Was he… wagging his tail?! When he was so cruel to Duchess and this other dog? …Was she still alive? The dog forced himself to look away from Duke and towards her, trying and failing to detect the rise and fall of her chest that should be there and eventually hearing himself respond. "...It's fine… is she okay?" Instead of answering this very urgent question, which he didn't appear to have heard over his sudden interest in the rat, Duke sauntered closer to her cage and leaned in towards it, practically pressing his nose up against the bars and inhaling deeply. "That is incredible! What's up with that thing?" The dog instinctively pulled the cage back slightly, just in time to stop him from getting clawed. "...Rabies… she has rabies…" The latch was so close; it'd be so easy to release it, to release her… the rat, and then Duchess… Duke's much too enthused voice scattered his thoughts. "Good a reason as any to put a bitch in a cage, amiright?" The latch only became more tempting as the disgusting foxer laughed at his own joke. "Ya gotta tell me where you got it, maybe they come in a size large enough for mine!"

His laughter was thankfully and oh so satisfyingly cut short as the rat lunged towards his throat, released from the confines of her cage by the dog's paw. Her teeth tore into his flesh, releasing copious amounts of blood that mingled with that of his victim… most recent victim? and he let out a very quickly suppressed yelp, desperately trying to shake her off. The dog stopped breathing in terror as Duke managed to get to a nearby wall before slamming her against it repeatedly, eventually causing her to drop to the ground, either unconscious or dead. He stared at her in dazed bewilderment for a long moment before refocusing his gaze on the dog, now angered despite his apparent struggle to maintain his grip on consciousness. "What the fox is your problem? Are you tryna get me killed?!" He staggered closer to him, staining even more of the concrete red, and the dog expected to meet what would have been the sweet embrace of death only a few days ago until he saw her. Duchess, his sweet love, had emerged from an alley exit some distance away and was staring at them in horror. Horror that he was now motivated to put everything in him into sparing her from.

He thrust towards him, trying to finish what the rat had started and ripping through him with his teeth and claws… for only a few seconds, much less time than she had lasted, before he felt himself be thrown off and against the wall, landing in front of her. Through his blurry, pained vision, he saw that her chest was rising and falling slightly… hopefully not for too much longer, for her sake and everyone else's… He looked up weakly as a shadow fell over them, followed quickly by the blood still dripping from Duke's throat. "What'd I ever do to you?" His voice was much more strained now, quieter and almost… betrayed? After a pause, the dog managed to regain control over his voice, finding it to be just as strained at least. "...Nothing, it's what you did to her…" Duke tilted his head in genuine confusion, flinching as this exacerbated the wounds on his neck and chest. "...Her who?" The dog desperately fought against the rapid fading of his vision and consciousness that he had been surrendering to after getting thrown against the wall as Duchess came into his now heavily limited field of view behind Duke, looking at him with fear that caught what little breath he still had in his throat. She quietly, stealthily, gracefully picked Duke's pole up with her mouth, and the last thing the dog saw before he slipped out of consciousness completely was her slamming it against his head. Hard.

Despite his recent… possibly not so recent skirmish against a sadistic creep, the dog woke up in more safety and warmth than he had ever experienced before. The pillow under his ribs and the awning over his eyes, despite protecting him from the pain that his injuries and the sun seemed to be determined to inflict upon him, were nothing in comparison to the dog that had procured them for him and the sight of her determinedly watching over him, the feel of her soft and silky fur against his, her… Duchess… He swiftly shut his eyes as she turned back towards him, not wanting this moment of being cared for, of being with her, to end, but the relief and… joy? in her voice as she evidently saw that he was awake soothed his worries. "Dog! You're okay!" He quickly attempted to stand up to meet her as she approached him and just as quickly gave up on the idea as the stabbing pain in his ribs returned. "...Yeah… I'm okay…" She elegantly lay down in front of him, stunning him with a lick against his muzzle. "And so are… most of the members of the Pack, thanks to you…"

He flinched as a mental image of Duke's victim presented itself to him for what would very much not be the first or last time that day. "...That other dog, did he…" He trailed off as Duchess dipped her head sadly and… guiltily? "...Yes… I tried to do everything I could, but… it wasn't enough… Trixie would've made an amazing Leader of the Pack…" The dog somehow found the courage to copy her earlier gesture and lick her muzzle, stunning her just as she had him. "It wasn't your fault, Duchess, it was his. Besides, I probably would've died if you hadn't saved me." She nuzzled him… affectionately? before speaking. "Oh, I just finished what you started. It was so brave of you to confront him like that, especially considering that…" She quickly looked along the meager length of his body before course correcting and pointing something else out. "...none of us have." He hung his head slightly, embarrassed. "I was just trying to finish what the rat started…" The dog paused, looking around for her alarmedly, and continued after seeing the cage with her securely… hopefully securely… locked inside, moving around dazedly as if she hadn't yet fully recovered from her… their earlier ordeal.

"...I wasn't… I'm not brave enough to take him on by myself…" He trailed off as Duchess stood up and carefully settled down around him, clearly trying to not disturb his injuries. "Dog, it's clear you suffer from a low self image, and it's high time you get it fixed. I think I know how I can help." He looked at her confusedly, desperately fighting against the tiredness that the comfort of her presence wrapped around him and the pain of his injuries in that order brought him. "...More than you already have?" She smiled at the ground, filling him with more exhilaration than he had ever experienced despite his exhaustion. "...Yes… I think Duke would be a perfect name for you, since the original is gone now thanks to you, and you deserve such a nice name far more than he ever did." Surprisingly, this bestowal of a sadistic creep's name upon him wasn't revolting to him… it sounded amazing to him when it was spoken with affection and confidence in him by his love rather than the fear and resentment that she had spoken it with when it had referred to the original.

Duke forced his head upwards, fighting sleep and licking her muzzle affectionately. "I love it, I love you-" He instinctively shoved his eyes closed and his muzzle under his paw, reeling from embarrassment and regret that he had really just said that. Duke hesitantly opened his eyes, relieved, as Duchess licked his muzzle in return. "I love you too, Duke." There was so much he wanted to say in response: additional reflections of this sentiment, propositions of a future together, propositions of a… different nature… but the comfort of being wrapped up in her warmth and love was tugging his eyelids down so defiantly, so determinedly, and it was looking like they would have tomorrow to start getting all of that worked out… he mumbled something that hopefully at least partially resembled an affirmation of his love for her before drifting off into an uncharacteristically for him peaceful sleep.