Killian's eyes popped open as soon as his mind awoke. The relatively small, patchy terrier mix quickly got on his feet and stretched out. Tiredly he sat there and blinked, wondering what he would be doing for the day. It was only then that he reminded himself that he did the same thing everyday. Search for food. He left the alleyway he slept in after a quick sniff of the area confirmed that there was no food to be found.
He sighed as he entered another alleyway, just across the street from the one he had slept in. Lately food had been harder and harder to come by, the town was getting colder and humans were leaving fewer scraps. The alleys that he knew must have had food in them were being taken over by other dogs. Dogs that wouldn't hesitate attacking if you got too close to their precious food.
He was well aware that his ribs were visible through his skin. That sort of thing had never really happened to him before. Even after his mother vanished he kept himself well-fed. With Will and Bill on his side finding food had been easier than ever before. They were at first a bit of a liability, the two weren't really what you'd call 'street dogs', but overtime, with his help they became much more useful.
Frustratingly none of the alleys he checked had any food, be it edible, or completely rotting. None of the humans looked like the type to give out free food and stealing seemed to be too risky of an option as well. Finally accepting defeat, he left that part of town in search of better pickings.
On the way, he passed many things, children running in the streets, cars and wagons carried by horses, men with strange tools and of course lots of buildings, from smaller restaurants to busy taverns. He stopped at a park, hoping that there might be just a few old bones buried there. Unfortunately he couldn't find anything. Though he was amused by a few sets of paw prints around the fountain. They set in the concrete and so were probably not going anywhere, anytime soon.
Ultimately he just started walking and hoped that he would come across something, anything. While he walked his mind drifted, sometimes he wondered if this was really all there was to life. In his short life he made some friends, some enemies and learnt a lot, but didn't ever find anything that convinced him to stick around. As a far as he was concerned, he could die at any point and nothing at all would change. Things would be just fine and go on as normal.
Everyday that he spent searching for food and shelter, he grew more and more skeptical of this thing called 'life'. It sure didn't seem fair to him. He'd been abandoned by his mother, he'd seen dogs much younger than himself completely abandoned, starving and hungry. Seeing dogs die of hunger was an all too common occurrence to him. Heck, he saw dogs go the pound only to never be seen again. That was one place he always avoided, the mere thought of being sent there sent shivers up his spine.
Sometimes the thoughts of his mother hurt him. She had said time and time again, day after day, that she loved him dearly. Those words only made her sudden departure hurt even more. He still remembered sitting in the same spot for days on end, scared that she might not be able to find him if he moved, only to realize after far too long that she truly wasn't coming back and that he was on his own. Whenever he spoke to any female dogs, he always addressed them by 'mam'. It was something his mother had taught him and he hated the fact that no matter what, he couldn't shake the habit.
His mind stopped in it's tracks. His nose started to twitch like crazy and he couldn't stop his tail from wagging. There was food in whatever massive Victorian neighborhood he had walked into. The scent was faint and probably just a few old bones buried away, but his trusty nose was determined to follow it.
It led him to the back of a house, the scent was growing stronger. He grew suddenly alert when he realized that there was another dog nearby. Normally he hated to try and be violent, but his stomach was being far too noticeable for him to pass the opportunity for food up. Hardly thinking he threw himself at the other dog.