The snow storm faded out after the third day, when they'd punched their way out of the build up around the shelter the entire world was white. Not the white of christmas cards but artic white, even the air was silent, no birds were singing. The cold air sucked the moisture straight out of their lungs, leaving them gasping for breath.
They had priorities, the fire being the first, in a few moments they had a huge blaze going, Logan had dragged a fallen pine into the shelter and was burning one end. The still green branches on the other end were steaming as the moisture was driven off by the heat of it's burning end. Food was next, grabbing the pot Logan shoved a decent handful of pure ice inside it, rummaging through their supplies he pulled out a jar of bear fat, emptying half into the pot with the now rapidly melting ice. Bear meat, deer meat, juniper berries, grass seeds, reed root, blackberries, rosehips went in as well. The mess looked awful to Marie's eyes but she'd grown to trust Logan's cooking.
She was over in the strong light that was being reflected from the surfaces all around her, her hands were wrapped up in the fur pelts when a yellow plastic bottle hit her in the thigh. Looking down at it she saw the writing on it, "Sunscreen? Logan ah don't know if ya've noticed sugar but it's a bit cold for sun bathin'." Looking up from the fire he smiled his 'your being a smartass' smile and answered her comment.
"If you do a little bit of diggin in that empty space you call a brain you'll understand why." With that he got up, leaving her to work out why he'd given her it.
Searching through his memories she finally hit on it, a small man, dark skinned and smiling. He was using something that looked like bear fat mixed with something else, the voice that accompanied it was old and distinct. "Grandfather sun, his power is felt even here in the great cold. The Sea Mother won't let him into her land so she sends it back up to him. The People still feel his touch and it burns even though it's cold enough to keep Shako in his bed, you have pale skin now but it will brown, turn to the colour of liver and you'll be able to walk naked under Grandfather's gaze little Kavic."
The memory was old, one that told her more than she wanted to know, the images had been held tightly to, they were one of the caches in her mind filled with information. He hadn't stayed long there, a few weeks at the most but he'd been accepted there, an equal, a man with a strong 'medicine' that made him move on.
There was so much more to him than she'd ever realised, looking at his back she picked up the sunscreen and plastered what skin was on show. When they were more comfortable and settled she'd go through the stuff he'd put in her mind. She didn't feel that different, as if his personality was mingling with her own subconscious quite easily, it wasn't an invading presence, he supported her. Shoring up the places where she was weak, giving her depth where she was empty, filling her worth with the truth of herself. It felt good to have him inside her, a piece of him that no one could remove, not even her. Her hands dropped the plastic bottle; losing themselves in her next task, making some decent warm clothing from the hides they had. Looking about for a decent knife her eyes saw it in Logans hand, the blade being used to cut the meat for food into thin strips so it cooked faster. Why he didnt use the ones he already had she didn't know....the thought stopped dead and she looked at her own heavy arms. Could she?
The sound of skin ripping made him turn from his task, Marie was kneeling on a fur, it's skin side facing her and her hand was tracing a pattern over the surface. Looking closer he saw her knuckle deep in the fur and he wondered what she was doing, until his mind reminded him what 'extras' she'd picked up from his touches. "Marie?" She stopped her work and looked up smiling at him, an inch of claw poking out of her hand. The tip sharp and her skin red but not bloody, pulling the fur up she showed him the perfect cut in the hide. "Looks like ah'll never be short of a knife from now on sugar." She dropped the fur back down and began to cut again, "Ah never said thank you for these Logan, so...thanks!"
He had to sit there for a minute as the words went in, she was *thanking* him for giving her another mutation, one that would mark her as an even more extreme mutant than she already was. Watching her cut the hide with the bone blade, the delicate twist and curve of her wrist as she shifted over the fur. Only when she'd finished cutting did she wince when the blade went back in, looking up to see his eyes watching her, the thin smile on her lips meeting the warmth in her gaze. "That'll take some gettin used to but ah'll manage." At that moment he felt a surge of pride go through him she wasn't just surviving anymore, she was *living*. A new sense of balance entered his mind as Wolverine purred around in his subconscious, he had his mate and she was armed just like him. Now all he had to do was train her how to use them, looking out on the snowy wilderness he knew how many animals would've been taken by surprise by the savagery of it. Meat is meat and they needed every piece they could get, as soon as those wraps were done they'd be heading out to get it. Natures deep freeze wouldn't stay clear forever and wolves would be out there too filling bellies. Smling he stirred the pot as he heard the sound of sinew being pulled through fur, it may not be home for everyone but it was theirs.
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Below the bluff was the elk, it's carcass was huge, the rump stiff and frozen sticking out of a drift. It had wandered over the edge in the blizzard, a broken neck and now it was laying there to be collected. They were at least ten miles out from the shelter but still on Logan's own turf, climbing down the snow filled bluff wasn't easy in her new furs but she definitely felt the benefit of their warmth. Logan was dressed in his shirts and jacket, the colour standing out against the pale snow. Digging out the carcass took effort, using the elk's own weight against it by digging underneath the animal letting it slide free toward them.
The smell was something Marie would have to get used to, the stink of the hide and the stomach were things that she didn't enjoy and her face spoke for her. "You'll get used to the smell Marie, death never smells good, once we clean her out we'll get what meat we can from her. Leave something for the wolves and foxes." He turned her over, blade snapping free when he paused. His eyes looking at the carcass closely, when he lifted his head back up his face was screwed up and his eyes were flashing dangerously. Moving over Marie noticed the thing that had made Logan's mood shift so quickly, the elk hadn't fallen she been shot. The entire left shoulder had been shot away, the bullet had made a mess of her shoulder and chest. Logan pulled her over to him, his hands digging in painfully to her upper arm, breathing through his teeth he motioned toward the carcass. "Get her skinned and jointed, we'll bury her in the drift to keep fresh but we're goin huntin'. I *want* to know who's up here, this was recent." Marie could see him struggling to keep Wolverine down, from leaving her there and just going after the interloper on his land.
Dropping to the carcass she slid her claws free on her left hand while she held the frozen body up, the first slice was the worst as the frozen guts slid out of the cut. Moving them aside she began her job in earnest breathing through her mouth to avoid the smell. Logan was guarding her, his hands opening and closing as she worked. She did think about telling him to help her but Wolverine was in control now and she knew better than to annoy him any further. All she had to do was follow orders, trust the man behind the animal and she'd get through this. SHe only hoped the man who'd killed the elk had left already. If not she didn't know what she'd do but she knew the answer in her own mind, Wolverine would kill him, she just hoped it didn't come to that.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Marie gets to play with her new 'additions' and Logan makes some plans about going 'home'.