making a bet...(open)

[Cross]

[/i], she thought, forcing herself to look away.

She was walking beside her owners which walked by the cages with stoic faces. Cross tried to put on the same mask but she felt intimidated. Humans were around talking to their companions or walking with dogs passed by. Some were conversing happily, others were observing the wolves, determining which one looked like they could win. Yes, she was interested in the fights and how everything worked.. but she hated this part! Sighing she watched as her master's talked to the person at the booth. They were pulling out their wallets and purse as they got ready to place their bets.

"Cross, honey," her mistress said, trying to catch her attention.

"Y-yeah?" Cross asked, looking up at the older female.

"The fight isn't going to start for a while, were going to our seats. Which are located here," her mistress gave her a note after scribbling on it.

Cross looked at in, scanning the paper before placing in her jean pocket. "So I can walk around then?"

"Yes, sweetheart, now make sure not to get in any trouble," the women said.

"Yes, mistress!" Cross said with a wide grin.

She walked off, her hands behind her back as she walked around and peered inside the cages curiously. Cross only got to see her kind in these settings. So she used this time here to learn more about them. Watching the sleeping gray wolf she couldn't help feel bad for it. She could only hope her own master's didn't stick her in a cage one day. [/size][/blockquote][/ul]

[Onyx Featherstone]

Onyx watched the werewolf girl move around. She was one of the few of Onyx's kind who weren't in the Coliseum. The black haired werewolf wondered what it would be like outside of the walls of this place. She was the only werewolf that was inside a cage that was in human form. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she watched the girl. Her nostrils flared and she inhaled the girls scent deeply. She was sitting back on her hindquarters with her legs crossed in front of her. She was trying to calm herself before the fight, though in a setting like this it was awfully hard.

Onyx moved to crouch near the front of her cage, close to the girl and said, "What are you doing outside a cage?" She was a werewolf after all, and though she was just someones pet weren't all werewolves supposed to fight (in this crazy world). She hated this. It wasn't fair if one werewolf was allowed outside then shouldn't they all be? She growled in fury and longed to wreck the front of the cage but knew better. The cages were lined with silver and that would hurt terribly.

She stood and began to pace. Anger evident in her steps. Why should this mere, pup. Be allowed out? Why not one of the ancients, or someone who could do some good? Though it wasn't strange for humans to keep young pups as pets and then abandon them when they get old in the Coliseum. Or actually fight them themselves. It was the way their strange world worked. Onyx hated it, hated the new Perrance with a passion.It didn't make sense that the humans should control the werewolves, the wolves were better than them in every way both physically and mentally, and yet just because of this little metal Onyx was trapped her with the rest of her people. Her poor kind was trapped like rats and they couldn't do anything about it.

Words:342
Muse: Good
Song: Cowboy Casanova- Carrie Underwood

[Cross]

[/i]

Cross gasped, a little startled as she looked to the next cage which revealed a women. A little caught off guard it took her a while before she recovered and started to breath in steadily. When she thought about that question her hand seem to unconsciously go to her collar; the most prized possession she had. she looked down for a moment, toying with her bronze tag which had her name branded on it. She watched as the women started to pace, not looking at all pleased. Cross gulped once more she decided to answer.

"W-well... I'm not one of you fighters, of course," Cross said, making a shaky smile.

She then thought of what she should say next. Maybe she should walk away but she was interested in this werewolf. Cross identified the familiar features. She must be one of the fighters here, that was what she concluded.

"I don't even know how to fight very well," Cross muttered to herself mostly.

"Hey! Hey Cross!" A voice shouted.

Cross looked over her shoulder to see a human male approaching her. He smiled, and she smiled back when she identified him.

"Hey, Mike, glad you came," she said.

"You too, you talking to this one? Man, she is one hell of a beauty," Mike said, looking at Onyx.

"Well that's sweet," Cross giggled.

"I bet she does good in bed too," Mike said, nudging Cross with a elbow.

Cross then started to laugh out loud. Obviously amused by the joke. Mike then said he had to go and walked away. Cross was sad to see him leave so soon. He happened to be a friend that worked at her family's restaurant once in a while. Watching him leave she turned back to Onyx. She hoped that she didn't offend her by laughing in response to Mike's little joke. The young pup had to admit, the women looked both beautiful and scary.

"What are you doing inside cage?" Cross said, deciding to use the older werewolf's question against her. [/size][/blockquote][/ul]

[Onyx Featherstone]

Onyx's lip curled in disgust as the girl talked to a human. A human for god's sake. It made her furious to see one of her kind talking to one of them like they were best friends and the worst of it? They were talking about her like she was some kind of creature that didn't understand them. Like they could just bed her and then throw her away. She growled low in her throat at the girl, knowing the werewolf's sensitive hearing would pick up the sound of displeasure.

"What kind of werewolf are you?" Onyx's voice was chilled and poisonous. She looked like she was looking at some kind of slug. "One who makes friends with humans, the very species who has locked your kind up and forced them to kill one another in cold blood?" Onyx wondered who was worse, the humans or the werewolves who mad friends with the humans. The werewolves who made friends with the humans were spineless with no pride, when the very definition of pride was 'werewolf.' The Wolves were very prideful people and being treated as slaves and a source of entertainment had long since forced that pride into hiding.

What was she doing in a cage?That was a good question. Ever since she could remember she had been at the coliseum. But she knew there was sometime before it. She was only five when she came here, and though she couldn't remember her past she could remember her age. So there was a time before the coliseum, Onyx wondered what that time was. Who was part of it and what had happened to make her get caught. She wished to know so bad that some days it ruled her life, instead of the thought of freedom. "What am I doing here, what does it look like, I am getting ready to fight!"

Words: 325
Muse:Good
Song: N/A

[Cross]

[/b]," Cross mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "Some is being a little to melodramatic."

She gave a smirk, but felt a little bad for acting rude to the caged female. Cross was a person who thought before she replied. She could have easily came up with a stinging retort regarding the older women's situation. But she decided not to be snippy. She knew it wasn't good to taunt such a powerful creature seeing as she herself wasn't as strong compared to these other wolves. Cross was more agile and swift, not having much bulk or muscle. She was lean and small in both human and wolf forms so she always picked her fights wisely. She wondered how she should respond to the 'what kind of where wolf are you' quote first.

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together after she thought over her reply.

This managed to attract the attention of other werewolves who looked at the two. They to were confused as they identified her as a fellow lycan. There were many cautious sniffs and the tilts and raising of the heads as the listened to what Cross had to say. Noticing she had caught some attention the young werewolf's grin only broadened.

"I shall say this openly now what 'kind of werewolf I am'," she said, using her fingers as quotation marks. "I am a creature, a someone, a wolf, who originally came from a pack. Being that I was only at the age of seven or less I decided to stupidly follow some humans, my family, to their home."

The wolves that were listening shared a few startled glances before continuing to listen to the pup's story.

"There I was taken care of and made apart of the family. And I, am their self-proclaimed pet. Owned by the humans as you are all owned by humans. The collar signifying my ownership," Cross explained, raising her neck to show off the leather collar.

A few looked away, obviously not liking to talk about this touchy subject.

"But the difference between you, and I, is that I follow my master's and do as they say willingly. I protect and love them. So, yes, I am the lover of the species called 'humans' that you all seem to call monsters," Cross sighed.

There was some growls and grunts in response to what she just said. She could feel glares burning into her from all sides. Snorting in response Cross decided to continue.

"I don't see why you all fight it," she shrugged. "It's no use to deny humans-"

"How about you shut up!" A boy in one cage shouted after returning to his human form. "You have no idea about the hell we have to go through! Locked up in cages and forced to fight to entertain those monsters! Their filthy, disgusting and greedy! And we don't need to be talked down to by some lazy pet."

The boy spat at her shoes and Cross gave a disgusted look and stepped away. A little angry by that gesture she licked her lips and her canines elongated, her eyes dilating a little. As the blood inside her started to heat up she felt a transformation take place. She didn't attempt to stop it, knowing it would be a bad idea to force herself to stop and struggle in front of the other werewolves. The dark-skinned girl that once stood there was now replaced by a somewhat large and lanky black wolf. Inside her mind she cursed herself for not mastering her transformation fully. It was usually set off when she felt a certain strong emotion.

"Hey, mister, have you see- oh shit!" A female voice shouted.

Cross looked to the left to see a girl running toward her and her tail wagged back and forth when she saw who it was. One of her master's daughters, the eldest one actually. The human women paused and looked around cautiously before approaching Cross and crouching a little.

"What the hell are you doing Cross? Seriously, you can get in trouble, bad girl," the human women gently scolded.

In response to this Cross's ears flattened and she bowed her head, allowing a whimper to escape her throat. The human women smiled and patted her head, earning a few licks to the face from the wolf.

"Disgusting," the boy in the cage muttered before turning away.

"Well that's rude..." The women said, frowning.

There was suddenly a loud announcement that echoed through the halls. "The first round is about to begin, the first round is about the begin folks! Head for your seats and enjoy the show!"

Cross returned to her human form, "I'll be right there!"

"Uh... okay, but you better hurry!" The women walked briskly away.

"Well, uh, good luck in the fight. But I do have a question, if you don't mind answering it. How does it feel to fight other werewolves?" Cross asked, curiously to Onyx. [/size][/blockquote][/ul]

[Onyx Featherstone]

How dare she ask that?! Onyx knew nothing of the outside world except what she heard in snippets of conversations. She did know though from what other werewolves said that wolves did fight each other naturally but not over such petty things as winning some money. She sneered at the human that walked out of the picture. Her nails lengthened and she dragged them through the cement of the floor, scoring deep furrows in the stone. The grating sound of nails on stone sounded through out the room and a few werewolves howled. She narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her and inhaled to remember the traitors scent.

"How do you think it feels to kill one of your own kind against your will," she snarled and slammed her fist on the silver bars in front of her, causing her to yelp in pain and withdraw to the back, her right hand now sporting a large creased burn. "Are you stupid or something? Really? Would you enjoy killing your friends and family just because someone willed it? We aren't dogs, we seem to care more than any human possibly could for their kind." She took a deep breath and asked the question all of them were wondering. "So what about you, do you care more about humans than you do werewolves?"

This girl truly had no pride if she wouldn't fight against the humans to maintain her freedom. Onyx wondered if she used to be a child of a beta or something because she had even more pride than any other werewolf she had ever met. She also seemed to have this strange power over them that seemed to make them not willing to fight with her. Unless that was she met up with an equally dominate werewolf and then they fought until the death. But that was only inside the coliseum. Otherwise she wasn't allowed to fight to the death. They stopped her before she could kill someone, not that she would not without the real need to. Not unless they really needed to be punished.

Words:355
Muse: Good
Song: N/A

[Cross]

[/b]," Cross said, clapping her hands together.

A cheesy grin was on her face now. For some reason, for some unknown reason she was amused by this whole situation. Maybe it was because the young werewolf felt safe and sound. Maybe she felt superior over these others who were locked away in these enclosed spaces like mere animals. Of course, Cross found amusement in many, many places and in many, many situations. She still held her toothy grin before suddenly sobering up. A frown was on her face as she looked at Onyx.

"What a sad sob story, really," she said looking away as she waved her hand, and rolled her eyes. "I mean, that is what werewolves are made for. I bet some of you killed others intentionally. You... we, were made to do so. Our teeth, claws and whole body was made to cause injury and protect ourselves, no?"

Cross looked over her shoulders, meeting a few gazes as she asked that question. Her eye brow was still arched and she waited for about a few moments before she continued to speak.

"Would you enjoy killing humans, with their blood on your claws and fangs as your lust for revenge finally sated?" She asked, sounding innocent as she did so.

There were a few growls, making it obvious that they wished nothing more then to turn on their captives. Cross smirked in response. Even though she was young she knew how to make herself sound intelligent, and she knew how to patiently respond to things. She would make a find debater if she ever wanted to be on a debate team of some sort.

"I doubt some of you will ever be released, and the ones left alive will probably escape in the future. But it's to late for the humans to apologize, correct? They have committed many sins, and have caused trouble and almost driven our race from these lands. They know perfectly well what their doing. But I bet you all think you should be treated with respect. Have the same rights, no?"

She continued to gaze about the area, there was only silence.

"But they only care for human rights. Human rights, and we aren't humans. Were no better then animals, they view us a savage creatures without souls. Just like they view many other animals. But of course, a dog is treated better then us. For we, in their eyes, do not even have the same rights as a dog in this world. We had gotten in their way of conquering a bountiful land, and they have gotten their revenge on us for not submitting to change and bending to their will. Oh yes, they have," Cross chuckled.

Cross finally looked back at Onyx, tilting her head as she looked at the older women's facial expression. When she locked gazes with her the younger werewolf could see the hate. She could feel it too, radiating off Onyx and so many others here. Even though Cross was still receiving glares from close up and afar she didn't possess a fear scent. She was just talking as she would to any other person. Stating the obvious.

"You ask if I care about humans more then werewolves?" Cross blinked, her brown orbs looking steadily into Onyx's. "I guess I better tell the truth. Because I know all of you will remember this if you ever find your way out of here. If you ever escape this hell hole it is most likely you'll slaughter plenty of humans, and maybe even hunt me down. I wouldn't put it past you. But, I shall answer now. Yes, I care more for humans, and I am happy with my life as a pet. I live to protect my family, and to serve my family and make them happy, just like any dog would want to."

A smile formed on Cross lips. "And if anyone hurts them I will not hesitate to kill them. I have hunted a few times, and I only killed insignificant creatures. But killing something that can talk back and communicate with you would be a traumatic experience indeed. I know this and accept it. But the time will come. I will seek revenge if anyone ever ruined my family. And I can only hope I don't have to hate my own species, and come have to turn on them more then I already have."

Cross sighed and stepped away from Onyx's cage. She gave a sad smile.

"Well, I'll be at the front row, right above where you or your opponent is suppose to enter. I'll be cheering for you, 'kay?" Cross said.

She walked away from the cage area. And went straight to the area where people were suppose to seat themselves. It was loud, and Cross winced a little in response to the roaring noise. She saw someone wave toward her and made her way to her family before taking a seat beside Mike and her family.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Mike shouted, taking a sip of his soda after handing Cross a bag of candy.

"I know! Who did you bet on?" Cross asked, her mouth full of sweet and bitter candy.

"Onyx of course! I heard she was awesome!" Mike shouted.

Cross smirked. She was happy that her family was wealthy enough to buy a seat in the front row. But now the real entertainment was about the begin.

"Oh wait, did ya head about the bonus round?" Mike asked.

"Huh? What bonus round?" Cross gave a confused expression.

"Well, it will ether be at the beginning or end. But I heard a wolf will be able to fight any werewolf in this whole place as their next opponent," Mike informed. "They'll most likely pick a weakling..."

Cross only blinked in response and then her eyes went wide. "Oh... shit..."

"What?" Mike asked.

"Hide me," Cross whimpered, before ducking down.

Mike gave a bemused expression. "It not like any of them will target you Cross. I mean, I bet none of them even know who... you... are..."

He paused as well, they both looked at each other before it was Mike's turn to speak. "Oh... shit... Dammit Cross, you had to be the one to talk with them! I told you about that free speech... whatever, mouth of yours!"

"What do I do? I think I made a lot of them angry..." Cross whispered.

Mike glanced around. "Just duck down, make yourself invisible, or something!"

"But I want to see the fight..." Cross complained.

"Do you want to see the fight, or be in the fight. Pick both of nether!" Mike said, leaning close to her.

Cross then ducked down slowly.
[/size]

[/blockquote][/ul]

[Onyx Featherstone]

Onyx wondered sometimes what these "pet" werewolves thought of her and the other coliseum werewolves. They weren't blood thirsty animals and yes Onyx did know she needed to kill the humans, but need was the operative word. IF she didn't kill the humans she would be killed herself and so would the rest of the werewolves. But Onyx would never enjoy killing someone with a soul, hell she didn't even enjoy killing animals unless it was absolutely necessary, for food and such. No she was not a mindless killing machine like most of the humans seemed to think her as. Just because she was good at it did not mean she enjoyed it. Sure she liked fighting but that was entirely different than taking some thing's life.

She narrowed her eyes at the girl but didn't say what she was thinking on the subject. No one needed to know she was soft at heart. People needed to think she was a vicious animal so she could keep herself safe from the humans who would destroy her if they thought she was getting weak. It was only she who saw herself as strong because she was willing to love instead of hate. Though she didn't hate humans, she did dislike them, and she felt a strong pity for such a misguided creature.

She watched the girl leave with emerald eyes full of pity for the werewolf who was apparently named Cross, or at least that's what the human had called her. She pitied her because she could see the dislike for her own race inside her heart and the desire to be a human. Instead of something wild and untamed and beautiful, she wanted to be something horrible and ugly. Her sadness sobered her and she didn't bother saying anything to the girl about the fact that she might very well be chosen by the winner of today's matches to be killed in the end. She shouldn't have spoken to them in such a way.

A Taker soon came to her cage and leveled a gun at her as another one opened the door to it. She walked out and into the hallway where she moved into the holding chamber. Her scimitars were already there waiting for her. But before she could even get to them, as they were across the room and on the bench, the door closed behind her. Besides even if she had managed to get them and had attacked the Takers she would have been shot with silver. Getting shot with silver hurt.

Holstering her weapons she waited, pacing until they called her names, which was only a few minutes but seemed like an eternity. Soon another door opened in her cell and she knew exactly where this one led because right at the end of the hallway was a tiny square of light and as she moved toward it the roar of the crowd came to her ears.

"Welcome Onyx Featherstone! A level red Werewolf and one of the oldest gladiators we have," She moved out into the sun and sighed as she saw the other she-wolf across from her, as the announcer said this. The other wolf was young and probably new to being a level red and today was her day to die. No one had survived a battle with Onyx once they got in the ring with her, sometimes in other matches they would pull the wolf out, but they were never quick enough with Onyx.

She unsheathed her scimitars and they began to dance their fight at first slow and testing, one strike here and then a block. Never really trying but neither one giving up. But soon the girl left her defenses too wide for Onyx to ignore and she did a quick upward slash and halved the poor werewolf's throat. She ignored the crowd jeering and cheering, just catching the girl as she fell and gently placing her on the ground.

That fight had been too easy. She was a young inexperienced werewolf, even more young than Onyx. She watched as the girl died, feeling emotionally detached and yet silently she knew she would be aching later on. Onyx didn't even need to change into her wolf form for that fight. She looked up at the crowd and announcer and said, "The wolf I wish to fight is Cross!" Her voice was commanding and though quiet it rose easily above the crowd murmuring. She glanced about waiting. She was truly a terrifying werewolf and though no human would admit it, they were scared of her, they all hid behind the silver just because without it she wouldn't even need her wolf form to kill them.

Words: 800
Muse: AMAZING!!!
Song: Dogs of War- Brand X Music

[Cross]

[/i]
_______________


"Cross? Hey Cross?" Mike's voice could be heard.

Cross snapped out of her daze and looked over at him. "What?"

"I should be asking you that. What are you going to do?" He asked.

Cross didn't look over at her owners, but she could feel their gazes against her skin. She held a expressionless mask. It was up to her then? It wasn't like she didn't know how to fight. She had plenty of practice but she never went up against another werewolf before. Breathing in deeply she stared down at Onyx. She then held out her hand to Mike.

"Mike, give me your pocket knife," she said.

Mike stared at her for a moment, and then his hands fished around in his pocket. He grabbed the requested item and handed it to her without a word.

"Wait, Cross, you aren't going to actually-" The elder sister asked.

"It's a werewolf thing. Humans wouldn't understand," Cross said simply, and then gave a reassuring smile.

She went over to where the stairs were, went up a few steps, turned and then sprinted. She was over the silver barrier in a single jump. There were a few gasp, as Cross landed in a crouched position. Her hand was scraped when she made impact with the ground, but it quickly healed. She gave it a swift lick and her tongue traveled over her elongated canines. She put the knife back in her pocket and then stretched a little before making a gesture for Onyx to come.

"Bring it," she said. [/size] [/blockquote][/ul]

[Onyx Featherstone]

She watched as the girl leaped the barrier. Easy to do when you were on the other, higher side of it. Onyx rolled her shoulders with an almost bored expression on her face. She was steeling herself. She wouldn't kill this werewolf, just hurt her enough for her to realize she shouldn't open her mouth about things she didn't know about. A soft sigh fell from her lips as she began to move closer to the girl. Her steps were discreet. She knew the other werewolf would notice them sooner or later but she wasn't worried. This wasn't a real fight after all.

"I have no intention of killing you Cross," her voice was too low to be heard by the humans. "I just want you to have some experience about what you speak. Next time before you open your mouth, think about who you talk to." Onyx was, without trying, speaking like a true Alphess. She had absolutely no idea who she really was and neither did anyone else. None except her guard and the other Ancients. Especially not this young werewolf. A small smile graced her beautiful face, a reassuring smile. She felt no true anger toward Cross and probably would only feel it if she said something foolish like that again.

With that being said she spun quickly and brought her scimitar arcing through the air at such speed that only a werewolf be able to stop it. IT was heading up over her head and down straight at the girl's shoulder. If it hit it would bite deep into her flesh. But Onyx doubted it would hit at all. She didn't intend for the girl to let it hit. Her other scimitar came swiping back snapping with the movement of her body to cut at Cross's stomach.

Words: 309
Muse: low
Song: N/A