tw: gore, death, sport hunting, violence, animal abuse

nothing ever felt right. he always felt like he was watched- like he was a spectacle for anyone to be be shown off to in front of massive crowds, a show to be enjoyed. a deadly creature reduced to nothing but a play-thing for the humans that kept him in that cage. hoping around on his hind-legs like a clown, dancing around without a choice in the world. if his performance wasn't enough, he didn't get to eat. he had gotten so tired of being watched. tired of being a slave to the humans that kept him there.

he heard the cage door rattle as he was poked and prodded towards the tunnel that led to the cage where he would "perform" with the three other tigers he was raised with. he hadn't been fed that morning- he had growled at his trainer, his master. finally, he was done being pushed around. he would slowly crawl through the tunnel, the dark tunnel he crawled through every day to get to what would be his platform.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, YOU HAVE MET THE GRACEFUL AMOUR, THE DASHING TAEGUE, AND THE SWIFT ASVINI, NOW PREPARE YOURSELF FOR.."

here was his call, his moment.

"THE HORRIBLE,

THE MONSTROUS,"

oh, monstrous was right, and the ringmaster was about to find out just how much of a monster he could be.

"DRAEKON!"

the gate holding him back slowly rolled away from the exit of the tunnel, the bright lights nearly blinding the massive tiger. slinking from the opening of the tunnel, he would keep low to the ground.

"HEAR HIM-"

the ringmaster wouldn't be allowed to finish his sentence before he pounced, knocking the man down to the dirt floor, clouds of dust flying up around them. the crowd seemed to thing this was part of the act from how much they cheered- yes, part of his act. it wasn't until they realised the ring master was screaming that their cheers turned to screams of horror.

"GET HIM OFF, PLEASE GET HIM-" massive jaws closed around the mans head, long fangs puncturing into the skull, and soon enough the sound of bone cracking rang through the tigers ears, and he felt his blood rushing through his veins- damn did it feel good. a little more force and the struggling underneath him ceased, blood pooling under his paws and the taste flooded over his tongue.

he was so hungry.

slowly, he released his hold on the human's head, letting it fall with a thud, and he was so close to finally eating when he felt a sharp stab in his side. then another, and another, and another. rolling is head to the side, he could see the red feathers of the tranquilizer darts they used when they wouldn't sleep. his body had grown so used to them that it would take more then just four measly pricks.

hungry.

another prick.

so hungry.

he turned slowly, head low to the ground as he stared at the three smaller tigers, all of which were trying to back away from him but their cage was too small.

"draekon, buddy! come one, you wouldn't hurt us!"

hungry.

"draekon, pal! we've never hurt you!"

hungry.

"PLEASE-"

---

everything was fuzzy. something felt wrong, he couldn't figure out what. but it was something.

"cant blame.. instinct.. wild animal.. hungry."

he didn't recognise that voice. why didn't he recognise that voice? his fur felt glued to his skin, tacky from drying blood. his vision blurred around the edges.. he couldn't make anything out, everything tasted like blood. something held his maw closed, it was hard to breathe-

"put down.. money?"

one of the handlers. he was an old human, skin wrinkly and hairless. draekon hated him.

"abuse.. charged.. fine.. give.. six million."

they just kept talking. he tried to growl, get their attention. get them to feed him. then, he saw a new face. thin, pale, freckled.. this one had hair on his face, a thin coat of hair dark along his lower face. he reached a slim, odd paw towards his mouth, pulling off the iron cage holding it closed. he was holding a fish in the other hand.

hungry.

without hesitation, draekon struck, grabbing the fish between strong jaws and gulping it down- hardly taking the time to chew. once it was down, the cage was put back on and an iron collar snapped around his neck, a long chain attached to that. he was being pulled, dragged along to another cage. maybe this cage would be nice. he hoped so, but he was too tired to move. why was he so tired?

"you'll be.. home."

home sounded nice.

---

the first thing he registered was the wind. it felt so nice, brushing its way through his fur and bringing him back to consciousness. then he felt the grass tickling his nose, and all of his senses began returning to him. he would lazily open icy blue orbs, letting them focus on.. paws. large, beige paws. certainly not as large as his, however.

"he's awake!" the paws soon became a face, a rounded face with beige fur to match the paws. a puma, he realised, knowing he had preformed with one once before. this one was a female, however. the one he had performed with had been a male. "welcome to the land of the living, bud!"

"be nice, taima." came a deeper voice, followed by black paws, a face of black fur. a leopard, maybe. "shame he's got a cage on his face."

did he?

"real shame. woulda loved to hear you roar, love!" another voice. he was becoming overwhelmed, and a growl left his throat and he moved his paws to cover his ears.

"damn shame. would've loved to hear him cry during the hunt."

the hunt? what were they talking about? why would he, the monstrous beast of a tiger, cry over it? glaring daggers at the puma, he would swipe a paw out, scratching his cheek and causing her to jump back. a laugh erupted from deep in her chest, but the leopard only watched in amusement.

"good. you still have some life in you. you wont have it long."

why? he wanted to ask why, but the metal muzzle kept his mouth firmly closed.

"the hunt will start soon, love! i wouldn't go making enemies!" chirped the voice from behind him. turning, he would see a cheetah, thin and nimble- as most were. that still didn't answer what the hunt was. he was starting to get angry, starting to get hungry again, oh so hungry-

"try and sleep while you can, big man. youre going to have a hell of a time."

---

they had all been released into a jungle. never in his life had he actually been in the wild, but he wasn't given the chance to enjoy it. the sound of a gun going off sent all the big cats running through the trees. now he knew what the hunt was- they were the hunt. their paws were beating against the jungle floor, him and the puma keeping at the same speed.

"split up. taima, new guy, stick tog-"

before the leopard could finish his sentence, the crack of a gunshot rang through the air and send the leopard tumbling, dropping dead the second the bullet had slid through his ribcage and into his heart. a lucky shot. this only made the cheetah shoot off, leaving draekon and the tiger. they needed to pick up their pace or they'd die too.

the anger was bubbling in his chest, the urge to roar blocked out by the cage.

another deafening explosion rang through the air and there was a pained cry from in front of them- then taima was gone. he couldn't see her anymore, nor the cheetah. but he didn't care. he kept running. he kept running until his legs ached, until night turned to day and then back to night again, across a road and into another jungle.

he kept running,

and running,

and running,

until finally..

---

he was so hungry. starving. the cage kept him from eating, the clacking of the chain that held it in pace on the iron band around his neck scared away any chance he had of eating anyways. it had been five days since his last meal, since he had been hunted- he still didn't know what happened to taima, but he didn't much care. he just wanted food.

he had found a pond and had resorted to dipping his head into the water and parting his jaws inside the metal cage that help them shut to suck in water and little tadpoles, hoping they would hold him over until someone could help him- god he hoped someone would help him. he was so hungry.

he was so hopeless.

so afraid.

so-

snap!

a twig broke behind him and he pulled his head from the water, staring into the trees behind him, blue eyes wide. all he could do was let out a pained whimper, slowly lowering himself to the ground and trying to back away, only to find that he was cornered. he'd fall into the lake if he moved back any further. all his could do was hope it wasn't some predator come to kill him

they were his only hope of getting out of this think. he could hardly open his mouth enough to drink, much less speak to the stranger that had come up to him. the stranger was a jaguar, he observed, one with a very odd pelt. then again, his own pelt would probably be viewed as strange- the thick black stripes that nearly hid all the orange that coated his body wasn’t a normal sight by any means.

all he could muster was a growl, as if to show he still had some life in him, even if it was the littlest sliver of a will to live, to keep going, the keep pushing forward, to push his hunger down and show he was worthy of the help they were offering him. he needed to eat, his stomach felt like it was being clawed out, he was so, so desperate-

he could take a beating, he’d been on the business end of a whip many times in his life, pelted with tranquilzer darts, poked and prodded with hot metal so he’d roar to the cheering crowd around him. he didn’t care if it would hurt to get off but the clip holding the chain to the metal collar could easily be undone, just not by him. he rose a paw to his own neck and onto the chain, pulling at it with his claws and staring the stranger down, staring right into their blind eyes and knowing they probably couldn’t help him.

so all he mustered was a growl.

as the metal cage was finally removed from mouth, he realised it wasn’t the mask that caused the most trouble. the band hadn’t been compressing his sinuses, but the metal band around his neck was too tight, pressing at his trachea and making it impossible to get full breaths. the other seemed to understand that. before the other could fully finish his last sentence, a short grunt left the tiger. growling hurt his throat.

maybe after this he’d be able to get a a full meal. one twice his size and ready for the taking, one that would actually hold him over.. maybe not. it didn’t seem lianything bigger then him existed- maybe there was, he wouldn’t know.

/ oof mobile

the cracking of the metal was practically deafening in his ears, causing them to pin back as he let out a growl. at first, it just melt like the metal was getting tighter and he felt panic build in his chest- only for the metal to fall from his neck. almost immediately, he ducked away from the jaws near his neck and gave a slightly breathless grunt.

freedom.

now, he just needed food. he doubted any of the animals around him would become his prey, all things considered. he looked to the water, watching as fish swam along and then back to the others. would they attack if he tried to catch one? it was a possibility. he let out a soft chuff, a thank you aimed at bai before he turned to the water and looked at bai once more, then over his shoulders at the others.

hopefully they’d understand.

//oh my this blew up quick

No one in. No one out. What did they not fucking understand?

The fox, per usual, had to find his groupmates going against his orders and assisting a mere stranger. He admired their willingness to help, but this thing was not one of them. Unless they could benefit The Pitt somewhat, Jervis wished to continue their suffering. The thought of removing the metal contraption, which would allow them to speak their mind in the first place, did not cross his mind. Thankfully, Bai Shi was smart enough to think ahead.

He let out a disgruntled growl as he strutted over to Gael's side. Jervis' nose was upturned cockily. "Should of kept him locked up," the vulpine snorted in Bai Shi's direction. The action was done though. A single golden eye shifted over towards the tiger's now long-forgotten cage, only to turn back onto the tiger seconds later.

Ignorant and always focused on his own being, the ardent hadn't seen the tiger's gestures towards the water. With an eye roll, he spoke up towards Draekon. "Well?" he contested. "What's your name and why are you here?" They better speak up or else he'd be disappointed. Ignorance wasn't always bliss, unfortunately.