"SHOW US THE TRENCH RAT STABLES!"
| *cough* Well--for one thing--that's not quite what we call them. After all--we Trench Rats most certainly don't live out there. ;)
I've already told you that the "stables" (for want of a better word) are located to the north of Trench Rat Headquarters. This is the area where we keep the animals we use in order to get around. These animals are dogs and birds. The dogs are for ground missions, the birds are for aerial missions. Of course, we keep them separated in their own specific stables. What particular kinds of dogs and birds do we use? Good question. Most of the dogs we use are strong hardy breeds, medium to large in size: German shepherds, Great Danes, dogs such as that. If you ever get to go take a look at the stables, you will see we do not possess many Doberman pinschers. There's a reason behind that...mainly, we don't like associating ourselves with that particular name. I admit, a petty reason to disqualify what is otherwise a good breed of dog; but what can I say? We're not perfect, and it's not my decision to make. Besides, most of the Dobermans available in this area are already spoken for by...*ahem*...well, you know who. And birds? We use large birds of prey for our aerial missions. Hawks, eagles, owls, mainly. Sergeant Black uses a large dark hawk. Gold uses an eagle. Lance-Corporal Silver Rat has a most special bird to use. It's a barn owl which he raised himself after taking the egg from its nest. He wished for a specific, well-trained bird that he himself could trust, and since he was willing to put all that work into it, his efforts were rewarded. Of course most of us wouldn't have taken on the duty of training an OWL of all creatures, but you'd be surprised how well behaved these animals are once they're trained properly. Needless to say...keeping them all well fed has a little something to do with it. ;) The stables are called that because that's pretty much the pattern they follow. They are large buildings, mainly wood and mostly underground, for their own protection; the top section contains parts open to the outside so the animals don't feel so stifled. The roofs are sloped, like sheds. Very rough looking but functional. Inside the floors are covered with straw. The animals are kept in separate "stalls" until they are needed by their owners, when they are led out of the building up a sort of ramp to the outside. When riding, it's necessary to outfit the animals so one doesn't fall off. The equipment we use, I wouldn't call it "saddles" and "reins," but it comes close. We also have special equipment for use on "carrier" or transport animals. These are usually dogs, but can include the birds as well. Most often the equipment is a form of basket, one on each side, a strap connecting the two which is slung over the animal's back (in the case of dogs--with birds it's a bit more complicated). These baskets are used to transport prisoners and refugees that we've rescued. There are also packs for such things as food, arms, medical supplies, etc. As unusual as this sounds, often a Rat will form a "bond" with his animal of choice. I know for a fact that Silver would be most upset if something unfortunate were to befall his owl. I wouldn't blame him; when you spend so much time with these creatures and rely so much on them, it would be difficult not to feel close to them in some way! END |
THE TRENCH RATS INFORMATION
HOME