Bandanas

Dodger and Rose had gone into the city to spend some quality time together. They kept the experiences with their mothers out of their conversation and they just focused on getting food for the gang.

They enjoyed their time together in the city. They also saw them as masters of the world, keeping the beat with each movement of the city despite the pain they had both felt.

They considered not going back to Fagin; Rose and Dodger could stay together. However, that didn't mean they had to stop being friends with the others, stopping for brief visits. They needed time to forget what had happened yesterday.

By the time the early afternoon arrived, which meant that there would be a lunch rush in Times Square. Everybody in the city would congregate to serve delicious food. Hotdogs were a favorite among the city paterons, mostly from a cartman affectionately known as Old Louie.

Dodger and Rose would make themselves a meal, hoping to make off with some of those links. They could almost taste the ketchup on the links.

As usual, the two dogs devised a plan to retrieve those hot dogs. Rose was the distraction that kept Louie distracted while Dodger swiftly snatched the hot dogs, wrapping them around his neck for safe keeping.

They were pros by this point. After they got their prize, they bolted into a nearby alleyway. But before they could relax, a single growl from behind them got their attention.

Unconcerned, they turned around to face another street dog. A mastiff mixed with a belgian malinois shepherd. His coat was short, having a tannish color with a dark face mask.

His ears were floppy, hanging down to where his dark eyes were. He growled, showing his teeth at the two adolescents.

"Don't even think about it, buddy. Wanna dine like a king and queen? Get food yourself," Dodger said with a smirk. Rose gave the artsy terrier a grin then looked back at the mastiff mix.

"Gotta agree with ya. He oughta stick with the trash," she said. This made the mastiff mix only angrier. "It wasn't a suggestion, you brats. Either you throw them over, or things will be more difficult," he spat, a low growl rising in his broad chest.

"Leave it to me, Dodge. I'll holler if I need help," the shepherd mix said, getting ready to fight this other street dog. Dodger laid the hot dogs on the ground to help his best friend in this fight.

"Haven't you figured out by now that we're in this together?" Dodger said to her, coming to her right side. Rose knew what he meant by this.

She gave him a nod and faced the mastiff mix again. "Alright, you want to fight? Let's fight. Two against one. You got no chance," Rose said, standing in a fighting position.

The mastiff mix knew that this was the same mutt that had attacked Dasher, the pitbull that Rose had attacked when she was younger. He was from another gang of dogs where their leader was a cane corso mixed with a great dane with a midnight black coat with a thick white star on his chest.

However, he wore a thick leather tagless collar around his neck, indicating that he was a pet. His right hand man was a rottweiler mixed with a doberman. It was a small gang but it was a powerful one.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this," the mastiff/shepherd mix chuckled, raising his thin tail up. The three dogs clashed, having a strong hold on one another.

Rose jumped on the other street dogs' back, sinking her fangs into his neck hide. Dodger bit down on his shoulder. If he didn't have a stronger bite, he would've grinned.

The fight went on for another few minutes.

The mastiff mix turned his head and tried to pull Rose off, but Rose wouldn't let go. He did manage to get both off and tried going for the link of hot dogs, but Rose jumped up, biting his face.

"Alright, fine! You can keep them!" he cried out, seeing that he had no other option but to run from the duo.

What would his boss think if he heard he got bested by two adolescent dogs? His comrades would never let him live it down. Dasher had already got the short end of the stick from the same she-dog, now this dog was next in line.

Rose chased him off, biting his hindquarters to make sure he was gone. She panted heavily and gave a snort once she saw him turn the corner. Neither of them were scared of the humans that happened to be looming around that alleyway.

Rose turned back around and trotted back to where Dodger was. "Now that was a piece a' cake," Dodger said with a smug smile on his muzzle.

"I'll say. He didn't know what he was in for," Rose agreed, stretching her legs. "He sure didn't. Let's get this back to the gang," Dodger laughed, picking the hot dogs up again and he wrapped them around his neck.

The two dogs made their way back to the barge to deliver the food before going back out. They didn't feel up to staying in the barge yet.

Dodger and Rose had talked things over about possibly leaving their friends to start a new gang of their own. They'd be lying if they felt guilty for considering that decision. Tito did miss his usual playmates though. It became boring without them there.

As they make it back to the city, the two dogs spotted Fagin's scooter parked on the sidewalk; Where he dropped them off at.

As long as they stayed in the city, they could forget their mothers harsh words. The closer they got to Fagin's scooter, the stronger an uneasy feeling grew. "Dodger, something's wrong," she said, carefully walking up to the scooter.

She sniffed it and caught a peculiar scent. "Dodger, there's two more scents here. Something's not right," she said, still sniffing the scooter.

Dodger ran over and also sniffed the scooter. His eyes widened a bit and he looked passed Rose. "You're right. Let's g-" he said before the sound of a scuffle interrupted him, making Rose turn her head to look behind her with her ears perked.

Dodger looked in the same direction as Rose, ears also pricked up. The two dogs became fearful for Fagin, so they didn't hesitate to run in that direction the danger was coming from.

A single trash bin flew out of the alleyway, spilling garbage everywhere on the sidewalk. They turned the corner to see the cause of disturbance.

To their horror, they see Fagin being seemingly jumped by two humans. But they looked much younger than Fagin, probably in their late teens. They were not fully grown- that's for sure.

Rose's protective instincts took over and she started to growl deeply at the two along with Dodger, whose hair stood up on end. Rose galloped towards where Fagin laid, her claws scraping the concrete as she did.

Dodger followed suit, barking loudly and fiercely at the delinquents. Rose stood over the wounded man, hackles raised to their point, baring her long canines at the two stunned teens. She didn't take her eyes off of them.

The terrier was at her side, hackles raised too. Neither canine had fear against their assailants; These teens got kicks out of beating someone down who was at a lower standard than them.

One looked nervous while the other laughed, clearly underestimating the two canines. When the teen that laughed raised their weapon to strike Fagin again, Rose quickly sprung to action by leaping at him.

The teen jumped back with a yelp as Rose grabbed his blue bandana that he wore around his neck, pulling it off swiftly.

Dodger leaped at them too, but was knocked to the side from being kicked. "No, stop!" Fagin exclaimed.

Rose dropped the bandanna and her snarls became more intense. She and Dodger were going to protect Fagin with everything they had in them.

Dodger took on the second teenager, who wore a red bandana around his neck. He leapt forward and grabbed the cloth and knocked the youth down to the ground. The youth untied it from his neck quickly.

The she-dog managed to knock down one, biting down on his arm sleeve, thrashing her head around while she growled.

He used his fist to hit Rose on her head to get her off of him. Rose yelped loudly, but didn't release her bite.

"Call them off, man! Please call them off!" he shouted, now panicked.

Fagin does so and the two dogs get off of them, but not without chasing them off, biting their heels in the process. They barked defensively and snorted loudly for good measure.

Rose and Dodger looked back at their fallen friend worriedly. They make their way over to him with their ears dropped.

Fagin didn't have any serious injuries thankfully. He wrapped an arm around each mutt, body shivering from the shock of what happened.

"What would I do without you, Dodger and Rose?" he sobbed, grateful for their help. Rose and Dodger licked his tears from his eyes.

After a while, Fagin pushed himself up and told the dogs that they needed to get out of there before those boys came back.

At this moment, Rose and Dodger came to realize why Fagin was so important to them. Not many street dogs would ever cling onto a human, but they did. They had a close relationship with him. They had so much in common, being abandoned by their estranged family. They were family.

Fagin took care of six dogs, which is all he had left. He picked up the red and blue bandanas and turned back to the adolescents with a grin. "I believe these are yours now," he said, kneeling down in front of them.

The two dogs sat still while Fagin tied the bandanas around their necks. Rose wore the blue one and Dodger wore the red one. It was different than wearing a collar to symbolize ownership, but it was a symbol of their bond, their partnership.

It was them against the world. The two dogs smiled up at Fagin, wagging their tails proudly. Rose and Dodger hopped in the back of Fagin's scooter. They careened for home, giving them time to think.

Leaving the only home they've ever known wasn't an option anymore. Especially after what Fagin had told them. They were going to stick together until the end.