Control: An X-Men Adventure and Wolverine Romance

Shelter

I had made a camp for the night under a rocky over hang. One of the (few) bonuses of having retractable bear-like claws and superhuman strength is that it doesn't take you too long to build a shelter, even with very few supplies.

I had lined up some larger branches to make a wall and built up a layer of smaller leafier ones on top for insulation. Then I gathered some firewood and set to using the lighter to kindle it. I was more thankful than Logan would ever know that he'd let me keep the it. Even with my mutation, the cold still burned and ached me to my bones. Sure, it wouldn't kill me, but it hurt. Everything still hurt. I huddled close to the fire and tried not to think about the bleakness of my situation. I couldn't run forever. Was there anywhere safe for someone like me?

I must have drifted into sleep because the next thing I became aware of was the sound of a branch breaking underfoot. I jerked awake and growled a warning for whoever, or whatever it was to back off. I was suprised when a huge snuffling nose poked itself into the little den I had made.

It was the muzzle of an enormous bear. Not knowing what exactly to do I froze. The bear poked its head inside my shelter and looked a little like it was experiencing a similar amount of shock and contemplating what to do. We both stared at each other. It was a beautiful creature - I never liked seeing hunters posing with their carcases. That kind of hunting seemed so cruel - for sport rather than game. I could maybe understand it it was a farmer protecting livestock, or his dog, or a hiker in self defence. Oh god what if I had to fight it. What if I had to kill one in self defence. I glanced down at my claws in horror at the idea. The bear was just curious, for now at least, I definitely wasn't going to be the aggressor in this showdown.

The bear huffed and shifted a little. I wondered if it was trying to work out what it wanted to do as well. Its head disappeared from the hole for a moment and I was almost relieved, until something small bounded into my shelter. It was a cub.

"Holy shit" I muttered

The face of the bigger, mother bear appeared once again at the entry. She was too big for the gap. Shaking my head at myself for how crazy it was to do so, I very slowly approached her. When It seemed safe enough, I shifted some of the brances to widen the door. She did nothing, looking hesitantly at me.

I backed up and shuffled over to the left side of the 'room', nearest the fire.

I knew what I had done was crazy. I could still get mauled. Sure it probably wouldnt kill me but exactly how much could my body heal - did I know for sure. What if it took a huge chunk out of me?! Not to mention the pain.

I anxiously watched the mother bear shuffle into the other side of my shelter. We were less than 3 metres apart. The little cub was already rolling about and chewing on a stick. I don't know why, but that made some of my anxiety dissipate. It was incredibly cute. She looked from me to the cub, still standing to attention. I tried to emanate calm vibes. After a while she seemed satisfied and with another huff, sat down, as if suddenly disinterested by my presence.

I wasn't sure how I'd be able to sleep now but I was so incredibly exhausted from all the running that, after a couple of hours, I did. For once, my nightmares didn't stalk my dreams. I was woken by something wet and cold touching my hand. I lurched awake in a panic. It was only the little bear. It had been snuffling my hand, investigating. I felt my whole body relax.

He was trying to get me to play with him while the mother was seemingly asleep still. I tentatively reached out and touched its fur. It began to roll about again gnawing my hand as though it was attacking me, but without drawing blood. Its little ears were adorable. I smiled, for the first time in a long time, a genuine moment of happiness.

Then I began to cry a little, i'd begun to think the world was a place completely devoid of happiness and kindness. The past few years had not been kind to me. I'd lost everything I'd built from the ashes of an already shitty life. This little bear, this surreal encounter with nature, had brought it home for me. Sometimes the world was beautiful, maybe one day i'd think that again.

I spent a couple of days in the shelter with my new friends as a storm had rolled in and it was a total white out. Staying in one spot was a welcome break from constant movement but always made me anxious - The good thing about the storm though was that it would make me harder to track.