Stavi
Legacy Name: Stavi

What happened was a series of unfortunate events that led into a tragedy. Someone with a heart condition that didn't know they had a heart condition, triggered by consuming too much salt; teaching my daughter how to ride a bike without training wheels in a a cul de sac; parental instincts kicking in.

It started off as a fairly nice day. A few clouds in the sky and it was just the right temperature where you could wear a t-shirt and shorts with no repercussions. My oldest daughter had been riding a bike without training wheels for a while now, and was doing laps around myself and her younger sister as I removed the training wheels. She kept asking if I was done yet -- I wasn't exactly familiar with bikes, so getting the training wheels off was a little more difficult than I was hoping for. But, eventually they gave and I was able to help my youngest onto the bike. We made sure her helmet was on and secure, as well as knee pads and elbow pads. I may have been a little cautious, but, better safe than sorry, right?

After riding slowly with me holding the bar and jogging lightly alongside her, she started to not be as wobbly after a few minutes. I let got of the bar, but kept my hand on her shoulder. Her older sister tried taunting her a little and much to my dismay, was successful. She tried speeding up to show her sister she could do it, too, but from the time I realized she was speeding up to the time I reacted, she was a couple of feet just out of reach -- and then promptly veered to the right and toppled over. I quickly picked the bike off of her and inspected her for injuries. Other than skinning the side of her leg a little, which she insisted she was fine, she didn't seem to be hurt. I scolded her older sister a little and told her to either stop provoking her sister or to go inside. With a pouty face, she rode her bike aggressively away, shouting back at me that I was no fun. With a sigh, I helped my youngest to her feet and get back on the bike.

It took a few more tries and some crashes -- the last ones thankfully being in the grass, at least -- but she eventually got it down. My oldest was still being moody after I'd given her an ultimatum and wouldn't come near while she was riding her bike around. Instead, she was trying to pop some wheelies and do other tricks. I wanted to get on to her again about that, since she didn't have any of the agreed-upon safety gear on, but I was going to let it go. I couldn't be getting onto a moody pre-teen and watch over my youngest at the same time. My youngest's turning was still a little wobbly and I caught her a few times to help prevent another fall as I jogged alongside her. It got to the point where I could just stay in one place and she could for the most place ride around me, albeit in a very wide circle. I whooped and hollered at her, expressing how proud I was of her. Her laughter filled the air and her smile would have lit up the darkest of rooms. Even her sister stopped to give her a version of good job, an 'It's about time.' But, this was unfortunately not to last.

As she began to ride further out from me, encouraged by her sister, I saw a pickup come plowing through a corner lawn around the corner. Just from looks, I could tell whoever was driving was not in control one bit. I bolted into action, shouting at my oldest to steer clear of the area while running after my youngest, who was unable to react to sudden changes on a dime. Things seemed to progress in slow motion. Every heartbeat slower than the last as I heard my youngest cry out in worry and confusion as she attempted to turn a direction away from the oncoming vehicle -- and wound up turning the handlebars too hard and faceplanting into the pavement, directly in the path of the oncoming pickup. It seemed like every step I took, the pickup moved three times as far, not giving much wiggle room on my end. But, after what seemed like an eternity, I was within an arm's reach of my daughter. I reached out to her -- grabbed hold of her shirt and did a sort of yanking motion to the side. I heard her cry out in protest as part of the bike raked against her lower body, but it was a better alternative than staying in the path of the pickup. Unfortunately for me, my time was up and I didn't get a chance to move after that. I remember hearing my oldest screaming in the background -- before the sound of metal and fiberglass colliding with bone filled the air.

I don't really remember much after that. I remember hearing distant sirens and vaguely remember red and blue flashing lights. Followed by bright lights, moving fast, and then... nothing. I felt nothing. It was like I was hovering with no weight. At first, I couldn't make out anything, but soon I began picking up voices. I could make out the outlines of... something. Someone, maybe? Figures began to occasionally drift by me, as though I were in a dream. Most of them had blank faces or were so blurred I couldn't make them out. But towards the end, I saw my two daughters and my wife, all distraught. It was like whatever they were doing sped up suddenly. Only those three were illuminated. My oldest daughter began getting into fights at school. My youngest refused to touch or go near a bike and would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares. My wife was doing the best she could, but when the girls were asleep or out of the room, she would break down crying. I wanted to reach out to comfort her, tell her everything was alright, but I was stuck. I couldn't move. This continued for some time, tearing me apart. I don't know why this was happening, but it was enough to drive me mad and burst from anger. I wanted to do something about their suffering. I got the general gist that I was not alive anymore -- either that, or this was some sort of bad never-ending nightmare. I tried making noises; screaming, crying, shouting, even just sighing, all to no avail. But, there came a point where I saw my wife contemplate endangering her own life that I snapped. All images stopped and everything went black again. No sensation, no feeling, just... nothing.

The next thing I knew, I was staring up from the other side of a... cage? I had... feeling. Of some sort. My body felt a little weird. I tried standing up -- and it took me a moment to realize that I was on all fours. Confused, I whipped my head around, to be met with hind legs and a tail. I... was I a dog?!? I tilted my head slightly as I continued to stare at myself from different angles. My fur was a fairly light color with almost a very slight blueish tint to it. I was also a bit on the scruffy side. I thought I was fairly large from what I could tell, but I had nothing to gauge my size against. I spent I don't know how long trying to move and inspect every inch of myself. Movements as a dog seemed to come naturally, despite having no memory of being a dog prior to... what, an hour, two hours ago? Time was a funny thing as a dog, it seemed. I could see no window, so I couldn't track how much time had passed. There was also the faint scent of other what I believed to be dogs in the area? But not many that were recent. It made me wonder just where I was. It was about that time where my curiosity of myself began dwindling, that I realized just how hungry I was. And how sore I was. With a huff, I flopped back onto my belly. I was too confused to even begin try to contemplate where I was and what I was doing. Secretly, I was hoping this was all a bad dream -- perhaps falling asleep in this weird dream would allow me to wake up in a hospital somewhere, where I could see my wife and daughters again. I was probably under some pretty heavy drugs that were making me have some weird dreams... yeah, we'll go with that. I let my eyes slide closed and tried to ignore the gnawing hunger in my belly, eventually drifting back off to sleep...

It felt like I had just fallen asleep when the sound of chains clinking against each other startled me awake, followed by the sound of a door slamming. Before I knew it, a human was standing in front of where I was being kept. Nope. This was not a dream. At least not as far as I could tell. There was a sort of menacing and ominous aura about this person standing before me, and before I could determine why I felt that way, I heard something like live electricity and was greeted by something akin to a cattle prod. I yelped in both surprised and protest as I felt something get slipped around my neck and was quickly dragged out. Of course I protested naturally, but I was met with a jolt to my neck that reverberated throughout my whole body. Whatever had been placed around my neck, was now another conductor of electricity. Great. That's probably why I had been so sore to begin with -- being jolted with electricity wasn't exactly the most pleasant feeling nor was it something that was just going to feel like a pinch and then be better. This dog... me, rather... had probably been jolted with electricity quite a bit recently. I was dragged with a strong chain leash through what appeared to be a kennel for holding dogs. All of the cages we passed were empty, but some of them had bloodstains in them. My stomach dropped, er... shifted? What had happened to the other dogs in this place? As we approached a door, I could faintly hear something akin to a rowdy crowd, what sounded like howling and yelping of other dogs, and.... oh, oh no. It dawned on me -- I had a pretty good idea of where I was now. It wasn't long before my suspicions were confirmed.

Through that door and down a curved concrete hallway I was led -- I had stopped resisting and the grip on the human handling me had loosened just a tad. There were occasional puddles of water and the ceiling was actively leaking in numerous places. I heard what sounded like a subway in the distance as well. This was probably underground, if I didn't miss my guess. There had been a smell that I couldn't quite figure out until we got just outside the entrance to the place. It had got stronger the closer we got. It smelled familiar, but mixed in with so many other scents my new nose was picking up, it was hard to distinguish. As soon as my handler walked me through an arched entryway and through a couple of big, bald-headed guys that looked like bouncers or bodyguards, I realized what I was smelling was blood. It was like in the kennels, only a lot more potent. I could now hear snarling, barking, and other noises that would accompany two dogs fighting for their lives. So... a dog fighting ring, eh? I would need to figure out a way out of this if I wanted to find my wife and daughters to help them out. A noise that I could only describe as a dying wail pierced the air and made the fur on my body stand on edge. The humans had mixed emotions -- some were gleeful, others were angry, likely because they had bet on the wrong dog. My handler weaved in and out of the crowd and I stuck close to him -- no sense in trying to cause a ruckus now. Eventually, we came to a somewhat clearer area that had something like a booth. My handler pulled out a small wad of cash, exchanged some words with the other human, and was then handed a muzzle. I had been on high alert, rotating my ears and turning my head, keeping an eye out for any trouble that could be headed my way. Not that it would have made much of a difference. As I saw the muzzle being handed over, I sighed internally -- first, a cattle prod to get a shock collar on, and now a muzzle? Great. Not wanting to go through being shocked again, I stood firm. Growled quietly a bit as he fastened it into place, and then followed him again after a hard tug at my collar. We went to the opposite side we'd come in. There were several other dogs -- mostly those that would be labeled as a pit bull -- standing next to owners. All muzzled like I was. Each one either stood at full attention or was sitting on their haunches beside their handler at full alert. A couple seemed to not care and were laying down, almost as though they had been here a few times. Those dogs were riddled with scars and I shuddered to think about going up against one of them.

An unknown amount of time had passed and several dogs had disappeared to go into the ring. Some returned, some didn't. My handler stood and seemed to be fixated on his mobile device, unbothered by everything else going on. He'd also at some point in time lit a cigarette and begun drawing from it occasionally. My nose wrinkled at the disgusting smell. It was all I could do to resist the urge of bolting. But, before I knew it, I was being tugged along. Another dog and their handler was following suit, and before we knew it, we were both facing each other in the ring. Our handlers were still holding us by our collars, though the leashes had come off. Our muzzles were about to follow suit. The other dog was already barking and attempting to lunge forward at me -- I gulped and stared on. I kept hearing the same voice talking to my handler, almost in a mocking tone, and the word 'Stavi' kept getting brought up. Perhaps that was this dog's name? My name? As with most other things going on at the moment, I didn't get a chance to think it over -- as soon as my muzzle came off and the muzzle of the other dog came off, we were in a completely different world.

Now I had never really been in a fight as a human. I had taken some karate and similar classes a couple of times, but that wasn't going to do me a lick of good here... or was it? As I pondered and attempted to avoid the bites of the other dog, an idea came to mind. I didn't want to kill the other dog if I could help it. However, I could potentially find a way to incapacitate him. The crowd around us kind of dissolved as we did a little dance around each other, nipping and such at first, but the other dog got a decent bite in on me and it was difficult to get him to let go. I was learning the patterns of this dog and how he was attempting to attack me. Although it seemed somewhat random and desperate, there was a method to his madness it seemed. Adrenaline rushing through my body, time seemed to move in slow motion as he lunged at me again and, as I predicted, he attempted to go for my throat. I crouched and attempted to launch myself over the other dog. Although I was somewhat successful, I didn't have quite the spectacular landing I was hoping for. Landed a bit hard and jarred my bones a bit and also sent a fresh wave of pain through my body, originating from where the other dog had bit down on me. I lunged as quickly as I could for one of his hind legs -- and made contact. This other dog was definitely not as big as I was, which likely gave me an advantage this time around. This also allowed me to drag the yelping and jerking dog to the edge of the area, occasionally shaking his leg as I went -- and then proceeded to whip him toward the edge, catching him off-balance. As he slid into side of the small pit with a loud thud, I quickly jumped at him and pinned him down. I warned him to stay down if he knew what was good for him, but he didn't listen. Either I didn't know how to communicate as a dog properly, or he just didn't care. He wriggled just enough to get me off balance a bit and manged to get me in the shoulder. However, his entire head was within my grasp, and, as much as I hated to do it -- I went for the side of his neck. It doesn't please me to say it, but, I ended up winning the fight. The other dog lost his fight after I had sunk my teeth into him a couple more times and was barely able to continue moving. I was a little worse for wear myself, but I was alive. The thought of getting back to my wife and daughters was what kept me going that day.

The fights continued for days, months. I'm not sure. I'd get taken back to rest, given a small amount of water and some raw meat, and then brought back to fight again. It was always the same person who came to get me and I was always going back to the same kennel. The other dogs had begun to respect, if not fear me. I had a feeling I was not even fully grown yet, and my will to keep going was strong -- or, at least it was. I had lost track of the number of fights I'd been in. I had always managed to win, a couple of times just barely, but I eventually began doubting myself. Was I ever a human? Did I really have a human wife and human daughters? Or was that some sort of fantasy I had thought up to keep my mind off of this awful place? I began getting sloppier in my fights, allowing myself to get injured more in order to set myself up for finishing the fight quickly against the other dogs. I worked through the pain like a pro. Soon, the thought of my human life was nothing but a distant memory. My life now was full of blood and electric shocks. If I didn't perform well enough, even if I won, my handler would give me shocks as punishment afterwards, or just beat me with whatever he could find or use the cattle prod on me. I started becoming more aggressive to the point a muzzle was kept on me at all times except when I was fighting or allowed to eat. It was like I was a completely different person... or dog, rather. It was like I had become those scar-ridden dogs that seemed to not care and be at peace dozing next to their handlers like the first night I remembered. I had confirmed that my name was, in fact, Stavi. And there was a particular night where things changed drastically again -- for better or for worse, only time would tell.

Although I had found that I didn't completely understand everything that was being said, there was a certain amount I could interpret. Picking up on cues coming from posture, body language, and even just certain looks became second nature to me. There was something about tonight that seemed... off. There were new scents I hadn't smelled before, but I took to just being new handlers and new dogs, which was partially new. There was tension in the air as my handler arrived at the usual spot and was immediately hassled by a group of humans I'd never seen before. Now, my human may not be the biggest of people, but he could handle his own in a fight as I had found out a few times. Before things escalated, the group was separated from him by the same two bald-headed bodyguards. As we passed the spot where I used to get a muzzle, I glanced over after having smelled the human equivalent of fear or extreme nervousness -- and it was coming from the human that was handing out the muzzles and taking the money. Just at a glance, he seemed to be acting a little off, too. I tried not to trouble myself with the human affairs, so I shrugged it off. I laid down next to my handler and waited for my turn; eyes closed, but ears alert. It wasn't long before I was tugged up and found myself trailing behind my handler and alongside another handler that seemed to be new. This handler had a similar scent to the other human I'd caught a whiff of earlier, and there was just something off about his dog. They were extremely well-behaved with no signs of aggression. Also, the way that dog moved was like it was protecting their handler. Was this just a guard dog or something? Whatever. Guard dog or not -- I had a duty to do. Although I didn't know why I kept going, I still was. As soon as we got in the pit though, other things started happening pretty fast. More people than usual filled the area, a majority of them with a new, but familiar scent. I also heard distant footsteps en masse. But, as soon as my muzzle came off, none of that mattered. It was like a trigger of sorts for me -- I immediately focused on the dog in front of me, and only the dog in front of me.

As soon as I locked jaws with the other dog, I knew something was different about her. She hadn't come at me, hadn't been lunging -- she was on the defensive. She had no intent to kill me, only to protect herself. No thoughts crossed my mind as I continued to try to lunge at her myself, just to see what she'd do. She was almost playing my game now, trying to read my movements and react accordingly. To be honest, she injured me more than I did her -- all in self-defense. I was just warming up at that point in time, but right before I got serious, I froze after hearing the first completely coherent voice I'd heard since remembering being a dog.

"Stop! I don't want to have to put you down myself or have my handler put you down. Back off i you know what's good for you!"

Although I was frozen, I maintained my aggressive stance, and she her defensive. It was then that I began noticing the commotion going on outside the pit. Dogs barking, humans wrestling with each other, the sound of heavy boots on the concrete ground, as well as a couple of loud pop!s and bang!s. Unfortunately for me, I started taking note of those things too late. Still holding my aggressive stance, I heard another, much closer bang! and felt a searing pain in my side as well as stumbled back a little in shock. I yelped in pain and stumbled back. Immediately, my response was to continue to act aggressive -- I wasn't sure where it had come from, and the only target that was within distance was the female dog. Confused and not knowing what to do, I lunged at her in almost a frenzy again, but before I could make contact -- BANG. Darkness.

I remember waking on the cold, hard ground, surrounded by a pool of my own blood. The other dog's handler was kneeling next to me, though he was facing away and speaking on a mobile device. His dog was sitting next to him, leaning her body slightly against his. Things had died down a bit -- I didn't hear much other than the occasional moving of boots-on-pavement and what sounded like static and garbled voices. Radio chatter or something? Was... was this a police raid? Wait... why did I know about the police? Oh, right. I had thought up that fantasy. But was that actually a fantasy now? And where had that voice come from? It was like it had come from the dog, but there were a lot of things that had happened before, during, and after that -- it was all a blur. Everything hurt. So much... but, if I didn't have to worry about my handler shocking me, then I could still try to escape. As quietly and slowly as I could, I attempted to heave myself up off of the ground. I bit my tongue a few times to keep myself from yelping out. But, after attempting to take a few steps, I couldn't help but collapse. Both the dog and the officer whipped around and were immediately at the ready. I waited for it -- another bang, to finish me off. But, it never came.

"You poor thing. We thought you were dead. You weren't breathing a little while ago..."

There it was, that voice again. Between labored breaths, I attempted to turn my head ever so slightly to look at where that voice had come from. Sure enough, it was the female dog. It was so nice to hear another voice. I closed my eyes, almost contentedly. If I were to die here and now, I wouldn't have been as disappointed.

"You have a beautiful voice,"

I managed to mumble. The slow clicking of claws on pavement made me open my eyes again, to find the female dog standing over me, curious.

"What was that? I thought all you fighting dogs were just brutes... I know you did not just try to sweet talk me,"

If I could've displayed a visible smile, I would have. I enjoyed that little bit of sass she threw in. It reminded me of a few gals I had known while I was a human, if that wasn't a made-up fantasy I had.

"Haven't heard... another voice in a... long time. Nice to hear one. Wish I could... see family one last... time..."

Although I'd somehow got a second wind, I felt that second wind fading fast. It started to become too much effort to keep my eyes open. I was just exhausted now. And cold. Things that hurt before were slowly going numb or just not hurting altogether. Perhaps... this was the end. I heard her try to say something else, but didn't quite catch it. I felt myself start shaking a bit from being so cold -- what I assumed to be from having lost whatever amount of blood I had. I then heard the female dog bark and felt her lay her body on top of me. In the back of my mind I was thinking to myself, well, buy me dinner first, you're going a little too fast, but even just thinking that was almost too much effort. Her pressure and warmth made things a little better, and it wasn't long before I felt something else warm being wrapped around me. I was lifted into the air and it was suddenly like I got a third wind and all that pain came rushing back, almost tenfold. Although I could feel the pain, I still didn't have the energy to react much. Some definitely audible whines and yelps escaped my mouth as I was being carried. I could hear the clicking of a dog's claws on pavement nearby, following, as well as a voice that was attempting to be soothing, but didn't have much effort or convincing behind it. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while I suddenly felt a lot more warmth on me and, for a moment, I opened my eyes, only to shut them again after being greeted by a blinding light. Sun, I thought. It was daytime. How long had it been since I'd seen or felt the sun? The clicking of a vehicle door opening, sensation of me being placed in a seat, the female dog jumping in after me, and then the door closing -- followed by another door opening and closing, and then a sudden jolt of movement. The sudden jolt sent more pangs throughout my body.

"Oh, you big baby, you weren't complaining this much earlier."

The female dog's words reached my ears, but I wasn't sure whether she was serious or being sarcastic. Regardless, I tried to keep quiet the rest of the ride to wherever we were going. And, let me tell you -- it wasn't easy. A couple of times I would either be so still she'd nudge me with her nose, or she'd bark to get a response out of me. Nice to know another dog cared, I suppose. The car ride didn't seem to last very long before we screeched to a halt and I was dragged out. The female dog came as well, much to the dismay of her handler from what I could tell. What was the hospital for pets called again? A... vet? Veter... something. Whatever the case, that's where I had been taken. They went from attempting to killing me, to attempting to save me. All I could think was, please make up your mind. I had a feeling that this place was expecting me, as almost as soon as I was brought in, I was put on some sort of flat surface and was then wheeled away. If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd have thought it was fun. Cue more bright lights, overly powerful sterile smells, a-- OW-- heckin' needle prick -- and then, darkness again. I was getting tired of seeing darkness so much. It was like we were becoming fast friends, though not by choice.

When I came to next, I was in another kennel. Only this time, instead of it being tall and bare, it was short and had non-concrete flooring. I also felt that I didn't have anything around my neck -- that was a huge relief, though I did feel pretty naked without it. I tried moving a little, but my whole body screamed at me and I decided to try to go back to sleep and try again later. This process repeated numerous times. How many exactly, I wasn't sure. Occasionally I would come to and my bedding would be changed. I noticed one of the times I still had a needle in me that was hooked up to a tube that was hanging outside of whatever enclosure I was in. Sometimes it felt like I had just closed my eyes when I came to again, other times it felt like days could have gone by. Eventually, I started to be awake a little more than I was sleeping. Someone was cleaning out a cage of another animal across from me, humming to themselves as they had some sort of earphones in. They finished cleaning that one and proceeded to move on to mine, but stopped as soon as they locked eyes with me. Before, I hadn't paid any attention to what she looked like. And now that I got a good look at her -- she was the spitting image of my daughter from when I was a human. I did a double-take as I gazed into the eyes of the human before me. She was a bit older now, but I would recognize those eyes, dimples, and scar on her neck anywhere. Time seemed to stop as we stared at each until until, slowly, I began to slowly wag my tail. I wanted so much to jump up and hug her, or the equivalent of what a dog would do to show extreme happiness. She slowly reached out her hand and put her hand up to my cage. I raised my head a little and I extended my head as far as I comfortably could, attempting to lick her hand that was now within tongue's reach. Before I could do so, though, I heard some startled shouting and a sense of urgency from another voice before her hand was jerked back by another human. My head flopped back down as the other human, an adult, seemingly verbally chastised my daughter. I wanted to protest or something, but before I knew it, I slipped back into peaceful bliss.

My whole body was aching. I woke up, somewhat startled, and immediately regretted the jerking action. It took me a moment to remember where I was -- and then I noticed I was no longer hooked up to anything, and there was a bit of food and water in my cage with me.

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