Perhaps what you were doing was an act slightly better than you thought. The state in which some ghouls were... it was simply pathetic.

You were here with the intention to buy a ghoul... or perhaps ghouls. You weren't so sure yet how many you'd bring home. The man in charge of this place was showing you around, showing you their best ghouls yet also their most expensive ones. You currently walked down a hallway with air ghouls on the right side and waters on the left. Each ghoul was caged in elements order... if the ghoul was multi, they based themselves off of their dominant element.

"See this here is Cirrus, air but also ice, and the little one in the corner is Cumulus. They're soulmates, so if you buy one you have to get the other." The man said, gesturing at a cage where two air ghoulettes were muzzled and chained, neither of them meeting your gaze.

Cumulus was desperately trying to find sleep, her eyes tightly closed as she lay in the corner, her small wings not doing much to keep her warm as she tried to wrap them around her body. Cirrus was as far as she could be, her chains restraining her from cuddling with her mate... but she was trying, reaching out and caressing her hand as she lay with her chin to the ground.

The fact that they had to stay together probably caused lots of buyers to pass them... two ghouls was a lot of trouble, especially soulmates.

"Here we have Zephyr." He said before a snarling air ghoul suddenly lunged at the bar and tried to claw at the seller, but with the chains holding him back, he couldn't do much. "Feral." The man stated before continuing to walk...

"This is Rain." He added, stopping by a cage and slamming his fist against the bars so the terrified water ghoul would turn and look at you and the potential buyer, chains rattling as he moved. His wide blue eyes darted between you and the seller, his body trembling like a leaf. He seemed... dehydrated? "Moving on."

"Lake, Chain, and Mist." He gestured at each ghoul as he named them. This trio of water ghoul each seemed asleep in their respective cages... oh wait. No, Mist wasn't sleeping, but she wasn't moving much. Poor thing, she seemed starved.

Continuing the little visit, you entered a hallway with the earth and quintessence ghouls. "Here there's Aether..." There was a quintessence ghoul, unmoving and staring blankly at the wall, a rotting meal left untouched and uneaten in the corner.

"... Omega..." There was a relatively big ghoul pacing in his cage, growling at the sound of the seller pronouncing his name. Did they not take care of him? His claws needed a good trim on both his hands and feet.

"...Phantom..." A younger looking ghoul was grasping the bars, whining and looking at you with big hopeful eyes. He had some unusual features! A bat ghoul, how interesting...

"...and on this side, Mountain. Tall, scary guy." The man said as you passed by an earth ghoul's cage. Mountain watched you walk by and huffed, one of his antlers broken from headbutting the bars too much while trying to break free. The broken half lay on the cold ground with bite marks, as if Mountain had chewed on it. How stressed were those poor beasts?

"And this beauty here is Aurora, triple element. She's quite a brat though." A small earth-dominant elemental ghoulette, air and quintessence the other two elements, stood in the complete back of her cage, her tail between her legs and ears pinned back. She didn't seem like a brat... more afraid than anything.

Finally, you entered the shadow and fire ghoul hallway. Phew, it was pretty hot in here...

"Here we have Sodo. He's- hey!" Sodo was playing with fire once more, bright flames at the tip of his finger... the man reached out through the bars to roughly grasp Sodo by the muzzle, making the fire ghoul whimper as he was forced to look at them and you, the potential buyer. "Don't make me put you in the freezer room again!" He threatened before letting go of the ghoul and standing straight again.

Clearing his throat, the man continued. "He used to be a water ghoul, so as a fire ghoul with a few water ghoul features and needs, he needs extra care... also has a hell of a temper. They keep returning him." He said, glaring at Sodo for a moment longer before you continued.

"This one's Alpha. Don't let his name fool you, he ain't much of an alpha to me" The seller laughed cruelly, leaning forward and watching as the big fire ghoul cowered away and growled.

You kept walking and the man stopped by the last ghoul who he considered worthy for you to buy.

"Finally, this one here is Swiss... ugh, where is that fucker again?" The man grumbled under his breath, pulling out a flashlight and lighting up the cage until a certain multi ghoul appeared out of thin air, hissed and backed away in a corner.

"He's a multi ghoul, shadow dominant, second element fire. He hides in the shadows a lot, easy to lose from sight. But I guess you're up for a challenge, huh?" The man looked back at you, ignoring Swiss's growls and hisses, directed at him.

"Who will it be, dear client?" He waited for your answer...