The trio appeared right in front of Granny's in a poof of white smoke. The bright blue sky, a sharp contrast to the darkness of Oz and the pale red sky of the Underworld, blinded the three for a moment. Once Snow recovered, she smiled tightly to each of them, giving them another brief hug.
"Thank you, both of you. I'm so happy for you two." The worried mom held her best friend's hands briefly before letting go and backing up slowly. "I have to go find Neal. Thanks again!"
Ruby waved farewell before turning briskly to her true love with a brilliant grin. She found the ex-farmer staring wide eyed at the more advanced technology with Toto stunned at the new environment. She chuckled, tugging the woman closer and pecking her left cheek.
"Pretty cool, huh Kansas?"
"You lived here Wolfie…?" Dorothy settled her core with a few quiet breaths. The dog in her arms struggled briefly before settling down when his owner pat his head with her left hand.
"Kind of. More like cursed to live here for almost thirty years." The wolf woman turned to face the diner head on with a rueful smirk. "And my granny and I stayed right here. Even if most of the time I didn't want to."
Dorothy smirked as she turned with the other woman. "Looking for… 'more'... even then?"
Ruby laughed, leaning into the solid shoulder. "Guess so. Glad I found it in the end."
The two went silent, smiling. It was as a car went by behind them that they woke up to their surroundings. Ruby took a deep breath and beamed once more, touching the strong right arm lightly.
"Why don't we head inside?" When the other woman nodded, the red-cloaked lass lead the way in, holding the door for her love.
The bell tinkled overhead as they entered. The customers looked up and continued to stare in surprise at seeing the return of the wolf girl. The older werewolf came around from the back, plates in hand, and stopped in shock at seeing her granddaughter. Toto, smelling another wolf in the building, barked a few times and tried to hop down.
The stoic warrior wasn't expecting the dog's reaction and half-dropped him. "Toto! No, stay!"
The cloaked woman at the fighter's side winced. "Sorry, I forgot-"
"It's fine." Dorothy cut off the other, eyes glancing to the new arrival for a second. "Your grandma? Like you?" She didn't really wait and went to capture her wayward pet who had finally managed to escape the strong grip.
Ruby followed a few steps behind, keeping low to be non-threatening to the gray dog. "Yes."
"Ruby, what are you and this young lady doing? And what is wrong with her dog?" Granny started to follow the duo as the light and dark gray dog backed into a corner.
Everyone paused when the blonde haired doctor spoke up from his seat. "Who let the dog in to begin with?"
The three women, the stoic warrior and two werewolves, glared at the Dr. Walter who turned sheepish. He shied away, heavy blush on his face, while the trio continued to stare him down. While they were all distracted from their task, the front door opened as Leroy burst in, frantic.
"Hey, have you seen her?! Snow's back!" He looked between the surprised women standing nearby only to jostle in place when a small creature rushed past his legs. "What was that?"
"Toto! NO!" Dorothy tried to command her pet but felt only frustration build up as he continued to run off. Even as her feet demanded to race after the runaway, her heart tugged over to the wolf woman who stayed by her side. "Wolfie…"
"We need to catch him Kansas, cars are as much of a danger to him as anything in Oz." Ruby felt her chest pinch as she thought about how fast the vehicles could run over the pet.
With that warning, the stoic woman didn't wait and instead raced outside, hand reaching for a crossbow that wasn't on her waist. When she didn't feel the weapon, her brows twitched before she centered herself with her usual resolve. Her ears noted with surprise that there was another set of footsteps on her left. Spotting the red-cloak bellowing out from the other running, Dorothy felt her mouth break out into a warm smirk as she looked to the other woman.
"Take a right Kansas!"
Dorothy's smirk grew as she nodded once, complying with the order. Her gaze went over the advance technology she passed by as they ran. Cars had gone through major changes, light poles posed little trouble to swerve around, and traffic lights didn't make the warrior stop even when cars honked warnings to the jay-running girl.
The dog ducked in and out of the road, following his nose while barking at the large mechanical objects. The two women shouted for the canine to return, never faltering as they chased after him. Eventually, the rounded a corner and, with a few more heart attacks under their belts, they found the runaway dog sitting with his nose pointed up to the butcher's shop.
The slightly tanned woman bent down and firmly gripped the dog's muzzle. She looked deep into his eyes, staring his stubbornness down. "No. No Toto. You have to stay with me. You have to heel! It. Is. Not. Safe."
The werewolf also bent down, plying her alpha will to make the dog understand and obey. "You HAVE to listen to Dorothy. It is not safe Toto."
The stoic fighter smiled happily at the backup and gave the other woman a loving peck. Looking back, she silently stared at the dog for a short moment longer, being sure of his obedience. The pup glanced down, caving to the two female's command. He backed up with a whimper but went still after two paces. The women stood back up, checking the store the dog had run to.
"I'm not sure we should go in here Kansas…" Ruby peeked inside the front window uncertainly.
Dorothy didn't speak, raising a single brow.
"Well, the owner is Bo Peep. I heard from Prince Charming that she was a real pain back in the Enchanted Forest."
"Little Bo Peep…?" The Ozian questioned bemused.
"Yeaaah, not all the fairy tales are like they talk about in the land without magic… Or Kansas I'm guessing." The wolf girl half smirked at the confirmation she found in the solid brown orbs. "If you want, we can get him something at Granny's."
Finding acceptance in her love's eyes, Ruby smiled and grabbed the free hand. Together, they returned to the family run diner while the pet trotted along by his owner's side. The trek back was much calmer, giving the 'native' time to expand more about the town itself. The ex-farmer hadn't expected technology to advance so far and it was interesting to hear most of the other citizens' backgrounds as well as learning rapidly how the world had moved on.
The bell tinkled again as the two women re-entered with the dog dutifully walking along side. The abrasive doctor wasn't there while the owner stood on the outside of the counter, leaning against it confidently. When she saw her granddaughter came back, she brightened, acting as though the first encounter hadn't truly happened.
"Ruby! We weren't expecting you! How was your expedition?" The elder wolf woman extended both arms and gave the cloaked lass a large hug. "Who's your friend?"
Ruby had let go to let go of her love to reciprocate the embrace but at the last question, grabbed the stiff hand once more. Dorothy kept her straight face while her core shivered. This nervousness traveled down her arm to the hand that was gripped by her love. The wolf lady tried to express with her smile that nothing was wrong.
"This is Dorothy, my true love. I found her in Oz, and we were helping Snow get back to Storybrooke."
"Oh." The elder's face shifted to neutral. As she stepped back, the two women in the entrance way noticed a trim black crossbow sitting on the counter, pointing to where the doctor had previously sat. "That's a little unconventional, wouldn't you say?"
"Since when have we ever been conventional?" Ruby's face scrunched in bewilderment. She shook her head, eyes going to the ceiling in annoyance at her granny's words. "This is what my heart wants. And what she wants too."
Dorothy let her face grow stern. Gaze steady, she stood directly beside the wolf of her heart. "Yes. No matter what anyone says."
The older woman smirked, eyes growing warmer. "I suppose we never were that conventional. It's nice to meet you Dorothy. I'm Estelle Lucas, but you can call me Granny." Granny stuck out her hand for the newcomer with a small smile.
The ex-farm girl relaxed slightly, unfurrowing her brow while reaching out to shake the offered limb. When Toto tried to bark a warning, she peeked out a corner of her eyes with a disappointing frown. "Toto… Don't start. Please."
"Heh heh, guess he's never really smelled wolf people before huh?" Granny waved the two further in, signally to the cook in the far back room. She sat the women down and grabbed three fresh plates, setting two of them on the table and the last one went for the dog trailing sadly behind.
When the gray dog perked up and started to chow down on the offering, his owner also perked up, watching with a pleased half-grin. Ruby beamed at her love's enjoyment, while her grandmother grew just as happy when she saw the love in the two's eyes.
"Why don't you guys tell me how you met while you eat…? We don't usually get much peace and quiet around these parts for long."
Dorothy smirked. "Sounds kind of like Oz…" She looked over to Ruby, raising a single brow.
Ruby rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes yes, that's right. You don't like to talk." She stuck out her tongue teasingly and turned to face her grandma while leaning into the blue clad shoulder. "It started when Mulan and I were trying to track down any werewolves through the lands…"
Author's Notes: Another chapter, just as long as the last one? You bet! All new stuff right here. I had read that the writers were going to treat Ruby Slippers just like any other relationship, and I appreciate that. So I'm going to reflect it in this story. Yes, there are still who don't like LGBT couples, and some are merely just hesitant. But considering Ruby's luck with partners (or how they end up at least...), Granny wasn't about to argue. Also, no idea if that is really Granny's name. I looked it up, it just says Widow Lucas or Granny. Not even for her counterpart. So I found a name based on Latin, like how her daughter's was. And I figure Ruby's original name is also similarly Latin, though she'll go by her more modern one. (Why latin? Because the Greeks and Romans were some of the best known werewolf legends start. With a king named Lycaon. Very similar to Lucas, wouldn't you say?) Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review or favorite it if you want to. We're getting close to the end!
