Marshall, Rocky, Everest, and Katie were all sitting in Liz's car once again, all of the doors closed and the windows up. Outside of the car was Liz, who was currently filling the car with gas so they could get back on the road.
After encountering Hood and agreeing to help the place he resided in, they quickly left the area in order to cut off Liz and Katie from making it to where they had been. They were fast approaching the canine settlement, and the three stopped them before they could even get a good look at the gate.
Rocky managed to persuade them into leaving by lying to the girls. He explained that they had managed to get a picture of Marshall and Hood in the same frame with a nonexistent camera. This deterred them from going any further, with the trio leading them in the opposite direction. Marshall didn't exactly feel the best about lying to them of all people, but he went along with it in order to save a painfully long explanation for later.
And Marshall had just finished dumping the explanation onto Katie.
Obviously, she was caught off guard by this, but the first thing she wanted to know was if he was sure about the decision he made.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Katie inquired, her eyebrows threading together, "You can still—"
Marshall was quick to shake his head, "I'm a pup of my word, Katie. I'm doing it."
"Don't you mean we?" Rocky lightly nudged his friend, "Seems like you like leaving us out of it."
Everest chuckled, "Yeah, we're all in this together!"
The Dalmatian smiled nervously, "Right, right, sorry..."
Katie turned completely around in the passenger seat to look at the former fire pup, "But I don't understand. Why tell me this now? Why didn't you say anything when we first got on the road?"
"I uh... It didn't come to mind at the moment!" Marshall lied, his eyes shooting around in various directions.
"Mhm..." Katie nodded, not believing him for a second, "...So what about Liz? You haven't told her yet."
"I'm getting to it!" The Dalmatian exclaimed.
Rocky only rolled his eyes, "Right..."
As Liz filled the gas for the car, she felt an all too familiar vibrating sensation in her pocket. She debated whether or not to ignore it, wondering if it was really as important as some of the previous calls. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and stared at the screen. Who was she kidding? Swiping on the phone, the redhead held the phone up to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Liz. How's it been over there?" A high-pitched feminine voice greeted her, "Are you all packed?"
The woman raised an eyebrow, "All packed?"
"Yeah. You said you'd start heading over here today, right?"
Liz's eyes suddenly bulged. Looking up into the sky, she noticed that the morning sun would be nearing noon in just a few hours. That had completely slipped her mind! She was supposed to be on the road and on her way to her days ago, but thanks to her coming up with some lies, she was able to weasel her way out of leaving a few days ago. But she made a fatal mistake. She had given her a definitive date of her departure from Adventure Bay. Upon checking her phone, it was the dawn of that day.
She silently slapped her forehead with her palm. Why did she give her a day? She wasn't ready to leave yet. She wasn't a vet, sure, but she still had responsibilities that she couldn't just opt out of. It was non-negotiable. She was already sticking her neck out by procrastinating, but she had assumed they would be done with all of the Hood stuff by the day she told her she'd be leaving. Well, according to the pups, they were. But she wanted to at least be there when Marshall was invited back onto the PAW Patrol, if that's what he wanted to do.
"Ummm, yeah!" Liz nodded, "I'm leaving Adventure Bay today. I just need to get a few more things together before I head out."
"Alright then! See you soon!"
With that, the call ended, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She'd have to tell Marshall that she never lived entirely in Adventure Bay sometime. But the question was how. How could she just casually break the news that she was leaving Adventure Bay for who knows how long? Especially since she and Marshall had forged a deep bond over the years?
Not only that, but she hadn't even found her scarf yet! There was no way she'd be leaving the town without the red scarf that had been given to her by her grandfather. She had already been neglectful enough to lose it somewhere in her house, but she wouldn't leave it behind. She couldn't. It'd be a disservice to him.
Taking the gas pump out of the car and closing it up, she hung the pump back on its hanger and opened the door to the car. She slipped her phone back into her pocket, sitting down in the driver's seat. After closing the door, they were back on the road once more.
The moment Liz returned to the car, the atmosphere within it weighed down on Rocky, Katie, and Everest. Marshall's attention was suddenly focused on the sights outside of the car, while Liz remained silent, driving the car. Unlike Marshal, Liz was actually skilled in hiding the fact that something was wrong, but Katie was able to pick up that something in the car certainly felt off.
Rocky and Everest turned to look at the other. The Husky raised an eyebrow, as if to ask what was going on. The ex-eco pup only shrugged. He was just as confused as she was. But whatever it was, he'd figure it out. Everest nodded. If anyone could figure Marshall out, it'd be him. He had a knack for it, after all.
She then noticed that they were fast approaching Adventure Bay. An idea came to her mind.
"Liz?" The former mountain pup broke the silence.
"What's up, Everest?"
"Could you drop me off at the base of Jake's mountain on the way back?" The Husky looked up and met Liz's eyes through the rear view mirror.
The redhead seemed confused, "Sure, but why?"
"I just want to see him. He is my owner, after all," Everest reasoned with her.
Liz nodded, "You're lucky you asked that now. We're pretty close to the mountain."
The Husky howled with glee. While yes, she was asking to go to Jake's Mountain for other purposes aside from visiting her owner, seeing the teen was always an added bonus. Besides, this was one of the times she really needed to see him.
Soon, they pulled up at the base of the mountain, Everest hopping out of the car as quickly as possible.
"Are you sure about this?" Liz raised an eyebrow, "It seems like a pretty far way up."
Everest gave the woman a smile, "No need to worry. I know this mountain like the back of my paw! I know a few shortcuts. Besides, I have the communicator Rocky made for me and Marshall."
"Still, be safe going up there, okay?" Katie instructed.
"I will. Oh, and Marshall?"
"Yeah?" The Dalmatian peeked out of his window.
"There's a small box I left somewhere back there, could you get it for me?"
Marshall nodded, ducking back down into the car and sniffing around. Her scent lingered in the car, and he thought that he could follow the strongest traces of her scent if she left something there. It surely would have her scent on it, right?
His theory proved to be correct when his nose bumped into a small box beneath the passenger seat, "Got it!"
He picked up the box with his teeth and climbed back onto the seats in the back. He then jumped out of the window to hand it over to her, but his hind legs caught the edge of the open window, sending him tumbling out. He hit the ground on his back, groaning. Despite the impact, he held the box in his teeth tight, not wanting to drop something that belonged to her.
"Marshall!" She exclaimed, padding over, "Are you okay?"
The Dalmatian sprang up, "I'm good! Your box is too!" He put it down in front of her.
Everest let out a sigh of relief, glad that he seemed unharmed. The relief soon turned into glee. Standing in front of her was a Marshall she recognized. Funny, clumsy, and sweeter than candy. She noticed that he was becoming more like himself since rescuing the little girl from the cliff a few days ago. She had forgotten how much she adored when he would do or say something funny.
She couldn't believe that she got mad at it that time.
Back when they all were still on the PAW Patrol, playing that intense game of freeze tag at the lookout, she remembered when he clumsily fell on her, hurting her paw in the process. She remembered how she screamed with pain, getting angry with him. It hurt, and she was frustrated. In addition, she was short with him after it. She knew it hurt his feelings, but he hurt her paw. It was only fair. But as she thought about it, it wasn't fair. Marshall never meant to hurt her paw.
The worst part about it was that she never apologized for it.
"Hey... Marshall?" She looked away. Normally, if she was this nervous, she'd lightly fiddle with her hat, but as of recently, she was rendered hatless.
"Yeah?" The Dalmatian asked, donning that adorable look of confusion that Everest had grown to adore more once she realized her not-so-platonic feelings toward him.
The Husky inhaled sharply, "I'm sorry!"
"Sorry!?" He seemed even more confused, "Sorry for what?"
"Remember when we were playing freeze tag at the lookout?" She asked, "You know, before everything?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Remember when you crashed into me and I yelled at you?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. I just lost my balance and—"
"Marshall...!" Everest childishly whined, "Please, I don't want you to say you're sorry anymore... Because I was the one who was wrong."
The Dalmatian seemed worried, "Really?"
"Look, while you did hurt my paw, it was just a bruise," The Husky explained, "And you even said sorry. But I got mad and was short with you after that... I know me doing that hurt your feelings. I'm sorry."
Marshall fell silent before his eyebrows furrowed, "Everest, you and Rocky left the team and came looking for me. You've helped me deal with everything and was there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. You never had to do any of those things, but you did. You don't have to apologize for anything."
As the two pups hugged, Rocky, Liz, and Katie watched from the car.
"Awww!" Katie gushed, loving seeing what was happening between them, "That's so sweet!"
The two let go of one another. Everest told the Dalmatian one last thing that was out of earshot before she picked up the box and turned around to head toward Jake's mountain. Marshall, with a wide smile on his face, came back to the car and sat next to Rocky. The instant he closed the door, smirks and knowing eyes were shot in his direction.
"Ummm... Guys?" The Dalmatian smiled awkwardly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Liz chuckled, "You tell me, Romeo."
"What!?" Marshall's cheeks turned red under his fur.
.
.
.
Once the four finally arrived back at the house, Marshall and Rocky were quick to rush out of the car and toward the door. That was until they realized they didn't have thumbs to open the door, and no key to unlock the door in the first place. As they waited at the door for Liz to get there, Marshall looked at the outside of the building.
He smiled faintly, an unconscious whisper managing to slip out, "I'm home..."
While Liz unlocked the door, Rocky turned to his friend, "Okay, while Everest is at Jake's, we need to pack our bags... And one for her too."
Marshall nodded as the door finally opened. Liz watched the two pups hurry off to the guest room, sighing softly, "They're always so lively."
Katie giggled, "It's really cute."
"What don't you find cute?" The redhead walked in behind her, taking off her shoes.
While Katie went straight to the bathroom to finally clean herself off, Liz went right for the attic, pulling the string and letting the stairs fall to the floor. She planned to look around just one more time before she left Adventure Bay. She was almost done looking through all of the cardboard boxes, after all.
Marshall and Rocky, meanwhile, put a bag down between them and began to discuss.
The Dalmatian looked at the empty backpack on the floor, "Okay, Everest told me she'd be back with her snowcat. So we'll have some extra room to pack stuff in."
"Wait, when did she tell you that?" Rocky raised an eyebrow.
"Well, after we... hugged..." Marshall donned a goofy grin, thinking about the soft sensation of her fur brushing up against his.
The gray pup rolled his eyes in amusement, "Whatever. It's good that Everest is thinking ahead though. Having a vehicle like hers with us would be pretty useful."
"What about the PAW Patrol when they need to rescue someone in the snow?" Marshall wondered.
Rocky shrugged, "We did rescues in snowy areas long before Everest came around. It won't be too much of a problem if we use the snowcat for a bit."
The Dally nodded, looking around the room, "What do we need?"
"Well, I'm gonna pack a separate bag with my devices and scrap tech... But as for anything else, we'll have to brainstorm."
"Sounds like a plan!"
As the two brought the empty bag to the kitchen, with Marshall anxiously looking around to make sure they were alone, Rocky's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He had noticed the Dalmatian had been acting odd about them leaving from the moment they were at the gas station.
"Hey, Marshall?"
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you want Liz to know we're leaving today?" Rocky raised a brow in inquisition, "You do realize that she has to drive us there, right?"
"Yeah, I know!" He groaned, "I just... I need a little bit of time before I tell her."
"Why?" The gray pup seemed even more confused.
As Marshall led them into the kitchen, pulling out the large bag of dog food, "It's just... Well... I don't want to make Liz sad. I've been here for around two weeks. At first, when Katie was out at the parlor, it was just me and her. When I started talking again, we grew even closer. She's helped me a whole lot, and I know she cares about me... I don't want to just abandon her."
"I get what you mean, but you still have to tell her."
Meanwhile, up in the attic, Liz huffed stubbornly as she searched another box.
"There's no way I'm gonna tell him!"
Katie groaned, leaned up against one of the support pillars in the attic, "So what are you going to do? Leave him without saying anything?"
"Good point..." The redhead sighed, "It's just that I know Marshall's gotten really attached to me."
"I know, and it's adorable!"
"As I was saying, he's gotten really attached to me, and I've gotten attached to him," Liz continued to rummage through the cardboard box, "The guy's lost so much already, and I'm dreading the moment I tell him and see his heart break."
Katie looked down at an unopened box near her feet, "Yeah, you won't be around to be there for him all of the time, but at least he has people— or pups in this case, who are. He has Rocky and Everest. They'll be there for him, and he'll be there for them."
As Katie began to dig through the once unopened box, Liz let out a sigh, "Yeah, I guess you're right..." She closed her eyes, "I'll tell him as soon as we find that—"
"Scarf!" An excited shout came from behind the woman. Upon turning around, she saw her niece, red scarf in hand, grinning from ear to ear.
"How'd you do that so fast?"
Katie shrugged, "With how many boxes you already searched, it was only a matter of time."
"Guess we're heading downstairs."
Before they could say something or do anything else, though, the two heard a sudden shout from beneath them.
"Woah!" They could hear the familiar voice of Marshall exclaim before the sound of various things hitting the ground deafened anything else that might've been said.
Liz and Katie both looked at the other, sighing, "Marshall..."
Upon peeking into the kitchen, they were greeted by the sight of Marshall, covered in various dog food pellets, laid out on the floor. The dog food wasn't just on Marshall, though, as the entire floor seemed to be covered in it. Rocky was trying desperately to push all of it into a single pile so they could shovel it back into the now half-empty bag of dog food.
Liz obnoxiously cleared her throat, making both Rocky and Marshall stand up straight. They, with nervous faces, turned their heads to look at the two humans peeking in on them.
"What on Earth are you doing?"
"We... Uh..." Marshall stammered, trying to find an excuse.
Rocky gave them a defeated smile "...We were cleaning up?"
Liz put a palm to her forehead, "I'll deal with that later... Right now, there's something I need to tell you, Marshall."
Marshall nodded before Rocky nudged him, "...I have something to tell you too."
"I'm leaving Adventure Bay!" Both admitted in unison, "What?"
"I'm leaving so I can help those in need!" Marshall told her, "Me, Rocky, and Everest are going somewhere where only we can go, to do what we do best. We're rescue pups, we can't just ignore the cries of those who need help."
"I've got to help someone else out, too," Liz lightly rubbed her neck, "But that means I won't be here anymore."
Katie, now playing as a third party, looked between the two, "And how does that make you feel?"
"You gotta do what you gotta do," The redhead sighed, crouching down to Marshall to brush some dog food off of his head, "No matter how much it might hurt. That goes for both of us."
The Dally nodded in agreement.
"Good, now how about I help you pack up all of that food?" The woman asked, "Katie's not really gonna have any use for it after you pups leave."
"That'd be great!" Rocky exclaimed, "But, we only have one bag for everything we might need."
"I found some extra bags in the attic, you can use those."
"Even better!" Marshall cheered.
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.
.
After preparations were complete, and Everest had brought her snowcat, along with Jake in tow, the six finally departed from Adventure Bay. It was late into the day when they finally arrived where they had been the previous night. Liz gently tugged on the scarf she was now wearing as they finally pulled up to their destination.
"That forest is huge!" Jake exclaimed, hopping off of the back of Everest's snowcat, "This is the place?"
Rocky nodded, "Yep, this is the place."
The mood instantly shifted. While the drive there had been lighthearted and filled with conversation between the six. But the instant they all hopped out of their vehicles, they were all aware that this would be some of their final moments together for who knows how long. They were able to feel the weight of the situation crush their backs and lower their spirits.
"So..." Marshall spoke up, "I guess this is it."
Liz looked down at the Dalmatian in front of her, "Yeah, it is."
Silence fell between the six. While the humans stood near Liz's car, which was parked on the side of the road, the pups stood in front of Everest's snowcat, which had been parked near the entrance of the forest. It was odd. All of them knew that the living arrangement of the pups wouldn't be permanent, but yet it hurt to know that those times were over.
The pups had grown used to waking up and being greeted by Katie and Liz. Their morning routine had slowly become the norm for them. And the norm was comfortable. It was no lookout, but it had become a home away from home. Especially for Marshall.
Marshall stepped forward, much to the surprise of everyone, "Thanks for taking me in, Liz. Everyone thought I was some criminal, you had good reason to believe the same thanks to that security footage. But you took me in, despite not knowing who I was before. I owe you so much just for giving me a roof over my head and some blankets to lay my head down on at night."
Liz blushed, scratching the back of her neck as she crouched down to be right in front of him, "It's no big deal, really... I was just making sure you didn't get yourself killed."
Marshall hugged Liz tightly, licking her face.
Rocky walked over to the two, "Thanks for taking me and Everest in too... And for taking care of Marshall when we couldn't."
Everest joined them, a solemn smile on her face, "Yeah, we don't know what could've happened if you hadn't shown up. I wanna see you again soon."
Liz smiled as she let Marshall go to look between all of them, "I meant every word I said before we lured Hood to my house, and even more. You three are the toughest pups I've ever seen. There doesn't seem to be a thing you can't do if you put your heads together. If anyone could survive roughing it in the wild for a week or two, it'd be you guys."
The three smiled at the human in front of them.
"That being said though..." The woman smiled, "I'm glad to be rid of you."
"Yeah right!" The pups gave her a group hug before looking at the other two humans standing there.
Everest's eyes watered a bit before she sprang out of Liz's grasp and bounding toward her owner. Jake only smiled and held his arms out to catch her.
"I'm gonna miss you so much!" She sobbed on his shoulder, "I'm sorry that this is taking longer than I said it would!"
"Hey, hey, hey..." Jake gently pet the fur on her back, "I may not be entirely sure what's going on, but what I do know is that you're doing a good thing. Helping those in need won't ever make me mad at you. So what if you need a bit longer? You were there during the rush, and we rocked it together. That was more than I ever wanted."
Everest silently nodded as she remained latched to her owner.
Rocky, meanwhile, was standing in front of Katie, his eyes looking in every other direction while the blonde waited for him patiently. She held that same kind smile that seemed to be stuck to her face since the moment they met.
"Thanks... For the baths..." The mixed breed muttered.
Katie's eyes sparkled. Never in a million years had she expected Rocky of all pups to say that, "Anytime! Oh, and before I forget, there's something I want to give you."
The young vet hurried off to the car before pulling something out of it and running back to Rocky. She kneeled down before presenting her present. In her hands were goggles. There was an elastic strap lining the back, and the lenses were circular and orange, the same color of his collar.
"...Goggles?"
"You know, so you don't get stuff in your eyes while working on your inventions!"
Rocky smiled, bowing his head so she could put them on his head, "Thanks, Katie..." Once he looked back up at her, she was able to see that they were on his forehead, resting in his fur and ready for whenever he'd bring them down to his eyes so he could begin working.
Jake put Everest down before digging in his pocket, "I know you feel bad about your hat getting all torn up, so while I try to stitch it back together, I want you to have this."
He pulled out a hat that looked nearly identical to her old one, except that there was an evergreen tree on the teal colored part of the hat, just like the insignia of the pup tag she left with Ryder.
"It isn't exactly the same, but I tried to get as close as possible so that you'd feel like your hat was still with you."
Everest grinned as he put the hat on her head. It fit like a glove, "Thanks, Jake!"
Liz, who was still talking with Marshall, let out a faint sigh, "Hey Marshall?"
"Yeah?"
"We don't know when the last time we're going to see each other is..." She admitted, "It could be weeks, months... I don't know. So I want to tell you something."
Marshall was intrigued, "What is it?"
"I know you've noticed the scarf I've been wearing..." Liz began, "I found it— well, Katie found it in the attic, and it's a precious possession of mine."
"Really? Why?"
"It's because my grandfather owned it, and so did my great-grandfather," She lightly rubbed her scarf, "My great-grandfather recognized my grandfather as a good vet, giving him this scarf. Years later, he gave it to me, recognizing me as a good vet to be... But I'm not really a vet anymore, am I?"
"Right, you quit..." The Dalmatian nodded.
"So I've been thinking of giving it to another great vet."
"Katie?" Marshall grinned, "That's amazing!"
"No, while Katie is a good vet, she wasn't the one constantly on my mind while I was looking for that scarf. You were."
The Dally's eyes widened, "Wait, you don't mean—" He stopped when he saw Liz take her scarf off, "No! I can't accept that!"
"You can, and you will," Liz stood firm, "I'm acknowledging you as a future pup that takes care of both humans and animals. You're a medic, just like me, my grandpa, and my great-grandfather."
"But isn't this a family heirloom!?" Marshall looked at the scarf in the redhead's hands, "We might be close, but I don't think—!"
"Do I have to spell it out, you dummy!?" Liz cut him off, "...You are family..."
Marshall fell silent, looking down at the ground. It made sense that she was telling him that, yet it still gave him a strange feeling in his chest the moment he heard the redhead admit that. The thought had always been lingering in his mind. The thought that his and Liz's relationship was one that went a lot deeper than just him being a pup that she would have to patch up whenever he got hurt.
A familiar yellow object then caught his eye. As they moved to look at what he saw, he could just barely make out his collar. He had completely forgotten that he, Everest, and Rocky had been discriminated against the night simply because they had them. There was no way that he could help the dogs of that area if he still had it with him. None of them could. And he knew just what to do with it.
"...Well, if you're gonna leave me with that, then I'll leave you with something too," He looked back up at her and pointed at his collar.
"Marshall, that's a great idea!" Rocky exclaimed, revealing that he, along with everyone else, was watching them, "We can't really have our collars where we're going, so we need to leave them behind. That goes for you too, Everest."
The Husky nodded before looking up at Jake, who had already kneeled down to take her collar off. Rocky looked away as Katie did the same. Liz only smiled at the Dalmatian, reaching for his collar.
Once Marshall's collar was off completely, Liz tied the scarf loosely around his neck to replace it. The red color reminded him of wearing his firefighter uniform back when he was on the PAW Patrol. It was nice to have some red back on him.
"I like the look..." Rocky complimented, walking over to him.
Everest, with a small blush under her fur, walked over as well, "It looks great on you, Marshall."
"Thanks, Liz... I'll take care of it. I swear!" He looked at the redhead, "I won't let you down."
Liz chuckled, "Oreo, you could never let me down."
.
.
.
Marshall, Rocky, and Everest waved as Liz's car sped off into the distance. All three of the pups wore bright smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye to their owner, in Everest's case, and adopted owner, in Marshall and Rocky's cases. Once the car was finally out of sight, they stopped waving and began to walk over to Everest's snowcat. Upon turning around, though, they noticed a familiar Dalmatian sitting on his haunches right next to the vehicle.
"So those were your humans?" Hood asked, raising an eyebrow under the black fur around his right eye.
Marshall was immediately confused, "How long have you been there?"
"I've been waiting for you three to show up for hours..." The wild Dalmatian remarked, "I thought you would have more urgency, the way you all agreed to helping my home."
"Speaking of, how are we gonna get my snowcat there if there's a cliff on the way there?" Everest asked confusedly.
"I know a few ways around it."
"Well then what are we waiting for?" Marshall asked hypothetically, "Everyone in the snowcat, we have dogs to save!"
Rocky and Everest nodded in confident agreement while Hood sat there, a grimace on his face, "Was he always this... Bubbly?"
Everest walked past and hopped into her snowcat, "He's working on it."
Upon seeing both Marshall and Rocky climb in after her, he backed away a bit nervously, "I regret this already..." Hood remarked, "I don't think I'm getting in that."
Marshall chuckled, hopping out of the snowcat and dragging him over, throwing the other Dalmatian in. Hood tried to get back out, but the sound of the vehicle starting up rendered the wild pup frozen in place.
"C'mon Marshall!" Rocky called to him.
The Dalmatian nodded before beginning his running start in order to jump into the vehicle, but slipped as he tried to jump, "Woahhhh!" He then tripped on a small rock before somehow flying into the snowcat, landing on the three other pups.
"Whoops..." The Dalmatian smiled nervously, "Time to rock and roll, I guess?"
Rocky and Everest's eyes widened. It had been so long since they heard a crash pun from the Dalmatian. Their smiles slowly grew before they laughed at the joke.
For the past few weeks, they had been trying their best to help Marshall and reassure him that it was okay to be himself, even when everything seemed to be going wrong. As they thought about how far they had come since leaving the lookout and the PAW Patrol, memories of the times, the good and the bad, they spent while on the hunt for the very pup that they had now agreed to help. While Marshall was slowly gaining his old personality back, he still had those moments where he'd relapse and go back to being unsure of everything. While he joked, they were few and far between. But seemingly, his clumsiness never did. It always reaffirmed them that yes, the pup in front of them was still the goofy Dalmatian they knew and loved.
Marshall, while he wasn't entirely back to normal yet, was getting there.
Hood, meanwhile, let out a faint groan at the pun, cringing, "Here we go..."