"Disgusting." That was the first word Freak ever heard. Even at the delicate young age of just one week old he knew he was different from everyone else. He was not a normal, healthy, loved kitten - no was not, nor would he ever be. His owner made sure to let him know that instead, he would forever be labeled a freak, a waste of space that nobody wanted, a sickly little runt who killed all his littermates with his very existence within his mothers womb, and a mouth that wasn't worth feeding. A kitten that was an ugly, messy, obnoxious freak and a waste of his owners good time. A freak who wasn't even worthy of a proper name, let alone a warm bed and a dry home.
No, Freak had never deserved these things, so it made sense that as soon as he was one month old what little he did get was taken from him. At first, he'd thought things had changed - that perhaps he'd accidentally did something to become 'good' and was now worth something. His owner had given him a nice soft collar to wear, and it even had a tag with his name on it! And he'd given him a nice soft food that tasted so much better than those dry scratchy pellets, hell he'd even let him sleep in that nice comfy box instead of that cold metal cage! But he had soon realized that thinking such feckless thoughts had been a foolish move, as the moment he shut his eyes that night his owner had carried him out to the car, driving him a few miles before dropping him and his box off at the dump, expecting him to simply die of starvation or perhaps even be killed by a passing human or eaten by a wild animal.
Instead, Freak had woken up at noon, stomach rumbling noiselessly in discomfort from within the confines of his small frail body, and he'd realized with a pang of sadness, terror, and pain that he was no longer 'home' in his little metal cage on the dryer of his owner's dryer. No, Freak was stranded someplace new, someplace that was so very foreign and terrifying to him. After that first cursory glance outside of his new card board home, he'd immediately pulled himself back in, retreating into his own mind as sheer panic overwhelmed his senses. For the first time since he was two weeks old - the first time he had first been left without food for more than a day - he allowed himself to cry, half expecting to get kicked for doing so despite knowing his owner was no where near.
It was the next day at dawn when he next dared to peek out of the box, and it was then that he took his first steps into the outside world. Blinking his eyes against the strangely bright orb that was hanging far to high above his head - the sun, so that's what it looked like! - he would peer around nervously, his pelt and tail tip twitching frantically in terror and anxiety even as he forced his taut muscles to allow him to move forward.
One step. Two steps. Three, four five. Six - ROAR - OH GOD WHAT WAS THAT.
Barely having made it a tail length away from his new box, the loud roar of a car echoed along the other side of the fence, startling the already confused Freak and sending him scurrying back to his hiding place. Perhaps leaving was not such a good idea... but he had smelt something vaguely delicious outside, if only he could venture out long enough to find it, perhaps he could eat it and hide away for another day - venture out again when the world turned silent and dark with nightfall.
After waiting a few minutes, Freak hesitantly peered out of his box, fear having left him but the nervous caution that remained ingrained into his mind was still showing, as his pelt twitched faintly. He'd step out into the open, just one little paw step, and he'd sniff. Another step, another sniff. Another and Another, on and on, until finally, in the semi-quite crow and talk filled air, Freak found his prize. A ripped open garbage bag with a piece of day old fish fillet with cheese. It smelled a bit strongly and a bit sour, but he had eaten worse, hell he had once eaten the sand from his litterbox when his owner hadn't fed him in four days, so a bit of an icky scent wouldn't stop him. Snatching up the thing that was nearly as large as him, the frail kitten would glance around, before dragging it back as fast as he could. After the first mouthwatering bite, he couldn't help but think, perhaps i did do something good after all.
"Speech."
