8 Years ago…

London, 2012

Northwest Academy

The bell rang throughout the school, signifying the end of classes for the day. Many uniformed students exit the classrooms in single files, as drilled into them throughout their time at the academy. From one of the classrooms, Dawood walked out, having seen better days. As a boy, he, of course, had a much younger appearance, but he was less physically built. The boy has been studying non-stop, giving himself little free time to himself. As for why he did this. He didn't want to disappoint his aunt.

Yes, his parents couldn't really afford sending their only son to such a high-quality educational institution. They were actually very content in sending him to a more affordable school in the east side of the city, near to where they live. However, before they could even visit a school they found good enough, Aunt Mary intervened and tried to persuade them otherwise.

She argued that she didn't want her nephew to go to some backwater school that will ultimately limit his future prospects. Rather, she insisted that they send him to a much more… better school, for Dawood's sake. Of course, Dawood's mother, Anne, was very much against anything of the sort, as she is very aware of her sister's antics. Mary, in a last-ditch effort, offered to talk about this over tea. Whatever she said to Anne, it seemed to sway her enough to allow Aunt Mary to enroll Dawood to this academy.

It would be an understatement if he were to say that his Aunt Mary cares about him. That woman would literally spend thousands for the kid. Why? No one knows, but she really seemed to want only the most high-quality things for him. If it weren't for his parents trying to reel her most of the time, she'd have probably spoiled him rotten, which he was grateful for. The last thing he wants is to be like the old money snobs that go to this god-forsaken school. Hell, Eton may have better people than this blueblood circle-jerk of a school. Even worse, most students know who got me, a normal mixed kid from the East, into this school in the first place. Dawood was most likely the only (half) Arab in this mostly European White school.

It wasn't a secret that, through his aunt's marriage, he was related to eccentric billionaire that was his Uncle Smith. This knowledge served both as a blessing and a curse, mostly a curse thought. On one hand, the school and its teachers are treating him like he was Prince Harry in the flesh, though it is likely out of fear and wanting to please his uncle. On the other hand, this meant he was constantly bombarded by people that try, and fail, to get him to be their friend. If there was one thing Dawood hated more than snobbish nobles and spoiled brats, it's fake people who are intentionally dishonest with him. Thankfully, he was able to spot such people with ease, with his father's help, and mostly keep clear of such people. However, this came with its own consequences, he was quickly isolating himself from most, if not all, of the school.

It didn't take long before he was targeted by the more entitled students.

After leaving his last class for the day, Dawood sighs in relief. He didn't want to be around for too long, he couldn't stand to talk to another of these snobby lowlifes any more than he has already. They've been a daily pain in the neck for him ever since his first day in this accursed school. He walked through the hallways and out the nearby exit, his usual quick way to getting out of the academy. As he walks down the steps, and approaching the gate to his freedom, he gets grabbed by his shoulder harshly, forcing him to begrudgingly turn around and face the offender.

Dawood could only sigh in annoyance when he sees who stopped him. It was none other than Markus von Kronedorf, literally the last person he wants to see at this time of the day. Dawood could only sigh, forcefully removing the offending hand from his shoulder. Markus was a noble, an even worse breed of snobs if Dawood had any opinion of them. He stood almost as tall as Dawood, maybe a bit taller than the mixed boy. He had shining blonde hair, well-kept and gelled, as well as blue eyes. He worse the same uniform as Dawood, but noticeably more proper and very much ironed, something Dawood rarely does. He had a smug look on his face that anyone would LOVE to simply smash in. Dawood gives him an impatient look.

"Alright, what do you want, Kronedorf. I don't have all day, so spill it." He says, clearly done with the situation he is in at the moment. This causes the noble boy to glare at him, then looks towards both of his friends, who Dawood didn't notice until now. 'Great, he brought his goons…'

"You better watch your mouth, Wahhab. You dare to speak to me in such a way?" He asks, huffing in offence… This bloke is a walking rich boy stereotype.

"Yea, I dare. You just pulled me unexpectedly for a reason you have yet to tell me." Dawood responds, already annoyed by this clown. This kid was literally a walking cringefest, he will never know why his so-called friends put up with them, they come from old money too.

"You should know that already, Wahhab. You clearly don't belong here, you stick out like a sore thumb. You are nothing by a stain in this academy, and everyone knows it." He says smirking, as if that was the greatest insult he has ever made… Damn, this nob won't ever survive public school. They'll eat him alive.

"And? Why do I care what a bunch snobbish brats think of me?" Dawood replies, crossing his arms now. "Especially you, Kronedorf. What you think of me is less valuable than a blade of grass. Hell, that's an insult to grass!" This caused Markus' goons to laugh at that a bit, which seemed to have set off Markus. It wasn't meant to be funny, but a win is a win.

"Now listen here you d- d- desert barbarian! I am of noble birth, and you are nothing but a mixed mutt. How your mother got with your sand-munching brute of a father is beyond me." This went from zero to a hundred really quickly. This caused Dawood to straighten up his posture and look directly at Markus, getting serious for the first time since this conversation started.

"The 'ell you just said, bruv?" Dawood was pissed, and he wasn't proud of it. This knobhead was able to push Dawood to use his Cockney accent. Not a great time to use it, especially in the type of school he is in. It only serves to prove Markus' point that he doesn't belong here, which is stupid, but sadly these sorts of people aren't known to have common sense. He didn't want to get riled up by this idiot, its exactly the sort of reaction wanted. This interaction was quickly creating a crowd, not good. However, this emboldened Markus, now confident with where this was heading.

"Look at that! Looks like your common-speak is showing, Wahhab." He says with a laugh only nobles would do.

"Listen here, mate. You can insult me as much as you want, but never, EVER, talk about my father that way. His has more honour than you'll ever have." Dawood says, almost growling at the noble.

"What are you going to do about it, mutt?" Markus proceeds to shove Dawood, agitating him further, "Your kind are nothing but rubbish to me. You and your father are nothing but brutish aliens, and you'll always be. a. foreigner." He says, shoving him after each of the last few words. However, he made a grave mistake…

Dawood has a limit; everyone has their own limit. When one questions his Britishness, and calls him a foreigner… That will set him off immediately. It didn't take long before the boy raises his right hand and proceeds to punch the noble's face with as much force as he could muster.

Markus let out the high-pitched scream Dawood as ever heard.

Of course, the academy prefects were watching… he should've known that. They immediately took both Dawood and Markus to the Headmaster's office. To say that the Headmaster was angry is an understatement. He was very much furious.

The Headmaster, Julius Montgomery, was one of those folks who'd suck up to the academy's donors, which includes Uncle Smith and the von Kronedorf family. Due to this, his anger was internalized, but he's fooling no one. Anyone with half a brain can read the atmosphere at the moment. Not only was this bloke a kiss-ass, he was also OVERLY concerned with the image and prestige of his oh so precious academy.

"Mr. Wahhab, Mr. von Kronedorf… Do you two have anything to say about your shameful behaviour?" Asks the Headmaster, one could almost see a vein on his head bulging with stress and extreme fury. However he kept his composure… somewhat.

"Headmaster Julius, sir! This… This ruffian dared to lay a hand on me! I didn't deserve any of the damage this cur inflicted on my person!" replies Markus, lying through his teeth.

Dawood snorted, replying, "How about talking like a normal person, Kronedorf. Stop eating dictionaries for breakfast for once."

"Now is not the time, Mr. Wahhab. Where are your manners?" The Headmaster shoots back, but then sighs. He pinches his nose, hoping to get rid of this headache of a problem as soon as possible. "Mr. Wahhab, your actions today have gravely disappointed me, and has hurt the reputation of this academy. Why did you hit Mr. von Kronedorf with such barbarity?"

Barbarity. With him it was barbaric, with Princess Knobhead over there, he gets nothing. Dawood merely growls, completely done with this situation. As such, he is going to be straightforward with him, he is completely done with Markus, and with this damn school. He looks towards the noble boy.

"Kronedorf insulted my father and my heritage, as well as shoved me more than once." He then looks back to the Headmaster, "He deserved it, and I don't regret it."

The Headmaster sighs, and proceeds to write something on some form. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wahhab, but I'm afraid I have to give you a two-week suspension-"

"What!? Just over a single punch to the face? Wh-" Dawood asks, raising his voice a tiny bit. He was only stopped when the head master raised his hand to halt his rant.

"Let me finish first, Mr. Wahhab." He then looks to Markus, "Leave us, Mr. von Kronedorf. I will deal with you later."

Markus looked like he was going to say something but was immediately halted by Headmaster Julius. "Later, Mr. von Kronedorf" With that, Markus gets up, and glares at Dawood, who glares back at the boy with equal intensity. Markus eventually walks away, closing the door behind him. The Headmaster then turns to the remaining boy in the room. He takes off his reading glasses and focuses on the boy.

"Mr. Wahhab, I understand why you had those intense feelings, but violence is never the answer." He continues.

Dawood merely rolls his eyes, "What should I have done then, just take it? That dumba-" The Headmaster gave him a hardened look which basically said 'don't even try it'. "Dumb- He insulted my family, and called me a foreigner... I am as British as he is… I…" Dawood then looks down, burying his face in his hands. These sorts of topics really upset him, it would upset anyone if they were in his position. "He called me a mutt… Just because I am not fully British. He's acting like he's better than me!"

The Headmaster sighs what felt like the hundredth time today. He looked down at the form, and proceeds to crumple it up and throw it in the bin. He then writes on a new form and gives it to Dawood. Dawood looks down at the form, and then back to him.

"While I know what Mr. von Kronedorf said was wrong, and he will be sufficiently punished for it, I cannot just let this interaction go by without some sort of punishment. It'll be a bad example for the rest of the student body. As such, I will give you only one week suspension."

Dawood only sighed and nodded, and slowly got up. However, the Headmaster wasn't done.

"It won't be in your record, if that's what you're concerned about. Just go home, Mr. Wahhab. I will deal with the matter, posthaste." He continues.

Dawood looks to the man and gives him a small sad smile, and nodded, "Thanks, Headmaster. Have a good day."

The Headmaster smiles, and gives him a nod, allowing him to leave.

Who would have thought that the Headmaster had a heart, which wasn't surprising really, as racism is pretty much against the school's student conduct guidelines… Still, he was somewhat grateful. With that, he walks out of the office.

However, before he could do anything else, the world started to become blurry.

Soon the man felt his consciousness return to him, he could feel that he was laying on something soft and leathery, definitely the couch. Suddenly, his head began to hurt like hell. It's as if a solid rubber ball hit him hard in the face, with the pain pulsating across his forehead and nose. Whatever hit him had enough strength to give him this headache, but also knock him out cold.

After laying there for a few minutes, he decides to finally get up. He tried to move his arms and hands, but then he felt something furry as he moved his hands slightly. He moves his fingers around, trying to discern what was laying on his stomach. He then felt the furry object on his stomach move slightly in a pattern, as if it was breathing. He cracks open his eyes, while blurry at first, soon focus on the object, it was one of the puppies.

"Huh, how long was I out?" He asked, trying to look out the window to see what time of the day it was. It was the late evening, so he was knocked out for about a few hours, give or take. He sighs and looks back to the puppy sleeping on him. He gently grabs them with his two hands and set them on the far side of the couch. However, as he does this, he felt something fell off his head, and more falling behind him laying on his back. Some of them yelped at the sudden movement, which caused the man to look back and see a few more puppies who were now awaken. He then looks around him to see more puppies sleeping all around him, even some by his legs that he didn't notice. Realizing his own predicament, he has to tread carefully.

He quickly grabbed the awakened puppies from behind him and had them lie next to each other to allow them to share their body heat, as a sort of replacement for himself as that source of warmth. Soon he saw the puppies slowly go back to sleep after that.

Dawood waited for a few minutes, waiting to see if they rest of the puppies remained asleep. Soon after, he slowly got up, began to carefully walk out of the living room and into the hallway. He looked back to see if they were still asleep, which they were. With a sigh of relief, he leaves them to their slumber and begins to find the older dogs.

Doug never felt so horrible as he did at the moment. He hid head under a blanket in shame, never wanting to see the light of day again. He didn't know that Human was standing right in front of the door, he didn't even know there was a Human inside! However, regardless of the circumstances, he still felt horrible.

Despite this, his mate and the love of his life stayed by his side, comforting him. Delilah sat by him, giving him comforting words, telling him it wasn't his fault. However, while he appreciated it, he still felt that he made a bad example of himself to his own children.

Speaking of kids, two of his eldest were in the room with them, to Doug's displeasure. He didn't want his own children to see him in such a state.

"Come on, dad. It wasn't your fault! The Human shouldn't have even stood there anyways, you didn't know he was there." piped up his daughter, Dolly.

"Well, the Human also didn't really expect to be hit by the door either, Dolly." replies the male dalmatian, Dylan. While he wasn't his biological son, he was actually Delilah's, he still loved him as much as he does the rest of his biological offspring.

Dolly gave her brother an incredulous look, "Are you blaming dad for this now, Dylan? And I thought you were the rational one of us." She responds.

Dylan sighs, and further clarifies his argument. "That's not what I meant, Dolly. What happened was a complete fluke. Dad didn't know that there was a Human, and neither did the Human know that dad was going to come home at the time. It was just the wrong place and at the wrong time." He explains, defending himself.

It didn't take long for Delilah to finally intervene and end the argument. Now wasn't the time to fight.

"You two need to settle down, no one is at fault here" She says, but then continues, "However, Dylan is right. This was a complete misunderstanding, and neither of them were aware of the other's existence."

She then gets up and approaches the two. "Dylan, please go check on our gue-."

Before she could finish, the door creaked open, revealing the now awake Human.

"-st… Well, it looks like you don't need to." She says, looking between the Human, and her mate.

At that, Doug buried more of his body into the blanket, not wanting to face the Human he accidentally hurt.

Dawood went up the stairs to check the rest of the house, and to find the rest of the dogs. As he gets to the top of the stairs, he could hear barking in a room nearby. He walks forward and listens in closely, trying to determine which room the barking is in. He then realized there were more sets of barking, all with their own distinct sorts of sounds.

As he approached one door, he could clearly hear the barking on the other side.

"Let's see what they're up to." He says to himself, and proceeds to open the door. He looks in and sees the four dogs he was looking for. They all looked up towards him, except for one. It was another adult dog, much larger and stockier than the other Dalmatians. He seemed to be trying to hide himself under a blanket, looking very guilty over something.

'This must be Doug… Damn, this dog has some strength.' He thought, looking directly at the adult Dalmatian. Approaching him, Dawood kneeled down. He then looked around to the other dogs, their faces had looks of worry. He smiles and gives them a quick wink, hopefully to alleviate their worries. He isn't angry at Doug if that is what they think, he's honestly impressed with his strength if anything.

He gently removes the blanket from the dog, not wanting to spook him. He sees him covering his head with his paws. Seeing this, he sat down properly next to him, and began to rub his back and pet him.

"It's alright boy, no need to feel guilty. I'm alright, see?" He said, removing the paws from the dog's head, and getting him to look towards him. Dawood made sure to smile to prove his point.

"I'm not angry at all! If anything, I'm surprised and impressed that you had that much power in those dog muscles of yours." He says with a laugh, ruffling the top of his head.

Thankfully, it seemed to make Doug feel a bit better, as he was no longer hiding himself, and was looking up towards the Human. After giving him one last pet, he gets up and gives the dogs some space, and to allow him to fish out his phone. Delilah went back to being by Doug's side as they all watched the Human use his phone.

"Well, now that all you dogs are accounted for, time to give my Aunt a call. I think we are all owed an explanation." He says, looking down towards the four Dalmatians, a couple barked in agreement.

Dawood immediately tapped on his Aunt's name in his contact list, and proceeds to call her. After several seconds, a peppy female voice was heard on the other side.

"Oh! Dawood, how nice of you to call! How are you? Did you get the package?" Aunt Mary asks in her usual happy-go-lucky way.

"Hey Auntie, I'm doing fine. Yes, I did get the package, but I di-" He replies, but was cut off immediately.

"Wonderful! I am so grateful for doing this for me, dearie. I can imagine you didn't get into too much trouble?" She asks, with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Well, I was about to explain. Pest control broke in the house, and I had to deal with them before they did any more damage… Why didn't you tell me that you and Uncle Smith had dogs?" He explains, but also decided to mention the main problem at hand. There were a few seconds of silence before she replied.

"Dear… I know I should have been more upfront with you about this, but I truly couldn't trust anyone else. These Dalmatians are everything to me… You remember that your Grandparents had dogs of their own, right?" She asked, her tone much calmer now in comparison to her usual happy one.

"Yea… Granny Nita and Grandpa Roger mentioned something like tha-" And then he remembered. That photo Delilah gave him of his grandparents with their dogs, they were Dalmatians too. He facepalmed, angry at himself for being slow to realize why these dogs were important to his Aunt. They are descendants of his grandparent's dogs' litter.

"These Dalmatians are their descendants, are they?" He asks, placing a hand on a nearby table to lean on.

"Well, only Delilah and her litter. Oh! You've met Delilah and Doug, right?"

He snorts, recounting the recent first meetings he had with both Dalmatians, "It was one hell of a meeting, that I can tell you, Auntie. So that means Doug is a mate you and Uncle Smith found for Delilah?"

She laughs a bit, most likely remembering the first time her dogs met, "It was definitely a story, it was like one of those fairy tale romance stories the kids back in my day lived for. But you are half right, He is actually your Uncle Smith's. His family also happened to have Dalmatians, and they both pretty much clicked… I know it seems I'm asking too much from you, dear. I just… They need the next generation of our family to take care of them. Dear, you are that next generation. You are family."

Dawood was conflicted. He didn't expect to be the caretaker of these animals, but at the same time… This was very important to his Aunt. After everything she has done and sacrificed for him, it's now his chance to finally give back to her. Not to mention, these are probably some of the only things his grandparents left behind, this dynasty of Dalmatians.

"… I'll do it, Auntie. It's the least I can do. Throughout my life, you and Uncle Smith have been by my side the entire time. I guess, its time I do the same." He says, a small smile appearing on his face. "My dad always told me, you know what I'm talking about… No matter the adversity, family comes first."

She giggles, "Ah yes, your father Ibrahim's 'words of wisdom', how could I forget any of them." She then sighs, "Thank you, Dawood. I knew you were dependable, your parents really raised you to be a wonderful young man."

"Yea well… I can't say I'm not glad I didn't out too bad. If I did, then dad will track me down and never let me hear the end of it." He says, laughing a bit. He then remembered something else a bit more important.

"So… You know that you basically left me a huge house with dozens of puppies… I don't even know their names. Is there a list with some pictures anywhere or something?"

"Oh dear, I forgot about that! I'm afraid I can't help you through the phone like this, dearie." She replies, but she continued, "I'll see what I can do to fix that little problem, but for now maybe I can help you with a couple. Any of the puppies there with you right now? I can quickly give you their names."

Dawood turns around and looks down at the two puppies, "Well, there are two with me at the moment, they are both the oldest of the puppies." He then looked closely at the differences between the two, "One of them is female, she has three different colour… rings around her neck? Odd choice for a collar" He comments, but then continues, "She also has three black spots under each eye."

His Aunt immediately answers, "Ah yes, that's Dolly, she's from Doug's litter. Keep a close eye on her, she's a handful!" She says with a giggle.

Dawood looks down to Dolly, 'Good to know.' He thought.

He continues, "The other one is a male, he looks like a normal Dalmatian, but his right ear is black with white spots. Not going to lie, it looks pretty ace. Its like he has a constellation of stars on his ears. He also has a red collar with a grey star."

His Aunt giggled at her nephew's description of the puppy, "It does look like a constellation does it? Almost resembling the Canis Major constellation to be exact. That little dearie is Dylan, he's Delilah's. Don't worry too much about him, he's a sweetheart and very responsible."

Dawood smiles again, and proceeds to thank his Aunt, "Thanks for the assist, Auntie. It's definitely making this much easier."

"Dear, you know I am only a phone call away if you need anything. I'll try to find a solution regarding the names of the other puppies, we'd be here forever if I have you describe them to me. You're Uncle might have something that can help, so please be patient." She replies, back to her normal happy self again.

"Alright, thanks Auntie. Thanks again for the help, say hi for Uncle Smith for me!" He requests.

She giggles once more, "Of course, dear. Remember, don't be a stranger! I'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye!"

"See ya, Auntie. Talk to you later." He ends, and with that the conversation.

After ending the call, he sighs and turns towards the four dogs, who were waiting patiently. He gives them one more look over before he spoke.

"Well… looks like I'm your new caretaker." He says, giving them a smile.

He could tell the two adult Dalmatians were fine with the change, trusting their owner's decision. However, it seems Dawood will need to do more to gain the trust of the pups.

He sighs one more time, "Let's get settled in, shall we?"