The Pound

[Rabidog]

Ribunny paced around the cage she was put into. She looked again at her reflection in her water bowl. "I have wings..." She murmerd for the hundreth time. She still coulden't belive it. It was like the world fell down on top of her. "How is it possible...?" She asked herself. She flapped them, just to see if they were real, to see if it just wasn't a trick. But they moved, and what she had been trying to tell herself all this time was a lie. It WAS real, and she was in REAL trouble. She heard of what happens in a pound. She shiverd.

Dot wasn't as scared as sister was. In fact, she wasn't scared at all. She actually was a bit happy. She wagged her now squirrely tail. "I can get used to this.." She said as she sped around her cage in a secound flat.

Miles was glaring at everyone who came close to his cage. He was ready to hurt someone. Just last week he made someone have to go to the emergancy room because he scratched them right on their wrist. Thats what they diserve! he thought For keeping me here, for making me... an abomination! He made a frustrated growl/hiss.

[SikstaSlathalin]

With a squawk and a jet of flame the scaly bird awakens in his all too familiar cage. His normally grumpy disposition was teetering toward full anger. Everyday it was the same thing wake up listen to the whines and complaints of his fellow prisoners. Eat the little food he's given and burn the paper in his cage so he can eat more. Then goes to sleep in his drafty cage next to the broken window, if he wasn't a fire breather he'd had frozen to death a while ago.

He squawks again ruffling his feathers a little walking to the edge of his cage looking out into his "world'. The three mutant dogs are all up and about. With another ruffle of his feathers he says.
"Will you stop that! He yells to the speedy dog. It's bad enough I gotta look at ya but you're shaking my cage with all that."

[Lethe]

With a long, drawn out sigh, Priss extended her left rear paw so that more massage oil could be applied to the soft outer lining of her sensitive foot pads. She closed her eyes as the massage therapist began gently working the scented oil into her skin. The tension in her body slowly melted into blissful oblivion. She chuffed contentedly as the massage proceeded to the delicate area between each of her toes. Once her legs and paws were finished, she would be wrapped in a plush towel and then carried into an adjoining room where she would receive a manicure and pedicure. She would then enjoy a delicious lunch of finely sliced marinated steak, mineral water and a canine cookie. This wasn’t a special occasion. It was simply how she spent each and every one of her Thursdays. The lady who cared for her (and who some might foolishly refer to as her “owner”), was an affluent elderly woman who understood how to properly care for a distinguished toy poodle such as herself. Priss traveled everywhere she did: to the theater, the café, the park, and even on transatlantic cruises.

Priss gracefully extended another paw to be massaged. Yet instead of a second application of warm scented oil, a bitter cold sensation traveled the length of her leg, making her skin tingle. Priss growled deep in her throat, letting the therapist know that this was indeed far from acceptable. She expected to hear some sort of meek apology. I’m terribly sorry. Miss Priss. Was that in any way uncomfortable? It shant happen again, Miss Priss. Would you like another sausage bon-bon, Miss Priss?

However, no apology came. The uncomfortable cold feeling traveled past her leg and into her hip and spine. Priss tried to shake her leg, but found she could no longer move her rear limbs. Her front legs seemed paralyzed as well! What was happening? Had she fallen ill? Her heart beat frantically against her ribs.

She opened her eyes.

This wasn’t the Pooch Palace Pet Paradise, the finest Pet Resort and Spa on the west coast! This was somewhere barbaric, somewhere sinister, without servants, champagne, or a Park Avenue view. She was lying in a cage, on her side. Her front and rear paws had been bound with some sort of white medical tape. She felt groggy. Had she been drugged?

Slowly, memories trickled back to her. She vaguely remembered a woman in a sterile lab coat with cold hands. She remembered voices from far away, and indistinct sounds distorted as if heard under water. Priss found that she could not stand. The offensive tape that bound her paws prevented her from performing the most basic of moments. Well, that was one thing that would soon be rectified. With zealous determination, Priss began chewing through the tape. Soon her paws would be free.

[Fireleap]

"Ugg.." A groan was resounded from a lonely-looking cage, at the end of the large room. Two silver eyes flickered open. They saw nothing but darkness, for they were blind, but somehow, Scruff knew she was nowhere near home. It was as though she'd gotten a sixth sense, somehow. Or perhaps it was because the scent of her freshly painted cage was overwhelming. "Wait a darn second... Cage?!" Her ears pricked up, in all their alertness. There were sounds of other creatures, wondering about in their own cages, murmuring and grumbling.

Groggily, the dog attempted to get up, but her still-weak legs collapsed under her, and she fell back onto the floor of her cage. It was cold, in a very metal-like way. If Scruff had been any weaker or frailer a dog, she would've whimpered. But Scruff was a street dog, her skin was toughened by the life of begging and food snatching. But now, was she still a street dog? After all, if this was indeed the Pound... It meant, that she'd somehow gone under a mutation. Unfortunately, she had no idea what.

Again, she tried to get up on her feet, shakily, and finally, she managed to stand up straight. She pushed her snout in between two bars of her cage, and took a deep sniff. Ever since being blinded by an 'incident' that she never talked about, she had learned to rely on her sense of smell. But the scent of paint was too thick to smell anything. Even so, she could practically 'see' her surroundings. There was a parrot, walking around in his cage, screeching at a rather jumpy dog, in another cage. Another dog nearby was busy gnawing at the medical tape that bounded her paws, and two more dogs were in their own cages, brooding over their misfortune. How she managed to sense them so well, Scruff had no idea. But that was the last of her worries, right now. She had to get out of here, somehow. And if she couldn't, she was going to bring this Pound down with her.

[Wander]

"Hehehehehe... A rather grief-stricken bunch I've been placed with. Like as if there was ever a happy soul I've seen yet around here to begin with... Unless you're talking about me of course. BAH-HAHAHAHAHAhahahehehehee....."
One of the mutated dogs said from one of the corner cages within this hall as his words echoed all through out in order for all to hear. "You fellow mutts and other disfigured animals within this place should at least give a smile or a happy yip once in a while. It wouldn't KILL you to do so. Am I right? HEHEHEHEhehehehehee...."

The dog stepped a few steps closer to the bars in front of himself, letting part of the light reveal his features and his identity as the well known psycho of the pound, Kaseko. "Like my mother always said, count your blessings when things look downright dreadful. At least we're all living and being fed by someone everyday and not rotting in the middle of the streets where any random human machine may run us over! Though sadly some of you already look like you've been ran over by something. BAHAHA!"

He suddenly caught glimpse of the dog with a squirrel tail running around her cage. "Why don't you take her as an example. She's easily a pair of happy bones (heheh.. bones...) despite the constant ideas that this is a hell hole. Sure, I could always give myself as an example as well, though you'd have to be insane to be this happy! BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahaheheeheeee!" The dog started to roll over in laughter, knowing by now he would at least annoyed someone. He knew very well that annoyance is one of the simplest ways to make others' lives miserable and yet keep the source of it grinning.

[Mary Sue]

"Kaseko," Growled a deep irritated voice. In one of the largest cages, rested a large dog. From behind, his black fur made him look like a giant shadow. When he rolled over, however, there was a splash of brown on his muzzle and a streak of white on his chest and underbelly. It was common coloring for a Doberman...if a Doberman had massive saber-tooth-tiger fangs and a body like a brick house.
"Give it a rest, you loon. You're giving me a headache." With that, he curled back up and laid his head on the floor of his cage that seemed too small for him despite its size.

Stone, seemed almost comfortable. He was simply used to his cage, and the fights, and the constant bickering and fear. But in his dreams, he could revisit his home in the junk yard where he was the alpha of a mismatched group of miscreants. He could visit his mate in his dreams as well, and wonder how beautiful his had become. They would be teething about that time...

Stone sucked in a ragged breath and padded to the bed of straw in his cage. As he passed through the lights, a colorful array of scars glared angrilly at the others. He didn't seem bothered by them. They were trophies.
"Whine and gripe like pups all you want," He told the others, "But do it quietly because it won't change a damn thing. Welcome to the Pound. Now shut the hell up." With that he sank into the hay.

[Fireleap]

Scruff groaned to herself. Not only was she stuck in the pound, she was stuck in the pound, with a few psycho-maniacs. Kaseko's laughter continued to ring in her ears, and she collapsed onto the floor, paws covering her head. Since when did she suddenly acquire such good hearing? And in truth, it really wasn't good hearing, because all she could make out were rumbles. What was going on?! despite her worry, she bit her lip, in attempt to contain another whimper. It's confirmed. I've got to get outta here, a.s.a.p! Scruff thought. The streets of NYC were home to her, and she liked it there. She was just an average street dog, born and raised on the streets, why did the Pound have to do this to her?

As questions continued to swarm around in her mind, she got up again, carefully. Strange.. All was silent, yet she could still hear rumbling. No parrot screeches, no dull barking, no whimpering.. It suddenly occurred to her that the only sounds she heard were movement sounds. But why were they so loud? She took a step forward. KA-THUMP! Her pawstep shouted, echoing in her ears. She winced and looked around cautiously, despite being blind, to see if any one had noticed. She then realised that her paws had suddenly grown in size. She gave out a small yelp and backed away from her cage bars. As she bumped into the back wall, another loud rumbling sound echoing in her ears. After a few moments of thought, she cleared her throat. "Kaseko... was it?" She called out. "Sorry to bother. Name's Scruff." She began, introducing herself with a dip of her head. "Anyway, you seem to know this place well. Tell me, what are the odds of escape?"

[jasminerose]

(neeka woke up slowly looking around not knowing where she was she couldn't smell her litter near her wondering if they were ok the cold metal floor made her cringe the smell of paint made her gag as she listened to the laughter and whines around her she tucked her tail between her legs) hello? who's there?

[SikstaSlathalin]

Another squawk and a burst of flame and Polly bites the wires of his cage bending them.
"Oh bugger off Scarface unlike you I'm not complacent with my lot in life. He squawks more attacking the bars of his cage. As soon as I get out of here I'm torching this whole place down." He squawks more trying to rip the bars apart he makes progress creating a small hole but soon he's tuckered out, lack of food and constant fighting does that to a parrot dragon. With an annoyed squawk and walks around his cage trying to get his spirits up. He overhears Scruff talking to the nutter known as Kaseko.
"I'll tell ya what the odds are doggy. Next to damn nothing, last guy that tried to get out was dragged back in and fed to the Lionbear in the back room." He squawks unhappily and scrambles to his metal perch it used to have a little cork in the middle but he ate that awhile ago. With a lurch of his body he begins swinging like he did everyday all day until he feel asleep from sheer boredom.

[Mary Sue]

Stone gave Polly a toothy grin that resembled a snarl. But he couldn't argue. Escape was near impossible. As he realized, he'd be getting no sleep any time soon Stone sighed and stood with a stretch. He padded back into the light and sat on his haunches, examining the lot of them.
"Looks like they've gotten a little more creative with you lot," He said as he turned his head. His saber fangs hung long past his muzzle and made it slightly difficult to speak, but it wasn't difficult to understand him. He tilted his head and tapped the bar with his fangs.
"My teeth can crush anything. This is my third cage. The last time I tried anything fancy, I ended up blind in this eye. Try to escape this room, and you'll be fed to the Lionbear. Get beyond that..." He paused. "Well, no one's even come back for that. The name's Stone by the way."

[Lethe]

At last her front paws were free of the medical tape. First, Priss inspected each paw for injury. Next she checked her nails in case her recent ordeal had caused any chips in her polish. Whilst examining her nails she noticed that her paws were somehow shaped differently. Her “thumbs” were in a slightly different location, in some ways similar to human hands. Priss reached toward the remains of the white tape, picking it up between her thumb and first finger digit with ease. She had never been able to manipulate objects in this manner. It was uncanny! She flexed her tiny paws. This would be a definite advantage once she got out of this cage. That was, if she could get out of this cage.

While she began the tedious process of removing the sticky medical tape from her rear paws, Priss began listening to the myriad of voices around her. Although she was a captive, she wasn’t alone. From the way the other animals spoke, some had been here a long time. A winged lizard creature was squawking while he attacked the bars of his cage. He had magnificent feathers. Priss had never seen an animal like this in all her life. She had, however, heard legends of dragons. Could this be a dragon? Priss mused silently. Although the being possessed many dragon-like features, Priss had always thought that a dragon would be much larger.

Priss had difficulty believing what the dragon creature had just said: "I'll tell ya what the odds are doggy. Next to damn nothing, last guy that tried to get out was dragged back in and fed to the Lionbear in the back room."

Lionbear? How could such an animal exist? It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t natural. It was a bit ridiculous actually. How could such different animals be combined? Just then she caught sight of her own tail, once a gloriously groomed poodle tail. What had happened to it? What was wrong with her tail? Priss nearly yelped. She sniffed her tail then touched it with the tip of her nose. Why, it looked like a rabbit’s tail! Whoever had locked her up here in this vile cage had somehow caused her tail to shrink and turn all puffy. She had become Priss-cottontail!

This must all be a horrific nightmare! The room became somewhat of a blur. Her heart continued to pound loudly in her chest. Thump. Thump. THUMP. THUMP. From a nearby cage, Priss heard a powerful Doberman named Stone join in the conversation. “…My teeth can crush anything. This is my third cage. The last time I tried anything fancy, I ended up blind in this eye. Try to escape this room, and you'll be fed to the Lionbear. Get beyond that..."

The Lionbear must be real! Priss nearly fainted.

[Wander]

"Ohoho! Trying to ruin the fun for me once again now, are you? Hahahahehhehee...." For Kaseko, Stone was an easy target to annoy being quite the angry doberman. But of course, with saber teeth like those, he very well knew he shouldn't push too hard on him, especially if they were somehow placed in one cage together. However, knowing that he was as far as possible from him, he might as well get on his nerves.

But before he could even say another word, one of the new dogs, identifying herself as Scruff, asked him about the possibilities of escaping. He gave off a laugh hearing this question. Escaping? He knew very well that it was almost impossible in a place like this. He was about to say something until both the parrot dragon thing and Stone butted in. "Hey Hey HEY! She was asking me as I recall?! HMPH! The nerve of you animals! HEH!" He started to give the back of his ear a good scratch before standing up to stretch and shake his fur.

Apparently, as everyone was talking, they failed to notice the one dog calling out to the others. Sadly enough, Kaseko was the first to notice, namely because the sound of her voice easily gave him the impression she was, to an extent, afraid. Knowing this, and giving the girl a good enough look to notice that her tail was in between her legs, he quickly replied to the dog, "Oh, sorry. You must have heard wrong my dear. I wasn't telling a knock knock joke yet. BAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA! Get it? Who's there? Knock knock? AHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEeee!" By the time his laughter subsided, it was only then he took notice that no one was laughing. "Hmph. Everything is much more funnier at 4 in the morning..."

[Fireleap]

Scruff's eyes grew narrow. "Lionbear, huh?" She stared at the Hyena-Dog and the Doberman, blindly. "Stone, if you could please spare a moment or two, could you tell me all you can about the last guy who tried to escape?" She inquired, politely, after a few moments of silence. She had quickly decided that the Kaseko fellow was probably a more unreliable source of information and that the screeching parrot would probably give her even more pessimistic answers. If there was any chance of escaping this miserable place, Scruff would be willing to put everything she had into that chance. If there wasn't a single chance, it wouldn't hurt to try, eh? After all, she had nothing to lose. To die trying was more appealing than living in fear.

She lifted a paw and stamped it, firmly onto the cage floor. The loud, metal vibration sound that only echoed in her ears confirmed her suspicions. Her sense of touch had been re-intensified, so that everything that made a sound or vibration would be echoed in her ears, louder by a tenfold. This is absolutely amazing.. It was as though she could 'see'. She had trained herself to integrate her other senses into her range of 'sight' and now, with this new ability, she could roughly make out what the entire room looked like, in her mind. The screeching parrot had four legs and appeared to be spitting flames everywhere. There was a dog with an outrageously fluffy tail spinning around. The one of the two brooding dogs sported a pair of wings and was lapping up some water. Stone was a large doberman with pretty cool fangs and Kaseko was a hyena-dog. There was also a dog with a bunny tail, and a... husky-fox? As Scruff 'looked on', an absolutely brilliant idea creeped into her mind...

[Mary Sue]

Stone sighed.
"Last two guys who tried to escape, made it out of the room. Labcoats chased them down the hall. There were all sorts of devices in their hands. There was the sound of scuffling, then a yelp and a meow...Then footsteps followed by silence. I don't know what happened. I don't know if he escaped or if he died. But neither of them came back." The way Stone held his head, made it obvious he wished it could have been him and not the others. But after his last failure, Stone learned it was a fools errand...especially alone.

[jasminerose]

(as neeka started to get thirsty she went to her water dish as she concentrated it fills up as do all the other water dishes the fresh water is cool sweet and crisp neeka starts to drink sighing happily as her dry throat feels the moisture she clears her throat speaking louder)
excuse me? who is here? id like to know if your friend or foe

(she sniffs the air sneezing as she gets a parrot feather against her nose) whew that bird smells! who bbqed the damn thing? (she shakes her head)

(she she heard the other dogs remark about the joke she growled) smart alec huh? what did your mother EVER teach you?

[SikstaSlathalin]

Polly squawk laughed from his higher cage he could see something more of the last escapees.
"All I can add to that was I saw a bright flash of light. So draw from that what you want." He looks at the drinking dog who said he smelled and shot a jet of flame at her jumping from his perch.
"You try being designed from a stupid trading card with fire breathing powers of two creatures that haven't been close for over 65 million years and see how well you smell!" With another irritated squawk he clambers back to his perch. He looks at Kaseko with a more surly look then usual.
"At 4 in the morning I'm glad they sedate me."

[Lethe]

She had to pull herself together! She could be strong and brave if she needed to be! Couldn’t she? The white, genetically enhanced bunny-poodle slowly raised herself onto all four paws and cautiously approached the front of her cage. Priss wanted a closer look of those imprisoned alongside her. Most of the other caged animals appeared to be at least part canine. One had wings. Another had multiple tails. Priss noticed traces of other animals: hyena, fox, and something else she wasn’t able to correctly identify.

Priss placed her tiny nose against the front of her cage and inhaled deeply. Not only was she able to capture and memorize the scents of the other animals, but she was able to detect traces of antiseptics, medicines, and the unique smells emanating from the humans who were possibly in an adjoining room. As expected, the most overpowering scent in the area was the smell of fear. The other animals here were anxious, uncomfortable in their tiny cages, and fearful about their future. And she was as apprehensive and afraid as any other creature here.

With her left front paw, she pushed a scrap of white medical tape through an opening in the front of her cage. Its presence was an annoying reminder that she had been dog napped and was an unwilling participant in a cruel and sadistic type of torture. Her lovely poodle tail had been taken from her and transformed into a fluffy bunny tail. She would likely never be the same again. Why had this been done to her?

For the first time, Priss decided to address the others. Just before she spoke, she used her left paw to straighten the tiny bow in her hair.

“My name is Priss. Under the circumstances I’m going to skip the pleasantries and get right to the point. What do these humans want with us? Does anyone know?”

From the location of his cage, the tiny dragon probably had a much better view of their surroundings. Maybe he had seen something. Or possibly one of the others had been here long enough to better understand their situation.

[Mary Sue]

"Beats me, Princess," Stone said to Priss and turned to Neeka whose nose was protruding from her cage.
"And we're all friends here," He added. "You have to be. The humans are the real enemies here. They test on us, mutate us, breed us, and fight us... If you don't have anyone else to count on, then you loose hope pretty quickly."
Fortunately for Stone, he now had more company than a grumpy parrot and a crazy hyena. Unfortunately, he didn't know how long he would get to know them.

[jasminerose]

(neeka wagged her tail) pleased to meet you priss and you bird brain i was just making a observation that you smell like bbqed chicken sorry!

(as neeka hears the breeding comment she flattens her ears) oh no no god please god don't let them have killed my litter not my babies

(neeka curls up in a corner of the cage starting to cry softly wimpering and whispers) please let my little ones be safe

[Wander]

There was suddenly water that appeared in Kaseko's dish, and it made him run toward it and pick up the plate and swallow in the water just to spit it out again. "PLEH. I prefer tap water!!!!" Then the dog who placed water in his plate said something about the bird's smell. "OHOHOHOH! I wonder what the bird's gonna do next..." Now she was telling him how she disliked his joke asking what his mother taught him. Rolling his eyes, he just told her "As I recall, dear, not a lot really. Or maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention to her all this time. HAHAHAHAHEHEHE."

Sooner or later though, his laughter became louder when he saw the bird randomly shoot a fireball at the dog and gave her a piece of his mind. The lizard bird eventually remarked about his joke as well and he immediately stopped laughing, giving the bird a blank stare. "How fortunate for you..."

Now the other dog among the cages was finally talking to everyone. "Priss... What a very odd name. Eehehehehehee... Well, one thing is for sure, the fighting is the best part in all of this. Gives me a chance to... Take out the things that keep me from laughing... Heeheehee..." While saying this, he bared his claws and made scratched the wall behind him, adding to the number or marks he already made times before. Even just thinking of the things that got him angry in the past still gets him angry until now and since there's nothing he can do to get rid of it, he would just randomly scratch the wall behind him now and then to at least calm himself down.

Now one of the dogs was even whimpering in her cage. Said something about a litter, which made Kaseko laugh once again. "I'm sorry to tell you this my dear, but you're most likely not ever going to see them again. Like said before, escaping is useless, so you might as well just used to the fact you wont be able to see them... In fact, one of us had to learn that the hard way... Am I right... Stone?! Ehehehee...."

[Fireleap]

Scruff frowned. The dog named Priss positively reeked of overly-expensive and distracting perfume (at least, it smelled like perfume). The former-street-dog-now-mutated-prisoner deducted that the Pound snatched spoiled chihuahuas and poodles as well. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she attempted to turn away, but it did no good. Perfume was one of Scruff's worst enemies and insisted on nearly overwhelming her. Silent with cold frustration, she lowered herself carefully, so that she was lying down, leaving the invisible cloud of perfume billowing above her. Again, the dog-hyena began to laugh hysterically in his cage and his laughter echoed in Scruff's ears.

"I.. have a headache.." She murmured, rolling over onto her back. "And I need to get outta here..." She rolled back up and 'looked' around. "But first of all, I need a plan..." Her mind immediately began to brainstorm. She needed to go over the idea she had earlier, but first, she ought to revise the facts... The dog named Stone could break open their cages. The parrot-dragon had fire breath. She, Scruff, would be able to tell if some one was coming. A plan was starting to take place in her mind, but she needed much more information. "Stone, you know anything about the other animals, here? Any one with... useful powers, perhaps?" She called out.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Polly squawked at the bird brain remark.
"The name's Polly alright doggy. And if I hear one joke the one saying it better like the smell of roasted fur." He gives the closest thing he can to a snarl to everyone then flaps to his perch.
"I wish I could eat burnt metal. It'd make live for fun." He blocks out the rest of the prisoners babble until the Nutter hit possibly the only nick in Scarface's armor. Taking up the last of the gnaw bricks in his front claw he chucks it through the hole he made in the cage it clatters off Kaseko's cage.
"Hey stupid you rememer the last time you made that shot? Scarface almost tore your face off in the ring. I know you're working with half a brain but even that half should have some kind of survival instinct." With a annoyed squwak he goes back to his perch happy once for being in a cage above everyone else.

[Mary Sue]

Stone's hackles immediately rose at Kaseko's comment and a deathly growl had started to rise in his throat, when a piece of charcoal rattled against the Hyena's cage. Polly's quip quieted Stone's growl and he turned away from the psychopath.
"I don't know anything about any of you..." Stone replied. "And all of the others are gone."

((Has anyone heard from Rabidog?))

[Fireleap]

(( No :( ))

Scruff nodded, thoughtfully. "Well... With whoever is here, right now, and by uh... working together, I have a plan that can get us out of here." She replied, in a low voice, so that the parrot wouldn't hear and shout it out. "You said that that was your third cage, right?" She asked, turning her head towards Stone's cage. "By that, did you mean you could break the cages open?" She asked, with a small smirk. If he could indeed break the cages open, all it would take was probably some convincing talk and they would be out of here. He could break them all out of their cages, and with the help of Polly and every one else, they could fight their way out of here! Of course, if Scruff's plan failed and some one was hurt or killed...

[jasminerose]

(neeka sighed drifting to sleep missing her mate and her litter as she dreamed of seeing them in her sleep she started to cry she woke up yelping as she remembered how she came to be at the pound the sound of her cage opening startled her as she uncurled the scruff of her neck was grabbed roughly as she was pulled from her cage as they dragged her down the long hall she looked at all the others as the door started to close she said)

hey polly wanna cracker?

(she laughed as the metal door shut as she wagged her tail)

[Mary Sue]

The appearance of humans into the room sent Stone over the edge. His eyes flared with bright hatred and he started barking menacingly. Every hair on his back stood straight up, but they ignored him and proceeded to Neeka's cage where she was abruptly pulled from it and dragged out of the room.
Stone's barking fell to a low growl and he turned back to Scruff.
"I crushed the bars of my last two cages. I'm sure I could do it again," He said.
"I'm tired of this....If you have a plan, let's hear the rest. I'm ready to get out of here."

[jasminerose]

(a few hours later they bring me back to my cage passed out i wake up not long after being returned) wha.... what happened?

[Fireleap]

Scruff glanced at Stone. "Are you sure? I mean, there's always a risk of..." She paused to cough, purposefully, turning her head to the side. ".. my plan not working." She turned to look at him. "If my plan doesn't work, we will all be in trouble." She finished. As blind as she was, her silver-grey eyes were staring into Stone's, eagerly. "If you are still with me, the plan is to bust us all out of our cages and sneak our way out of here. If any humans return, I will know. If we get caught, every animal who has any fighting powers will help us." She paused, to take a cautious sniff around. "However.. This plan will not be able to work right away. We need to know how to get out of here, first. Otherwise, we might just end up walking straight into the humans' dens, out of the frying pan and into the fire. So, every time you are taken out, try to memorise the various building hallways and we can all compare notes to form a path out." She dipped her head. "Yep! That's the plan."

[SikstaSlathalin]

Polly saw what was happening and listened as best he could to the plan. From what he could gather it sounded like an all or not fight to the finish line. Sounds like a total suicide mission they have no idea what the humans have at their disposal, they've made a lot more freaks and most of them all around stronger then his cellmates he could fly and leave them all to die but even if he didn't like most of the he couldn't just let them die at the claws of the Lionbear. Taking a breath he blows a puff of smoke at the blind dog and talks in a whisper.
"Hey doggy we can't very work as a team if you don't share the pan with all of us. From what I've seen from my spot the humans go into a room across the hall a lot it's white and has a picture of a tube on it and it says Lab 3." He ruffles his feathers looking at the two dogs.

[Lethe]

“Beats me, Princess,” the saber-toothed Doberman named Stone addressed her. “And we're all friends here, you have to be.” Priss clung to his every word as he continued almost nonchalantly. “The humans are the real enemies here. They test on us, mutate us, breed us, and fight us... If you don't have anyone else to count on, then you lose hope pretty quickly.”

Stone was right. She had already begun to lose hope. How easy it was for feelings of depression to set in when one no longer felt any semblance of control over her environment! And yet, some part deep inside of her refused to fall into complete despair. All hope could not be lost. Priss noticed Neeka wagging her tail and she feebly returned the gesture.

Meanwhile, the powerful looking hyena creature named Kaseko spoke a bit about the merits of fighting before providing everyone with a demonstration of his superior strength. He tore up the back wall of his crate with his claws! Priss widened her eyes at the display. After proving his point, Kaseko shared a bit of disturbing news with Neeka. He told her that escaping was useless, and that she would never see her puppies ever again. Well, Priss sincerely hoped that Neeka wouldn’t lose hope. She wanted to see the canine-fox continue to wag her tail.

Priss paced anxiously back and forth inside the confines of her small enclosure, her recently painted toe nails lightly clicking along the bottom of the cage as she moved. She tried not to think about her gold plated dog bowl and plush satin bed back home. Gone were the days of lavender bubble baths, luxurious spa treatments, and canine massages to soft classical music. Her life had been forever altered. She had to focus, and concentrate on her current surroundings or she wouldn’t survive the end of the month! She returned to the front of her cage once more so that she could better see her fellow captors.

Scruff claimed to have some sort of plan; presumably an idea to get them all out of here. She wanted the others to begin memorizing the layout of the building each time they were taken out of their cages. It actually sounded like a wise suggestion. Although Priss listened attentively, she was unable to hear the entire plan.

In the back of her mind, she kept hearing Stone's words. "The humans are the real enemies here..."

[Fireleap]

Scruff coughed, on the smoke Polly had sent her way. Raising an eyebrow at him, she blew at the smoke, trying her best to clear the air. "Ahem. Thank you, for that puff of smoke." She murmured, when the smoke was finally what she thought was a decent distance away from her cage. "Anyway, the basic idea is that we try our best to learn about the layout of the building, define the exit's location, and bust our way out of here. Stone, here, can break open our cages and we'll sneak out. Should we get caught, we'll fight our way out of here." Scruff stated, loud enough for every one to hear. She smirked, at Polly. "Of course.. If this plan backfires... We'll all be in hot water..." She added, after a few moments of silence. "I'll leave you guys to each think about it. I'm gonna quickly take a nap now." She dipped her head towards Stone and turned away to face the back of her cage. Collapsing tiredly, onto the cage floor, she closed her eyes.

[Wander]

Kaseko knew he managed to really get on someone's nerves. First, the bird was reminding him of that one encounter he had with Stone, and second, Stone was reacting to his comment. Although Kaseko did not reply to what the bird had told him, he was clearly thinking of bad thoughts toward the two. "That only happened because we weren't behind bars... Since we all are now, there's nothing he can do to me... Hehehehee... Now if only that bird was in my grasp so I could eat him alive..."

Now almost everyone in the room was talking about escaping... And slowly hearing every word coming out of their mouths made his laughter become even more quite and soon it even became a growl. "YOU FOOLS!" He peeked his head out of his cage, glaring at each and every animal in the room. "Escaping, escaping, ESCAPING! THAT'S ALL YOU EVER TALK ABOUT! Stone! Obviously the fact you've escaped from your cage twice through the same way is enough to make the humans learn how to avoid that from happening again! For all you know, they added something to your bars that would make it stronger or even something that could kill you if you tried breaking it again! THEY'RE NOT DUMB AS FAR AS I KNOW. And has it ever occurred to any of you that although we're mistreated in this place, we have no idea what the possibilities are outside?! Escaping is already impossible and may lead to death, but if you somehow do get out of here, what will happen then?! Huh?! HUH?! DO YOU REALLY THINK ONCE SOMEONE SEES YOU THEY'LL BRING YOU INTO THEIR HOMES LIKE PETS??! Because let me tell you now, once the outside people see us, it wont be long UNTIL YOU'LL ALL BE IN CAGES AGAIN!!!!"

He started to breathe heavily, in and out, slowly trying to calm himself down. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the group escapes only to become a corpse, ready to be dissected on by people who don't know about us... And like I said before, be thankful you actually have something to be placed on your plates. Be thankful that they're actually keeping you all alive. All they want in return from us is to obey and not run away. Clearly getting out of here is enough to provoke the humans to kill you off... And did you know... that I really... REALLY... REALLY HATE getting angry?!" Giving the back of his cage one more scratch, he then gave the animals a last look as his face went back to smiling psychotically as the way it normally does.

"Plus not to forget mentioning... If the humans were really our enemies... They wouldn't be protecting us from the public as they are now. If they were our enemies, they'd give us nothing and show us to the public like as if we were some circus freak act!! AHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHEE! Oh... And sorry for disturbing your nap, Scruff... Hehehehehee..."

[Lethe]

Kaseko’s agitated voice echoed off the room’s walls. He began clawing at his cage, shouting, “DO YOU REALLY THINK ONCE SOMEONE SEES YOU THEY'LL BRING YOU INTO THEIR HOMES LIKE PETS??! Because let me tell you now, once the outside people see us, it won’t be long UNTIL YOU'LL ALL BE IN CAGES AGAIN!!!!”

Her delicate ears rang with the unpleasantly loud noise. Kaseko was very strong and he seemed like he would be a powerful ally, if he would only curb his maniacal tendencies. Although Priss wanted to tell the creature to calm down, she didn’t know if her saying this to him might make him all the more disruptive. The last thing she needed here was an enemy. Besides, what if the hyena-hybrid was right? All this time she had been trying to figure out a way to return to the safety of her warm bed back home. She had visions of somehow running back to her front doorstep to receive hugs, kisses, a warm bath and a canine cookie. What if she could never return home? What if the elderly woman who had been taking care of her, took one look at her and rudely cast her back out onto the street? The thought was nearly unbearable!

Priss turned her head to glance back at what her lovely toy poodle tail had become: the horror of all horrors, the bane of her existence, a fluffy white bunny tail. She bared her teeth at the offensive ball of useless fluff. No respectable poodle in all history ever had such an unpleasant looking derrière. It was almost more than she could stand.

Even if they managed to escape this fiendish place, where would they all go? How in the world would they survive? Who would paint her toe nails?

[Fireleap]

Scruff groaned. "Kaseko, we seem to be on two different sides here. I've already done my talking and shared my plan, though, so go ahead and try to talk our friends here out of it. But just keep it down." She barked, sharply, raising her head to 'stare' at Kaseko. The hyena-dog was beginning to aggravate her, but she was an easy-going blind dog, so it didn't matter. He could at least pipe down, though. Grumbling to herself, she groggily rolled over to face the other side of her cage and closed her eyes again. She was going to get out of here, even if no one came with her. It didn't matter anymore that she couldn't see. She was still Scruff, street dog stray, and she wasn't going to stand for any imprisonment for long.

[jasminerose]

(neeka woke up hearing the hyena yell she yelped slamming her head against the wall wimpering as pain shot threw her head she looking around) whats going on? whos talking about escaping?
(neeka frowned as she waited for a answer)

[SikstaSlathalin]

Polly's own temper was raising listening to the Nut case's rants taking a deep breath he blasts a long jet of flame at Kaseko the flames lapped into his cage a little setting the gnaw on fire it fell into his cage but dropped into his water dish intead of setting the hay on fire but that's what you get for long distance shooting.
"SHUT UP you coward!" With an angry squawk he goes back to attacking his cage ripping more of the bars aside. But once again he's tired out then flaps back to his perch glaring at everyone again. He looks at the dog cowering in her cage and bites his tongue before saying.
"We all are but the Kaseko the spinelss, I know I won't be anyone's pet but I know if I can get into a good wooded area I won't be needing any humans."

[jasminerose]

(i gulp and look at polly) what are they talking about? (i rest my paws on my head) oh my head

[jasminerose]

(neeka looked around) is someone planning a escape? count me in

[Fireleap]

Scruff grunted, lazily. "Escape plan. Step 1: Try to remember the building's layout, if you are taken out. Step 2: Compare notes and try to find out where the exit is. Step 3: Bust our way out of these cages vigilantly, and get outta here. If we're found out, fight our way out of here." She called out, to the dog who had asked about escape. "Glad to have you on our Team Escape." She added, lifting her head momentarily, before laying it back down, in exhaustion. She closed her eyes yet again, but now, it was almost impossible to get to sleep. Questions were still swarming about her mind, and she wished she could find out their answers. Reasons why she was being kept here, the real purpose being the pound, the result of her proposed plan, she wanted to know them all. But unless some of the animals here were physic or could understand humans and their chatter, she knew she wouldn't be getting her answers.

[jasminerose]

(neeka layed there curled in a ball thinking ofwhat ws going on she started to growl sa she smelled something that made her uneasy)

[Mary Sue]

Stone padded over to the side of his cage that faced Kaseko's. He sat down and stared at the hyena dog in silence. As much as they despised each other, Kaseko and Stone had been together the longest. With any hope, he could convince him to go with them.

"Kaseko," Stone muttered quietly.
"We might never have a real home again, but there is nothing...NOTHING...worse than living life in a cage. I remember growing up on the streets. It was hard, but it was better than this. We get a meal. So what. We're kept a secret. So WHAT! Why not let the world see what's going on here? Or why not escape into the wild? There are so many possibilities when we get out of here! I'm tired of losing my mind in this cage while I'm poked and prodded and tested on. Aren't you?" His tone remained quiet and even, a voice of reason. They needed Kaseko's strength if they were going to stand any kind of chance.

[SikstaSlathalin]

The Parrot Dragon listened to Stone's words with cynicism but still respect. No sense in making an enemy that could rat you out, if all else failed they could use the Psycho as a decoy for the humans to zap. He looked at the clock it was about time for them to be fed. He squawked looking toward the doors where the white coats come in. Soon he saw the two humans arrive that usually fed them. He'd dubbed them Twiddle-Dee and Twiddle-Dum from a story he heard once in the pet store the old man liked reading aloud to his grabby grandkids. Twiddle-Dee is tall and skeleton-like with big glasses and a bird face, he looks like someone just stuffed a bunch of sticks in a human skin. Twiddle-Dum is average height and all but his huge red nose and busy black hair set him apart from most of the humans.

They arrived in the same loud doofy way they always did arguing about something or another, this time it was about a game.
"I don't care what you say Yuffie is way hotter then Tifa she's got the whole wild girl thing." Says Twiddle-Dee placing a bowl of kibble and some wet food in Scruff's cage.
"Bullshit Tifa's got that super rack, Yuffie doesn't even have like C's." Twiddle Dum retorts dropping some hamburger into Stone's cage. With a scoff Twiddle-Dum opens Polly's cage and sticks his hand into the cage and pulls out the feeder dish and drops some fish into it before placing it back Polly watches it closely waiting for his chance.
"Yo dude pull your hand out quick!" But before he can pull his hand free the Parrot Dragon chomps down and rips a chunk from his hand. Now you see why he's called Dum. With a huge yell Dum yanks his hand out and bashes the cage with his elbow setting Polly into an angry frenzy of fluttering and jets of flame.
"You fucking feather duster that's it your going into the arena first tonight!" Dum slips on a tough leather glove and grabs Polly's cage hauling it out the door. With his plan working he begins studying everything in the hall on the way to the arena. Twiddle-Dee finishes setting out the kibble and meat for the rest of the prisoners before following Twiddle-Dum laughing loudly.
"Nice dude that feather duster gets you every time, I didn’t think you were that much of an idiot!"

[Lethe]

Priss tried to memorize the various steps of the escape plan as outlined by the blind animal named Scruff. Step one was to try to memorize the building’s layout. Priss had been an indoor dog all her life and never had much opportunity to learn many locations other than her home, the spa, groomers, park, shopping mall, veterinarian, and a handful of different cruise ships. Some of the other canines surely must have a more acute sense of direction than she. Well, she would try her best. If a human arrived to take her out of her cage, she would memorize everything she could about the building in which they were imprisoned.

Step two was to compare notes and try to determine the locations of the exits. That sounded reasonable. They had to make certain that they escaped to the outside world, and made no wrong turns as they ran. They wouldn’t have much time if the humans discovered their absence.

And step three was to somehow escape from their cages. The dogs seemed to be of varying opinions as to best handle the jail break. Stone was presently trying to convince Kaseko to join the group attempting to escape. While it would be helpful to have Kaseko around due to his strength and resourcefulness, it would be somewhat risky should the hyena-hybrid have another fit of rage. The loud noises he made as he growled, barked, and scratched could draw unwanted attention from their captors.

The tiny feathered dragon might also be helpful. After all he seemed fairly clever, could fly, and breathe flames. Perhaps he could be their lookout. Although, she had to admit, she didn’t quite understand Polly’s unique sense of humor.

[Fireleap]

Scruff sniffed at her food, a bit cautiously, barely noticing the humans' appearances. "Has any one ever died of food poisoning here, before?" She asked, taking a small bite of the kibble. She chewed, thoughtfully, and swallowed. "Mmm.. Yep, this is kibble alright, no poison here." She spat a bit out, coughing and quickly began to eat up the wet food instead. "How owned dogs can stand it, I don't know. This wet food thingy tastes better, but I still miss the taste of the good ole, friendly, neighbourhood garbage." Scruff tilted her head so that the tuft of fur hiding her silver-grey eyes, and the long scar that ran down, in between them, was pushed to the side, as to not fall into her food and she began to munch, hungrily and happily. Without another word, she finished her food, save for the kibble, and pushed the dish away, lifting one long ear to listen in on Kaseko and Stone's conversation. Stone seemed to be trying to coax the hyena-dog into coming with them. Scruff shrugged. Personally, she didn't care if any one came or not. If she was lucky, she would be able to sneak out, alone or not, and she would be back on the streets of NYC in no time.

[jasminerose]

(neeka growled at the 2 men as they put the food in her cage she hunched low ready to attack the avarage 1 was mean she could feel.... no feel and smell the evil coming off of him the tall one was not much better she cowered as they looked in her cage her tail tucked between her legs)

so when are we gonna work on this?

(as the humans left her cage she relaxed) ooooooooh whats with the two monsters? who are they? whats there purpose?

(neeka went over and sniffed the food tasted the wet food and quickly ate then drank some water she left the kibble knowing she would need it later)

[Lethe]

The kibble looked dry, hardened, and unappetizing, as if it were several years past the manufacturer’s intended expiration date. Priss sniffed at her bowl, and then touched a piece of desiccated kibble with her tiny nose. It definitely smelled odd. She wondered if it contained medicine or poison. Her former owner had once put antibiotics in her dog food when she had a minor ear infection. But that medicine was “good” medicine, designed to help her get better. Priss didn’t trust the food here. Who knew what the humans could have added to her meal.

With a small sniff, the bunnypoo inspected the meat. It certainly wasn’t sirloin. And it didn’t appear to be Pampered Pet Fancy, Delectable Dog, Posh Puppy, or any of the high-class processed pet foods that she was accustomed to eating. Plus, there was no sprig of parsley on the side of the bowl. This was just unacceptable. She pushed the bowl away with her right forepaw. In any case, she didn’t feel the least bit hungry.

Nearby, Priss heard Scruff describe the merits of what seemed to be her favorite cuisine in all the world, “good ole, friendly, neighborhood garbage.” Priss gagged delicately at the thought.

She was starting to worry about the parrot dragon. Where had the humans taken him? What was this arena they were discussing? It certainly didn’t sound pleasant. Priss began pacing back and forth inside the limited confines of her cage. She fervently hoped that the small creature wouldn’t come to harm.

“Where have the humans taken, Polly?” Priss asked in concern.

[Mary Sue]

Stone noticed Priss sniff the kibble, then the wet food and ignore both. He sighed and shook his head. A large pile of raw hamburger meat rested in his bowl, but he couldn't push his bowl through the bars to her.

"Polly's on his way to the arena. It's a deep pit where we are forced to fight creations from other rooms. The lionbear is the worst, but there are also linxfoxes and gatormonkeys..." Stone shook his head.
"Polly's a smart bird. He'll be fine."

[Fireleap]

Scruff's ears pricked up. "Arena, huh?" It didn't seem like she was talking to any one in particular. "You mean to say that there are other animals, that aren't here with us..?" She asked, softly. Again, the gears in her head were beginning to turn again. Suddenly, her vision of escape had grown in size. She had thought that if all the animals that she'd counted so far had escaped, the Pound would probably shut down, but she realised that as long as they had the lionbear and a few other animals remained, they could keep going, and maybe even recapture the strays and other animals that had first captured. NYC was big, but not that big.

[jasminerose]

(neeka wimpered) i hope lil mr bbq is ok

(neeka paces her cage as she looks around raising her voice a little she says) well as long as were all friends here im neeka pleased to meet ya

(she sat down looking out the bars of the cage she goes to her water dish and refills it drinking happily) mmmmmmm god i needed that

[SikstaSlathalin]

Polly was carried down hall after hall he stopped fluttering around so he'd have some energy for the arena. He'd won most of the matches he was thrown into not without a lot of damage but it'll take more then being almost disemboweled to bring this Parrot Dragon down. He soon heard the distinctive bellow roar of the lionbear and then a heavy thud and a screaming roar. Judging from the scream it was a gorrillabull. Quite fearsome creatures but the lionbear is the top in it's weight class as it was. The only class above it is full of elephant's, rhinos, hippos, whales, giraffes just any large animal you'd find in Africa. The humans stopped long enough to see the giant animal rip the head off the gorrillabull. After the lionbear was corralled back into it's cage they walked to a do marked with a bird talon.
"Bird and avian arena come on feather duster." Twiddle-Dum snickers opening the door. The bird arena was tall and round with metal "trees" scattered around it, it had three levels of observation decks so no one would miss a moment of bloodshed.

After the formalities of it all Polly was placed on a ledge and his cage was opened and he was shaken out. With an annoyed squawk he flies to one of the metal trees and waits his opponent.

[jasminerose]

(neeka paced nervously as she looked around) hey wheres bird brain?