It’s pitch black, even darker than Damian’s feline eyes can adjust to.

The truck’s been driving for an unprecedented amount of time, turbulent jolting making the fur along Damian’s back raise indignantly. The human-turned-beast hisses his annoyance, twisting in the confines of what he knows to be a crate, one made to fit a teenage boy but designed for the bestial creature he is.

Damian’s not sure how much more time passes, the inconsistent rocking of the animal control truck lulling the boy into a doze. Metal clanking underpinned by the frightened noises of the other beasts trapped inside. It’s not until much later that he’s unceremoniously dumped into the light, sepia tones throwing the dirty warehouse room into a yellowed wash.

Snarling, Damian skitters as far as he can get, tail fluffed up behind him and claws digging into the earthen floor. Where has he been transported to? His mind whirrs as it scrambles to comprehend his surroundings.

Chain-links, pressing into his side and along the wall, dozens of feet lengthwise. Kennels. The stench of beasts sting his nose, the taste of it sour and rotten. Damian hisses, ears flat against his skull as cruel laughter filled the air.

Dog-like beasts fill the kennels. Some look to him with appraisal, others, pity. Damian bares his teeth.

“What is the meaning of this,” he snarls once he gathered the courage to leave the corner of the kennel. He stalks up to another beast, fur puffed around his neck. “Tell me, now, where are we!?” he murrows, tail lashing with his repressed anxiety.

A part of him knows, can smell the dried blood in the air. See the scars both fresh and healed on several of the beasts. One, a great shaggy dog-beast that must’ve once been a broad shouldered man, is missing an ear and much of the fur on his face.

Damian might be a cat-beast, but even he knows what it means to be the only feline in a room full of mutts. He’s been brought here for a reason, and if the howls above him are any indication, he’s going to get his confirmation soon.