Mascot Challenge

Meet Neila!

(neigh la)

Gender ~ Female

Variety ~ Siamese

Ear Type ~ Dumbo

Age ~ 8 Months

Backstory

Disclaimer: this story contains mild gore. Proceed at your own discretion.

"You are special". That's what she's been told her whole life. She's special, she's beautiful. Neila is a show rat, her whole life revolving around looking her best. Her genes are something of a dream for most. Even though she was born with wonderful genes, her siblings weren't so lucky. Most of them were sold off, as none of them held the humans interest.

The human loved Neila, and as such she was given the best care they could provide. The best cage, food, toys, you name it, she had it all. Though it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Show business could be brutal sometimes, Neila had to be specially trained to remain calm amist bright lights, loud noises, and curious eyes.

Suffice to say her first few months were absolutely terrifying. Lots of scratching and attempted escape... Though Neila never meant any real harm. She eventually got in the swing of things, but it took quite a while, requiring lots of positive reinforcment (in the form of treats). Even so, she constantly carried the terrifying thought that if she had been born just a little different, no one would care about her whatsoever.

One fateful day, her cagemate, Adela, wasn't doing so well. Adela was a beautiful Russian blue rex. Apparently, her showing didn't go very well.

"S-She said this w-would be my last show" Adela stuttered between sobs.

"What? That's ridiculous" a rat from the small group replied, flicking her tail slightly.

"It's true, I heard the human say something about her not being show material anymore, something about... Personality?" another rat muttered, more interested in filing her claws than the conversation.

"PERSONALITY?!" Adela hissed, her whiskers twitching furiously.

"It's alright Adela, retirement isn't all bad, I mean you get to play and sleep all day" Neila reassured, trying to calm Adela down.

Adela's attention was immediately turned towards Neila.

"Oh is that right? And just how would YOU know?! You've always been the humans favorite, Neila, you've gotten EVERY LITTLE THING YOU'VE EVER WANTED!! YOU have NO RIGHT to talk to ME about retirement!"

Before Neila had time to respond, Adela pounced. Instinctively, Neila attempted to lung out of the way but wasn't successful. Adela dug her teeth into Neila's forehead, ripping through the skin as she was pushed away. Neila let out a loud squeak, alerting the human, who rushed over. But it was too late, the damage was done. Neila was left with a bloody forehead as Adela stood there, with blood dripping down her snout, glaring.

Adela was never seen by her cage mates again. Neila's head was able to heal quite well and thankfully wasn't infected. However, although the wound healed, fur never grew back in that area, leaving a bald spot. Consequently, Adela's carrier wasn't the only one that ended that day.

Neila's life was turned upside down. She was now the laughing stock of the rat room. No longer the "favorite", her special perks were no more. She never got to participate in another show, and she was moved to a different cage with all the other retired rats. Even there, she was an outsider.

One day, the human took Neila's cage inhabitants outside to free roam. They were allowed to free roam outside as they were no longer participating in shows, as such the human didn't monitor every little thing they did and every place they went. At the garden, Neila found a particularly interesting flower. Intrigued, she picked it and placed it over her bald spot. The flower covered it up nicely, and almost made her look like her old self again. Beaming, she decided to keep this flower with her, and still has it to this day, to cover up the shame of her past.

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