With a last grimace and curse, Logan managed to finally pull out the pine branch that had run itself through his side. He fell back into the needles and tossed the branch aside, waiting for his healing factor to kick in and seal off the wound.
Lucky for Toad, that branch had only impaled him and not ripped or punctured anything...then he would have really been ticked off.
He looked upwards, into the trees he had just plummeted through, on his downward journey from the Blackbird.
The blast had sucked him out, along with the rest of the jets back, which was now happily strewn around him.Lucky for Toad that he was not under anything either.
Grunting, he got up, and checked his uniform. A large tear along his side let in the autumn twilight cold.... No other damage he could see.
Sit Scott down with a sewing needle and we might even be able to save this one.
He caught the breeze and savored the smells...pine, earth, animals, hikers, burning jet.... turning back north, Logan started to run to his friends...the smell of blood was there too.
He only hoped that he would find someone to help. Before the other inhabitants of the woods did.The grizzly whumphed into the ground as she ambled into view, heading for the jet that had nosily disturbed her from the last of the autumn gathering.
The large brown dog darted back and forth in front of her, snarling, braying, bearing its teeth in a impressive show...she was not concerned about it, she knew her strength, what interested her was the smell of blood that was coming from the prone bodies that lay before her.Robyn screamed at her dog "ACACIA.... come here....” pleading with her dog's sane side she tried to whistle him in, calling him...nothing could break her dogs attention from the large bear bearing down into the clearing.
Acacia was her best friend, her protector, her companion, and she was not about to let a bear hurt him.
Picking up her backpack, she flung it at the grizzly.
It stopped heading for the bodies and dazededly looked into her direction, as if to ponder what insect could try to stop it. Starting to shamble over, it made deep noises from its throat, large claws digging into the earth.It saw her as her dog lunged for its shoulders, roaring it rose and reached with its huge paw to fling the dog from its body to the ground.
Acacia yelped.... Robyn screamed....
"NOOOO” running to her dog’s side, trying to cut the bear from the passengers which it was now trying to reach.
Looking around desperately she picked up a large rock and threw it at the bears face.
It dropped back to the ground and started to turn back to her.
Robyn stood her ground, holding up a sharp branch towards the charging mass of muscle that wanted to destroy her.
The acid burning smell was strong as Logan weaved amongst the trees, finally clearing a small rise to see the Jet lying amongst broken forest below.
Black gray smoke rose steadily out from the back.
His eyes tore away from the destruction to see his four teammates lying in a neat row.
He cocked an eyebrow, as the next sight caught his eye.
A woman and a huge dog were standing down a bear.
The dog attacked it and was flung to the ground for its troubles.
Throwing a rock at the bear’s head as it ambled over to his teammates, she started to run towards Logan, finally stopping to pick up a large branch and hold it off to the bear.
Logan quickly made his way down to her side."Don’t move " a voice, whispered into her ear. She almost dropped the branch as the hand of the voices owner held her steady.
"Don’t move.." her mind echoed.
The hands body followed, moving from her left side to reveal a man in the same type of uniform as the ones she had pulled from the crash.
The bear had slowed, swaggering and ambling rather than charging towards them.
The man moved more forward, stepping directly in front of the bear’s line of sight.
The grizzle stopped and roared in defiance, bearing huge canines.Her heart was in her throat, as Robyn watched man and bear stopping 5 feet from one another.
Sounds stopped, breathing stopped, the bear roared once more.
A huge paw raked across the man's shoulder and chest. He staggered from the force but held straight and continued to face the bear down.
It stood there, whumphing at the man, until bored it turned and headed back to the trees.She was numb inside...adrenalin already draining from her system. Dropping the branch from her white fisted hands she stumbled forward to her dog who was lying still.
Waiting until the bear disappeared, Logan ran to his friends sides...his chest still hurt from the deep cuts the bears claws has torn. Checking pulses and laughing as he found all to be alive and in one piece, he remembered the girl. Turning around he looked at her.
She wore jeans, a white top and black sneakers. Curly brown hair tied into a pony tail with escaping strands, all topped off with a dusty hands reek across her face as she had obviously tried to wipe sweat from her eyes.
It was cold but now he realized that she must of moved all of the x-men by herself, no wonder she had sweated.
Logan heard her pleas as he knelt at Jeans side.
Getting up he walked quietly to her.
"Acacia...please boy...come on...Acacia...please." She cried, tears streaking a dusty face. She sounded foreign.
Logan knelt down beside her and put his hand over the blood-sticky fur. A strong pulse thumped into his fingers.
"He's fine...don’t worry. Just a bit stunned." Logan moved his hand and stroked the fur into the same direction again.
The small whine that came from the dog’s throat helped his reassurance.
Getting to his feet unsteadily the dog gave his owner a small lick on the nose.
Robyn laughed as tears came down her cheeks, Acacia licking them in a frantic doggy dance.
She cradled her dog into her lap and hugged him.
Logan grinned, got up, and walked back to the jet. Searching in the cockpit he found what he was looking for.
Hitting the button sent a strong steady signal to the school, telling all that something had happened, were they where, send help immediately.
Stepping back he looked around at the mess, some of Scott’s blood was on the controls.
That reminded him.Logan blinked his eyes in the light as he left the inside and jumped down off the wing.
Scott’s visor was missing.
He searched the ground, watching the girl from the corner of his sight, something caught his eye.
Huge dog in lap, leaning against the tree, Scott’s visor pocked out her pocket.
She looked up from stroking the dog and saw him looking at her
"Oh...you looking for these." she said tugging them out from her pocket.
He didn’t say anything but the cock of the eyebrow as he took them from her outstretched hand.
"Here you go Cycke", he said softly, clipping the red visor back in place.
The sun was beginning to set, giving the crash site a surreal feel. Logan sat down next to the girl and watched over his friends, hoping that help would arrive soon.
He felt a whisper of air against his head.
Robyn’s face dropped her smile when Logan turned and looked at her.
Weakly she held out the pine needle, "It was in your hair” she smiled.
"Ah.....thanks” plucking the needle from her hand he twirled it in-between his fingers.
"There’s a lot more there." she added helpfully.
Logan burst out laughing..."I’m pretty sure there is darlin'"
She grinned back "I’m Robyn." She stuck out her hand.
"Logan," he shook the offered hand and looked at the now sleeping dog, his head resting in her lap, "That’s a brave dog....like its owner. What’s his name?"
She blushed slightly "Acacia."
Logan smiled at that "You blush nicely, nothing to be ashamed of “ he added quickly as the blush deepened "Not many people would face down a bear like that."
Robyn kept silent, modesty and not knowing what else to say.
Logan looked back at his friends.
"They your friends?" Robyn finally asked.
"Yes".... Logan answered after awhile..."more like family." He flicked the pine needle away and shifted his weight to face her more directly
"You have an interesting accent...where you from? Australia?"
She burst out laughing, "Not when I last checked." She laughed and grinned, "I’m from South Africa."
"Oh" he said like everything now made sense.
She smiled.It was now getting dark and cold quickly. Working together they moved the X-Men closer and spread thermal blankets that they had found in the Blackbird, over them.
Still unconscious, except for Gambit who floated in and out.
It had only been 2 hours since the crash.
"They've slipped from unconsciousness into healing sleep” Robyn commented, dropping back down under the pine as Logan finished checking on them.
Acacia patrolled the area until she called him back.
"Jean would have slapped a band-aid on them and they would all been fine by now...." Logan muttered.
"Jeans...?" Robyn started
"The one with the red hair." Logan finished.
She rearranged her dog’s ears and sighed..."I have to ask...when I took the glasses of your friend."
"Red light came out” Logan continued for her, cutting her off before she could say more "Scott’s a mutant, so is Jean, Storm, Gambit” He looked at her to gage her reaction "So am I” he said in a almost blasé way.
"Figures." She smiled "I don’t think it’s an everyday thing for guys to shoot out disco shows through their eyes."
Logan chuckled, "You should meet some of the others"
"Can I ask why you’re a mutant?" She asked gently
He hadn’t expected that for some reason.
Logan was quite for a while..."I heal real fast."
"Explains how come you’re not lying there with your friends."
He didn’t know why he was talking so openly with Robyn but it was not like he had anything else to do...besides, he kind of like talking to her, she looked good too.
'Stop it Logan' he mentally rebuked himself...'don’t go there'"I also have really good sense's,” he added
"Cool” she smiled
Logan was quite for a while, Robyn started to speak "I...."
He carried on, interrupting her again, "And I have these."
He moved his hand a little away from her and extended his claws. The sharp "SKINT" filled the night air, startling both human and dog.
Acacia raised his head, saw nothing interesting and fell back asleep, Robyn blinked wide-eyed as the claws slid back in.
"Explains why the bear left so quickly,” she said quietly as Logan's dark eyes locked on her.
He stared at her and started to laugh, she joined in.
Acacia wagged his tail in his sleep.
As it got darker they talked, sharing stories, Logan spoke about the others, and she spoke about her life in America.
"So what’s an Acacia?" Logan asked as the dog put a large paw on his knee and spread his dewclaw into his uniform. He gently removed the claw and stroked the paw.
"Its a thorn tree from my country. They can survive almost anything you know...I thought it was a good name, his kind being bred to hunt lions once." she answered distantly, rubbing her exposed arm.
He watched as Robyn’s skin goose fleshed.
"You want to come closer." He reached a arm towards her, and she visibly shrieked away "Your cold...body heat...closer together..."
"Oh." she said weakly
"Okay” she shuffled closer as he put an arm around her pulling her closer, feeling her stiffen.
"What about you. Your uniform?" She moved her head to peer down at the torn leather.
"I’m fine...used to the cold” he saw her looking at the tears and quickly used his free hand to pull the material back together as best he could.
Finally she relaxed and sighed as his body warmth started to warm her up, she put an arm around his waist and snuggled her head into the crook of his arm.
Every now and then Logan felt a small tremor from the cold run across her body. ...."I’m still not used to your weather” she said sleepily, her head falling heavier onto his chest, other arm now resting across his abdomen... "I thought I would be by now"
Her hand around his waist played with the tears on his side, pulling the material closer together, as she was drifted away.
Acacia moved closer.The slow rhythm of her breath told Logan that she was asleep. Holding her body against his propped against a pine tree with a large dog now resting its head almost on top of his crotch...well at least Scott is unconscious.
A while later Logan watched as Xavier’s help arrived. After Beast assuring Logan that all was fine with everyone, he sat down with the dog and kept vigil over his sleeping friends.
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