"Excuse me?"

The librarian turned away from the books she was organizing on a small cart. "Yes? How can I-" her voice faltered when her gaze found him and Carlos ducked his head to avoid eye contact, "help you?"

Why was he doing this? He could just wander the bookshelves until he found what he was looking for. He didn't have to do this…But he needed to know what he was doing. Especially if he didn't want to get mauled.

"Could you, um, tell me where I can find a book about dogs?"

Across the desk, the librarian stiffened, eyes narrowing as her gaze flicked to his hair. Oh. Right. How had he overlooked the biggest reason he shouldn't ask? Of course the son of Cruella asking about dogs was going to cause problems. There was no pretending he was someone else. He was obviously a de Vil and he was the only de Vil not on the Isle.

Before he could take back the question the librarian pointed to the stairs. "Third floor. Fifth aisle to the left."

"Thank you."

Hyperaware of her watching his every move, Carlos darted for the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, Carlos saw her make a quick sign to ward off evil before a bookshelf cut off his line of sight. Something inside cracked. Digging his nails into his palms, he escaped up the stairs to the third floor before quietly counting the aisles.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. That one.

There were so many books. There probably weren't as many on dogs as something like magic or politics, but if he was honest he'd only expected two or three books. Not a bookshelf and a half's worth. Silently praying to the gods that he could actually find enough information to keep himself safe, Carlos sorted through the books. The ones about biology looked interesting, but they weren't particularly helpful at the moment so he ignored them. Several books were focused on the behaviors and psychology of dogs. He wasn't sure what psychology meant, but the parts about behavior were exactly what he wanted.

Taking a few books from the shelf, careful to remember the exact place of each one, he settled on the floor with his back to the shelf and an open notebook next to him.

Dogs wag their tails for several reasons and the way they wag it will tell him what the dog was feeling. Fast and high was happy. Low and slow was uncomfortable. Barking was less clear. They used it for most things and not knowing exactly what to expect…

He traced a needle track near his wrist, back aching from phantom blows.

Don't use barking as a warning. Too unreliable.

A good sign was if a dog bowed, that meant the dog was happy and wanted to play…How did dogs play? He knew the cats liked to chase and bat at things. Would dogs like that too? He made a mental note to look into that more. Dogs also liked being close to people: leaning on them, sitting next to them or on them, licking. When the dog sav-helped him in the stables, he remembered him licking him. It was similar to how Checkers would rub against his legs and purr. Being that close to a dog's mouth, very capable of tearing him apart, wasn't something he wanted, but if it was a sign of affection he could probably force himself to be still.

Jumping…A shudder made his messy handwriting even worse. Most of the time dogs jumped up to greet people but…gods if the dog did jump on him…

"Those beasts won't hesitate to tear you apart…A stupid little stick like you is their favorite meal…Gods if only there were dogs here. Could just throw you to them and be rid of a useless runt. Only thing those beasts would be any good for."

Covering his ears, Carlos closed his eyes, curling in on himself. It was pointless, he knew that; her voice was in his head. That wasn't something he could block out. It wasn't until his hand found empty air that he realized he'd been reaching for Checkers.

Fuck.

"Carlos?"

Dagger in hand in less than a heartbeat, Carlos jerked to his feet. Only to find Ben standing at the other end of the aisle, hands raised. Something flickered across his face, too fast for Carlos to read, before Ben offered him a smile.

"Sorry. I thought you heard me come up," Ben said as if Carlos wasn't braced to attack. As if he wasn't being threatened by a member of the most dangerous pack on the Isle.

"Yeah," he managed, quickly tucking his dagger away, begging the gods that Ben didn't decide he was too dangerous to keep in Auradon.

When he didn't say anything else, Ben let his hands fall back to his sides. "I guess if I'm ever looking for one of you I should check the library too. I keep finding you guys in here surrounded by books." His smile widened. "At least you don't look like you're going to try to burn the place down like Mal."

That could be a problem. Later he'd need to talk to his pack about being more careful in the library. If Ben was already joking about it being somewhere to find them it meant there was a higher risk of being caught trying to research the barrier.

"Dogs, huh?"

Blinking, Carlos watched Ben pick up one of the books and flip through it.

"I wanted to learn more about them before trying to get to know the dog," Carlos explained, quickly gathering the books to check out. He suddenly felt too exposed, alone. He could continue his research in their room.

For a moment, Ben considered him and Carlos plucked at a loose thread on his vest.

"Would you like some help?"

"Help?" Carlos echoed. What was the catch? Why was Ben offering?

The prince nodded. "Books are useful to a degree, but hands-on experience is better when dealing with living things like dogs. It's why we have classes like the animal handling one you're taking. I can help you get to know him." Carlos eyed him, still waiting for the catch. When he didn't say anything, Ben continued, "It's okay if you don't want it. Just thought I'd offer since I know about dogs."

Was it worth it? Hands-on experience was definitely better than just books, but being in someone's debt was the last thing Carlos wanted to deal with. Especially if he didn't know what Ben wanted from the start. If Ben did have a lot of experience with dogs the knowledge would be incredibly helpful…

"What do you want in return?" If the price was too high, he could always figure it out on his own. It wouldn't be the first or the last time he taught himself.

The prince paused, frowning, as if he wasn't sure how to answer the question. Or he wasn't expecting Carlos to ask before accepting and he had to come up with a new price. Finally, Ben's expression cleared and he said, "You take good care of him, the way you do with Checkers if you decide you like him."

That…That was a strange price. Having a half-fae leader taught him all about loopholes and what to watch out for, but he couldn't find any hidden expectations or requirements in the request. No one told him what to do to take care of Checkers which meant Ben couldn't tell him what to do with the dog. And if he tried, Carlos would be able to point out that it wasn't part of the deal.

"Deal," Carlos nodded and Ben relaxed, smile warming.

"Let's check out and find him."

Nodding, Carlos put away the books he didn't need, grabbed his notebook, and followed the prince back down the stairs. The librarian hesitated when he put the books on her desk, her gaze flicking to Ben, before filing everything and handing back the books with a little more force than necessary. Carlos forced himself not to flinch. Beside him, Ben's expression flickered, a flash of irritation setting Carlos's nerves on edge. But the prince smoothed his features and checked out his own book before leading the way outside.

Checkers meowed when she saw them. With a slow, deep stretch, the cat abandoned her perch on the small column at the end of the stairs to jump down and weave between his legs. A few feet away, the dog wagged his tail, still careful to give Carlos space until he initiated. Crouching, Carlos pet Checkers and extended a hand towards the dog.

As the dog joined them, Ben scratched behind his ears and Carlos tucked that information away for later. Dogs like being scratched behind the ears too.

"Hi, boy," the prince smiled. "How're you doing?"

That reminded him. "What's his name?"

"Oh, um," Ben floundered, pausing in his scratching and earning a soft whine from the dog. "He doesn't have one."

No name? "Because he's a-a stray?"

"Yeah."

Heart aching, Carlos swallowed and carefully pet the dog. A stray. So alone it didn't even have a name.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, making sure the prince couldn't hear him, though he knew Ben was watching him. "That must've been so lonely."

"Why don't you name him?" Ben suggested after a moment.

Startled, Carlos glanced at him, accidentally meeting his soft brown gaze. "I can do that?"

"Yeah. He likes you and, like you said, he doesn't have one. I think you should be the one to name him."

"I don't even know what to name him," he admitted, refocusing on the dog and letting him lick his hand.

"You don't need to know now," Ben said. "Take your time. When you know what you want to name him, let me know and I can get him a collar and name tag. So people know he has a home."

Carlos froze. A home. He…he was giving the dog a home. And in Auradon a home was safe. A home was good.

The dog looked up at him, tail wagging, tongue lolling and Carlos knew he would do anything to protect him.

Oh he was so fucked.