Luhan let out a soft yawn as he closed his eyes for a few moments. The hours since Daisy had left had passed way too quickly and no customers had dropped in for quite some time, so slowly, he had gotten quite bored. Even most of the animals were asleep, much to his distaste. Although he didn't get to play with them too much, he enjoyed watching them play or just simply communicate.

Obviously, this was partially because he wanted to do the same as freely as the puppies and kittens could. But he knew very well that no human could be trusted. He didn't want to be betrayed or abandoned.

Some older dogs started barking suddenly and the blond tensed, hearing the door flung open quite rapidly. He looked up, eyes widening when he saw the tall, masked man standing in the entrance. Only his dark, soulless eyes and pale, thin lips were visibly through the thick cloth that covered his face, and the smallest patch of skin on his neck. It was dirty and red, almost like it had been burnt before.

Luhan drew in a shaky breath as he watched the man walk close to him slowly, eyes set on him and nothing else. It was like the fire in those dark orbs were trying to hypnotize the smaller boy.

Yet the blonde didn't feel anything, no pull, nothing. He was scared, heart hammering against his chest rapidly, but his mind was clear as the sky on the sunniest days.

"Pretty boy," the man cooed gently, a smirk playing on his lips," I was planning to get rid of you but well, those eyes of yours are quite pretty. You do know how you can stay alive, don't you?"

Luhan shook his head slowly, flinching when thick fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"Just open the cash register and give me the money. No one will know what happened here and you will be left unharmed." Those words were supposed to be calming yet they only made Luhan more scared. The small boy shuddered as he glanced at the nearest object in his reach: his phone. He knew very well that if he wanted to ask for help somehow, he needed to distract the man but... he had no idea what to do. 

It was almost like suddenly, his mind had went blank. He only knew that he was in danger and nothing else.

"So, what do you say, pretty boy? Which do you choose, hm? You could die while protecting this place, a bullet would pierce your pretty little head just like this," the man said, his voice tainted with amusement as he shoved his gun to Luhan. The blond hadn't even noticed it before although he had known before that the robber would have some kind of weapon."Your death would be honorable, sure but I would take the money that way, too. Also, your other choice seems a bit nicer. You just tell me how to open the cash register and shuffle out of here. You can even lock the room on me, I can get out. You will be regarded as a coward, but you will still live. So what do you choose, pretty boy? Someone else's money or your own life?"

Luhan gulped. He shook his head slowly as the last words rolled of the man's tongue like poisoned honey. No, he couldn't just flee. The store meant more to him than that. The animals, too.

So, although he was scared for his own life, the small blond decided to stay. Dying seemed like a better choice than running away.

And well, he couldn't help but wonder if his life would honestly be spared if he chose to run. Robbers weren't that kind.

"Well, I did tell you that you could choose." The man shrugged, his coal-like eyes reflecting a type of dark humor Luhan had never seen before. Once again, the blond was shaking behind the counter, desperately trying to think of a way to call for help. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard from one of the cages. His eyes widened as his eyes darted there in panic, thinking that one of the animals must have escaped.

But no, everything was intact. And still, the crash was heard again, this time being paired of by a weird, rustling sound.

The man turned towards the source of sound and Luhan acted as quickly as he could. He snatched his phone, grabbing it as tightly as he could before dialing the oh-so-familiar numbers to call the police. He allowed himself to slid onto the floor, whole body being shaken by violent tremors as he thought of what could happen if he was caught. He knew very well that what he was doing was risky but he couldn't go down without trying to ask for help.

"P..please, there's a robbery in Sweet's Pets on Fourth Street, help me." He murmured into the phone, looking up see if the robber had noticed what he was doing. Fortunately, the latter was still occupied by the odd sounds that had seemed to come from nowhere."Please, he has a gun, save me..." 

Luhan never trusted people but he knew that now, he had no other choice. It was terrifying but he knew that like this, at least the store could be saved.

Just as he let his phone drop, he saw dark eyes staring at him.

"Wow, what a bad boy you are, cutie." The man chuckled. He didn't seemed fazed or shocked by how help had been called, simply amused."Now, stand up. Guess if you had called for others, we should show that I do not joke around."

Luhan obeyed although he didn't want to, his eyes filled with fear as he slowly let his body straighten up. Not much later, the gun the man had hold before was pressed against his forehead.

The cold metal's touch made him shudder and jerk back but almost immediately, he was pulled back by a rough, glove-clad hand.

The next moment, many things happened at the first time. Luhan heard the gunshot but didn't feel any pain even if his body was carelessly tossed back into the tall wall. A low growl echoed in the room as a tall figure emerged from seemingly nowhere.

"Touch him again and you won't see the daylight again." The deep voice made Luhan flinch back in fear. It was filled with the need to kill, to destroy and it was somehow much more intimidating than the robber's had been.

"Tch, what do you want, brat?" The man asked.

The last thing Luhan could see was something flying towards his head at a rapid place. He heard the newcomer yell something, probably 'no' and then, everything turned black.

He didn't even feel any pain.