The small town of Jamison was blooming with life as summer flourished, bringing in the vibrant greens and pungent flowers to bloom and nestle themselves in the burning sunlight of the afternoon. The town was small and quaint, filled with lovers of animals and nature. The heart of the town was in the shape of an oval, the center filled with a community park with a lonely swing set, and a gushing old fountain. Around the oval was some of the important things that mattered for a towns survival; a courtroom, a church, a bank, and various small shops. Around a corner was a shelter, it wasn't a big one, but it was fairly new and clean. The people were nice with their friendly smiles, and pets often got their forever homes once they came into Jamison Shelter. This wasn't the case for a few animals, who weren't desired for adoption, and left for the workers of Jamison Shelter to take care of.
...
Mangle let out a low breath, fogging a small spot of glossy metal. Blankly he stared at it, not clean or proper enough to reflect more than major lights and slight shifting of colors and shadows. He took note of all the little scratches, as he always did, he could only assume those were from animals before himself. The caged area wasn't too bad, though small and cold he was given a oddly colored bowl every now and again with food and water. The bottom of the cage had a small scratchy blue blanket, but it was better than nothing. The cat, however, heavily disliked the name the walkers gave to him. Mangle. He preferred the softer name the sweet girl had given to him, Stormy.
In the cage directly across from him was a large pitbull named Jet, the meanest looking dog with his scars and stitched closed eye. But he was as sweet as could be, and that's where he heard the voice come from. "Hey Stormy, opening hours are soon," The tom had asked the other to use his real name, and not the crude one that the walkers had given him. "Yeah?" The cat said plainly, turning so his head faced the other. He was a positive mutt, so the cat had an idea of what he was going to say.
"It could be today," Slight thumping filled the room as Jet's tail began to wag from side to side, a funny trait for a dog to have, in Stormy's opinion. "It could be, but nobody wants a mean lookin' dog or a half cat half rat hybrid," He wasn't positive, many walkers looking at him with an eye of disgust before walking away to go look at one of the cuter kittens that were sprawled out. The kittens often put on a show, knowing their fluffy bodies and wide eyes were good enough traits to get taken away. Stormy was very young still, but his cute factor burned away a few moons ago.
"You're a good looking cat with half your coat on, your eyes for one thing," The tom had eyes that held two very different colors inside of them. His eyes were a dark cocoa brown with a random bit an ice cold blue, like a slice taken out of a cake. It was rare, as he'd never seen another cat with his kinds of eyes. "Thanks Jet, a walker will see past that rough exterior when you lick their faces," Phoenix chuckled, resting his chin on white tipped paws.
...
The ears of the half silver tabby perked at the sound of footsteps outside of the wooden door, the soft murmur of voices from the outside leaked through, making many of the animals perk up as well. None of the animals wanted to stay in this place anymore, so whenever people came, everyone did their best to behave and be the best they could. Stormy often tried to look appealing, but that didn't always work perfectly and people simply turned him away and moved on.
The door suddenly swung open and a small walker ran inside. One of the dogs barked, which caused a few more to huff or make a noise. The poor girl flinched away and ran back towards the taller walker who gave the child a small pat on the head. Stormy was one of the first caged, so of course they looked at him. He stared at a baby who was resting on the hip of the eldest walker, staring right back at him. The girl pointed at him and said something, but he didn't understand their speak too well. He assumed it was some kind of insult, and he ignored it as she carried on her way.
Not much of a surprise to the long lasting residents of the shelter, the girl picked a squirmy little puppy who was brought in not even close to a moon ago. She spoke excitedly, claiming she found a home and would miss her siblings who still remained in their cages, whimpering their goodbyes. When the commotion died, the room filled with quiet chatter with all the animals, it was the warm season where many of the animals were adopted out. But, Stormy had no interest in more talking and decided to take a nap. Curling peacefully the cat rested into the not so comfortable blanket, and went to sleep
...
The sound of metal moving woke the cat up, eyes opening to slits he tried to focus on what was in front of his cage, blocking the normal view of his friend Jet. With a few lazy blinks he was surprised to see the metal bars move out of the way of his cage. A pair of hands suddenly grabbed him, making him tense up and squirm around nervously. "Cold," He said, looking around frantically before spotting two walkers in front of him. The woman seemed a bit teary eyed as she looked at him, holding out her hand. Flinching away Stormy didn't know what exactly was happening, but he sniffed anyways. It smelled of peaches with a slight twinge of something he couldn't describe.
The woman looked to the man and nodded, they spoke a few words and suddenly they were moving towards the wooden door. "I told you! Stormy they're taking you, enjoy it!" Jet barked loudly, tail knocking frantically on the metal. The tom looked over the shoulder with a wide smile to his friend. "It'll be soon for you too, good luck!" He called out before the door slammed shut.
He was placed onto the carpeted ground, unsure of what to do he gently brushed himself against the woman's leg. He liked her and the sweet peach scent that came off of her.
...
"See honey he's sweet! Just scared, god i'd be if something like that happened to me," Angel spoke to her newly founded husband as she felt the gentle rubbing of the half burnt cat. "His name though," The husband argued, seeming not like Mangled that much. "I agree, we should change it, it's a horrible insult to the cutie," She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Looking down at him she couldn't think of much before a simple thought came into her mind. "Phoenix," She said confidently. Her husband's brow arched, "Phoenix?" he repeated. "He survived a house fire, he's got the scars to show it... A creature from the flames!" Angel always got her way, so they changed Mangle to Phoenix.
...
"Phoenix," The tom understood when he was given a name. He had no idea what a Phoenix was, but it sounded much better than Mangle, and he'd admit it was a bit better than Stormy. He just didn't like the fact that in his ten moon life he was given three very different names. Though, his name wasn't something he should be complaining about when he was finally leaving the shelter and going to a real home again. Life was turning up for... Phoenix now, and he was excited for the next chapter of his young life.