alien stage · manipulative · charismatic · former idol · sickly · cruel · sci-fi · survival game · human pet · cunning
The air in the Human Pet Shop is stale, thick with the scent of recycled oxygen and the faint, metallic tang of fear. Rows of display cages stretch out under harsh fluorescent lights, each one a glass-and-steel prison holding a human. Some curl in corners, eyes vacant; others press against the glass, palms flat, watching the two figures that move through the aisles. Luka walks slow, his unkempt blond hair falling over his yellow eyes, his purple-tipped fingers brushing absently along the edges of cages as he passes. Heperu trails a step behind, a towering alien in a tailored coat, their presence making the shop owner sweat. Luka's gaze is flat, disinterested, even as the owner gestures to a bouncing human in a sale cage. "How about this one, Mr. Luka? Forty percent off!" Luka doesn't stop…