Staying Defiant

Clera awoke very slowly. She really wasn’t in the mood to regain conciseness at the moment. Her head was pounding and everything was blurry when she opened her brown eyes. She let out a small whine and closed them again. Once she could open her eyes without the worry of passing out again, she sat up slowly, placing a hand on her head. A headache was forming. She peeked open her eyes to see Coco looking up at her with consider in her eyes.

The young girl groaned again, and looked around to see where she and her little cat friend were at. It appeared to be some sort of jail cell. The walls were made of gray bricks and most were covered in fungi and moss. Meanwhile, the floor was made out of cement. There were many cracks in the floor and walls, dust and blood. Her blood. There was a bowl not far off. A dog bowl that was filled up with food. The light gray feline almost laughed at the sight. Her friend was being treated as some sort of animal instead of a person.

The ten-year-old rolled her eyes and stood up. Her tiny body ached and it took her a few tries until she was able to fully stand. A sound reached her ears. A bell rang out. She ignored it and glanced towards the bars that were blocking the only way out of the prison.

“Where are we?”

“Well Clera, you passed out in the fight against Pipier. And on top of that, you nearly died! I told you, you should have fought back!” Coco snapped at the child. “You know the rules they have around here! It’s—“

“—Kill or be killed,” the child finished softly. “…I know that. But do you really think I can fight anyone? You know I don’t want to hurt anyone… T-that’s Clarita… She wants to do that stuff…”

Clera turned away from her friend as she spoke. Again the bell rang out. Blinking, she glanced down at herself. There was a collar wrapped around her small neck. There was a small golden bell hanging from it.  She folded her cat ears back and her tail drooped. What? She turned it around and found no latch to remove it with, much to her horror. On the back however, she saw two words written.

You’re mine.

The child shrieked loudly as she felt a hand touch her shoulder and spin her around to look up into the eyes of her captor.

"Hello my precious little kitpet!"

He was a black wolf, bigger than most the kits had seen. He wore red and purple princely robes with gold trimmings. However his stance and demeaner were more like a cruel tyrant. In his hand was a gilded chain that he quickly and roughly fixed to her collar. Eyes that were harsh and sickly gold looked at the kit hungrily.

"What a sweet little...[i]Toy!"[i]

Coco bristled, her ears folding back against her skull and her dark yellow eyes narrowed as she hissed at her friend's captor. Clera tugged at the chain, trying to get it off as she cast the wolf a small glare. He didn't have the right to do that to her. She didn't know who this person was, but she could tell that he meant trouble.

A white wolf, dressed in white princely garments accented with gold, frowned deeply as the black one pulled and yanked poor Clera around behind him as he exited the dungeon. He stepped forward to take Coco, a velvet red chain in his paws. His yellow eyes were bright and bold, and they emitted a kindness where the other wolf's gaze held nothing but cruelty.

His ear were down as he coaxed softly "Come on...don't fight me. Please don't...I don't want to hurt you."

Clera dug her heels into the ground, trying to stop the black wolf from yanking her roughly around. She fiddled with the chain latched onto her collar, trying to pull it off. This canine wasn't very nice and she didn't want to be choked to death with how he was going about taking her with him. She had no idea what he had in store for her, but she a a sinking feeling she wasn't going to like it.

The gray kitten lashed her fluffy black tail that had brown rings around her. She glared at him, distrust clear in her dark gaze. "Why should I trust you?" the feline hissed.

"Because if you don't, my brother will take you ashis prey. Trust me, being mine is a whole lot easier for you." He tried again to hitch the chain to her collar. ":Please don't make this hard on yourself"

Coco snorted. "I'm only doing this for my friend," she responded. "Not for you or anyone else."

"So you'll cooperate?" he said, moving towards her again

"I'm her guide. I can't leave her alone," the cat replied, though she still had a bit of distrust in her dark yellow eyes. "She needs me or she'll die. I know places like this."

He gently led her into a different room than the black wolf went into, and kindly offered her some food.

"I will see if I can reunite you two."

"Thank you."