You might have noticed I'm starting to write a new Scratch Series - The Wilderness Within (TWW), focusing on a young wolfdog called Lupo. Well, here is the first chapter! (Go on the official studio down below and comment if you want to make a character for the series or have any plot suggestions). Enjoy! Chapter 1: Lupo rested his shaggy brownish-grey head on his paws and heaved out a great sigh. Another boring day of life in the wolfdog breeding place. He knew the routine- first he was fed out-of-date dog biscuits in a bowl that was too small for him, and water in a water bowl that was encrusted with algae. Then humans would come and look at him, prod him, shake their heads and walk away. Lupo's amber eyes searched beyond the thick steel bars of his cage. Beyond his cage, he could see rooms, many, many rooms with different people coming in and out. Lupo sat up and shoved his muzzle between the bars, rubbing the delicate skin on his snout in the process. Out of one of the rooms came a man in some sort of white coat. He had an old, grey-muzzled wolfdog with a thick chain around her neck stumbling tiredly next to him. Lupo watched intently, his whiskers twitching and his tail twitching nervously. He hadn't seen anything like this before. Mostly it was just humans coming in and out of the mysterious rooms, some empty handed, some clutching big bags of dog food, and some with wolfdogs on thick metal-studded leather leads exiting the breeding place. But this was different. He'd only seen a human bring a wolfdog puppy out of the room the white-coated human had come from, and that was where every new wolfdog puppy was taken. He had heard of the room from the old nattering wolfdogs who had seen a lot more than Lupo himself had. Lupo shuddered, remembering how they said terrible things happened there. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to recall. He kept his eyes fixed on the white-coat human and the limping wolfdog. The human was tugging the old wolfdog harshly by the chain, telling her to, "Hurry up!" The old wolfdog's greying muzzle curled and Lupo flinched, backing away from the bars of the cage and into the shadows at the back of his cramped cage, his heart fluttering like a butterfly's wings in his chest. He knew what was going to happen. The human's eyes narrowed cruelly and he loosened the chain, letting it swing, hitting the old wolfdog squarely in the face. Lupo quivered in horror. He could smell the metallic, dangerous scent of blood in the air. He whimpered and crouched down even further, pressing his muzzle to the damp bedding at the back of the cage. The old wolfdog was stiffened in shock, blood dribbling down her face and dripping onto the floor, staining the polished white tiles red. The human pulled the old wolfdog again, more forcefully, and this time she obeyed, limping dazedly forward. Lupo slowly lifted his muzzle from the damp bedding and commando-style crawled to the front of the cage, his whites flashing in fear, and then cautiously poked his muzzle out between the bars and locked eyes with the old wolfdog. The wolfdog's pale, oily yellow eyes seemed to say, "Don't let this happen to you, too." As the human dragged her the last stretch across the floor, his white coat, now splashed with a small, delicate stain of red flapping behind him. At last, the old wolfdog lowered her scruffy, waxy head and hobbled into the room. Lupo watched her shaggy tail disappear around the corner, and then the pale white door slammed shut and there was silence. Lupo slowly withdrew his muzzle from between the bars shifted carefully into a lying position. He put his head between his paws and allowed a small whimper of regret to bubble out of his jaws. This is not right! He thought, his eyes darting to the thick bars of his cage, to his damp bedding, to his grimy food and water bowls, then to his paws. None of this! I shouldn't even exist! Why do the humans do this to us?! Lupo's eyes flashed, and instead of the whites of his eyes, he flashed the vibrant yellow of his eyes. He growled, low in his throat, and swiped a paw at the bars of his cage, his claws raking off the metal with an ear-piercing screech. He had always tolerated the humans. He had been wary of them, scared even. They were menacing with their gangly, skinny legs with thick, heavy boots that stung when kicked at with, and their sharp, intelligent eyes. But he couldn't- he wouldn't any more. The old wolfdog had made him think. That could happen to him any day if he didn't stand up to the humans. He had never tried escaping before, following the advice of the more senior wolfdogs on how to stay on the good side of humans. But he was done with that. Maybe, just MAYBE, the humans had to be worried about staying on the good side of HIM. Lupo slowly lifted himself up, shaking the nuggets of dry food out of his shaggy fur. He stalked towards the bars of his cage, making sure not to make any noise. (continued in notes and credits)
If he were to make any noise now, the humans would come, and his game would be up. He had to do this. As he reached the thick steel bars of his cage, he tilted his head to one side, studying the bars. They looked thick and sturdy, but Lupo's teeth were strong and sharp.... Maybe, just MAYBE, he could bite through the bars? He threaded his muzzle carefully through the bars, wincing as the cold steel stung the ends of his whiskers, and then opened his jaws wide, closing his eyes. The tips of his fangs grazed the cold steel, sending little shards of ice singing up into his gums and making him wince in pain. Was this such a good idea? The bars looked strong, way stronger than his bite force. No. It was his only chance. He HAD to try, and even if he failed, he supposed it was a daring idea, even if it didn't work. He flexed his shoulder muscles, ran his tongue over his teeth one more time, and then snapped his jaws shut. At once, agony blared in his muzzle, agony like he had never felt before. He let out a scream of pain and wrenched himself from the steel bars, stars whirling giddily in his vision, the bars swaying before him. Warm blood pooled underneath his jaw and sank into the newspaper below his paws. He could hear heavy footsteps coming from several different directions, but they all sounded way too loud through the pain coursing through his snout. He had to do something. Fast. Slowly and painfully, even though he could barely think, he lowered himself onto his paws and crawled towards the back of the cage, pressing his shaggy greyish-brown pelt into the cold rock at the back of the cage. He could see the silhouettes of humans imprinted in his vision and he pressed himself even harder against the cold rock at the pack, curling his muzzle over his bloody fangs. He ran his tongue over his fangs nervously as one of the humans pointed a finger to him and said something like. "Nice try, mutt." The he noticed something. When he ran his tongue over his fangs, it was uneven, like there was some sort of gap in his gums. The he realised. Biting the bars had knocked some of his teeth out! He narrowed his eyes at the humans outside of his cage and let out a snarl, thick and gurgling with blood. They had done this to him. Now he knew. Humans were even worse than he'd originally thought. Also please don't compare this to White Fang. I've never read or watched the book/film but I understand the similarity. And it is rude to compare this to another. This is completely original, and I don't like it to be compared to other books. Any similarities are completely coincidental. Thank you.
