You are Alexander.
You are a dog.
You tend to your masters; a little girl called Nina, and her father, Daddy. You're sure that name isn't his actual one, but you haven't heard it enough times to assign it to his face or scent so you got with the name Nina usually addresses him with.
It's not a bad life, serving humans. They were kind and fed you so long as you abide by their rules. They never hurt you too badly unless you did something bad enough to warrant it by their standards. They were… well, they're not the perfect masters to serve, but then there's no such thing as a perfect being to begin with is there? Rather than hold them up to and shape them to such an unreachable ideal, it would be better to work with what one has and try to make the best of it.
You can't help but sigh happily at the adequate conclusion of your brief self-introspection, snuggling tighter into your little master as she bids the two brothers goodbye. The door closes with a soft click, leaving you alone with your masters. Daddy stands and walks back into his special room, leaving you alone with your little master.
"Alexander!" Nina says, scrabbling to your front and squishing your face in her hands. "Today was really fun with Onii-chan, wasn't it?"
You pant in agreement, licking her face. It was!
"Right? They said they'd come back here tomorrow, too!" the little master cheers, beaming happily. "I hope I get to ride on Alphonse's shoulders again!"
You hope so too! That way, you can get the little brother all to yourself again. He was such a comfy pillow to lay on whenever he wasn't trying to run away from you. You wonder why he did, though? It wasn't as though he was tasty enough to eat. You think he's--
"Nina!" comes Daddy's voice, filtering through the heavy doors of his special room. "Could you come here for a moment? Oh, and bring Alexander with you please."
"Eh? But you said we couldn't come in your lab!" Nina questions.
"I'll let you come in here just this once!" his voice filters back, loud and growing a little impatient. "Please! This is for tomorrow!"
"O-Oh. Okay!" the little master answers, standing up. "Come on Alexander; Daddy wants us for something."
You blink at the sudden request, but raise no resistance as you follow the little master to the room. As far as you can remember, Daddy has never brought you or Nina into his special room. He keeps he door locked all the time, and whenever either of you wandered in when it wasn't, he yelled at you to get out. You've seen the animals in there, heard them yelling and screeching at Daddy for turning them into monsters. You don't disagree with them after seeing what they were, but you served Daddy and Nina.
No matter what they did, you would stand by their side and make do with their imperfections.
The heavy doors open easily, unlocked. It is lit bright by an overhead light, and the cages holding the animals covered with tarps. The animals themselves are strangely quiet in their cages. In fact, from what you can see between the tiny openings of the tarp covers they seem to be trying to press themselves as far back into their cages as possible.
Daddy is squatting on the floor, drawing something with a piece of chalk.
"We're here Daddy!" Nina chirps. "What did you want?"
"Did you bring Alexander, sweetheart?"
"I did!" she hugs you. "Right, Alexander?"
You bark in agreement. Daddy stands from his squat, turning to you and Nina with the warmest smile you've ever seen him wear. But you can't see his eyes, obscured as they are by the light glinting off his glasses.
"Ahh, you did wonderful sweetheart. Absolutely wonderful." he claps his hands once. "Now, come here."
You follow your little master to the center of the room. From where you're standing, you can see what he's been writing on the floor a lot better now. It's a circle of some kind. A really weird circle with more circles in it and lines and human words that you have no idea how to read.
"Stand in the middle-most circle for me, will you? Make sure both your feet are in the borders, okay?" Daddy instructs. "Bring Alexander with you, sweetie."
"Okay! Come on Alexander." your little master guides you after her, tugging your collar so that you stand in just the right way and that your paws are in the circle. "We're all set, Daddy!"
"Good, good." Daddy praises. "Now, hold still."
He puts his hands in the circle and the circle lights up with bright blue light. Lightning sparks out from the edges of the circle, sticking to the walls and ceiling and floor. The spectacular show has Nina gasping out in awe and yourself finding your respect for Daddy rising. As expected of humans; they were capable of even this!
Then the awe crumbles into fear as a black, smoke-like wisp starts to rise from the edges of the circle and a red light suffuses through the blue.
A line cuts through the floor and a great eye opens at your feet. From within the circle, black tendrils ending in tiny four-fingered hands rise upwards.
"D-Daddy," Nina presses herself to your side. You growl at the tendrils. "W-What's happening?!"
"Shh, it's okay Nina." Daddy's voice is calm. Excited, almost. "It's alright."
"Daddy, I'm scared!"
"It'll be over soon, sweetie."
"Dad--" Nina's cut off when one of the tendrils grabs her shoulder and it crumbles. "AAHH!"
You feel agony stab through your right flank, then your left, then your left forelimb. You bark and collapse to the floor, Nina falling on your side as more and more tendrils grab at her and crumble away more of her body. Her screams of panic, fear, and agony echo through the room, and through it all you can almost hear the other animals screeching in their cages.
As the world turns white, you turn to Daddy and find him…
Smiling.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
You blink and the whiteness solidifies into an infinite expanse of white. You look around for Nina and find no trace of her, only a large stone door with a weird engraving adorning its surface.
"͖̜̹͙̹̘̈́̔͑ͪͪH̦̀ȅ̟͊̌̓l̫̺̞̖̥̿ͥḻ̹͖͖̙ͭ̓͐̌̇̎o̖̦̼̟ͪͩͪ̏̆̈.̫̠ͯ͂͂ͭ̔"̩͚̣̦ͥͭ̄͑̓
You turn around and find am outline of a dog. It's only besides the fact that it's a walking outline is that it has an open mouth and is panting. But despite that fact, the outline doesn't look like its breathing. It looks so unnerving up close, and you can't help the shudder that runs through your spine. The outline advances, and you don't realize you've been backing away from it until you feel your back hit the stone door hanging behind you.
What… what is this place? Who is this… thing?
"̱͎̗̥͉͚̎ͫͧ̉͌Y̙̬̘̓o̮͎̻̯̘̯̎̉ͤ̄͒ͫu̻̹'̖͚̝̺͈ͯ̚r̖͑e͌̐̌͑̅͊ ̝͍̥̺̫̼̅̌ṋ̩͙͍̣͍̱ͤ͑͗̂̉̔͛o̍ͬt̖̺̜͚̔̾̊̽ͫͬ̚ ͍̦̜̮̎ͯḿ̙̙̪͍̲̜͉͗͂̅ͣ̊͋ê̩͐͊̀aͬ̎n̯̲͛͒͋̅̃̾̇t ͈̟̪ͮ̋̑̽t͖̲̺̫̘͍ͮ̈́o͖͚̰͍̊͋̑̅ ̦̲̫̟̩ͫ͛̍̂͑ͯ̀ḅ̫̥e͈͈͓̗͖ ̝͍̮̯͈̓ĥ̫̺̮͓ͦ͛̈́e̻̦̭̻͇͕͐̊ȑ̥͉̹e̳͓̠͙̳̺̥ͮ̓̇͛͐͋̈́.͕̦̼̮ͦ̌̿́̈́̚"̑̊ͨ̚
The outline sits down across from you.
"͉̣̰A̮͓̝̒n̐͂ͩ̊͐͊̂d̤͈ͨ͆ ̱͐̌̓̚s̻̥̀̐ͬ̂̍̓̿i͇͒̾n̤͈̮̩͕̠̗͒c̦e̻̋͛̈̾ ̝̭̯̹ͭ̾ͬ̾͛ẏ̠̺̮͇̙̟o̩̺̻̻̭ͫ͛û̜̠̗̥̇̐͋ͤ͋ͥr͕͈͚͕ ̹͙̭̽̈̍b͒ͨ̚r̺͚͓̖͔͎ͅå̱̟̭̬̱͕̐̾i̟̹̫͍̥͈̅n̗͓͊̀ ̠̘̝̅̇ͭ̓̎i̺̙̼͉͂ͦͦ̊ͬ̏̐s͈ͤ̓̐͐̚ ̼t͙̠͇̼̬̭̜̽͛o̤̳̝oͫͥ̋̍̾ͦ ͖͚̠̼ͦ̈́ͦͅs͎̩̳͆͑ͧ͛̾ͧ͋m̈́̓ͪ̊͒ͬa͖̤͋̔̍̍̓l̩ͫ͆͒͗l̦̦͎͐ͬͣ̊ͨ̾͒ ̦̎t̮͍͉̬̖͎̣̋ǒ̞̬̜͓͚̰̼͐ ̑̀͛̀̒́̾u̥͋͒ͭͧn͙̙̘͖͇̄̑ͮd̦̹̱͈̙̼ͪ͐ͩ̅̚è̞̬͉̤̙̘̉r̘̞̟͍̔̇̈́͆̿̈́ͅs͇͙̻͈̣͌͗̏̀̐̇̚t̘̯̖͓̞̖̔̃͐a̗͓̻̎̅ͨ̔n̦͎̭̖͈̋̃ͥ̂ͭd̠̆̒͆̔͋̌ ̻̙̦̦̣͗̎ͯ͒͆̅ͭw̱̮̝͆h̙͓̼̣ͅa͕̗̗̝̯̝͎͌͋̿̆̔̎t̪̣̲'̤͔̝̺͇̈̄̌ͤ̈́̄͆ͅs̲̠̤̎ͧ̈͒ͨͦ ̗̹͒͋͒̓̓̅b̌͒̓̇̉̇e͚̺̬̰̖͈̒͊h̰̪͈̼̗̫̤i͖̩n̲d̦͎̖̮͓ͨͦͪ̅ͧ̋̍ ͓̺̫͚̼ͥ̓ͣͪͦṯ͉̐͋̓hͪ̍̓a̳̻͚͆ͯ̅̓̾̑̒t͎͎̦̙̏ͫ ͙̙͔͍͕̠̍̀͊̌ͥ̑ͅd̗̻͚͈̅ͮ̈o͇͕͔͒ͪͮ͒͊o̙̣̠̞͇̭ͫ̈r̗ͫͣ̄̚,̦̜̫̟̞̺̌̀̈̄̃̓̔ ̥̭̪Iͤ͆̽ ͓c̼a̻̙̟̎̽ň̘͓̦͓̹̹̋̓͒ͣ̒ͅ'͚͚̦͕̞̩̿̄̓ͪ͒ͭͨt̪̉ͦͧ͌͐ͫ͂ ͉̞͕̹̟̑͆ͭ̋̎̓̑g̙͍̼̼̱̠̀̃͛ͮ͊̅ĩ͉̦̺͔̜̾̽v̍͊ͭe̻̩̗̼͖̻ ͧͨͪy̤̲̿́̂̿̔̂̊o͕̩̍ͩ̑͐̚u̥̭̤ ̮̯̺͇͈̲̹͌a̙̙̐̎̓n̹̺͇̰͓͉ͣ̀y͐͐ͪ̍ͧ̚ț̫̥̦̈̌̊̂h̘̿͑̒̋̇i̻̭̩̯͕̞̟͊͊̅͆ͦ̋͛ň̞ͩḡ͍̮̭͚̟̈́͗̈́̉ͣͅ ͣf̝ͭo̥̜̬̊̇ͣř͂̐ͭ ͮw͕̤̜ͦ̒͐ͣh̥̠̯̽ͪ́̾ͩ̏a͕͎t̩̼̫̜̍͋ͦ͒ͧ̃̌ ̲͙̫̟̜͚̃ͅy͈̫͔ͪ̔̄͂̔͗̾o̱͍̩̥͈͚ͣ̑͆̈́ū͇ͨ͗̚'̙͇͓̺̺̦͎̈́͊͐̔v͙͎͈̠̰̮̋ͩ͆̂ȅ̞̔ ̙̘̲ͅġ̠̩̲̂ͮo͇̖̼͕̤͈͔ͩn̜͈̱͔̦ͯe̱ͥ̇͛ ̬̞͐̂̒̒̿̽̑t͇̗̏͑̔͆̽̂ͭh̫̭͔͎̫̙͑̊r͉̻͖̥͇̮̝̍̈́ò̙̥͈͗ü͖ͭ̓g̳̰̼̞̺̩̐ȟ̠̯̤ͅ.̞͉͓͉̜͕̈́ͯͮ́ͪ̏̚"͕̀̔ͭ
The outline stops panting.
"͈͕̰̩͓ͨ́̑I̬̹̳͎'̼̳͙̱̙̰͉m͚͖͔̥̝̏͌ͣ̐̂̆ ͎̜̥̹̜̙̃͗s͚͇̺̘̻͙͖͊o̟̭̥̜̹̙ͯͦͣṛ͍̟̲̻͎͗ř̪͔̘̖ͅy̻̫̪͕.̒͋͐"̖̳͎͕̜͛͛͒̈́̇̃̚
Sorry for what? What happened? Where's Nina?!
"͇͖͔͈̞̓́ͣͫI̼̻̳͖̍͑ ͉̩̱̬͕̥̯͌ͪ̊̇c͈̙͍͖ͤ̎̓̚a̭̘̰̱ͤͬn̖̖͐͊͒ͬ͂͑̄'̖̠̯̘̪̙̱͊̈́ͨ̾̊̈t͈̗̝ͣ̃̈̐̄ͩ̊ ̼̱̟͖͈̻ȗ̺͎͈̻͎͆ͩ̾̏ͅn͙͍̰̅̏͋d̼͓̫̯̺̝̊ͪ͗̏̀ͬ͆ő̪͎̦͕̖̟͆́ͫ ̬͉͖̜͒̓̾̑ͦ́t̙̖ͬͣ̆̉͐͋h͙͔̘̭̤̎e͉͙͉̗̯̺ ͍̠̜̽ͯ̆̉ͧͯw̬̳͇͇̫͔͊̂͂o̠̱̲̺͔͊͛ͬṟ̣̦̟ͫ̉̃̀͆̏͊k̙̫͉̬ͅ ̰͆̀̇̂ͣͣ͒ỏ̜̬͔̜̣̀͛̋͋͒͐f͍͍̰͙̪̑ͥͦ͛ ̤̳͓̲͍̘͇ͩ͑̽o͇͙̗̐ͫ̓̋̈t̲̫͓͓͕̥̏́̀h̜̬̖͙̮̭̓̓̃͐̾ͦe͈̭̻̰͇͛ͯ̄̍r̟͈͍̖͆̊̐ͭ̄̿̆ͅs̝͇̘̮,̅͛ͯ͌ͬͤ̽ ͬ̏̓͒ỏ̖̳̠͔ͣ̆ͅṇ͚̰̘͑ͩ̈ͅl͙͋y̳͓̹͕̙̌̃ͯ͗ ̖̃ṯ͔͖e̊̊̃͊ͬͯ̅ẵ̰̯̳̏̐̅̒̃c͉̭͔̺͖̼̤͗ḧ̖̜̻̫̮́͑ͅ ̬͓̥͖̯t̖̥̥̫ͦͧ͌̋͆̾h̼̼̲̟͙̜̑̾̂̒̋ě̙̟ͤͤ̽͗͌̄m̫̓͆ͦ͌ͦ ͔͉̝͚̎̌ͪ̈̋t̙͖͓̤̦̭̏̄ͫͫ̌͋he ̥͚͕̙̪̬̻͂ͧ͗̇̏̃̚t̲͙̤͕̗̾̂ͥ̎ͩ͌͊r̻̃̅̓u͓̱̱̣͕̮͒̐̽̇ͮͅt̻͈͚̃h̩͍̫̠͛̃̋͑̒ͅ.̣̺͓ͮͦ ̯̼̟̘͉̽̊̍ͣ̀Y͍̱̹̝̎́ͥͨ͌̚ͅo̗̺̬̙̪̣͎͐̽̓̂̚u̠͌̉ͨ͊ͯͭ ͙͔̙̣̜ͫ̔̈ͥd̫͔̫͖͍̖͍͋i̻̱̦̰̼̭̙d͓̞̯̪̖͚́̿ͥ̔͂ͅñ̬͖͈̖̗̪͉̋'̃ͯẗ́͊̓̔̿ ̪̪͔̯̲d̲̝ô͈̙̠̭͍̙͛̒͒̾ͧ ̣̻̾̅t̳̼̳͙͍ͨͩ́ͨ͌̓h͎̺͎̘̝͕͕ͣ̇̈ͬ͑̑̎i̬̭̫̼͖̗̙ͣṣ͌ͬͣͬͪ,̦̟̘͂̿ͮͣ̌ ̭͚̮͕͙̹̐͋s̤͈͚o̥̊ͦ̓̑ ͚̺̲̫̙̓͊I̯̗̻̱ͅ ̭͚̺̇ͭ̐͗ͩc̼̟̳̰͑ͨ̃̃͊ā̜͉̥̯̣͈̹̐́ͨ̉n̠͚̹̞͉̹̖'̊̾̉ͩͨt̻̦ t̹̝̫̘̀̋ͅeͬ̀̿ȧ͚̭̤͓̜̔͒̔̋̊ͪc̐ͭͩ̉ͯ̊̎h̤̆ ̲̾͐ͭ̍͆̈y͙̗̰͓̺̜ͣ̃ͬo̤̓͒͌̆̒̒u̗͐ͭͦ͐̒ ̰̻̝͙̘̺̽̅a̜͎͓̠̮̔̑͒͐̾n͚̼̭͂͂̒ͪͬ̑ỷ̭̝̬̯̂͂͗t̳͂̓ͦ̂̎h͆ͤ̐ͨͬ̈́̄ḭ̞͙ͧ̈́n̫̉̇̓ͯġ̘̗ͥ.̙ͣ̉ͮ̒ ̞͖̼̩͚̒ͣ̆̐͛͑̐B̲̺͎ͤ̿ȗ͉̣͍̩̺̫̼ͮ̈̏̆ͨt̜͕̻͔̦̰̾̄ͣ ͔̣Iͯ͌ ̩̣̯͔̆̉̋͗ͫͅc͔͕̱̭̽ͭͫ͂̅ͦ̂a͍̹ṋ͊̊̆ͭ̅ͬͅ ̯̣̜a͙̙̜̹̠͇ͧṱ̞ͭ ̥̤̲͎̻͍̃l̼̞͙͕͇̻̠͌e̥̙̯̦̻͎̋̾ả̟̣̟̌s̟͎̟t̉ ̻̹̱̮̮͕ͫ̄͗͋ğ̥̮͎̬͗̈́̓̾i͙͇̭͎̠͑̀ͪͪ̎ͫͮv̜͖̥̋̍̇e̼̺̹ͮ́ ̲͑̓̑ͮ͛̑y̘̬̼̮̩o̮̩ͯ͐ŭ̬̺ͬͮ̄̈́́ ̺̠̗͂̍a͛ͩ̅͛́̚ ̭̟̯̂͐͂ͨ̀c̝̟̘̒h̦͉̟̰̔ͨ͆a̞͙̠͍͊ͯ̋̊n̫͍̤̦͍̮̅́ͬc̦̩̉͆̊̂̈́e̖̠̞̖͓͉ͮ͑ͤ͊̒̈͌.̠̩͙̘̄̄̆̈ͪ̇̚"
A chance? For what?
"̳͈̟͇̙̳̆̇ͩͫA ͚͔̗̏́ͭ͒̈́̌ͅh̲̲ͩͬ̊ͧͩ̌ͬa̰͍p̦̻̻͐pͯͤ̽͐̀̓y̩̼ͪ̇ ͎̤̅̿ͥͣễ͎ͣ̍͊̑n̬̫͍̤͙̉̅̾̑̿d̝̏i̜ͧ̎n̬̓̎͗̽̚g̲͙̜̠̿̋͊͊̐ͬ̽.͔̻̅̈́̔͗"̮̬̞̜͚̯ͫͯ̍̂ͥͦ̉
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
You come to on the floor, tired and sore and aching all over. You try to sit up, trip, and fall.
Everything feels weird. The world is brighter, your body heavier, your limbs longer. Your paws feel different; the paw-fingers longer, tougher, and more inwardly flexible.
You try again, slowly this time, and manage to get your hind feet under you. You blink a few times to get a better look at the world around you, finding yourself back at Daddy's special room. The tarps covering the cages have slipped off and the inhabitants are staring at you in a mix of awe and fear.
"I did it…" you hear Daddy murmur, and you turn to face him. "I finally did it…!"
He is kneeling on the ground, hands still pressed to the floor inside the circle. His face is a mix of awe and relief, his glasses having slipped down your nose enough to reveal his eyes.
"Dadd…"
You blink, looking around. Who said that? Nina? Why was her voice so…
"Try again!" Daddy urges you, scrambling to you on all fours. You take a few uncertain steps back at his hurried movement. "Go on, try again. Say another word. You can do it!"
You blink again and try to think of something. You look up at him again.
"Daddy…?"
"Yes! YES!" he lunges up, cheering. "I did it! Another intelligent chimera! Finally!"
You look around for your little master, trying to figure out where she could have possibly gone to in the brief moment of unconsciousness you experienced. It couldn't have been too far; if she ran then she would have woken you up and--
You see a set of clothes on the floor. A dress. Child-sized undergarments. Shoes and socks.
With slow, clumsy movements, you pad over to them and sniff. They're Nina's.
[] Leave the room and…
- [] Look for something to eat
- [] Look for somewhere to sleep this ache off
- [] Look for Nina
[] Talk to Daddy…
- [] Say what?
[] You want to do something else… (Write-In)
A/N: Reserving the next two posts for GM-ing purposes. Now excuse me while I go and cry in the corner for a little bit.
