Cardinal couldn't stand looking at him anymore. She pointed her nose toward the floor and locked her eyes there, trying to get the preceding scene out of her head. Eight, thickheaded and strong and short-sighted as he was... screaming. It disturbed her to no end. And here that monster was, taunting her. She licked her lips, breathing but not feeling it. It was as if every breath she took was sucked away from her."oh how polite you are, but is that all you can come up with hmmmm"
Instantly her head snapped up and rage suddenly clawed its way through her body like an angry dragon. Her fear gave way to fury and in less than a second her mood had swung to the other end of the spectrum. She was pissed."well i guess you will see when you get back to your pup, train hard now"
"YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF! IF ITS THE LAST FUCKING THING I DO I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU EVEN TOUCH HIM!"
Quiet... He's just finding your buttons.
Her conscience murmured darkly at her, but she couldn't choke down her fury. If that dog put ONE PAW ON KEI, she'd come unglued. War, whether or not Kei was actually hurt. Oh yes, Darcia would pay A HUNDRED FOLD FOR WHATEVER HE DID TO THAT INNOCENT PUP! But in seconds the monster was gone and she was left there, furious, pacing back and forth while the humans readied her training regimen. Once, she ran full speed at the bars of her area where Darcia had pinned Eight, and turned at the last second, delivering an insane back kick with her hindleg... and kept pacing. Anger had taken over her, and at the moment she was trying very hard to harness it and use it for whatever they had planned for her.
At least, she was trying.
Whether or not it was working was anyone's guess...
The click of metal against metal caught her attention finally, though she didn't calm down one bit. Evidently the humans had decided that the most influential training for her would be the same as Eight's - training on-the-job, so to speak. A cage had just opened, revealing a female wolf with the same build as Cardinal's... except this one looked like the others: out of her mind.
"This is what you throw at me? Again!?"
She was disappointed somehow. She wanted something more challenging. Something BIG. She wanted Darcia.
"... Fine. I'll fucking KILL IT!"
And off she went again, full of anger and yet still holding back enough to allow for some precision. It didn't take very long. As soon as they collided, the other female made the huge mistake of leaving her throat open... which Cardinal took advantage of. Her fangs locked around the girl's throat, and without a second thought she spilled the wolf's blood like it was nothing. Too easy. A few humans looked on, impressed but disturbed, and loaded the next wolf into the entry cage.
And Cardinal just waited, silent as death, fire burning in her heart.
But not for wolves. Or dogs. Or humans. Not even Eight or Tsuna or Shade.
For herself. And Kei.
And, in some respect, Ruby and Christian.
Gotta have your priorities...
---
In the meantime, Blood was enjoying the last hour of freedom before he got shanghaied into the Speed Fight cages. Newly cleaned - almost blindingly - and sporting his starred collar, he walked through the hallways looking for something to do... someone to tear up... He'd promised Spax that he wouldn't fuck anyone before the fights, so he couldn't do that....
Of course... he'd heard Shade had been put back into her cell for the day. Which meant she was all alone. Without Eight to make fun of him.
Quite impressive odds...
Maybe he'd just go find out how she was doing... She hadn't looked good the last time he'd seen her.
"Hrm..."
Probably a bad idea... He grinned darkly to himself; when had that ever stopped him? Besides, she could do with some friendly attention.
Changing direction slightly, Blood made his way back toward Shade's cellblock.
It took him a while, and he passed a few dogs murmuring something about Triple Eight and how Darcia had... done something, he couldn't quite catch it. It wouldn't be the first time Darcia had injured Eight... or worse. So he didn't think much of it... Until he got closer to the Mistress' cells... and smelled Dice.
For a moment he froze. Why would Dice be around there...? Instinctively he increased his pace, suddenly realizing how quiet it was...
But only for a moment.
Faintly, he heard growling. Barks, snarls... He could smell blood very clearly. Almost there... For some reason he could feel his pulse rising. If Dice was doing what he thought he was doing...
And then, a scream.
SHADE.
He broke into a run, his long legs carrying him far faster than seemed possible. Goddammit!
By the time he reached the right door, he was absolutely sure that Dice was screwing around with Shade. But when he put his head through the dog door (rather silently at that), he still froze, infuriated by what he was seeing...
Dice... pinning Shade... trying to rape her...
His whole body rebelled against it.
A snarl slowly erupted from his throat, the first sound he had made at all so far. That snarl slowly grew louder... into something far more menacing, terrifying, and infuriated. No dog had ever growled like that, had ever made a sound anything like it. The red irises of Bloodhound seemed to constrict his pupils into pinpricks as he stepped into the room fully. He looked, quite accurately in fact, like a demon.
"Get the fuck off of her you sonofabitch..."
His entire body was tense whether or not Dice would turn and fight him... And if he didn't... Blood would make sure he didn't walk out unhurt anyway. He'd BREAK HIS FUCKING LEGS!
---
Meanwhile, Kei was just enjoying himself, like a pup should.
He licked his lips slightly as John reprimanded him for barking at Nina, but he kept his distance from the new rat anyway, looking at her curiously.
The little tan rodent laughed at Jack, pleased that he agreed to sing with her. She'd been meaning to stretch her vocal chords for a while anyway.
"Okay, here goes... Ready?"
(I'll just write the whole thing. Otherwise it'll drag on for too long if we just take the two parts.)
Picture perfect memories
Scattered all around the floor
Reaching for the phone 'cause
I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I
Ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time
It's a quarter after one
I'm all alone
And I need you now
Said I wouldn't call
But I've lost all control
And I need you now
And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now
Another shot of whiskey
Can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping
In the way you did before
And I wonder if I
Ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time
It's a quarter after one
I'm a little drunk
And I need you now
Said I wouldn't call
But I've lost all control
And I need you now
And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now
Whoa, whoa
Guess I'd rather hurt
Than feel nothing at all
It's a quarter after one
I'm all alone
And I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call
But I'm a little drunk
And I need you now
And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now
I just need you now
Oh baby, I need you now
(ALL DONE
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)