Username: ChristainAnimalLover
Name: Teque
[teh-k]Biological Sex: Male
What makes them unique: Teque and the Avengers Release Squad
A "short" story
Teque wasn't always unique. He was once just like any other zver his age - care-free and playful,
leaving the worries up to his parent and the other adults of his pride.
But that was then, and this is now.
---Teque staggered to his feet with a groan and blinked, looking around for any sign of his pride, but saw only destruction. There was smoke everywhere; twisted chunks of metal were scattered throughout the grass as far as he could see, some still sizzled from the crash. Lifting is head, Teque scented the air, hoping to smell something, anything, familiar but had no luck. Shaking out his fur, he glanced around, looking for the best route out of the wreckage. Teque drew a deep breath, knowing his life would never be the same again, and headed toward a distant hazy glow.
---After weaving through a forest for about an hour, Teque finally saw something other than trees. There was a tall, strange-looking cave with razor straight edges and squares of light here and there,
'This cave looks more like a pile of grey bricks than the paw-carved dirt ones we used back home...' Curious, he crept closer, ears swiveling at every sound; he froze when the ground suddenly turned hard. Teque lowered his head, scenting the strange surface as he visually inspected it; a deep grey gravel packed tight with white stripes forming rows, but no discernible pattern. His instinct told him to run; run far away. But his curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered closer.
---He circled the strange apparatus, inspecting the unknown sight and scents. A soft squeak caught his attention and he glanced over his shoulder, only half interested. A straight-edged shape of light had appeared in one of the walls. Before Teque could decide if he wanted to investigate that or continue around the corner, there was a loud shout in a language he didn't recognize. This time he obeyed his instincts and bolted toward the trees. More shouts. Just when he thought he was clear, there was muffled
phht and a second later he felt something small but sharp hit his hip. Teque ignored it and kept going, but within seconds found that he was exhausted; he slowed and finally stopped, wavering uneasily as he turned to face his hunters. His vision blurred and darkened; the last thing he saw was the world tilting, as three creatures ran at him on two legs. He vaguely registered the fact he hit the ground and growled at the first to reach him before everything faded.
---Teque opened his eyes, blinking in confusing as he stared at thick metal bars; a moment later his mind cleared and he jumped to feet, smacking his head on something solid with a dull
THUD.
'Ouch...' He groaned, sitting down and keeping his front half low. There was a chuckle to his right and a defeated sigh came from somewhere on his left. Looking around, he began to realize he was in some sort of confinement and he found himself echoing the defeated sigh. He let his front paws slide along the smooth, cold surface until he was laying down again. Hours passed before anything changed. Finally, a soft
click caught his attention and he turned his head, scenting the air. On the right side of the room, a sliver of light appeared and grew wider until a creature walked in on two legs. Fear gripped Teque the thing looked around greedily then came straight for him, at the last second it veered for the zver on his left. He watched curiously as the creature, a human, roughly grabbed the other zver and headed back toward the far wall. Eventually, the human brought the zver back and went for Teque; he had been gleaning information from both the other captives and the human, and now he knew it was best to just comply - do as the human required and he wouldn't get too badly hurt. Being the newest catch, he got the most "attention" as the human studied and cataloged every aspect he had already gathered from the others. By the time Teque was returned to his cage, he had fallen into a deep state of lethargic defeat, much like that of the zver in cage to his left. The days soon blurred together to one miserable existence as he fell into the mundane routine of the scientists who worked at the lab.
- - - - -
---A year and 5 months later, something changed. Something was...different. Off. Teque wouldn't even have noticed if he didn't pick up on the small detail that there were new humans in the lab today, the regular scientist's mind was flighty and anxious. He looked to the zver on his left, though they never spoke, they had sort of become silent support for each other; though he didn't react, this zver had noticed too. Listening to the thoughts of the regular lab attendant, Teque managed to put the plan together but before he could relay it, one of the new humans lifted his hand. There was a familiar
phht and again Teque felt drowsy, finding it harder and harder to focus as his vision blurred. His legs slid out from under him, and he wound up on his stomach on the floor of his cage; he fought to keep his head up as the new members approached. Again, blackness invaded and he passed out before they reached him.
---Teque woke up groggy and confused; he looked around to see the same bars in front of him, though this time the room was not a brightly-lit white, but a dim grey. He sat up, careful to keep his head low, and glanced to to his left and right - he was surrounded by cages, stacked three-to-four high, and each held a zver; none of which he recognized, either from Quartan or the other lab. The air was cold and damp, making Teque shiver. Many of the others curled in tight balls in an attempt to keep warm; some curled against the bars that met the cage next to it, sharing body heat, but most kept to the back. Teque scented his new surroundings and cautiously reached with his mind to get a feel for his situation; he was met with despair and depression, the sights and smells of the room suggested far more horrific experiments than his previous environment.
---For the first few days, Teque behaved the same as he did for his first captors, broken and compliant; but compared to these humans, they were gentle and compassionate. After a week, Teque had had it. He was done being their pincushion. He began to snap at his "handlers", growling when anyone came near his cage; his aggressive behavior only worsened until he inevitably had to be partially sedated to even be out of his cage, rendering most of the tests less than effective. This took place over a mere few days, forcing his captors to move him to what they called "intensive care" - a highly secure room on the outskirts of the base where all the zvers too wild to be handled by main staff were kept, and examined by specialists. Much to his relief, they left Teque alone for the first night, letting him settle into his new surroundings.
---"Better get used to it," A blue-grey zver with lighter-blue stripes spoke up gruffly, catching Teque's attention.
"They treat you the same here as they do anywhere else."---"If that's the case, why not fight back?" Teque asked, a mischievous smile revealing his teeth; eyes glinting dangerously in the dim light.
---A similar look appeared on the other zver, but not as defined,
"Name's Teivel," He hesitated slightly before continuing,
"Means devil."---"Nice to meet you, I'm Teque." Teque replied, dipping his head politely.
'I think we'll get along just fine...' Teque thought to himself, as he settled down for the night.
---The first week was harsh, almost the same as the other experiments and tests as the previous lab, but much worse in severity. Teque was about to loose it, when he noticed one of the quieter scientists seemed to be talking with Teivel. Their "chats" grew more and more frequent, and Teque soon learned they were planning an escape!
---The scientist only spoke with Teivel, coming up with plans and working out details while Teque listened silently. If he was unsure about anything, he asked Teivel after everyone had gone for the night. Finally, they seemed to have a workable plan...their scientist had managed to secure a closing shift. He would do everything normally, but after giving each zver their food, he would leave the cage unlocked. After that, he would "lock up" but leave the automatic doors unlocked as well, so they would open for the zvers once he had left.
---The plan sounded fool-proof, and started off without a hitch. If only that other scientist hadn't forgotten his file of test results. He came through the door as Teivel and I stepped out of our cages; Teivel's friend was already outside, planning to leave before he could be suspected of anything.
---"Halt!" The scientist shouted, dropping his file and diving for the door.
---'Ha! He actually expects us to obey?!' Teque thought, leading the charge for the door. The other zvers had picked up on the plan when Teivel's friend left their cages unlocked and were quickly following.
---"Run!" Teivel's friend yelled, racing back in to fight the other guy off and buy the zvers time to escape. They charged out the door and most bolted for the forest. Teivel faltered, looking back at his friend.
---"C'mon Teivel, we have to go!" Teque shouted, stopping beside the blue-grey zver.
---"We have to help. He risked his life for us!" Teivel said, turning to face Teque, his eyes wild.
---"There's nothing we can do! Let's keep him from risking it for nothing; it will be meaningless if we get caught again." Teque urged, taking a half step forward in an attempt to get Teivel to follow.
---Seeing their hesitation, Teivel's friend begged them to go and they obeyed. They charged after the others, headed for the forest. The two stopped on the hill at the edge of the tree-line and looked back. The intruder was hauling Teivel's away and Teque could sense the longing rolling off Teivel - he desperately wanted to rescue the kind man who had risked everything for them.
---"We are no match for him. All we can do is honor your friend by staying free." Teque said gently, glancing at his friend. Teivel nodded solemnly, slowly turning back to the forest.
---"Wait. I have an idea..." Teque said, that mischievous air returning as he slunk back down the hill.
---"What are you doing?" Teivel hissed, following after only a moment's hesitation. Teque had stopped in his tracks and Teivel nearly plowed into him, shotting an angry glare at the back of the zver's head.
---"I'm going to make the most of this chance. I'm going to go back and rescue the rest of the zvers." Teque said confidently; his tail moving in low sweeps as he mentally threw together a haphazard plan.
---"Are you nuts?!" Teivel nearly shouted, taking a step back. Teque looked over at him, about to reply, but Teivel cut him off.
"You're not going in there on your own." He grinned and moved around to crouch at Teque's side; Teque's grin broadened and he quickly explained his plan.
---Only a few minutes later, the two were tearing back up the hill, leading the other group of zvers to safety. Again, they stopped at the top of the hill, only this time it was to make sure the others all got to the forest.
---"Hehe, that was actually pretty fun!" Teque chuckled, looking to his right as he caught his breath. Teivel rolled his eyes and shook his head, heading into the woods.
---"We should make this a thing." Teque called, leaping forward to catch up.
---"You're serious, aren't you?" Teivel asked, not taking his eyes of the faint trail as they weaved through the thickening trees; Teque nodded excitedly and Teivel sighed.
---"Then we should have a name-" Teivel barely got the words out before Teque began spouting ideas.
---"The Avengers! The X-Avengers? Oooh, the Free Release Squad! The Revengers? Revenge Seekers?" Teivel was shaking his head at each one.
---"What about the Avengers Release Squad?" He suggested half-heartedly. Teque's head shot up, ears perked.
"Perfect!"---And that's how it all started.
- - - - -
---To this day, Teque leads a small band of zvers dedicated to finding and freeing other captured zvers; Teivel has stayed by his side, often reigning in Teque's crazier plans and keeping him out of trouble. Relying on hear-say and rumors, Teque and Teivel travel the country to free those unfortunate enough to get caught; and constantly returning to the site of the crash, as that seems to be the scientist's home-base. Despite their efforts, Teque is always finding ways in and, much to their chagrin, ways out.
Teivel used with permission; story intentionally meant to follow/intertwine with his
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teque thinks/speaks in green, Teivel speaks in blue; thoughts are 'italicized' with single quotation marks, telepathic communication is "bold italicized" with double quotation marks
~Feb: 14 My B-day!~ 
