Zadolt | Male | Australian/German Shepherd mix | Foxtrot | 28 | Mentions: Hero, Kordelas, Kampe, Hoffen

He silently cursed Hero as the dog shouted for them to run. Didn’t he know to be quiet? Beta dogs wouldn’t-couldn’t- let themselves fall to save others. Hero wasn’t cut out to pretend to be a Beta dog. He tensed, preparing to at least try and run, to make it to Kilo-

But he was shocked into stillness as Hero attacked Kampe. Seriously, that dog had a death wish, going after Culls like he did. Quickly Hero was immobilized, and Kampe was growling out a threat. She was trying to make him think he would be killed. Of course, he wouldn’t be, because Hero had information that they needed.

And Kampe asked Hero why she should let him live. She already knew why, but it was a scare tactic, to try and make him fear her. He responded as only the truly brave(or foolish) would. Zadolt thought his answer was testing the limits of restraint Kampe had, for it wouldn’t be hard for her to ‘slip’ and end his life right then and there.

And then Hero went and told everyone present he was Kampe’s sister.

He didn’t hear anything else, just the one line: How the hell can you just stand by and watch your brother die! Zadolt knew the answer already; she didn’t care. She wouldn’t let herself care, didn’t want to, and she tried to get rid of the problem the only way she knew how; killing him.

He dimly felt metal jaws tearing through his front leg, dragging him off. He reflexively flailed in Hoffen’s grasp, almost sending him face-first into the dirt. Hoffen recovered immediately, his grip loosening slightly, because how was Zadolt supposed to outrun a cull? The answer was simple; he couldn't.

Then Hoffen made as if to lunge at him, and Zadolt thought his life was over. But the cull jerked and spasmed at the last minute, regaining control over himself, and looked him in the eyes briefly and told him to run away. Then he apologized, about what or who Zadolt didn’t know, he only knew that Hoffen was letting him live, letting him run.

He watched as Kordelas followed them, and refused to leave. “Kordelas, Hero won’t be killed. He’s smart, he knows to keep his mouth shut. He’ll live longer if he doesn’t reveal anything, but if we don’t leave then no one will know what happened to us.” He tried to reason. Hoffen couldn’t stop his programming forever, and then no one would know where they were. They needed to at least tell someone before going to help Hero.

He limped over to the other end of the alley, stopping and looking back at Kordelas before he was into the street. His leg looked like something had torn, but he paid it no heed. “Are you staying here to die, or are you going to come with me and let Kilo know Hero’s been captured?” He asked. Either way, he was going back to Kilo. With or without Kordelas.

Kämpe | Female | Chief Cull (GSD Kangal cross) | 24 | M: Hoffen, Hero, Zadolt, Kordelas

Hoffen vaninshed into the darkness with a feral snarl, taking Zadolt and Kordelas with him. Hero's words rang in the Chief's ears.

Heartless piece of metal.

A flash of guilt shot through her mind, only to vanish moments later as her programming regained control. He spoke of family, of Beta, of Zadolt.

Whatever Hero thought, he was wrong. Kämpe knew Beta didn't care. And Kämpe didn't hold their lack of interest against them. It didn't matter to her. The Chief had no feelings, so nothing hurt her. Her resolve wavered at the thought of Zadolt, lying bleeding beneath her claws. Nothing.

Not even Zadolt. But, within the depths of her mind flashed an image of the two sitting together during training, of them playing and wrestling as pups. Of herself, in a younger, fully canine form, actually caring about him. She could remember that emotion, and through the recollection of feeling, came that very same emotion in persent time. She couldn't rid herself of it. She cared if he lived or died, even when her programming, when Beta fought to overcome it.

You are weak.

Her mind snapped back into Beta's hold, but the grip was uncertain, now.

"I care for no one, and no one cares for me. I am a machine, not a dog. Blood means nothing to me."

This creature was testing her limits. She knew that Beta needed this information, and that was all that kept him alive. The dog spoke again, denying that Kämpe could possibly pry information from him. The Chief would have scoffed, had she been capable of feeling disdain. Instead, her blood red eyes continued to spear his own.

"Fool. I have no intention of interrogating you. Your weak dog mind is too stubborn and shortsighted to see the bigger picture, to see Beta's righteousness. But you have given away far more than you might think, mutt. Because of you, I now know that Commander Thirty-Four had met you earlier this morning, when he was set to dispose of the removal, Maze. I now know that the Commander is a traitor, and that Maze might very well be alive, now, because of you and your careless words. I know that you managed to discover my blood ties to Twenty-Eight, which could only mean he has truly left Beta, for good, joining the rebel forces while spewing his secrets all over the place. I know this, because of you. I see everything, dog. I am no fool, unlike you."

Her voice was cold.

Frosch | Male | Greyhound, Borzoi, Azawakh, Great Dane half-blood | Tango/Foxtrot | 88 | Mentions: Rache, Orden


Frosch was not pleased with Twenty-Two's answer. It was obvious she didn't want to talk. That annoyed him even more; but his face never changed from bright and happy, though by now it was his relaxed normal expression to his muscles.
"Whats your name anyways? I know we should call each other by our numbers and all, but I find that rather dull. Numbers. Has Beta even thought of what happens when they reach the thousands? One-Thousand-Four-Hundred-And-Fifty-Two" he blurted, "now, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to call a fellow canine that. Or do they replace the numbers of removed dogs with newborns? That'd be way smarter. Then you don't get such long names" he paused, glancing at the collie curiously.

He thought about Twenty-Two's words from earlier.
We do not speak unless spoken too.
The commander had said the same thing.
He wondered if that was meant for him as well? he knew exactly what he was doing in Foxtrot, and to do that he needed to talk.

"So- about Pfeil... who died? I thought you Foxtrots and Bravos were supposed to be soldiers, emotionless... was it a brother? a sister? parent maybe? I never knew my family. Taken from my litter early on... I think. The memories are blurry. What happened to his ear? it looked like a fresh wound..." before the collie mix could reply a cold hard voice replied.

"I tore off his ear when he was still a dog. Should have torn out his throat. He was weak. Had me and my sister coordinated our attacks he wouldn't have survived the first seconds.
I've half a mind to tear you in half, soldier. As Twenty-Two has said, we do not speak unless spoken too. Unless you want your dead body found in this cell tomorrow, I suggest you be quiet. Or I'll shut you up myself. You don't want to know the Charlie method of silencing a dog. Some say its worse than removal" The doberman mix had gotten up and in her eyes there was no emotion, they were dead. Like a culls.

Frosch hadn't shivered like that in a long time, not since he was threatened by the first cull he'd ever seen. He decided this was one dog he wouldn't prod. Not until he knew more.

"Y-you know what? I'm actually really, really tired... I'll ah- j-just- you know- g-go to sl-sleep" he gave the female a nervous chuckle before going to the opposite corner of hers and curling up tightly, eyes locked on Sixty-One as she laid down again.
He would definitely keep his eyes on this one.

Kordelas (Kor) / Male / Doberman Shepherd / Kilo / I.D: 71 / M: Hero, Zadolt, Kampe, Hoffen

Kordelas twisted his head around, sharp amber eyes locking with Zadolt's, as he sighed. "I can't," he said again, his head sagging a moment as he shook it. He turned his head towards Hoffen as the Cull spoke. "No. With respect, sir, you don't get it. No one is beyond saving while they still have breath in their lungs. No one. Not even you." He paused. "The fact that you defied orders from your commander proves it, whether you can see it or not."

Kor dipped his head at the two males again, turning back around in Hero's direction and padding forward. Right then, he heard Hero scream "No!" over and over again before the male slammed into him, knocking him over. "Hero! How?" Kordelas asked as he picked himself up, padding over to the Kilo wolfblood. He kept himself alert for attacks from either Cull, though he hoped to escape with Hero and Zadolt before the Culls got here. But if Hero wouldn't leave, Kor knew he couldn't, either. He wouldn't leave Hero here to die alone...

Orden | Female | Bravo Border Collie/Majorica Shepherd | 22 | M: Rache, Frosch

Orden watched the tall, thin dog with a gaze that so blatantly stated, 'I'm judging you, and I think you're stupid.' Orden knew she could analyze, then draw conclusions far too quickly of others. But he was a fool, and it would take some drastic changes to shift her opinion. She inhaled through her nose, willing herself the patience she knew she didn't have.

"My name is Orden."

His observation was so strange, that Orden felt a flicker of amusement in her chest - something she hadn't really thought possible. She wasn't sure what she thought quite so funny about his opinions on the identifications - whether it be the extent of his ignorance, or the brutal truth of it all, she didn't know. Orden had considered the question Frosch posed when she was a pup. A pup.

The collie's tongue curled around the smooth figures of her teeth. She stamped down a biting, witty remark, instead responding with truth.

"Numbers are reused. The Beta program mass breeds thousands of dogs - but only about three hundred are kept alive at a time. Nothing below the tens, nothing above three hundred."

That so much was evident through simple observation.

Frosch then made a mistake. Really, Orden had seen it coming. He didn't seem the type to carefully observe emotion before barreling headfirst into a potentially sensitive topic. The collie shot him a warning glare, but he continued on. Rache silenced him.

Her words hid a pain Orden knew had not faded. The Charlie dog hurt. She could almost feel the carefully masked pain of her heart, and such pain saddened Orden. She knew this hurt. And she wished away the agony for this dog, but loss is something one cannot overcome simply at the will of another.

Orden knew enough, however, to be wary. This dog had nothing to lose. When given the choice, she choose the path away from emotion, as she was trained, where the pain couldn't reach her. She had nothing to lose, and that made her dangerous. If she didn't care, she had no limits. It was emotion that bound one to morality.

Frosch backed off, but Orden didn't miss the intensity of his eyes on Rache as both curled into the concrete. Instinctively, the collie narrowed her own optics. Maybe Frosch held grudges. Maybe he was deeper than she thought. Maybe. She exhaled quietly. That couldn't be her concern, not now.

She felt an obligation to salvage whatever was left of Rache. Draw out the heart encased in stone. Orden wasn't sure why, but she felt it wasn't fair to simply let the dog whither way into rust. It seemed there was no way to induce any sort of feeling into the dog. The collie didn't know her well enough.

A vague outline of a plan formed in her mind. Orden didn't want to speak. She wanted to quietly remain in her corner, away from the rest. The Bravo soldier gave in, retreating to a corner away from the rest. But in the softest of voices, she whsipered a few words.

"Don't run. Don't grow cold. Find your pain. Accept it, then channel it."

Orden didn't specify towards what. Anything. Perhaps even rebellion, if such a thing was possible.

Perhaps.

Zadolt | Male | Australian/German Shepherd mix | Foxtrot | 28 | Mentions: Hero, Kordelas, Kampe(indirectly), Hoffen

He blinked as Kordelas talked; then he narrowed his eyes and growled when he was finished. This dog didn’t understand. He wasn’t there when Tysta died. “Kordelas, both Hoffen and Kampe are beyond saving. As Hero felt the need to point out, Kampe is my sister. She doesn’t care for me, her own brother. It's worthless to try and save someone who doesn’t want saving. The same goes for Hoffen. Hoffen, Hero and I were all there when Tysta died. We all saw exactly how Tysta died, and I, for one, won’t forget.” His voice, bitter up until the last two sentences, became full of rage. Tysta had been killed by Hoffen, and he wasn’t going to forgive the Cull.

He had bared his teeth at Hoffen while he talked, hostility an almost visible aura around him. No, he wouldn’t be forgetting or forgiving anytime soon.

To his surprise(which was shown visibly as a flick of his tail), Hero took that moment to come barreling in- quite literally, seeing as he knocked into Kordelas. He watched and listened as Kordelas asked Hero how; to him, it was obvious, even though he was slightly disbelieving. “Hero came because he thought we were dead, I think.” That couldn’t be right; he barely even knew Hero. No, the dog must have been worried that he’d be blamed for Zadolt’s death. The dog didn’t care about him. His own sister didn’t care, so why should this Kilo dog? Mentally shaking his head, he turned to Kordelas.

“There, Kordelas, Hero is here. Now can we leave, before we die?” He said, his voice betraying some of his nervousness. He wanted to leave before Kampe got there. “Hero, follow us. Let's go back to the tunnels.” He said, before he latched his jaws(not unkindly, but still firmly) around Kordela’s left front leg. The dog was probably going to try and talk Hoffen into going with them, from what he could tell about the dog’s personality. Kordelas didn’t know Hoffen killed Tysta, and he didn’t hold it against the Kilo dog, so this was his solution. He started pulling Kordelas with him, ignoring Hoffen and Hero. Hoffen, because he didn’t care about the Cull, and Hero because the dog hopefully had enough sense to follow.


(I got permission to drag Kordelas, don't worry)

Kordelas (Kor) / Male / Doberman Shepherd / Kilo / I.D: 71 / M: Hero, Zadolt, Kampe, Hoffen, Ginger

Kordelas' determined eyes turned back towards Zadolt, a glimmer of sadness lingering in their depths. Zadolt was clearly angry with Hoffen... and from what Kordelas could figure out, the male was blaming the Cull for Tysta's death. Why? Kordelas knew who was to blame... and it wasn't Hoffen. If he'd followed them and stopped them, Tysta would still be alive, and Kordelas knew it. He looked at Hoffen again, seemingly about to speak, right before he felt a faint pain in his left fore-leg. He looked around, eyes widening in surprise as he saw Zadolt's maw clamped around his leg.

Kordelas stumbled as the male started dragging him away. He tried to wriggle out of the male's grasp, but it was no use. He turned his head back towards Hero and Hoffen. "It was my fault... not yours," he mouthed towards Hoffen, turning pleading eyes onto Hero. Eyes that clearly said "Come with us. Don't kill yourself like this." Then, with a sigh, Kordelas swung his head back around, willingly walking away.

The most help he could be right now was to get back to Commander Ginger. To tell her what happened. If he couldn't bring Hero back, surely Ginger would be able to figure out how to rescue him... and maybe figure out a way to help Hoffen, too. He just hoped that Hero would still be alive when they came back. With one last glance and small, almost imperceptible whine, Kordelas whispered, "You don't need to drag me anymore, Zadolt... I'll go back. Ginger needs to know where Hero went; I know that."

His head hanging slightly as he started to realize that Hoffen, the Cull who let them go free, was being blamed for Tysta's death. It may have been the male's jaws that killed Tysta, but Kordelas knew that he should have stopped them instead of running to try to find Ginger, which just gave Tysta time to run off with Arrow. He sighed, heart heavy, his paws thumping against the ground as he walked.