397/=A mutant called Dog

=A mutant called Dog
Date of Scene:	09 March 2020
Location:	Foot Facility
Synopsis:	In 2017, the Fox and the Hound meet. Alopex decides she can't leave 'Dog' to her sorry state.
Cast of Characters:	Kainashi, Alopex

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Kainashi has posed:
    2017.

    In the basement of this Foot warehouse building in the Bronx, there was a cage. This cage was made out of two inch thick bars, embedded in concrete. It's a cage that Alopex might have passed by without anything in it -- it wasn't often she was 'stored'.

    Today, however, Alopex had been tasked by a 'more senior' assassin to go and 'feed the dog' -- and handed a bucket full of moulding pizza crusts, out-of-date lunchmeat and kibble, mixed together into some awful mixture of grossness with jellied animal fat binding it all together in the bucket.

    Perhaps someone was jealous that the fox got special favor and got to sit, on occasion, at the side of someone important.

    So, down a narrow flight of creaking, wodden stairs, to the damp concrete-block basement. It had recently been sprayed down; the floor was wet, and the walls were dripping.

Alopex has posed:
    If it weren't for her lower rank, the fox would have went through with her first temptation. To dump the bucket on the man's head and get proper food for this 'dog' that was buried somewhere below the building. Just a few more months, and she'd likely have that rank.

        Sigh. Orders are orders.

    Down into the wettened dark went Alopex, wondering what on Earth she was 'feeding'. Someone's pet? They did say 'dog' after all. The bucket was being held in the best place to avoid the reek coming from it. Occasionally she would look at it, then the pack at her back. "I need more training.." Rank. RANK. MORE RANK.

Kainashi has posed:
    And, for once, there was the occupant in the cage. There was a heavy guage collar around its neck made of heavy steel that bit into her skin, showing the rawness beneath the short fur.. Repurposed ship secures for the forelimbs. Heavy chains that rattled and thudded against the floor as it moved about, a nose tilting back and sampling the air, but warily staying back towards the wall, away from the bars.

    And hands gripped nervously at the blanket carelessly tossed in to guard against the chill.

    This was another mutant.

Alopex has posed:
    The bucket's reek masked any sense that would have hinted at what Alopex approached. Hearing a rattle of life inside catches her attention. Once eyes adjust, the overkill of chains and shackles wakes her curiousity. It's once the bucket is set down and the fox crouches before it that anyone else would notice her fur standing on end. There was another -mutant- in the cage.

    Angry? Yes. Furious? Close. She realizes after a moment just how visible such feelings could be. She takes a breath, exhales over a mental ten count, then she takes a seat in front of the cage. "I won't hurt you."

Kainashi has posed:
    There's a soft sniffing sound from inside the cage as the creature inside draws back from the front, though it's brown eyes are eyeballing the bucket, and Alopex, and though all the fur on the back of its neck is bristled, it shifts forward, awkwardly pulled to all fours from the weight of the chains -- but Alopex would have to probably toss the slip in for her to reach it. The chains stop a good two feet short of the edge of the cage.

Alopex has posed:
    Those chains are even heavier than Alopex realized. "I'm so sorry you're chained up like this," she admits, tugging her backpack off her shoulders, setting it to her other side. She can see that gaze going to the bucket but... she can't bring herself to give that to whomever is inside. "Can you talk..?" she asks as she begins to unzip the pack. The other mutant may catch a whiff of something that has a far, far better scent than a bucket of old food.

Kainashi has posed:
    The creature shifts its weight again, crouching down, nose twitching. There's some fresh wounds against its shoulders, and it looks to the bucket, ears pricking up -- and then once Alopex unzips her pack, the ears draw up further. The fox has the dog's attention now, and that tail gives a little bit of a wag.

Alopex has posed:
    No words, but at least there's a positive reaction. That gets Alopex to give a small smile. "Well, even if you can't, you deserve better than this cage and a bucket of stuff no one wants.." she muses before pulling out a pair of wrapped somethings. The fox leans forward to offer the foil-wrapped smell-good to the mutant inside. "Here, this will be better than the bucket, I'm sure of it." Taken, or set down, the fox would settle down and unwrap her own. Bun, beef, toppings, bacon, condiments. All the good stuff.

Kainashi has posed:
    ! !

    The tail wags rapidly, and very, very carefully the hand reaches out and grasps the edge of the foil, pulling it closer to herself before she whispers in a hoarse squeek:

    "Dog."

Alopex has posed:
    Ears perk at the single word. They can talk. "Ah, yes? That is what you are," Alopex agrees, nomming slowly on the meal she brought for herself. "Do you remember anything?" is asked, quietly. It's a dangerous question. One Alopex would likely regret asking later the same night. She just knew this would ruin her rest, but, .. she just needed to ask. Another mutant? There weren't exactly a lot of them.

Kainashi has posed:
    "... he calls me Dog." she states again, her voice quiet, scared. "She called me something else." she adds on, her tail wagging. "Y-you like me. You're like me. Moo-tint." she states, her weight shifting slightly as she draws back a little bit, as if fearful the fox would steal the burger back, and she begins to (messily, and with some difficulty), eat the food presented to her.

Alopex has posed:
    That's disappointing. "Well, I won't call you that," Alopex informs, watching closely. "Enjoy the meal, I have my own," she holds up the burger, trying to show she won't be taking anything back. "And.. well, yes. We're both mutants. I just don't understand why you are down here.. You deserve better," she muses, pondering just who she could even talk to. There's no way Shredder didn't know. It was far to difficult to make mutants and misplace them.

    "What... do they make you do?" Alopex decides to ask. "I've been down here before. I don't think I've seen you in this cage, and I certainly didn't hear you.."

Kainashi has posed:
    The canine shifts, splutting out as she eats.

    "Practice. Pick things up, put them down." she replies, and her ears hang forward slightly. "You... you won't tell him I talk?"

Alopex has posed:
    Huh. "No, I won't. I'm not his biggest fan either," Alopex admits, thinking of the man that gave her the bucket of 'food'. "Um, if you really want, that.. well, I won't keep it from you, but I'll see about getting down here more often. You .. really deserve better." The fox won't stop saying that either. She doesn't care about failed mutations or what others may think. People deserve to be treated as people. Simple as that.

Kainashi has posed:
    Dog's ears flick down, and there's an audiable whine as her shoulder rolls, and she looks to the bucket.

    "... three days." she replies quietly, trying to wrap the words around her thoughts with difficulty, but her brown eyes turn back up to Alopex, somewhat pleading. The motion had opened a wound on her shoulder, and she winces, slowly bringing up one hand to cover it. "Ouch."

Alopex has posed:
    She's hurt too?! Three? Since ..?" The last time they ate? Were hurt? BOTH?! "If I had a key I'd take care of that but.." she hrms, then goes back to her pack. Disenfectant would be better than nothing. She only had a little bit left but, well, better that instead of nothing at all. "This will sting but, if you put this on it, it might help.." Pex says, setting it down in beyond the bars.

Kainashi has posed:
    Alopex hands over the disinfectant, and the canine sniffs at it, nose wrinkling a moment before she decides to trust Alopex, and she applies it. There's a soft hiss of pain, and then sort of sits back against the blanket, holding the last quarter-ish of the hamburger.

    And she motions to the bucket again. "Three days. Then back out. Food for rest."

Alopex has posed:
    By now, the fox had finished her own burger. She listens but she frowns, "I'm not sure what you mean. Do you want me to leave it here for you, then come back later..?"

Kainashi has posed:
    The canine shifts her weight, and her brows knit a moment. "One bucket. Three days. Then moved. Move big things. Move bigger things. Then practice. Then rest. Sometimes one day. Sometimes more." she wrestles with the words, stretching her jaw a moment as she forces a yawn.

    Her breath is awful. Probably due to the diet.

    "Are you Dog too?"

Alopex has posed:
    Ah, that makes more sense. "Well, I'll try to get you better food then that.." she eyes the bucket, "...stuff.." she mutters before turning back. What a horrible way to live. "Oh, ah, no, I'm a fox, an arctic fox. They call me Alopex instead of just.. well.. fox."

Kainashi has posed:
    "Ah-loh-pehx." Dog pronounces the name slowly, and her tail gives a slight wag. Her eyes turn up, her ears drawing back, and her weight shifts slightly again. "Alopex. Friend?"

Alopex has posed:
    That gets a nod. "Certainly. I gave you food, after all, and a little help for your shoulder. HOpefully I can do more, someday."

Kainashi has posed:
    The dog's tail wags harder, and very quietly, in an almost perfect sentence she quietly admits: "... I haven't had a friend in years. It's nice to have one again."

Alopex has posed:
    That.. huh. The fox didn't expect that after what was said earlier. The surprise shifts into a smile after a few moments. "Well, I'll work on it, so you can be happy to have one."

Kainashi has posed:
    That's when the door opens, and the trainer calls down: "HEY MUTT. Are you done feeding the dog yet? Or are you sizing it up for your turn in the gauntlet?" the Foot Assassin calls out, and begins down the stairs.

    Dog winces, and hides the disinfectant container and the foil from the burger in the least likely place she was going to remember them being -- in the bucket of slop.

Alopex has posed:
    That gets a grunt out of Pex, who is on her feet in a moment, with the bucket closer in another, allowing the other mutant to hide everything. "I was just looking! I'm coming!" she barks up before wincing at the canine, "I'll be back. I promise," she whispers.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Well, don't look too long. Dog's a failed experiment. Must have been something very special about you, otherwise? You'd probably be in that cage." he smirks. "Wouldn't that be a sight."

Alopex has posed:
    There's a snort, but the fox knows better to be toooo insubordinate. All she does, after giving the 'dog' an apologetic look, is stand, sling her backpack back on, then glare up at the other assassin. "Well. Maybe. I know there's a few people I'd love to see in that cage," she notes before stalking past the man. She gives no names, nothing that could get her in trouble, especially not with who her teacher may soon be. "But, what do I know?"

Kainashi has posed:
    "Only what you were taught. Youmight think you're as good as human, but you will *always* be an animal under your manners and training. So don't get *too* uppity." the trainer states, and as they withdraw, he turns off the lights.

    And in the darkness, Dog wraps herself the best she can in the damp blanket, reeking of mildew, and whispers to herself:

    "I've got a friend!"