It was colder outside, which probably could've been assumed since it was the middle of autumn. Richard walked the track, hands stuffed into his jacket and thinking to himself. His eyes trailed up to the high walls of the prison, one of the outlook posts casting a shadow across the field. He swallowed thickly, slowing to a stop.
He was in prison.
He was in prison.
Richard had no clue why that was just dawning on him right now. Maybe part of him had been hoping he'd wake up the next day in his bed at home and realize -- surprise! -- it was all a dream. But it wasn't. This was real.
With a disgruntled sigh, he kept walking.
Maybe he had been too hard on Dasher and Donner. They were named after Santa's reindeer, and what kind of person was he for ruining the christmas cheer? Perhaps he had been a bit of a dick... It was in his name, after all. Richard shook his head. No, he definitely had been an asshole, but he felt he had made the right decision... right? Red flags had been popping up everywhere... or maybe that was just the view behind his rosy eyes.
Richard blinked and veered off the track, avoiding being stampeded by some joggers. He had zero clue why people would want to go running right after eating lunch, especially prison goop, but he was in no position to judge.
His next thought would have been to contemplate what he should do next, but he was side-swiped by a large body running him over and flattening him to the ground. Ooo, wipeout! Dick jeered to himself as he peeled his frame off the grass. He was just about to pick himself off the ground when a lovely stranger did so for him -- and by the back of his orange jumpsuit, no less!
"We just keep running into each other, huh, belette?" someone sneered. He expected a cloud of noxious breath, but what he got instead was a cloud of noxious smoke. Richard coughed and looked up to realize two things:
1) Hey, that's that robot he ran into earlier at lunch!
2) Since when did Richard grow a foot?
After these two enlightening revelations, Richard realized he was an idiot. The robot was scowling at him, its steely grip extremely tight around his collar, and he felt like a kitten being picked up by the scruff by its abusive owner -- a horrible analogy, yes, but one similar. Richard could also guess he was about to get the lights knocked out of him by the way the robot reeled its free hand back, steam escaping its joints.
Once he got out of his initial shock, Richard started panicking. He literally just arrived today! He couldn't make enemies! Then again, he was pretty sure he made enemies with Dasher and Donner -- but hey! at least that had been his choice!
Without thinking, Dick punched the screen of the robot before it could hit him first, which seemed to startle the robot. It moved its head back and blinked in surprise -- either from how strong Richard's punch was or how stupid Richard was. From the searing throbbing along Richard's knuckles, he hoped it was the first part.
That moment didn't last long, though, for the robot immediately got over its shock and made a move to punch Richard back. Luckily, a new opponent entered the ring! Lucky for who? Richard hoped it was he who was lucky. He wasn't a very lucky person, though. He hoped his prison name wouldn't become something stupid like Unlucky Larry. His name wasn't even Larry!
Richard wondered if he was mentally unsound if this was what he was focusing on when a deadly, seven-foot robot was about to turn his skull to mush.
"Now, now, DDawn, that's no way to treat new friends!" came the new voice. Both Richard and the robot -- DDawn -- turned to see a six-foot, dark-furred pug. Yes, six feet tall! Richard wasn't sure if he was happy to be in prison anymore... Well, any more unhappy than he already was if there were ginormous pugs walking around.
Richard then noticed the eyepatch over one of the pug's bulging, blue eyes, a deep swath of scars running down the side of his face. He wore his prison suit in an odd fashion considering the chilly weather -- the top half of his orange jumpsuit was tied down at the waist, revealing his white undershirt that fit tightly on his body. Around one of his exposed arms was a red ribbon.
The robot grumbled -- an unpleasant sound that greatly resembled metal scraping against metal. The pug wagged his finger. "Now, now, friend. Don't get cross with me. Let our new buddy go, okay? He did nothing wrong." The way the pug said that made it sound like he forgot to add on the word "yet".
DDawn dropped Richard onto the ground without warning, earning a grunt from the man as his legs bruised from the impact. A shadow passed over him as he stood up, and Richard turned to see himself face-to-chest with the pug's... well, chest.
"What do we have here?" the prisoner greeted, clamping a paw onto Dick's shoulder. Richard looked up and suppressed a startled yelp and flinch at the sight of the pug grinning down at him. That picture would forever be engrained in his mind. "What's your name, fellow?"
Richard drew himself up to make himself taller despite how tiny he felt next to these giants. It didn't matter if the pug was only a few inches taller than him. It was a pug. He should be taller than a pug! "Name's Richard," he said, thankful his voice didn't fail him this time, though it did fall a bit flat.
The pug nodded and flipped to Richard's side, herding him across the field to the tables positioned between the basketball court and tetherball poles. "Well, Richard, I'm so sorry for my robot. He likes his personal space. I'm sure you understand."
"Uh-"
"The name's Duni. You're new around here, aren't you?"
Richard cocked his head. "How--?"
"I haven't ever seen you around here. I'd remember a face like yours. Very chiseled -- refined. You got a pretty face, friend. I'd hate for something to happen to it."
He was reeling, overwhelmed by so many things happening at once. He forced himself to focus and keep up with what was being said, though doing so felt like wading through a pool of needles tensioned with static. He was pretty sure Duni just threatened him.
The pug patted him on the back and pushed him forward, nearly making Richard run into the table of prisoners in front of him. He nearly apologized as a burly man turned and glowered at him with white, ghostly eyes reminiscent of a cat's, but he caught himself. "Hello, friends, I'm back!" Duni announced, though Dick thought that was pretty obvious. "And I brought someone with me! Say hello to Richard, everyone!"
The group consisted of five people, but Richard got the sense some people were missing. Everyone was staring at him, and Dick slowly felt his limbs cementing and his mouth going dry. No one said anything, but they regarded Richard with a calculating gaze before all slowly nodding in their own time. Were Richard's teeth chattering?
"DDawn here thought him of an enemy. What do you all make of him?"
This earned a few loud, sudden laughs that made Richard's ears burn; he sincerely hoped his pale skin didn't amplify that. Richard looked up at Duni, whose expression turned to a frown.
"An enemy, DDawn?" echoed the man with the cat eyes. His voice was quiet yet strained, as if the littlest inconvenience would make him snap. "Really, I'm surprised you thought anything of him at all."
A few chuckles sounded around the group, one even coming from Duni, whom of which then placed a hand on Dick's shoulder. "Now, now, Davis. There's no need for that," Duni chided. "Richard here is new, everyone! He hasn't had time to prove himself yet! Cut him some slack."
Some nods and shrugs rippled through the group. Richard felt as though he were being roped into something he didn't consent to. Duni then pulled him so the man was facing the pug.
"Tell you what, friend," he started. "How about we set you up with a little task. Then we'll see if you're worthy of joining us."
Dick blinked. Okay, he definitely just got roped into something he didn't consent to. "Uh... what if I don't want to join you?" Richard tested hesitantly. Duni's smile was frozen, as if he were still processing those words. A still silence passed through the crowd, the only sound being the wind and the background noise of other prisoners talking or working out.
Then, Duni laughed coldly, throwing his head back and placing both his paws on Richard's shoulders. No one joined in on his laughter, and Richard's shoulders were starting to hurt. "Friend, I don't think you understand. If you don't join us, you won't last a day here!" The pug's unfriendly smile then shifted to a pout. "I would be certain that someone would've told you something like that already."
This made Richard glance away. What was he looking for? He didn't know. All he ended up seeing were two dudes making out behind the track fence.
"Well, then, with that out of the way," continued Duni, though his words meant more like "Without your response", "I say we make a deal. You prove your worth, and you get to join us."
Richard clenched and unclenched his fists uneasily. "And if I don't prove my worth..?"
The pug shrugged and hummed indifferently. "Beats me. I honestly don't know what will happen to you." That was enough to make Richard lose his sloppy joe. Almost. Duni steered him in a direction. "I got an idea! And since I already like you so much, I'll give you two options!"
Behind them, Richard could almost hear someone mutter, "Always with the two options," followed by a snicker. If Duni heard it, he didn't show any sign.
"See that group over there?" The pug pointed, and Dick followed his gaze. He felt the air leave his lungs.
At a table nearest to the tetherball poles, Richard could easily make out Dasher and Donner, sitting amongst a group of scrappy-looking prisoners. None of them donned any sort of banner or ribbon like this group's red ribbon, but there was something still clique-y about them. It was as if an impenetrable bubble were encircling the group.
"Those are the Swashbucklers. Annoying crowd. They really think they could just rise up in the ranks and challenge my friends. I need you to infiltrate them and take them down from the inside."
Richard had to steel himself for a second -- partly because that made no sense. He was new. And Duni expected him to just... take down an entire gang?
"Of course," continued Duni, as if reading his mind, "you could just fight my friend DDawn over here -- or, you know what? Any of my friends here! It really doesn't matter. If you kill one of them (or if that's to much for you, knock them out), then we'll let you in!"
Dick opened his mouth and closed it several times. He must've looked like a goldfish in doing so. It took him a moment to process was Duni just said, but the meaning was pretty much clear. Duni wanted him to take down an entire gang or die trying.
It was at that moment Richard realized just how clinically insane the pug must be.
Duni chuckled, patting him on the back once more before turning to consult his "friends" (Richard was most definitely sure that word just meant "gang" to Duni). In that moment, Richard stared as long as he could at the Swashbucklers. Maybe joining them wouldn't have been such a bad idea, but then again, would Duni have nabbed another newcomer and had them accomplish the same task?
At that second, Donner happened the glance over, and he did a double-take when noticing Richard. The elf glanced once over Dick's shoulder before locking eyes. He couldn't read Donner's expression in that second, but he could easily recognize the disappointed and angry scowl the younger man gave him. Dick probably deserved it. He'd been an asshole and an idiot. This sort of thing had never happened before!
Finally, the Crowder gang called attention to themselves once again, and Richard was forced to break eye-contact with Donner. "So, we've reached an agreement," Duni said with a smile that suggested he was pretty much the one that "reached an agreement". Nevertheless, Dick listened in. His life was literally on the life, he presumed. "So, we will give you until the end of this week. It's, what? Monday? Lucky you! So, Friday will be the day you either have already taken down the Swashbucklers or you will fight one of my friends here. Sound good?"
Dick had zero clue what was going on. He had no possible idea how his day could have turned from somewhat-weird to totally-off-the-rails. He had no choice, though, it seemed. Richard pressed his lips together in a distasteful frown. "Fine, whatever," he managed, and Duni's eyes lit up. The pug extended a paw for him to shake, and Richard reluctantly took it.
"So glad we've reached an agreement."
A whistle blew, nearly startling Richard out of his skin. Duni looked over across the prison yard before smiling at Richard.
"Looks like it's time for us to part ways. Hope you have a plan." The pug gave Richard that same, unsettling grin before walking off. "See you soon, friend! Oh, and don't be surprised if I call in to check up on your progress."
Richard watched him go, his last shred of hope leaving with the Crowders. He stood there for a minute, basking in his stupidity before quickly turning to join everyone else, only one thought in mind:
Welcome back to the prison podcast. In this episode, I get fucked by the system and by myself. What a wonderful world we live in!
Yes, indeed, his priorities were in check.
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yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyNNNNNNNNNNGHHHHHHHHHHHHAsh\
I'm TIRed dudes
Hope you guys liked this. I at least think it was a little less messy than the last part. I dont know when the next part will be up, but maybe tomorrow.... we'll see
Oh also, I hope you have a good pride month (:
nothing like a kickass prison au to start off june huh
anyways, hope you enjoyed. And do let me know your thoughts on this! I hope I remember my ideas tomorrow