There had been forty darks since the man died. A red light blinked in the corner of Rex's eyes, an alarm that matched the red light blinking on the new-man-place. The Man had not emerged. After thirty darks, the Man was supposed to leave the new-man-place. He would smell funny, but he would smile and call Rex's name and scratch him behind the ears in just the right place. Then he would go in the shower and put on skins that made him smell more like the Man should.


Inspiration: DeviantArt painting of dog alone, staring out of overgrown ruin. https://www.deviantart.com/art/Alone-701194787
Story potential: Low.
Notes: So the dog goes on a quest to find someone to fix the cloning tank, and he finds a child, and it ends up becoming part of the pack. Meh.

The bombs were ready when the dog walked around the corner. She felt her ruff rise as she crouched on the ledge above the alley. This was cat territory, and any dog that entered was looking for trouble. She turned her head and bared her teeth, flashing the embedded lights back to other watch cats to get the alarm sounded. The dog stopped and sat at the entrance to the tunnel, keeping its eyes down in a non-challenging way. Not what dogs usually did--most were the friendly idiots who made eye contact with everyone, even if they knew how cats would read it. Interesting. She sniffed the air, but smelled nothing but dog and normal city. The dog was naked--not an unusual sight, but not--

Inspiration: This LOLcat: http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/funny-pictures-kittens-will-throw-water-balloon.jpg
Story Potential: High-ish?
Notes: Not sure how much remains to be mined from the "when cats and dogs evolve" vein, but I found myself becoming more interested as I wrote along.

The old beanbag chair in the corner was comfortable and warm. It smelled faintly of feet, and a little bit like patchouli, and mostly like home--long-cooked stew, laundry, and teenage sweat. She huddled in it, keeping her eyes closed, trying to pretend that she was still home. The new house didn't smell right. It was all disinfectant and fresh paint, with a metallic tang underneath that she just didn't like. It was strongest in her room. She'd actually gone sniffing at the corners, like a dog, like Sadie would have if she could have come with them. Maybe another dog had marked the room and that was why it smelled funny, she'd thought. But it wasn't strongest in the corners. It was strongest right against the wall farthest away from the door--

Inspiration: Somebody posted on the Twin Cities lj requested a beanbag chair.
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: Because, c'mon, Something Terrible Happened Here isn't that interesting to play with. Though a dog that came back from the dead to protect her family could be a bit of fun. But overall, no.