‘What was that vibration between them, that endless tension that they'd all seen, and felt, and explained away as hatred? More than hate, certainly. More than sex, probably. Less than love? Hank sighed, and even to his own ears it sounded troubled. Whatever it was - it was a lie. A dangerous, oozing pustule of a lie that had the potential to burst all over the X-men's tidy existence, he suspected.’


Love Beast in this chapter, his thought process, his realization and finally his dilemma. Great insight into his character, his feral side often left wanting compared to Wolverine he sometimes seems to be depicted as nothing more than a cuddly teddy and it’s nice to see more depth to him.


“Wolverine. What am I going to do with you?”


Well what a way to end! I’m sure we’ve all asked the question and I’m sure if you opened a suggestion box we could fill it full to the brim in about 1 min flat!


Great chapter as usual x

Author's Response: A suggestion box! What a great idea. We should do a fic challenge along those lines one day ... Glad you enjoyed it, and hope my ideas were as good as yours ;)

So Rogue's remember the smell of truth now, clear like a rain-washed sky? Glad to hear she likes it. Very interesting (and promising) that Prof X is the more powerful telepath compared to the Whitish Majesty - and that the Wolverine can actually be impressed by that. Not quite the stupid do-goody-do, eh, Logan?

Quite expressive little scene: "He wasn't sure what had shaken them more. His growl, or his manners."
Heh. Honour exerts an unexpected gravitation on Logan, doesn't it? Does he know that it's pulling him in, I wonder? Against his worst intentions, as it were? Quite intriguing.

Utterly surprising and opening not only an avenue, but a whole new landscape of a story is Hank's insight! Oh yes, he IS a Beast, after all, isn't he? Amazingly un-feral in his attitude, though. There Logan has put such a leash on his thoughts for the telepath's sake, and all it takes to sniff him out is one of his kind. How COULD he possibly forget? By being one of his kind, and detaching himself so muc, presumably.

I will also happily continue to congratulate you on your skill of aptly painting stage settings:"Charles shook his head silently ... Homicide didn't look likely right now" [I don't envy the Prof his job of keeping the Mansion together, doubtlessly a task that encompasses the emotional, intellectual and physical realms] "... he was reminding her of her obligations, and Rogue was generally quite professional...

“I need to see that fucking control room, right fucking now!”

… except when someone tried to give her orders. Oh dear. Hank stood stock still, then shook his head in puzzlement as Rogue refrained from hurting him." And here we see not only what everyday life at the Mansion takes, but also how well Hank at least knows Rogue. Does she realise it?

Good to see that Beast gets a role (an often needlessly neglected character), and how he suddenly comes into play - quite the background figure. I enjoy how the storyline echoes the character in this way. We also learn a lot about Wolverine's skills and ways of using them by listening to Beast here - the way he figures out a relationship by scents.

And yet he is so very different with his scientific mind and training. What is his "relationship" with the Beast-side of his nature, I wonder? And how does he keep it in check? He seems to have more "everyday" access to it, and he also seems less violent. Does that mean he needs less of the iron discipline that Logan uses to tie down his feral side, I wonder? So the Wolverine was sympathetic, and Dr. McCoy secretly wants to be more feral? Hm, that sounds a bit out of character now. To me anyway. It's true, though: McCoy's intellect is certainly sharper and clearer than Logan's, which makes it perhaps more difficult to give room to the Beast? But do all ferals actually enjoy a fight? Will McCoy slip down into the feral realm as Logan re-works himself into a truly honourable man? (Please note I avoid the term "decent" ;-)I am VERY much looking forward to Logan/Henry McCoy interactions!!!

The Wolverine might underestimate Dr. McCoy quite a bit, as he underestimated the Prof., perhaps relying too much on a fighter's assessment of people. An assassin needs to be single-minded, doesn't he? Now what's gonna happen with said assassin in a surrounding that demands a lot more foci on a huge variety of issues? Hm...
Oh yes, I am quite looking forward to your updates! :-D

Author's Response: Wow,what a review. It's the ultimate compliment when someone takes the time to think about what I've written, to question my thinking and the world building going on. Thank you so much! I'll confess that I don't actually KNOW a lot about Beast, not having read the comics and I haven't seen the new movie yet, so my assumptions are based on the little we saw in X1-3. AND all the thinking I've done about the nature of feralness. (Feraldom?) Hank's very mannered speech, his labcoat, immersion in science etc - these to me always spoke of someone keen to hide or ignore the feral side of their nature, to sublimate it. But sublimation is a bad strategy psychologically, because it denies a person a level of freedom and self-expression, and Hank is intelligent. He probably realises it is unhealthy, and being in contact with Logan shows him another possible path. Where the feral is not dominant - this Logan, in Sleeping Dogs, has it well controlled - but is not denied, either. And that would be quite appealing to a "closeted" feral, I would think. Not sure exactly how they will bounce off each other in future, but its bound to be interesting, I think.

You didn't just do that... You couldn't be that cruel! lol Great chapter. But honestly.... I am confused as to why they are lying about their relationship. They think that the x-men wouldn't let them be together or something. They can deal with rogue once being Brotherhood but not with her training with Logan? I just don't understand why they are lying. why go with a huge elaborate lie when a shortened version of the truth would work just as well.

Author's Response: Really good question. I had been wondering that myself, and I think it's something I'll have to explore soon. I think the whole situation would have arisen from Rogue keeping quiet in that very first meeting, because she wasn't sure how she felt about him. The kill him or kiss him question. And then the ethical issues might present as a problem - they were assassins, killers for hire. Maybe that's OK for a big burly reprodate, but not so acceptable for a young woman? I need to think more on this, and I promise you we'll thrash it out GOOD ;)

Tease! LOL!

This was another gripping chapter. I'm enjoying the twists and turns.

Okay, once you are done with your presentation, you must devote all your time to writing Rogan fanfic. No other distractions, including future presentations will be tolerated! ;)

Author's Response: I'm presenting the full range of post Afarensis hominids to a class at my daughter's school so it will be a little while yet :) It's amazing where inspiration could come from - maybe I'll write Neanderthal Logan and Sapiens Rogue - our very own Clan of the Cave Bear :D