Logan watched as they nursed, gently pushing at each other. He chuckled and murmured, "Yeah. Starts way back b'fore wean help ourselves, eh?" Max licked Logan's chin and he pressed his forehead to hers, growling softly. It was the only way they could communicate now, with little subvocal growls. He was slowly learning how to talk to her in this form, but was already missing the sound of her voice. He was surprised at how much he missed her scent as well. She was still there, under the musky smell of the wolf, but it wasn't the same. Seventeen days had passed, and the newness of the cubs still hadn't worn off for the denizens of the School. Some of the students and teachers would come by and give Max food and scritches when he was out teaching one of his classes. As much as he hated to admit it, teaching was starting to grow on him. He found it odd that he now sympathized with some of the kids, almost connecting with them in a way he didn't before. It wasn't something he was used to, and he wasn't entirely comfortable with it. It felt as if something in him - something fundamental - was changing. Shifting. He wasn't at all sure how to take it, and he damn sure didn't want to talk to anybody but Max about it. Unfortunately, he'd have to wait on that. It wasn't sitting well with him at the moment, and she could tell, letting out a small whine as she nudged him gently. Patience wasn't proving to be his strong suit in this particular instance. Jean, of all people, had come up to him the other day and asked him if everything was okay. What the hell? The telepaths bothered the crap out of him. They couldn't mind their own fuckin' business. She'd relented after
he'd glared back at her and grunted, then turned away - making a point
to avoid her for a while afterwards. It felt like he'd never waited so long for anything in his life. -- The cubs were all over the room now. They had to inspect and sniff everything. Max and Logan had taken to sleeping on the floor so the pups wouldn't have to jump up on the bed to get to them, and Logan would grin as they'd pull at Max's ears and tail in play - laughing as they'd receive an irritated smack from their mother's paw. They still weren't entirely sure what to make of Logan, but would climb on him and investigate him, as if he was some kind of enormous fleshy chew toy. The little fuckers could bite pretty hard with those needle sharp teeth, but he found that he didn't mind too much. He'd just gently cuff them, reminding them of their place, and they'd run off to continue assaulting each other - their playing sometimes becoming fairly rough. Oddly enough, out of the three, the runt - one of the males - seemed to have established dominance over the other two, which only made Logan smile. Yep. Small and mean. he grinned proudly and watched the little cub terrorize the other two. Something in Max's scent changed, becoming sharp and bitter. He peered down at her and the three cubs loped over to her side as she started wheezing. Logan frowned, not knowing if this was something that naturally occurred or if there was actually something wrong. He let out a subvocal bark and she looked up at him, nodding. Ok, he could relax. This was supposed to be happening. He softly murmured, "I'm here, Max. Right here." The cubs started dancing around her and yipping frantically, whining in concern as she slowly slid back into her human form. It had taken a tremendous amount of effort - more than she'd counted on. She was immediately exhausted. "Ah crap," she croaked as she tried to move, but her body wouldn't obey. She felt Logan's hand in her hair as he purred, "What can I do to help?" Max lolled her head to the side to find the cubs eyeing her nervously. The runt darted out to give the side of her mouth a quick lick and she smiled. The other two followed suit and she smiled as they moved to lick her hand. "Two males and a female, huh?" Her voice sounded husky and thick as she turned back to face him. Logan looked back at her with a frown and she slurred, "Just kiss me already." His lips were so warm, so soft. This simple act spoke volumes between them, and she could feel his relief in his kiss. Yeah - she'd missed him too. The smell, touch and taste of him. Like this. She blinked as he quickly pulled her into his lap, wrapping himself around her. "I missed you too," she whispered, still feeling utterly drained but elated now. He was a man of few words when it came to stuff like this, but his actions combined with his scent always told her exactly what she needed to know. The cubs were loping around both of them now, letting out little confused subvocal yips and barks. She gently pulled out of the kiss and murmured, "We should let them outside soon. They need to experience nature like this." Logan placed his forehead to her temple and said, "We could take 'em now, if you want - but I don't think you're up to it." Max let out a weak chuckle and replied, "Yeah. I probably need a shower as well." Logan laughed softly and said, "I wasn't gonna say anything." Max tried to swat him, but couldn't summon the energy. "Damn," she muttered. He began laughing harder and said, "I suppose I should really take advantage of this while you can't crack the shit out of me." "Soooo gonna get it." Max mumbled, her brows furrowing in mock irritation. -- After a shower, she felt moderately better. At least she could now move around on her own. Logan had soaped her up and rinsed her off, and at some time during the process she'd started getting her energy back. She could taste the sharp tang of his interest throughout, but was grateful that he'd staved off that particular need until she could reorient herself and let the cubs get used to her. She'd spent about an hour with the cubs afterwards, letting them taste her scent so they could familiarize themselves with this new form that their mother had taken. Now that she was clean, they looked confused, but still recognized her. Logan listened to the series of subvocal noises she made as she knelt down and put her face close to them so they could lick her. Suddenly, they were much more animated - nearly jumping over each other as she smiled back at them. "You guys are going to have to learn english soon," she purred, scritching their heads gently before moving to stand up - slowly. Logan's breath caught for a moment as she smiled over at him and said, "You ready to get these guys outside?" Christ, now I'm actin' like a schoolgirl with a crush, he muttered to himself. "Thought you'd never ask," he replied, grinning. -- As it turned out, the stairs were the hard part. The cubs had never seen anything like them before, so consquently didn't really know what to do with them. The runt started down the stairs first and Logan couldn't help but smile. Max looked over at him as the other two began to follow the Alpha pup and asked, "What's got you all happy?" It was infectious, and she'd started grinning herself. "Smaller one leadin' the other two. Fits somehow," he replied, taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers. "Yeah, it does." She murmured, leaning into him before they followed down behind the cubs. When Logan finally opened the back door, the cubs froze for a moment, taking all the different scents in. They slowly started their way out onto the back porch and Max could smell the first traces of the coming spring in the air. Max and Logan sat in a pair of elegant deck chairs, keeping an eye on the cubs as they slowly made their rounds, sniffing everything that they could reach. "I missed you, darlin'." Logan rumbled as he placed his hand lightly on hers. Max felt her heart do a slow roll as she looked over at him. "I missed you too," she murmured softly. Max felt his hand gently squeeze hers and smiled. "You know we're going to have to pick somebody to keep an eye on them for us - so that we can have time to work off all that frustration you've stored up." Logan chuckled softly, threading his fingers through hers. "Woman, you're a goddamned mind reader," he muttered. Max laughed and replied, "Nah. Just selfish. It's difficult to just sit here with you, tasting the sharpness of your desire without jumping on you - not to mention I have a fair bit to work off as well." At this, he growled and pulled her into a kiss. The door opened and a teenaged boy stepped out onto the deck, freezing when he spotted Logan. "Drake." Logan grunted as Max pulled away from him, grating, "Been workin' on yer form?" The boy stammered, "Ah, Professor Logan. Yes, sir. I have sir." Max spotted an attractive redhead behind him. She was holding his hand. It took a moment for Max to recognize her - the girl they'd rescued up in Canada. When had they started dating? she wondered. For all she'd remembered, the two of them were still down in isolation until they could get their abilities under control. Apparently they'd graduated up to being 'social', allowing them to mix with the rest of the student body so they didn't feel so much like prisoners. Max figured that if there ended up being an emergency, their abilities would end up cancelling each other out, or at least dampening them from doing too much harm. She hoped. "Good." Logan muttered. "Tired of handin' yer ass to you every session." Max eyed Logan, who crooked an eyebrow up at her. Don't call me out on this - not in front of the kid, the look said. It'd undermine his status, and she didn't need him feeling whipped by her. She felt that he was being unnecessarily harsh on the boy, especially in front of his female friend, but remained silent. How he conducted his relationship with his students was entirely up to him. Bobby Drake - or 'Iceman', as some of the kids had started referring to him, flushed momentarily as he looked back at his companion before darting back inside. Before Max could say anything, one of the cubs began yipping and they both quickly stood up to investigate. The smaller one had the other male flipped on his back and was biting his throat. "Ah, dominance games." Max murmured, remembering the enormous fights that her brothers would get into as pups. They were downright savage at times. Still, it was important to learn how much you could hurt and how quick you could heal at an early age. "You wanted to say somethin'?" Logan prompted, that eyebrow quirking up again. Max glanced at him and said, "There's no reason to piss on him when he's trying to impress a girl." Logan shrugged and replied, "It'll toughen him up. He'll come out stronger in the long run." Max made a harumphing sound and said, "They're not wolves, Logan. Pinks are..different. More fragile." Logan let out a harsh laugh and explained, "You kiddin' me? Some of these kids could level a fuckin' city block without batting an eye. Several of 'em have fucked me up pretty good when they lost control of their abilities. Half of this pissing contest is getting them to realize that there are real consequences when they can't be bothered to rein that shit in. Did you actually pay attention to what some of their abilities were?" Max frowned, taking that in for a moment as he continued, "It's like Frankenstein's goddamned monster all over the place here. You drop that kinda power in the head of an irrational, easily agitated teenager whose hormones are raging and taking control of their heads and it's a fuckin' recipe for disaster. I hate to admit it, but Chuck is right. These kids need this place." Logan slid his hands
into the pockets of his jeans and added, "Not to mention that they're
gettin' their asses kicked and spat at just for bein' who they are out
there. They gotta learn how to fight back. Especially the ones that follow
Cyke into the field now." It was a good sign. She then frowned, catching the last part of what he'd said and running it back in her head. "Who's 'Cyke'?" Logan relaxed a little as he explained, "Oh, yeah. They decided to start using those dorky ass names while you were still furred up. Scott wants everybody to call him Cyclops when they roll out now. I call him Cyke because it bugs the crap out of him. Kid needs a little dusting up every once in a while." Max grimaced and said, "Please don't tell me that they're now calling themselves the X-Men now, too." Logan laughed and said, "Oh, you heard about that?" Max nodded and replied, "Yeah. Scott and Jean went back and forth about it for almost a month before we went up to Canada to come get you." She eyed him and asked, "They didn't try to give you one, did they?" Logan pulled the familiar metal tag out of his shirt and growled, "Already got one." "Please tell me that they're not going to want to call me Wolf-Girl, or something repellant like that." Max cringed at the thought. "'Ro suggested Lykos," he replied, watching the three cubs cavorting again, now that another dominance game had again been won. Max frowned and said, "Well, it's nowhere near as bad as werewolf, but it's pretty much Greek for the same thing. Maybe. Do I have to?" Logan wrapped an arm around her. "Last run pulled a lot of media attention. Mutants are getting more press - more bad press. Never thought I'd hear myself say it, but Charlie and his gang of superhero wannabees is actually doing somethin' good here. The names and the costumes make it so that they can have this whole 'secret identity' thing. They want to try to keep what actually goes on at the school a secret, and I understand why now. There are some nasty fuckin' people out there." Max stared back at him as if he'd grown two heads. Logan frowned and asked, "What?" "Does this place feel like home to you?" she asked softly, watching the irises of his eyes flare. "You feel like home to me. Not this place," he quietly replied. "But you're starting to like it here, even though you don't really want to." Max murmured, letting her fingers slide through his facial hair. "They're fightin' a good fight here, Max." He whispered, his voice breaking. "I can't remember much, but I know that I ain't been on the right side in a good fight all that often." Max wrapped her arms around him and said, "You're a good man, Logan." He shook slightly as he heard it. He wanted badly for it to be true - even a little bit. She laughed as the cubs began pawing at their legs, and turned to look down at them. "At least they're not yowlin' their fuckin' heads off," he grumbled, his lips curling into a slow smile. Max gently slapped at him, then took his hand in hers and led him off towards the lake with the three cubs in tow. -- "That's the wierdest thing ever." Jean was looking over at her with a strange smile, her glance darting over to the cubs who were starting to simmer down a little. Max had given them a string of yips and whines that let them know that she didn't appreciate them almost knocking over a lamp in the corner of the sitting room. Max peered back at her friend, cocking her head, "What's wierd?" Jean shook her head slowly and replied, "The way you talk to them. And the fact that they actually listen." Max chuckled and said, "They know that I'll cuff them or bite them if they get out of hand." Jean watched the cubs nip and snap at each other and asked, "When will they..you know - turn?" Max frowned and answered, "So far, everything seems to be going the way I remember it from the bitches that kitted in my Pack. They should go through their first shift in another week or so." "They are so very beautiful." Max looked up at Ororo and smiled. "They're little devils. And they know it." Max laughed, watching the smaller one cuff the other male, smacking him to the ground. "So - how's grouchy handling it?" Jean asked, her expression wary. Max smiled and softly replied, "He's going to be an excellent father." Jean gave a sarcastic cough and Max chuckled. "I believe that you are correct, Maxine." Ororo had taken to using the longer form of her name as well as Hank now, and Max found that she liked the way it sounded on the woman's tongue. She had such a beautiful voice. "Whether he believes it to be true of himself or not." There's a great deal that he doesn't give himself enough credit for, Max thought to herself as she nodded and watched the cubs almost collide with one of the chairs. "Thanks for keeping an eye on them for us, 'Ro. We both really appreciated the downtime." Max murmured, her grin lopsided. In three days, she and Logan had managed to finally destroy the rest of the bed's shaky resolve, as well as a lamp and the chair in the corner of their room. Xavier had surprised them both by having a top of the line kingsize mattress set shipped to the mansion and installed for them. This way all the cubs could fit on the bed when they slept. She'd found it very touching. The man could be surprisingly thoughtful. Ororo responded with a small smile and a regal nod of her head. "Henry and I were happy to watch them. I think he's becoming overly fond of them, as are many of us. They are delightful offspring." Max chuckled and replied, "You won't think so for long. I'm just hoping that they don't wreck the place. Turnskin cubs can get pretty wild and rough." "What, do they chew on furniture or something?" Jean asked. Max shook her head and responded. "Ah - no. They'll chew on the other kids here. Establishing dominance over the others in their litter is all they know. Soon, they'll want to start doing it with other 'cubs' - but they don't know about the distinction between our kind and your kind. Until they learn, I need to take the temptation out of their way." Jean paled, then said, "Oh." Max smiled and explained, "The professor's having a little den set up out in the woods, so we're going to go on..," she frowned, trying to remember the term that Logan had used. "Bivouac for a while after the cubs have gone through their first shift." Jean let out a breath of relief and Max gently patted her hand. "It's ok, Dee. I won't let them chew on you. Well - too much." Her friend smiled back and gently swatted at her. -- Max roused to the sound of one of the cubs making a frightened yipping sound. It sounded like he was over by the bathroom door. Logan was immediately at the cub's side, checking him over for injuries or blood. "What's wrong with him?" The smallest one was curled on his side, his eyes squeezed shut and his yips and barks sounding terrified. She sat up and moved over to them, resting her hand gently on the cub's head. "He's going through his first shift. It's really disorienting and uncomfortable, from what I remember. It's very painful as well," she explained before leaning down and giving the cub's mouth a quick lick. Logan blinked as she shifted beside them and dipped her head down to gently nudge her cub. The little pup looked up at her and whined, and it sounded so plaintive that Logan could almost feel his heart tighten. After a few soft, reassuring noises from Max, Logan watched the cub brace himself, then moved back as the pup's skin started changing. The cub's howls turned into all too human screams as the cub finally shifted into the form of a six year old boy. When the change was complete, the boy curled in on himself further, weeping and clutching at his stomach and head as the other two cubs started licking and pawing at him in an effort to reassure him. Max shifted back and gently stroked the boy's full head of raven black hair, murmuring what sounded like soft nonsense to him. Jesus, fuck. Logan frowned, not quite knowing how to react. There was an immediate pounding on the door as several frantic voices asked if they were ok. He moved to open the door a crack so that he could see who was standing in the hallway. Jean and Scott were peering back at him, grave concern etched into their expressions. "It's okay. We're all fine. Max'll explain later," he snapped, before closing the door and locking it again. The boy's crying began slowing and his breathing became more regular. After a few minutes, the boy opened shining hazel eyes and slowly looked around the room, then down at himself, mystified. He was still making the same cublike whines and whimpers as Max gently brushed the hair out of his eyes. She spoke to him in that secret language between mother and cub and the boy nodded, trying to sit up. He couldn't get his body to work, which Logan supposed made sense. After all, he now had to deal with an entirely new center of gravity as well as new points of mobility. He'd be fucked as well if the same thing had happened to him. Christ, he had no idea that the pup would shift into such a large kid. He wasn't at all surprised that it hurt. Logan crouched before the two of them and the boy looked over at him, reaching a shaky hand out. Logan gently took the boy's hand and held it and his son relaxed as Max brushed her fingers along her cub's pink arm, calming him. Then the other male cub started. -- A week had passed, and Max was getting worried. The two boys were now shifting forms on and off and picking up english at a startling pace - but the girl cub had yet to show any signs of making the shift. The boys looked like polar opposites of one another. The smaller one was the yin to the other boy's yang. Even though he was young, Max could see that the runt was going to have the same stocky build as his father. The blonde pup, though, was more winsome and fey - like Max herself. He'd be the 'pretty boy' of the litter. With the raven haired boy, they'd decided on the name Zane, in honor of Max's shattered brother. The blonde - they'd named Riley, after her great grandfather. As for the girl cub, Logan had been fond of the name Eileen for some reason he couldn't quite understand, but it seemed fitting. He had no relatives that he could remember that he could honor, so Max had been happy to let him name her. The boys would shift and play with their sister in both forms, but didn't understand why she wasn't two natured like them. Their furred forms were now also substantially larger than hers as well now, making her look so much younger. Sometimes Max could hear them giving Eileen grief about it and she'd snap at them, growling when the teasing turned genuinely mean. Since she hadn't shifted, she'd been relegated to the lowest rank on the social totem pole in their small Pack, and the female cub understood her place, but Max could feel the sadness in her - of being left behind. From what she could remember, the single natured had never fared very well in her Pack. They were always included in the gathers, but they were treated with a mild derision - as if they were somehow broken. The prejudice against any weak or infirm members of the pack always applied doubly to the single natured. True wolves were actually treated with more respect - because they didn't have the ability to shift. They were seen as brothers, whereas the single natured were simply tolerated because they'd happened to draw the short genetic straw. Logan stood beside Max as she watched the three cubs running around the backyard, now having just developed their running legs. Eileen had to exert herself to the point of exhaustion to keep up. "What's wrong?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist. His scent was still sharp from having just come from class. He hadn't showered yet. Max leaned into him and frowned. "If she doesn't shift soon, she's going to be physically older in her other form than they are - when she finally does turn." Logan blinked and squeezed her. "Why would she be older? They were all born at the same time." "Time works different for us. The later our first shift, the older we look in our pink form. It's like time moves faster when they're cubs before that initial turn. That's why Zane and Riley look like they already have six human years on them. It's the same thing that made their cub forms bigger after their first shift as well." "So, if she shifts, her age will kinda lock in?" he asked, not entirely sure he followed. "Yeah - that seems to be the case. I'm not entirely sure why, though. I just know that's the way it is." After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Logan asked, "Is it possible that she'll never..?" Max let out a shuddering sigh and nodded. "It's been known to happen. I just.." she felt her throat catch as she watched the girl cub lope in earnest joy after the other two. "I don't want my girl to be single natured." she whispered. Logan held her while they watched the cubs play. He could smell the fear on Max and the sadness and confusion on Eileen from time to time - but he had no idea what to do about it. -- "MOM!" Zane's scream was piercing and Max appeared at her cub's side in moments. The boy was standing next to the makeshift shack that Xavier had built for them on the grounds with what looked like several long white, thin sticks poking through his knuckles. She could smell the sharp tang of blood and saw thin trails of it snaking down his arms away from the places where the strange sticks protruded. He had three in each hand. After a moment, she realized what had happened. "What's happening to me?" Zane looked up at her with wild, frightened eyes, his hands shaking. his hands were now splayed open and she could see that the odd white sticks were indeed coming directly out from between his knuckles. After getting a closer look at them, she realized that they looked like very sharp bones; claws. "It's alright, honey - this is something you get from your father. He has the same..claws, but his are covered in metal," Max explaned softly, leading Zane inside so she could wipe the blood off him. The 'house that Xavier built', while being a bit spartan, was fully functional. She'd forgotten to give Charles advance warning about needing to get the cubs away from people until she could teach them that pinks didn't heal like Turnskins did, and he'd done the best he could with the time at hand. Max didn't mind roughing it for a little while, and knew that it didn't really bother Logan or the cubs either. In a way, it almost reminded her of her house back home. "Why won't they go back in?" Zane whined, looking down at his hands with an accusatory glare. "I don't know - what prompted them to come out in the first place?" she asked, hoping that it might provide a key to getting them to slide back in to his forearms. Zane frowned, then said, "Well - I was thinking about how you guys said that you were going to take us on our second hunt this weekend, and I remember thinking about how good the fresh meat would taste.." Max gently wiped his arms off, then knelt before him. "I want you to try something, ok?" The boy nodded as she said, "Just close your eyes and think of a time when you were really relaxed. Really happy. When was the last time you were really happy? Zane closed his eyes and frowned, concentrating hard. Max smiled and gently shook his arms. "Don't try so hard. Just let it come." Zane let out a frustrated breath, then settled. After a few quiet moments, Max heard the claws slide back in, letting out a sigh of relief. Zane opened his eyes and smiled. "I did it!" he crowed. Max chuckled and said, "Your father will be very proud of you." "No fair." Riley watched them from the edge of the doorway with an annoyed frown. "Why don't I have claws?" Eileen sat on her haunches beside him, cocking her head. Max sighed and said, "C'mon guys. There's something I need to explain to you." To be Continued To reiterate: MARVEL owns the rights to most of the elements in this story. Max, and her subsequent backstory, is my own creation, but everything else is either sub-canon, or warped canon yanked from the X-Men storyline. |