[Sl'askia]

this is a short fic that i actually wrote a quite some time ago (I think if i remember correctly it was written during either 'Trials of Life' or 'Pack of the Spider'). This starts about 8 months before 'Shriek'. Who's POV is this? hehe you will have to figure that out on your own. *grin* (those that know...NO TELLING!)

Chapter 1

I stretched as I awakened. It was morning, I could tell by where the light from the window fell in my cell. I looked out at the other cells in the room, everyone else was still asleep, as usual. I was normally the first one up so after a final stretch, I let out a short sharp squawk, the signal for everyone else to awaken. I jumped when Goliath accidentally bumped the bars as he stood up. I sighed, poor Goliath, being the largest of all of us, his cell was too small for him.
I looked around again, there were 11 of us in all; 8 males and 3 females. All have gotten up save for Delta, who was in the cell next to mine. I sighed again, he was always the last one to get up. I walked over to the bars and poked him sharply with one of my claws. He jumped up startled. So he wasn’t asleep. Sometimes I wonder if he purposely pretends to sleep in, just so I would have to wake him up physically. He looked up at me with an annoyed look on his face.
“I was expectin’ somethin’ a bit more gentler y’know.” he scowled.
I rolled my eyes. He was using slig speech again, just to annoy me.
“Will you quit with the slig speech…you know it annoys me…” I said.
“That’s why I do it.” He said with a grin as he poked his head in-between the bars and nuzzled my neck with his snout. I returned the gesture, purring softly. Despite how annoy he was at times…I still loved him.
“If only these bars would disappear…” I muttered, tears starting to well up in my eyes.
“Beta…” Delta said as he wrapped his face tentacles around mine, “Don’t start this now…. Someday the masters will let us be together, we just have to be patient.
“I know…it’s so hard though…to just keep waiting…not knowing if they well ever will remove these bars…”
“They will…I’m sure if it.” He made a move to kiss me, but the main doors opened and he quickly pulled his head back into his own cell, looking disappointed. I gave him a maybe next time look and turned to see who had came in.
As I suspected, it was just the feeders. The two sligs went around slipping bowls of meat through the bars. Delta and I waited eagerly for them to get to us. There was a sudden ‘snap’ of a whip and a short yelp. I could hear Delta mutter: “Sounds like Charr and Invy got caught smoochin’ again.”
I sighed, I didn’t know why they didn’t like us showing affection for each other, no of us did. My guess was that it showed as a sign of intelligence, which was dangerous. They didn’t like it when we appeared smart and punished us when we did. It was why we didn’t speak when anyone else was in the room other then us. I noticed Goliath stick his head outside of the bars, eager for his share. As always he was drooling all over the place, something he couldn’t help.
“Gah!” one of the sligs said as he pushed Goliath’s head back in, “Quit slobbering all ‘ver me yer disgustin’ beast!”
“Ah quit it will yer? Yer know this one can’ ‘elp it.” The other slig said as he gave Goliath his food.
“Feh, near the whole lot of ‘em are either disgusting or mischievous. Now this one…” the first slig said as he came in front of my cage, “I don’ mind at all. Hey pretty lady” he said as he rubbed my neck. I purred and closed my eyes.
“Feh, she’s just a crossbreed like the others.” The second said as he gave me my food. As I dug in they gave Delta his.
“Jus’ what are all these a mix of anyway?” I heard the first ask.
“Same mix as ‘the first’ one. Slig, paramite, and one other creature whose identity top secret.”
“Makes sense…they all look simular.” They exited the room then, leaving us alone once again.
“What do you they meant when they said ‘the first’?” Delta asked between mouth fulls, “You were the first of us to hatch right?”
“That’s what I thought…” I replied, just as puzzled as he was, “but now it seems that there was one before me….”
But who? I thought, And what became of him or her?….