12. loss

It's a search party - Roger and Anita go in one direction, Perdita and Aerith go in another, and Pongo and Leon are sent off a third way.

Upon receiving a frantic call from the Radcliffe household, Leon and Aerith sprinted over to their dwelling, despite having the day off. Instead of a Heartless attack or a sudden death, like they'd been expected, Roger and Anita had explained in panicked voices that four of the 99 Dalmatian puppies had gone missing.

"It's Patch and Lucky," Roger said, as he shoved dog treats in his pocket. He handed a leash each to his visitors. "Penny and Freckles too, right, love?"

"Them too," she confirmed, rocking nervously on her feet. "Do find them quickly - we don't know how long they've been out."

So Leon finds himself being dragged along by this massive dog, struggling to keep pace.

"You really know what you're doing, huh?" Leon grunts as Pongo turns a sharp corner, nearly getting his leash caught on one of the bricks. Briefly, without breaking stride, Pongo turns and offers Leon a short bark in the form of an answer, and tugs more urgently. They've entered the borough now, and Leon is sorely tempted to stop in at Merlin's for a drink (because he is winded from this, although he'd never admit it). Pongo comes to a halt below the crane's resting place, looking up and barking urgently.

"Up there?"

As if answering, Pongo stands on his hind legs and scrabbles at the bricks, his calls more urgent. Suddenly, two dogs poke their heads over the edge and begin yipping back. Even at the angle, Leon can see their little tails wagging furiously.

Leon gives the leash a tug for the first time, jerking his head over towards the stairs. "C'mon, I can reach the ledge from up there. We'll have to pick them up."

The ledge is a little farther down than Leon anticipated; he's forced to lay down on his stomach and stretch to his full extent, Pongo by his side. Three of the pups are easy to pick up - the one with the horseshoe on his back (Lucky, Leon assumes - their names are pretty self-explanatory) shies away the first few times until Pongo barks at him. Not trusting them, Leon carries Lucky and Freckles in his arms, even though they struggle and are much larger than he initially expected. Penny and Patch get herded along by Pongo, and it isn't until they're safely inside the Radcliffe home does Leon give Roger a call.

"Hey, Roger," he greets amiably, sitting in one of Anita's armchairs. Several dogs are swarming around his legs (Lucky is tugging at his pant leg), and Pongo sits dutifully by his side, looking pleased. "Yeah, we got 'em. On a ledge. Pongo's happy. What a day, huh?"


a/n; so before you leave traverse town for the first time, if you talk to aerith and leon, they'll absolutely insist that you help the puppies, leon especially. i like thinking he in particular loves those lil pups, so this came out and i will not apologize.