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Lynette was tired, but after two or three showers, and a nap, it was time to get up and function. With a book in hand, the girl sat outside of the manse, keeping to herself and resting by the side of the beautiful lake that was a marker of the school's rear grounds. Every now and then, her dark eyes would glance up and focus on the cabin across the way. She would ignore it, now and then, before looking up again, and again. Finally, with a sigh, the girl stands and then walks around the body of water at a slow pace.
Finally, she finds herself at the front door of the cabin, and there, she stares. Nerves kicking in, teeth nibbling against her lower lip, she shakes her head and mutters something to herself. With a small fist, she then knocks three times on the barrier and waits.
*
Logan had been resting a bit, taking a small nap in the early evening, because he planned to go on a late night hunting trip of his own. When he hears the knock, though, he pushes up and goes to the door. He's clad in his usual flannel and jeans, a cowboy hat set aside for the moment as he goes over to the door and opens it, nostrils flaring. Not a familiar scent.
"Who the hell are you?" he says. Not exactly the most friendly of dispositions, but he's had a lot of strangers show up at his house of late.
*
Lynette simply stares for a moment. Those obsidian orbs round and not entirely prepared for what she sees before her, or the heat it forces to the tops of her cheeks. "Um, L-lynette. M'Lynette. Y'Logan, right?" She stammers, now gripping her book against her chest as if it were some type of armor against the gruff that was the Wolverine.
"I, ah, I go to de school ova dere. N'well," she clears her throat and swallows hard. "I-I wanted t'talk wit y'bout y'boy, Akihiro?"
*
Logan grunts, "Oh. A student. Sorry, kid, didn't mean ta spook ya, just…not used to gettin' a lot of visitors,' he says. Not to mention some of the ones lately have either wanted to crash at his place or ended up half-crazed from…well, there's no point in getting into that.
"What ya wanna talk about him for?" he says, not exactly bleeding warmth when the subject of his son comes up."
*
"S'ok. Y'livin' out here f'a reason m'guessin'." She shrugs softly, still clinging to that book. She lingers by the door, however, not stepping forward or invading his space any further. "M'sorry f'intrudin', too. I jus'…I dunno. I don' t'ink he's doin' well, s'all. I don' know 'bout y', or 'm, or…well, 'nyt'ing. Jus', maybe he needs a word fr'm 'is daddy?" She pauses, and then says with a bit more spine. "De boy needs s'm help."
*
Logan snorts, "Come on in, don't be lettin' the breeze in," he says. He goes to his fridge and opens it up, pulling out a beer, "Oh, he needs help, huh? Is that right? I gotta be honest, the kinda help I feel like givin' him involves beatin' the livin' tar out of the little son of a…well, I won't say son of a bitch, cause his Mama was anythin' but. Still, he fucked up straight. More than fucked up - he betrayed us," he says. "That kinda thing ain't the sort I'm usually like to forgive, son or no son."
*
Lynette offers a soft 't'anks' when invited inside. Closing the door behind herself, she takes note of the building and what it holds. She smiles, adoringly, at all the little touches. Then, she finds the fireplace, and that is where she decides to plop. Her massive hair bounces for a moment, the kinks resting, and she sets her book aside to peel off the baggy garment that was her second hand, sweater jacket. "S'nice. Y'place. M'jealous." She murmurs and then watches as Logan moves about.
"M'sorry. I don' undastand. Betrayed us?" Knees bent, she hugs around her legs in a casual, loose grip. "I don' know much 'bout 'm. I' be honest 'bout dat. He jus' got a rage to'm. I undastand it, dough. De world bein' like it is. I jus' t'ought y'could help. If y'don' wanna, well, y'got y'reasons. I c'n' judge nobody."
*
Logan lights a cheroot, "You want anythin'? I ain't got nothin' but beer an' water, but yer welcome to either, I ain't like to tell," he says. "As fer Aki…well, if you know about me, you know about these." he says, popping his claws for a moment with a SNIKT and then drawing them back again.
"Folks that put 'em in me kidnapped me, tortured me, used me as an experiment. Nearly killed me. Those folks? Aki signed up with 'em. Knowin' what they did, even after they tried to do the same to him and me and the X-men rescued him. He went back, on his own, and joined up. So he could get these, too. People begged for him to be spared from torture by these people an' he spit on all that so he could go get sharper toys," he says.
*
"Water'd be nice. T'anks, Logan." Once offered, she'll take the drink and nurse from it now and then. When the claws come out, she jumps. "Don' t'ink I eva get use t'dat." Her eyes linger, however, fixated on the weapons as they slide back up, and his wounds seemlessly close after the fact. "D-dat y'powers?" She inquires before another chew to the side of her lower lip. "Sorry. I ain' gonna pry."
Watching the man's face, she listens to the information he provides. Her face twists up, brows dipping low, her displeasure apparent. "I keep…hearin' t'ings like dis. M'not sure what t't'ink. He seems t'wan' help, but is dat a lie?"
*
Logan nods, "Yeah, I heal real good. An' I smell real good. Shit like that," he says, in response to his powers. He pours a glass of water and brings it over, handing it down to the girl in front of the fireplace as he pulls up his chair.
"An' I dunno. I can't trust him no more. I heard he's back, tryin' to plead his case. I think…if he wants to be forgiven, he's gonna have to earn it, not just ask for it. I think if he wants to prove he's learned from his mistakes, he's gotta show that he's a better man. I ain't seen evidence o' that. I dunno if anyone has yet. Just a lotta words," he shrugs.
*
"Have y'told'm dat? Makes sense, jus', y't'ink he'd listen?" Another sip of water, she looks off and into the flames as they lick about and twist into the air. "He told me 'bout a man dat called 'm a freak, so he punched'm. Talked to de guy, n'he told me dat Akihiro told'm t'punch'm first, jus' t'smirk n'watch as he healed up. I asked 'm 'bout it. D'only change was he told me he didn' smirk."
Another sip, she looks back up to Logan. "I told'm dat t'ings were hard 'nough f'us, n'dat he didn' need t'add to it so…willin'ly. He's proud. T'ink, maybe, lil insecure. N'scared."
*
Logan drags on his cigar, blowing smoke toward the ceiling and considering, "I won't pretend he ain't had it hard. Shit did not go his way - I never even knew he was alive until he showed up here. I thought he died with his mama," he says.
"Seems like somethin' in him's just wired wrong. Like he just wants to be hated, like he…can't resist a fight. I been there, to some degree, but not the same. I picked my share o' fights but, even at my worst, I tried to make sure they were good fights, at least. I ain't sure Aki much cares."
*
"I don' know how families work, t'be honest. Mine was…odd. N'den dey all died." Stalling, her jaw tenses at that comment before she looks at her glass and brushes across it with the pads of her thumbs. "Jus' if y'undastand, even a lil, maybe lettin' 'm know would help. Y'don' gotta, dough. N', I get dat. I jus' dunno what t'do, neither." Then, she pauses, and looks up toward Logan, as if something had dawned on her. "S'lady told me y'c'n' save everyone. Is-is dis one a dos times?"
*
Logan considers and sighs. Maybe he was abdicating responsibility to Aki. He'd been avoiding the kid, in truth, because he didn't trust himself not to do something violent and permanent to him. "I ain't sayin' he can't be helped. I just ain't sure I'm the one to do it. The things he did…if he an' I get into it, it's gonna get rough an' it might get bloody. An' with our powers, if things get bloody, they gonna get real damn bloody," he says.
"Seems to me him makin' a friend like you, goin' out o' yer way for him…that's a good start, though," he says. "Which ain't to say he's yer responsibility either. But it speaks well o' the kind o' person you are to go out on a limib for 'im."
*
The girl frowns now, those dark eyes turning away as they had before. They don't settle on anything, though, and more so skip about, trying to find a focus. "I don' know if I'd be called 'friend'. Boy confuses me, n'I feel like he needs a good slap upside de head. If y'fraid, y'c'n have s'mbody be dere wit y'when y'talk wit'm." A beat, "I ain' de one t'help like dat, neither. M'screwed up jus' like de rest of us. T'ink he's talkin' wit de Professor, so…maybe dat'll work." Eyes up, she offers Logan a warm, slow smile. "T'anks. I jus' like helpin' where I c'n. I don' even know all 'bout de 'Weapon X' stuff. S'bit ova m'head, but…s'upsettin'. M'sorry dat happened t'y, Logan. I, ah…know 'bit 'bout what it's like t'be sacrificed."
*
Logan nods and takes a sip of his beer, "I got a responsibility to the boy, I can't deny that. Maybe I can do more. I dunno. I'll have to think on it," he says. "An' no reason you should've known about any of it. But he knew. He knew an' he did it anyway," he sighs.
"I'm sorry you had somethin' like that happen to you, too, kid. It's a cold ol' world. M'glad Chuck's built at least a little spot o' warmth where folks can go and try and figure things out."
*
"Hey, y'got de poppy t'ings. N'de healin'." She points out, her hand giving a flex as if she could cause blades to pop out, too. She doesn't, of course. Grinning, she lets the 'pros' fade before silencing herself with more water. Draining the cup, she wiggles her toes within her scuffed boots before moving to stand. "Well, t'ink I should get back t'readin' n' outta y'hair b'fore dis gets awkward n'I keep blushin'. So! T'anks f'talkin' wit me, Logan. N'f de water."
Hand out, she offers him back the now empty glass, and retains the smile she had offered him only moments ago. "Hey, don' be sorry, neither. S'dark s'mtimes. But, t'ing 'bout nightmares is…y'gotta wake up s'mtime, non?"
*
Logan takes the glass, taking it over to the sink, "It was nice to meetcha, kid. Don't be a stranger. And I'll think about what ya said, y'know. In the meantime, take care o' yerself and watch yer back. Don't get yerself dragged into any mess if you can help it," he says. He feels like he should be like 'stay in school' or 'say no to drugs' or some shit, but he doesn't really believe any of that stuff so he just kind of stands awkwardly.
*
"Uh…yeah! Yeah. Y'too, Logan." Rubbing at the nape of her neck, she causes some curls to bounce before muttering to herself in French and exiting the cabin. Then, she returns, snatching up her left behind sweater-jacket. "Sorry. F'got dis. Ok. Bye." Then she's out again, and quickly takes herself to the other side of the lake.
*