach rumbled loudly, and she sighed as she reached for her dress. Though the thought of facing Kurt was abhorrent to her, the need to fill her stomach drove Kitty back to their encampment.

Kurt stirred the fire viciously, and the flames reflected his current temperament. Kitty is probably furious with me, he moaned silently. She thinks me a pervert, or worse! Despair threatened to overwhelm him, and he ladled a portion of soup into his traveling bowl. Kurt's appetite had long deserted him, but he needed to eat to keep up his strength.

"Is dinner ready?" Kitty's quiet voice behind him made Kurt jump slightly. His face heated up again, and he turned his head away from her. "Yes. Help yourself."

Kitty took a seat next to him, and filled a second bowl with whatever was cooking. Her heart threatened to shatter as she saw the shamed look on Kurt's face, but she said nothing.

After a moment of awkward silence, Kurt couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his face a mask of shame. "I…I did not mean to intrude on your privacy." His voice broke before he could continue, and Kitty felt overwhelming sympathy for her friend. It would be typical of Kurt's sweet nature to blame nobody but himself for something like this.

Kitty struggled for a moment, and found her tongue. "I am not angry, Kurt. It was my foolishness that caused the whole thing. I shouldn't have let that snake startle me so."

"I…" Kurt couldn't bring himself to speak, but the message was clear: So you don't think I'm some kind of peeping Tom?

"Do not berate yourself," Kitty said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "What's done is done, so why try to change it? Let us move on, okay?"

Kurt took a deep breath, and he seemed to be exhaling all the guilt and shame that he'd been feeling. A small smile split his face. "Okay."

The fire burned to embers as the two friends enjoyed their meal, laughing and joking underneath the clear, starry sky.

A/N: Well, what can I say? I promised you fluff, and I ALWAYS deliver! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, 'cause I've got a feeling we haven't seen the last of Pedro Sanchez and the diabolical Cardinal Vittorio…

Your humble servant,

-Quill N. Inque