[ They're not the same. He shared a world with humans once, but they're miles apart in a hundred different ways. Ever since the Sentinels, the camps, the cure, that distance has grown into a yawning chasm. It's been a long time since he's even sat across from a non-mutant and seen them as anything other than a threat. He's also been around for even longer than that. He remembers a before. He remembers an after. And this place sits in the twilight zone of neither here nor there. No us versus them. No governments passing laws. No summits or protests. Just people, thrown together and tossed into a jumble.
He's got no template for how Karen might react. But the tension that shoots through her almost at once makes his guard go up. What's she thinking? Does she suspect? Is she already asking herself how soon she can get him to leave? If he'd hesitated over his decision earlier, he doesn't now. Because it's clearer than ever there's no point in dragging shit out. If this is how it's gonna be, then that's how it'll be. He's never gone out of his way to pretend to be something he's not. Half the time, people recognize him. The other half, he blends in by default, usually leaves it at that to avoid trouble. Most aren't worth his claws. He couldn't care less what they think of him and his people, doesn't expect anything except the worst out of them. They don't matter.
Karen matters.
And he suddenly hates that she does. That he wants to trust her but can't. That she can make him feel...uncertain. (Vulnerable.)
By the time she pulls her hand away, Logan's doing the same. He could explain. Give her all the definitions and history. Somebody else might've done just that. But what's there to say, huh? This, it isn't about what happened in his world. Or, fuck, maybe it is because it always is in some formā€”an influence that shaped each of them from the moment they were born differentā€”but it's personal, too. She let him in first. Now he's letting her in, and he's not sure if this might end up the last time he bothers.
His fingers fold into fist. The skin between his knuckles splits first. Then three sharp points emerge, sliding out slowly. The metal gleams with an unnatural shine. The torn flesh closes around the base of each claw.
So. There it is. Logan's eyes haven't moved from her. Not a big secret, exactly. Just something she didn't know yet. Now she does. ]
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He's got no template for how Karen might react. But the tension that shoots through her almost at once makes his guard go up. What's she thinking? Does she suspect? Is she already asking herself how soon she can get him to leave? If he'd hesitated over his decision earlier, he doesn't now. Because it's clearer than ever there's no point in dragging shit out. If this is how it's gonna be, then that's how it'll be. He's never gone out of his way to pretend to be something he's not. Half the time, people recognize him. The other half, he blends in by default, usually leaves it at that to avoid trouble. Most aren't worth his claws. He couldn't care less what they think of him and his people, doesn't expect anything except the worst out of them. They don't matter.
Karen matters.
And he suddenly hates that she does. That he wants to trust her but can't. That she can make him feel...uncertain. (Vulnerable.)
By the time she pulls her hand away, Logan's doing the same. He could explain. Give her all the definitions and history. Somebody else might've done just that. But what's there to say, huh? This, it isn't about what happened in his world. Or, fuck, maybe it is because it always is in some formā€”an influence that shaped each of them from the moment they were born differentā€”but it's personal, too. She let him in first. Now he's letting her in, and he's not sure if this might end up the last time he bothers.
His fingers fold into fist. The skin between his knuckles splits first. Then three sharp points emerge, sliding out slowly. The metal gleams with an unnatural shine. The torn flesh closes around the base of each claw.
So. There it is. Logan's eyes haven't moved from her. Not a big secret, exactly. Just something she didn't know yet. Now she does. ]