Logan could smell the recently-shedded sweat in the air; the blend of salt and chemicals slithered into the depths of his nostrils. He heard the instability in the larger man's voice; the blend of weariness with the subtle quiver buried the deepest registers of Blackmane's tone sounded far too familiar to the Canadian.
But the details of the dream the larger man had were even more hauntingly reminiscent of Logan's own fears; he remembered when he first came to Xavier's and interacted with others only when absolutely necessary. He remembered the dreams of his claws slicked with the blood of Jean or Ororo; he often awoke with their screaming ringing in his ear. I kill 'em... by doin' that, I kill m'self. Logan dies and tha animal wins. Weapon X wins...
The shorter man listened quietly; his blue eyes remained fixed on the wolflike irises of the Fenrisian as the larger man's words kept stirring the bile in his stomach. Each syllable Ragnar spoke to him only made the larger man's physical differences fade from Logan's notice. "Angron's wrong," Logan responded in a quiet but solid rasp. He stood up and moved closer to the Space Wolf. He placed a hand on the larger man's massive bicep, but he didn't grip tightly.
"I ain't gonna lie," he began; I can't just tell him what he wants ta hear.... "Its really fuckin' hard ta guarantee ya won't flip out," he continued as a note of caution entered his voice. "After what they did ta ya, yer not wrong ta be cautious. But ya got a mind, yer not some animal that's gonna just serve yer master when he blows tha whistle."
His voice grew darker and more insistent as the words kept coming. "Yer not a machine, yer not a weapon, yer not their grunt any more. Yer a man, yer not an animal.." Distantly he knew he was just reciting everything he told himself after his nightmares, yet the way the bigger man's situation was reminiscent of his own made it feel right. "Just remember that, Ragnar. Hold onta that," he continued as his voice softened and his facial expression became more sympathetic. Hold onta that tighter than anythin' else...