It was cold. It was always cold.

Ice settled over the melancholy city like a sheet, slicking the sidewalks and freezing the citizens to the core. The city itself wasn't helping matters, though. Decrepit and hushed, filled with anxious glances and gossiping whispers. Half of the remaining the streetlights were dimming down and the other half were shut off completely, leaving the frozen city in a state of gloomy dusk, even at midday. The buildings were crumbling, the blinds on windows were closed, if not barred. But rent was cheap and the workplaces close, so people still lived there. Even if it was hard to call such an existence "living" to begin with.

The alleys reeked of trash and piss, dead rats and mold. A drunk man slept propped against a cracking brick wall, brown paper bag holding his self-prescribed poison in his hand. His head rested against the side of one of the dumpsters as if it were a pillow.

Suddenly, the door to his right slammed open and another human rushed out of it, carrying a plastic bag in one hand and a piece of bread in his mouth. He was chased out by a heavyset woman wielding a broom as a weapon, held high above her head as she shrieked.

"Thief! A thief! Catch him!"

The thief in question was young – a boy, really, in his late teens. Dressed like most of the people in that city, tattered jeans, layered shirts, a dirty jacket. His sneakers slapped against uneven pavement as he bolted away from the scene of the crime, his dark brown hair blown out of his youthful face.

He was pursued by the fat woman's husband, who he assumed also owned the bakery he'd stolen from. But instead of using a broom, this man brandished a shotgun. And he was much faster than his rotund wife.

A loud, earsplitting gunshot broke the fragile quiet of the city around them as the man attempted to shoot while running. None of the civilians looked up at the sound, and the boy just barely managed to avoid being hit in the back with buckshot as he ducked down an alley to the right. He'd been through this song and dance before, more than once, and knew the alleyways like the back of his hand. It wouldn't be easy to escape the man, but he could do it. He had to.

There was a small, dead-end alleyway that branched off the one the boy had turned down, and he rushed down it before the man could catch up to him. He tossed the bag of food behind an overturned trash can and turned around to face the entrance to the passageway he'd taken.

The man was panting as he rushed by, but his footsteps faltered and he turned back around to the dead-end backway the thief had taken.

Both individuals remained quiet as the man – old, thought the boy, with thinning gray hair – bent down, put his free hand on his knee, and reached out to scratch the top of the boy's head.

"Hey, boy," he greeted gruffly, his hand lowering a bit to scratch behind the kid's ear. He gave a soft bark in response, tail waving enthusiastically behind him. Most weres would think it showed low standards, to let themselves be treated like an animal, but survival was more important here.

Besides, having your ears scratched felt good.

"You seen a kid run past here? Dark hair, bag of food in his hand?" the man asked rhetorically, and was not surprised when the dog he was petting didn't respond. He stood up again and cocked his shotgun. "Right. I gotta go get 'im, or the wife'll have my skin." He turned and went right at the end of the little alleyway they were in.

The dog-shifter waited until he was sure the man was well on his way before he turned and picked the bag of food up in his mouth once again. He wouldn't bother changing back into human form just yet – he'd get to his destination faster and unbothered this way, so he opted to just trot along on all fours.

It only took about ten minutes to get back to the place he was staying. A backstreet behind a small restaurant with a crevice in the wall, where he could just manage to fit in his canine body. He crawled in, dropped the bag, and was welcomed back by the other residents of the little hole in the wall.

[Marley!] three young voices squealed at once, and the older shifter was suddenly glomped by a trio of fuzzy, excited little pups. [Marley, you're home!] Kisses were pressed to his face and cold little noses nuzzled through his fur.

[Did you bring us food?] the biggest asked – a chunky Labrador-looking pup with mottled black-and-white fur. Gregory. He was always hungry, but Marley didn't blame him. Their meals were few and far between, and pups needed more food than he was able to give them.

[Oh, yes, please, Marley!] burst out the second pup – the smallest, an eager little terrier mix with a stumpy tail. Chase. [We've been waiting all day!]

The third didn't speak, but she rarely did. Daphne. She was... the conundrum of the group, and the reason they were on their own. Because, while the three males of their tiny pack were all were-dogs, Daphne was something else. A werewolf; something feared by humans and were-dogs alike. But Marley couldn't have just let her die by herself. He'd ended up with all three of the pups specifically because of that reason. It was a cruel world out there, and the average lifespan for a were of any kind – dog or wolf – was very short. Many pups were left without their parents, and Marley had just happened to stumble across these three.

A teenager like himself was in no position to be taking care of children, but there wasn't much of a choice here. Besides, the pups had grown on him over the past several months. He'd tried to get a few packs of were-dogs to take them in, but all had refused because of Daphne.

[Eat, then!] Marley responded, nudging the bag of food open. There were a couple loaves of stale bread, some deli meat that looked like it had gone past its expiration date, and a couple croissants. Not enough for them, but it would have to do for now. [You guys were good and stayed in here while I was gone today, right?] He made sure his tone held just the right amount of threat to get the pups to stop in their forward rush to the food and look at him.

Chase, ever the vocal one, spoke. ['Course we were!] he chirped, stumpy tail wagging so hard his rump wiggled with it.

[Yeah, we were real good!] Gregory insisted, and Daphne nodded her head seriously.

[We're the best!] she announced, and then lunged toward the food to grab a croissant before Gregory could.

Marley rolled his eyes and huffed a laugh as the pups wrestled for the food laid out in front of them. It was a blur of fur and teeth – Chase's ratty brown pelt, Gregory's sleek black coat, and Daphne's bristling white scruff. They were lucky that the little divet in the wall was big enough to house all of them – it wouldn't, in a few months, when the pups were bigger. Marley had a hunch that all of them but Chase would be bigger than himself – knew that Daphne would be the biggest, as a wolf, and she wouldn't be able to fit at all. But for now, it was a suitable home, albeit a bit musty.

They were safe here.

[ snow ]

It was way past puppy bedtime when Marley began to hear voices outside their little makeshift den, and recognized one as the owner of the restaurant they lived behind. He left them food every now and again, so Marley liked him. But he didn't recognize the second one.

"Yeah, there's a pretty big dog that lives here. Looks kinda like a husky," he began, and Marley scooted closer to the entrance, casting a glance toward the pile of pups he was guarding over. "She's got 'er puppies in there." The beam of a flashlight crossed over the gap in the wall. "I give 'em some food sometimes. Hope I can see 'em one 'a these days. Y'don't see many dogs these days – 'specially not big ones like this. Ever since the were-dog incidents a few years ago."

The second man spoke up. "Do ya really believe that those dogs are all extinct, like they say?"

There was a scoff from the first before he spoke again. "No way. They lie about everythin' so why would they tell the truth about that?"

"And you're not scared?" the second man asked, incredulous.

"Nope," the first man replied. "Not a bit. They're not botherin' me, so why would I be?"

"Good point."

There were several beats of silence before the second man cleared his throat. "I could get rid 'a those in the wall, if ya wanted me to. Got my own dogs to turn loose. They'd eat 'em up."

"Marv, I appreciate the offer, but they're fine. If they get to be a problem, I'll let you know."

Marley let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, curled up, facing the entrance, and slowly fell asleep to the smell of cigarette smoke and the sound of the two men murmuring outside.

[ snow ]

The next time Marley woke was much ruder of an awakening.

A foul stench filled his nostrils and he was on high alert, leaping onto all fours and staring out of the entrance with round blue eyes. There was a low growl, threatening and animalistic and certainly not a were-dog or werewolf. Marley's fur rose and he crept toward the noise, looking back once more at the pups. They were still sleeping, so he figured he could do this without waking them. Perhaps he could lead the threat away.

The teen lunged out of the crevice in the wall and was met by sharp, yellow teeth. He had to duck quickly in order to save his face, eyes widening as he realized just what he was up against. It wasn't the one stray he was expecting - there were three massive Mastiffs, wearing choker collars around their necks and smelling much like the strange man from the night before.

Apparently he had decided to take care of his friend's dog problem of his own accord.

[Shit!] Marley yelped, leaping backward and watching the drooling beasts with wide eyes. There was no way he'd be able to fight these things!

One of the Mastiffs – a gargantuan male – snapped at him and managed to catch Marley by his left hind leg, dragging him back toward the small pack. Marley twisted around and fastened his own teeth into the loose skin around the Mastiff's neck, but it was ultimately ineffective. He barely punctured flesh, much less dealt a damaging blow.

A female Mastiff jumped him as well, teeth sinking into the flesh of Marley's right shoulder and began to shake him like a ragdoll.

Oh, god. He was really about to die there.

Before the third Mastiff could grab him, however, Marley heard a sharp yelp and several more voices joining into the snarling fit that surrounded him. The Mastiff that had his back leg let go, and eventually the one on his shoulder did, as well. Marley opened his eyes slowly and blinked to clear his pain-clouded vision.

The three Mastiffs were all occupied by new dogs. Weres, like Marley, he thought absently as he watched the fight. He could feel the blood matting his fur and growing in large puddles around him, and he was already getting dizzy, but it didn't hurt yet. Shock, maybe.

Time didn't really make sense anymore. The fight could've been quick, or it could've lasted several hours. Marley couldn't tell. All he knew was that suddenly, the Mastiffs were running, and his vision was going dark around the edges. The last thing he was aware of were sharp amber eyes invading his line of sight, and then he knew no more.

[ snow ]

AN - Setting: A city called Halford in the country of Oldan, in the year 2143. Climate change has brought snow all year round, freezing over the world in a sort of mild ice age. Were-dogs and werewolves have always existed alongside humans, but in the year 2094, the government declared them a threat and went about the genocide of both species. It's widely believed that they're either extinct or on the brink of extinction. They've developed ways to check the blood of humans to make sure they have no were DNA in their bloodstream, and dogs are tested rigorously before they are allowed to be pets.

The story will follow a pack of were-dogs and werewolves who are simply trying to find a place where they can live in safety in this dying world.

Note: This is inspired by Wolf's Rain, but it's not at all necessary to watch or read it before you read this. Although I do recommend it! It's an excellent show.

Rules

1. You may submit as many characters as you want, but I may only accept one or two. Please be detailed and unique in the characters you make. Not all straight, white characters who can turn into wolves, please. Challenge yourself! Be unique!

2. Send the characters in a PM titled (Character Name) – Breed – Snow. I won't accept characters through reviews.

3. I may also accept human characters. Please ask first though!

4. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask! I don't bite, and I love collaborating.

5. Have fun!

Thank you for reading! The form can be found on my profile!

Van