Cardinal vaguely registered Eight’s voice, but it was far away, not directed at her. Furthermore, it was calm. Had it been urgent, she would have whipped around snarling again despite herself. There was no room for error or slack here, and as badly as she wanted to be free, wanted to be out, she didn’t see any way to get by without playing their deadly game. Leaning heavily on the wall, she attempted to regain full consciousness. Her heart was hammering away in her chest, but that small problem seemed microscopic compared to the growing pain in her neck. Lack of action had slowed the bleeding, but it was still there, oozing silently along her underbelly. The only clear sound she heard was the metallic clicking of the Mistress’ claws. Funny how she could already differentiate the sound of her “master” from the sounds of the other humans. Even so… she didn’t enjoy it. The harsh sound was magnified by the remaining adrenaline in Cardinal’s system, and she growled softly as her ears twitched with each screeching click.
Then, after a moment of silence, the Mistress spoke, presumably about them. Cardinal caught the word “tests” and sighed. That word always meant touching. She hated them touching her with their brutal hands. At least the Mistress was softer with them… if only because she knew there would be no retaliation.
Stop trying to make her seem good.
Unfortunately it was more or less true. In this hell, the least evil seemed to be the Mistress. It seemed to Cardinal that even though the girl was bent on using them as weapons of entertainment, she was also fiercely protective of her “property.” Which, consequently, gave the four wolves the ability to enjoy a sense of stability. In any other situation here, perhaps, they would already be dead.
The paralyzing feeling burned into her bones again, and she just fell, not expecting it but welcoming the rest with open paws. Of course she growled as harshly as she could as the humans began their touching, wishing so deeply to tear their hands off as she had torn open the neck of the first wolf she had killed here. The sudden burning sensation quieted her, but only because the pain was great enough to strangle the sound right out of her throat.
Blood watched with minimal interest. This was all the same to him. He had seen this many times with both the Master’s dogs and the Mistress’ wolves. After the first training fight, the purple gunk would always come out and always the little pups squirmed like bugs under the pain. Blood himself had once had the “honor” of being treated by the stuff, and understood what kind of pain it was; however, he found it quite tolerable opposed to the alternative – infection, intense pain, and usually death. It was a curse among canines that their saliva usually carried enough sickness that an untreated bite could be fatal. Ah, se la vie.
Cardinal snuffled slightly as they dragged her back to her cage, annoyed that they didn’t let them up before then. Spax was waiting for her there – she wasn’t surprised.
A sudden streak of worry crossed her mind. Another test? Surely not another strenuous one like the last few… surely they didn’t expect her to get up and take another beating? No, surely not… But then… what was the last test? And why only for her? Her amber eyes, filled with nervous energy, watched him go… then closed. Rest… She needed it so badly. At least she could get a nap before they got back.“you did well, get your rest we will be giving you one last test later, you will no when you see it, to see if you truly want what we offered”
Blood was sitting a few feet from Dice when Spax waltzed up; he had been careful to keep his distance from the jackass while offering some sort of convenience to his friend. He grinned as Spax mentioned that they would be busy with this batch of wolves; being busy meant less boredom. Then again, he would now be balancing training the wolves with fighting his own battles. And then of course there was Shade, the ever-confusing little girl…
And, speak of the Devil...
“Yessir,” he said jokingly, without hesitation. He wasn’t going to enjoy frightening her any more than he enjoyed feeling strangely around her. In fact, he hated the latter. It wasn’t what he was used to, and he hated it. But business was business… Time to go do business.“Blood don’t for get to remind speedy over there of her place”
While the humans continued cleaning up and after Spax had gone, he padded up to Shade’s cage, his demeanor showing his annoyance. Growling as he approached, he made sure to tower over her as she lay there, his red eyes glaring. Just business… When he spoke it was a snarl, unbefitting of the uncomfortable rock in his stomach. He was sure she wouldn't register his words, at least not immediately, but orders were orders...
“Well, well, well. Looks like I underestimated you.”
He was quiet for a while, then got as close as he could to her and spoke in quieter tones that were no less menacing.
“I don’t know what you said or did to Spax to piss him the fuck off, but now I’M dealing with it, lady. I don’t like to damage other people’s property, but I will if I’m invited to, you get me? One more step in the wrong direction and I might have to teach you another lesson – which I SHOULD be teaching you right now.”
He stopped… sighed… A little steam was let off in that exhale, and the snarl ceased. The anger remained, however.
“Look, you wanna fuck with someone’s mind, fuck with mine. It’s fucking fool proof. But Spax? Don’t. Don’t ever. Or it won’t just be me chewing on your entrails.”
Again he fell silent, wondering if she'd actually heard any of it. It looked like she was in a trance. Most likely because she just killed something. Not a completely uncommon occurrence, but he hadn't the slightest memory of someone taking it that hard. The doberman watched her for a while longer, then snorted and left as a human began to move her cage.
Stupid girl.
Cardinal woke only when they had arrived back at their cell block, and only fleetingly. As the door open she slunk out of the tiny crate and into the nearest corner. Almost in sync with Shade, she collapsed into a heap. So tired...
Still, what Spax had said bothered her. Another test... she'd know it when she saw it... And that tone of voice he had, that smile. Something was definitely wrong. What in the world was he planning...?
A new male voice made her open one eye. A husky was standing there, and (without moving at all) Cardinal growled more menacingly than she thought she could. She was sick and tired of these dogs showing up whenever they wanted. But the deep rumbling soon silenced when she noticed that Eight seemed to know this one. The husky greeted Eight like an old friend.
Cardinal watched them for a while longer, then closed her eyes. Her ears were turned toward them, listening, but she'd rather stay out of it for the most part.
) [/b]