Logan and Kyle.

[x-wildchild.livejournal.com]

As suggested to him by Charles , and reinforced by Nate and Ororo, Logan goes to find Kyle and introduce himself. Kyle is skeptical at some offers Logan makes, and some of what Logan says, almost manages to totally miss the point, but finally gets it. Also Logan is a grilling Mastah and makes steak.



Finding a good stable -comfortable- branch had gotten considerably harder after Ms. Maximoff had broken the last one. Kyle had nearly resorted to giving up on this tree and just finding another one. It wasn't so much a matter of enough branches, but finding one that he could perch on comfortably without having to constantly adjust his balance. Keeping his balance prevented napping, or snacking, or reading, or anything other than sitting there. Just sitting was -boring-, even if it was sitting where he needed to try to keep his balance.

After the fourth or fifth unsuccessful attempt to get comfortable, sit, and get through -yet- another chapter of god-awful boring history reading, Kyle gave up. He couldn't concentrate if he had to keep moving around to keep his balance, and not concentrating just meant trying to get through homework later would be twice as bad. He stuffed the book into his book bag and slid off the branch, landing in a crouch and muttering in annoyance.

In retrospect, Kyle wasn't that hard to find. Given that he knew he liked to be outside, all it took was a good breeze in the right direction and Logan knew just where to look. He took no particular pains to hide his approach, but the wind _was_ blowing wrong for Kyle to scent him before he got up close. He took the time to just watch the boy for a few moments - to see how he moved, how he fidgeted up in his tree. Logan couldn't help but be reminded of an adolescent wolf - too old to stay close to his mother's teats, but not old enough or big enough to be accepted by the rest of the pack.

He was on the ground before he noticed the smell of someone -else-. For less than the time it took him to stand up and turn around, Kyle expected to see Ani, but the smell was wrong. Similar, somehow, but also not similar at all. Hard and sharp where Ani's wasn't, but the same outdoor-y smell. It was like someone had made a twisted blend of Ani and Forge. Which Kyle decided was just plain wrong, and he was never making that comparison again. Ever.

It -definitely- wasn't Ani. Or Forge, or any bizarre twisted blend of the two, Kyle thought as he turned. And mentally scolded himself for thinking about that right after he'd said he wasn't going to again. It was a guy, couldn’t be anything -but- male, and short, at least, shorter than Kyle was. And naggingly familiar looking.

Logan kept his distance from Kyle - he didn't want to give the kid the wrong impression. "You're Kyle Gibney." he said, not making it a question at all. "I'm Logan." he said, keeping himself as neutral as he possibly could. The kid smelled so strongly of pup that Logan had to fight to keep from really insulting him via condescension. "Hear you're like me."

~Logan. Why do I know that name?~ "Oh! You're the guy with the swords in his hands!" Now Kyle remembered. Dr. Grey and Dr. McCoy had talked about Logan. "Uh. I, uh, don't have swords in my hands..." He looked down, just to be totally sure. Nope. No swords today. "But with the feral and the healing thing you mean? I guess..." Kyle glanced over his shoulder at the trunk of the tree he'd just left and took a step back towards it without thinking. Something about this guy made him... not nervous, he wouldn't say. Not exactly. But something like nervous. Apprehensive, Kyle thought. Maybe that was it.

Logan held one hand up, popped his claws, and then retracted them. "Something like that." he said with a hard look. He kept his hand up so Kyle could watch the wounds made by the claws emergence heal up and disappear. "You smell things no one else can. Probably hear stuff no one else can either." he commented. "Read your file. The others - they can help you behave like a man, but they can't touch the beast, can they?"

"The what?" Everything Logan had said had made perfect sense, right up until the 'beast' part. "I mean, yeah, with the smelling and hearing, which is a pain in the ass as much as it's cool, I mean, fresh bread or steak on the grill, awesome. Knowing when Forge doesn't do his laundry, not awesome." He paused, trying to remember his point. Oh. Beasts. Right. "What do you mean beast? Is this about the Tommy thing? Because I haven't gone near him in weeks." Even if he still wanted to punch the guy in the mouth a few times.

Logan shook his head. "Folks like us, we got two sides. We got the side that's civilized - we bathe, we go to school or work, we do all the things normal people do. Then we've got the Beast - the one that wants to hunt, to protect what's ours and to structure things into packs - Ours and Them. The man gets angry, he works it out. The Beast gets angry and claws come out. You know it, don't you?"

Kyle gave Logan a wary look. "This is about the Tommy thing. For fuck's sake..." He shook his head. "Look, I know Mr. Summers is all pissed off about Dr. Grey, but that was like, what a month ago? He doesn't need to bring people all the way from Canada just to make sure I'm not going to go beating people up. I get it. No hitting just because I'm pissy."

Logan shrugged. "It's not like that." he said. His nose told him the boy was definitely trying too hard to convince him that he was being sincere. "Personally, the boy probably could use a good whoopin'." he conceded. "It's hard, having the Beast. Gotta deal with a whole layer of crap that nobody can possibly know about. How the smells get to you, how you just wanna go in and mess somebody up who's intruding on _your stuff_." he said.

"Well, it's because it -is- my stuff." Kyle protested automatically. How many times had he had this argument with Dani, or Forge, or anyone? "And people stink and they don't even know it. All the time. Malls are full of them." He curled and uncurled the fingers on the hand not holding his book bag without thinking. "And don't get me started about cars."

Logan nodded. "You're proving my point for me. That's the beast talking." he said. "I've had mine for ... more years than I know about." he said with a wry look. "Figured out a couple of ways to deal with it, make things easier. Could show 'em to you if you wanted."

"I thought you lived in Canada..." Kyle answered, without answering. "I can't move to Canada. I'm not even sure I can -go- to Canada without my folks going postal. They throw fits if they hear I go into the city..." Not that he told them most of the time.

"I was only visiting Canada. Getting some stuff taken care of upstairs." Logan said, tapping his skull with a finger. "You interested in really learning how to control it? To make it work for you without fucking up your life like it wants to do now?"

"What do I have to do?" Kyle asked. He wasn't going to just agree. That'd be stupid. This better not involve more reading, he thought - though, this Logan guy didn't seem the type to assign reading. It wasn't even that he minded so much but there were always quizzes after reading, and those sucked.

"Just be you." he said with a grin. "The kind of learning I had in mind you won't find in any book. It's all learn-by-doing stuff. Basically, all you have to do is show up and do what I tell you to the best of your ability. In return, I'll make you ... focused. Able to deal with what your senses tell you far better than you ever have before. How to stay calm, how to deal. Maybe a couple of other skills here and there."

Learning by doing, no books, and he got to be less likely to flip out and kill people like a ninja? "Okay, what's the catch? Because I'm not seeing why I'd want to say no..." Kyle asked. "I mean, nothing personal, but you don't seem like you're a career teacher or anything. Not likely to be the new student counselor, exactly."

Logan laughed at that. "Hardly, kid. The catch is that this will be _hard_. Hardest thing you've ever done." he said with just a trace of sadness. "Control never comes easy. You're gonna hate it. Gonna hate me, too. Probably get real tempted to quit, go it on your own. But if you've got what it takes inside to stick it out, I can help you." ~Hopefully.~

"So I don't end up like the crazy guy who helped try to kidnap Miles, right?" Kyle asked. No more dancing around the subject, he decided. "Not Toad, the other one, with the claws." He crossed his arms and frowned. "If this'll keep me from being crazy, I'm all for it, because him? He was psycho. He ... " Kyle shrugged. "Can't explain how I know that though."

"Creed's a mad dog." he said simply. "He's what happens when you don't fight the urges, don't try to hang onto what makes you a man."

"I'll pass on the crazy. They shoot mad dogs." Kyle answered. Well, at least, that's what everyone said they did to them. "I'm not a fan of flipping out. Did it once already, and the only reason nobody's hurt bad is because Jay heals fast too, and he hit me with a chair."

Logan grinned. "Sounds like we got a plan, kid." he said, relaxing his posture and muscles - without even knowing it, he'd tensed as if expecting a fight. "Anyone teach you how to fight, kid?" he asked curiously.

"We get self-defense... " Kyle answered. "Um. I think I get it next semester. I had to do some remedial stuff to catch up, grade wise." He managed to look just faintly embarrassed by that. "But otherwise, not really. I try to pick up some stuff watching, like, Pride and all, but all I really get to do is beat on the heavy bag. And the good one is dead right now. Lorna killed it again, I think. Maybe Nate. I dunno."

Logan nodded brusquely. "I'm teaching self-defense starting next term. You want to get that remedial stuff done, let me know. Be a good start on your training." he commented. "Beautiful day out." he said idly, sniffing the air. "Somebody's barbequing."

"The remedial regular stuff's all done. I'm back at the grade I'm supposed to be at, if I get through this and the summer without flunking anything." And he was pretty sure if he flunked anything, Forge would find a way to make his life a living hell. "You mean like, remedial self defense? That'd be awesome." He sniffed cautiously. "Someone's grilling steaks." He added happily.

Logan nodded. "Yeah." he said simply. He then sniffed the air again. "Rosemary and sage rub in with the salt." he said, concentrating for a moment. "Memphis barbeque."

Kyle shrugged. "Dude, you win. I can't do that." He could smell the salt, he could smell the steak - and it was making his stomach growl - but everything else was a happy mix of things that smelled like he should be eating them. "I can tell you there's salt, but other than that? Smells like lunch to me."

Logan grinned again at that. "Good thing I put 'em on, then, isn't it?" he laughed. "Get cleaned up if you want some. Got more than enough for the two of us."

Comments

[x-rahne.livejournal.com]

These two should be fun to read. :)

[x-polarisstar.livejournal.com]

I did nothing of the sort. Scott killed the bag. I only maimed the eliptical a little.

(Good stuff, you two.)

[x-wildchild.livejournal.com]

*I* couldn't remember who killed it last time and didn't feel like checking, and so, I decided Kyle didn't remember either, and picked the people that I thought'd killed them in the past. :)

And thanks. ;)

[x-polarisstar.livejournal.com]

I think it's funnier this way anyway. Lorna is just easily tweaked these days. *g*