Author's note: Sorry I disappeared for so long!
Delilah obviously couldn't go back to work anymore. What with the whole 'kidnapping a patient' thing.
It pained her greatly to have to give up the job she loved so much, but what choice did she have? If she were to try and show up as if nothing had happened, Doctor Dave would most certainly have several questions for her regarding Hunter. And she couldn't let him or any of the staff know where he was, else they would immediately hand him back over to that vile woman. Delilah would gladly sooner give up being a nursing dog forever than ever let that happen.
Still, she and Doug knew they couldn't be too lenient. They quickly set up a list of very strict ground rules the day Hunter was reluctantly taken in.
Rule #1: He was to stay up in the attic. If he needed to come out to use the restroom he would be escorted by either Delilah or Doug.
Rule #2: He was never to be alone with any of the pups without either Delilah or Doug present to supervise.
And finally, Rule #3: Absolutely NO pup was to leave the house until further notice.
The two parents had decided to not yet tell the family (sans Dylan and Dolly) that she-who-must-not-be-named was out and about once more, lest it start another house wide panic.
The one silver lining to all this was that the family was prepared for another lockdown, should worse come to worse. On top of that, their travel bus was ready and on standby should they need to escape in a hurry. The Dalmatians also informed Pearl of the crisis, and the police horse took it upon herself to personally patrol their home, vigilantly watching for any suspicious red and black vehicles in the area.
They had all of their bases covered for whenever that devil woman decided to strike.
In the meantime, the two parents did their best to pretend everything was fine. Doug went to work as usual while his wife stayed home to stand guard at the attic door. ...Dylan and Dolly, on the other hand, were FAR less successful at pretending things were cool.
Dolly, for her part, was furious. She was positively brimming with rage. Why were humans so confusing, she thought to herself. They'd sent that lunatic off to jail! She had witnessed it herself, along with the rest of her family. So just how was the withered old fossil already back?!
Even animals knew that when you did something wrong you paid the consequences for it. Why the heck wasn't it the same way amongst the supposedly "smarter" species? Just thinking about it made Dolly's blood boil.
While she fumed, her brother Dylan had spiraled into his usual panic mode. He paced back and forth around the living room for what was close to an hour now. If he didn't stop soon, Dolly was sure the wooden floorboards beneath his paws would give out, sending him hurtling down into the basement. Despite her current anger, she still had to fight off a smirk from just imagining it.
"So just to recap," Dylan sputtered nervously. "We currently have a de Vil IN OUR HOUSE voluntarily!?"
Dolly opened her mouth to answer, but Dylan continued on, not giving her or any of their siblings a single moment to interject. The small group of pups gathered together with them in the living room could only wait in silence as their eldest brother kept anxiously pacing.
"There's only ONE explanation. Mum and dad have officially lost their minds!"
"Dylan, bro, just chill," Dolly urged. She took a step toward him and placed a paw on his back. "Ok, yeah. This is totally weird, but, I mean... it's not like he's staying forever, right?"
Dylan gulped from just the mere thought of that scenario.
"'Sides, if he tries anything," Dolly continued. "-mum and dad said they'll kick him to the curb. So relax."
"RELAX?!" Dylan repeated incredulously. "I'm supposed to RELAX when the same guy who helped try to skin us alive is living underneath the same roof?!"
Dolly winced, casting a worried glance over at their younger siblings who sat to the side listening. Their eyes widened at the mention of the incident, and their ears drooped down ever so slightly in fear. Some of the littlest ones had even begun to shake. They leapt into Dawkins' arms, who held them tightly while devolving into a quivering mess himself.
"Exnay on the inningskay, bro!" She muttered to Dylan with a slight growl.
Dylan realized his blunder and hastily cleared his throat. "Er... eheheh.. what I meant was—"
Suddenly his ears perked up, startled by the abrupt sound of giggling coming from the couch. He turned his head to find the Triple-D huddled together in a circle, lounging on one of their largest, fanciest silk pillows. Between the the trio of pups was their touchpad, and they each murmured excitedly to each other as they added more and more things to their digital cart.
"Uh, guys?" Dylan scowled over at them. "I'm failing to see what's so funny at a time like this."
Dallas looked up, casting her brother an irritated look of her own. "For your information, we're doing something super important here," she said in her usual sassy tone.
"Which is?"
Destiny looked up this time, her eyes beaming. "Buying clothes for our new pet, duh!"
Dylan's eyes nearly shot out of his head. "Our WHAT?!"
"Humans have so much more options than dogs do! There's, like, sooo much to choose from," she continued, eyes once more glued to the touchpad.
Dylan and Dolly exchanged a silent look of dread before he sprinted over to them. "Wait, wait— he is NOT our new pet! Mum said he was only staying here temporarily!"
Dallas scoffed in annoyance. "Ugh. Whatever. We're still totally getting him something better to wear than that little dress thing he's got on."
"It would be cruel not to," Destiny added. "I mean, did you not SEE it? It's hideous."
Deja Vu nodded in agreement as she added another pair of shoes to the cart. The three sisters giggled again in unison. Dylan, with a large vein beginning to throb on his forehead, was about to argue once more when the doorbell suddenly rang, nearly making him jump right out of his fur.
The door! Dear dog, the door! He instantly got flashbacks to the last time the house was under siege and flew into a frenzy.
"EVERYONE! EVASIVE POSITIONS!"
At his command, all of the pups in the room dove right into the nearest hiding spot. Within seconds there were puppies crammed underneath the sofa, the rug, inside the slide and behind the curtains. Some had even managed to climb all the way up the walls and onto the shelves, hiding behind books. A plethora of tiny, frightened eyes peeked out from every nook and cranny of the living room, but no one dared make a sound.
They all shook in admittedly adorable silence as they watched their mum calmly enter the den. Not paying them any mind, she walked past and strut over to the entrance hallway. She looked through the peephole to make sure it was safe before sticking her head out the doggy door, then reemerged holding a paper bag in her mouth.
Very nervously, Dylan drew his head out from his hiding spot and sniffed the air.
...was that fast food?
Delilah gloomily made her way back through the living room, her drooping eyes looking withered and somber. She briefly stopped in front of the rug where her son's nose was awkwardly sticking out of and gave him a tired look. "Dylan, dear, please keep calm. It was only the delivery man."
Her son and the rest of her family sheepishly emerged.
Upon closer inspection, Dylan was able to read the name of the burger place written across the bag still in the grip of his mother's teeth.
"Is that—? You got him food?!"
If Delilah could sigh at the moment, she would have. "Well I can't very well feed him kibble," she mumble-answered while still keeping a hold of the bag. "Now you all stay put while I go upstairs. Keep an eye on everyone."
With that she returned to the hall and made her way up the staircase.
Dylan had to be losing his mind. Why else would his parents be acting this crazy? He turned to the others, desperately looking for anyone to back him up on this. "It's seriously not just me, right?! This whole thing is totally insane, RIGHT?!"
As if summoned, Dante's eerie, silhouetted form emerged from a shadow in the corner, causing Dylan to let out a small yelp. The gloomy pup gave his exasperated elder brother a nod of agreement. "Yes. Completely insane," he murmured in his usual monotone. "No doubt this is a harbinger of the end."
"THANK YOU!" Dylan exclaimed. Then after a small beat, added, "...I think."
Dolly meanwhile simply shook her head. She could already tell Dylan would be pacing for another three hours or so at this rate. She groaned, knowing that meant that she would have to be the grounded sibling for now.
Very quietly, just as Dylan began ranting anew, she snuck away and ventured to where their mother was. She lightly but swiftly trodded up the staircase and caught Delilah just as she was about to pull the latch to the attic.
Delilah paused, he ears perking up as she realized her eldest daughter was standing behind her.
"Uh... mum?"
"Dolly dear, I can't talk right now."
"Yeah, I know, but I just..." the younger pup paused, frowning deeply as she struggled to ask her question tactfully. "...you do know what you're doing, right?"
There was a beat of silence.
"...right?" Dolly asked again, sounding a touch more nervous.
The tiredness in her mother's eyes became all the more evident. She placed the doggy bag beside her on the ground and slumped into a weary sit. "Truthfully, love? No. I don't."
Dolly's frown deepened even further. Yikes. Not the answer she was hoping for.
"I'm so sorry. The safety of this family should have been my number one priority. I shouldn't have been so foolish and impulsive."
Double yikes.
Never in all the years she'd known her stepmom had Dolly ever heard her admit to making such an irrational decision. Even when she kept the secret about Cruella de Vil from the family, she only did so because she thought they would never be bothered by her again. Which honestly, with how ancient the old crone was at this point, any dog would have reasonably assumed she would be long dead by now.
This time however, Delilah knew good and well that Cruella was still around, yet she still took a huge risk against the family's safety anyway. On top of that, to hear that she had no plan when she did it made Dolly's stomach drop. Was this the kind of jittery, anxious dread Dylan felt all the time, she briefly wondered.
Walking as delicately as she could, she sat down beside her mother and cast her a look of sympathy. She had to think hard for a good moment or two. Words were never her strong suit, after all. Even though Dolly still wasn't entirely on board with the whole Hunter situation herself just yet, she could tell that her mother desperately needed some encouragement right now, so she dug deep to find the right thing to say.
"Hey, I do foolish and impulsive stuff, like, everyday. Those are practically my middle names. I get it," she said understandingly. "And I mean... you're mum. If you of all dogs did something super crazy and impulsive, then it had to be for a good reason."
Delilah's downcast expression lightened slightly at that.
"This whole thing is messed up. But we trust you, mum."
The older dog gave her daughter a small, yet grateful smile. "Thank you, sweets."
Hunter hadn't moved from his spot huddled in the attic corner.
Occasionally he would peek out from behind the blinds of the one window in the darkened room, but very quickly so as not to be seen. Though he had yet to catch sight of his aunt, he knew she was out there somewhere. Lurking, ready to swoop in at any moment. Like a spider waiting for the kill.
The mounting suspense was driving him insane.
He had to get out of there. Every second he spent in this house was putting these dogs right back into danger. As terrified as he was of his aunt, the Dalmatians being at risk again sacred him even more, so he wracked his brains trying to think up an escape plan. Unfortunately there was nothing he could use as a makeshift rope to climb out the window with. There was no way to sneak out the front door of the house either, what with the mother dog keeping watch. He was utterly trapped.
His breathing grew more strained with every passing moment.
The stress of it all was bearing down on him like a heavy weight around his neck. He felt like he was going to scream. ...only to have a sudden knock bring the scream right out of him anyway.
The disheveled boy flailed about in the most undignified manner possible as Delilah appeared. Her seemingly sprouting up out of the ground scared the absolute daylights out of him, and he scrambled to compose himself as she closed the attic door behind her.
"There now, it's only me," she said gently.
She stepped over to the rattled boy and placed a paper bag beside him. She nudged it towards him with her snout, staring at him with a stern look on her face. He had almost grown accustomed to said look by this point.
"Here. I ordered you some food."
He blinked, mouth agape. "N-no, I can't possibly accept—"
"You most certainly can," she retorted. "You haven't eaten anything since leaving the hospital, so you must be starving."
The dog's thoughtfulness only made him feel ten times more guilty. He opened his mouth to try and refuse again, but a loud grumble from his stomach made his words fizzle out before they could even leave his throat. His face immediately blushed bright red in embarrassment.
Delilah gave him a knowing smirk. "See? I can always tell a hungry pup when I see one."
Having little choice, he lifted the burger to his face with trembling hands and took a reluctant nibble. He squeaked out a tiny 'thank you' in between bites, feeling utterly mortified, and Delilah had to hold back the urge to chuckle. She watched on with a sympathetic smile, making sure he got his fill. Greasy fast food wasn't terribly healthy, but so long as he got some nutrients, it should be fine for now. Though if the boy was truly going to be staying with them for an extended amount of time, Delilah decided she would have to do some research into proper human meal preparation.
Unbeknownst to either of them, two curious eyes were watching the closed attic door from below.
Dee Dee and Dizzy kept as quiet as they could, despite how rapidly their tails were wagging over the prospect of finally seeing their old friend again. They simply needed to find a way to sneak past their mother, which was easier said than done.
The little pups were so deep in thought that they didn't realize Dolly had come up behind them, her brow arched up in curiosity.
"What're you guys doin'?"
The duo jumped, startled, and began to instinctually run, only to bump their heads together and collapse to the floor in a cute little heap. Once seeing it was only Dolly, they shot her a matching pair of sheepish grins. "Ooh, um... nothing!" Dizzy said.
"Yup! Nothing!" Dee Dee added, still grinning wide.
Dolly raised her eyebrow higher. "Uh huh," she murmured, unconvinced. She cast her glance up at the attic door, then returned it back down to the pups. "You wanna see the guy, don't you?" She asked dryly, already knowing full well what the answer was.
Both sisters hung their tiny heads. "...yes." They admitted sullenly.
"Well tough luck. Mum says you can't go up there."
Dee Dee brought out the old puppy dog eyes, with Dizzy following suit. "Oh, but we need to!" The double eye patch having pup pleaded. "We have to tell him we're sorry!"
"Sorry for what?" Dolly asked, brow arching up even higher.
"For not coming to see him at the par—"
Before she could finish, Dee Dee quickly clamped a paw over her mouth while frantically shushing her before she could blurt out their secret. Too little too late though, as Dolly had already put two and two together. "So you guys DID sneak out through the fence all those times! I totally knew it!"
She gave the two an angry look, almost channeling their parents. It was so unlike the rebellious pup, but her usual Dolly attitude was temporarily overtaken by sisterly worry. To think they'd been hanging out with the de Vil kid multiple times as if nothing had happened. Dang it, the family really needed to hammer in the importance of stranger danger into their knuckle headed little brains.
Her younger sisters whimpered underneath her glare, eyes growing even wider and sadder by the minute. "B-but we..." Dee Dee began, her bottom lip quivering. "...we only meant to do it once!"
"Yes, only once!" Dizzy added. "But then we found Mister Funny Face and he saved me and—!"
"Woah, woah," Dolly interrupted, stopping them mid-ramble. "Saved you from what?"
Dizzy let out another whimper before quietly mumbling, "...being hit by a truck."
Dolly stared blankly, taken aback as she tried to process all this new info. Her sister's apparent brush with death was startling enough, but hearing that that jerk faced twerp upstairs had actually saved her? Dolly couldn't believe it. She briefly remembered the intense fight between her and the little creep the day he had almost captured Dante, and the thought of that same demented kid rescuing one of her siblings seemed completely unreal.
"You're serious?" She asked her sisters incredulously.
They nodded in unison.
Just then, the three heard the latch to the attic start to unlock, and they quickly scrambled to duck around the corner before their mother could spot them. Delilah, having finished feeding their guest, made her way back down into the hall, closed up the attic entrance behind her and returned to her guard duty. She sat her weary self down, unaware of her daughters hiding just out of her line of sight.
Dee Dee and Dizzy looked crestfallen. Their ears began to droop as they gazed up at the ceiling. "We'll never get to see Mister Funny face now," Dizzy whispered forlornly.
Ugh. Dolly rolled her eyes, annoyed. It was bad enough having to actually play the responsible sibling for once, but now she found herself having a strange, nagging feeling of... what was that stupid thing called? Empathy? Not just for her little sisters, but also for Hunter de Vil of all people too? Yuck.
She took an irritated breath before deciding to do something she knew would definitely get her in trouble.
"Ok guys," she whispered to her mopey sibs. "Just follow me. But we gotta make this quick, alright?"
Alone once more, Hunter returned to his corner and hugged his legs to his chest as he sat. He rested his head on top of his knees, sighing deeply.
Having some food in his stomach admittedly made him feel a bit better, but his thoughts remained bleak.
He wished his clothes hadn't been left behind. He felt so awkward in his flimsy hospital gown. It was certainly going to turn a lot of heads once he found a way to escape from this literal doghouse.
As if he didn't look crazy enough already. Just how the heck was he supposed to manage being discrete while looking like an escaped mental patient? This was going to make hiding from his aunt absolutely impossible.
Oh well, he thought. Even if she did catch him, which he knew was probably inevitable, he figured he could at the very least lead her as far away from the Dalmatian home as he could before falling back into her bony clutches. ...better him than them.
As he resigned himself to his fate, the odd sound of something creaking nearby suddenly startled him. The boy slowly raised his head, nervously looking around in the dark for whatever the source of the noise was.
The creaking gradually grew louder and closer.
Hunter felt his heartbeat intensify with every shrill screech, and he held himself tighter as he began shaking in fear.
...could whatever that sound was be his auntie?
The color drained from his face as his paranoid mind began to go wild. For a brief, horrifying moment, he even thought it was possible that she was hiding inside the walls somehow. He covered his face and shielded himself as best as he could when the creaking was finally at it's loudest. Then, as abruptly as it had started, it stopped, and he heard the chipper sound of two familiar, happy voices.
"Mister Funny Face!"
Still terrified, he peeked out from behind his hands and saw his two little puppy friends from the park, plus an older pup, sitting in a dumbwaiter on the opposite wall.
To say he was relieved would be a vast understatement.
The two puppies leapt out of the small compartment and dashed right over to him excitedly, their wagging tails going positively mad. He was instantly covered in sloppy, affectionate dog kisses, causing him to not only smile, but to even laugh again for the first time in ages.
"We missed you! We missed you!" The little ones chanted, and he wiped a few happy tears from his eyes as they continued their onslaught of cuddles.
Dee Dee nuzzled against his right cheek, her eyes growing large and apologetic. "We're sorry we stopped coming to see you. We couldn't sneak out of the yard anymore," she explained sadly.
Dizzy nuzzled the other side of his face, and Hunter felt as though a small piece of his heart had been mended.
"Heh... it's all right," he sniffed, nuzzling them right back. "I figured something like that must have happened."
"We never wanted to leave you," said Dizzy, her smile practically taking up her entire face. "And now we never will! Cause you're gonna live with us from now on!"
His laughter turned nervous at that. "Oh no, I'm not staying long... I'll probably be leaving really soon."
Dee Dee and Dizzy's smiles instantly turned into frowns. "What? But WHY?" came the whining. They began begging him to stay, listing off the many ways they would take care of him. Promising daily walks, as well as plans to decorate the attic and turn it into his new room, with blankets, pillows, toys and anything else a pet human could ever possibly need. Hunter couldn't help chuckling weakly over their enthusiasm. It was sweet, albeit misplaced.
That's when he noticed Dolly standing nearby. He didn't know most of the dogs by name yet, but he certainly recognized the dog he'd gotten into a street fight with, and awkwardly turned his gaze away in shame. He couldn't bring himself to even make eye contact with her.
Dolly quietly narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't prepared for just how hard the rush of unpleasant memories would hit her the second she caught sight (and scent) of the young de Vil again after so long.
Said street fight, as well as his little vacuum cleaner stunt, were still fresh in her mind. Him suddenly acting all 'innocent' only intensified her growing resentment. Even though her sisters had claimed he'd saved one of their lives, Dolly wasn't ready to fall for it. No doubt it was just another one of his sneaky tricks.
"So," she said in a tone that was anything but friendly while stepping closer. "When do you plan on leaving?"
Hunter gulped, keeping his gaze turned downwards. "...as soon as I can."
The smaller pups sensed the sudden tension in the air and gave their sister a pleading look. "Dolly..." Dee Dee whispered with a tiny crack in her voice. "...please don't be mean."
Dolly ignored them though, and took another spiteful step forward. "Oh yeah? And just how soon is 'soon?'" she demanded. At this point she was right beside the kid, and if he didn't still have his head down she'd probably be nose to nose with him too. Hunter could feel himself squirming under her scrutinizing glare.
The surprisingly intimidating for her size dog had him cornered, and he did everything in his power not to audibly whimper. He braced himself for whatever verbal beatdown she had in store for him, but tears were already starting to well up in his eyes regardless.
"I-I..." he mumbled weakly.
"And when you do leave," Dolly, continued, going in for the kill. "—just know you better not even THINK about tryin' to take any of my sibs with you! Cause I'll slam you back into another garbage can so hard, you'll be cleaning trash outta your ratty hair for weeks, you hear me?!"
The instant she let that threat leave her mouth, Dolly VASTLY regret it.
Immediately, the kid broke down into the most pitiful, blubbering crying she'd ever heard in her life.
She cringed, jumping back. All the vengeful anger she felt mere seconds ago all but evaporated into thin air. "Now look what you did!" She heard one of her sisters scold her.
She sat there dumbstruck as Hunter wept into his hands, suddenly feeling as though she were a playground bully.
What. The. Heck.
This wasn't how she'd pictured things going in her head at all. Between sobs she could hear Hunter snivel out multiple, whimpering 'I'm sorry!'s,' causing Dolly to start back peddling as fast as she could.
"Woah, chill out! I was just— I-I didn't mean to— well I mean I guess I did, but—"
Hunter's crying only continued.
"C'mon, knock it off... please?" Dolly practically begged. "I was just mad is all! I'm not actually gonna dunk you in the garbage, I swear!"
The boy wiped his nose rather messily with his arm. "You should," he bawled. "It's where I belong."
Aw jeez. His crying seemed waaaaay too convincing to be another act, so Dolly mentally kicked herself, realizing she might have jumped the gun a teensy bit.
Dizzy and Dee Dee crawled onto the sobbing boy's lap, offering up some comfort snuggles. This managed to quiet him down a bit, much to Dolly's relief. After ten minutes or so, Hunter finally settled down. He rubbed the remaining tears out of his eyes and sighed. "...sorry." He mumbled again, very softly.
Dolly rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. She was beginning to see why her parents had risked taking him in. This pitiful crybaby didn't seem to even remotely resemble the nasty little slimeball she remembered from months ago. It was beyond jarring.
She took an apprehensive step forward, this time with a much less hostile vibe. Deep down she still felt deeply unsure about the kid, but decided that for now she'd try to play nice and give him a very hesitant chance.
"Uh... listen. I'm Dolly. You wanna maybe... I don't know. Start over?"
"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" Dallas practically screeched. "The clothes are here! Let's see them, let's see!"
She and the other D's tore up their newly arrived packages with eager paws as their father, now home from work, watched on. He silently hoped the bill for these instant deliveries wouldn't be too expensive.
A wary looking Dylan, followed by Dawkins and Dante, emerged from the living room to see what the commotion was about. Upon seeing all the piles of frivolous clothing, Dylan let out a groan. "Seriously? Why are we getting him so much stuff?"
Doug tried to force a weak laugh. "They're just some necessities, is all," he said, not sounding terribly convincing.
"Oh yeah. Brand name sneakers are totally a necessity," Dylan snarked, eyes narrowing in annoyance. Dawkins and Dante mirrored his less than thrilled expression.
The Triple-D were happy to ignore them though, as they started pushing their purchases towards the stairs. Delilah caught sight of this and made her way down, picking up a bag handle with her teeth to carry back to Hunter. Personally she still didn't know a lick about human fashion, but she at least knew that the t-shirt and jeans inside would certainly be an improvement over their guest's current "outfit."
As she began descending back up the stairs and up the ladder to the attic, she felt a small tug on her tail. Turning around, she found Dorothy and smiled. "Oh? You want to pay a visit, do you?"
Little Dorothy beamed, letting out a tiny, eager yip. Delilah chuckled, unable to argue with a face that cute. "All right, sweets. But only for a bit. Just stay close to—"
Her voice cut off as they entered the attic and switched on the lights, revealing three other pups already there sitting with Hunter.
"DOLLY DALMATIAN!" Delilah shouted, tone angry and strict. "What are you doing up here?!"
Dolly, as well as the other three, froze in place, looking like toddlers who'd gotten caught with their hands right in the cookie jar. "Heeey mum," Dolly greeted with an awkward laugh. "How's it going?"
Dang it. She knew they would get caught.
Her mother glared, annoyed that her eldest couldn't manage to follow the simple rules she had set up for even the bulk of a single day. Dorothy, on the hand, was positively thrilled. She sped past the matriarch and made a bee line straight for Hunter, hopping right onto his waiting lap. Dee Dee and Dizzy giggled, delighted to make room for their youngest sis.
Though he was mortified, the young de Vil still couldn't stop himself from being happy to see the littlest one again.
Delilah ran an exasperated paw down her snout. "An explanation please?" She said to her oldest daughter. As she fully made her way into the room, she failed to notice that several other curious pups had also followed along behind her. Once she did, her expression, again, twisted into one of irritation. "Oh for heaven's sake!"
Seven or so furry little heads peeked up from the open attic door on the floor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the "scary human." Though apprehensive at first, the sight of old Mister Funny Face harmlessly sitting there with three pups on his lap made some of their tails start to wag with growing optimism. He didn't seem to look all that scary anymore.
Dylan, still a bundle of growing nerves, stood fretting at the bottom of the ladder. "GUYS!" He yelled at them haplessly. "Get DOWN from there! Attic is off limits, remember?!" But his attempts at assembling them back up in an orderly fashion fell on deaf ears.
The sound of her neurotic son's voice made Delilah let out yet another sigh. She realized she just couldn't stop her pups at this point, now could she?
Oh well. She supposed it was fine. She was there to supervise, after all. "It's fine, Dylan. I'm here!"
With a small nod of her head, she signaled to the pups that it was safe to come closer. And come closer they did, yipping and salivating with excitement as they scurried in and began to swarm their startled house guest. Hunter found himself feeling terribly overwhelmed.
"Oh… oh wow… um, hi?"
They huddled around him, poking him with their wet little noises and tilting their heads in fascination. "Are you still bad?" asked a tiny voice. "Are you nice now?" asked another.
"Is he really gonna be our new pet?" "Can he sleep in my bed?" "Does he knew any games?" The questions just kept piling on. Hunter's head was starting to swim. Luckily some gentle shushes from their mother quieted them down, yet they remained glued to his sides, sniffing at him curiously.
Delilah placed the bag of clothes beside the boy, and he did a double take when getting a good look at the fancy words written on the side. Right away he hastily tried to turn down the family's generosity again, but Delilah once more insisted.
"But these are SO expensive!" Hunter protested. This high end store was the type of place he used to shop at frequently back when he was still living in his aunt's tower.
"Uh, duh. That's why we bought them!"
Three more puppies entered the attic, dragging even more bags of clothing behind them. It was the familiar trio of Dallas, Destiny, and Deja vu, each looking very proud of their extravagant tastes. "Besides, these are, like, just an afternoon's worth of work anyways. It's totally whatever."
Next thing he knew, Hunter found himself being forced to put on a runway show for an audience of dogs. The fabulous trio insisted, practically yanking him by his gown behind a makeshift changing curtain. He couldn't exactly say no to the Triple-D, given how nasty he'd been to them before, so he modeled all the sneakers, tees and pants with only minimum embarrassment. Seemed the D's were willing to let bygones be bygones for the sake of fashion.
The puppies barked out their approval, hopping with glee whenever the human remerged from behind the curtain with a new outfit. Hunter felt rather silly, but at the same time... it was strangely fun. Plus he was secretly thrilled to be rid of that tacky hospital gown at long last. He just had to be careful, as occasionally Dorothy would make a hungry lunge for his new shoes whenever he passed her, much to everyone's amusement.
Delilah and Dolly both found that they were enjoying themselves too. Seeing the kid well fed and dressed, as opposed to the hungry, miserable mess he'd been on arrival was quite satisfying for Delilah. As for Dolly, a playful smirk gradually made it's way onto her face as she slowly found herself warming up to the idea of having this dopey human around for a while.
It might not be so bad after all. ...maybe.
Meanwhile, downstairs, a different trio of pups felt very differently. They could hear the sounds of merriment coming from above and shook their heads in disapproval. "How can everybody be so chill? Are we forgetting that this is a state of emergency?!" Dylan declared.
Dawkins, looking just as rattled beside him, pulled on his own ears. "Oh kibble. What if he brings about that horrid vacuum again? It was so cramped in there…"
Climbing a few steps onto the staircase in order to loom a bit more ominously over his brothers, Dante spread his arms out dramatically. "Mark my barks— we'll all RUE the day we let that devil's spawn back in here! RUE it, I say!"
Dylan and Dawkins, normally far more level headed, vigorously agreed. Dylan took a moment to race over to one of the windows, sneaking a paranoid peek beyond the drapes. Unlike the other two, he knew the situation was even more dire than they could ever dream, and gulped, checking to make sure you-know-who wasn't out there. The geeky pup could only hope that the house's new security system was enough to keep them all safe this time around.
Why oh WHY was this happening again? Hadn't his family already been through enough?!
Unbeknownst to him, a tiny camera caught sight of that small movement of the curtain. It zoomed in on the covered up window, meticulously recording with deadly precision.
A thin, hairless cat sat on a neighbor's roof, concealed by shadows as it silently watched over the Dalmatian home like a gargoyle. Its eyes narrowed as its collar's camcorder sent a direct feed right to Ms. de Vil's car. Said car sat parked several miles away in the empty parking lot of the now abandoned de Vil tower, all in order to evade the watch of the meddlesome police horse that kept trotting about the mutts' neighborhood.
The old woman, still wrapped up in her coverings like a mummy, glared at the tiny screen on her dashboard with grit teeth as she tightly gripped her wheel.
Curse that boy.
And curse her parole officers for that whole 'you're not to go within ten meters of that house again unless you want to be thrown back into the slammer' nonsense.
Once again she had no choice but to be patient. That little brat couldn't stay in that house forever. And the moment he did step out... oh ho ho. His dear old auntie would be ready to greet him for what would hopefully be the final time.
Her bloodthirsty grip on her steering wheel intensified, frightfully bending the hard metal in her ghoulish hands.