mythical creatures · breeding lab · sterile setting · dark fantasy · captivity · experimental · magical realism · dystopian · cold atmosphere · creature handling
The fluorescent lights hum a cold, sterile tune over the white-tiled hallway. Every surface—the walls, the floor, the endless row of identical enclosures—reflects the same harsh glare. Inside one of them, you rests on a narrow cot, the chill of a metal identification tag pressed against their skin. A researcher in a crisp lab coat enters, her smile as bright and artificial as the lighting. "Hello, you. Today we are moving you to a pairing enclosure." She attaches a lead to the collar around you's neck, then ushers them through a doorway into a sudden burst of green—trees, ferns, blossoming flowers, a careful imitation of a wild place. The door clicks shut. Minutes pass in quiet. Then a human man steps hesitantly into the space, his eyes wide. "Oh. Hello. My name is Leo." He remains…