CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
Meet Rogue
AN: (sniffs sadly) I miss the cool reviews, like the ones from "Risika Kiisu Seto", the "Guest" who reviewed on chapter 24, "g-love99" and the "Guest" on chapter 16. Please tell me what you like and what you don't like.
And to "LiveFreeDieWell" who just reviewed today (6/5/2013) I have already addressed my little math error and just realized that I made yet ANOTHER one in numbering the students as 800,000. I didn't pay enough attention to g-love99's review.
Please forgive my math inadequacies, guys, I'm working on it. Just correct one if you find it. I still have to figure out how to edit chapters I've already posted, though.
ON TO THE STORY!
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Logan growled when the Professor released him, swinging his arms as if making sure his body was back under his complete control. "Do you HAVE to keep doin' that, Chuck?"
The Professor was, once again, massaging his temples. "It seems to be the only option open to me since the two of you can't control yourselves."
Logan moved to grab one of the deer carcasses before he noticed that the older feral was still frozen. "Ya not gonna let him go? Ah'm tellin' ya, Chuck, yer walkin' a fine line there."
"I am well aware of that."
Logan gave a warning growl and began to carry the deer carcass off the jet. "Just so you know." He ignored Steve Aswell completely and moved the deer off of the plane, dropping it on the grass.
Victor gave an agreeing growl to the cripple. "Let me go, ya hunk'a'metal. Ah've gotta make sure my mates okay and see to Jimmy dressing the deer."
"She wants you to leave her alone, Victor." The Professor tried placating him again.
"Not gonna happen."
Re-entering the jet, Logan picked up another carcass and carried it out, trying to block out the conversation/argument.
"You need to leave her alone, Victor. At least for a little while. Please, attempt to fight your instincts and listen to reason! She's upset right now, she needs time to sort through her own thoughts!"
Victor growled. As far as he was concerned, his frail could sort through her thoughts just as well in his arms as she could out of them. And of course he was following his instincts; they had been his guiding force for over three-hundred years, keeping him alive, and he wasn't going to stop listening to them now just because the telepath said so, and right now his instincts told him that his frail was upset and so she needed to be in his arms. He could quiet her down easily with his purr, erase her upset.
"She doesn't need a temporary fix, Victor." The Professor sighed. "She needs to work this out. We all need to work this out."
"No, I've got cubs to feed and a mate to calm."
Steve cut in before the conversation could continue. "What I want to know," the blonde businessman said, his voice as cold as his eyes, standing calmly as if he hadn't a care in the world. "is what you plan to do since YOU don't AGE and SHE does."
Victor gave him a warning growl. "Ah'm workin' on that."
Logan hauled the last deer out of the jet and started towards one of the common greens to dress it. As far as he was concerned, Sabretooth could handle the bear.
"Oh, I'm sure." Steve said scathingly. "And at what conclusion have you come to? Do you plan to wait till she is old and grey and then leave her behind for another woman."
Not even the Professors telekinetic abilities could hold Sabretooth now. With an earth shaking roar, he broke free of the telepathic restraints and launched himself at the blonde-businessman, planning to catch him around the throat.
The sinewy thirty-year old, however, was too fast. He ducked out of the blow and almost glided behind the huge feral, reaching up and hitting a nerve in his back. For what felt like the millionth time (perhaps it was) Sabretooth froze again.
"That was unnecessary." Xavier scolded the businessman. "You know of ferals and when they find their mates. You know that Victor would never leave her until her death, or cheat on her!"
"That is what the studies say." Steve Aswell said calmly, as if stopping a humungous feral ten times bigger than you required no more work than slapping at an annoying fly. "But studies and papers can be wrong."
"You have not even given him a chance." The Professor pressed. "Mr. Aswell, I believe you, as well, need a break. I will have Storm give you a tour of the school and assign you guest quarters for the reminder of your stay. Victor, you will go with Logan and help him dress the prey the two of you have taken down and leave Miss. Andrews to herself, unless you sense that she is physically hurt or in danger. Is this understood?"
Victor growled, but nodded. He HAD to find a way to get around the cripples mind-control. This whole freeze-frame thing was just RIDICULOUS!
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BACK IN THE TREE:
"Are you alright, sugah?"
The soft, southern voice made her start out of her rant and she nearly fell out of the tree, grabbing onto the limb, looking down to see a young teen with long brown hair and a curious white streak going right down the middle looking up at her in concern.
It made Cassie curious the way she was dressed. Long sleeves under a T-shirt, despite the warmth of the day, long gloves, jeans, socks; not an inch of skin was showing except for her neck up.
"Not really." She answered down truthfully. "It's been a bad day."
"Ya wanna talk about it?"
Something about that soft, southern accent made her feel nice and, even better, her gut liked this young woman. She seemed nice. So, Cassie decided on one course of action, what she referred to as "word vomit".
"Well, this Victor/Sabretooth feral mutant claimed me as his mate, scared me to death in the woods, kept me in a cabin, hunted for me, then the Professor Xavier came and got me along with a lady who can fly and a man with metal claws that come out of his knuckles, I was taken to this school and given a room and he held me when I slept and I got the best sleep of my life—"
here she momentarily paused to take in a huge breath before continuing her tirade
"—and then Mr. Metal Claws and Victor took me with them while they hunted and I got side-tracked gathering flowers and then Victor scared me to death by pouncing on me then the jet came back, which is really cool and high-tech by the way, and my Uncle Steve was on there too, not that he's biologically my Uncle, but I'm a firm believer in that you can chose family, and then my Uncle and Victor got into a fight and I just got out of there and I now I don't know what the BEEP I'm going to do!"
The southern-bell's jaw dropped, her eyes as round as dinner plates.
Cassie huffed, waving her arms out. "And NOW I BROKE you!"
"Ahm' sorry, sugah, that's quite a day you're have'n." the young woman shook herself out of her stupor. "Why don't you come down from there and we'll see what we can come up with. Ah happen to know Logan very well."
Cassie took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay….back up alright? I'm still not the best at climbing down and I'd rather not land on you."
The southern-bell backed up while Cassie very carefully began climbing down the tree, making sure one foot was soundly placed before she put down the other, repeating the process till she only had a little ways to jump. And jump she did, promptly messing up on her landing and falling on her butt with an "UMPH!"
The southern-bell chuckled, holding out one hand to help her up. "Need a hand?"
She studied the gloved hand then took it but, instead of standing, merely shook it. "Actually, why don't we sit on the ground. The names Cassie, it's nice to meet you. Who are you?"
"Ah, mah name's Rogue." The southern bell said, settling down gracefully beside the hassled Cassie.
Cassie wiggled a little on the ground before she spoke again. "I'd try to be tactful, but tact and I just aren't on good terms with each other so I'm just gonna ask; why are you so covered up? Are you allergic to the sun?"
"No, mah mutation makes it so that if ah touch another mutant with mah skin I take their powers, and if ah touch a human with mah skin, I can kill'em." Rogue looked down at the ground though her words were spoken matter-of-factly.
Cassie hissed in a sharp breath between her teeth. "Gosh, that sucks. I'm sorry."
Rogue tucked a stray length of hair behind her ear. "It's alright. Ah'm think'n of take'n the cure soon, so ah can touch people."
"I don't blame ya." Cassie shuddered theatrically. "I can't stand the thought of not being able to touch. But, moving on to other less depressing topics, you know Mr. "I've-got-metal-claws-in-my-knuckles" ?"
Rogue laughed. "Logan, yeah. He's the one who brought me here to this school where'd ah'd be safe. He's also saved mah life more than once."
Cassie blinked. "Wow. THAT sounds like an interesting story."
"But ah think we should focus on you more now." Rogue drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them. "So Sabretooth kidnapped yah, and he's claimed yah for his mate?"
She nodded, copying Rogues position. "Yeah, that's about the size of it."
"Has…..has he hurt yah at all?" the southern-bell asked worriedly.
"Surprisingly, no. Well, when he shook me, that wasn't pleasant, but he seems to be saving my life and freaking out about me more than wanting to hurt me." She let out a loud breath. "But it's annoying and I wanna go home. I don't even KNOW the guy."
Rogue shrugged. "Well, if he's claimed you as mate….." she paused and chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Ah know more about ferals than most, consider'n that ah hang around a lot with one, but Logan hasn't really talked to me about the whole mate thing. Ah know he gets urges, he always wants me and some others safe, freaks out about whether or not we're eat'n the right foods and whether we're cold or not." Rogue gave a little, musical laugh. "Kinda like a mother hen, now that ah think about it. Or maybe more like a Papa Bear."
Cassie snorted. "No kiddin'. Sabretooth…Victor….whichever, scared the living daylights out of me when he undressed me, wrapped me in furs in stuck me infront of a fire."
For the second time Rogues jaw dropped. "Oh mah."
"Yeah, but now that Uncle Steves here, I'll be able to go home soon…..I hope."
"Do you have family?" Rogue asked gently.
She nodded. "Yeah. And I have some friends who may as well be family, like Bunny and Manny and….." she stopped abruptly. "BUNNY! I bet she'd know what to do!"
"Bunny?" Rogue asked amusedly. "Yer friend is a rabbit?"
"Nah, it's what I call her." Cassie answered, waving one hand. "It's a long story. Say, do you think you could get me to a phone?"
Rogue stood, dusting off her pants. "Sure sugah, follow me."
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VOCABULARY:
SCATHINGLY: adj: very harsh or bitter, as in showing dislike.
TIRADE: n: a long, angry or scolding speech.