Stray

Destroyer~

Destroyer pulled her dirty ears back protectively and stepped in front of Huey, the fur around her neck standing up on end. The other dog meant no harm, obviously, but she was still protective of the young pup. "Well, forgive me for not being neat enough when I'm injured and running from men. Had I taken the time to cover my tracks I probably would've been skinned by now." She growled lowly.

"That's understandable," the black dog smirked crookedly, its even darker eyes glinting in the rising sun.

*i'm sorry for the shortness, but I'm on my way out the door*

Chiquita:

The ground below me reeked with humans, smoke rose out of the trees. It was human camp, I smelled about three of them, they were all laughing and chatting happily with one another, which was odd. The humans I was used to were sullen and beaten down, like they were already gone and only their bodies were left to walk the earth.

I warily approached the site, hoping for some scraps. Winter was coming and most animals with sense were underground. It was humiliating to scavenge, but pride was not a variable any more. About five feet away from the camp my front paw fell through the ground. A pit, to trap dogs, clever humans. I walked gingerly around it.

"Goodnight Bob." A voice called to another.

"'Night Steve, Ryan," Another answered back. Tent flaps Velcro-d shut.

The fire was just ash as I approached it. A few bones were scattered. I glanced down and my heart skipped. It was a discarded head of a basset hound that looked sadly up at me. I lowered my head. I would not eat here tonight.

I walked, more sombrely into the woods. "Watch it, there's another pit," growled a voice, a shadow from where I stood. A broad silhouette stepped from the darkness.

*Entrance for anybody.*

Sofie

Sofie irritably ducked away from the single human lantern left shining. The light was distorting her shadow. The dog before her was obviously expecting her to be a big dog. Sofie was not.

"Don't flatter me," she snapped. "If you are going to see me as a challenge to your greatness, fine, but do so after actually seeing me."

The dog sat up, leering down at her. "What brings you here, pup?" she asked. Sofie glared at her.

"I am not a puppy," she growled. "Is this the way you thank someone for stopping you falling for one of those dreadful pits?"

The dog looked at her for a moment. "Fair enough. What is your name?"

Sofie looked up at the black mass before her. "Sofie. Yours?"

"Chiquita."

**Hope I got characterizations right...

Bane ~

"Stop messing around, Bane, and kill them already," a soft voice said. Bane smiled as the two dogs before him spun around, looking terrified.

His sister, Mirage was standing at the opposite end of the narrow alley, her white fur contrasting drastically with the trash strewn on the muddy ground. Her wolf ancestry was much more evident than Bane's, and she looked absolutely feral next to the graffitied Dumpster and empty candy wrappers.

"Sorry, Mirage," Bane said, not sounding apologetic in the least. He bared his teeth in a menacing parody of a grin. "You know I like to play with my food."

He took a step forward, and the white German shepherd before him snarled, moving in front of the scrawny puppy. A car rumbled by on the street beyond the alley, spewing black smoke into the chilly air, but other than that, they were alone.

"We've been watching you, you know," he whispered to the strange dogs. "Following in the shadows, always a step behind you..."

Mirage began to circle the strange dogs, and Bane followed suit, pacing around the two like the predator he was. The white German shepherd's eyes flicked between them and the street beyond the alley. She could try to run, but she'd never make it, not with her leg bleeding like it was.

"We like what we've seen," Bane continued, eyeing the puppy hungrily. It was cowering, the ugly runt, it's fear like a physical presence in the October air. "And we have a... proposition for you."

"A proposition?" the white German shepherd asked warily.

"Des, what's going on?" the Aussie puppy whimpered.

"Be quiet, Huey!" Des growled back.

A bird squawked nearby, and Mirage pinned her ears to her head. "Bane..." she said uneasily.

The black dog ignored her, answering the shepherd's question instead. "Yes, my furry little friend. A proposition. This is our territory, you see, and you've not only trespassed on it, you've taken prey from it." His gaze lingered for a moment on the half eaten rat at the Aussie puppy's feet, his eyes narrowing. "So, I'm afraid we have no choice to kill you."

Des tensed, about to leap at him.

"But," Bane said smoothly, "we're not going to. Not yet, at least. You see, my sister and I are in the middle of a very important... job, I guess you could say. And we need help. More specifically, we need you."

Des was shaking her head before he reached the end of his speech. "Help scum like you? No way."

Mirage muttered something that sounded like "Thank God," obviously relieved, but Bane frowned. "Now now, that's not very polite. You've already stolen from us, and brave as you seem, you can't fight both my sister and I off. You could try to run, but we'd hunt you down like the frightened little deer you are. So that's our offer: Help us, or die."

The white German shepherd bared her teeth, fur bristling. "Doesn't seem like much of a choice to me."

"Exactly." Bane moved closer to her. "Tick tock, tick tock, time to make up your mind. What's you decision? And no," he added, seeing her open her mouth to speak, "we will not tell you what the job is until you give your word to be silent and do what we say."

Chiquita:

This dog was paranoid, up on her guard, I could feel her muscles twitch. "When you see a large dog do you automatically assume 'arrogant' or what?" I asked, annoyed and somewhat insulted to be automatically labelled as a big "scary" threat. "What are you doing out here alone anyway, Puppy?" I asked her, labelling her as she did me.

*Can't write too much now sorry.*

Destroyer~

It made no sense. Why would dogs be turning on their own kind, especially in a time like this, when they were being hunted by the people they once respected? Destroyer let out a week growl, backing up slowly until she was next to the storm drain. Despite their obvious strength, Destroyer highly doubted they could squeeze into the small space. Huey let out a whimper and all of her plans were suddenly crushed. She couldn't do anything rash. For Huey's sake.

"Very well." She let out a sigh, her eyes shifting between the white wolf and soon the black one. "But Huey will not be harmed. If he is, I'll risk my life to kill whichever of you hurt him." Both dogs smirked, obviously doubting her. In truth, Destroyer doubted herself. She felt helpless around these two, for the first time in her life on the streets. She couldn't help but think what Juanita, her adoptive mother, would have done in a situation like this. The old pit bull probably would've fought her heart out to protect her family, and would've died a hero in their eyes.

All Destroyer was was a weak mutt. With her ears lowered and glare set in her dark honey eyes, Destroyer stalked forwards, Huey pressing against her leg in the best attempt at support. "Now, what is this job?" She sighed painfully, rocking back onto her haunches.

Brandy

Brandy trotted around, sniffing at over-turned rubbish bins. A noise startled her and she leapt back, ears and eyes straining for the culprit. Nothing. Just an empty crisp packet skittering across the pavement, mingling with the mournful wailing of an ambulance.

A shiver ran down her spine and she decided she needed to get away from the place. The Feeling was once again nagging at her, as real as the dirt on her paws and the warning squeal of the ambulance. With a sense of dread, Brandy remembered the last time she'd ignored The Feeling.

She closed her brown eyes, drenched in sounds which only existed in her memory. Shrieks. Barks. Shouts. Howling. Laughter. A bang.

She wrenched her eyes open and fled from the alley, her paws pounding on the rough pavement. Fear stretched her eyes wide and her jaws were parted, ready to bite to escape. She rounded a corner and ran into a group of dogs.

***er... if she could meet up with someone that would be totally amazing. ...please?!***

Bane ~

Bane smirked at the forced bravado in Destroyer's voice. "We can't tell you the plan here, obviously," he said. "I'm afraid you and your runt will have to come with - "

A bird squawked again, much closer this time. Mirage exchanged a suspicious look with him. "You don't think that could be - "

Bane shifted uneasily from paw to paw. "Maybe. All the more reason to move this little chat to a more private location. Follow me, Destroyer and Runtina."

The white German shepherd bristled. "His name is Huey."

Bane just barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Turning away, he said, "Stay right behind me or suffer the... consequences." He drew out the last word threateningly, enjoying the look of terror in Destroyer's eyes.

Mirage suddenly stiffened. "Bane, they've found us!"

He whirled, alarm flashing in his dark eyes, immediately on edge. The streets beyond the alley had gone absolutely silent and the air seemed to thicken until he was panting for breath. "About time," he snarled. "I've been waiting to kick some serious - "

"Not now!" Mirage said, glancing at Destroyer and Huey. The two dogs had identical looks of confusion and fear on their faces. "We have to get them back to Arrow!"

The temperature plummeted. A shadow flitted across the far end of the alley, there and gone again in a flash. Huey whimpered.

"Can the runt keep up?" Bane asked Destroyer in an undertone, staring intently at the end of the alley. He had slipped into his fighting mode, every muscle tense. The careful control he had been keeping on his emotions dropped away, leaving only a feral savageness behind.

Destroyer's voice shook as she answered, "I can carry him," and self loathing flickered in her eyes.

"Good," Mirage said. "Bane, you take them. I'll catch up with you."

"Fine," Bane said shortly. "Stay right behind me, Destroyer, you hear?"

The white German shepherd nodded, and he darted towards the end of the alley. Behind him, Mirage growled a challenge that was answered with a guttural snarl.

"Hurry!" Bane called over his shoulder. Destroyer hastily picked up Huey and sprinted after him, ears pinned flat against her head. Leaves crunched under their paws as they ran out of the alley and into the empty street beyond, going as fast as they could.

Suddenly, a scrawny black and tan shepherd hurtled around the corner and collided with Bane. The two dogs went down hard, falling in a tangled mass of fur. Destroyer skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding tripping on them.

The strange dog looked up at her sheepishly. "Um, hi?"