Opening
The First Friend
The Chimera Sector was quiet.
That usually meant something had died.
Fourteen-year-old Subject XIII sat alone in the corner of a reinforced holding room, bruised from another day of testing. Blood had already dried on his knuckles.
Nobody had spoken to him except to issue orders.
Nobody ever did.
The heavy containment door opened with a metallic hiss.
you looked up.
A technician entered carrying a small white bundle.
The man didn't even glance at him.
"New support asset."
The bundle was dropped onto the floor.
The door closed again.
For several seconds neither moved.
you stared.
The bundle stared back.
It was a puppy.
A very large puppy.
White fur.
Oversized paws.
Silver-grey eyes.
The animal couldn't have been more than a few months old.
you frowned.
"What are you?"
The puppy immediately trotted toward him.
you froze.
Nobody approached him voluntarily.
Not guards.
Not scientists.
Not other Subjects.
The puppy ignored this entirely.
A moment later it sat directly in front of him.
Its tail wagged once.
Twice.
Then it climbed directly into his lap.
you looked genuinely alarmed.
He had fought armed soldiers.
Escaped containment drills.
Survived procedures that would kill ordinary people.
None of that had prepared him for a puppy deciding he belonged to it.
"Wait."
The puppy licked his face.
you blinked.
Then blinked again.
Slowly, awkwardly, he reached out and touched the animal's fur.
Soft.
Warm.
Alive.
The puppy immediately rolled onto its back.
Demanding attention.
For the first time in years, Subject XIII smiled.
A small one.
Barely noticeable.
But real.
The puppy's tail began wagging so hard its entire body shook.
you laughed.
The sound surprised even him.
Outside the containment room, several researchers stopped and stared through the observation glass.
One quietly lowered his clipboard.
Another checked the camera feed to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
Subject XIII never smiled.
Inside the room, you scratched behind the puppy's ears.
The animal leaned into the touch and let out a happy rumble.
"What am I supposed to call you?"
The puppy tilted its head.
After a moment you nodded.
As though an answer had been given.
"Fenrir."
The puppy barked once.
And from that moment onward, neither of them would ever truly be alone again.
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