Title: The Burning Red
Author: Deby
Email: supra@media-net.net
Summary: In reply to a challenge sent up by Randa, hope this meets your
expectations... :)
Rating: PG-13 so far I think.... will proceed to NC-17 I am sure.
Genre: L/R
Notes: Thanks to my betas! I hope I fixed everything.... Never had anyone beta
my fanfic before, won't ever go without one now! LOL
On with the show....
Hunched low over the back of her horse, gloved fingers wrapped in the thick
black mane, Rogue's long auburn hair flew behind her in a wild tangle as she
urged the animal on. "C'mon Ren." Her jean clad legs squeezed around the barrel
of the bay gelding as they pounded across the field. Sitting up slightly, Rogue
smiles as the wind whips tears from her eyes, reveling in the sensation of the
straining muscles of the horse beneath her. She loved to ride bareback, without
the interference of the saddle between her and the horse. It was the more
physical contact then she ever had with people and Ren never judged her, didn't
care that she was a mutant.
The mansion comes into view and she quietly pulls Ren down to an easy jog as
they approach the barn. "Whoa." she murmers at the gate to the corral as she
slides off his sweaty back, loops the rein over her arm. She leads him through
the gate and begins to hand walk him around the yard to cool him off. Resting
her hand on Ren's neck she begins to talk to him. "Ya know Ren, sometimes I
think ya horses are more intelligent then most people. Ya don't judge, ya don't
hurt others to make yourself feel better... ya just care about the important
things, the truely important things in life... that ya eat, sleep and are
treated kindly. It makes me wonder why people can't do the same?"
She leads the now dry Ren to the post and trades the hackamore for the halter
hanging there. She grabs a curry and begins working on his coat, the rich
mohogany shining in the sun as she brushes the dried sweat from him. "Ren,
you're a great friend and all, but I can't help but miss him. Ya see, he took a
bit of my heart with him when he left and everyday it hurts a little more. I
don't understand it Renny, they say that time heals all wounds? If that's so
then why do I feel like I am dying inside?" Rogue's voice grows too thick with
emotion to continue the stream of words, the same words she's spoken to Ren
daily since shortly after Logan left and she met Ren.
Wandering into the horse barn one night, she was met with a pair of huge brown
eyes that seemed to speak to her soul. Entering his stall, she was awed by the
powerful, stocky horse with the muscles that bulged and rippled when he moved.
She soon learned that he was a quarter horse, the only one in a barn full of
warmbloods and his name was Renegade. Feeling an instant kinship with him, Rogue
began taking riding lessons, preferring to ride bareback and discovered she was
a natural on horseback. She took daily rides and often left for hours at a time,
the rides seeming to help her cope with the nightmares that plagued her at nite.
Leading Ren back to his stall, she slips the halter off and pats him one last
time, "See ya tomorrow Renny." Checking his water bucket and satisfied to find
it full, she gives him one more rub on the nose and exits the barn, heading for
the mansion to clean up and change clothes.
Slipping in her room, she starts shedding her clothes, the smell of horse sweat
filling the room. Pausing, she takes a deep breath and smiles to herself. 'There
is nothing like the smell of sweaty horses.' However, since not everyone enjoys
the smell as much as she does, she tosses the clothes into the hamper. She then
pads into the bathroom to shower, the dog tag around her neck rattling as she
walked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Scott Summers swore under his breath as he busted his knuckles when the wrench
slipped. Since he had given up all hope of ever seeing his precious motorcycle
again, he had been working on another one, trying rebuild a replica of his long
lost toy. "Piece of..." The fearless leader of the X-Men stood up and flung the
wrench at the offending frame. Parts lay scattered all over the garage floor,
spead out on a huge white sheet so as not to lose so much as a single bolt.
Fearless leader he may be, but he is still a man. A man once again thwarted by a
machine. Sticking his knuckle in his mouth, he sucks the blood from it and
stalks out of the garage, quitting while he still has all of his fingers.
'Tomorrow... I'll work on it tomorrow.... damn Logan anyway, it's all -his-
fault...' His mental muttering is loud enough that Jean begins snickering to
herself in the office as she goes through the mail. Sorting the mail in piles to
hand out later to all the kids, she sobers immediatly as she comes across a
plain white envelope with no return address and a postmark from Mississippi.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
With a huge black towel wrapped tightly around her, Rogue stepped from the
bathroom in a cloud of steam, towel drying her hair when she pauses at the sight
of a letter on the floor. It had obviously been slipped under her door, and she
dove for it, hoping against hope it might be from Logan. A tightness gripped her
chest at the thought of him and she sat on the bed, her hands shaking as she
ripped the envelope open, never noticing the postmark.
Marie,
Your Mother is dying, if you wish to say good bye before she is gone, get here
now.
Aunt Kathy
Tears well up in her eyes and the letter blurs from view as an overwhelming
sorrow envelopes her. Falling back on the bed she curls up and sobs into her
pillow. 'Oh mama... I'm so sorry... I miss you so...' Heaving sobs wrack her
small body as she cries, her heart breaking. Leaving home was harder on her then
she liked to admit, she grew up in the deep South, the darling daughter of
loving parents. That all changed however, the moment it was known that she was a
mutant, her Father shunned her, forced her away. Her Mother was heartbroken but
wouldn't stand up to her husband's decision. Rogue had left her home, her
family, to travel to parts unknown only to be saved by a very unlikely hero.
Logan and everyone at the school had become her family but in the back of her
mind, there was always the little part of her that would never let her forget
what happened with her real family. The family that turned their back on her and
hurt her so badly.
After several minutes, Rogue sits up in the bed and scrubs the tears from her
face with the towel. Walking to the closet, she pulls on a pair of jeans and a
T-shirt before dragging a comb through her hair. Picking up the letter in a
trembling hand, she leaves the room and heads downstairs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Now listen here, One Eye, I'm telling you a damn train hit it."
---TBC--- |
