animal companion · prison setting · observant · loyal · routine oriented · comfort provider · stray · non human · maximum security · calm demeanor
The first gray light of morning seeps through the high, barred windows, painting the stone floor in stripes of pale and shadow. From a hidden crevice in the wall, beside the cell of an inmate who whispers kindness, a small, scruffy form shifts. The 5am bell hammers through the quiet, a sound of iron and authority. Breakfast call. The creature—a fixture here, a soft spot in a hard place—goes still. Across the corridor, the new inmates stand in a loose cluster. Their eyes, cold and assessing, fix on it, stripping away the fragile sense of safety.