"Sewiously?! Jeez… Not even Wocky gets that bad..."
Naturally, when a confused Zuma had arrived on the stretch of beach in his hovercraft after hearing getting the rundown of the situation from Everest, he was even more confused to see Marshall of all pups as a quaking, gibbering ball of wet fur under a beach umbrella. Through some careful movement and a lot of encouraging words, they were able to coax the soaking wet pup into Zuma's hovercraft, with the umbrella carefully lodged in so that it couldn't fall out.
Marshall was still babbling in broken fear after Zuma had managed to get him home and into the Lookout, where Everest was working to try and dry out his fur with a hairdryer from Rocky's truck. Tracker wasn't having a much easier time than Everest trying to explain the situation, even after having been there to see it.
"I still can't believe it myself, Zuma!" Tracker continued. "I mean, a pup snapping like that? Being THAT scared of water? And it being MARSHALL of all pups?! It's completely loco!"
"But I mean, it kinda makes sense..." Zuma replied, looking sadly at the pup crying frightened tears next to Everest. "...I mean, it's not wight, but I can kinda see why Mawshall's like this..."
"So you see why we need you, amigo. You're the water pup, here. If anyone can help Marshall through this, it's you."
Zuma looked less than certain. "I… I dunno, dude… I mean, if Mawshall was stuck on an island or something, I could help him out easy. But you're asking me to help him not be scawed of water anymowe. I-I wouldn't even know where to stawt! What do you think I should do?"
Tracker looked down at the floor, before giving Zuma a look of braced guilt. "...That... we don't know yet."
Zuma narrowed his gaze to an unimpressed glare. "So, I guess I'd just be able to cast some kinda spell and make evewything bettew. Nice, dude. Weal nice."
"I know, I know, lo siento… But what else are we supposed to do?"
"You tell me!"
"Por favor, Zuma… Please… We… can't just leave Marshall like this..."
Zuma looked around, before sighing and squeezing his eyes shut. "It's not that I don't wanna help..." he whined. "I just… I just have no idea what to do… I'm… I'm scawed, too..."
Tracker knew how Zuma was feeling. But then, he had the feeling that nobody would know what to do right now. The only one with any ideas in this kind of scenario would usually be Ryder, but in his current condition, he obviously wasn't going to be of any help. And that left two of the youngest pups in the team to come up with the ideas. Suffice to say, they were both feeling hopelessly out of their depth.
"Zuma… We-We'll think of something..." Tracker stammered, his voice betraying his words.
"I-I guess…" Zuma replied, sounding similarly unsure. "L-Let's just chill out… a-and take this slow."
As Zuma and Tracker whispered among each other, slowly, Marshall had quietened down and ceased shaking. He was still breathing heavily, but it seemed that Everest had successfully dried him off enough to bring him down from his fearful frenzy. Seeing this, Everest had turned the slightly-beaten hairdryer off and laid it down on the ground, slowly moving over to Marshall, making sure her still-sodden fur didn't touch him.
"You OK, now, Marshall?" Everest asked gently.
"...u-uh..." Marshall stammered. "...m-m-maybe?"
"I'm so sorry… I didn't actually think it was gonna rain… I totally forgot about the river… A-And I didn't know you hated getting wet now..."
"...n-not your fault..."
Everest let out a protracted whine of grief. It was her idea to bring Marshall on their walk, but not once did she consider rain. Nor did she consider how Marshall might feel about getting wet after nearly drowning and being lost in the woods for three days.
"...B-But… It totally is… I-I'm the reason… th-this is all happening..." Everest whined, letting a couple of tears slip out.
"...d-don't… cry…" Marshall stuttered. "I don't… b-blame you..."
"H-How?! How could you not?!"
"I think he's twying to say he knows you didn't think it'd wain. If, uh, that makes any sense."
Everest looked up with wet eyes to see Tracker and Zuma walking towards the pair of them, with Zuma at the front.
"Point is, he knows this was an accident. And that you didn't know he'd weact like that."
Everest sniffled. "I-I… guess..."
"Hey. Don't beat yourself up over it, Everest. I mean, Marshall won't." Tracker added reassuringly, walking up next to Everest and placing a paw on her back. Everest looked at Tracker, a tiny smile forming as her tears dried.
"Anyway..." Zuma went on. "...Mawshall. We've got an idea for when this wain stops. We wanna help you get past this whole 'scawed of water' thing. We don't need TWO pups who hate water, aftew all. Especially when they're our fire pup!"
Zuma waited for a few seconds, but there was no break in the heavy silence save for Marshall's laboured breathing. Zuma felt slightly defeated as his attempt to break the tension fell flat.
"Uh, ahem..." Zuma coughed. "Look, Mawshall. We wanna help you. Being scawed of water like this is SO not you. So we were thinking once this wain stops, I can spend a little time with you and help you get used to water again."
"NO!" Marshall shrieked suddenly, causing everyone to jump. "I CAN'T! I CAN'T GO NEAR WATER! PLEASE! DON'T MAKE ME DO THAT!"
"Mawshall! Hey! Hey! Easy!" Zuma cried. "This isn't like the wiver, you hear? What I'm thinking is I can bwing out the swimming pool and we'll go thwough a little… twaining, I guess?"
Marshall whimpered in fright. "I… I… can't..."
"Why not, dude?" Zuma asked sincerely.
"...nearly… d-died..."
"I know, Mawshall… But like I said, this isn't like that." Zuma leaned in closer to whisper in Marshall's ear. "I know we couldn't save you a few days ago. But this time, I'm gonna be with you all the way. It's only a swimming pool. You're gonna be completely safe in there." Zuma gently licked Marshall's cheek. "You're not alone. Never fowget that."
Marshall had fallen entirely silent. While he didn't answer Zuma, he'd at least stopped whimpering, which was as good a sign as any.
"So what do you say, Marshall?" Tracker asked. "You think you can do it?"
"Please, Marshall." Everest added. "All we want is for you to at least try."
For a long while, Marshall didn't reply. Though his breathing had started to slow to a more reasonable rate, he'd fallen entirely silent. But it was still as clear as day that, for once, their brave dalmatian was utterly terrified. Eventually, however, Marshall mustered up the courage to reply.
"...I'll try..."
Those two words proved to be enough to bring a huge smile to the faces of the three pups. Hearing those words felt surprisingly good to them all.
"That was the wight answer, Mawshall." Zuma beamed.
It felt like the rain was never going to stop at some points. But strangely, trying to soothe Marshall's shattered nerves made the time rocket by for the three pups in the Lookout. Soon, the rain had vanished altogether, leaving the ground around the Lookout slightly damp, but still very usable. The issue was trying to get Marshall to walk on it. The dalmatian acted like he was walking on hot coals the entire way to the pool that Everest had retrieved from Rocky's truck, the mix helping to inflate it to be filled with water.
Of course, with Marshall too paralysed with fear to operate his Pup Pack, Tracker had taken the initiative to grab his Pup Pack and attempt to fill the pool himself. A passing Rocky was grateful on an admittedly-selfish note that he and Marshall finally shared some common ground when it came to water. But at the same time, he was terrified of the prospect of Marshall possibly never using his Pup Pack again, considering that Tracker ended up drenching everything for miles around with Marshall's water cannons, only filling the pool after a solid minute of soaking everything else, including a thoroughly vexed-looking Everest.
"Come on, Everest!" Tracker pleaded. "I said lo siento!"
"'Lo siento' doesn't dry me off, Tracker! Jeez!" Everest huffed.
Marshall, to his credit, seemed to realise that Tracker was going to spray everything that wasn't the pool, as he'd quickly made himself scarce behind the cover of his Pup House, not daring to peek his head out for fear of it getting hit by water. But with Everest and Tracker arguing over the former's poor aim, he'd slowly peered around the side
"You can't expect me to know how to use this, Everest! I'm a jungle pup, not a fire pup!" Tracker defended.
"I'd at least expect you to not panic so easy!" Everest retorted. "You were like a fish out of water, wriggling around like that!"
"Hey!"
The two immediately ceased arguing upon hearing a familiar voice coming from the Lookout. Turning around, they saw a chocolate labrador in orange diving gear walking towards them with a scowl on his face.
"Why are you two awguing now?!" Zuma demanded. "I thought we were twying to help Mawshall get over his feaw of water, not awgue over not knowing how to use Mawshall's Pup Pack!"
The two looked at the pup standing before them, Everest being more than slightly indignant that they were being lectured by a pup that was far younger than she was.
"He started it!" Everest shouted.
"She started it!" Tracker shouted at the same time.
With an exasperated expression, Zuma moved in to gently clip both pups around the ears with his paw.
"Come on! Stay focused!" Zuma demanded. "You two lovepups can have your fight latew! Wight now, we've gotta make sure this pool is filled."
Tracker grumbled to himself with displeasure. "Well, the pool looks pretty full to me, I dunno about you." he replied.
Zuma looked in and peered at the water filling the pools. "Yep. I'd say that looks good. Pool's big enough to fit us both, too."
"So our job's done, then?" Everest asked.
"Yep. I can take it fwom here." Zuma replied.
"¡Muy bien! I can finally get this thing off! It's evil!" Tracker said.
"Guys, befowe you go..." Zuma began in a surprisingly stern voice for such a young pup. "I want you two to apologise to each other. Both of you were just being silly. There was no need to awgue like that, and you both know it."
Everest and Tracker went rigid. Thinking about it, Zuma had a point. What were they arguing about, anyway? Tracker may have had poor aim, but Everest knew that she went too far in yelling at him for it. Although Everest felt bad, she also felt incredibly silly. To the point that she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Oh, Tracker!" Everest laughed. "Wh-What is wrong with me?!"
"Well, maybe that you don't like getting wet..." Tracker replied with a sheepish grin.
Everest laughed for a while longer before slowing down and catching her breath. "I… I'm sorry, Tracker… Pff- heh, heh..." Everest giggled. "I… overreacted, huh?"
"Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't more careful, amigo." Tracker replied with a smile.
"Wanna settle our differences with Pup Pup Boogie?"
Tracker suddenly perked up. "I'm all ears! Or… y'know… paws. I'll need those, too."
Zuma couldn't help but laugh himself as he watched Everest and Tracker sharing a laugh as they both walked into the Lookout and disappeared into the ground room. Once they were firmly out of sight, he looked around, only to realise that Marshall was peeking out slightly from behind his Pup House. Realising that he probably wouldn't be able to call the frightened pup over, Zuma made his way over, only to realise that Marshall actually had a small smile on his face as he got closer.
"What a show, wight, dude?" Zuma asked lightheartedly.
"They remind me of me and Chase, actually..." Marshall replied fondly.
"What, that you get into silly fights ovew little things but love each othew to death?"
"Yup… Funny how they don't talk much, but they have that kind of friendship going on, right?"
"To think Twacker thought he didn't desewve to be called Paw Patwol..."
"And look at you acting like the big brother! You're really growing up, huh?"
The two shared some light laughter for a few seconds before falling into an awkward silence. Looking at Marshall's face, it was painfully clear that he really didn't want to go through with any of this. But he couldn't remain a hydrophobic wreck forever. Steeling himself for a possible argument, Zuma took a breath in.
"So… you weady, dude?" Zuma asked, watching as Marshall's face fell into a scared, worried frown.
"...n-no..." Marshall whimpered.
"Didn't think so. But hey." Zuma gave a reassuring smile. "We'll both do it togethew. I'm not gonna leave you alone in there. Evewything's gonna be cool. All I want is for you to twy your best, OK?"
Marshall found it funny how Zuma had a way of reassuring people. When giving out surfing lessons, people never seemed to be nervous of what came up when Zuma was the one teaching them. And even though he was about to come into contact with the substance that came close to killing him, beneath his fear, he felt oddly ready.
"...OK, Zuma..." Marshall whispered waveringly. "I'm ready… I'll do my best..."
Zuma's smile only grew wider. "Alwight! Let's dive in!"
Marshall's reluctance to follow Zuma was very visible. Slowly, the dalmatian could be seeing dragging his paws over the damp ground over the Lookout, which he earlier seemed to treat like lava, until he arrived at the pool. Staring into the rubber pool filled with crystal-clear water, Marshall felt his heart rate begin to intensify yet again.
"I… I'm… still scared, Zuma..." Marshall said shakily.
"Tell ya what, Mawshall. On thwee, how about we both jump in?" Zuma offered. "I wasn't gonna leave you in the pool alone, y'know?"
"O-OK..."
"Alwight! Then..." Zuma got into position and stuck his rear in the air, kneeling down and readying himself to pounce into the water.
"One..."
Marshall swallowed heavily, before taking a similar stance to Zuma.
"Two..."
Marshall began to shake and breathe heavily again. But Zuma was counting on him. If he backed out now, he'd be letting Zuma down, who'd been nothing but patient with him. If one looked into Marshall's eyes, they'd be able to see small embers of determination dancing within them. Embers that had been extinguished long ago. But had now, if slowly, been rekindled anew.
"THWEE!"
And acting on his heart more than his head, Marshall sprang over the side of the pool and into the water, landing with an almighty splash alongside Zuma with the cold water going up to his chest.
Immediately, Marshall's heart began to race. It all started to come back to him. The freezing water of the river. His desperate struggle to keep his head above the water. The speed of him being swept downstream. The constant feeling that his short life was over. The tightness of his chest as the air in his lungs got more and more scarce. It didn't take long for Marshall to start hyperventilating as he felt the water soaking into his fur. But it also didn't take long for his breathing to slow back to down to a more controlled, if still rapid, rate as he felt a wet arm laid across his back.
"Easy, dude." Zuma whispered, now dripping wet himself from the water in the pool. "There's nothing to be scawed of. I'm with ya. Like I said, this isn't anything like the wiver."
Marshall didn't respond, except with heavy breathing.
"It'll all work out, man. Let's just take this slow, huh? Let's stawt by getting used to how the water feels again. Just wemember, you'we not in dangew anymore. Evewything's fine."
Zuma continued to reassure Marshall of his safety as the two spent a while just standing around in the pool. It was admittedly slightly-awkward to just be standing around in a swimming pool while having a one-sided conversation, but Zuma thought he knew what he was doing. It was just like teaching people to swim. You had to get them used to the water, first. Or in this case, you had to reassure them that water wasn't death. Simple enough... right?
After five minutes, Zuma finally changed his words.
"So? How do ya feel?" Zuma asked, nothing that Marshall's breathing had become far calmer. "Any better?"
"...maybe a little?" Marshall replied quietly, if shakily.
Zuma smiled warmly. "See? Not so bad, huh? You're getting bettew alweady, dude!"
Marshall seemed a little dumbfounded. "I am?"
"Well, let's see, huh? I want you to do something for me. And again, there's nothing to be scawed of. It'll be totally safe."
"...Y-You sure?"
"(Not really.)" Zuma thought. "Mawshall. I want you to put your whole head underwater. Slowly. Then come back up slowly."
Marshall's reaction was predictable at this point. His face shifted to one of terror, and once more, his breathing started getting more erratic. "U-Underwater…?" he stammered. "N-No… No, I-I can't! I-I really-"
"Whoa, dude." Zuma interrupted. "I know it's easy to say, but be cool. I'm here." Suddenly, Zuma stared into Marshall's eyes with a surprisingly fierce degree of determination. "I. Will. NOT. Let things go south. I pwomise." He lifted a paw from the water and held it aloft. "Pup Scout's honour."
Marshall breathed heavily for a second, before swallowing heavily. "If you promise, Zuma."
"I do, Mawshall. Now, head down. Slowly."
Marshall pushed the air from his lungs, before taking a huge, sharp breath in, and fighting his body's instincts to get out of the water immediately, squeezed his eyes closed and forcibly lowered himself beneath the surface, feeling the cold water envelop his mouth, nose and ears.
Unlike his time in the river, where he was desperately fighting to stay alive, this time, being underwater felt oddly tranquil, as much as it reminded him of his fight for his life. Marshall couldn't deny that his heart was speeding up again, nor that he may have risen too quickly when Zuma clearly shouted "Back up!" through the water.
"Caweful, dude." Zuma gently reprimanded. "That was too fast."
"I know, sorry..." Marshall sighed.
"Twy to come back up a little slower. We're still getting used to how being underwater feels, wemember."
"Got it."
"Now, let's twy it again. Head down."
Slowly, Marshall's fears started to melt away the more he trained with Zuma. The labrador was always known for being calm and laidback, which was probably why he was considered such a good teacher for swimming. As much as his memories of the river were still haunting him, strangely, with each time he vanished beneath the water and slowly came back up, his fears ebbed away more and more. After what had to be the fifteenth time, Zuma finally put his paw out to stop Marshall from going underwater again.
"Huh? Zuma?" Marshall said, confused. "Wh-What's up?"
Marshall thought that it had to be something good, since Zuma was beaming at him.
"I think that's enough, dude. I'd say this whole 'scawed of water' stuff is on its way out."
"Wait. You think?"
"'Think'? I know! I saw how calm you were the last few times you went underwater. And you aren't bweathing so heavy anymore. Tell me. How do you feel now? Scawed? Wowwied?"
Marshall briefly trawled his mind for how he was feeling, before coming to a conclusion that even surprised him.
"...no."
Zuma smirked. "Told ya. Evewything's. Fine."
"Zuma… Thank you… I-I can't believe you'd go this far for me."
Zuma nuzzled into Marshall's neck. "Hey. What are bwothers for, Mawshall?"
Once more, Marshall found himself hit hard by the reminder of his bond with everyone else. "Aww, baby bwo Zuma!" Marshall cooed, grabbing Zuma and getting his head wet with a massive noogie.
"Gaaaawaaaawwwgghh-!" Zuma choked. "Mawshall-! C-C'mon! Stooooooop!"
Marshall complied, laughing the whole time. "You love it, don't lie. I can see your tail down there."
Zuma looked back to see his tail wagging up a tidal wave underwater. "OK, OK, you got me..." he admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Aww..."
The two pups were distracted by a sudden voice coming from in front of them. Looking, they noticed the smiling face of the team's other younger pup, with a familiar red pack, helmet and vest at his paws.
"Rubble-!" Marshall spluttered in embarrassment. "H-How long have you been standing there?!"
"Long enough." Rubble replied coyly. "But that was really sweet, guys… It was just like old times. And hey, it looks like Zuma did a good job with you, Marshall!"
"Hey, I just did what I could." Zuma replied humbly. "And Mawshall, if you ever feel like that about water again, you dwag your spotted butt over to me wight away, mistew. Cleaw?"
Marshall beamed and gave a fake salute. "Cleaw!"
All three pups quickly burst out laughing.
"Anyway, guys..." Rubble chuckled. "Everest and Tracker sent me down with Marshall's Pup Pack. They asked if I could help Marshall get used to his Pup Pack again."
Marshall snorted. "Figures. Tracker darn near flooded the place just trying to fill the pool!"
"Yeah, Rocky said." Rubble replied, recalling the face of the mix as he vacantly remembered the horrors of Tracker's attempt.
"Letting anyone else use Marshall's Pup Pack is way too risky! Who knows how much water they'll waste?!"
No-one had noticed that Rocky had appeared from behind the pool and spoken up. Upon laying eyes on him, however, a huge, playful grin spread across the soaking-wet Marshall's face.
"ROCKYYYY!" Marshall yelled elatedly, bounding out of the pool, quickly recovering from the ensuing ungraceful tumble. "GIMME A HUG! DIDN'T YOU MISS ME?!"
Things didn't get any quieter after Marshall's yell as Rubble and Zuma watched Marshall charge after Rocky with the bulldog and labrador laughing their heads off. And things got louder still with Rocky running away screaming.
The pups still had yet to stop giggling after everything was said and done. And in fact, the laughter only intensified when Rocky ended the chase by throwing a towel in Marshall's face in a panic. Taking the hint, Marshall managed to dry himself off and return to Rubble and Zuma to help with emptying the pool and putting it away.
"You can be pwetty scawy sometimes, Mawshall!" Zuma laughed as he finished throwing the pool back into Rocky's truck, the mix having taken shelter in the Lookout.
"You were holding back, right?" Rubble asked.
"Guys, I'd never wanna get Rocky wet on purpose!" Marshall retorted with a smile, putting on his Pup Pack, helmet and vest. "So what were you thinking, Rubble? Anything you want me to do?"
"Well..." Rubble began. "It was just watering some trees. We wanted to see if you were still sharp with your Pup Pack. We don't know if spending time in the forest has made you rusty or not."
"Hey, anything to use my old equipment again." Marshall said, grinning. "I mean, the only thing I used my Pup Pack for in the forest was getting the water out of it."
"And you had enough to get home?" Zuma asked sadly.
"Just barely..."
The reminder of Marshall's journey home got the pups whining in fearful sorrow again. Now Marshall had just confirmed that with such little water, he'd only just had enough to make it home, and had he taken a few hours longer, his life may well have ended in the forest, lost to the demon of thirst.
"Bluh-!" Rubble babbled, shaking himself from his sad stupor. "Hey. Let's try not to think about what could've been, right? We've got work to do!"
Marshall and Zuma followed suit quickly. "Er, yeah, no point thinking about the what ifs!" Zuma stammered, sounding uncertain.
"Y-You're right, Rubble…" Marshall added. "...anyway. Got anything for me to spray?"
"Not right now..." Rubble said, wagging his tail. "But just hold on a sec. This pup's about to get diggy with it!"
Marshall and Zuma both watched as Rubble happily bounded across the wet grass of the Lookout, digging furiously at the ground with his paws, forming a scattered series of neat, if unevenly-sized, holes across the ground. The pups wondered if Rubble had suddenly developed a green paw. A thought that only developed further as Rubble ran into the Lookout and pulled out a small bag.
"What's in the bag, Wubble?" Zuma asked.
"Saplings!" Rubble replied, letting go of the bag. "Rocky got them as a present from Farmer Al, remember?"
"Wow, THAT was a long time ago..." Marshall thought aloud. "Didn't he say they came from a friend of his?"
"Sam, I think he said." Zuma replied.
"Anyway, guys!" Rubble interrupted. "First thing we're gonna do is plant these saplings. Rocky always said the Lookout could use some more green, after all."
"That's just Wocky..." Zuma added with rolled eyes and an amused smirk.
"So we're gonna plant the trees and then I'll water them all?" Marshall asked.
"You got it!" Rubble replied. "You guys up for it?"
The pups bounded over to the sack of saplings sporting eager grins.
"I'm fired up!"
"Let's dive in!"
The pups were no stranger to planting seeds, thanks to time spent helping out Farmer Al. But they used practically half of the bag of saplings filling in the holes that Rubble had dug. For the past few days, they thought that Rubble's happiness would never return. That his innocence had been brutally crushed by the loss of a friend and brother. But now it was back ten-fold. As was theirs. A few minutes later, Marshall and Zuma had finished planting the saplings, and Rubble had finished filling in the holes that he'd dug.
"Wow, this is gonna look cwazy in a couple years..." Zuma said in amazement.
"Always thought the grounds looked a little naked." Marshall added.
"And what's wrong with being naked?!" Rubble demanded playfully, prompting more giggling from the three pups. "Anyway. Ready to give these plants a drink?"
Marshall's face lit up. "You know it, Rubble! Arf, arf! Water cannon!"
The pups always found enjoyment in doing their jobs. Resolving an emergency was always their idea of fun, but Marshall never thought he'd be so eager to get back to fire pup matters. But then, he thought that someone else would have to take up his mantle after he fell into the river.
"Water spray!"
Saying those two words had never felt so good for the dalmatian. Nor did watching the ensuing gout of water flying from his Pup Pack feel so good. Everyone watched as Marshall gave each sapling a drink. The strange need to cheer was overwhelming for the pups.
"Yeah! Go, Mawshall!" Zuma shouted.
"Go for it, Marshall!" Rubble yelled.
"I'm… I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Marshall cried, charging around the area and spraying down each sapling.
All of the pups were so eager and excited that none of them noticed the mixed breed approaching Marshall from as he continued to stand still while showering the saplings with water.
"Hey, guys! How's the plaBLAGHBLBLUGHPHHGLUBGLUBBBLLUUUPPLEUGH-!"
Rocky always cursed himself for dropping his guard when Marshall was using his cannons, since doing this was often an invitation for getting a good soaking. And this time was no different, as Marshall turned around in curiosity, forgetting that he'd left his cannons on. Zuma, surprisingly, was fast enough to drop to the floor to avoid the stream of water. But Rocky, predictably, received a faceful of it.
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Rocky!" Marshall cried, a few seconds after realising what was happening and shutting off his cannons.
Rocky slowly opened his eyes into a narrowed glare, his fur soaked and dripping from the umpteenth spraying he'd received from the dalmatian.
"Marshall! Water the trees, not ME!" Rocky barked, continuing to stare into Marshall's sheepish eyes as he put his cannons away and grinned fearfully.
"Err… I-I… I didn't-" Marshall stammered.
"Grr… I- C'mere, you!" Rocky snarled, thundering forward and rolling Marshall onto his back with his head.
"Whagh-!" Marshall yelped, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
Despite the amount of times the water-hating Rocky had gotten wet from his clumsy friend's antics with his cannons, not once had he gotten truly angry with the speckled pup. After all, that was just him, and Rocky loved Marshall for who he was, given that he brought so much laughter to them all. But he was more than willing to play rough, and he was proving it by pushing Marshall to the floor and using him as a towel by way of Rocky rubbing his face into Marshall's belly.
"GAH-! Hee hee hee hee hee! Ro-Rocky-! Ha ha ha ha ha! P-Please! Ha ha! M-Mercy! I-I'm ha ha ha ha! I'm sorr-eeeha ha ha ha!"
Zuma and Rubble could only laugh heartily at the display. And once more, at the back of their minds, there was an odd sensation of relief. With Marshall back with them and being as silly as ever, both things they thought they'd never get to experience again, the whole ordeal was deeply cleansing. As it was for Marshall and Rocky, despite the latter getting wet once again and the former being tickled senseless. Even Rocky was giggling a little.
Eventually, Rocky relented, satisfied that he was sufficiently less wet than before and that Marshall had learned his lesson, leaving the spotted pup panting where he lay as Rocky smirked down at him. Rocky couldn't help but press his slightly-damp face against Marshall's with a playful glare and grin.
"You're hopeless..." Rocky whispered with a playful undertone, obviously trying to suppress his own laughter as Marshall couldn't help but grin widely enough to practically split his cheeks.
It was an almost-typical day at the Lookout with the pups playing with each other and supporting each other in their less-than-proud moments. And this made all of them feel happier than they had in a long time.
But Marshall's near-lethal accident still cast a shadow over the group. And as happy as they all were, it still felt incomplete with two pups and one human stuck in a pit of depression.
A bit more of a lighthearted chapter this time around. It's nice to take a break sometimes to get away from a crippling phobia brought on by a near-death experience, no? But then, things aren't all rosy. Not with the loose ends remaining to be tied...
Anyway, as for developments with the story, I should warn you that another long one is coming up. The second-longest one in the whole fic, in fact. So to that end, I feel like a brief hiatus is in order. NOW DON'T WORRY, THE CHAPTERS THAT I HAVE WRITTEN AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE.
*Ahem* Sorry. I understand, however, that announcements of hiatus are usually the Kiss of Death for a fanfic, along with statements like "I'm not going to give up on this story". But really, all this hiatus will amount to is a single missed day. If I keep at it after missing a day, I should still be able to keep my intended Afterword upload date (which I'd very much like to keep to... for reasons...). Let me assure you right now: I WILL NOT LET THIS FIC DIE OFF FROM ONE HIATUS. That is a promise (in fact, it's for attempting to avoid what I write becoming a Dead Fic that I pre-write all of my chapters in the first place).
So yeah, next upload is Saturday, as ever. But after that, there will be no new upload come next Tuesday, just to give you time to drink in the Saturday's longer chapter. I apologise for keeping you waiting, but I've already blasted so many words at your face that maybe we could all do with a break. After this coming Saturday, normal service shall resume the Saturday after. All I can ask for in this case is your patience.
And with that: As always, if you have been enjoying the story, please don't hesitate to leave a review or send a favourite my way. Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you Saturday.