Hello all!
This is my first attempt at fanfic so hopefully I do an okay job! Please review and let me know how I'm doing - I would really appreciate it! This is based on the MCU and X-Men films, as I have unfortunately not read many of the comics.
I do not own the X-Men or the Avengers, only my OC.
Chapter 1 - A Change in the Seasons
It was a fairly cold morning in early May, the air crisp and refreshing. The small elk stood grazing in the forest glade, its tan body and dark shaggy mane making it plain to see against the green grass of the clearing. Emma stalked through the dense stand of trembling aspen, crouching behind the thick shrubbery on the edge of the glade. Careful not to create any sound, she nocked her arrow into her makeshift bow. Time seemed to slow down around her as she drew her bow, holding her breathe and taking note of the wind in the glade - a gentle easterly breeze. Aiming for the elk's chest, Emma loosed her arrow. Hearing the release of the arrow, the elk instinctively ducked downwards, causing the arrow hit home slightly higher in the chest than Emma had been planning for. The elk bolted off through the forest. Emma counted down in her head until it was time to track the blood trail. A few minutes later she found the elk lying down against a tree, the arrow broken in half during its run through the trees. As the elk took its last breath, Emma pulled out her knife, cut through the layers of skin and muscle and removed the entrails. Removing the meat, she placed as much as she could carry onto a sheet before tying it up and placing it into her rucksack, filling it to the brim. Leaving the remains of the elk for whatever scavengers might want it, she started her long hike back up the mountain to the cave she called home.
As she approached the cave, she carefully stepped around all of the traps she had placed leading up to entrance way and slipped around the boulder concealing the entrance. Once inside she followed the tunnel deeper into the cavern, winding her way through a maze of stalagmites and stalactites to reach the section she had designated as her living area. A fire pit lay in the middle of the cavern, with the fire still alight within. Her sleeping bag was left strewn across the floor as always, a pile of dirty clothes beside it. Sitting down on a log in the corner, she pulled the meat out of her rucksack and started cutting it into thin strips, kneading salt into the strips as she went. She placed the strips over the fire, removing the previous strips which were now sufficiently dry. Not wanting to waste the daylight she had left, she picked up her dirty clothes and headed for the river a few minutes walk from the entrance of her cave. As she went about cleaning her clothes, she spied a couple of rabbits chasing each other on the opposite bank. Amused by their antics, Emma returned to her cave smiling to herself, feeling lighter than she had done since the harsh winter had hit. Spring was finally setting in, and living conditions were about to get a whole lot easier. As she reached the entrance, she took one last look at the view, grateful that she was able to live in such an amazing place, and then headed inside.
Emma slowly made her way back to her camp, hanging her clothes to dry on the stalagmites closest to fire as she went. With the dwindling sunlight, she moved around the cavern, lighting the torches she had placed on the walls to light up her camp as best she could. She pulled a portion of jerky out of her rations and sat down to eat dinner, the heat of the fire warming her as she ate. As darkness set in, a silence fell over the area, so all she could hear was the rhythmic dripping of water that she had grown so accustomed to over the last year. As always, she spent the evening thinking over what had happened that day, and contemplating her tasks for tomorrow. She would need to replenish her water supplies and maybe try to catch a rabbit for dinner. Once that was decided upon, she tried desperately to think of other tasks she could undertake in order to keep the memories she had tried so hard to forget from coming back to the forefront of her mind. Deep in her own thoughts, she blocked out the world around her.
Suddenly she was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of twigs breaking just outside the cave entrance - one of her traps had been sprung. Emma whipped around just in time to see the silhouette of a figure standing in the entrance. Instinctively, she raised her right hand out in front of her, her fingers extended and tense. The figure in the entrance was lifted into the air, arms and legs spread out in a star shape and locked into place. The figure struggled to move, but the more it struggled the more it was locked into position. The effect had worked. In that moment Emma became all too aware of the adrenaline surging through her body, her heart beating fast in her chest and her fingers starting to shake, every fibre in her body willing her to run to safety. Upon realising the figure was not a threat in its current state, she tried to slow down her breathing, slowly taking control over her body once more. Tentatively, she approached the figure.
It was a man. Tall, muscular and angry. He was restrained about three foot off the ground, with fists and jaw clenched tight.
"Who are you?" Emma asked, trying to hide the panic in her voice.
"Logan. You must be Emma".
Emma froze.