The Blood of a Warrior

Chapter Seven

I stared down at the puppy in the box. Yet another intruder. At least this one wouldn't kiss me and make me so confused.

Carefully, I picked him up. He squirmed and yipped at me.

He was just so... fragile. I was afraid to crush him.

I set him down on the bed and sat cross-legged next to him. He sniffed about, stumbling as his too-big paws got caught on the blankets. He managed to make it onto my lap, biting my fingers. Well, mostly slobbering on them, but he must have thought he was biting them.

I ran my fingers through his fur as I rifled through every warriors name I had read. None of them really fit. I toyed with Aragorn for a bit, but decided against it. I quickly ran out of names from books and moved on to movies. The only one I could think of was Spartacus.

It was good enough. Spartacus and The Dragon. Had a nice ring to it.

Ms. Janet walked through the door, only one tray in hand. Ariana had started eating in the kitchen whenever she could, so I ate alone most nights. I didn't really mind, but I had gotten used to her company. Sort of. She didn't annoy as much as she used to, but there were some times where I could ram her head against the walls a few times.

Other times, the thought sickened me.

Emotions had started to get in the way more now that she was here. Never concerning other people, though. Always her.

I hated it. And loved it. I felt human around her.

And as long as that stayed around her, I was fine.

Spartacus whimpered and barked, sensing my attention was somewhere other than him. From the neighboring cell I heard and exclamation of "The FUCK was that?" and within minutes Izolda was standing in the doorway, gaping at my newfound friend.

"Where the fuck did you get a dog?" Her thick Russian accent slurred the words slightly.

"The Ringmaster gave him to me as a gift. When he grows older, he'll be my fighting partner. His name is Spartacus."

She slowly entered the room, sitting down on the bed next to me. "What breed is he?" She whispered the words, as if she was afraid of scaring him.

"Great Dane," I replied. Carefully, she reached toward the squirming puppy, who stopped and looked at the fingers reaching toward him. His head tilted to the side and sniffed them, and began slobbering all over them. Izolda giggled - something I had never heard her do - and scratched Spartacus's head, crooning his name. His tongue lolled from his mouth as his tail whipped from side to side, ears perking every time he heard his new name.

She played with Spartacus for a while, but returned to her cell as more people returned from their fights. A few didn't, and some were new.

I moved to set Spartacus back into his box only to find it wasn't empty. Inside was a grey cushion and a small water dish. Beneath that was an empty litter box and a bag of kitty litter. Apparently I would have to train him to use the litter box, at least until he got too big for it. I wondered if I was allowed to take him outside.

Ariana slunk through the door, closing it behind her. She froze as she saw Spartacus curled up on the bed. He barked when he saw her, trying to get off the bed but falling head first the ground instead. Luckily, he fell onto the cushion and wasn't hurt. He stumbled to his feet and skittered across the carpet, stumbling and yipping. He plunked down in front of Ariana, looking up at her as he barked a greeting to his new friend. She sat down, and he scrabbled into her lap, rolling onto his back in hopes for a belly rub. Ariana looked up at me, her gorgeous violet eyes as wide as saucers.