W
ell, at least he let me have pants, was about the best thing that Logan could come up with for his current situation. And the shoes were a nice touch too. He followed Victor through the snow that had covered the road leading away from the house over night.
There was no chain attached to the damned collar. But Victor had very calmly demonstrated what would happen if Logan had any ideas about trying to make a run for it. Logan was less than pleased to learn that even though the pain inducing aspects of the collar had been turned off, Victor had some kind of remote that would turn it right back on any time it pleased him to do so. Victor had seemed mildly amused by his writhing earlier. He had positively leered at Logan, bouncing that little remote in his hand and licking his lips at his struggles.
The remote which was currently residing in Victor’s inside coat pocket.
Victor suddenly went off the road and disappeared into the vast woods that surrounded the house. With a sigh, Logan fell in step behind him. He had nothing to gain right now from being openly disobedient.
Victor glanced back at Jimmy. He was pleased to note that hunger had not worn down on his little brother too much. Other than the rats, he still had not fed Jimmy. Victor knew from their younger days the effect fresh, raw meat had on his brother. Jimmy’s more feral nature would be drawn out, hopefully crushing out his precious "humanity". And then Victor could truly begin Jimmy's reshaping.
The two men walked for an hour before Victor caught scent of potential prey. He crouched down behind a fallen log to look down on a meadow where a large herd of elk were grazing on some underbrush that was poking up through the snow. Jimmy hunkered down silently behind him. Both watched the herd move with deadly focus, looking for any signs of weakness in the elk.
A midsized elk broke off from the herd, trotting closer to the two hunters completely unaware of the danger it was about to put itself in. Victor felt a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. This little bit of elk sized teenage rebellion was about to cost this creature its life.
Victor pressed himself closer to the ground, his hands digging into the snow and his claws beginning to extend. He could smell the growing agitation in Jimmy. Victor glanced at his brother, smirking. For all his talk of trying to be like the humans, Jimmy would gladly slip his humanity suit off easily enough when the situation presented itself.
Logan didn’t realize how hungry he was until they came upon the elk. He momentarily worried that his growling stomach would alert the creatures to their presence. But that feeling quickly dissipated as the young elk approached, getting closer to the two men. His hunger made it difficult to hold still, wiggling his hips a bit in anticipation. He wanted to lunge at the elk. But everything about Victor’s body said, “Wait. Not yet.”
Following the indication of Victor’s eyes, Logan moved slowly to the side. His own claws now out, Logan understood the plan: Victor would chase the elk his way, and he would kill it. It was a quick and easy plan.
If the wind hadn’t changed at that moment.
The elk’s head snapped up before it twisted its body around to run away. Logan, the realization that his breakfast was about to get away foremost in his mind, jumped out of the underbrush snarling loudly as he gave chase. The elk ran, trying to get back to the safety of the herd, Logan just a few paces behind. The clawed mutant leapt into the air and managed to knick the elk’s hindquarters. It squealed in terror, its eyes rolling around in its head as the elk struggled to escape impending death. The other elk began kicking up snow and dirt as they fled from the hunter. Jimmy- no, Logan, my name is Logan- lunged in for the kill, but the luck was on the elk’s side and it managed to evade his grasp again. Logan was not paying attention to where he was and how close to the rest of the herd he was getting.
Logan grunted in pain and surprise when a sharp set of points connected with his midsection, tossing him onto his back. His first thought was to yell for Victor, until he realized that he had inadvertently started tangling with the alpha elk. The buck brandished his antlers by way of warning. Back off!
But blood lust and hunger had begun to take over Jimmy’s mind. Growling in anger and desperation, he tackled the buck and plunged one set of claws into the beast’s side. The buck reared up, managing to throw Logan off. Jimmy/Logan landed with a pained grunt in the snow, still on his feet. He screamed in pain when the buck brought his front hooves down on his shoulders. Victor slammed into the buck, sending the animal crashing to the ground. There was a sickening crunch as the buck’s back leg was broken. Victor grinned in satisfaction before biting into the elk’s neck and ripping it out, blood spraying onto the snow and into his hair.
Jimmy lay panting on the frozen ground, feeling the bones in one shoulder blade finish their healing and licking fresh blood off of his fingers. His thoughts had become decidedly more scrambled in the last few minutes. Big Brother protected Jimmy. Big Brother always protects Jimmy. Hungry. Hungry. Elk good. Big Brother good. Need food now. Jimmy slid onto his belly and slunk closer to Victor. When Victor’s head snapped around to look at him, he froze in mid-crouch. He watched Victor nervously, trying to dig his body deeper into the snow when Victor ripped off a large chunk of the animal’s side and stalked over to him.
Logan/Jimmy thought to run, that perhaps he shouldn’t be doing this but, he was so hungry. Big Brother only wants what’s best for Jimmy. Big Brother is coming with food. Jimmy must be good to Big Brother. Victor stopped a few paces away from Jimmy, a gap which Jimmy quickly closed while still on all fours. Stopping at Victor’s feet, Jimmy tucked his legs under his body and leaned his head against Big Brother’s knee, keeping his own gaze on the ground. Jimmy made a soft keening noise in the back of his throat, rubbing his face against Big Brother’s knee in supplication.
With a pleased grunt, Victor dropped the chunk of meat on the ground. Jimmy looked up at him for silent permission before tearing into the offered food. Victor went back to the elk to start his own feasting. He ate slowly and watched with smug satisfaction as Jimmy devoured his breakfast before licking his fingers clean. Jimmy even wiped the blood off of his face to lick up. When he finished, Jimmy scampered- and there truly is no other word for it- to Victor’s side, kicking up small sprays of snow behind him as he went. Jimmy glanced up to see if Victor would stop him before ripping off another chunk of elk meat with his hands and wolfing it down.
Soon, the two brothers had eaten their fill. Victor started when Jimmy placed a hand on his knee, bringing his face in close to Victor’s. Jimmy’s pink tongue darted out to lap at the blood on Victor’s face. Victor closed his eyes, a rumbling of pleasure trapped in his throat as Jimmy meticulously cleaned him. Victor glanced down once, noticing a strangely innocent look in his little brother’s eyes. When Jimmy finished, Victor returned the gesture. He rolled Jimmy onto his back, stroking his belly as he washed the blood from the corners of his mouth. Victor was thorough, cleaning his whole face and neck.
The two brothers lay entangled in the blood splattered snow, Jimmy’s head tucked under Victor’s chin. Victor could practically taste the contentment oozing out of his little brother. Jimmy sighed peacefully, pressing deeper into Victor’s embrace.
After a few moments, Victor noticed that Jimmy was shaking from the cold. Victor quickly shucked his jacket and put Jimmy into it. “Come on,” he murmured. “Let’s go home.”
Not bothering to look back, Victor led the way back to the house. After a few moments of silence, Jimmy’s voice called to him, “Victor.” Jimmy ran to stand at Victor’s side. He was holding something out to him: the remote. “You forgot this.”
Victor was shocked. He took the remote wordlessly, putting it into his pocket. He was not sure what this meant. Either Jimmy was starting to learn his place, or he was fucking with him.
Time would tell. For now, Victor would take the gesture at face value.
Victor finally put his finger on the look in Jimmy’s eyes. It was one that Victor had not seen there in well over a century. This was not the man who was Logan. This was little James Howlett, fresh in the woods and trusting Victor completely.
And Victor was pleased.
