Prompt: Assuage
True story
Going to bed. No more time for edits. Bonus points to whoever guesses what type of animal this is XD
The mighty beast pulled at the cage bars that surrounded him in his darkened prison, his sister sleeping soundly in the bed in the loft above him. He let them go with a "clang" of metal rebounding into position. The sound echoed off of the bare walls in the vast, dark cavern, but no other sound was heard. He tried again, his stomach protested the silence and he pulled again, letting his strong claws latch onto the metal and release it. Another sound loud enough to wake the dead echoed through empty space.
Still, no help came. Frustrated, he pulled rapidly on the bars, causing such a ruckus that it was impossible to hear if help was coming or not. He grew more impatient, more demanding with each stroke of his mighty talons, sliding them across and down the bars making a new brand of music, a brand that pleased the mighty beasts of old.
Icy stopped, letting his vibrating claws rest a moment, the hum of the metal bars close enough to his ears to be audible as they wound down from their abuse. Then he heard it. A soft shuffling sound came from the room on the edge of the cavern, coming into the area that housed his prison. He heard a sudden shuffle followed by a noise of surprise and annoyance. Icy smiled. The humans were so very inept in the middle of the dark hours.
As the human approached, Icy bared his teeth, then latched them on the cage bars. 'Release me!' his actions said. 'I will conquer this land!' He rang the bars again, his fangs sticking over the sides in a show of power and defiance as the human drew closer, too tired to be properly cowed.
"Mhmmm....just a sec...." the human murmured nonchalantly and knelt before the cage entrance. Icy looked closely, realizing now that the human's eyes were closed. What a waste of bravado! Still, the human was trained enough to know the base message. It reached for the food stores and opened it with one hand, the other reaching for the cage door.
Icy backed up slightly, as the cage door was rather unstable. He pondered the situation. Should he run for freedom? Or stay and wait for the food that was now promised? Too late! The door was open and the human's hand now blocked his escape, releasing his food dish from the wall. It's hand passed close to his face and nuzzled it softly. Icy instinctively pushed back and then moved his head around to sniff the hand.
His hunger overwhelmed him, but the only scent on the hand was old food, crumbs, the remnants of fine meals with his sister. He sniffed the air. The scent of freshness danced into the cage. He stood a bit on his hind legs, eyes closed, enjoying himself, and was almost unbalanced by the clumsy human's hand. It lightly replaced his food dish, stuffed to the brim with wonderful flavors. He eagerly scrambled towards it, the unconquered land beyond pushed far from his mind. The human rested its hand on his head a moment and then closed the cage bars again with a soft clang. Icy went to enjoy his feast, not noticing the stirrings from his sister above him as his ferocious teeth crunched through the delicious meal, eager to assuage his hunger.
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