A/N After becoming a fan of the movie, Osmosis Jones, I made an OC: a pet hyena for Thrax, named Almira. I decided to introduce her by telling her life story. Her picture can be found in my DeviantART gallery; I go as DarkraixCresselia there.

I own only Almira and any other characters you won't recognize. The ones you DO recognize from OJ are owned by Warner Brothers.

Thrax's and my relationship skyrocketed after this. I looked forward to his visits, and not only would he feed me, he'd pet me and scratch behind my ears through the bars of my cage.

One day, he took a big risk by stepping into my pen with me. But I didn't attack him; no, I trotted up to him and nuzzled his hand with my nose. Chuckling, he scratched at my head. My tail wagged as my once-hardened heart swelled with joy; finally, there was someone who didn't beat and neglect me!

And this was why I was known for "not liking anyone but Thrax" It was actually more on the lines of trust; I trusted no one but Thrax. After all, look at how Mr. Preemer and his thugs treated me! As though I was nothing but a pile of flesh and plasma and nothing more.

Thrax, however, treated me like a normal germ; a normal hyena germ, that is. And not only did I trust him, but he trusted me.

I'll never forget the day we nearly scared Mr. Preemer to death. Thrax had taught me basic tricks like sit, stay and down, all of which I learned fairly quickly. He also taught me how to hold his forearm in my teeth without actually piercing the skin. That was what I was doing when Mr. Preemer ran towards us, exclaiming, "Thrax, watch out!" He raised his cane over his head.

I let Thrax's arm go and growled at the cane. "Hey, chill dude!" Thrax exclaimed.

"You chill!"

"She ain't gonna hurt me." He turned back to me and held his forearm up horizontally again. I opened my mouth and took his forearm in my jaws gently. "See?" Thrax smirked smugly.

Mr. Preemer lowered his cane and shook his head, sighing, "Sheesh, y'all scared th'hell outta me."

Feeling mischievous, I tightened my grip around Thrax's arm; not enough to pierce his skin, but enough to make him feel my teeth. He flinched and tapped my nose with what I called his burner claw. "Hey, you behave yourself." He said sternly.

I just let his arm go and grinned cheekily. He rolled his eyes. I didn't notice Mr. Preemer coming up beside me until he said, "Lemme try that." Then he held his arm out towards me too close for comfort. I turned sharply towards him and snapped dangerously at him, just barely missing his nose with my teeth. He jumped back as I growled, baring my teeth.

Thrax laughed and patted my back. "When I said she wouldn't hurt me, I didn't mean she wouldn't hurt youeither." He said.

I wagged my tail as he ruffled my bangs with his claws. Mr. Preemer just stared at us dumbfounded. "How come she acts like a puppy-dog 'round you, but she's all mean an' nasty towards me an' the boys?"

Thrax just shrugged. "She trusts me."

And trust him I did. Now Thrax started taking me on trips to town. I'd trot alongside him without the needs of a collar or leash, with me hating the latter. I had been chained and teased in my past life, earning me a hatred of leashes.

Of course I couldn't go into stores with Thrax without at least a collar. It was fine; I'd just sit by the door and look in through the window. Cells and the occasional germs would either shy away or glare at me, but I just ignored them.

One time, I was waiting on Thrax while he was in a store, and I saw two giggling cell girls fawning over him. I raised one eyebrow as one leaned on his shoulder with her hand on his chest, and the other had her hand on his shoulder; both smiling googly-eyed at him. He didn't seem to mind, or even care. He just had a smirk on his face with neutral-set eyes.

They didn't leave when he started for the door. No, they followed him, still smiling like the love-struck bimbos they were. When they all fully exited, I trotted up to Thrax. "Oh, is she yours?" One girl asked, not leaving Thrax's side.

"Not exactly; I'm just lookin' out for her while she fully recovers." He explained, spinning his chain around his wrist.

"What happened to her?" The other girl asked.

"Dog fight." He said shortly, scratching behind my ears. I wagged my tail, but eyed the girls. I still distrusted strangers, but was a teeny-tiny bit softer on females. Why? It was males that beat me, and a female that dressed me in bandages.

"She's beautiful!" One girl reached out to pet me. I snapped at her, making her snatch her hand back with a frightened squeal.

"Careful, she don't like anyone but me." Thrax smirked. "And she's got a nasty bite." He glanced at his right hand, which had been healed by now with no scarring.

I laughed my familiar hyena-laugh at him warning the girls about my distrust towards strangers after one girl was nearly bit. I stopped short and perked my ears up curiously. I hadn't heard myself laugh for over a year. It felt...good. I had a high-pitched feminine laugh and evil giggle, but hadn't laughed because of my abuse and neglect.

The girls didn't notice my curiosity towards my newfound laughter. "Do you really have to go, Thrax?" One asked with a pouty face.

"'Fraid so, baby." He said, shrugging off their hands. "See ya, girls."

"Bye!" They waved simultaneously. I curled my lip at their giggling as they walked in the opposite direction we were going.

Thrax smirked at my expression and rubbed my head affectionately. "Jealous, Baby Girl?"

I immediately shook my head. No way! I just didn't know he was such a ladies' man...or, ladies' virus, for that matter.

"Y'know, it occurred to me that you need a proper name." He said as we walked down the sidewalk. "...How 'bout 'Ember'?"

I shook my head. "Mm-mmm." I hummed; I was able to produce humming noises.

"'Coal'?"

I shook my head harder this time.

"Yeah, you need a real name." We continued on while Thrax put on his thinking look. "I heard a pretty name once: Almira, but I can't remember whether it was A-L-M-I-R-A, or E-L-M-Y-R-A."

My ears perked up. Almira. I liked that name. Plus, it reminded me of the disease, "Malaria". Perfect! I nudged his hand with my nose and yipped. "You like that?" He asked. "Almira?"

I nodded and wagged my tail. "Alright then, Almira it is."

I bounced around uncharacteristically with joy. I finally had a proper name! My wish had finally come true!

Later, Thrax came out of some pet store with a bag in hand. "Got something for you." He took out a dark purple collar with a round license tag that said on one side,

Almira

The other side said,

Hyena
Owner: La Muerte Roja
AKA, the Read Death
Thrax Muerja

"Stand up straight, and hold still." He said.

I stood up and held my head up as Thrax put the collar around my neck, making sure it was comfortable; not too tight, yet not too loose. "There you go." He stood up straight. "I don't know if Preemer'll let you keep it, but at least if you get lost and someone finds you, they'll know who you are and who to call to come get you."

The feel of the collar was unusual, but better than the choking metallic ones I trained in. I looked in a puddle at myself, smiling. Finally, I jumped up against Thrax's chest and licked his cheek. "Hey, knock it off!" He protested, gently pushing me down. "Hey, off!" He wiped my slobber off of his face and crouched down on one knee so we were eye-to-eye. "It's good that you're tame and all, but don't go completely soft." He said sternly, holding my chin in his hand. "If you're too soft, people and dogs'll walk all over you. You still gotta be tough and alert; on your toes. Can you do that?" He let my chin go as I nodded firmly. "Good girl." He patted my head and stood up. "Let's get you back home."

A/N I couldn't resist adding the part in White Fang where Jack had his forearm in White Fang's mouth, and his friend overreacted. I thought it'd be perfect for this XD

I also couldn't resist the urge to write Thrax as a "Ladies' Virus" Call it a tribute to his many fangirls :D

This is also where Almira gets her name and trademark purple collar. Also, Thrax's surname "Muerjo", I came up with it myself. It's a combination of the words "Muerte' and "Roja" It's pronounced "Muer-ho" I was originally going to use "Muerte" but it sounded cliche, so I came up with a new one.