Chapter One: Introducing Radeka the human scientist, having to deal with a nasty tummy bug, a dickhead boss, and running late for a meeting. The boss, Professor Hardin, calls his team together after a recess and through the power of SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY shows them that his computer in the lab is finally able to map DNA and create actual life from the program he's finally finished. Radeka has the first go, only for her to black out and have a vision of shaping her creature like clay in her hands rather than playing about on the computer screen. Once she comes to, the team celebrate their success. 

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The creature woke, and gazed at her adoringly. She took its head in her hands, noting the treacle-like consistency, and gently sculpted it; from its circle head to a bigger broader mammalian like shape, with short snout and hard skull.

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Chapter Two: Asarthi proper slowly gains consciousness and rages impotently as he grows inside his tank, his thoughts completely unbeknownst to Radeka. She instead remembers the previous two failed attempts at his creation. After being soothed with Radeka's voice, Asarthi realises in surprise that the voices in his head aren't exactly all his own any longer. He makes telepathic contact with the other foetal creatures and one which calls himself White-Eye explains what he has learned thus far. 

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And then one day before Hardin intended to terminate the first, it had ended. In a desperate struggle with nothing, the animal had bitten down on one of its enlarged bottom teeth and pierced its entire top palette. Its screams were so loud they distorted over the microphone, and after a minute had died out of loss of blood, shock and head trauma.

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Chapter Three: The humans birth their creatures. Asarthi can't quite figure out the breathing thing until he loses consciousness and White-Eye appears to him and explains some more. Asarthi struggles to find his feet once conscious. White-Eye is already up, as he is technically the 'oldest' of the creatures, having no failed attempts go before him. However, his eyes are coloured completely white, as if blind. Hardin scolds White-Eye's human, Gaera, only for White to easily win in the brief scuffle for dominance between him and Asarthi; proving he can see quite well.

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He had no time to think any more though, White-eye advanced, growling. Then he wandered right, left, as if looking for his target. Gaera’s anguished look intensified, he was already too proud of his Creature to believe White-eye was blind. 

 

Chapter Four: Gaera flashes a hand in front of White-Eye's face to test his sight. White bites it in proof, and Gaera wallops him repeatedly after pissing himself. This sends Asarthi and Fleeto - the feline creature - into a violent frenzy. Hardin knocks them both out. Asarthi wins the later fight for dominance against Fleeto. More battles between other pairs ensue. The group's hierarchy is slowly formed. White-Eye becomes the responsible alpha, diffusing situations and whatnot.

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His head felt close to bursting as the pain started, and he suddenly vomited thin bile on the floor. Not pausing for an instant Fleeto took the opportunity to leap over his head, and Asarthi saw red.

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Chapter Five: The humans take their creatures, all harnessed, onto the fells; the place outside the barrier protecting the city from the feral creatures outside. The Wulf: packs of man eating canines. The Fenile, large, solitary feline hunters. And others. A fenile charges at Radeka and Asarthi once outside on the fells, but falters once face to face with Asarthi. He doesn't want to attack it because it looks like Fleeto; but soon smells its intent to press a surprise attack after retreating. 

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Outside it was the midst of day, but overcast with grey murky clouds. Asarthi had never been outside. He stared in wonder at one thing after another, in fact, Radeka was having more trouble keeping him walking quickly then having to curb his bounding ahead.

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Chapter Six: Asarthi takes the fenile on. Radeka orders him to kill it. He takes a moment to angst edgily and makes a show of 'mortally wounding' it with a telepathic warning. Someone makes similar contact soon after re-entering the city, and Asarthi realises in surprise that it's the fenile. Later, the whole group set out and take on a pack of wulf. White-Eye claims the alpha before the fight begins. 

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There was a cry, a chorus of cries, of hurt Wulf most, then a short scream from Stryke as the Wulf tore him off and threw him to the ground. But the Wulf pack was outnumbered. Asarthi, hearing Radeka yell one more time, leapt for the neck. A lust for blood spilled into his soul and he, now red-eyed, drew away with a spouting jugular in his teeth. 

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Chapter Seven: White-Eye snakes Asarthi's second kill. Later, Asarthi angsts edgily some more, this time to White about their purpose as killing machines. After eating, he wastes no time in continually goading a small grass-eating creature. It introduces itself as Rerbab, and trades a few choice words before psychically disabling Asarthi with a glance. White-Eye diffuses the situation. 

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Asarthi felt his mind relax, and colours bloomed before his eyes. Slowly he crumpled to the ground, muscles still tense. Rerbeb continued staring into his eyes until the pupils rolled back and closed. 

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Chapter Eight: Asarthi wakes with a splitting headache. White-Eye diffuses the situation. Weeks pass, feral kills start really adding up. Fleeto eggs Asarthi on to join her on a spontaneous hunt. Once outside, Asarthi can smell blood but Fleeto is evasive. They go to stalk some ferals only for Fleeto to fully go into heat then and there. Yes, it's my younger self's first attempt at a sex scene. A genetically engineered dog and cat randomly mating to some clunky metaphors and awkward naïveté. 

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They walked out confidently, yet keeping low. As soon as Fleeto stiffened a fraction and paused, with one paw still held up, Asarthi knew she had spotted the herd. 

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Chapter Nine: Radeka announces to the group at large that she discovered Asarthi and Fleeto mated, to Hardin's horror. Their creatures weren't meant to even have the capacity to breed. Somehow, a month later, Fleeto actually gives birth to live young. Kippens, apparently. Asarthi angsts edgily a bit. 

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Asarthi poked his head in for a look. Fleeto glared at him and the purr suddenly changed into a warning hum; deep in her throat. 

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Chapter Ten: Asarthi goes out on a solitary hunt but gets ambushed by a wulf pack. They wound him and he kills the alpha male. The alpha female stops the attack to converse, and tell him he fights well. She invites him to a lake to clean his wounds and talk further of old legends of other realms and other creatures. This is where it stops suddenly, halfway through a sentence. 

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She grimaced, looking at him. (Make?) She sniffed him intently. Asarthi stiffened at the contact but she didn’t respond to that. (You smell of life. You are not ‘make’.)

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