{another day in paradise} o

[Sasha]

FOR once, Detox's day started quietly. There were no dogs howling in pain or panicking humans, there weren't any buzzing alarms, flashing lights or barking dogs to rouse her from her slumber before she was ready. Instead, Detox woke at her leasure from a wonderful dream of her old life, back when she was taken to schools to sniff out funny smelling plants and powders. Her human had been male, tall and sort of broad shouldered. He'd had a firm voice and worn hands but she'd loved it when he petted her and played after she did a good job. She was pretty sure her tail had wagged in her sleep when she dreamed up that part. It hadn't been that long ago, a year, maybe two. Time meant nothing in the lab. The only way to know time was passing was how many faces changed in the surrounding cages and how much she changed. First it was night vision, then it was poison in her claws, then it was wings. The claws had been terrible, between nauseating drugs and surgeries that made walking impossible. The wings weren't so bad. She could make those go away and pretend they didn't exist. They hurt the first few times the humans forced them to appear but after that, it wasn't so bad, sometimes a dull ache if the weather was bad.

NOW awake, the violet-eyed she-dog stared through the cage bars and wondered what her life would be like if her human hadn't lost her. She knew he hadn't let her come here on purpose. She'd been stolen, snatched by a man in a weird uniform. She'd tried to bark for help but no one had come. She remembered it like it was yesterday, being forced into a cage that was way too small and ending up here wehre the air stank of fear and the humans had cold, calculating, uncaring hands. She'd seen people like them but when she saw them on the street, those were the ones her human told her to "get" and then would play with her when other humans took them away. They were the bad guys, stinking of drugs and chemicals that burned her sensitive nose.

OH well.

A woman with curly dark hair and a white lab coat opened Detox's cage, clipping a leash onto her cheap nylon collar. With a tug, she clicked her tongue. Detox huffed and wormed her way out of her little cage, leaping down. Her claws clicked on the tiles as the woman led her through the typical maze of halls. She passed many doors, some open and some closed. Open ones had older men in lab coats reading files or peering at a slumbering dogs. She didn't want to know what went on behind the closed ones. Nothing pleasent, that was for sure.

ONE door, with a square of glass at the top, opened and Detox was outside. Her eyes burned and she flinched, closing her eyes tight before warily opening them again, slower this time. Sunlight turned her perfect indoor and perfect nighttime vision to near blindness. Colors blurred together, some turned gray and it was impossible to focus. She had to keep going though, so she went with the tug of the leash. Detox took deep, careful breaths, slowing her steps as much as she could to savor the temporary phantom feeling of freedom. They passed small kennels and big kennels until they got to a fenced in yard that Detox knew well. A wire mesh dome covered the top, making her wings useless, and chain link fencing wrapped around it. This yard, green with grass, had toys thrown here and there. Detox smiled a little. She knew this yard. This was a safe yard, a play yard where humans watched dogs interact. It was empty now but it wouldn't be for long.

THE woman opened the gate and led Detox in. She hated walking into it, despite the soft grass and smell of actual dirt. It was still a cage. She'd discovered the wire mesh dome when trying to escape, her eyesight too poor in daylight to properly see the fine wires. She'd crashed and fallen. Now the humans knew about her wings but it was still nice to be outside. And, she'd have company soon because the woman had unclipped her leash and was leaving. Detox watched her blurry, blotted shape go before laying down and resting her muzzle on her forelegs.

[luna]

Abby was curled up into a tight ball at the back end of her holding cage at the lab. She looked like just a black ball of fur and not even a real dog. She always tried to make herself as small as possible because she was so terrified. She lay there in the back her cage whimpering and shaking. She had just woken up from the same horrible nightmare that she had been having lately. In this nightmare, both her mom and her dad died and she felt like she was to blame. She didn’t know why she had been having this dream but it was making her even more of a mess than she already was.

As she lay in the back of her cage, she tried to go back to sleep. She didn’t necessarily want to go back to sleep because of the fear that the dream would come again however, she did want to sleep because she was hoping that when she woke up again she wouldn’t be in such bad of a state. She slowly drifted into sleep but before she had fallen asleep completely, she heard the door to her holding room open. “Please don’t let it be something having to do with me” she fearfully thought to herself. She didn’t know how much more she could take right now and as she heard the foot steps getting closer to her cage, she turned around growling softly.

As she turned around she continued to growl and when the person stopped at her cage and opened the door to her cage, she bared her teeth. Abby saw that this lady had a leash and therefore, she got the feeling that maybe, just maybe, she was about to be taken outside. Abby loved going outside because it was the closet she ever came to freedom. That’s why when she thought of this, she stopped growling and started very slightly wagging her tail. As the lady reached her hand towards Abby, Abby leaned forward and bent her head down. The lady clipped the leash onto Abby and then set her down on the floor next to her. They were soon walking to the door to go outside.

When they finally got outside, Abby squinted as her eyes adjusted to bright sun light. She sat down and waited for the lady to unclip the leash. As she did, Abby slowly got up and looked around her, taking in her surroundings. She was feeling good about being outside until she saw a another dog outside. Abby was just as unsure of dogs as she was humans. She looked at the black dog lying down and she slowly crept forward. She walked about a foot in front of the dog before stopping. She smelt the scent of the dog and then ran back to a bush. It wasn’t that she was unsure about this dog but really just because she was so shy and she didn’t know if this dog would be aggressive or nice. She sat down beside the bush and quietly barked. After one bark she became quiet and waited to see what the other dog would do.

[Sasha]

THE cage door clanged open but Detox didn't raise her head. Instead, she perked her ears and simply listened. She kept her eyes closed, knowing the sun would hurt when she did open them. It always did, ever since they messed with her night vision. She was amazing when it came to seeing in the dark but daylight was simply painful. Finally the door clanged closed, echoing painfully in Detox's heart. Another sign of inprisonment. Damn the humans and all their trechery. Still, Detox knew she wasn't alone. She could smell another dog, fresh with fear scent but still hinting at milk scent. A puppy. Detox's heart sank. Why did humans take them so young? Cracking one deep violet eye open, the black she-dog saw a block blob warily approaching her. She kept quiet and closed her eye again, comforted in the dark. The blob hadn't looked very big so she guessed she was right in assuming it was a puppy, or at least a very young dog. Detox always pitied those, it meant they were new, perhaps even untouched by unnatural experiments.

HER heart went out to the poor welp. She, for the scent was female, was in for a lifetime of misery.

A wet sniffing sound alerted Detox to the pup's closeness followed by a yelp and the sound of scampering paws. Again Detox peeked open an eye. The black blob was gone, not that Detox was surprised. A lot of dogs were timid. Slowly she raised her head and opened both eyes this time. The sunlight stung and the world was blotchy but at least now she'd be able to maybe spot the black one's hiding place. Nostrils flared as Detox slowly got up and shook herself out. Her glossy black coat was sunwarmed now, a sensation she had almost forgotten about and her mood mellow, so she began a slow examination of the yard.

SHE started by walking to the fence until she felt the wires with her nose. From there she followed the fence, nose twitching as she sniffed out the little one. In truth, she was dragging out the tracking process, giving the pup a chance to get used to her presence. At least, her bleary eyes came upon a green blob slightly darker than the sea of grass around it. A bush. That must have been new, Detox didn't remember it, but it had been a while since she'd been let loose.

"LITTLE one, are you hiding from me?" Detox barked, closing her eyes as the strain of seeing in full daylight began to give her a headache. "It's ashame, I'd like to know you but if you'd like to be lonesome, it's alright. I'm quite used to it myself."

PICKING her way back to the center of the yard by following her own scent trail, the dark German Shepherd lowered her head until the nose just brushed her black nose. Then she began to slowly circle around the yard until she came upon a chew toy which by the feel was made of bumpy rubber and smelled faintly of other dogs. Why the whitecoats left toys, Detox would never know. Few lab dogs even remembered what it was like to properly play but this particular toy made her hear throb painfully. Her human, he used to play with her with a toy like this when she did good at work. Her tail wagged slowly at the memory before she picked up the toy and laid down. Holding the toy under one paw, she chewed on it halfheartedly, mostly listening for motion from her yardmate. She hoped the pup would liven up and learn to enjoy her outdoor time. It became rare the longer one was in the lab.

[luna]

As Abby stood by the bush watching the dog, she was starting to be able to tell that this dog meant no harm to her. However, as she saw her walking closer to the bush, it was instinctively that Abby moved farther behind the bush. She was silent and she listened to other dog’s foot steps. It wasn’t until Abby heard the dog talk to her that she moved forward again. When Abby heard the dog talk about being lonesome, she wanted to run out from behind the bush and up to the other dog. She didn’t want to be lonesome but she was still extremely shy. Abby stood there and watched the Black dog turn around and walk back towards the toys.

When the dog was farther ahead, Abby very quietly began to move from behind the bush and follow the black dog. She made sure she was making little noise and stayed a distance away from the other dog though. For a while Abby kept this up. It was not until the dog stopped and laid down with her toy that Abby stopped walking and following her. She stopped where she was, beside the fence and laid down. She wanted to make sure the other dog hadn’t sensed her following her before she decided to move again. Once Abby saw that the black dog was paying no attention to her, she slowly got up and began to slowly move forward again.

Abby very quietly and slowly crept forwards. She was paying attention to the dog in front of her to make sure she didn’t notice her behind her. When Abby got a little bit closer to the other dog however she had a sudden thought. “Wow! This dog really is an older version of myself!” She thought to herself amazed and fascinated. At this thought, Abby could hold back no longer. She pounced forwards at the other dog barking excitedly and playfully. She jumped in front of the dog and rolled on her back wagging her tail excitedly. This was the first time in almost as long as Abby could remember that she truly felt like the playful pup that she so desperately wanted to be. She looked up at the older version of herself, still on her back, and barked playfully once again.

[Sasha]

THE elder shepherd kept her ears open for the pup without making it openly look like she was listening. Her deep violet eyes remained closed, elegant jaws working on the toy for lack of anything better to do. She knew humans were watching, they always did when dogs were put in this yard, especially when it was a new dog and a mutated dog. Still, Detox tried not to think too much about that. She was used to being watched. As she turned the toy and began working on the other end, she heard the grass rustling and knew the pup was nearby. She didn't tense up or otherwise look alarmed. She simply kept her eyes closed and focused on the toy, giving her jaws a good workout. It wasn't often she got to do something like this and in some ways it was truly relaxing. Then again, being out of the cages at all was enough to make her content. It just hurt that her freedom was a mere illusion. She was simply in a bigger cage.

A sudden cascade of excited barks startled the black shepherd. On instinct, she opened her eyes and wished she hadn't as soon as she did. The sunlight burned and the world shot in and out of focus in a nausiating fashion. Snapping her eyes closed again, Detox recoiled a bit from the source of the noise for a moment before cautiously opening her eyes.

THE black blob was in front of her, wriggling excitedly, all big paws and excited yips. For a moment, Detox was thoroughly confused. Why was the pup suddenly so inclined to play? Leaning forward a bit, Detox squinted, cursing the humans and their ruining of her daytime vision. The pup looked...it looked like her. Detox's ears swerved forward. She hadn't seen another black German Shepherd since she'd been a pup and nursing at her mother's side with her siblings. Without her consent, her tail started to wag and a grin appeared on her muzzle. Her gaze softened into an indulgantly affectionate look as she leaned forward further and licked the pup's muzzle.

"WELL well, now you want to play? What's your name little one?"

DETOX closed her deep purple eyes again as the headache returned, sad to see the little pup disappear into the blackness of her self-imposed blindness. She wished it was the deep of night. Then she'd be able to see everything about this fresh young one. She'd be able to know the color of her eyes, the exact shade of black her fur was, everything. Detox hated not being able to see mostly because she knew, knew for a certain fact, that when she'd been born her vision had been perfect. Disease, injury nor birth defect stole her eyes. It was the conscious actions of humans. That, perhaps, out of everything hurt the worst. A human, a thing she had been taught since puppyhood to love and protect, had hurt her in a way she knew would never be fixed.

LEANING forward again, Detox's black nose twitched as she sniffed at the pup's head and neck, feeling soft fur against her nose. Still with puppy fur. The humans were bringing in younger ones. The thought send a flash of concern through Detox. Why? She'd noticed a lot of puppies and young dogs coming in recently. Was there a reason or just opprotunity? Chance perhaps? Who knew?

[luna]

Abby continued to wag her tail as the Black dog looked her over and licked her muzzle. Abby then did the same thing in return. When she heard the Big dog ask what her name was, she jumped up and stood right in front of the dog.
"My name is Abby" She said excitedly. What's yours? You look like an older version of me! She was quick to add laughing a little at her self. You even look exactly like my mommy! Abby mumbled with a sudden sad tone in her voice. It was true, this dog looked like an older version of herself but she looked even more like her mom. Thinking about this made Abby remember her last dream and the fact that she would never see her mom again and she began to whimper. She laid down and put her head on her paws. She hated having someone remind her so much of her mother however at the same time, She found strange comfort in it. She crawled over to the German Shepherd and nudged herself close to her. She could hear the dog's heart beat and she began to relax a little once more. She continued to nudge herself into the Black and as she did so memories from her past and of being curled up next to her own mom began to flood back into her head. She closed her eyes and watched all these memories inside her head almost as if they were movies. For the first time, she actually began to smile. She knew then that she loved this dog that resembled so much her own mom. She knew she had only just met the dog but still, she had found that she was probably the only thing that has been the cause of her truly being happy ever since she came to lab. She could only hope that this dog liked her and wouldn’t walk off and leave her alone like so many other dogs have done. She would be torn if that happened and Abby really couldn’t stand to lose yet another friend.

[Sasha]

THE half blind German Shepherd couldn't quite help but let a smile slip through. It tugged at the corners of her dark lips as she turned her head, blindly following the sounds of the pup's voice. She sounded innocent, excited and happy. It was a shame such sounds were so rare. Detox couldn't really remember the last time she'd heard a dog be truly happy. But, in true happiness, Abby didn't even seem to be it. Truly happy for this little one would probably be with her real mother, free of the cages and fear, not making due with a look-alike. Detox dearly wished she could give such things to the pup. She couldn't count how many times she'd wished to give it to anyone she met. They were all the same, aching for what they would never have again. Sure, some still clung to the hope that they'd find a way out, but Detox knew that only a few lucky ones made it out. Heaven only knew how those ones even made it. Detox wished she knew. Then again, she was a freak now, so what would she even do?

GOING home wouldn't be an option for Detox. When she'd been kidnapped, she'd had brown eyes. Now they were violet. When she'd been taken, she hadn't had wings. Now she had wings. She could hide them, but she did have them and if she went too long without using them or stretching them, they hurt. Her claws secreted poison too, a healing poison that was fatal only in large amounts. That was why, even now, Detox kept her sharp claws clear of the youngling. No need for unhappy accidents. Not to mention her entire demeanor was different. Back when she'd been normal, Detox had been carefree and happy. She was content in her work and adoring toward her human. Now she was...she didn't even know anymore. She probably would be no human lover when she got out. No. They'd hurt her too badly.

HER thoughts were interrupted when Abby tucked herself in next to Detox, asking her name and whining softly, probably remembering her mother. Detox's violet eyes softened as she peeked open her eyes to gaze at the black pup. She blended almost perfectly into Detox's pelt except her pelt was still dull and feathery soft with the tail ends of puppyhood. Detox's on the other hand was sleek, sunwarmed and shiny. She was so young...Detox sighed softly. All lab dogs were a tragedy. Abby would be no different. She might simply be one of the lucky ones to make it through all the abuse.

ROLLING her shoulders, Detox clenched her jaw as she felt tendons, muscles and bones rippling and tearing through the scar tissue on her shoulder blades. A bit of blood trickled down her limb but it was far less than what happened when she first erupted her wings. Glistining wetly but as soft as raven down, massive black wings coiled out from the femme's shoulders. They were silent as a promise, swallowing sunlight. They were extremely light feathers, extremely soft and silent as they folded against her side. Her left wing tucked against her side while the right was loose, laying over Abby's cuddled up form the way a mother bird tucks her babies under her wing at night. Detox shifted just a bit so Abby was tucked a bit better against her softer underbelly.

DETOX tightened her wing a bit, a modified version of a hug, before rising.

HER wings didn't settle against her side this time, instead they were half unfurled, arching out from her body as she took a few bounding steps and snatched a rubber bone from the ground. Tossing it so it flipped once in midair before catching it, Detox gave a single mighty leap and sprang into the air. Her ebony wings whooshed open with a nearly silent sigh as she took wing. She closed her eyes, circling overhead just low enough that her beating wings brushed the mesh dome. She'd done enough blind crash landing here to know where everything was while sparing her poor eyes the violence of direct sunlight. When she'd made a full circle, Detox dropped the bone. If she guessed right, it would land near Abby.

"YOU should play while you can, they won't let us out here long," the older she-dog advised.

[luna]

[glow=red,2,300]Abby laid there, tucked into the big dog, and continued to let memories of her past come back to her. She could not believe her days with her mom and siblings were over. She knew she would never see them again and, even though she did not want to accept it, she knew she had to move on and forget about them. Even as a young pup and, a newbie to the lab, she knew a dog living in the past instead of the present would never make it in the lab.

She continued to lay still and silent by the older dog until she felt something that startled her. She felt something begining to poke out from the dog's side and, as a natural instict, she scooted even closer in to the dog. When she looked up, the dog had something that looked like big black wings sticking out from her side. "Wings??" Abby thought to herself "Is that even possible?" She jumped a little when the big black wing curled over her though however she quickly relaxed again.

Abby didn't move again until the other dog got up and stretched her wings out. Abby liffted up and watched the older dog in wander and awe. When Abby saw the dog begin to fly, she had to use all her will power to not let her mouth drop open. Instead, she just stared in amazement. She watched the dog play with a toy bone and jumped up when she dropped it near her. Abby sprang towards the bone and barked excitedly. "Play time!!"

She grabbed the bone in her jaw and shook her head before tossing it again. She had not played in such a long time that it almost felt like a new thing to her. She bounded after the bone and growled when she got near it. She slowly crept fowards and then pounced on the bone once she had gotten closer. She tossed it into the air, jumped up, and then caught it again. Once she caught it again, she ran to where the black dog was flying, jumped up, and tossed the bone up as high as she could. "Here!" She barked playfully wagging her tail furiously.[/glow]

[Sasha]

DETOX couldn't see for the bright light but, as she hovered between the mesh net and land, she could hear everything. She could hear the pup yipping, growling and barking, her petite paws making the grass rustle. A small, almost invisible smile, tugged on her dark lips. How long had it been since she'd heard someone play or participated? It was nice to know she was giving this pup a bright spot in her day. If she hadn't been in midair, Detox probably would have let her tail wag. Since that would send her into a tailspin, she'd done it before, she simply swept in a wide arc around the encircled pen. Thankfully, she'd been put in here enough to have a mental map of where the fences were so she wouldn't hit one and be sent tumbling earthward. She'd done it a few times, and hit the mesh overhead once when she had blindly tried to escape. Now she knew humans weren't necessarily so stupid as the let a dog with wings into an area that had no overhead protection.

STRETCHING her wings felt nice though so Detox tried to content herself with the sensation. It had taken a long time for Detox to get used to her wings, not to mention be able to actually fly with them. Now the unnatural muscles in her shoulders and sides flexed and extended with ease. Her skin rippled, her fur shimmering like feathers as the sunlight danced over her back and sides. The warmth on her feathers and fur was enough to make her sigh in content. If she was a cat, in all honesty, she would have been purring. She adored nighttime because it was kind to her vision but she loved the warmth of sunlight even if she couldn't savor it quite the same way she had before.

JUST as Detox was making her third lap around the enclosure, she heard Abby bark from down below. "Here!"

LIKE a bat, Detox's ears flared and swerved forward, her head dipped toward the she-dog and her wings flexed as she stopped her forward flight to hover. The air currents shifted and, more on instinct, Detox opened her jaws as she smelled rubber. The bone hit her jaws and she tensed to hold it rather than drop it on the little pup below. Rolling her shoulders and tossing her head back, Detox released the bone. It flew skyward as she shot after it. She heard it bounce off the mesh net and opened her jaws to catch it before wheeling to the right, the tips of her feathers brushing the net as she dove low toward the ground. She hit the ground running, huge black wings generating a gust of wind as they flapped a few times before folding neatly against her side.

LETTING out a muffled few barks to Abby, Detox rolled to the ground, bone still in her mouth. Tail wagging now that she was down, the former police dog rolled to her feet with a bounce. Tossing the bone, away across the grass, Detox waited to hear Abby running after it, tail still wagging but slower. She couldn't help but wonder why the humans had put them in here. Surely they didn't just want an experiment and a normal pup together? Was Abby weaned? She smelled faintly of milk but not overly so. What were they testing? Detox turned her head slowly left to right, ears roving on her head like satilites looking for a signal. What was the theory? Was Abby already showing signs of something or...were they testing her parental instincts? Detox snorted at the thought before turning her attention back to Abby.