X-Calibre Trilogy: Long Hard Road Out of Hell

The first thoughts that entered my slowly-waking mind that night involved the fur that I felt on my face and the identity of the warm body next to mine. I smiled drowsily at the memory of my talk with Nightcrawler and sighed contentedly before resolving to sleep a while more if I could. We were wrapped together in a blanket much the way we'd begun except that his tail was wrapped loosely around one of my legs and I felt the fingers of his right hand in my hair. I was almost asleep again when I felt his touch move to my shoulders, his fingertips dancing there lightly before they ever so softly massaged the muscles. I sighed again, my smile growing wider, and nuzzled against him. The pressure of his touch increased a little and I drew another slow, deep breath.

"Guten abend, liebling [Good evening, dearest love]," he whispered in my ear. He sounded like he'd just woken up himself.

"mmm . . ." I traced the line of his collarbone with one of my fingers.

His touch grew a bit harder still and I decided it was quite nice. I yawned my approval and kept my eyes closed.

"Does that feel good?" he inquired, tracing the path of my backbone. He shifted his tail around me so that the tip of it caressed my ankle.

"Yes," I whispered, nuzzling him again.

We remained silent for a bit while he continued to slowly stir me back into the waking world. At length he shifted so that he could wrap his arms more fully around me; he was systematically working down all the muscles in my back.

"Did you sleep well?" he inquired before placing a small kiss on my cheek.

"Yes, thank you," I stretched a bit before settling against him once more. In response to my movement, his tail unwrapped itself from my leg, opting instead to lie against my lower back when I was done. "And you?"

"Like a baby." He kneaded my shoulders deeply now; his tail was busy rubbing up and down my spine.

"You're good at that," I moaned.

"I know," he moved his tail to the small of my back again, then under the hem of my blouse so that he caressed my bare flesh. "I'm good at a lot of things."

My eyes snapped open and adrenaline rushed through my system as I realized where he was probably going with this. Before I could decide whether to allow it, his tail slid out from under my shirt and his hands left my back. I raised my head to look at him; his eyes hadn't completely hardened and I caught a glimpse of what might have been pained disappointment.

"Nightcrawler?" I watched his expression solidify into one similar to that on our first night together. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Fraulein." He shifted and I moved so that I wasn't on top of him anymore. He got to his feet and headed for the door. "It's late already; we should get on the road. I'll wait for you outside."

I sat where I was, stunned and bewildered, before I realized my mouth was still open. I shut it and got up from the floor, gathered up our bedrolls to strap them to our packs, and headed outdoors.

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If being without his presence the day before had been bad, being in his company while he was upset, brooding, and silent was worse. I felt guilty but I didn't know what for, and when I asked him about it he ignored the question.

We were in need of provisions again so we dropped into one of New Berlin's suburbs to do some shopping. This consisted of finding a shop closed for the night and teleporting inside, whereupon we loaded up on everything we needed. Okay, so really we're thieves, but we don't steal their money along with their goods -- and given the circumstances, it's justified, right?

Nightcrawler didn't seem to engage in such moral dilemmas. For him the matter was simple: we need it, we take it. If it involved our well-being, he was methodical and thorough. At thmentment he was sacking up some more potatoes, several packages of beef jerky, and a package of what looked like dried apricots. I'd grabbed two loafs of rustic wheat bread, a liter of milk, and a few fresh apples as a peace offering. And soap; we were almost out. I pocketed a three-pack of some unscented variety just as I noticed a little red dot on my skirt.

"Scheisse [Shit]!" Nightcrawler hissed. It was the first thing he'd said all night. Made sense though -- I had a few choice words on my own tongue. What kind of no-good shop owner has motion sensors at the back of their store and not the front? The alarm bell was loud and had prompted the owner to come down from the flat above the store.

A burst of light was the first thing I saw of the owners -- it came from the camera in her hands. I'd been caught full in the face and was blinded as a result. And because I was the one nearest to them, it was I who was grabbed from behind and had a knife to her throat.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" a young male voice asked me.

"What's it look like? I'm planting corn," I stomped as hard as I could on his foot. He let go, but not before sliding the well-sharpened blade across my neck. I felt the blood trickle down my collar before the kid's mother hit a particularly painful spot in my midsection with the walking stick she carried.

BAMF! THUD.

Both people fell unconscious to the floor. I looked up in time to see Nightcrawler toss me a box of gauze from a nearby shelf, then open the camera to expose the film inside.

"Thank you," I gasped, still winded, and pressed the gauze to my wound to stop the blood. It wasn't bad, probably wouldn't even need stitches, but it was still messy.

"Nicht zu danken [It’s nothing to thank me for]," he muttered before offering me a hand up. I accepted and re-adjusted my backpack, looking around warily. Nightcrawler had meanwhile procured a first aid kit, shoved it into his pack, and bowed his sarcastic thanks to the owners. "Let's go," he grabbed my arm and teleported.

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We camped out in the wilds the next morning, having decided it was prudent to put as much distance between ourselves and inhabited areas as possible. We were lucky enough to be near ver ver and that meant two things -- lots of fresh water, and the opportunity to bathe. I went first at Nightcrawler's insistence, scrubbing myself and my clothes clean now that I had the chance. A half hour later I felt much better but was still glad to leave the water, as it was on the chilly side. I toweled off and put on my other change of dry clothes. I turned to head to camp and jumped.

"Nightcrawler!" I gasped, my hand flying to my chest. "Oh, you scared me. I was just coming to get you."

"You were out here for a while, so I came to check on you." He looked towards the river. "Beautiful view."

"How, um, how long were you here?" I asked as he stripped off his armor, then his shirt.

"Long enough to take in the beautiful view," he continued undressing.

Blood raced to my face as comprehension hit me. "Well, I expect it's a good thing you're about to take a cold bath!" I threw the soap at him as hard as I could.

He caught it deftly and smiled at me, obviously amused. "Grab a seat and call it even?"

I turned on my heel and hed hed away, as I was at a complete loss for a good retort.

"It wasn't intentional!" he called after me; I pretended to not hear.

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The spring thaw was done and nature was starting to re-awaken after the long winter. Tired of lying in the tall meadow grass of the Virginia hinterland, I'd climbe a t a tree to sit in the branches and sleep in the foliage there. Nightcrawler, ever keeping me in his sights, came up after me.

BAMF! "You know what occurs to me?"

"That neither sleep nor privacy are sacred with you around?" I snuggled into my jacket, legs tucked up under me as I lay in the crux of the higher branches.

"Ach, don't tell me you're still upset about that!"

"Hey, I wasn't the one hiding in the trees to get a free show."

"First, I said it wasn't intentional. I thought you'd be more startled if I let you know I was there earlier. Second, you're a beautiful woman. Consider it a compliment."

"Oh, please. You're male – you’re biologically programmed to stare at anything with curves."

"You really believe that?" he crouched nearby, tail swishing.

"Well, it's that or you're just a chauvinistic asshole. Which do you prefer?" I leveled my stare at him.

"I've been very charitable with you," he moved closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine. "Perhaps you'd like it better if I dropped you off at the next extermination camp we pass."

"You wouldn't," I whispered, trying to stare him down. "You need me to guide you."

"I've seen enough, and you're a liability. You can't defend yourself," the tip of his tail slid across my bandaged neck for emphasis, "and you complain that I've taken one small liberty when anyone else would demand that you put out." His golden eyes bored into mine. "You presume too much. I can kidnap and extract information from anyone I want and make sure they never speak of me. And you, my dear, would not be missed."

The implied death threat knocked the breath out of me but I kept staring at him. "If I'm so worthless to you, why are you dragging me along?"

The staring match ended with Nightcrawler slinking away from the tree silently. Shaking with emotion, I followed him, grabbing a handful of pebbles when I reached the ground. "Answer me!" I threw one at his back; it missed the mark by a third of a meter. "Why are you doing this?" The next stone also failed to find its mark. I launched the last one at him, catching him finally in the shoulder. "Why, Nightcrawler?"

He rounded on me and teleported, grabbed me, and teleported again so that I was shoved roughly against the tree trunk.

"Why are you being such a monster?" I demanded, looking up into his face.

"Don't ever throw anything at me again," he growled, nostrils flaring. His grip on my arms tightened painfully.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked again, ignoring the bruises I could feel forming.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself."

"Then get rid of me," I challenged, voice trembling. "If I'm such a danger to you and a pain in your ass, get rid of me. Bamf, dump, and your done. What are you waiting for?"

He leaned forward as though he were going to kiss me. "Be careful what you ask for," he purred.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, but I kept my gaze even with his. "You won't do it," I stated at last. "I don't know what's been bothering you. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But don't take it out on me." He looked away, sighed, and let go of me. I resisted the urge to reach up and rub away the pain in my arms, opting instead to climb back up the tree. "I'm going back to bed, such as it is. Let me know when I wake up if you're oit oit or if I should split."

He left me to sleep in peace, but I found I couldn't. I finally lost consciousness while contemplating what I'd do with myself if he told me to get lost, and why that prospect bothered me so.