Evie sits on the floor of her little cage, wrapped in the thin pink woolen blanket like a cowl. It was warmer in the pound than out on the street — out of the wind, at least — but the bare concrete walls and the chain-link gate fence were not very comforting. She knew she was safe here, but she couldn't shake the feeling of vulnerability. Hard years had made her feel hardened, in some ways. She still jumped every time the heavy door down the hallway creaked open, and when it slammed shut. She wondered if she would ever get used to the sound of doors. They sounded very different from the inside.'Crrrrrrrrrrk, FWOOMP' echoed through from the distance, and Evie did, in fact, jump again. She wrapped herself tight under her blanket, racing heart slowing as her rationality intervened against her panic. Under here, at least, she was safe. It was a second cage, but at least she was alone under here.Footsteps on concrete caused her to stir again. Not the usual footsteps of the food lady, or the doctor. Different, a visitor. She cautiously poked her head out from underneath the blanket, staring expectantly at her cage door. Hope, and trepidation, swelled in her chest. "New... ownya?"