I doubt that the last hint is helpful to anyone, since it refers to a story that hasn't been written yet. I did make some progress on said story while on my flight, 9kB worth. So for now, a break from your regularly scheduled slice of life:
Mulholland Drive
November 8 2016, 2:45 PM
One moment it was stalking through a verdant forest a klick outside the city, and in the next, it was waking up on the warm pavement in the hills above an entirely different city.
The beast was roused by the sounds of armed men in black uniforms trying to encircle it. The men were wary, not afraid; the beast felt very weak. But not so weak that it couldn't teach these humans a lesson. It stood up and voiced a horrendous roar, terrifying folks halfway to Coldwater Canyon.
Los Angeles County Animal Control
Venice, California
4:31 PM
A man in a dark green coverall warily eyed the creature behind the steel bars of the compound's largest cage. "That thing freaks me out. It's like it knows I'm afraid. It *wants* me to be afraid."
"You'd be more freaked out if you were on duty this afternoon. I think we must have shot it like a hundred times, and it's still alive. It's a miracle we managed to capture it." The animal control officer's uniform looked worse for the wear today, ground in the dirt, with a couple rips across the sleeves.
"Yeah... but what the hell is it? Doesn't look like any bear I've ever seen."
"Fuck if I know. We've got some professor-types coming by to look at it in the morning."
The beast actually didn't look much like a bear at all, except in size -- a dire wolf would have made a more apt comparison. Its body was covered in jet black fur from head to tail, with white claws and horns protruding from its joints. The most disturbing part had to be the face, almost like an exposed skull with two red veins traced across the top and deep crimson eyes, which stalked them around the yard.
The animal shelter employee decided it was probably for the best to avert his gaze. "Do you think Nguyen's gonna pull through?"
"God, I hope so. What that beast did to him, was awful."
Mulholland Drive
November 8 2016, 2:45 PM
One moment it was stalking through a verdant forest a klick outside the city, and in the next, it was waking up on the warm pavement in the hills above an entirely different city.
The beast was roused by the sounds of armed men in black uniforms trying to encircle it. The men were wary, not afraid; the beast felt very weak. But not so weak that it couldn't teach these humans a lesson. It stood up and voiced a horrendous roar, terrifying folks halfway to Coldwater Canyon.
Los Angeles County Animal Control
Venice, California
4:31 PM
A man in a dark green coverall warily eyed the creature behind the steel bars of the compound's largest cage. "That thing freaks me out. It's like it knows I'm afraid. It *wants* me to be afraid."
"You'd be more freaked out if you were on duty this afternoon. I think we must have shot it like a hundred times, and it's still alive. It's a miracle we managed to capture it." The animal control officer's uniform looked worse for the wear today, ground in the dirt, with a couple rips across the sleeves.
"Yeah... but what the hell is it? Doesn't look like any bear I've ever seen."
"Fuck if I know. We've got some professor-types coming by to look at it in the morning."
The beast actually didn't look much like a bear at all, except in size -- a dire wolf would have made a more apt comparison. Its body was covered in jet black fur from head to tail, with white claws and horns protruding from its joints. The most disturbing part had to be the face, almost like an exposed skull with two red veins traced across the top and deep crimson eyes, which stalked them around the yard.
The animal shelter employee decided it was probably for the best to avert his gaze. "Do you think Nguyen's gonna pull through?"
"God, I hope so. What that beast did to him, was awful."
"Kitto daijoubu da yo." - Sakura Kinomoto