Lone Star Mountain Feral Outcry

Kailoh halted his pacing, enough was enough. He threw himself violently against the bars of his cell for what seemed to him like the millionth time. He had no idea how long he’d been stuck, just that he couldn’t take it anymore. His claws wore into the same grooves that he’d carved into the cold metal long ago.

All around him was darkness, he’d paced his cell so many times that he had it mapped out perfectly, straw in one corner, waste in the other. The grate in the cell’s floor continued to be a bitter sweet reminder of the outside of his cell. It’s running water and faint glow reminiscent of the water falls he’d napped near in the sun. He could almost feel the warmth on his fur.

Kailoh’s body had grown weak during the time he spent captive. He had been provided with sparse meals to begin with, now he hadn’t eaten in what seemed like months. Ignoring his growling stomach, Kailoh tried once more to reach the water below him, he needed water NOW. Refusing to accept his seemingly imminent demise, Kailoh howled as loud and as long as he could. May my captors come, at least I will have the chance to take them out before I die.

Alys heard the cry, and she beelined towards it, nothing else in her mind except to help. She found him, another wolf, stuck in something Alys had never seen before. It reeked of some unknown scent - humans, of course, though she didn't know it. She approached the cage. Breathless, she asked, "How do I get you out?"

Kailoh heard someone approaching, the scent approaching told him it was another wolf. All he could see was a pair of yellow eyes approaching him. 

He wanted to believe his senses but he had gotten his hopes up before and quickly regretted it. Please let this be real. Please let this be real. He chanted the phrase in his head so vehemently that he missed the strangers words.

"Please tell me you're real."

"I'm real," she assured him gently. She eyed the cage, looking for any weak points, and it was then that she saw it - two of the bars were rusted, and the male would likely be able to slip out. Alys looked back to the male, telling him, "I'm going to try and get you out, stand back!" She would wait for him to move, and then she backed up; she ran and threw herself at the rusted bars - she heard a sharp snap, and saw that one of the bars had broken; Alys thrust her paw through the bar, tugging at the broken end, slowly and carefully easing it back; they were lucky it was so rusty.

As soon as she had the bar moved out of his way, Kailoh bolted out of the cage. "I need to get out of here,  please come with me so I can thank you properly.  Kailoh ran towards the smell of fresh air, running as fast as he could until he found a stream to drink from. He drank as much as he could before collapsing onto the ground.

The stranger bounded out from the cage, asking her to follow before he ran off. Not giving the cage a backward glance, Alys followed. When he had drunk his fill and fell to the floor, Alys sat close by. She wouldn't leave him in this state. "We should get you some food," she told him, scenting the air; a rabbit was close by. "Can you hunt, or should I get something for you?"

Kailoh felt so much relief lying in the open air next to the water, one of his favorite things to do. Kailoh remembered pouncing and prancing about in the small streams as a young pup, that had been years ago. He had been taken away from a stream just like this one. How long have I been gone? Kailoh shook himself, returning himself to the present. 

"I hate to take any further advantage of you, but I am indeed at your mercy, miss. If you're willing, once I regain my strength I will be forever in your debt.

Alys smiled at the stranger. "No debts - let's just get you back on your feet for now. Maybe we could see about travelling together, at least for a while." That way, she could keep on eye on him, make sure he ate well, and recovered from malnutrition. She didn't want to ask how long he'd been in that cage. "Rest for now," she told him, "I'll find us some rabbits to eat." And she was off, though she would return less than half an hour later, carrying three of the aforementioned quarry. Two she placed at the male's paws, the other she saved for herself.

"I'm Alys, what's your name?" she asked as she started eating.

Kailoh's eyes went wide at the meal before him. He hadn't eaten in a long time. He tried his best to be polite and appreciative.

"Efficient, three in one" Kailoh chuckled aloud. "I'm Kailoh, it's wonderful to meet you Alys.

Pleasantries out of the way, Kailoh immediately devoured both rabbits within seconds, barely tasting his meal.

Alys smiled again, then polished off her rabbit. She took a long drink from the stream, then rubbed her muzzle in the snow, cleaning it of blood. "Food and water taken care of, now rest, if you can." She'd settle herself close by, then say, "Tomorrow, we'll go far away from here." For now though, they both needed rest; her shoulder was aching from ramming herself against the cage to free Kailoh, but she was glad she'd been able to help him.

"Thank you Alys."

Completely exhausted, Kailoh curled in upon himself, covering his eyes with his tail, looking forward to the possibility of tomorrow.