Post by forge on Nov 5, 2006 0:06:18 GMT -5
(Time Stamp: Right before the meeting, right after Blurt showed up)
Forge mentally went over the little note left for him by Logan at least a hundred times by the time he hobbled out into the woods. The bastard didn't even have the courage to show his face and tell him man to man why he was breaking Rayen's heart, instead choosing to write a letter, spewing the nonsense about the 'all consuming draw' of hunting down Sabertooth. It was probably the most ridiculous macho bullshit the Cheyenne had ever heard.
Not to mention it completely left the X-men in a tight spot. Just when Forge was glad the man stepped up and took some of the burden from him, he goes and leaves! At least Storm was back in good spirits, and would likely help him out. It wasn't a question of leadership, but rather of organization. The X-Men were a group of people on the same page… they didn't need a leader, just an event planner. Fortunately Logan had set up Bishop and Sunfire as trainers, and that was amazingly good.
Forge had researched Logan's past as far as it went, including notes from Xavier himself. It made sense that Logan would leave at any clue of his mysterious origins, particularly if he felt draw to a live person… but to leave like this? It was… it was… exactly what Forge thought he'd do. Pissed him off though. Oh yeah, pissed him off bad. If Logan ever met Forge again, he'd be in for a real surprise, that was for sure.
Now Forge was out toward the place Rayen had set up, to be away from the school – to be safely outside of the gigantic pull of energy that was the generator of the place.
When he made it to the clearing, she was there, sitting on a fallen log. He approached cautiously.
"Rayen?"
Wonderful. Here came big brother to tell her how right he was.
He hadn’t come to see her since she zapped him, and Rayen couldn’t blame him a bit. She was dangerous, and she’d known that before she came. She just hadn’t expected things to be this way. Still, after all these years, she apparently had no idea how to handle her own powers. Every time she thought she had it under control, someone almost died.
She probably wouldn’t have been surprised about Logan leaving if he hadn’t promised her the day before that he wasn’t going anywhere. Rayen had taken it to heart that she had someone who was willing to figure out the mess her life had become. And that was her first mistake. After the accident back home, she’d run away to the reservation. She’d done it on her own. Mohanes gave her guidestones on the way, but all the work and all the resolution had come from herself. So what gave her the grand idea to rely on Wolverine? Where had she gone wrong? Where was all her strength?
Lifting her eyes as Forge spoke, she barely had the heart to smirk. Putting her cigarette out under her foot, she sighed out a breath full of smoke.
“Hey
He took a few steps into the clearing, careful on the cybernetic limb. It made no noise as it moved, but it certainly looked like a blatant Terminator-esque limb. He knelt down, demonstrating a certain degree of proficiency with it, even though he kept both arms out until he was settled to balance himself.
"You know, you really shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you, and it's just plain yuck." He said with a smile. He transitioned into an Indian style sitting position, and looked up at her. "It's dumb of me to ask if you're okay, even if it's arbitrary. So instead I'll ask if there's anything I can do to help?"
There was no need for an 'I told you so' – especially considering how absolutely shitty Rayen's month has been. He couldn't really imagine one so terrible, being that she got possessed, killed her brother, and got dumped all in the same two week span. It hurt him badly to know how she must be suffering, and no little amount of it showed on his face.
Her jaw set. She wasn’t angry, but she wasn’t about to sob all over his shoulder either. She had managed to live this long without him around, right?
“Nah. I’m alright.” Rayen knew that didn’t sound convincing, but she didn’t really have the energy to fake it. Rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, she looked sidelong at him.
“Actually, yeah. I need to get Lorna out. I need your help with that. I’m willing to take what risks I have to.”
What is that supposed to mean?
It means it’s you or me.
I know you’re upset over Logan but please, don’t risk both our lives over it.
You don’t have a life anymore, Lorna. Remember?
Now why was it that Forge thought she was holding back an awful lot when she said she was alright? He wasn't about to press it, though. Better to let her keep her mind on tasking, it's what kept him going when it felt like the world was going to shit out on him. Believe it or not, that happened quite often. He wasn't exactly what one would consider "successful" in the love department either.
He also wasn't about to risk her life to get Lorna out. Well, at least not to a great degree… any such experimentation involving electromagnetic mind energy was likely to be a risk… but being that her life had just fallen to pieces, he could imagine her margin of 'reasonable risk' and his were different.
"Yeah. We'll get her out, don't worry. I've been giving some thought as to how to contain her, give her a virtual home until we build her a body or something. Got the idea from Star Trek, actually. Okay so a lot of my ideas are from Star Trek."
Rayen laughed softly. "As long as it worked..."
She rubbed her hands over her face to hide the wretched look there, her eyes shutting tight for a moment.
"How's everyone else. The training starting up okay?"
Running her finger through her hair, she sighed.
"Well," Forge replied, picking up a stick on the ground and toying with the dirt. "We have it all lined up. It officially starts tommorow. Going to have to change some stuff around though... I think we're going to need a meeting with everyone in the morning."
He looked up at her, unsure if Logan had found the right time to invite her to join.
"So you know you're a trainee, right? As far as I'm concerned you can start training with us tommorow. If you want, we can set something up out here for you... though I think as long as you and Lorna agree not to try and use your powers at the same time, you'll be alright."
Rayen shrugged.
"I really don't know how to test things out without hurting someone. I haven't tried yet..." she was going to be waiting until morning. Logan and she had planned to.
Her bottom lip sucked behind her teeth and she frowned hatefully at the ground for a long time.
"I think the X-Men thing is just going to have to wait for a while Bandy. I don't know where my head's at."
Or if I'll be alive to become one.
Rayen, don't talk like that.
So help me Lorna if you don't shut up I'll put a gun to my head. KNOCK IT OFF.
Forge nodded. He could definately understand that, and gave her a smile just for good measure. "Well sure, whenever, but you're still officially a trainee. I can think of several ways for you to test your abilities out here - away from any potential danger. And I can shield myself from any accidental surges of your power."
He went to stand, and stumbled a bit. He straightened himself again, and brushed his jeans off. He smiled at her, truly, and nodded. "Hey stand up for a minute."
She did, watching with interest as he stumbled. Looking him over, she nodded without a smile as she walked over to him. "You're looking good. Seems like you're getting around okay on it too."
He looked down at the leg. "Yeah, it works, that's for sure. Should've seen me throw myself over the gate with it... must've looked like a long jumper. Until the end, when I hit the gravel. Then I must've looked like a retard."
He chuckled, and quickly wrapped her up into a hug. He squeezed her tight, and didn't let her go when he added: "Rayen... I know this is probably the worst month you've ever had, and that's saying something. I just don't want you to turn this inside, and blame yourself for any of it, because it's not your fault at all. Just really shitty luck."
Luck.
The idea struck him, and he almost laughed, but decided not too. Of course this was bad luck, and how else to fight it but with good luck? He made a few mental notes for the upcoming experiments on getting Lorna the flock outta Dodge.
At first Rayen tensed, stubbornly refusing to relax into her brother's embrace. And something about it reminded her of Logan- which made her breath catch in her throat. That's when the tears came, faster than she could catch them and take them back.
"God, Bandy... he promised me last night he wasn't going anywhere..." She didn't sound as hurt as she was, but it was clear in her tone she was still holding back. Still, some emotion was better than none.
"You were right... I was such an idiot. I just.. wanted to give him a chance.." that's when the hurt rang in her words, and she sucked in a breath, letting out a sharp sob as she fought against truly letting go and crying.
Forge couldn't help but feel it right along with her, the sibling tether pulling at his heart as easily as any empathy he'd have toward another person's suffering. As she sobbed he held her tight, tears moistening his cheeks, and he stroked her hair. He offered her words soothing words, not suggesting for a minute that she was wrong about Logan, but not rubbing in that she was right. Just letting her know that he knew, and that she wasn't wrong to try and trust someone.
"You're not an idiot, sis, you're not. I believed him too." And he did. In fact, he still wasn't ruling out some sort of backed up programming from the annals of the man's extensive history. He'd grown to trust Logan, to see him as a leader, and this was just... well, it made sense, but it didn't.
He held her until she couldn't sob anymore. His sister. He'd fix her, but he couldn't tell her that... No, Logan probably ruined that for him. Offering her words of support would probably only bring that memory back to her, remind her of the last person who'd promised he'd always be there.
Forge mentally went over the little note left for him by Logan at least a hundred times by the time he hobbled out into the woods. The bastard didn't even have the courage to show his face and tell him man to man why he was breaking Rayen's heart, instead choosing to write a letter, spewing the nonsense about the 'all consuming draw' of hunting down Sabertooth. It was probably the most ridiculous macho bullshit the Cheyenne had ever heard.
Not to mention it completely left the X-men in a tight spot. Just when Forge was glad the man stepped up and took some of the burden from him, he goes and leaves! At least Storm was back in good spirits, and would likely help him out. It wasn't a question of leadership, but rather of organization. The X-Men were a group of people on the same page… they didn't need a leader, just an event planner. Fortunately Logan had set up Bishop and Sunfire as trainers, and that was amazingly good.
Forge had researched Logan's past as far as it went, including notes from Xavier himself. It made sense that Logan would leave at any clue of his mysterious origins, particularly if he felt draw to a live person… but to leave like this? It was… it was… exactly what Forge thought he'd do. Pissed him off though. Oh yeah, pissed him off bad. If Logan ever met Forge again, he'd be in for a real surprise, that was for sure.
Now Forge was out toward the place Rayen had set up, to be away from the school – to be safely outside of the gigantic pull of energy that was the generator of the place.
When he made it to the clearing, she was there, sitting on a fallen log. He approached cautiously.
"Rayen?"
Wonderful. Here came big brother to tell her how right he was.
He hadn’t come to see her since she zapped him, and Rayen couldn’t blame him a bit. She was dangerous, and she’d known that before she came. She just hadn’t expected things to be this way. Still, after all these years, she apparently had no idea how to handle her own powers. Every time she thought she had it under control, someone almost died.
She probably wouldn’t have been surprised about Logan leaving if he hadn’t promised her the day before that he wasn’t going anywhere. Rayen had taken it to heart that she had someone who was willing to figure out the mess her life had become. And that was her first mistake. After the accident back home, she’d run away to the reservation. She’d done it on her own. Mohanes gave her guidestones on the way, but all the work and all the resolution had come from herself. So what gave her the grand idea to rely on Wolverine? Where had she gone wrong? Where was all her strength?
Lifting her eyes as Forge spoke, she barely had the heart to smirk. Putting her cigarette out under her foot, she sighed out a breath full of smoke.
“Hey
He took a few steps into the clearing, careful on the cybernetic limb. It made no noise as it moved, but it certainly looked like a blatant Terminator-esque limb. He knelt down, demonstrating a certain degree of proficiency with it, even though he kept both arms out until he was settled to balance himself.
"You know, you really shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you, and it's just plain yuck." He said with a smile. He transitioned into an Indian style sitting position, and looked up at her. "It's dumb of me to ask if you're okay, even if it's arbitrary. So instead I'll ask if there's anything I can do to help?"
There was no need for an 'I told you so' – especially considering how absolutely shitty Rayen's month has been. He couldn't really imagine one so terrible, being that she got possessed, killed her brother, and got dumped all in the same two week span. It hurt him badly to know how she must be suffering, and no little amount of it showed on his face.
Her jaw set. She wasn’t angry, but she wasn’t about to sob all over his shoulder either. She had managed to live this long without him around, right?
“Nah. I’m alright.” Rayen knew that didn’t sound convincing, but she didn’t really have the energy to fake it. Rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, she looked sidelong at him.
“Actually, yeah. I need to get Lorna out. I need your help with that. I’m willing to take what risks I have to.”
What is that supposed to mean?
It means it’s you or me.
I know you’re upset over Logan but please, don’t risk both our lives over it.
You don’t have a life anymore, Lorna. Remember?
Now why was it that Forge thought she was holding back an awful lot when she said she was alright? He wasn't about to press it, though. Better to let her keep her mind on tasking, it's what kept him going when it felt like the world was going to shit out on him. Believe it or not, that happened quite often. He wasn't exactly what one would consider "successful" in the love department either.
He also wasn't about to risk her life to get Lorna out. Well, at least not to a great degree… any such experimentation involving electromagnetic mind energy was likely to be a risk… but being that her life had just fallen to pieces, he could imagine her margin of 'reasonable risk' and his were different.
"Yeah. We'll get her out, don't worry. I've been giving some thought as to how to contain her, give her a virtual home until we build her a body or something. Got the idea from Star Trek, actually. Okay so a lot of my ideas are from Star Trek."
Rayen laughed softly. "As long as it worked..."
She rubbed her hands over her face to hide the wretched look there, her eyes shutting tight for a moment.
"How's everyone else. The training starting up okay?"
Running her finger through her hair, she sighed.
"Well," Forge replied, picking up a stick on the ground and toying with the dirt. "We have it all lined up. It officially starts tommorow. Going to have to change some stuff around though... I think we're going to need a meeting with everyone in the morning."
He looked up at her, unsure if Logan had found the right time to invite her to join.
"So you know you're a trainee, right? As far as I'm concerned you can start training with us tommorow. If you want, we can set something up out here for you... though I think as long as you and Lorna agree not to try and use your powers at the same time, you'll be alright."
Rayen shrugged.
"I really don't know how to test things out without hurting someone. I haven't tried yet..." she was going to be waiting until morning. Logan and she had planned to.
Her bottom lip sucked behind her teeth and she frowned hatefully at the ground for a long time.
"I think the X-Men thing is just going to have to wait for a while Bandy. I don't know where my head's at."
Or if I'll be alive to become one.
Rayen, don't talk like that.
So help me Lorna if you don't shut up I'll put a gun to my head. KNOCK IT OFF.
Forge nodded. He could definately understand that, and gave her a smile just for good measure. "Well sure, whenever, but you're still officially a trainee. I can think of several ways for you to test your abilities out here - away from any potential danger. And I can shield myself from any accidental surges of your power."
He went to stand, and stumbled a bit. He straightened himself again, and brushed his jeans off. He smiled at her, truly, and nodded. "Hey stand up for a minute."
She did, watching with interest as he stumbled. Looking him over, she nodded without a smile as she walked over to him. "You're looking good. Seems like you're getting around okay on it too."
He looked down at the leg. "Yeah, it works, that's for sure. Should've seen me throw myself over the gate with it... must've looked like a long jumper. Until the end, when I hit the gravel. Then I must've looked like a retard."
He chuckled, and quickly wrapped her up into a hug. He squeezed her tight, and didn't let her go when he added: "Rayen... I know this is probably the worst month you've ever had, and that's saying something. I just don't want you to turn this inside, and blame yourself for any of it, because it's not your fault at all. Just really shitty luck."
Luck.
The idea struck him, and he almost laughed, but decided not too. Of course this was bad luck, and how else to fight it but with good luck? He made a few mental notes for the upcoming experiments on getting Lorna the flock outta Dodge.
At first Rayen tensed, stubbornly refusing to relax into her brother's embrace. And something about it reminded her of Logan- which made her breath catch in her throat. That's when the tears came, faster than she could catch them and take them back.
"God, Bandy... he promised me last night he wasn't going anywhere..." She didn't sound as hurt as she was, but it was clear in her tone she was still holding back. Still, some emotion was better than none.
"You were right... I was such an idiot. I just.. wanted to give him a chance.." that's when the hurt rang in her words, and she sucked in a breath, letting out a sharp sob as she fought against truly letting go and crying.
Forge couldn't help but feel it right along with her, the sibling tether pulling at his heart as easily as any empathy he'd have toward another person's suffering. As she sobbed he held her tight, tears moistening his cheeks, and he stroked her hair. He offered her words soothing words, not suggesting for a minute that she was wrong about Logan, but not rubbing in that she was right. Just letting her know that he knew, and that she wasn't wrong to try and trust someone.
"You're not an idiot, sis, you're not. I believed him too." And he did. In fact, he still wasn't ruling out some sort of backed up programming from the annals of the man's extensive history. He'd grown to trust Logan, to see him as a leader, and this was just... well, it made sense, but it didn't.
He held her until she couldn't sob anymore. His sister. He'd fix her, but he couldn't tell her that... No, Logan probably ruined that for him. Offering her words of support would probably only bring that memory back to her, remind her of the last person who'd promised he'd always be there.