(Work in progress! Posting the first section now since Kisha's got things to worry about on her end (I wish you and Branco all the good in the world!!!). Anyway, let's get this show back on the road. Short post, but hopefully it'll hold you over for now. ;3)
The two wolf dogs, blissfully unaware of the depth of the situation, followed Spax and the humans down the twisted hallways of the Facility. It always struck Kei how empty the corridors were nowadays. Perhaps it was in fear of the newest additions to the prowling ranks of the Free, those that were able to walk about the buildings unmolested instead of being locked in cages. These new members included himself – if only temporarily, and at specific times of day – and his mother, the Mistress’s “Songbird,” meant to guard the girl during contact with especially nasty humans. Recently, though, Cardinal had become more wary of her surroundings than she should have been. One day, perhaps a week prior to the present, she had met with Kei during one of his walks.
The conversation had begun normally. A brief, waning smile from his mother, a warm nuzzle. “Hello, my son,” she’d said, as always, but with a peculiar undertone that he noticed immediately. “How goes your business?” She was always formal with her greetings.
“Well, Mother,” he’d replied, tilting his head. “… What’s the matter? You seem… off today.”
At first the deep red wolf just looked at him, wondering whether or not to tell him the truth. Finally her ears flicked back and she sighed. “Yes, well,” she began, obviously reluctant, “I suppose nothing is going well at the top of the food chain.” Before continuing, she cast a wary glance around for any eavesdropper stupid enough to listen in on a fighting wolf’s conversation. Satisfied that they were alone, she lowered her voice. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but… The Mistress has been agitated lately… And so has Spax.” At the mention of the name, she bristled involuntarily. Many unwanted memories of that dog. “Apparently I missed something during the last fight, and neither has mentioned any of it to me,” she muttered, her eyes wandering.
Kei just listened, his own eyes wandering over his mother’s scars. They had always fascinated him, but she had never told him the stories behind the marks. Not that he’d asked…
“I’ve asked Spax, but he won’t say a word,” Cardinal continued. “Something is very wrong…” She stopped there, trailing off into her thoughts. For a while there was silence between them as they both mulled it over. Neither seemed to come up with a solution to their problem, and finally Cardinal exhaled and gave a half-hearted smile. “But never mind me. I ramble too much nowadays. Tell me, how is Fax?”
Beyond the obvious, that was the end of the encounter. Kei had not seen his mother since, which wasn’t unusual. What WAS unusual was that he hadn’t heard anything about her since that strange conversation. Usually he could overhear dogs in the hallway talking about something that she was involved in, but Kei hadn’t heard a thing. It was as if Cardinal had disappeared off the face of the Facility.
DELIVERANCE Part II
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Shaydie
- The Shadow Hound
- Posts: 879
- Joined: 08-07-2009 20:17
