“Did you know about it?” She asked, standing with her legs parted as wide as her shoulders, her hands crossed over her chest. She was angry. Angry as hell, but least she could do was to give him a chance to explain.
“Know about what?” Logan asked, squinting his eyes against the bright beams of sunlight.
“About bonding.” Confused frown settled over Logan’s features.
“Bonding?”
“I talked with Wolverine. Apparently you two will ‘bond’ completely if we allow it to happen.”
“Bullshit. I have never heard of anything like that happening,” Logan grunted.
“Wolverine said you would become one creature. That it was something that was supposed to happen.”
“And you believed it?” Logan asked.
“It may be willing to protect you, but you can’t trust a thing that comes out of its mouth! It’s a wolf! The bonding will most likely mean that eventually it’ll be strong enough to take over my body for good!”
“Why would it lie about something like that?” Marie asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe to keep us from pumping me full of cure before the full moon?” Logan grunted bitterly.
”This little experiment is over. As soon as wolf retreats I’ll start the treatment again…” He muttered.
“We should get going. We’re too close to that village. Last night brother Jeremiah kept Wolverine occupied, but I don’t think there’s enough of him left anymore… It’s already trying to suggest we should take a room from the tavern down there and spend a night…” Horses were still reluctant to let Logan close, but he gave them no option. Mule was calmer, didn’t even flinch when Logan walked to it and started loading their belongings to its back.
“It’ll be quite crowded from now on. Two more villages after this one before we reach the next longer stretch of open road. We’ll have to hurry. We’ll have to make it before the sunset. Can’t have Wolverine coming out around other people…”
“Can’t we just turn back and go to Claude’s place?” Marie asked.
“I wish it were that simple… Claude is… I can’t count on him anymore. He may not hurt us, or me by himself, but it’s his duty to alert hunters after me if I show my face around there ever again. We can’t go back there.”
“What are we going to do, then?”
“Hunt. We will hunt.”
“Stop that or I’ll swear I’ll smack some sense to that small brain of yours!” Logan growled. His horse kept bucking and whinnying, trying to throw him off from the saddle. It didn’t like a bit being straddled with potentially dangerous predator, and made its opinion very clear. Both horse and the rider were noisy and sweating profusely, and Marie couldn’t help wondering how they were going to get through village unnoticed. Logan’s yellow eyes and two sharp canines jutting from his upper jaw wouldn’t help much in the matter.
“This won’t work,” she finally stated the obvious when Logan’s horse decided to revert to desperate measures. It reached to the side and bit Logan. Hard. Hard enough to sunk its blunt teeth through cloth of his trousers and calf muscle, drawing blood. Logan grunted, more annoyed than worried and gave up, lowering himself from the saddle and handing Marie reigns of his mount. Horse threw him a nervous glance and hid behind one Marie was riding.
“We’ll have to split. I’ll go round villages by foot, you can ride through them. We’ll meet again later,” he said, inspecting already healing wound on his leg.
“Do we have enough time?” Marie asked worried. Logan glanced quickly upwards to the sky where sun was traveling slowly, but steadily.
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to find out…”
She rode slowly, leading the mule and Logan’s horse, keeping an eye on her surroundings, but her mind was few kilometers away southwards, on Logan. She had passed the first village on their route with no problems, but she had no way of knowing if Logan had pulled it through. She could only hope, and imagine him running somewhere in the woods, racing against the sun and the moon, battling the wolf’s call. She couldn’t even begun to understand the true nature of it, how it affected him, but she had seen glimpses of it. Small slipups when Logan wasn’t alert enough, and wolf shone through stronger, making him snarl and growl under his breath, and his muscles twitch. How on earth had she been so naïve to think something good could come out of its presence? Had its unique, protective streak towards her made her forgot its treacherous mindset? Forgot how hard it had been to deal with her father when he was under the influence of the full moon, beast in him in turn begging, and in turn threatening, trying to lure her to remove the chains so it could get free. Had she really been willing to give in, and let Wolverine take over Logan?
“But it sounded so good…” To have the best from both worlds.
Second village came in to her view. Small, quiet place, just five houses cooped up together. She was about to ride closer, when Logan’s voice calling her name stopped her.
“Marie…” He stumbled to the path from the woods, out of breath; sweat pouring from him in sheets. He had left his jacket and weapons with her, and simple white shirt he wore clung to his body almost like a second skin.
“What?” She asked. Logan leaned forward, placing his palms over his knees, trying to steady his breathing.
“I can’t make it. It’s already past noon… I can’t run any faster…”
“What are we going to do now?” Marie asked. Logan grimaced.
“That’s not all… As soon as Wolverine emerges, it’ll find out this will be its last chance for freedom… It’s just a guess, but it may not be very safe company for you…”
“Oh, Goddess…”
“Your Goddess won’t help you now. But there must be a blacksmith in at least one of these villages. Go and get iron chain…”
She had taken a risk, and instead of finding a blacksmith she had ridden back to the place where brother Jeremiah had had Wolverine captured. She had left Logan’s horse and the mule back, and they were waiting her with Logan, but she rather wasted few hours than took the chance that the blacksmith got curious and started asking wrong questions, like what a lady was going to do with shackles. There were only few moments left before sun would completely disappear below horizon when she finally returned to Logan who was pacing nervously back and forth.
“What took you so long?” He spat when she landed from the saddle and threw the shackles to his feet. His eyes narrowed when he realized he knew those shackles quite intimately.
“You went back there?” He hissed. Marie nodded.
“Wasn’t a pretty sight. Wolverine… It really hated brother Jeremiah…” She whispered, closing her eyes against the bout of nausea that tried to take over her once again. She heard metal clinking.
“I need your help with these…” Logan grunted. She opened her eyes. He already had slipped the collar on, and was wrapping the chain attached to it around thick fir. She had brought rest of brother Jeremiah’s equipments along as well, and from his bag Logan had found an iron manacles meant for hands and feet, and a cruel looking device that Marie could only keep guessing what it was for.
“Put these on.” Logan had chained his feet, and gave her manacles meant for his hands, extending his hands with his wrists together.
“What’s this for?” Marie asked, showing him the device she had been wondering.
“A muzzle. If it gets noisy, put it on. But watch your fingers…”
They watched the setting sun together, only sounds soft clinking of the chain and Logan’s ragged breathing.
“Marie… Just remember… I love you. Okay?” He squeaked when small trickle of blood escaped from his nose. She could hear something tearing inside of him. Wolverine was coming.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000