Work Text:
Pack
by Lia
Logan. Pain. Metal. Logan. Doctors. Logan. Weapon X. Champagne. Logan.
Logan slowly opened his eyes. Where was he? Who was he? What was he? He groaned and cracked his neck from side-to-side. Standing up he looked around; he was in the woods. He swatted at the ants milling around on him. Seeing a flash of silver he grabbed at it. A small piece of metal was hanging from a chain around his neck. "Wolverine." He snarled, it sounded familiar, but than so did Logan. He growled, and felt a short burst of pain in his knuckles, than felt it disappear as quickly as it began. He looked down, and saw six metal blades glistening in-between his knuckles.
He heard the soft rustle of leaves behind him, and spun around. Crouching low he lunged at the sound. His claws slit through a small rabbit, it’s bloody body hung from between his claws. He sniffed it, and grunted. Throwing it to the ground he listened for more sounds. He watched as the blades retracted into his hands and the skin healed over smoothly as though it had never been broken. He heard a soft sigh, and inhaled deeply. Someone else was around. Looking over the trees he saw a small figure huddled in the crook of one.
He stalked to the base of it, never taking his eyes off of whoever it was. Reaching up he saw her, for it indeed was a small girl, shrank back. Her green eyes were wide with fear, and it took Logan a moment to realize she looked so scared from the fact her eyes were solid green. There was no black in them. She snarled at him, her back hunched up trying to look bigger. She lashed out at him with short red claws. Logan flinched to the side but felt her slice his skin open. The cuts bled for a few seconds than healed over quick as can be. Logan watched as her eyes went even bigger. She grabbed at a branch above her head and scrambled up it. Jumping from branch to branch she disappeared from his view.
Logan picked up the dead rabbit and walked into the woods, searching for shelter. He found a small cave and went inside. It was damp and smelled of musk. He kicked at the floor, it was dirt, not packed down too hard. He picked up the rabbit and sniffed it again. A flash of memory came to him, of meat sizzling and the aroma of it. He gathered some wood lying around and hacked some branches down with his claws. Placing it in a shallow pit he kicked out in the front of the cave he lid them in a heap. Unsure of how to make what he could distantly recall was fire; he stared at the wood. Letting the two middle claws slide free he rubbed them together forcefully, the sparks hit the wood and it began smoking. He set the rabbit on top of it and the fur became blackened and burst into flame. He snatched it off. He picked up a long branch and sharpened one end with a claw. He poked it thorough the rabbit and held it over the fire, turning it so the juices wouldn’t drip off into the flame.
After a while the smell of cooked meat was too much and he bit into it. Crunching through the bones he ate it all, throwing the skin to the side of the fire he watched as it burned almost out. He headed inside the cave, his eyes adjusting quickly to the dark. He heard a soft shuffling of leaves outside, and saw the small girl grabbing the rabbit skin ad racing off into the woods. He started to give chase and quickly lost her scent when she took to the trees.
The next morning he woke up when he felt the pangs in his stomach. He headed outside, and avoided the sun’s light by blocking it with his hand. He looked around him. The fire had burned out, and indeed there were small footprints around it. He sniffed but could find no new trace of her scent. He scratched at himself, and felt something other than skin under his hand.
Shirt. Strapped down. Metal tables. Knifes. Tanks. Pain.
He snarled. What was he? He didn’t know what was going on anymore. He settled down to drink some water out of a small stream. It was icy cold, as he bent down for more he noticed a shape on the surface of it. A mocha colored face staring at him with green eyes from a tree branch. He stops and watches as she creeps foreword, her eyes meeting his on the water’s surface. She’s no more than five, Logan thought in amazement at seeing her closer up this time. Her body was painfully thin and her ribs stuck out. Fur grew across her skin, appearing to be short in length. Logan remained crouched down, his eyes watching her. She ever so slowly creeped down out of the tree. Something about her seemed so small; he felt an immediate desire to protect her. He rose slowly, and she bolted back into the woods.
Heading back to the cave Logan listened hard for another small animal he could catch for breakfast. A rabbit hoped out onto the trail ahead of him, and lay still. Logan stared at it, why wasn’t it running from him? He moved closer and swiftly sliced through its body. He picked it up and heard the slightest rustle of leaves. He caught a glimpse of a tail waving past and saw the little girl running into the trees nearby, she just raced up and shimmied up like she had been born in them.
Back at the cave he re-set up the fire, and watched as the rabbit sizzled over top of it. He heard a noise and out of the corner of his eye he saw her standing in the shadows, crouched low her eyes riveted on the rabbit. Logan watched her; unsure of how he could get her to come closer. He sat there as the rabbit cooked and watched her as she ever so slowly approached, her body sliding along the trees so she seemed to blend right into them. She eventually made it to the opposite side of the fire, still crouched low. Logan removed the rabbit and her eyes seemed to fall. He ripped off a piece of meat, and slowly stretched his hand to her. She turned and ran into the woods, her body hidden in the shadows. He slowly chewed on the meat, trying to figure out who or what she was. What was he? It was all so murky. He looked at the rabbit, there were still some pieces of meat on it. He let it hang on a low tree branch across from the cave’s entrance. He stood up and went to walk around, maybe she would come take it; she looked like she needed it.
Over a small hill he could see tracks in the mud along a creek. "Wolf," he muttered, catching the scents of several of them upwind he headed the opposite way. He didn’t know why, but wolves in a pack clicked danger for him.
The girl watched him from in the trees. Climbing down she ran on all fours to the cave. She grabbed the rabbit skin and eagerly ate the meat, carrying the skin in her mouth she took it to the wolves. A small black pup came up and grabbed it in his mouth. They tugged on it for a few minutes, before she pulled it free. She ran around the pack, dragging it low. Several more gray and black pups tumbled after her. The adults lazily watched as she played with the pups.
Logan came back to the cave as the sun was setting. In his hand he held three more rabbits. He laid them on a rock and set to hacking off branches for a fire. He had his head bent low to pick them up when he smelt her. Spinning around he saw the girl lifting one of the rabbits with her mouth. He dropped the wood and she took off t the sound. He followed her until he could no longer catch her scent in the trees. He headed back and prepped the fire. At least she was eating; she was just skin and bones, so tiny.
The girl ran to her wolf pack. She lived with them; they took care of her. Ever since she had woken up in the woods, lost, alone and cold. A white she-wolf had taken her to their den. She had grown up with most of these pups around her. They had taught her how to hide from hunters, how to protect herself. They were her pack. Dropping the rabbit at her foster mother’s feet she sat on her haunches and grinned happily. Her tail thumped the ground in pleasure. The she-wolf leaned down and sniffed the rabbit. She began to tear into it, her muzzle becoming red with blood. She lied down and the girl cuddled up nest to her. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When she awoke, she reached over and rubbed her nose on her dam’s muzzle. She coughed and the rabbit came back up. The girl eagerly ate at the chunks; some of the smaller pups came over and ate with her. She playfully growled at them, than leaned on her forearms and waggled her butt in the air. Her tail wagged gently. The pups did the same their tongues lolling out. Together they ran through the meadow near by, rolling the grass and playfully growling, nipping and chewing on each other.
Logan ate one of the two rabbits, and left the skin on the same branch. Maybe she would come and get them again. He lay down to get some sleep. In his mind he could see it all, the doctors with their scalpels, lines drawn on his body. Champagne glasses on a tray. A tank filled with fluid. Choking. Pain. Metal. Scrapping sounds. He woke up snarling; his claws stretched out in the blackness of the cave. He stood up and started to head outside. He could see the sun setting, and there was a small girl licking the insides of the skins. He sat and watched her carefully. She moved gracefully, rather like a cat. She was constantly on alert, her ears never stopping for too long, always swivelling around. Logan watched as she took the skin down and holding it in her mouth she started to crawl away on all fours.
Logan followed her silently until he saw he wiggle under a bush. Lying down he saw her crawling around with wolf pups. They were chewing on the skins and playing with them. He saw the way she moved, submissively to the adults, and more dominantly around the pups. He stood up slowly and turned back to the cave. There might be a way for him to get close to her.
The girl lay down and the pups pounced on her, they started to sleep, little puppy snores emerging. She slid out from under them and followed the scent that was becoming increasingly familiar to her. She saw him enter the cave, and she moved in the shadows towards him. Logan felt eyes on him and turned around slowly. In the darkness of the shadows he saw two glowing green orbs. Her eyes. He watched her, and then turned his back to her, sitting down he began to build up a fire.
The girl knew he saw her, but then he ignored her to play with something in front of him. She crept closer, until she came out of the shadows. She moved around his side, slowly until she was sitting across the fire from him, her eyes watching the fire in fascination. Logan reached over and placed a rabbit over it, on the sharpened stick. She licked her lips and reached for it. He growled softly at her. She dropped her hand and lowered her head submissively. Logan cooked the rabbit, never taking his eyes off her. She kept her distance, then moved closer as she could smell the cooking rabbit. He picked the stick up and saw the rabbit was done, he ripped a piece off and handed it to her.
She eyed him warily, and then ripped it from his hand. She shovelled it into her mouth. He watched as she smiled in delight as she ate it, gulping it down. "More?" She tilted her head to the side. He ripped off another piece and offered it to her. "More," he held it to her. She reached for it, and he slowly brought it back to him so she had to move towards him. She came out of her crouch and slid around the fire to sit less than a foot away from him. He gave her the piece and again she shoved it into her mouth. He himself took some and ate it, watching as she eyed it but didn’t touch. There was almost nothing left now, and she was obviously still hungry. Logan wished he had more to give her.
He handed her the skin and she licked the rest of the meat out of it. He went to stand up and she followed him. She looked from the skin to her mouth and rubbed at her stomach. "No more." Logan said, and watched as she tilted her head to the side again. He pointed to the skin and shook his head. She looked down, then smiled. Another rabbit came bounding over and stopped in front of him. She bent down and picked it up. She handed it to him.
"What?" Logan took the rabbit and noticed how docile it was. He ran it through with a claw and saw her wince. He held it over the fire and saw her watch it hungrily. "How did you do that?" He asked, not expecting an answer. She patted the ground next to her. She made a motion like waving something over and then scooped an imaginary rabbit up. "Ya just called it and it came?" She did the head tilt thing again, and looked confused. He sighed; this was going to be harder than he thought. "You," he pointed to her. "Called," he patted the ground. "It came," he pointed to the rabbit. She nodded her head up and down, sliding next to him she kept her head down. {Rabbit,} Logan snarled and looked around. The voice was small and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. He looked at the girl who lay sprawled on her back. "You?" He asked, pointing to her. She nodded her head up and down. {Rabbit.} She pointed to the rabbit roasting in the fire. Logan snarled and using his claws fished it out. It was burnt, but still edible. "It rabbit," he pointed to the rabbit than at her. "You?" She tilted her head in the way he learned now meant she was confused. "Rabbit," he poked the rabbit. "Logan," he tapped himself in the chest, then pointed to her. She shook her head. She placed one hand over her chest and shook her head. She looked over at Logan and smiled.
{Logan?} She asked, placing a hand on his chest. He nodded at her. {Pack.} She added. "Pack?" He removed the rabbit and handed her some, he sat and she followed him in sitting down, imitating how he sat and ate. {Logan pack.} She watched him, and her eyes stared to fill with tears. {Logan pack?}
"I’m pack darlin’, I’ll be your pack." He watched her slide over and lay her head on his knee. She yawned sleepily and closed her eyes. He could tell she was asleep and carried her into the cave. He lay down near her and shut his eyes as well. He hadn’t slept well, painful images filling his mind all night long.
When they awoke late that afternoon a few other creatures had crawled into the cave with them. There were three squirrels, two racoons and five mice. Logan felt her snuggle closer against his side. As she stirred so did the animals, until one by one they were all awake and watching her. She ran her fingers over each one of them, talking, he now figured out, in his head somehow. {Squirrel, racoon, mouse.} She named each one proudly. Logan nodded and headed outside, she followed him. He watched as she knelt on the ground and briefly hugged each one, as she did so her fur shifted on her body. Logan ran one hand over the fur, and saw it shift and become mocha skin. He ran his hand from her shoulder down her back and around to her stomach. She purred in contentment. He watched and saw a red hawk appear on her stomach, just to the right of her belly button.
"What’s this?" He pointed to the hawk.
{Hawk.} Logan sighed; this was much harder than he thought. He rubbed the fur. "What’s this?"
{Fur.} She blinked and Logan saw all the fur fade back into her skin. He took off his shirt and slid it over her head. She rubbed it with her hand, and tilted her head to the side.
"Shirt."
{Shirt?} She said slowly in her mind-speak. He could hear how she was thinking about the word in her head.
"Pants," He pointed to his own.
{Pants.} She rubbed the denim material. She looked at her own legs, and squinted at them. Logan watched as the same denim on his legs appeared on hers. {Pants!}
"What did you do?!" She looked sad and dropped to her belly, bowing her head she whimpered softly. "It’s alright Darlin’, get up." He rubbed a hand across her shoulders and back. She scrambled up and smiled at him. She was resting on her forearms, her butt in the air; her tail was waving around. She had her long ears perked up. Logan could see how much she resembled a wolf with her ears pricked up.
He saw her pawing at the ground with her hands and realised she wanted to play with him. He took two steps towards her and she danced to the side. He kept lunging playfully at her, and she danced around. He took a step one time and landed on her tail. She let out a painful howl and grabbed it close to her. Logan dropped to his knees. "I’m sorry Darlin’," she whimpered softly and he gently took her tail from her. "Let me see." He ran his fingers over it, there was a small red mark, but it was fading away.
He dropped down so he was lying like she had been, with his arms out and his butt in the air. She smiled and pounced on him. They began rolling around; Logan stopped when he realised what the small sounds he heard were. She was laughing. He put a hand on her hair and felt the thick knots in it and the tangles leaves and bits of branches, it was a mess.
He followed her as she ran towards a small hill. Climbing up a tree she quickly gave a long low whistle. Logan could see several wolves loping towards them. She ran towards them, and dropped to her knees before the biggest and blackest of them. He gave her a few licks to her face before the others proceeded to lick at her face. {Pack,} she said proudly. The wolves growled as Logan approached. {NO! Logan pack!} She cried out. They stopped growling slowly and Logan came closer. She ran over and climbed up to lay over his shoulder like a cat does. From there she admitted soft whimpers with the leader of the wolves. He came closer and sniffed at Logan’s pants, then sat on his haunches. Throwing his head back he let out a loud howl, the others joined in, as did the girl. Logan lifted her to the ground. He sat down and she sat in his lap. The wolves surrounded him, then walked on, most of them stopping to take a friendly lick or two at her.
Logan set her up so she was standing and started walking towards the way the wolves had come. She followed him, occasionally running ahead to climb up some tree or another and talk with some creature. He heard the distant sound of what he realised was an engine running. He saw three teen-age boys in a clearing, all of them smoking something. The girl had stopped and was heading up a tree. Logan advanced slowly, keeping himself out of their line of vision. The girl was following him in the trees; he could hear her breathing and the light sound of her feet hitting the tree branches. One of the guys crushed a white cylinder, a cigarette, floated through Logan’s mind. He turned and pulled himself up to sit on a low branch. Logan saw the girl freeze; she was a few feet above his head in the same tree. She turned to come back to him, and slipped. She fell onto him and they tumbled to the ground.
"It’s a mutie!" Screamed on of the other two.
"Get her!" The other yelled.
"Get it off! Get it off!" The guy under her scrambled up and pushed her away. She whimpered and tried to escape but they encircled her. Logan saw red and had moved before he realised it. One quick swipe and his claws had gone straight across one boy’s back. The girl bolted towards him, and hid behind his leg. He shoved his claws through another’s throat. The one who had fallen with her was on his knees begging for mercy. Logan slashed his face and kicked him into the tree. He hit it and passed out cold.
The girl had wandered closer to the jeep and was exploring it. Logan came over and slid in the driver’s seat. The keys were still in the ignition. He turned it on and the jeep roared to life. The girl bolted out and up a tree so fast Logan barely saw her move. He left the engine idling and stood at the base of the tree. Reaching up to her he saw her slide towards his slowly. He took her in his arms and placed her next to him in the jeep. Buckling her in he drove away from the forest onto a deserted road.
They were stopped by the wolves sitting in a ring in front of them. The girl struggled with the belt, before sliding out under it. She climbed over the door and knelt before the wolf. Hugging him tightly she buried her face in his fur and cried gently. {Pack, pack.} She pulled back and hugged each wolf in turn, then climbed back in with Logan. {Pack.} She said softly, and this time she hugged Logan. The wolves trotted to the side of the road, and watched as she left. As the jeep passed they raised their voices in a long mournful howl. The girl joined them and then turned to watch them before they disappeared from view.
end