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inu-jiru · 4 years

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Tomoe, The Eastern Tigress - Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve - The Courage of Two Fathers

Jet and Missile, while their deaths had been brutal, had been fortunate enough to die decently quickly. They’d felt pain, there was no doubt about that, but the pain lasted for a few minutes, at most. As night fell over the base, both brothers succumbed to their wounds. They were now nothing more than life-sized chew toys for the soldiers to sharpen their fangs on. Hougen watched on, a cruel grin etched onto his face as he watched the the two corpses be flung about and ripped at until they were unrecognizable as dogs. This was the distraction John had used to sneak into the hut.

Hiro and the other loyalists waited nearby, hiding themselves in the woods. Watching the hut, they saw the Shepherd emerge with Reika, both of them slipping away into the undergrowth, Hougen and his lackeys being none the wiser. Gin and Julius, meanwhile, snuck out of the shed, the Akita leaning onto the younger male for support. They began their descent down the mountain trail, hoping to get as much distance between themselves and Hougen’s base as possible. The plan was to rendezvous in Shiga, which wasn’t far from the Alps.

Meeting with each other in the woods, John, Reika, Hiro, and Hook’s three comrades began making a run for it. Hiro took a glance at the young female, getting a good look at her face. The skin around her eye was swollen, and dried blood came from her nose. He could hear her wince with each step she took, making it obvious that she had other injuries that he couldn’t see. A blazing fury coursed through the Pyrenees’ body.

I’ll make you pay for hurting her, bastard… Hiro thought fiercely.

“General,” Reika called to John. “I don’t see Gin anywhere. We didn’t leave him behind, did we?”

“Of course not,” replied the Shepherd. “He’s meeting us in Shiga. There’s someone there who’ll be able to hide us and heal us up.”

“I see…” The Akita mix furrowed her brow, clearly still worried. There was nothing she could really do about it, though. She’d much rather trust in the words of her comrades than spend another second with that tyrant.

“He’ll be alright,” said Hiro softly, as if reading the bitch’s mind. “That guy’s a legend. Legends don’t die easily.” Reika looked up at him, flashing him a thankful grin. Hiro felt his heart flutter.

Back at Hougen’s base, the mutilation of Jet and Missile’s bodies had come to an end. Hougen yawned, showing his boredom. Standing, he turned towards his hut, calling back over his shoulder:

“Enough, you morons. Get back to your posts, and one of you, get me something to eat.”

“SIR!” came his army’s mighty reply. As the soldiers scattered, returning to their duties, Hougen slid open the door to his hut, stepping inside. He expected to see Reika pressing herself into her corner, shivering at the sight of him. However, upon seeing the corner, and by extension, the rest of the single-roomed hut empty, Hougen stopped cold. His eyes swept across the room; perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him.

No. Reika was definitely gone.

“How the fuck…?” he pondered, his muzzle wrinkling in anger. It was then that he noticed a familiar scent. Someone else had entered the hut while he wasn’t looking, and that someone was John. Immediately, Hougen’s eyes grew bloodshot, rage boiling within his evil body.

“The prisoners have escaped!” the yell of a soldier filled Hougen’s ears. “Gin, John, the fatass...they’re gone!”

“HRAH!” Hougen boomed, returning outside. His paws slammed against the wooden steps, nearly shattering them in his fit of rage. “Where are they!? I’ll tear their fucking throats out!”

“That way…!” Hook responded, pointing his muzzle in the direction Gin and Julius had gone. “I think I smelled Gin’s scent that way!”

“After them!” Hougen’s roaring voice echoed through the woods. “Hunt them down and slaughter them all! Don’t leave a single one of them alive!”

Hook held his head down, blending in with the crowd of charge who charged in the direction he’d pointed out. He followed from behind, having no intention of harming his allies, but not wanting to out himself as an Ohu loyalist.

Boss! Julius! Please get away quickly!

Hougen followed behind his soldiers, his tongue running along his jowls. Tonight, his fangs would be covered in Gin’s blood. The Ohu legend would end, and he’d make sure of it.

The blizzard picked back up when Weed’s group reached the mountain’s peak. A shelter, abandoned to the elements, made for an available shelter to spend the night. Everyone gathered inside, huddling together in order to get warm.

“Rocket,” Weed began as he pressed himself into GB’s long coat. “You said you knew where we could find allies, right? What kind of dogs did you have in mind?”

“I’ve heard about a male who lives not far from these Alps,” Rocket replied. “A one year old named Kyoushiro Shirogane. He’s young, but he’s got at least fifty dogs under his command.”

“A one year old?” echoed Ken, cocking his brow. “Isn’t that a little young to be a leader?”

“Ahem,” Tomoe cleared her throat. Ken looked at her, his eyes widening as he realised what he was saying. His own General was the same age as this Kyoushiro fellow.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that, little sis,” the Dane began with an awkward grin.

“Sure,” Tomoe replied, smirking. Beside her, Kagetora snickered.

“It’s not just Kyoushiro who’s young,” Rocket continued. “All of his dogs are barely as old as he is, but they’re all fierce fighters. That Kyoushiro’s an especially brutal guy. He’s definitely someone you want to have on your side and not on the enemy’s.”

“Kyoushiro Shirogane…” Weed murmured the name, testing it on his tongue. “He sounds like someone worth meeting. Where is he, Rocket?”

“He owns territory in Shiga,” Rocket informed. Ken, Kagetora and Tomoe immediately perked.

“Shiga?” said Tomoe. “That shouldn’t be too far from Tesshin’s territory!”

“Right,” agreed Kagetora, nodding. “Weed, we shouldn’t forget to stop by and ask him for help, too.”

“Of course,” the young brindle murmured. “Alright, everyone. Get some rest; we set off for Shiga in the morning.”

Julius raced along the edge of the mountain stream, Gin resting on his back. In order to preserve his energy, Julius had offered to carry the Boss dog, to which Gin had agreed. Even with the weight of another adult male on his back, traveling was much faster than before. Far behind them, Hougen’s army continued following the scents and tracks. They’d noticed that Gin’s scent and pawprints had faded, but his unknown companion’s still remained.

“I don’t get it,” a dog barked to his nearby ally. “Is Gin even still this way?”

“Use your head, dumbass,” the other male snorted. “He’s being carried by some other guy. If anything, we should be wondering where those other bastards are. We haven’t smelled them at all.”

The small conversation was overheard by Hougen. For a while, he’d been running on the fury he’d felt from being made into a fool by what should’ve been his prisoners. Now that he’d calmed down, he’d began to realize that he, too, hadn’t picked up any other scents. Skidding to a stop, a new anger filled the Great Dane’s body. Gin might’ve been heading in this direction, but John, Reika and Hiro certainly weren’t. He stopped.

“Oi! Half of you idiots come here! The rest of you, keep looking for that bastard!”

As Hougen demanded, the army split in two, the soldiers near the rear returning to their leader. Hook remained among them.

“Something’s not right,” growled Hougen as his minions stood before him. “That bastard Gin sent John and the others another way. Go and find them!”

“But sir…!” a male whimpered, a husky soldier known as Matsu. “How would we know which way they’ve gone?”

“Use your brain, you fool,” the Dane snapped impatiently. “Gin and whoever’s helping him chose this path because the snow covers whatever tracks are on it. John’s group would be doing the same thing. Take the eastern path; I have no doubt in my mind that’s where they are.”

Shit! Hook’s heart began to race. This wasn’t supposed to happen...I have to warn John and the others!

“Come on!” Matsu called out, leading the charge into the woods. “We’ll cut through here! Let’s find and kill those bastards!”

Hook joined Matsu’s group, remaining far in the back so that no one would notice what he was about to do. He slipped into the undergrowth, putting on an extra burst of speed so that he could, hopefully, beat Hougen’s soldiers there. Fortunately, the trees of the woods made running a lot easier. Before too long, Hook could hear the trickling of the stream. He’d made it! Emerging from the woods, Hook traveled alongside the small body of water, keeping an eye out for his comrades. He soon saw them walking together across the stream.

“General!” Hook howled to them. They all looked up, seeing the Labrador mix calling to them.

“Hook!” John yelled back. “What’s going on!?”

“Hougen figured out that you and Gin split up,” Hook explained quickly. “He sent a group of dogs this way! You have to find somewhere to hide, quick!”

“Damn it…” one of Hook’s allies said, looking back the way they came from. “With the General’s injuries, it wouldn’t be wise to run…”

“What do we do?” asked Reika nervously. “Can’t we go in some other direction to throw them off?”

“It won’t be that simple,” said John with a low voice. He suddenly stopped, his paws planted firmly in the snow. “Tch...I was afraid it’d come to this…”

“John?” Hiro began, turning to the Shepherd.

“If all of us go another direction, they’ll just follow our tracks,” John explained himself. “We’ll need to split up again. I’ll keep following the stream; the rest of you go to the west. Aside from Gin, Hougen on really wants me dead.”

“You can’t possibly think of going alone,” Hiro argued, his fur standing on end just at the thought of leaving the aging male like that. “I’ll stay too!”

“No, Hiro.” John looked at the Great Pyrenees, staring straight into his eyes. “You said you wanted to help Reika, didn’t you?”

“Uh…? John…”

“Well, this is your chance. Take her west and loop back around towards Shiga. Not even Hougen is that desperate enough for blood that he’d send troops that way.”

“Hougen’s dogs will kill you, General…” Reika whispered softly. Her eyes began to glisten with tears. “Please, you have to come with us…”

“I was one of the dogs who helped bring down Akakabuto long ago,” John said fiercely. “I wouldn’t be Ohu’s General if I was just gonna roll over and die to Hougen’s gang of clowns. I won’t die.”

“Promise me,” Hiro barked. “Promise that you won’t die, and I’ll do what you tell me. If you don’t, then I’m not moving an inch.”

“Tsk…” John scoffed. He padded forward, lowering himself into a fighting stance. “If that’s the way you wanna be, youngster...Fine. I won’t die, and that’s a promise. I swear on the name of Riki.”

Both males stared at each other in silence. Across the way, Hook watched the conversation, fidgeting worriedly. Why weren’t they moving already!? Matsu’s group would’ve probably made it to that side of the stream already! With a long and heavy sigh, Hiro nodded.

“Alright,” the Pyrenees said. “I promise to bring Reika to Shiga.”

“I’ll be praying for you, sir,” Reika added, bowing her head to the Shepherd. She then looked up at Hiro. “I’m ready…”

With that, Hiro and Reika began running west, leaving John behind with the three loyalists. John turned to them, cocking a brow.

“What are you three still doing here?” he demanded. “Hurry up and go with them.”

“No sir,” barked the black mongrel from before. “We wish to stay with you.”

“I don’t plan on running,” John warned. “If you three stay here, this could be the end for you.”

“We don’t mind that,” the second loyalist, a Kishu, responded plainly.

“Mmph.” John looked at the three males standing before him, a sense of respect building within him. He nodded his approval. “Tell me your names. I wanna know who’s gonna be helping me drag these bastards to Hell.”

“I’m Lefty,” said the black mongrel.

“I’m Tommy,” barked the Kishu.

“The name’s Rossi,” the last male, a spotted mongrel, replied. “At your service.”

“Heh, glad to make your acquaintance, boys.”

“Over here!” a voice yelled from further up the path. Matsu and his group had found them. Looking up, John could see what had to be twenty dogs, maybe more, darting towards them. “They realized that they couldn’t get away! Ha! Let’s tear them apart!”

Lefty, Tommy and Rossi joined John’s side, facing their enemy as one. If they were to die, then they would die with no regrets. Hook’s eyes were glued to the scene, his body quaking with terror. Was this it!? Were his friends really about to die before his eyes!?

“Guh!” Julius grunted, stumbling as his paw hit a rock buried in the snow. Gin gasped as he felt himself lurch forward. He was flung from the youngster’s back, landing in the snow with a groan. Recovering quickly, Julius rushed to the Akita’s aid. “Gin! Shit, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Gin promised, pushing himself onto his paws. “I can’t let you keep carrying me like this; we have to come up with something else.”

“There’s not enough time,” said Julius, looking over his shoulder. He could see Hougen’s dogs yet, but he could hear them; they were close. “C’mon, Boss; hurry and climb on!”

“I won’t be fast enough…” Gin turned in the direction of Hougen’s army. “But I can take advantage of this.”

“Boss…?”

“I’ll use my Battouga as soon as they round that bend,” Gin told his comrade. “I can take out a number of Hougen’s dogs in one fell swoop. I’ll need you to help me get away after that. We can use the river to get us down the mountain faster. Can you do that for me?”

Julius hesitated. There were a number of ways this plan could go wrong. But what other choice did they have…? The young Shepherd took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. Gin nodded as well, and both males stood together, watching as Hougen’s army appeared around the corner. The Great Dane was at the rear, his eyes glinting with a sick satisfaction upon seeing Gin.

“There’s the fool!” Hougen growled. “Hurry up and rip him apart!”

“Gin…” Julius whispered, his heart pounding. “It’s now or never…!”

“Just a second…” Gin replied quietly. “I want to line this up perfectly. If I can take out Hougen as well, all of this could be over.”

Gin took in a sharp breath, his body tensing in preparation. The drumming of paws against the snow gradually faded away as Gin’s mind slipped from reality. As the chilly air bit at the wounds in his body, he remembered that long night five years ago. He remembered the words of his father, Riki:

Do it, Gin! Now!

“HIYA!” Gin shouted, launching himself into the air. His body began rotating forward into a disk-like shape. The moon glistened off his silver fur, making him seem almost like a blazing star shooting directly at Hougen’s soldiers. The approaching dogs stopped, seeing the spinning form drawing near. Even Hougen himself froze in place.

“What…?” The Dane murmured, his eyes widening. “What the hell…!?”

GUOOOO!

GYAHHH!

HYAHHHH!

Screams filled the air as the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga made contact, slicing through bodies like a circular saw. Blood spattered all over the snow, the bloody, squirming halves of dogs falling over. In a platoon of what had to be at least fifty dogs, more than half were cut down in this single attack. Hougen watched, still frozen in shock, as Gin sped towards him. The Dane had to do something’ if he stayed where he was, he’d be killed…! His eyes darted madly, sweat dripped from his fur, and for the first time in his life, Hougen felt genuine terror. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, Hougen dove to the side.

SLICE!

“GRAAAAAH!” Hougen screamed, feeling a searing pain in his right hind leg. Landing in the snow, he quickly turned around to see how badly he’d been hit. His heart stopped when he saw his dismembered leg lying a few inches away. Gin had sliced it off.

In the following chaos, Hougen’s remaining dogs backed away from their slaim comrades, lowering themselves onto their bellies in fear of being killed next. Julius took this chance to carry out Gin’s orders. Cutting through the dead bodies, the Shepherd reached Gin, who’d managed to land on his feet not far from the carnage. He wasn’t completely fine, however; Julius could see his legs quivering, threatening to buckle out from underneath him. Quickly, Julius lowered himself, allowing Gin to climb onto his back. The youngster ran, making a break for the river.

“I-Idiots…!” Hougen, shaking himself from his shock, shouted at his minions. He tried getting up, forcing himself to try and adjust to his injury. He staggered a bit, unsteady on his feet. “Hurry up and follow them! They’re getting away!”

“Lord Hougen…!” a concerned soldier barked, approaching the Great Dane. “Are you alright!?” Hougen responded with a rage-filled growl, his head diving down and catching the unfortunate goon in his jaws. Hougen threw him in the direction Julius had run.

“I said go, you brain-dead buffoons! Hurry, before they--!”

SPLASH!

Julius had thrown himself and Gin into the river, as ordered. The current caught them quickly, sweeping them away from the scene. The water was so cold; it chilled Julius deep to his bones. Yet, he hung tight to his leader, refusing to let him go. Pushing with his hind legs, the young male hoisted himself up, allowing his and Gin’s head above the water’s surface. Gin gasped for breath.

“Y-You alright, Boss!?” asked Julius, shivering.

“F-Fine…” the Akita replied. Julius could hear the chattering of the older male’s teeth as he spoke. “Just keep your eyes open and endure the cold. We’ll be at the bottom of the mountain soon.”

“Yes, sir.”

Back on the trail, Hougen stood where he was, staring after the escaped males. The dogs around him were silent, watching him carefully. The tyrant had failed. Failure was something that a dog as arrogant as Hougen could not tolerate. Lifting his head, Hougen howled his fury to the heavens.

“This isn’t over, Gin!” he boomed. “One of these days, I’ll tear you apart with my own fangs, and nothing will stop me from taking Gajou! You hear me!? NOTHING!”

The battle between John’s small posse and Matsu’s platoon had begun. John leapt forward, tearing off the Husky’s ear in a single movement. Even with his injured body, his fangs were still powerful weapons in combat. Again and again, John pounced at his enemies, slashing throats and snapping necks. Tommy, Lefty and Rossi were no pushovers either. The four males took down dogs one by one.

“Hrah!” John shouted, his weariness and anger being heard by all. A forepaw slammed into the snow as the male tried stepping forward. John’s lungs were on fire, and his pelt was slick with sweat.

“Don’t give up, General!” called Rossi, pinning down an enemy.

The bastard’s close to death!” said Matsu, feeling triumphant despite his own injury. “Get him!”

The battle continued as the platoon swarmed the four fighters. Lefty found himself caught by the fangs of several dogs. He was pushed down onto his back and held in place.

“Lefty!” cried Tommy in alarm. Matsu snickered, smirking as he approached the black mongrel.

“Lefty…! Left--!” John had also tried to call to his ally, but a sharp pain in his flank stopped him. Eyes widening, the Shepherd choked back the wail of pain that threatened to escape his maw. Things were going downhill, and fast. Matsu, meanwhile, set his fangs on Lefty’s throat.

“You filthy traitor…” the Husky spat in disgust. “Ohu’s old news. Why would you wanna switch to their side?”

“I never switched,” Lefty shot back defiantly. “I was always loyal to Ohu, to Gin! Nothing you say or do will ever change that!”

“Well said, Lefty…!” said Rossi, struggling as males began piling on top of him, dragging him down the same way they did the black male.

“Rossi!” John cried. Hearing Tommy’s shouts, John looked to see that Tommy was also being overpowered. “Shit! Tommy! These goddamn cowards…! Can’t fight on their own so they have to pull this crap!”

“You fools…” hissed Matsu. “This is what happens when you side against Hougen! Die!” The Husky bit into Lefty’s neck, giving him barely anything to scream before he tore out his throat. Lefty gurgled and gagged, before falling still.

“You son of a bitch!” John howled with rage, tears flowing freely at the loss of his new friend. However, the surrounding dogs attacked him quickly, tearing into his wounds and spilling fresh blood. John struggled, biting and kicking whenever he could, but the numbers against him were far too great. Had he been at a hundred percept, these dogs would be pushovers. As mangled as his body was, however, John began fearing the worst. Rossi and Tommy’s screams echoed in his ears as they were swiftly torn into.

“Damn you…!” John sobbed, still desperately trying to escape the jaws of his captors. His head raised, his voice being carried by the wind.

“DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!”

#ginga densetsu weed #ginga densetsu weed fanfiction

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elleberquist6 · 6 years

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Believe in Me - chapter one

Summary: Dan Howell is living at home while he’s saving money for college, which isn’t easy since his parents don’t understand him. Unlike them, he loves dogs, is a vegetarian, has no interest in the family business, and he despises the supernatural. He struggles to accept things that are illogical, even though he is a kitsune. Kitsune are foxes whose powers involve the ability to cast illusions, but Dan just wants to be normal. Phil Lester has just moved to London, where he works as a dog walker. When his path crosses with Dan, Phil is eager to get to know him. Unfortunately, Phil soon finds that being friends with Dan is far more complicated than he could have imagined.

Rating: Mature Word Count: 2618 Warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Smut

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Kitsune fact: Kitsune tend to live in families, and work together as much as possible. Lone kitsune tend to try and make families. Even myobu prefer to drive away nogitsune, instead of killing them. [https://littlespacefox.weebly.com/kitsune-mythology.html]

2011 – London

Phil Lester woke up that morning, convinced that today was going to be the best day of his life. He didn’t have a job when he moved to London recently, and he had taken a small apartment while he searched for employment. The apartment didn’t allow pets, so when he saw a job opening with a dog walking agency, it seemed like a perfect fit – if he couldn’t have his own dog, he could spend the day with other people’s dogs.

Admittedly, he was a bit intimidated by the mental image he had of a dog walker being towed by the leashes of 6 or more dogs (he fell down often enough when he wasn’t being dragged by dogs), but his interview went well with the agency and they told him that he would be started on a trial basis with only one client – a Rottweiler.

The next day, he was happy to find that his client’s home was walking distance from his apartment. A smiling woman in her 40s answered the door. “You must be Phil! I’m Hannah. Come in and I’ll introduce you to Rotty.”

Phil grinned. “Your Rottweiler’s name is Rotty? I like it.”

“Yes, it’s short for Rotten. He’s a bit of a problem child, which is why I’m here to make sure that you two get along. He needs a firm hand. Someone who can show him who is in charge so he behaves himself.”

Phil was beginning to feel a bit out of his depth. He was prepared to give the dog some exercise, but he knew nothing about obedience training. Then Phil relaxed a bit when he met the dog, who was sitting on a bed, chewing on a rawhide toy. The dog looked up at Phil, slobber dripping from his lips, and Phil felt his heart melt. He knelt before the bed and he let the dog sniff his hand, ignoring the drool. Finally, the dog gave his hand a lick.

The owner, who was watching the exchange, cooed in delight. “He likes you! So, are you ready to take him out for a while? He loves Regent’s Park.” Phil nodded, and Hannah handed him a leash to clip onto the dog’s collar. “I’m going to be around the house today if anything goes wrong. You have my number, so feel free to call me.”

Phil’s eyes widened. “Are you expecting something to go wrong?”

“No, it’s just that Rotty has a bad track record with walkers, so I like to be prepared.” She saw the alarm on Phil’s face. “He doesn’t bite! He’s a sweetheart. But he has a habit of pulling and sometimes he gets away from people. I’ve almost lost him before because some people walking him were too scared to let me know that he had gotten away from them. So, please call me if that happens and I will come help you find him.”

Phil nodded, appreciating her straightforwardness. “I hope it won’t come to that.” He looked at the dog and gave him an affectionate pat. “You won’t try to get away from me, will you?”

As they strolled around Regent’s Park, Phil gripped the leash tighter whenever the dog seemed to pay particular interest to anything around them: a squirrel scurrying up the trunk of a tree, another dog chasing a frisbee, and in particular a pond that was surrounded by ducks. The dog was remarkably well behaved though, and he never attempted to escape Phil’s grip on the leash. It made Phil give the dog a stroke to reward him, murmuring, “You’re just misunderstood, aren’t you? You’re a good boy.”

Phil started to relax and enjoy the beautiful day. It was a rare sunny day in London, and he could hardly believe that this was his life now – he was getting paid to walk through a beautiful park with a sweet dog. It was almost perfect.

The only problem was that Phil wasn’t used to walking this much, and he hadn’t realized that he was so out of shape. His legs were killing him, and he stopped when he couldn’t take it anymore, which made the dog turn to look at him. The Rottweiler’s orange eyebrow-shaped markings gave him a surprised expression which made Phil laugh. “Rotty, what do you say about taking a quick break?”

The dog didn’t object, so they walked to a bench under a tree. There was a boy sitting on one end of the bench, so Phil sat on the other end. Phil glanced at the boy and saw that he had fallen asleep in a slumped position with a book in his lap. Phil glanced at the book curiously – Game of Thrones. The boy had good taste in books.

The dog huffed a sigh and looked wistfully around the park.

“Just give me a moment, Rotty,” Phil assured the dog. He reached down to massage the cramped muscles in his calves through his black skinny jeans. While he did this, he found himself glancing at the sleeping boy again. He was around Phil’s age, maybe a couple years younger. Something about his face kept drawing Phil’s attention. Well, not something. It was obvious that the boy was lovely. The long dark lashes of his closed eyes were splayed across his cheeks. His lightly tanned skin was speckled with the occasional freckle. His brown curly hair was shifted by a passing breeze.

Phil returned his attention to Rotty, preparing to tell him that it was time to go, but the dog wasn’t in front of him anymore. Then he saw that the dog was sniffing industriously at the paperback copy of Game of Thrones in the boy’s lap. “Rotty, no!” He hissed in a whisper, tugging lightly on the leash. “You’ll wake him up. Leave it, it’s not yours.”

The dog was ignoring him. He had stopped sniffing the book and was now sniffing at the boy under the book; he was sniffing with such intensity that Phil suspected the boy might have dog biscuits in his pockets. The dog continued to investigate the boy, completely ignoring Phil as his pleading rose in pitch from a terse whisper to shrill commands. It was no surprise when the boy woke up with Rotty now sniffing the front of his black t-shirt. The boy blinked a few times in surprise, looking between the dog and Phil. Then they were both looking at Rotty as the dog went completely still, except for his sides which were vibrating with a growl.

Phil tried to put some authority in his voice as he tightened his grip on the leash. “Rotty, what are you doing?” The dog was baring his teeth. Phil pulled the leash forcefully, but the dog didn’t move an inch – he was strong. Phil looked at the boy. “I… I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Have you got food or something in your pockets? Maybe he wants you to give it to him?”

The boy shook his head slightly. He was stiff with terror.

“Okay,” Phil’s brain was whirring. This could go very badly in the next moment if he wasn’t careful. He knew that this breed of dog had a very nasty bite. Phil stood up and planted both feet firmly on the ground behind the dog. He gripped the leash as tight as he could with both hands. “Alright, I’ve got him. Can you slide off the bench and get away from him? I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s got him like this.”

“I do,” the boy said, but he didn’t stop to explain. He scrambled off the bench and out of reach of the dog’s bite, but instead of running he turned to look back at Phil. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something. Then his eyes went wide as Rotty lunged for him. Phil saw nothing but pavement as the powerful dog pulled him over.

Phil lay still for a moment, stunned by the sensation of having the breath knocked painfully out of his chest by the fall. As he started breathing again, he heard the sound of a dog barking. Phil looked up to see the boy scrambling into the tree behind the bench while Rotty ran circles around the trunk. Slobber was trailing from his jowls as he barked menacingly. Phil got to his feet. “Rotty! Hey, Rotten. Stop. Heel! You have been a very bad dog. You hear me? Bad dog!”

Rotty stopped running to look at him with sad eyes. His ears pressed against his head and he gave a soft whimper. Then he sprinted away. Before Phil could call the dog or even see where he was running, there was a shout as the boy fell out of the tree, landing face-first in the grass where the dog had been standing a moment before. Phil heard the boy grunt in pain, so he sprinted to his side.

“Hey, are you okay?” He knelt beside him and rested a hand on the boy’s back.

He shifted under Phil’s hand and then got to his knees. His left arm was hanging limply at his side and he hissed in pain as he held it against his body with his right hand. The boy shook his head in answer to Phil’s question. “No, I’m not okay. Something is wrong with my arm.”

“It’s okay. There’s a hospital not far from here. I’ll take you there.” He tried to infuse his words with calmness, though he was freaking out.

The boy looked around, and Phil couldn’t help noticing how pretty his eyes were – brown, but not a boring shade. They reminded him of hot chocolate, the real kind of hot chocolate that you have to warm up on the stove. The eyes shifted to Phil’s face. “Where is your dog?”

“He’s not mine. I don’t know where he is. He ran off right before you fell.”

Phil thought the boy had asked because he was worried that the dog was going to attack him again, but the boy’s eyes widened in alarm. “You have to find him. You can’t leave him here. He’ll find the road, wander into it, and get hit by a car.”

“Okay, I’ll find him, and then we’ll go to the A&E. Don’t try to go anywhere. I’ll be back in a minute.” He gave the boy’s uninjured arm what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. Then Phil stood up and looked around. He was grateful to spot Rotty in the distance, and he started running towards the dog. Rotty was happily sniffing at a German Shepherd – the dogs were spinning in circles while both trying to sniff each other at the same time – and the German Shepherd’s owner was watching with a bemused expression on her face. Before Rotty even knew Phil was there, he had picked up the leash that was trailing on the ground behind him. He waved in farewell to the owner of the other dog and started leading Rotty back to the injured boy.

“Don’t run off like that again, please.” The dog looked up at him, and he could tell from his eyes that the dog hadn’t forgotten how Phil shouted at him. Phil sighed as he fished his phone out of his pocket. “I’m sorry I shouted at you. Just behave, okay? Let’s see if your mum can pick you up.”

“Hello?” Hannah answered the call. “Phil?”

“Yes, it’s me. Something happened.” He quickly explained the situation to her.

“Oh my God, he’s going to sue me.” Hannah gasped.

“I hope it won’t come to that. Could you come get Rotty so I can take him to the hospital? Sorry about all this.” He was trying to balance his phone between his shoulder and his cheek while he tied Rotty’s leash to the bench where this all had started.

“Yes, I’m about a 10-minute walk from the park. I’m coming. Where exactly are you?” He could hear things clattering on Hannah’s end of the call, and it sounded like she was hastily tossing objects into her purse.

He looked around and described his location in relation to a bridge and the nearby duck pond, and then he hung up with Hannah’s assurance that she would be there soon. Rotty was stretched out on the pavement, ready to take a nap after his exploits, and then Phil looked at the boy. His back was resting against the tree now and his eyes were closed. Phil would believe that he had fallen asleep again if he weren’t holding his body so stiffly, like he was afraid that any movement would cause him pain.

Phil walked over and sat in the grass beside him. The boy’s eyes opened. He glanced at the dog and then at Phil. “He’s tied up,” Phil said. “His owner is coming to get him. She’ll be here soon. Thanks for telling me to find him before we left.”

The boy nodded. “Of course. I’d never forgive myself if he got hurt because you’d left him here alone.” He smiled, and he had a dimple in his cheek that made Phil’s stomach flip for some reason. “I like dogs, even though they don’t like me much.”

“I noticed.” Phil gave a slight breathy laugh, though he wasn’t exactly sure what he was laughing at. Was the boy saying that he was attacked by dogs on a regular basis? The only part of what he’d said that Phil was able to grasp was the fact that he said he liked dogs. Phil found that he was pathetically keeping a mental tally of the boy’s positive characteristics: likes dogs, check, reads Game of Thrones, check, is really nice despite the fact that he is probably in pain right now, check. Suddenly, the fact that he was gorgeous was the least interesting fact about him.

Phil gave his head a slight shake to clear it. “Seriously, how is your arm? Can you wait a few moments to get help, or do we need to go now?”

The boy glanced at his limp arm. “I think it’s dislocated. It’s not that bad until I try to move. I can wait.” He showed Phil the smashed iPhone in the palm of his right hand. “When you went to get the dog, I was going to call my parents, but it won’t even turn on. Completely broken… I must have landed on it when I fell.”

“Oh!” Phil tried to hand him his phone. “You can use mine.”

The boy tucked his broken phone into his pocket, but he didn’t take Phil’s phone. “Thanks, but I can’t remember their numbers off the top of my head. I had them all programmed into my phone.”

Phil nodded in understanding, since he couldn’t recall his own parents’ phone numbers. He opened Google on his phone, preparing to search for something. “What about work numbers? Are they at an office right now? I could look up the phone number of the business and you could call them that way.”

The boy stiffened and looked away. Phil could tell that he’d made him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t imagine why. Maybe his arm was just hurting. “No… I don’t think there’s any way to reach them. Do you mind taking me? I’m sure I’ll be fine once you drop me off.”

“I’m not just dropping you off. I’m staying until I’m sure you’re okay.”

#phandom #phanfiction #dan and phil #dan x phil #kitsune #magical realism #illusion

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krixwell-liveblogs · 6 years

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Interesting. Sharks said he’d give it to me only if I asked, and I did, so let’s take a look at this.

I did skim the top of it when he sent it to me, and I have to say, I wasn’t expecting the format.

"Well," Hagrid said. He seemed a bit put out, but he wasn't in a position to say so. "Well. I've never seen anything take to, well, anything quite so fast as Fluffy there's taken to you."

Welcome to the official Worm Hogwarts AU, it seems!

I love the idea of Rachel and Hagrid bonding over their appreciation of monstrous dogs, and Fluffy taking to Rachel.

Even with her stocky build, which was closer to Hagrid's body type than the average eleven year old's,

Hehe. Reminds me of that one Tumblr post that tried to make sense of how Hagrid was described... hang on, let me see if I can find it.

Ah yes, here it is.

(Bear in mind the smaller figure is Harry, who’s small for his age.)

Rachel struggled to keep her feet as three massive heads fought for her attention. A tongue licked the side of her head, and her hair, which had already been sticking up in virtually every direction, was left even messier.

D’aw.

"Uh huh," Rachel said. "Good boy. Boys. Whatever. You can stop now. Gotta- Unf. Gotta get to my room, or the stupid painting won't let me back in. Stupid older kids yell at me if I sleep on the stairs."

This was written before Deathly Hallows came out, right? The Ravenclaw common room doesn’t have a painting on the door, it has a knocker that asks you a riddle.

...

I imagine that would infuriate Rachel so much.

Hagrid eyed the girl's house colors dubiously.

...or maybe this was actually taken into account and Rachel is trying to pretend she’s a Gryffindor?

She reached up, scratching the beast's jowl, rubbing it against its teeth. The other heads knocked her this way and that, fighting for the same treatment. "He needs bones."

"What?" Hagrid asked, surprised.

Ahh, Hagrid’s being out-dogownered.

Yeah, sure, that’s a word.

"He needs bones!" Rachel said, very loud.

"No, lass. I'm not deaf, though I might be if you keep that up. Why are you saying he needs them?"

"His teeth are bothering him."

Chew toy!

He gave her an appreciating look, which was just about the only thing he could do, without either giving up the secret to handling Fluffy or making the girl's situation worse.

Honestly, I feel like Rachel might figure out the secret on her own.

I mean, not by accidentally playing music nearby Fluffy (not really a Rachel thing to do, it seems), just by her innate understanding of dogs.

"Aye, girl, you're right. I'm just surprised you figured it out. Hard to get anything big and strong enough for a creature like him."

"Whatever. Oof. I need to go now. Help me make him stop?"

Hagrid sighed.

Maybe the girl wouldn't figure it out.

Nah, if you actually do it in front of her she’ll notice it immediately, I think.

"Cover yer ears," he said.

She managed.

He did the usual, humming the same song he'd used to lull Fluffy to sleep when Fluffy had been just a pup.

He expected to have to explain, curious looks, or something of the sort.

Instead, the girl just collected her scattered things, wiped her spit-slick hair down, and opened the door to go.

Hah! She doesn’t care.

(Doesn’t mean she hasn’t figured it out, though.)

"Don't get so turned around again, y'hear?" Hagrid said.

Kinda sounds like this happened as she accidentally wound up in the Fluffy room and Hagrid happened to be there. Or arrive there later to find his pet being affectionate with one of the first-year students.

"Uh huh," the girl replied. "Bye Fluffy. See you soon."

Hagrid blinked a few times. By the time he processed the idea, the girl was already gone, feet clumping on stairs.

Hehe, of course she can’t stay away.

He poked his head out the door, ready to tell her not to, but his heart wasn't in it. He had his fondness for animals, and as Dumbledore had mused, the only thing that might hold an equal space in Hagrid's heart might be his desire to pass on that fondness.

Yeah, it’s absolutely something Hagrid can relate to.

He'd been a little caught off guard, seeing the girl, but talents were talents, and the House prized individuality. Little Rachel Clegane was definitely an individual.

Rachel Clegane? That’s interesting. Why would she have a different surname in this AU? Hm...

He saw her stop at a fork in the hallway.

She turned around, clearly irritated.

"I know my way around a city, or outdoors, but this stupid place is a stupid maze," she said, her voice too loud, carrying all the way to him.

Hehe, yeah, Hogwarts is kind of a terrible place for people like Rachel, who get easily annoyed by unnecessary complication. It’s not even just a stupid maze, it’s a stupid ever-changing maze.

"You want to go right, lassie," he said.

At least today.

She looked one way, then the other.

She raised one hand, counting on her fingers.

"Point," he said.

She pointed down one hallway.

Does she not know her right and left? Or are there too many ways to the right?

"Yeh," he said. "You'll find house Ravenclaw that way. Don't get turned around now."

Easier said than done.

And there’s the Ravenclaw bit. At this point, the text seems to switch to more direct commentary by Wildbow:

House Ravenclaw is defined by the element of air. Rachel is itinerant, free ranging, definitely an individual. The house favors individuality, and tends to take good care of eccentrics, of which Rachel is one, even if she's less a mad scientist eccentric and more an oddly shaped peg demanding an oddly shaped hole to fit into. She's dedicated and deeply interested when it comes to her particular pursuits.

Hm, yeah, I can get behind this. It’s a different approach to house sorting than what I was working with, but equally valid. Honestly makes more sense, really.

Houses tend to get pigeonholed, but just like Neville and Ron weren't really archetypically brave (though they came into their own with the right company), the Ravenclaws don't have to fit a bookworm archetype.

True that.

They don't all get top grades in every class, but rather, each finds their individual areas of expertise - for Luna Lovegood, it was the esoteric stuff. For Rachel, it's the care of certain magical creatures. Given a chance to grow, and the right group, she can relate the care of dogs to the care of other magical creatures, she can find her niche in the group, when the Ravenclaws gather in study groups to learn, and they gather the best students in each given area, Rachel is an automatic invite.

I’m very much liking this take on Ravenclaw House and Rachel.

How does the hat sort? It looks to the student's wishes. What does the student really need? Neville needed the right people to grow as a person and get over his deeper traumas (the loss of his parents foremost among them), while Rachel needs acceptance, with Acceptance being one of Ravenclaw's chief virtues.

Honestly, Acceptance also seems to be a Hufflepuff thing, at least if you go back to the founders. According to the Hat, each founder wanted children with specific virtues, and while Hufflepuff also had core values, she was willing to take anyone who didn’t fit in the other houses too. And while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs sort of blend together for me in my memory of the books sometimes, I seem to recall background Ravenclaws often being more judgmental? I don’t know, maybe it was the other way around.

Still, Acceptance being a Hufflepuff thing doesn’t prevent it from also being a Ravenclaw thing, and maybe it’s more in the forefront for sorting into Ravenclaw.

Anyway, yeah, I do really appreciate Wildbow’s take on it. I’ll have to keep this kind of thinking in mind for future house assignments I do.

#Worm #krixwell liveblogs #Arc 7 #Int 7 #Asks #Harry Potter

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