[SkyWolf11]

The room was dark most of the time, the lights only flickering on hesistantly when people entered but no one ever stayed long.  Besides, the room wasn't exactly a sight one would want to see all the time.  The brick walls cracked and crumbling in places, the floor unkept with dirt and blood stains everywhere.  It was a very depressing place.  Inside the cold concrete cage, the male Kirund laid lazily, shivering ever now and then as the cold nip of the night nipped at him.  His ears pricked occasionally from behind the steel bars as the other Kirund he was roomed with shuffled around or sighed or growled.  

It was the norm for a Kirund in these parts to live this way.  Or, it was all he knew to be true, anyways.  You waited until someone wanted you.  Then you had to appeal to them and if you were deemed good enough, you would get to leave with them.  But if not, as it was often the case for him, you had to wait for another perspective buyer.  He'd blown his last chance horribly.  But he couldn't help it.  Most of the people that came in here gave him bad vibes.  Even if it meant freedom, he did not want to leave with any of them.  Even the life here was bound to be better than that...

[1]

[SkyWolf11]

Just as he begun to close his eyes, the heavy iron door swung open with an almost deafening whine.  "Right this way, sir.", a dark silhouette lead an unfamiliar man into the room.  Instantly, the room erupted.  Barks and growls and whines echoed off the walls as the loud click of the light switch brought dim light into the cages.  "I'm sure you'll be able to find a Kirund of your liking."  The scientist's assistance accompanied the man further into the room, closing the door behind him.  From the look on the customer's face, he was definitely new to this whole process.  Maybe this time he would get chosen!

Leaping up with tongue lolling and tail wagging, the male barked loudly.  He tried not to be overly aggressive, but at the same time, not look weak.  People looked for different things and he was willing to act accordingly if he could escape.  There was no ill intentions coming from this man so his hopes were high.  He let out a loud whine then another loud bark, eyes locked desperately onto the man.

[2]

[SkyWolf11]

His hopes were nearly snuffed when he saw the man walk over to another Kirund's cage and smile.  "Oh this one loo-!"  The beast that had been pacing in it's cage suddenly lunged forward aggressively enough to rattle the cage.  The man let out a surprised gasp as he nearly fell right on his butt.  The male's ears pricked up eagerly when he saw the man shake his head at the encounter.

"Are you hurt?", the owner asked, though he made no move to help the man up.  "Oh uh, no no, I'm alright."  He stood and patted the filth from his clothes.  "Nevermind.  I'm not looking for something so ... aggressive."  Oh!  That was his chance!   Looking as friendly as he could muster from behind the steel bars, the male wiggled and wagged excitedly as he tried to catch the man's eyes.  

And it seemed to have worked!  As the Kirund let out a loud, drawn out whine, the customer glanced over at the creature with interest.  Approaching cautiously after his last greeting, the man walked up to the cage and flashed a nervous smile.   "Oh, haha.  Look at this one.  He doesn't seem too bad.  How are you fella?"  To the comment, he flashed the man an expression as close to a smile as he could before sinking down playfully to the floor.  

[3]

[SkyWolf11]

At the harmless display, the man was sold.  "What a nice boy!~", he cooed.  "I'll take this one!"  The canine nearly exploded happily at the verdict, even going so far as to roll over and sneeze happily.  It wasn't something he usually did but who cared - he was free now!  He watched anxiously as the main floor worker gestured for two of the other workers to come in.  One came in and fetched a rusty chain and muzzle while the other dug out the particular key to his cage's padlock.  

The lock clicked open and was wrestled from the cage as the second worker quickly looped the chain around the male's neck and pulled tight.  And though he knew it was a good thing, he still resisted instinctively.  He hated these people that worked here.  They gave him bad feelings out the wazoo.  And these particular men were especially cruel to him, often beating at the cage and spiting insults at him just for kicks.  

The man was looking quite disturbed from the workers harshness and tried to interject.  "Whoa!  Uh ... please don't hurt him!"  The Kirund held strong as he was slowly drug from the cage with claws digging into the cement.  He let out a loud yelp as another tug pulled him off the edge of the cage and onto the slicker floor.  "Ha!  He's not in any pain.  He's just playing the pity card!", the man chuckled with a devilish grin.  

[4]

[SkyWolf11]

By now, the customer had reached for the chain and managed to get it away from the corrupt worker.  "Stop!  ... p-please.  I-I can take it from here."  The worker looked unconvinced but shrugged and let the guy do as he pleased.  Unfortunately for the man, this facility did not really care for customer safety.  It's only concern was pretty much just making profit on it's merchandise.  And some of that merchandise was a little damaged...   Another key detail that they found easier to leave out in the 'adoption' process.

In this particular Kirund's case, it was a very unpleasant past with people.  Now out of the shelter of his cage, it eyed all the people that had gathered around it cautiously.  It triggered a past fear that made him squirm uncomfortably against the chain and his prospective new owner.  The other Kirund, still stirred up from all the excitement, weren't helping any at all.  The situation was not looking in the man's or Kirund's favor as it fell to the floor and trembled slightly.  The man had noticed and slacked his grip on the lead to lean down to his level.  "What's the matter?  It's okay..."   He reached out a hand to comfort the Kirund.

[5]

[SkyWolf11]

It was an unfortunate mistake on the man's part that would condemn the poor Kirund.  In the flash of a second, the man was on the ground wailing with a bloodied hand.  Realizing what he'd done, the Kirund quickly shuffled back into his cage with tail between his legs.  For once, the clinic staff were quick to react.  One slammed the cage door shut while the others rushed to aid the fallen man.  With one arm flailing out against the men, the customer (now ex) growled angrily before struggling to his feet and heading for the door.  From the hall the man's voice could be heard faintly cursing and hissing as he said his last goodbye.

All three workers shot the Kirund an angry glare before the main worker left the room to attend to the distraught man in the hall.  The two remaining began to sigh and growl angrily themselves, yelling at the other Kirund who were still in mid-uproar.  "Oh shut UP you stupid animals!", one shouted.  The other walked over to the cage and retrieved the chain that was still fixed around the creature's neck.  Tugging hard once more, he took the chain and wrapped it tigthly around the door, not even bothering to relock.  "Stupid beast!  Look what you've done now!"  The Kirund's ears perked up curiously at the word beast.  
The male had heard the word directed as him so much over the span of his life that by now it was pretty much his name.  

He watched the men slowly leave as they argued amongst themselves.   "I still can't believe that stupid man, either.   'I don't want something that's aggressive, ooooohh~' Pah!  What did that fool think Kirund were?  Pshhh..." "Oh I know, right?  Idiots."   The room when pitch black as they flicked the switch and walked out.  The room slowly fell silent, the last sound being the heavy lock clicking into place on the door.

[6]

[SkyWolf11]

Even now with all the humans gone, it did not ease the Kirund's anxiety at all.  He had injured another person.  And it would bring down the wrath of the facility owners once again, though now he feared it would be much worse than it had been before.  He had been here long enough to know what happened to the ... unsellables, as they'd been labeled.  There was certain door that meant death around here, and though he hadn't seen it personally, thankfully, he knew of it's existance.  Most every creature here did.  The other Kirund often mentioned it amongst themselves.

"Haha ... smooth move, reject.", a voice cackled from the dark.  Beast looked up, ears cocked forward as another voice chimmed in.  "Yes, you know what's going to happen next right?" another whispered.  His ears fell sadly as he laid his head back down on his paws.  "I-I ... I didn't mean to....", he whimpered.  "That's a joke.  We are born killers ... trying to be anything else is stupid..."  "Yeah ..."

But Beast was different.  Both by design and by choice.  There was a mistake made while he was constructed, some sort of defect in his brain.  It was common knowledge that Kirund were strong beasts capable of fighting until dismembered significantly.  And it was rumored that they felt no pain or much of any feelings particularly... which made them ideal fighters.  However, the strange defect in the Kirund's brain had triggered emotions, which meant, whether or not he could actually feel said emotions and pain, Beast could still mimic them accordingly in many situations.  It was one of the reasons why his original owner had dropped him off in this place.  But that wasn't before they'd tried to 'fix' him themselves, beating and mistreating him often to try and bring out his aggressive side, which they had succeeded but it was only triggered by other humans, making him unsociable to a degree.  It wasn't much good to have a Kirund who didn't like to fight when you ran a fighting ring, now was it?  No, I suppose not...

With the taste of the man's blood still on his teeth, Beast licked his chops before slowly allowing himself to drift off into a less than peaceful sleep, with the soft murmurs of the other Kirund echoing in his ears...

[7]

[SkyWolf11]

The deafening whine of the bolted chamber's door woke the sleeping Beast with a start.  Drowzily, his head rose, aching dully from the chain that still dug deeply into his neck.  He was unsure of how long he'd slept but he knew it hadn't been too terribly long if the workers were still roaming about the facility.  Being locked in a dark room for days on end really screwed with one's perception of day and night and just time altogether.  But the workers were predictable, leaving and locking up for the long nights - often signalled by a loud humming of the dying machines, which he did not hear just yet.

The room stirred with new life as the stock of Kirund all awoke slowly to the entering silhouettes.  However the light switch wasn't flipped, instead a bright flashlight was flashed into the room.  It scanned over the cages carefully as the silent employees walked towards them.  The light passed over Beast's cage, making him blink irritably and squinting around the light curiously to try and make out who it was.  The scent that reached his nose made his fur raise uneasily.  It was his favorite workers!  Sarcasm of course...  His ears fell back as he heard them shuffling around his cage in particular, whispering among themselves...

[8]

[SkyWolf11]

The two exchanged more words, all of which were undistinguishable to the poor Kirund except for the words "Go get that muzzle off the wall.", a sentence that made his blood run cold for a split second.  This ... could not be a good sign.  He'd seen similar steps taken when a Kirund was removed from the room... and was never seen again.  He fought his body to get to his feet, cowering back into a corner as the second man quickly returned with the dangling object in hand.

"Come here, you stupid mutt.", the man growled, taking the chain from around the bars and slinging the heavy door open.  The sudden clang of the chain hitting against the ground and then against his cage as the man yanked it hard made Beast whine.  But with no traction, he was easily pulled from his cage again by the men.  Instantly, as the light blinded the Kirund enough to prevent a proper comeback to the approaching hand, the crippling device was shoved over his snout and quickly fastened.  Panic struck just as fast as he snarled and shook his head violently.  It restricted his jaws painfully, the metal pressing into his skin as he struggled against the chain.  

Barks and growls bounced off the walls from the other cages.  It was clear now to them all what was happening.  Some hated the humans just as much and growled outwardly against them, while others silently laughed at the fate of one of their own.  A familiar voice stood out over the rest to Beast as he was quickly hauled towards the exit.  "Hahaha ... see you on the other side, pup...", it cackled raspily.  

[9]

[SkyWolf11]

His heart sunk at the comment as he was hauled towards the door.  His eyes darted back and forth frantically as they reached the entrance into a better lit hall.  For once, he didn't want to leave the room and he planted himself as best he could, going so far as to lock his horns with the door in an attempt to keep in.  However he was easily overpowered by the teamwork of the two men as the one behind him kicked him out.  He winced with a whine, both from the kick and from the sudden adjustment he had to make to being brought into unexpected light.  

It had been so terribly long since he'd left the stuffy room.  He had once been in these halls before but all prior memories were lost and nothing looked the same.  His nostrils flared as he caught scent of other creatures, humans, and even the faint smell of blood.  Bad memories of his past experiences flashed back to him from his days back in the ring.  And he seeminly froze.  Making it easy for the men to drag him down a long hall, passing a few rooms here and there before coming to a dead end with one final room.  Slowly, one of the men fiddled with the lock, removing it with a hard fast click and swinging the door open.  A sickly smell wafted from the dark room that both human and creature could detect as each grimaced.  Clearly, this was the notorious room that was whispered of from the kennels.  His stomach turned at the thought and he whined weakly.  

"Go." one man growled, pushing the Kirund up to the frame.  Surprisingly calm, Beast submitted, tail between his legs as he allowed the men to shove him right along without much struggle.  Had he ... given up?  The men laughed sadistically at the Kirund's defeated appearance.  "Stupid creature.  That's it, just accept it.  You are faulty merchandise that needs to be disposed of."

[10]

[SkyWolf11]

Faulty ... damaged ... defective ...  He'd heard so many of these words that the humans used to describe him.  Stupid ... weak ... Beast.  It provoked a stifled growl from the canine.  All his life he'd been called these things.  But never once had he ever fell into those catergories, did he?  He had never thought so.  So why did they call him this?  Why did they mistreat him so and treat him badly?  He just ... didn't understand them.  Maybe the time had come to change.  Maybe he should be all those things they said he was.  Afterall, they seemed pretty convinced he was, right?  Why not act accordingly.  What did he possibly have to lose now?  He knew they'd dispose of him eventually if he stayed here.  It was time for one last fight.

Without warning, Beast flailed about wildly backwards with a yelp.  It stunned the men, making them jump out of the way, though one was too slow to avoid one of Beast's dangerous antlers.  It hooked into the man's leg, tearing cloth and skin as he wailed, falling.  The other man hesistated in helping his friend, opting to try and grab for the Kirund's chain that had been lost in the sudden move.  Beast quickly scrambled to his feet clumsily on the slick tiled floor and clawed his way out of reach.  Gaining some momentum, he galloped down the hall and leaving the mean in a panic anger behind him.  

[11]

[SkyWolf11]

He raced down the hall, nearly slidding right into the wall as he took a corner down another hall in the maze of a facility.  Where was he going?  The hell if he knew.  He just knew he needed to get out of here.  There had to be an exit somewhere.  The chain rattled loudly behind him as it was slung every which way, once tangling around his back leg and making him stumble.  With the muzzle strap obstructing some of his view, Beast didn't even realize he'd headed right into another dead end hallway until he'd nearly slammed into the lone wall at the end.  Panic set in again and he fumbled trying to turn around.  He managed to correct himself but as he retraced his steps, he was clocked by one of the angry workers he'd escaped from.

Making all the racket he was, it had been easy for the man to follow his trail.  However, Beast had already been underestimated once.  Don't count him out just yet.  Without stopping, the Kirund shot towards the man with a viscious growl, plowing into him with great force.  The man let out a cry as he was thrown back, cursing Beast loudly as he fought him off.  As frightened as he was, Beast had to admit that there was a certain thrill to this run of his.  He finally felt free even though he hadn't escaped the clutches of the compound yet.    

[12]

[SkyWolf11]

This time it looked like the Kirund had chosen correctly.  Down the end of this hall he could see the hall opening up into a larger room.  He burst into the room with a roar as the man hot on his heels screamed a warning to the remaining workers to stop him.  Luckily, even as clumsy as the Kirund was with the chain and lack of traction, it still wasn't enough to stop him from barrelling past the frantic workers.  

His real chance came when a straggling worker, oblivious to the chaos unravelling inside, opened the main doors.  Without hesistation Beast lunged for the door, slamming into a panicked worker who then tumbled out of the way.  In seconds, he was greeted by the chilled night air and the tightness in his chest that had been there since he'd been drug from his cage had finally lifted.  

[13]

[SkyWolf11]

This was it!  He was finally free!  Well ... more or less.  The blasted contraption was still attached uncomfortably to his face but it was none too concerning for the beast right now.  Without so much as a glance behind him, Beast headed straight down the grimy streets.  The men's shouts from the facility faded in the wind, soon leaving only the rythmic clacking of his nails on the blacktop street and the clinking of the chain he drug behind him to fill the night air.  He did not know where he was headed but wherever it was, it was his decision to make.  Free from the humans that had abused him for all his existant.  And damn did it feel good~

[14]

~ FIN ~