A/N: sorry for the slowdown last week. I'll do my best to make it up to everyone with some solid work this week. Now...
Cheshire and Canuckle...well that certainly took long enough ; ) Want to thank you both for all the input you've had. From what I had in mind when I posted that first chapter to what's going on now...just thank you.
Jean watched her best friend carefully, a cautious eyebrow at the ready. Greer had been acting...different...First there was the constant training she was doing with Colton...then that weird good night hug...and now how she seemed to almost be purring low in her throat even as she spoke.
"Your tail is smacking me again Greer…" the red head said sarcastically, prompting the tigress to glance up.
"Hmm oh sorry. I'm just a little...distracted today…" Greer smiled back before going into another deep stretch...another thing Jean had noticed her doing all morning.
"I'll bet. Does that...'distraction' have anything to do with you showing up thirty minutes late for breakfast this morning...after disappearing for an entire day?" Jean asked before smiling coyly, noticing how Greer's ears pinned back and her cheeks flushed despite the fur.
"No… Not at all… I mean… I was just tired … really tired…" That was almost true...Greer's body had ached from being in that suit and from the healing she had put it through. But at the same time…she felt so amazing after that night...and the following day.
The two ferals had found it almost impossible to think outside of what they were doing with each other once they got going. Even when they were taking a break, it was with Greer laying on top of Colton or his arms wrapped around her. Neither one seemed to be able to get enough of the other. The concept of leaving their bed, never mind the room, wasn't even a thought until hunger finally drove the two to make a late night expedition for some steaks Greer had been sure to have added to the shopping list after the first few weeks of Colton arriving.
But once the two had replenished their reserves, all it took was a low growl and a look from Greer and Colton had picked her up and carried her straight back to where they had started. It wasn't until the next morning that Greer had finally felt some sense of social awareness and decided making an appearance might be necessary before Jean came hunting for her.
"Where are you going?" Greer let out a little 'oomph' as her attempt to crawl out of bed had been met with an arm around her middle slowly dragging her back.
"I dunno...I was thinking breakfast. I usually eat it with Jean and I get a feeling that the 'mental check-in' I got yesterday isn't going to be enough this time." That had been a close call. When Jean had reached out to see where she was, it had been at a particularly...sensitive moment. She still wasn't 100% sure what exactly the nosey red head had actually picked up...
"And don't you have some research to do?" Greer was losing a battle she didn't really want to win as Colton had resumed scratching her back...something Greer had a great fondness for. But despite the resumed purring coming from Greer...Apex had to admit she had a valid point.
During one of their few respites, Greer had asked why Colton had given Domino the intel if he had been so concerned about SHIELD applying what they might learn.
Apex gave Greer a brief look before reaching under his bedside table to pull out a very familiar looking memory stick. Greer just looked back at Colton for an explanation.
"What I gave SHIELD was just enough to satisfy Fury...the rest I saved here."
And it was that intelligence Greer was referring to now. Apex had grumbled in agreement although it had taken another twenty minutes for him to actually let her go...not that Greer had been putting up much resistance. Colton's scratching always seemed to wander...and end up with Greer pouncing on him. He didn't seem to mind.
Jean rolled her eyes at the obviously scattered Greer as she resumed her low-level purring.
"Yeah sure, anyway…Betsy and I were going to catch a movie. You in?" Greer opened her mouth to reply but saw a very familiar figure walk into the kitchen...She grinned, a very audible purr now resonating from her throat causing Jean and a couple of other staff to stare at her in alarm. But Greer's eyes were trained only on the figure, who gave her one of his own rare smirks as he calmly grabbed a few bottles of water before pausing in the doorway.
"Sorry Jean, rain check on that movie. I've got something else to take care of…" and Jean could only watch in amazement as Greer practically prowled her way to Colton. Her tail curling and uncurling rapidly as the panther wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to God knows where. Jean sighed before going back to sipping her coffee.
"'bout damn time..." Logan mumbled over his coffee.
"Excuse me?" Jean turned to Logan for an explanation but he was already back to his paper.
"Do you really need me to explain it to ya? I can give you a demo Red. Private lessons...just gimme a time." Logan growled, his interest in the paper waning as he turned his attention back towards Jean.
"Logan...it's a bit early. And apparently I have reached my quota on randy ferals in my life so please...control yourself." Jean let her eyes roll before finishing up her own coffee and heading to find Scott. He had tried using Greer taking the last seat as an excuse but now he was out of luck.
But on the way upstairs she couldn't help but think of her best friend...and despite herself give a little smile. It really was about damn time.
...
Apex had never felt like this before. After the previous day...he felt...he actually didn't know what he felt. But he liked it.
He'd always focused on a mission, an objective, a target. But now...it seemed his entire focus revolved around the tigress coiled around his arm. He still knew what he...they had to do. But as they made their way towards the stairs the danger room...he couldn't help but pull her closer. A gesture, Greer happily returned, completely leaning against him. However, much to his surprise, the minute they entered the Danger Room, Greer untangled herself from him and when he tried to wrap his hand around her again, she swatted it off.
Apex eyed her strangely. Did he do something wrong?
"What?" Greer shot back. "It's training time...I'm trying to be professional about all of this." she said sternly over her shoulder as she walked towards the middle of the room.
Apex rumbled low in his throat before nodding… Greer still had a lot to learn and she was right… She couldn't afford being distracted… At least not during training.
"Let's get started," he agreed but didn't quiet make it to the control panel before turning back to watch Greer as she stretched, "but...after?" Greer noticed Colton's lack of focus
"I told you, I wanna train." Greer smirked a little as Colton's ears drooped, "After training however… Is an entire different story." Greer let a little growl into her tone and Apex gave a nod before setting them up for his new program: the Banshee soldiers. Now that he had the time and focus, he needed to know how to break them down.
He and Greer moved through the first one in slow motion, Apex explaining that if these...
"Screamers!" Greer lowered her head a little at her sudden outburst, "Sorry...just came to me. Get it? Banshee...Screamers?" Apex fought the urge to roll his eyes and simply continued.
"If they're immune to pain, typical disabling maneuvers won't work. Focus on the ligaments at the knees or the exposed areas around the neck." Greer focused intently as Apex moved as he spoke and pointed to the weak points he had highlighted on the...'Screamer.'
"You mean like this?" Greer didn't hesitate as she hobbled the 'Screamer' with a series of kicks to the side of it's knees before jamming her claws through an opening under the helmet. As the Screamer vanished Apex just looked at Greer...who he could tell was waiting for his approval. This was never what he had wanted but...
"Let's do it again."
They spent the next hour working in tandem to bring down one and then two Screamers in tandem, first at half-speed and then full before attempting to take them down on their own. Apex wasn't disappointed when Greer got frustrated with her own Screamer, letting out a frustrated roar as it landed yet another hit before he killed the program. This gave him the chance to bring something up that had bothered him since their mission. He just hadn't been sure when exactly to bring it up...
"I was getting it!" Greer bared her teeth in the direction of the disappeared Screamer as she stalked over to grab one of the waters Colton had brought down.
"How did you take down the one from the compound?" Greer finished the water in one go as she gave Colton a testing look.
"You know how."
"I do...but the question is if you know how you did it."
"Colton there's really no need to talk about this." Greer dropped the empty bottle and tried walking past Apex to get back to work but he just stepped in front of her.
"If you're going to tap into your feral side on missions...I need you to make sure you know how."
Greer crossed her arms defensively as he tail twitched.
"What are you talking about? I was fine… I mean… We got out fine and I was in control," Apex just stared, "...ish." she argued but Apex just shook his head.
"Not before...and not after. What if we weren't alone? What if we were still fighting?"
Greer lowered her ears…
"I just won't tap into in it then. I mean...I wasn't really trying to. But I kind of know how to..."
"Perfect. Then we'll be practicing how to get you in and out of that mindset." Apex said simply before lowering his head closer to her as she looked away.
"I want you to overcome this Greer… I don't want it to be something you're afraid of anymore. And it just might save your life."
Greer shook her head.
"I'm not afraid of it… Just what happens after it…" she said softly… Remembering what happened to all those men...she noted how Colton seemed to sense her distress. He always sensed these kind of things and pulled her closer, Greer's hands practiced to slide up to his chest.
"That's why I'm here ... I'll keep you safe…" he rumbled.
Greer sighed. She doubted he could keep her safe from herself but then again… Colton had a perfect track record of making her feel reassured…Wait a minute, was she really doing this? The tigress shook her head in disbelief... She hadn't really recovered from what happened but... He was right... Who else could she depend on to help her through this...
"Ok… I trust you…" Greer whispered, leaning her head against his chest as he drew slow circles around her back. But the truth was...Apex had been struggling to come up with a strategy. After all, he had little control over his own 'trigger' beyond knowing roughly how to induce it. And as for what he knew of Greer's...It was out of the question he would intentionally harm her and with her own feral state so distinct from his own...he knew he was going to need some assistance.
"But for now..." Apex looked down at Greer for a moment in confusion...before picking up the low purr resonating out of her. Giving a low rumble of his own Apex quickly shutdown the Danger Room as the two headed back upstairs.
It had been a rough morning and Greer wanted to de-stress.
"And you think that will work?" Apex stood across from Logan, the chill evening air of the forest surrounding them. "thirty yards...southeast."
"Should...at least it's a place to start. Twenty yards...east." Logan was deep in thought as he planned, the tip of his cigar the only light.
"And that'll help her while she's...triggered?...twenty-two yards, in the brush, north"
"It'll help her direct it."
"I'm still out here you know." A voice grumbled from somewhere around them. Both ferals ignored it.
"I don't want to hurt her. I won't let that be it..."
"It won't, but you know she ain' goin' through this without taking a hit...eleven yards, tree." Apex just let out a breath before nodding in agreement. He knew Logan was right.
"And for after?...nine yards, northwest." Both men stood silent until Logan puffed out some smoke.
"One step at a time. Fifteen yards...behind me...and you stepped in some deer shit."
"Damn it!" Greer popped up from her crouch officially done with this exercise. Logan and Colton had told her to give them a few minutes head start and to try and get within five yards of either of them. She had been at it for two hours.
"You know what? Forget it. Just forget. I'd rather just shoot both of you at this point."
"Think you can hit me if I'm not standin' still for ya? Which brings me to the next section of your firearms training. Moving targets. It won't be like duck huntin', wingin' em won't count for shit."
Greer just hissed at Logan's response as Apex joined her as the two walked back towards the Mansion with Logan a few yards behind. It was late and it was obvious Greer had reached her limit for the day.
...
Apex checked in with Domino as Greer slumbered a few feet away. While she relayed Fury's…disappointment with the status of the intel, he had someone he trusted working their way through it. Another mission was already setting up. Fury had called a meeting and a choice member of the U.S. armed services committee was not expected to be making a return trip.
That just made Greer's training all the more pressing.
After the rough evening in the forest, Apex had been smart enough to let Greer off of her diet for dinner and limit their training to the gym afterwards. Both felines found watching the other do their respective routines enough foreplay to make training afterwards limited to their room.
Hence the tigress passed out peacefully across the bed, her hair covering most of her face as she laid on her side. After disconnecting from Domino, Apex didn't hesitate as he gave Greer a brief nuzzle before slipping his arms around her as she gave a murmur and just snuggled a little closer.
The following morning, Greer didn't bat an eye as she found Logan waiting for them. At this point she considered him as much a part of her training as Colton and had assumed it'd only be a matter of time before he got involved. Except this time Colton reached out to stop her, quickly nuzzling his forehead to hers before heading up to the observation deck. It seemed today, Greer would be doing training with Logan alone.
Apex had decided that handing control of training over to Logan was the best course of action. He knew that even if he attempted to recreate the conditions that might trigger Greer's feral state...that still brought them no closer to having Greer understand it. And the only other methods he knew of tapping into it...were not ones he would ever consider when it came to her.
Ever.
But before they started, Logan had demanded he get this time with Greer first.
"Alright, you ready, Tigger?" Logan asked with a sparkle in his eyes that Greer just hadn't seen outside of battle as she took a position across from her mentor.
"Um," she looked over her shoulder up to Colton who was just watching carefully from the control room. "Yeah, ready when you are. What ... are we doing exactly?"
Logan just gave a smirk. Greer noted he was dressed in uniform today save for the cowl.
"We'll start out easy. Just try and take me down." She nodded her head and got into the ready position.
"I want you to rush me. I'll go for your arms - try to pull em behind your back and you do whatever you can to stop me, got it?" Greer just nodded her head on her mark, before she could make her rush, he shot forward, grabbed her right arm as she tried to swing at him and twisted it before spinning and punching her left shoulder, ending the exercise with a leg sweep that knocked her on her ass. He took a step back as Greer stared up at him for a second, angry as she got on her feet.
"Is there a problem, Tigger? It's not like I agreed to a plan then reneged on it." Greer was about to yell until she saw the look on Logan's face as he paced in front of her, obviously waiting for her to retaliate.
"No idea what you're talking about." Greer half growled out as she messaged her shoulder and ignored her sore tail.
"That's too bad. You needin me to jog your memory. That's some shit luck, Tigger."
"Vindictive old badger..." Greer grumbled as she walked over to retake her position. He squared off with her, glaring.
"See, I figure since I can't trust ya to do as I say, we'll have to do this the hard way. Your goal for the next three hours and any time you and I train together from here on out is for you to get me on the ground and keep me there using any method you know."
"I thought you were going to teach me?" Greer tried not to yell but what Logan was suggesting was just...I mean what the hell? This wasn't supposed to be detention. But Logan just huffed.
"Tried that. You didn't want to listen. So we'll do it this way until you can convince me you actually want me to teach you. That means you'll have to listen to me, or we go right back to this. Go."
Greer let out a snarl and charged.
...
Those three hours did not go well for Greer. Sure, she landed some shots and still had all her appendages...but she had never been handled like this before from Logan. Every time she thought she was getting ahead she ended up looking up at either the ceiling or had her face held against the ground.
Greer however refused to be suckered in and aside from growling at his more creative jabs in regards to her lack of success took her beatings in stubborn silence.
After that, Apex joined in the training. Greer was a little surprised when Logan's focus wasn't only on her but him as well. It seemed that despite all of his Weapon X training...there was still a world of martial arts and dirty tricks Logan had to offer. Apex was an apt student while Greer just grumbled for the two of them to get a god damn room...or rent a kennel.
But that didn't mean that either one was perfect. It was clear the main focus was on Greer. Logan would add in more combatants...more aggression...but nothing. For Apex, he just couldn't just leave Greer to be battered and he continuously found himself taking on whatever part of the program she had the greatest difficulty with. He wasn't even making a conscious decision...it was instinct. When he saw her struggling, if he heard her roar in pain, he would leave whatever he was fighting and get to her side. Their teamwork was improving...but Greer was no closer to handling her feral state.
"C'mon ,Tigger. Everything you've been doing to box that wild side up ... hold it back, rein it in. Now you gotta learn how to let it go." There were moments when Greer could feel it...that place where her mind wanted to go or how her body wanted to act...but she just couldn't do it. Years of repression was a hard thing to overcome.
Finally, with both felines panting and dripping in a fair mix of sweat and blood, Logan called a halt. Greer didn't wait for Logan to say something about her failure and instead just headed immediately for a shower. She had seen enough of Logan for one day.
"Why is this so important?" Colton had gone out on a quick patrol around the Mansion that night to find Greer waiting for him with a soft purr as she had slid onto his chest upon his return...she liked how his scent mixed with the forest.
"Weapon X used my 'feral state' as a tool...as a means of control. I want you to be in control of this Greer. And I want you to be ready." Greer let out a short sigh before nodding her head and snuggling in for the night.
More Logan it was...