Yvette and Logan: Mentor and Mentee Reacquaint Themselves - Friday Afternoon

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Logan and Yvette have a little fun putting their skills to the test in the woods then catch up.


Yvette hadn't exactly been stalking Logan, but when she saw him pass beneath the tree house heading deeper into the woods, she grinned and set her book down. Time to see if she could sneak up on him for a change. She slipped out of the treehouse, going from tree to tree with barely a rustle to betray her presence.

Logan was itching for a cigar and a drink but he currently didn't have any money for any of that shit. He also wasn't used to living in the mansion anymore. It felt like there were more students and teachers floatin' around the place than before too. With all the time he'd just spent livin' by himself, all the extra people grated on his nerves too easily. His senses had allowed him to dodge people pretty easily but sometimes the mansion's four walls still closed in. Some time in the woods usually fixed that. He heard some faint rustling as he paused to choose which path to take him deeper into the woods but chalked it up to squirrels.

So far, so good. Yvette wished she had her uniform goggles with her - the glow of her eyes was always a dead giveaway - and settled for narrowing her eyes as much as she could as she flitted through the trees. Then she reached a point where the distance between the tree tops was greater than she could leap quietly, and instead she climbed down the trunk, heading for the bushes. It was slower going, with the muddy, half-frozen ground and dry leaves rattling about her. Still, she'd learned from the best and she had something to prove.

The itch on the back of his neck told him someone or something was watching him. He was inclined to trust that feelin' over not seeing anything around him. It could be nothing but it could be something. Worst case it was some of the goons that'd chased him all over Europe tryin' to get him without alerting anyone else to their presence. Better case it was some inquisitive kid wondering who he was or one of the adults wantin' to have it out without the kids over hearin'. The scrapin' sound of leaves against half frozen ground wasn't natural. He continued to wander down the trail toward the spot he favored with several large rocks good for sittin' and smokin' and just thinkin'.

Oh, he was going to his spot! Yvette grinned briefly as she realised she could surprise him there. She diverted from her path, scuttling on all fours through the undergrowth to reach the rocks ahead of him.

Logan grinned. He had a pretty good idea now of who was followin' him. She'd definitely improved since the last time he'd seen her. Good for her but as good as she now was, that didn't mean he could evade all his senses. A sniff now brought a trace of her scent floating under the usual smells of the woods. She knew where he was goin' and if he had any bets, she'd want to surprise him there. Time to put those skills of hers to the test. He continued down the path until he was in throwing distance. He picked up a small rock and threw it into the clearing before he scaled the nearest tree and worked his way around to come from the opposite direction of the path.

In her hiding place waiting for Logan, Yvette tensed at the sound of the rock, but paused - footsteps didn't sound like that and Logan, even when he wasn't trying, wasn't clumsy enough to trip over something. So he was onto her. She felt a momentary pang of disappointment - she'd really hoped she'd gotten good enough to sneak up on him - but then brightened as she realised that his continued absence meant a game was afoot.

She eased her way back to the path he'd been using, taking care to stay out of sight in case he was waiting in ambush for her. She didn't have his enhanced senses, but she did have good eyesight in dark places, and the dull winter forest was certainly that. Even Logan couldn't help leaving footprints on the muddy path, and after some patient searching, she discovered where he'd left it and gone into the trees.

The direction of Yvette's scent had changed which meant she'd picked up on the game. Good girl. This would make things a whole lot more fun for the both of them. With his skeleton, he couldn't stick to the trees long without breaking too many branches. He came back to ground and wove his way along between the underbrush, trying not to leave many tracks by avoiding damp ground if he could. His eyesight while good in the dark wasn't near as good as hers.

Logan wove a circuitous route toward the other side of the clearing. His plan was to get there first and settle in while Yvette found her way to him. Still meant he needed to lay a pretty damn good cover trail. If he remembered right, he could disappear back into the treetops and come out over some rocks and use those to make his way back to the clearing. He clambered up into the trees again and yup, he'd been right. He should be in the clearing waitin' for her soon then.

She smiled to herself when she found the spot where Logan had first taken to the trees and circled the trunk, looking for his return to earth - he knew she was better in trees than he was, so he wouldn't stay there long. It was hard to find traces, however, which meant he was covering his trail. Yvette paused, frowning in thought, trying to put herself in his mindset. What would he do? Then her eyes literally lit up and she scrambled up the tree like a squirrel, toes and fingers digging into the bark, before she made her way back towards the clearing, from tree-top to tree-top.

He made it back to the clearing and settled onto his favorite rock with his feet stretched out before him crossed at the ankle. Out of habit he reached into his shirt pocket for a cigar but came up empty. He scowled at his empty hand then crossed his arms to wait for Yvette to show up. He could hear the treetops rustlin' louder as part of her progress closer. Guess she'd figured out his plan. Another point for her. He began to catch glimpses of her distinctive coloring through the leaves and smiled as she made her entrance into the clearing.

She dropped out of the tree, landing in a crouch in front of him. In the process of the hunt, her body armour had crept in; plates of hardened red skin protected her face, shadowing her eyes so they glowed brighter. Straightening up, she gave Logan a small curtesy. "So, how am I doing?" she asked, smiling.

Logan's smile widened into a grin when Yvette dropped out of the tree. "Nice way to make an entrance, kid." When he got a good look at her, scaled plating covering any visible skin, he whistled low. "That's new. I'm thinkin' that comes in pretty handy." He gave her a seated bow in return. "You've gotten pretty good. Definitely puttin' everything I taught you to good use. It's good to see ya." He nodded toward one of the nearby rocks. "Grab a seat and tell me what you've been up to."

She did as he suggested, clambering up onto another rock. As she sat, she closed her eyes a moment, taking some deep breaths and letting her skin relax. She still didn't have complete control, but she could relax her skin enough for the plating to go away and for her hair to look almost normal - as long as you didn't touch it, that was. Another trick she'd learned since Genosha. "I have been practicing," she said, with a shy smile. "So I can be the better X-Man."

Logan watched the plating simply melt away with interest. There'd been a number of times over the years where he wished he'd had something more protective than his healing factor 'cause it never stopped him from experiencin' the pain. "You're comin' along just fine. The practice is definitely showin' and I bet you'll be an X-Man sooner rather than later if you keep this up. You been gettin' training from others while I've been gone?"

She nodded. "Some. Lots of work in the Danger Room and with Ms. Frost, for the powers control. And..." She paused, eyes dimming a little. "There was Genosha."

He nodded in approval of what he was hearing until her scent changed abruptly, turning sad and faintly distressed. "Summers filled me in. I'm sorry you had to go through that, kid. It ain't right." Nothing about it had been right. Some twisted fucks had used kids in their idiotic plans and of course all it'd done was cause more pain and sufferin'.

"I don't remember what I did, when I was a mutate," she replied, looking away. "But I know they made me a better fighter. And my powers... I have more control, but when I am fighting... it is like I am not a person any more." Then she glanced back at him with a sad smile. "But you are probably knowing that better than any one."

"Sometimes it ain't worth knowing. More times than not it's a double edged sword that cuts more one way than the other." He held her gaze without flinching. "Yeah, I do and the one way, the best way, I know how to deal with that is to be more human. Love more, enjoy more, throw yourself into everything that makes you a person and you you." He paused and looked wry for a moment. "Within reason, of course. Just don't lose yourself too much in forgettin' the part of you that's not a person. You lose more than you gain if you go that route."

She considered his words for a moment, then her face broke out in a large smile, eyes glowing brightly to match. "That is exactly what I needed, Mr. Logan!" she exclaimed, and, forgetting herself for a moment, launched herself at him for a hug. "I am so glad you came back!"

He rocked back at the unexpected weight of the young woman in his arms but still wrapped her up in a return hug anyway. "You ever need to talk more about it, you know where to find me." He patted her back then pulled back enough to look at her. "It wasn't your fault, Yvette. Remember that. You ain't what they turned you into. You're you and you're a damn good person."

Her eyes blazed brighter, her version of a blush. "And you are the damn good person also, Mr. Logan," she replied. She looked down at where her skin had inadvertently ripped his shirt with the hug. "Oh dear. I hope this is not the favourite shirt," she apologised, letting go and setting herself down again. "I did not think, I am sorry." But she sounded less upset about it than she might have even a few days ago.

"You might find some debate on that around the mansion." He grinned. "But I'm glad you think so." He looked down at the tatters of his shirt, fingering a couple of the rips, and chuckled. "It's alright. I rip 'me enough myself so don't worry 'bout it." Her scent had changed again to one a littler happier and he could also see it reflected in her body language. "So what're you lookin' forward to now that things are gettin' back underway?"

"Well, there are many changes, since you have been gone," she replied, swinging her long-toed feet slightly as she sat on her rock. "I am working with the X-Corps group now, that the Professor started after Genosha. Which meant I changed my university to part time. I have been working on getting the Red X doing more."

He reached for a cigar out of habit then frowned when he came up empty. Oh yeah, he didn't have any. He'd need to fix that soon. "Long as you're doin' what makes you happy that's all that matters." He arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar sounding group. "X-Corps? What do you do in that?"

"Do you remember Mr. Dayspring's Elpis group?" When he nodded, she continued. "Well, the Professor decided after Genosha that it wasn't enough for the X-Men to come in when things had gone very wrong. He wanted to be able to help stop the problems before that. So when Elpis fired Angelo as the scapegoat for Genosha, the Professor hired him as the director of his new group. There are a few of us who work there - Sooraya is working on a project to help mutant girls in Afghanistan, for the example." She grinned briefly. "Not really your sort of thing, I do not think?"

It was interesting Chuck was expanding to add in prevention. Made them more proactive which could help in certain cases, maybe even head off some of the chaos that usually found them in some form or another. He grinned back at her. "Nah, not really. Think I'd end up causin' more trouble than helpin' out. But sounds like you're enjoyin' yourself." She'd definitely grown up since he'd seen her last. "C'mon, let's head back to the mansion and you can tell me more 'bout what you've been up to over something warm."