Silver Claws and Cat Tails
Abby Ebon
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Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own X-Men.
Note; I have chosen a name – Sorelina and Lady Avarice, congratulations, one of the names you suggested have "officially" been approved – for those of you who also suggested names; I have done my best to add your names in – forgive any teasing, the Brotherhood aren't the nicest lot, but with nearly thirty suggestions it was quite overwhelming – also, just because these are the "official" names doesn't mean Harry won't be given nicknames by various characters. Also, while the "official" pairing will be Logan and Harry, I'm having my fun with Harry and the bad boys of the Brotherhood before hand; Enter - Lance, St. John, Pietro, and Remy…-giggles-
I'll do worse if someone says Logan should be the "only one" for Harry. -Shows teeth- when your muse is a bloody cat-scorpion (suitably named "Hanic") I can properly do worse.
This is my story loves – you're just along for the insanity.
Please, forgive ahead of time for my recreation and butchering of Remy's and Rogue's accents…
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What's-In-A-Mutant-Name
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Harry's first impression when he found himself looking up at a two story house, badly in need of repair, among other things – was to wonder if there was room to fit all five of them comfortably.
It was then he realized there would be more then the five of them as a young woman exited, her arms on her jean clad hips – curly brown hair went to her shoulders, she was pretty, but her most striking feature were the streaks of white hair that framed her face. She too seemed to like fishnet, for Harry could see quite plainly the sports bra she wore beneath the black fishnet.
"Ah swear, next time ya go out when ya know Magneto told us not to, Ah'll be the one to skin ya." No matter how lovely she was, she practically hissed the words as the four filed out of the vehicle, hesitating for only the fact that she was concentrating on her companions and not on the stark white furred man-cat in the back seat, Harry followed them, wondering how it was that all but Scarlet Witch was cringing away from the lithe young woman who had every inch of skin covered, save her face.
"Aw, come on Rogue – it was just a bit of fun. Pietro pulled Scott's pants down – tell me you don't want to at least peek at that?" Wanda teased, and Rogue's lips twitched in amusement that it was very obvious she was trying to hide.
"Boxers or briefs, fille?" A voice teased, and out of the house came a messy brown haired man, he was taller then 'Rogue', and spoke with an accent that sounded French but was otherwise unlike anything Harry had ever heard before. Normally Harry didn't pay much attention to a person's eyes, but this man made it impossible to not notice his eyes – they were like a demon, black all around, with a gleaming red center.
He smiled at Wanda, but she smirked in reply her eyes dancing in mirth, though it seemed like an old familiarity – friendship, rather then anything serious. Rogue did look interested despite her self, and perhaps that was their goal.
"Nothing there, Gambit – got it wrong this time, the man goes commando." Wanda retorted, and Rogue flushed, causing Pyro to chuckle under his breath.
"Gambit curious,mon ami, where did you pick up th' stray?" Gambit asked, eyes traveling to Harry eyeing him up and down, curiosity and something darker lucked in the those eyes.
"Stepped into the battle from no where – almost plowed him under, then One-Eye tried to blast him." Pyro told Gambit, faking his ease, there was tenseness between the two that was nearly touchable; it spoke of an old rivalry. Perhaps something of it lingered for Gambit only shrugged a shoulder not speaking, though Rogue did, looking over Harry in earnest, as Gambit seemed to have approved of him there was no question of his stay.
"Wha' are ya called?" Rogue asked him, and the Scarlet Witch bounced on the balls of her heels, grinning – which was quick to catch Rogue's attention.
"He doesn't have a name, Rogue – we'll have to make something for him!" Wanda was clearly very excited about the prospect, and Gambit gave a little grimace of pity. Harry wondered if it was too late to have a spectacular revelation and tell them his name, because – if it was anything to go by – "making up" a name for him seemed to fascinate the girls – and Pietro. Harry swallowed, and then Lance clapped him on the back, looking boldly into Gambit's eerie eyes.
"He'll be staying in Pyro's and my room, alright Gambit?" Lance stated, and though his fingers didn't flex or tense, Harry knew he was prepared to fight to get things to go the way he wanted them to be.
"If that be the way you want it, mon ami, Gambit be fine with it, jus' be sure to keep the stray out of Gambit's way." With a dismissive flick of his hand, Gambit went back within the house – he had worn a trench coat, which Harry hadn't noticed until he'd left, when it swirled around his feet and into the house.
With him gone, Lance's tensed shoulders relaxed and his hand fell away from Harry's back. Pyro looked worriedly to Lance, who gave him a half smile, it was then that Pietro sighed, the tension along his spine easing as he let himself relax enough not to speed out of sight.
"We'll show you to your room – c'mon Pietro, Rogue…" Wanda called, for she had already entered the house and obviously expected Rogue, Pietro and Harry to follow along behind her. Pietro gave them both a grin and sped off to get there ahead of time, Rogue followed at a mellower pace, and Harry only spared a glance back at Lance and Pyro before following her.
When they thought he was out of ear shot, he heard them as if they were standing right beside him, merely out of sight.
"That was close Lance – too damned close for comfort, you shouldn't push him like that," Pyro warned his voice a soft hissing whisper, "you know as well as I do that Gambit is as unstable as they come. Worse that Magneto put him below you as second instead of me, but you and I know he's the more powerful of either of us."
"The kid needed help, Pyro – what was I supposed to do, leave him? Looking like he does he's lucky to have survived as long as he has, besides, the Brotherhood needs new members." Lance told him in turn, and Harry narrowed his eyes pausing, and flicking them in the direction of the door.
"Yeah – be sure to point that out to Magneto and Mystique before they catch sight of him. Worse would be that they give Sabertooth a try at training him. Cats, you know how they think – like to likeness, and all that shit." Pyro muttered, the resentment practically seeping in his tone.
"I won't let that happen." Lance murmured his tone biting.
"Yeah – and who's going to stop them from doing what they want to us and the rest of the Brotherhood? That's what you wanted for the kid – protection, but he's not going to get it any easier here then out there." Pyro argued, his voice rising so that if Harry hadn't had such sensitive hearing, he would have made out the raised voice, though likely not the words that rung clear as bells in his head.
"He'll have a better chance with us." Lance told him at last, and Harry heard him walk towards the entrance of the house, Harry jerked into motion –hoping to avoid Lance, only to find himself walking into someone else, sending both of them to the floor. Harry quickly got to his feet, fearing it might have been one of the girls – or worse, Gambit, who he'd run into only to meet curly brown hair and the accruing brown eyes of a young man who looked about his age, sprawled on the ground in a odd position. Fearing he'd hurt the other, Harry went over to him, hoping he hadn't hurt the other.
"Oh – I'm, ah, sorry – are you alright?" Harry asked haltingly, for there had been nothing from the other, only accusing brown eyes, slowly he rose to his feet though he looked strangely deformed, crouched, though his body was hid by the baggy jeans and loose blue sweater.
He grunted in the back of his throat, sounding oddly like a croak, and brushed past Harry without saying a word. Harry was left blinking after him; he shook his head ridding himself of his confusion, and looked to where Wanda and the others had gone off to. He started in that direction, only to come to a split in the hall – one went upstairs, and the other off in a different place in the house.
Harry sighed, feeling frustration build within his chest, he felt pitiful and alone, he felt, more then heard the feelings within him building and he was fairly certain he wanted to yell, or cry – or something to voice his emotions to the world.
He felt it crawl up his throat and out his mouth, weakly, Harry mewled. It sounded like a cat's cry.
"Oh- there you are – come on, the girls are waiting." Pietro appeared from the top of the stairs, feeling somewhat ashamed at having been caught at doing something that was very not "normal", Harry followed him until, walking, they came to a door painted earthen brown around the frame and fiery red on all the rest, with a slight grin, Harry turned to Pietro for an explanation.
"Lance and Pyro couldn't decide which color they wanted so there was a coin toss to see who painted the door and who painted the frame – Lance lost." Pietro told him pushing the door open, Harry followed after, and the first thing he saw was a bunk bed – the bottom covered in clothes he hoped were clean, and gathered around were Wanda and Rogue sitting on a big bed that took up most of the room. Wanda patted the covers beside her with a smile.
"How does 'Tails' sound?" She asked as he sat down, feeling oddly skittish he pulled his tail into his lap, fiddling with the silky silver fur. He tilted an ear, hoping this wouldn't take long, or turn into a shouting match.
"Ah – don't be dumb, Wanda, he only got one tail, so it wouldn't make sense; Silverclaw would go better, wha' wit' his silver fur." Rogue interrupted, and Wanda rolled her eyes and smiled in a way that wasn't very nice looking at Rogue, who narrowed her eyes.
"His claws aren't visible all the time – and I have never seen one of them – do you even have claws? Yuki means snow in Japanese – and it is his fur color, after all." Wanda asked him, but he didn't answer right away, and Rogue took it to mean he didn't have any. He hoped she wouldn't take it too badly when she found out she was wrong.
"No – just no, Wanda, we aren't callin' him somethin' half of us don't know how to say properly. He looks like a cat – what about Bengal – like the tiger." Rogue nodded toward his tails and ears pointedly, Wanda pouted for a moment, and then grinned.
"Nah – he'd sound like a bagel if we say it too quick in battle, what about Silver Paw – or White Fang – or even White Cat?" Wanda suggested hoping to pacify the other girl from taking her suggestion from Silverclaw. Rogue would have none of it though, and shook her head, stubborn.
"No – your Scarlet Witch, speedy is Quicksilver, that's enough two-worded names for this team. Beside' White Fang is a wolf – and White Cat just sounds like you'd expect him to look like this forever – don't want that, better off with something dark if he isn't able to control the change later on – like Dark Night, Feral, Sphinx, Claws, Nightmare, or Maahes." Rogue suggested, rattling off the names one after another – for each one Harry's tail twitched or his ears flattened, despite that he tried to hide his displeasure.
"Dark Night doesn't make sense, Rogue – he is silvery-white and fluffy, whose going to think he's a Nightmare? Feral and Claws would work – if he was like a Wildcat, but he's kind of cute and cuddly –Sphinx might work if he could keep his face normal while turning into a lion…but I don't think that's exactly safe to try – besides can you see Gambit saying Sphinx without choking?" Wanda giggled at the thought, and Rogue rolled her eyes, lips twitching.
"What about Maahes?" Rogue asked, having noticed that Wanda hadn't shot it down.
"What does that mean anyway?" Wanda asked then, brow furrowed in confusion.
"An Egyptian lion-god of war; I think his name means something like "he who is true beside her". He's the son of Bast – or Sekhmet, 'pending on who you ask." Rogue informed her warily, knowing at this rate the poor boy would be called "Kitty", and no one would look at him without laughing.
"No one really knows that god, so it'd be lost on them and that'd be pointless, he'd be better off as a Nekomata or Grimalkin." Wanda told her good-naturedly, seeing Rogue's confusion she explained.
"In Japanese folklore Bakeneko is a supernatural cat, like the fox or raccoon dogs there. At a certain time its tail splits in two and it transforms into a Nekomata – but, like you said, he only has one tail, and he doesn't look entirely like a cat…" Wanda frowned slightly before continuing, Pietro was snickering, "and Grimalkin is a fairy cat in Scottish lore, and it's in a Shakespeare play- Macbeth."
"Tha' just might work…" Rogue mused, but before either of them could agree or ask the boy his opinion (if indeed Harry was meant to have an opinion) Pietro spoke up.
"Wouldn't work, like the Cat Sìth or Cat Sídhe, a Grimalkin is usually female – it'd be like calling him Pretera, which is wildcat in our Romanian, but sounds far too feminine in the 'States." Wanda flushed, for it was clear she had not thought of that angle. Harry looked grateful, Pietro only winked.
"Well if you're such an expert – what would you suggest?" Wanda snapped, and Pietro tapped his chin, and then frowned.
"Silver?" Pietro suggested though it had the tones of a question.
"Not happening Quicksilver, that's naming him after you, however it may fit him – it'd be like me suggesting 'Hex' or 'Wisher', or Rogue suggesting 'Marauder', or Gambit calling him 'Ace' …" Wanda pointed out to her brother, and Rogue smiled a bit at Pietro, who shrugged, a bit put-off that he'd been shot down so quickly.
"What about you – this is your name after all, any thoughts?" Rogue finally asked poking him with a gloved finger in the shoulder; Harry glanced to the twins then to her, and then looked upward, breathing in shakily to keep from laughing.
"When I was a boy, my cousin wanted to watch this show "Alice in Wonderland", I always remember it because he had a poster from school – and it was one of the few things my aunt and uncle forbid from him. I don't know what the movie was about – cartoons I think, but there was this purple cat, kind of stuck in my memory, 'cause he had this mad grin on his face, like he knew it all but wasn't going to tell anyone…" Harry's voice faded when he noticed the three were looking at him, Rogue with a kind of pity; though Wanda and Pietro had similar looks of sorrow that he didn't think were directed at him, more so then to their own past.
"Chesire Cat…it fits you." Pietro spoke, looking away for a moment to clear his throat.
"Yeah – it'll due for an every-day sort of name, but what about the mutant alias?" Rogue asked, glancing to the other two, they shrugged, clueless, though "Chesire" had a thoughtful look on his face.
Wanda didn't know it, but she had reminded Harry of his father and the Marauder's which was a piece of his past he wouldn't mind keeping with him in his new identity. They had been pranksters – loyal friends, but tricksters at heart. It was in that spirit that Harry wanted to remember them by, and as he couldn't just call himself Marauder – he'd call himself…
"Trickster…"
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AuthorNote;
Toad was Mortimer before Todd, I just happen to like Mortimer more.
Avalanche was truly named Dominikos Ioannis Petrakis, Lance is how I know him best. Be thankful I didn't go with that name; I'd snicker every time, Dom' "annis"-"anus". Lance is much better for my sense of humors sake. At least I only think of a Knight's "lance" going into….someone….damn…not much better…
By the by, I'm bowing to Lynn' and Serpent in the Shadows in this – Harry is not to be a whimpering toy, he's the bloody Boy-Who-Lived-To-Kill-A-Dark-Lord, he is not going to be manipulated easily, nor submit to every male who shows a interest. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to write Harry like that. As for how I'm going to shove him in a closet with four men without resorting to power play...you'll have to read to find out – and Logan is so very lovely when he's jealous, isn't he?
The "name-game" was meant to be humorous, a way for everyone to see the names they suggested for the story in it – if only for a moment, I know I didn't get 'Nature's Somber Enchanter', but I think I'll make that a title, for it's far too long to be a mutant name. If you've taken offence of this though, or feel that this is insensitive of me after asking your help, I beg your pardon, and offer my deepest and most sincere regret that you see it in that way. Still, I think I will keep it up, as an "inside joke" toward myself for how hard I found it was for me to pick a name.
Also, I plead for anyone who can help me in the Cajun words to do so, for I'd like to keep Gambit as "in-character" as I can manage.