The cold was joined by a certain dampness that evening. Evidently it had rained heavily outside during the day and some of the water had seeped into the Facility. At least, that was what they all speculated. It was nice to think that even the impassable walls of their prison could not hold out against everything. It gave them hope, in a way. But none of them ever saw the rainwater. They had heard it, and the air was thick with evaporated moisture, but no water ever slunk into their cells besides the rations the humans provided.
Nice to think about, though.
Cardinal, ever watchful now that she had someone to look out for, listened to the others as they slept. Their breathing comforted her. Earlier, she had feigned sleep so as to not disturb the others. Now, hours later, she listened to the sounds of the Facility like a scout on watch. Old habits died hard, she supposed. It wasn't much of a waste of her time, though - she'd be able to hear Spax, Blood, or Dice coming, and Okami knew how they loved to make their entrance. So she sat, watching the door like a hawk. A slight shifting in her cell behind her drew a twitch from her now well-muscled body, but no more. A few weeks before, that would have driven her to fret. Now, it was as familiar as anything in this horrible place.
"Mother?"
The young voice was quiet - the pup knew when to lower his voice when others were sleeping. It was one of the first lessons he had been taught under Cardinal's careful parenting. The red wolf flicked one of her ears back, waiting for further pestering. When it didn't come, she relented and turned to the little black pup that was curled up in the corner, where she should have been keeping him warm. He looked... innocent, with those big eyes looking at her so inquisitively. She knew he wouldn't be that young for long. Until then, he would need teaching.
"Yes, my darling?"
The pup squirmed a bit, chewing on his tongue. Cardinal clicked her own tongue at him - a slight reprimand. He knew it was a bad habit to chew on his tongue when talking, but it apparently helped him think of the words. He stopped chewing, but his tongue stayed out, licking at his muzzle. Finally, he seemed to know what he wanted to say. As he spoke, each word was precise - as he had been taught.
"How come you kill so many of our kind? Isn't... isn't killing wrong?"
Ah. That question. She knew it had been a long time coming. Luckily enough, she had an answer ready for him. Her amber eyes glittered slightly, and she looked up at the ceiling, where a moth was trying desperately to bash itself through the concrete.
"Yes, Kei. Killing is wrong, unless it is to survive."
"But can't you just talk about it instead of fighting?"
She laughed a bit. Innocence bites back quickly.
"No, my son. I wish it were that simple, but no, we cannot talk about it."
She turned back. Kei looked as if he understood, but he was definitely sad about it. The mother in her drove her to stand and nuzzle her adoptive son.
"If it helps you, think of it this way: we are all trapped here. The only way out is to die. Dying is not such a bad thing, remember? Oh don't give me that look, I taught you how it works. Our spirits go to a better place than this. There's sunshine. That's a wonderful thing. And fresh air... and lakes and grass... I wish I could show you these things, but I can't. So when we fight, we fight to release our foes from their bodies, so that they can go to that place. It is our job to release as many souls as we can. Understand?"
Kei began to chew on his tongue for a moment, then nodded. "Yes Mother, I understand... but... why should we release everyone? I know that Mr. Darcia is bad so... why should we let him to that nice place?"
Cardinal hesitated, then licked Kei's face.
"Spirits with good in them - even a little bit - go to the nice place. But if you don't have that bit, you can't go. So always hold on to that, my son, but do not be so quick to judge others."
The puppy nodded again, yawning. In a few minutes, with Cardinal watching over him, he was asleep. She peered at him for a couple more seconds, then - feeling watched - looked up. Eight's icy eyes were watching her. They locked gazes for a moment... then Eight nodded to her and closed his eyes again.
The next few moments, it was as if someone had frozen time. All was still, the only movement the breathing of the wolves. Then, somewhere, fighting broke out in one of the other cellblocks. The silence broken, Cardinal sighed.
Never let go of yourself, my son.
----
Just a quick little thing that I've had in my head for a while.
Yep, that's Kei, Cardinal's future ADOPTIVE pup. As for biological pups... who knows? X3
I won't be posting pictures until Leo introduces him into the story, but a couple of you have seen him already.
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