Blue woke up, how long has he been asleep?

He woke up feeling terrible, but not as bad as before.

He didn't stink as much as he used to and gained a little weight.

He still looked as if he was the dog version of the reaper, but it was a start.

He looks around a little bit since he can actually see now.

There's still bars but there's much more space. some candles burn brightly on the walls.

Blue could stand and walk around in the cage easily.

When did he get here? While contemplating the mystery, Blue noticed a small girl standing across him behind the bars.

He got scared but laid still. He learned his lesson in the cart, as long as he doesn't move they won't hurt him.

The girl stood still and smiled at him slightly, Blue had not seen that in a long time and it reminded him of the only kind man he knew. Upon closer inspection it wasn't a girl but a young woman, she was just short that's probably why she looked younger.

She had pretty brown hair that reached her shoulders and small freckles around her nose. She was on the skinny side but still healthy. Looking at her wardrobe she probably wasn't a noble.

Blue stared at her, he didn't show any emotions as he did not know how to react.

The girl smiled again upon noticing she had grabbed his attention.

She said with a soft voice, "Hello, my name is Firia but most of my friends call me Fir."

Before Blue realized it, he shot her a small smile.

How come, after all they did to him he could still smile to a human that he just met?

Was it because he desperately wanted affection?

Or just any kind of interaction at all? No it wasn't anything like that.

It was strange.

"I'm going to open the gate and come inside. Is that alright with you?" Fir with confidence.

Again Blue just stared at her, Why did he allow her to come close even though he hated most humans so much?

She entered with a calm demeanor, it rubbed off on Blue as he became calmer himself.

She was now right in front of the hungry wolf. She ever so slowly reached her hand out towards Blue's head.

The candle she had in her other hand flickered and soft laughs faded in the background.

She looked relaxed and earnest.

Blue remained frozen.

Fir's hand sofly landed on his head as she pet him on the head.

Like a mother comforting her child, her touch was filled with love.

When Blue felt her caring touch he relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"I don't know why they would keep such a kind wolf locked up so deep in the dungeon." she said with a sad face.

Steps approached them, they were quite heavy and slow.

One thing is for sure, the one approaching is not very fast as they wait in silence.

After what felt for minutes the man finally shows himself.

His belly was the size of two full grown man! You couldn't tell where his jaw started and his neck ended.

He wore grandiose clothing embedded with gold. He had perfect blond hair, a little too perfect.

The man spoke with a heavy voice,"Firia, how is our breadwinner doing?"

Fir looked slightly upset, however she did not show it in her manner of speech.

" Boss, as you can see we are on friendly terms now" Boss looked dissatisfied," How many times do I need to explain this to you..."

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Boss sighs in an exaggerated way,"I don't care if you become friends, I want results."

Fir speaks with full confidence. "Trust me with my power, any animal will be ready in no time!" Blue looked at her intrigued, he wondered what she meant with her power.

Was it why he accepted her so easily?

He was pretty sure of it, it's what his instincts tell him and they have never let him down. However at the same time he did not care.

He just didn't want to get beat again.

Boss looked at Blue, he spoke loudly,"I want him to look at least svelte."

Boss noticed Fir's confused gaze. He sighed as if the world had ended. "I want the dog to look clean and pretty."

Fir didn't like the way she got talked down on, after all, she was good at her job.

So why did that stupid noble keep degrading her like this?

Boss clapped loudly," I will be entertaining our guests, you will get him ready, I assume one month is enough?"

Fir nodded firmly, Boss spared no time and started walking to the door.

Fir sighed," I do it for the animals." She looked depressed. Blue felt sorry for the young woman.

She is also being locked up here is what he thought.

He raised his massive head towards Fir and gave her a big wet lick, right on her nose.

Fir was slightly startled but laughed, that one kind gesture was all it took for her to look happy again.

Blue could tell that she was genuine.

The days passed by while Blue remained in the cell.

He got fed raw 'rabbit' every other day, it wasn't as good as his normal standard but it was much better than nothing.

The rabbits had four back legs and small hair like spikes on its back.

He had seen them every now and then when he still lived in the forest.

As the days passed he slowly regained his weight, he was on the thin side but in a healthy way.

Fir visits him every day, she spoke to him as a friend, afterall she understood animals better then humans.

Fir told Blue that her power was to take the pheromones of animals and copy them to herself.

That's why animals trust her so easily, they saw her as one of their own.

She had told him not knowing that blue could actually understand her roughly.

Through her Blue learned a lot of things, He knew that he was locked in a colosseum underground.

After his recovery he would be the head act.

But, that wasn't all.

There was a big twist.

The arena he would be fighting in was for nobles and if he won his fight, he would be put up for auction.

Fir repeatedly told Blue how sorry she was for making him go through that cruel fate.

She was so tired of working for Boss but if she did not help the animals they would have even less chance of surviving.

She told Blue he would have to fight a beast master.

They are trained to anger animals and play with them to entertain the crowd.

A horrible profession, Blue got upset.

"How could they hurt us just for fun" is what he thought while frowning.

Fir made a small laugh when she saw the wolf get upset, "Sometimes I feel like you can actually understand me"

Blue looked at her and made a very subtle small bark.

Fir was surprised, that was the first time Blue was vocal.

A voice in the distance called for Fir and she was gone before Blue knew it.

Fir talking to him was one of the only things that kept him sane.

Days passed slowly, Blue got moved to a bigger cage since the cage he was previously in was getting too small.

He now could properly walk and maybe even run for a bit.

He used his new space well, he was tired of only being able to stand and maybe take a step or two.

It took such a small gesture to make young Blue happy.

Fir had begged Boss for days for a bigger enclosure so that he could get used to using his legs again.

He had been locked up for such a long time that he needed to practice a little bit.

Within minutes of walking and stretching he already became the proper wolf he once was.

His muscles didn't reduce and now he was finally about the weight he should be.

Blue had grown a lot, however he started to get less hungry and exhausted.

A sign that he had enough to eat and his growth finally slowed down.

It was for the better that he stopped growing as he towered at an impressive 1,80, while standing on all four.

He had truly become a massive beast.

His paws were intimidating, rough and massive.

The armor made of bone around his jaw looked unbreakable, He was ready for the fight.

The few remaining days passed peacefully as Fir kept Blue company.

The night before the fight Fir stayed in Blue's room a little longer.

She worried about him and pet him with much adoration.

"Do you want me to go and watch the fight?" She said softly, Fir wasn't talking to Blue but more against herself.

Blue got up and slowly walked towards a wall with a candle.

The candle didn't want to burn that evening so they left it off.

He softly exhaled and little flame blazed forth.

The candle shined with a bright light.

Fir looked at Blue surprised yet impressed.

"Wooow, They never told me you could do that!"

Blue showed his fire because he wanted to calm Fir down, after all, fire did make him feel confident.

"Are you telling me not to worry?" Fir said while walking towards him.

She slowly hugged the giant wolf.

The wolf was almost two heads bigger then her and he had a thick fur coat.

She felt safe hugging Blue and said with tears in her eyes, "You really are special".

There was a lot of raw emotion in her statement and Blue knew it came from her heart.

She let go of Blue with a sad expression and walked out.

Blue thought to himself, "I'm ready, I'll make Fir proud!"