Leah

Leah, an Akita Inu infected, is a former Edener and current member in the Tempered Asylum.

-Before Birth-
Leah wasn't conceived for love in a lovely and warm family. Her mother, a silver and red brindle Akita by the name of Navarra was a very cold and manipulative dog, who had never been able to complete any apprenticeship or to keep a stable job because of her bad attitude and superiority complex. She ended up being called to clean floors in locals such as bars or shops. No need to say that the places visited by her were the low ranked ones and she definitely wasn't a reliable dog, she was the kind of dog that you would try to avoid passing next to, fearing she might want to rob you. Her father, Sultan, was a completely different dog: a red Akita, he owned a small shop of metallic objects that he opened after serving as a Technician for a while. They met because Navarra was called to clean his shop. Out of all the shopkeepers or vendors she met, Sultan looked like the most gullible of all, a puppy grown in body but not in mind and, considering how she had never been rich or never truly had enough money, she thought that she could take advantage on this goofy dog for her own well living. Unfortunately, Sultan was engaged with a Shepherd mix but this didn't stop Navarra, as she knew she could get him any time. She began coming over at the shop more often, flirting with him to the point that he laid down with her, even though he already had a girl. But Navarra was smart and these encounters became daily, with Sultan who couldn't bare to stay away from her (more from her services) for too long. But something went wrong and Sultan never left his mate, on the opposite, he realized that having a lover behind the back of his mate was wrong and decided to cut the relationship with Navarra. She was extremely upset but, once again, she had a plan. She played it good and acted as if she accepted his decision but asked for one last night, as a way to say farewell and he wasn't able to tell her no, also because he had returned to be an apprentice of the Technician, since his shop was running negatively and he had to close it: Navarra suggested that one last night would also relax him and leave those thoughts away for some time. Too bad that she chose the right night for her body to become pregnant. And she was right, she was heavy with puppies.

When Sultan was informed of this, he was shocked but decided that he didn't want his children to grow up without a father and that he didn't want any gossip spreading around so, he left his mate saying that he had fallen in love with someone else and he didn't want to hurt her so, it was better if they took different paths. Navarra now had Sultan and, more important, his money, in her hands. A new life was beginning.

===  -Puppyhood- === And so, Navarra and Sultan went to live together, she acted as the lovely mate and always hid her true intentions, she couldn't care less about the male Akita but she needed him and, for a better life, pretending to love him was a sacrifice worth doing. She had a house and since Sultan's job was able to pay for everything, she could stop cleaning floors like a slave and she could afford to live without doing nothing. She gave birth to two pups, one boy and one girl: Leah and her brother, Lion.

Sultan was overjoyed while Navarra looked distant but nursed and cared for the two offspring. However, since the beginning, Navarra had a preference towards her own son and neglected the daughter. Lion was silver brindle and a very beautiful one. Navarra, of course, favoured him because she knew that with that look, he could go and do everything everywhere, who knew, maybe even become the next Overseer! Spacing out with her mind, Navarra focused on building her son a future while Leah was left out. Fortunately for her, Sultan was able to make her feel loved and he often spent time with her alone in the Nursery, telling her of all the things he used to sold and about all the clients of his old shop, who all knew her even if they never met the puppy because the proud father's only subject of conversation was her daughter, when they would meet around. While Navarra had an obsessive interest in her son, Sultan gave genuine love and care to Leah. But she was never able to get close to her mother or brother until one faithful day: her father killed himself.

It is unknown how but Sultan acknowledged that Navarra had lied to him the whole time, she never loved him and aimed at his small fortune, the puppies weren't a lovely accident but a plan to make him leave his previous mate and be with her. It was simply too much for him to bare and so, he threw himself against the electricity generation and died instantly.

Navarra told the authorities that the business was going bad, he had to close his shop (which his affectionate clients could confirm) and returned to be a Technician, which is why he was able to reach the generator. As much as he enjoyed the service as a Technician, he loved more his job as a shopkeeper, it must have been a hard hit to discover that affairs were not as good as before. Leah and Lion, of course, believed to this, as it was the only version they had known and were forced to move on by their mother, who now needed them to sustain herself. Leah, though, always found suspicious how long it took her father to do such an extreme act, considering that he returned to his former job as a Technician when she and her brother still had to be born. Lion began apprenticeship in the military, as a Convate while Leah opted for something softer and more suited to her: Furmother.

=== -Adulthood- === Leah completed her furmother lessons with excellent results and was praised for her intelligence and for her ideas, plus puppies adored to play with her and the mothers enjoyed her company and help, she felt very fitting in her role and liked going to work.

Things, however, became heavier to bare when Navarra announced to her that she had found a suitable companion for her, a very well behaved and kind Akita who was co-worker of her brother and, apparently, very rich. Leah had no interests about getting a mate, she was barely a year old while this male was the same age of her mother, so 5. But of course, she couldn't say anything and had to accept her mother's choice. She felt very uneasy around this older dog and even more when she was forced to move to his place. She began staying in the nursery longer and longer, working all day and getting home very late, all to avoid him. Of course, he went to complain to Navarra who scolded her daughter, she couldn't work all the time, now that she had a mate to take care of!

But, as submissive as she was, Leah did all that she could to avoid any contact with him, it didn't matter to her if Navarra would get mad, there was a limit to her mother's control. But there was also a limit to her patience.

One morning, Leah realized that the door was locked and the two windows of the house had been obscured. For a week, she was forced to stay at home (apparently, her mother sent a letter to the nursery, saying that Leah wasn't feeling well and would be needing rest for a couple of days) with the older Akita that was her mate.

She had never told anyone what she had suffered during those days. Leah returned to work, aching and even more submissed than before, and it looked as if she had lost all her joy. Luckily, a mother who had just given birth, said some kind words to her, seeing that she was probably feeling down and, even if that mother died of birth complications the day after, Leah was very grateful and held her head up.

But it didn't last long. She was still working when her mother broke into the nursery, crying her eyes out and barely breathing, saying that her brother had been killed.

=== -Infected- === She didn't quite understand at first considering how shocked her mother was but, when she calmed down, Navarra said how Lion returned with the convoy but, during the usual quarantine for the dogs that had been out in the Wastes, he was found infected and admitted that he thought to have seen something shiny in the sand and so, he left for a minute the Convoy, an impulsive act. It was just a metal scrap but he didn't realize there was more hidden in the sand and he stung one of the pawpads with it. Surprised by the stingy feeling, he stumbled in the sand and fell to the ground, losing his mask. This was confirmed by one of the Convoy members who went looking for him and saw Lion putting back his mask. Navarra ran to him as soon as she heard the news but it was too late, her son had been exiled and, right in front of the dogs who exiled him, he was killed by a random infected, who attacked him out of rage and Lion perished, at only a year and half of life.

Leah was sad but she quickly moved on, she wasn't close to her brother and so, it was mostly her mother who mourned. But it was not all over yet, as Navarra and the older male Akita, forced her to quit her job as a Furmother just after she had finished her apprenticeship and forced her to join the Convoy, in order to fill the hole that Lion left. So, Leah became a Scowner and, right after her first mission out, she was Infected. Leah doesn't exactly remember what happened, she was too scared and her mind foggy with fear. Panic spread among the masked dog and retreated and ran back. But, instead of seeing the welcoming and secure gates of Eden, she was surrounded by dark bleeding dogs, they had no masks and they didn't let her get back. She passed out for fear and, when she awakened, she had scratches all over, her mask was gone, she didn't recognize where she was and, worst of all, there was a very nasty bite on one of her hind legs. Even the smallest pup could tell that there was no hope for her to return in Eden, she was an infected dog now.

Life outside Eden is new to her and very tough and Leah keeps herself near the Gates as she consider them safer than other open spaces. She feels out of place in those desolated lands and really has a hard time to find food or water, as she was a mere Furmother and has no idea how to hunt, considering also how she was the worst, the last of the class of the Scowners. Even though she is still the submissive and quiet dog she was in Eden, Leah feels the infection growing inside her mind, giving her moment of pure aggression that she vents on her own body, self harming her. She would also leash out for no reason, going after a rock or a bigger dune of sand, sure to have heard her brother, mother or former mate/foster father's voice or seen their figures.