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Define Arc	By : BlackberryPatch Category: +M to R > Pet Shop of Horrors Views: 8525 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Desecration
- 2-Despot
- 3-Damask
- 4-Definition
- 5-Damsel
- 6-Dearth
- 7-Dirigere
- 8-Disturbance
- 9-Decadence
- 10-Disease
- 11-Draht
- 12-Darkness
- 13-Dva
- 14-Daguerreotype
- 15-Draconigenae
- 16-Deification
- 17-Deviant
- 18-Doyoubi
- 9
- 10
- 11
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors and no money is being made
from this fanwork.

WARNINGS: language, violence.

With thanks to ZeoViolet, who nagged me.

------------------
-

"Disease"

-

The skin under his fingers� there was a warmth to it. He brushed it, stroked it, tasted it. It tickled him with soft hairs, rising and falling as the chest it covered moved with the necessity of breathing. D sighed softly, his fingers tracing over that skin while his breath rustled through the golden hair he pressed his face into. It smelled like sunlight- bright, strong, pure.
"Leon," he murmured, moving so that his head rested against that chest, Leon's heartbeat under his ear. It was a steady, even sound. A warm, living sound.

It was the sound of something� forbidden.
Not just the beating of the human's heart, but the deep need D felt to
keep things that way- to make sure Leon's heart continued to beat, and that D
could continue to hear it doing so under his ear. The desire he felt for Leon, more than Leon's own desires for him, was what kept him awake this night, the dawn now seeping in through the windows. More than desire� dare he again
give name to what he felt for the human who lay warm against him? He wouldn't dare. But Leon would. Leon who was so� brazen.
So� unrepentant. He would give voice to that feeling that most of his kind had
forgotten the meaning of.

Shifting in half-sleep, Leon raised an arm to wrap it around D, pulling him closer. D sighed, softly,
one cheek pressed against the warmth of that skin as he felt fingers trace through his hair before brushing lightly over his other cheek, only skimming over the skin so that he turned toward the phantom touch, wanting more of it.
"I'm not going anywhere," Leon said, his voice soft but strong.
D sighed again. "You speak words that mean nothing," he murmured, drumming trim fingernails gently against Leon's stomach.
"But that is not what troubles my mind."

Leon chuckled, the sound loud under D's ear before it hit only lightly upon the air.
"Let me guess, �It's not you, it's me'? That sounds too much like too many other
relationships I've had. Come on, D. I know you're not the type."
"No." D raised his head, meeting Leon's eyes. "It's not that at all." He reached out to touch Leon's face, his fingers curling familiarly around the man's firm features.
"What troubles me is not your leaving, Leon." His fingers brushed over full lips
as his voice dropped to a whisper. "It's that you
will stay, and I will be powerless to defend you."

Leon turned, pulling D's body underneath his as he held himself up on his elbows leaning down to kiss the other man, their bodies pressed together.
"I have faith in you," he whispered back.
D turned his face away. "You don't understand."

Leon grinned, nuzzling against D's neck. "I do actually. Well, as much as I need to. I told you; for whatever you can't handle, I went to a higher authority." He trailed his tongue along the vein in D's neck, up, behind his ear, and D shuddered, his hands coming up to grasp at Leon as his body arched against the man above him.

"Stop it Leon," he murmured ineffectually. "I can't think when you� ahhhh�" Leon chuckled, his voice low and throaty, but D shoved up against him, pushing Leon over so that D knelt over him, their positions abruptly reversed. His hands around the man's arms pinned him to the bed as D claimed the mouth below his deeply and forcefully. So warm� It wasn't just a physical feeling; it went down to the very core of his soul.

Leon moaned into the kiss, pressed up against the body above him as he strove to get closer to it, not fighting the hands that held him down. His head fell back and D dropped light kisses along his throat as Leon moaned with desire. Pausing a moment, D looked at the creature in his arms. A golden mane of hair was slicked against the pale skin of his throat and face,
half-lidded eyes watching idly, mouth open as he inhaled deeply, his teeth glinting predatorily in the
dawn light. He sighed a deep, shuddering breath, his passion growing in him as he exhaled that breath in a rumbling growl.

"You are so�" D's voice was soft, one hand coming up to trail slender fingers through that pale hair. Leon grinned mockingly, expecting one of D's many criticisms of the human race to end the statement.
"Beautiful," D finished, and Leon, surprised, leaned up to kiss him tenderly. Their lips met, and D leaned into the contact.
A warning twinge flickered through him, but his mind was so focused on the lips beneath his that he didn't realize at first what he body was telling him, pain so close to pleasure.
The pain ripped through him suddenly- arriving without warning as it always
did- leaving him gasping, his hands at his throat as the breath seemed to stop
there, refusing to move either to leave him or to enter his lungs. He heard Leon
say his name, but the man seemed immeasurably distant as D gasped for breath,
the pain overwhelming him. He barely noticed as Leon lay him down on the bed,
but the man's fingers felt like fire on his skin as Leon traced a line along D's
throat, trying to feel what was wrong. "D," he heard Leon say again, soft lips brushing against his forehead, and suddenly the pain subsided
as abruptly as it had begun.
D gasped, inhaling sharply and deeply at the cessation of the pain, and he blinked up at Leon leaning over him.
"Shhh, D. It's alright," Leon murmured, holding his lover against himself gently.
They lay like that for awhile, and as D's breathing evened Leon glanced down to meet
his eyes. "What was that?" He hesitated a moment. "It wasn't anything I did was
it?"
"No, I�" D shook his head slightly. "It's� something that happens at times."
He shook himself again, surprised that the attack had stopped so quickly;
usually he felt sore and ill for quite awhile afterwards, but now he only felt a
slight itch in the back of his throat as a reminder. He pushed himself to a sitting position.
I suppose I have my new 'medicine' to credit for that, he mused to
himself offhandedly. He turned to Leon, smiling faintly in an effort to dispel the worried look on the man's face.
"I'm fine,"
he reassured him. Leon snorted his disbelief, but he sat back as D rose form the bed.
The mood was definitely broken, and there was a day to prepare for. Leon
rose from the bed more slowly as he scanned the room for clothes that were mostly clean
and
pulled them on, not looking forward to going to work today.
D dressed as well; brushing out his hair he watched as Leon's loose shirt
settled on his frame, hiding the sculpted curves of his abdomen. Turning away to
hide a smile, D put away thoughts of his lover, concerns about the morning's events,
as well as the deeper thoughts that had plagued him all through the night, and set his mind on getting breakfast for all under his care.

-o-o-o-o-

"Annette! Here girl!"
Leon looked up at the voice, and the responding bark, to see a young man being bowled over by an energetic young collie. He snorted and continued walking through the park, his hands still shoved deep in the pockets of his jacket pulled shut against the wind.
He was interrupted in his thoughts again as the collie cut across his path, her long sable fur blowing in the wind of her speed. He stopped short, looking sharply at the dog as it cut back in front of him, its tail waving like a plume as it victoriously bore the captured tennis ball back to its master.

"Sorry about that," the young man said, running up. He was dressed for jogging in the unseasonable weather, from sneakers to hooded sweatshirt; dark hair was brushed back from an open face flushed with cold and exertion. He bent to retrieve the ball from its captor and the collie immediately went alert the minute the object returned to the hand that would throw it.

"It's alright." Leon shrugged, surprisingly affable. "I guess if I'm
planning on thinking and walking at the same time I should pick a place for it
with fewer possible collisions."
The young man laughed good-naturedly. "I'm Jeffrey," he said, extending his hand.

"Leon," he responded, pausing a moment to watch as Jeffrey threw the ball for his dog, sending her racing over the grass in pursuit. She moved beautifully, gracefully, gliding over the ground, and Leon couldn't help but think of D.
"Nice dog," he murmured.
Jeffrey smiled, pleased. "She is, isn't she? You wouldn't have known it if you'd seen her when I first got her. She'd been abused, poor thing." He paused to congratulate the animal in question as she returned, once again victorious. Jeffrey's arm went back and he sent the ball sailing out for another run.
"She's come so far in just the short time I've had her, it's remarkable. She's still afraid of the dark, though," he mused absently, then seemed to remember who he was talking to and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry if I'm rambling. I just� she's amazing." His eyes dropped as he said, more as an observation to himself,
"We really mesh."
Leon shook his head. "No. It's alright." He was quiet a moment, watching as Annette returned again with the tennis ball, panting with exertion in the chill air. She looked up at Jeffrey with eyes full of love as she waited for him to throw the ball again, her entire body poised for that moment.

"Alright, one more," Jeffrey murmured to her, and belted the ball out over the grass again as she raced after it.

Leon watched her. "It's� good to see." Jeffrey looked at him questioningly.
"I'm a cop," Leon offered as explanation,
though he wondered what he thought that was going to explain..
"You're a cop?" Jeffrey looked at him again, warily this time. There was a slight pause before he added,
"No comments on my blatant disregard for the leash law?"
Leon snorted. "That's not really my department; and she's not causing any trouble." He frowned and specified on his earlier comment,
"It's just, I see a lot of� the bad side; of everything- including animal abuse. It's nice to be reminded that there is a life afterward that isn't
still the same hell." He paused, his eyes full of shadows. "For some
at least."
Jeffrey nodded, his eyes darkening. "I understand." He glanced sidelong at Leon then his eyes darted back out to follow Annette's retreating form.
"I guess I'm an 'afterward' too," he said with dark humor. Leon looked at him but Jeffrey's eyes followed Annette, though they seemed to be seeing something else.
"My dad never really... Well, after he threw me out I hit some hard times; sunk pretty low- even lower than I'd been before." Annette returned; dropping the tennis ball at her master's feet she barked sharply. Jeffrey shook himself and smiled at her, dropping down to his knees to run his hands through her fur, bury his face in it, as she wagged her tail enthusiastically and tried to lick his face. He looked up at Leon.
"But things are definitely good now."
Leon grinned back at him. "That's good to hear." Annette, the ball still resting where she had dropped it on the ground, turned her attention to the stranger. There was something about him that she liked, for after a preliminary sniff she greeted him with brightly wagging tail and inquisitive nose. He offered her his hand and she shoved her head under it.

Jeffrey, rising to his feet, looked at Leon with a new respect. "She never
does that; she's incredibly wary of strangers- especially men."
Smiling absently, Leon stroked the dog's head. "I've recently developed� let's call it an affinity, for animals." He added, under his breath,
"Or those who take care of them."
Jeffrey's smile warmed slightly. "Ah, would you like to join us for lunch?" Leon raised an eyebrow.
"If not that's fine." Jeffrey glanced down quickly, blushing slightly. "Annette and I usually go to the cafe down the street after a day at the park," he looked up again shyly,
"and I'm sure she'd like it if you came with us." He watched Leon, slightly wary
again, and looked like he wanted to say something else.
Annette licked Leon's hand. "Sure," he said. "Why not?" He grinned absently, looking back up at Jeffrey who returned the smile
warmly.
"Over here then; I have to pick up my bag before we leave." He went toward a tree not far away and well within sight of where they had been. As they approached, Annette suddenly tensed, her ears pricking up and her tail curling
over her back as her fur bristled, a low growl rumbling deep in her throat. Jeffrey glanced at her worriedly, but it wasn't much longer before he realized what she was telling him.

Leon looked down at a small gym bag, which had formerly been filled with a
couple of towels, another tennis ball, a few treats for Annette, and some other
odds and ends. The bag had been upended, its contents scattered over the ground.
Some liquid had been sprayed over everything; Annette sniffed at the mess, her
lip curling in distaste, and Leon could hazard a guess as to what it was. The
bag had been torn and it and the surrounding ground had been spray painted in an
obnoxious orange color with the letters "FAG." Other epithets covered
the ground in other shades, a red and a pale green; some enterprising individual had even
managed to fit "cocksucker" sideways up along the trunk of the tree.

"I, ah, I'm sorry," Jeffrey managed to get out after a stunned moment. He turned to Leon looking shocked and embarrassed but not particularly surprised.
"I didn't mean for you to� have to deal with this. I'm sorry," he said again, his hands nervously running through his hair then brushing down along his side as if to rid himself of something he couldn't quite define. Annette, whining softly, bumped her head against his knee and Jeffrey immediately buried his hands in her long fur.

"Sorry for what?" Leon murmured, scanning the area for signs of who had committed the vandalism.
"Bored, hateful, teenagers?"
Jeffrey shot him a look of surprise. "I� ah," he stumbled. "I don't know what to say," he admitted finally. He wrapped his arms around Annette as she stood on her hind legs to lick his face.

Leon scowled. There was no sign of the perpetrators; despite his hasty categorization, there was no telling who they had been. He was guessing there was more than one of them, and probably younger males; vandalism was usually a group activity- punks laying on the machismo in front of
their buddies. He shook his head; he wasn't going to be able to do his job here
with the lack of immediate evidence,
so he might as well continue with his previous plans. "I say we go get that lunch." He turned to Jeffrey, smiling- though the expression was hard, the predator in him, the one who really enjoyed his job, still roused.

"Right," Jeffrey murmured, nodding his head absently, still holding tightly to Annette. She didn't seem worried about how forcefully her master held her, only concerned with making him feel better. Whining softly, she nuzzled his face, her tail wagging as she noticed that he was feeling better.
"Lunch," he said, grinning, his eyes filled with Annette. She wagged her tail harder, familiar with what usually happened after a morning at the park. Jeffrey stroked her shoulder and she dropped back down on all fours, confident that her human was alright now. She frisked alongside as the pair started toward the open-air cafe near the park.

The mood was somber, despite neither man wanting it to stay that way, and
conversation stilted. After lunch, Leon went with Jeffrey back to his car; he hoped he was being casual enough but he supposed it was fairly obvious that he was trying to keep an eye on the other man
in case the vandals were still hanging around.
"Don't let it get to you," he urged him.
Jeffrey smirked self-deprecatingly as he leaned back against his vehicle, a standard yellow taxi cab, Annette already inside.
"I'll be alright. It's not the first time something like this has happened; it won't be the last." He fiddled with his keys a bit.
"You've been a big help, Leon." He lingered over Leon's name. "Thank you." He hesitated a moment before plunging ahead.
"I� was wondering if I could have your phone number or something? Some way to contact you�" He dropped his hands and turned away, as if acknowledging that he had already blown his chances.
"You just� seem like a nice guy, and I don't meet too many of those."

Leon looked up, meeting Jeffrey's eyes. Belatedly, several things fell
together- Jeffrey's never denying what the vandals had charged him with, his
nervousness and attentiveness toward Leon, Leon's own behavior with following
the other man to his car. Leon realized that the other man was hitting on him,
and that he unwittingly had been responding favorably to the attention; it wasn't something he had ever
really noticed before in his life, if it had ever happened, but he supposed
Jeffrey felt safe enough about making the attempt since Leon hadn't made a stink
when they'd discovered the vandalism. "Sure," he found himself saying. "Though I suppose I should tell you, I'm already in a relationship." He saw Jeffrey's eyes light up at the first word, then the light die down as he continued.

"Just my luck," the man murmured, reaching through the half opened window of the cab to rub Annette's nose.
"But
I'm not going to pass up the chance to make another friend in this town." He smiled
shyly at Leon. "It's nice to have someone to talk to sometimes."

Leon grinned back at him. "Yeah. It is."

-o-o-o-o-

Jill pushed open the door of the pet shop. It was dark inside; darker than usual.
"Leon?" she called out. "Count?" She walked in slowly, moving tentatively as she waited for someone to respond to her queries.
"Detective Fresney," a voice behind her said.
Smiling, she turned. "Hello Count! It's good to see you." She paused, looking at him carefully.
"Are you alright?"
D smiled at her brightly, but it was rather obvious, to her anyway, that he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before.
"Quite fine, Detective, thank you for asking. I'm assuming this is a social visit." He raised an eyebrow and his smile curled in wry humor as he took in her clothing.
"Will you be joining us for tea?"
She smiled herself at the outfit she was wearing; it was definitely not work appropriate attire.
"I'm sorry, I can't stay. Andrew's waiting outside, and we have to go pick up some other friends. I just wanted to drop this off for Leon." She held out a manila folder.
"It's some notes on our latest case. He left early and this information just
came in. He's not here is he?"
"I'm afraid not." Was it just her, or did D sound�
distressed? Maybe a little bit worried?
"Ah. Well, if you could give it to him I would be most appreciative."

D accepted the folder with a slight bow. "Of course."

"Thank you Count." Jill turned toward the door, the bare length of her legs flashing as her skirt twirled about her knees.
"I've gotta get going." The high, slender heels of her shoes ticked sharply
against the floor as she walked.
D's half smile grew slightly. "Have a pleasant evening Detective."
Her hand on the door, Jill turned back to grin at him. "I plan to." She pulled her jacket closed against the wind and stepped out into the street where Andrew was waiting in the car.
His attention focused on something else, he glanced up as she approached and
smiled appreciatively as he took her in.
"I do love watching you walk," Andrew murmured as she got into the car.

Jill laughed, shoving him good-naturedly. "You dog," she teased, eyeing him appreciatively as well- his well built form, topped with thick, dirty blonde hair and deep brown eyes.
"Let's get going. We're already late to pick up Bill and Cathy because that bum
of a partner I have on this case skipped out early."
Andrew frowned slightly as he tried to navigate his way through the traffic.
"I don't know why you feel you have to baby-sit him. He could have picked up the
folder tomorrow."
"True." Jill propped her elbow on the door, just under the window, her finger tracing patterns absently over the glass as she thought.
"I just� I worry about Leon. Ever since he left town so suddenly�" She trailed off. Realizing what her finger was doing, she stopped; Andrew hated that particular absent habit of hers.
"Well, he's had a lot to deal with lately and I just worry about him," she said repetitively, smiling sardonically as she turned to her boyfriend.
"Must be my misdirected maternal instincts."
Andrew grinned, his hand on her knee. "As long as you don't misdirect them
onto me, I think we'll be fine."

-o-o-o-o-

Leon glanced back at the sky before he entered the pet shop. It was still early evening but the winter day was already dark. The temperature was dropping as clouds rolled in; it was supposed to rain tonight.
The door shut behind him with the soft jingle of the bell. "D?" he called softly, receiving no answer.
"Chris?" he called also, taking off his coat as he walked toward the room he shared with D. Animals peered at him as he walked past; dogs wagged their tails in general greeting, cats pretended to ignore him, other, stranger creatures acknowledged his presence in their own ways.

"Leon."
He glanced up to see D just entering from a back room of the shop. "D." He changed directions, finally managing to shrug out of his coat as he came over to the Count. He hadn't noticed this morning- but then he'd left in a hurry, running late- but D had worn one of Leon's favorite outfits, a deep cream robe with dark purple trim, full sleeves, and- Leon's favorite part- it fastened with an easy tie, unlike the complicated closures usually found on the garments
D preferred. Reaching up, Leon cupped D's chin and brushed his thumb over lips painted a deep purple. D blushed slightly, belatedly remembering Leon's fascination with the dark color.
"How's the day been?" Leon leaned forward to kiss his lover softly, promisingly.
"Chris behaving himself?"
"Yes, though it appears you have not been." D pulled away, smiling slightly, as he edged around Leon to pick up a folder and hand it to the detective.
"Jill brought this by; she said you had left early."
Leon took the folder, flipping it open curiously. "Oh yeah, the Chief said there would probably be more information available this afternoon." His eyes flickered to D.
"I did leave work early," he said. "I had to get out, think about some things.
Went to the park."
D nodded absently, his attention fixed on the tea he was preparing. "You
just missed her. It seems she was going out this evening."
"Oh, yeah? With that guy Andrew, right?"

"So it would appear." D swept a hand over his throat absently, the echo of discomfort from this morning's fit still lingering.

"Hey." Leon was beside him suddenly, his fingers warm on D's skin, soothing away the lingering memory of pain.
"You okay?"
"Fine." D brushed his concern away, along with his insistent fingers. "I told
you, it's something that happens at times. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"Sure," Leon muttered, backing away. A moment of silence stretched between
them. Leon looked about to say something else when the door chimed.
He looked over to see a young girl standing in the doorway cradling against her chest
some small creature wrapped in a blanket. "I'm very sorry young lady, but we're closed," D said, gifting the girl with his distant smile.

She hesitated. "I know," she murmured. "But Bruno said to come here. I� I don't know where else to go." D didn't look phased, but the girl didn't look like she was leaving any time soon.
"It's about Leiella." She stroked the bundle in her arms then took a bold step into the pet shop. The door jingled again as a huge mastiff pushed its way fully into the shop behind the girl. It looked at the Count with familiarity, its tongue lolling out as it shook the cold outside from its skin. The girl glanced at Leon, letting her eyes slide over him as she wondered who he was, wondered if he was a possible advocate, but she didn't seem to see anything she was looking for. She came closer to D, holding the bundle out to him insistently for his inspection.
"Leiella is sick, and no one can tell me how to make her better. She won't eat! Bruno said you could help her." The dog behind her wagged its tail, looking at the Count.

"Bruno I presume?" D said with a sigh as he glanced at the mastiff, but he knelt to take a look at
the bundle named Leiella. "Young lady
I assume you are aware that this is not a veterinary office. It is a pet shop." Bruno wagged his tail again, looking unperturbed. The girl spread her arms slightly, letting D get a closer look at what she held. It was a teacup size Chihuahua puppy, long coated and black and tan. The tiny creature peered up at D lethargically.

The girl looked at him with a stubborn tilt to her chin. "The vet couldn't tell me anything. She said Leiella had�" her face screwed up as she tried to remember
the word, "hydacepus." Her eyes got round. "She said that means Leiella's gonna die." Her chin came out even more stubbornly as tears threatened to bead in the corner of her eyes.

"The word you are looking for is hydrocephalus," D corrected softly, "and no, that is not what ails your Leiella." His hands stroked gently over the tiny creature, dwarfing it, and it raised its head and wagged its tail wearily.

"It's not?" Hope thrilled through the girl's eyes. "What's wrong with her?"
she demanded, and, more intently, "How can I make her better?"
D looked at the girl, his eyes boring into her, his voice suddenly smoother,
like something from a dream as he leaned closer to her and asked musingly, "What if I said the only
way to make her better would be to sacrifice your own life?"
The girl looked doubtful. "That's silly; I don't believe you." Bruno whuffled softly
in her ear; she turned to him to listen. Her resolve settled and she met D's eyes again with a firm nod.
"But Bruno says you're always right, so if it'll help Leiella you can have my life."
Leon twitched at her answer, but remained silent.

D raised a hand and touched a finger to the girl's forehead. She met his gaze fearlessly as his eyes narrowed intently. Leiella's sudden whine broke the stillness that had settled over the shop; Bruno barked once, a deep, rough sound. D glanced between the two dogs.
"Your Bruno is correct," he said after a moment,
smiling secretively. "I am always right. However, your life will not be
necessary this time." Brushing his long robe to the
side, D stood, looking down at the girl ominously. "If you leave Leiella here with me for four months she will be well and you may take her with you after that."

The girl looked stricken; four months seemed an eternity. But she nodded firmly and relinquished her burden to the Count. D cradled the small creature in the palm of one hand as it turned its head toward its master, whining softly as it licked the hand she offered.
"You promise you'll take care of her?" the girl demanded.
D met her fierce gaze with his calm one. "The very best of care."

The girl nodded. "Be good Leiella," she said softly. "I'll see you... in awhile." She managed to tear herself away from the tiny puppy finally and turned to Bruno, steadying herself
with her hand on the firm strength of his shoulder.
D hesitated for a moment, but called after the girl. "You may come and visit
her anytime you wish."
The girl turned back to him, her eyes wide with disbelief. But she nodded, excitement thrilling through every vein, and turned to leave again. At the door, she paused and looked back.
"Thank you." She bowed awkwardly, before she ducked out the door, pulling it shut behind her,
and went running and shouting with mad joy down the street.
There was a moment of silence in the shop. But Leon moved, stepping over to look at the puppy curled in D's palm.
"You were gonna kill that girl." His words were flat and matter of fact.

D wouldn't look at him. "Perhaps."
Leon nodded absently. "What is wrong with the dog?"

D shrugged. "She has a slight cold."
Leon stared at him. "What?! What was all that crap about 'would you give up
your life for the dog' and shit?!"
D looked at him then, looked through him at something that wasn't there, that hadn't been there for quite awhile.
"Many Chihuahua puppies are extremely susceptible to damage because they are born with their skulls incomplete. This common occurrence is often misdiagnosed as hydrocephalus- a fatal genetic disease- by vets who are not familiar with the breed." He stroked the puppy.
"She will grow out of it in four months time.
Her cold, which is causing her loss of appetite, will clear up long before then."
His eyes seemed to be trying to pin the girl to the wall as if she was still
there, the deep gold of his right eye growing deeper; Leon almost fell into it.
There was an anger there, deep and unrelenting, but more than that Leon felt an
overwhelming sense of frustration and loneliness.

"D," he said softly. He tried to reach out to his lover, but D shook
himself, as if just waking from a dream, and pulled away. Leon's jaw
clenched, but he pulled his hand back. "Fine." He shook his head. Grabbing up his coat, he went to the
front door and walked out. The distant rumble of thunder followed him as he
started down the street.

-o-o-o-o-

D stared at the door long after it shut behind Leon, thinking. There was so much to think about� So much he wished he could say definitely, but everything was so gray before him; he could not find a clear path through the mess of the jungle he had himself grown. He wanted more than he had ever wanted anything to speak to his grandfather. Grandfather always spoke so clearly� He made things easy to understand. D wished he had the strength to see as clearly, but the gray cloud around him was impenetrable.
Q-chan was gone as well, and without even this proxy D felt even more alone and lost.

What to do about Leon?? D couldn't let him just stay... but he also
couldn't bear to push the human away. Life without Leon wasn't worth
living- he'd decided that already. But... to allow Leon to remain...
It wasn't just the sex; that wasn't the problem. The problem was the very fact
that he was so torn about this! Leon undid him- unmade everything about
himself he thought was irrefutably fact- and made him see everything...
differently. He turned everything upside-down....

D moved to settle his newest acquisition into a comfortable bed, the small,
frail girl smiling at him tiredly as she settled back on the comfortable
bedding. He moved automatically, without thinking about it, his thoughts
too tangled in other things to be bothered with such a routine task.

Oh, where was Grandfather?? Everything was wrong, and D couldn't
remember how to make it right anymore. He brushed a finger over his lips
and wished that Leon would come back. Leon was amazingly talented at
forcing D to not think about things, to just feel.

He sighed. Leon wanted to help him figure everything out, but Leon was part
of the problem. There was no real solution to be found there. D knew his father
would offer him the guidance he craved, but D hesitated to take it. As with
Leon, D's father was too much a part of the situation to trust his judgment in
this case. And whatever the case, he was the polar opposite of Leon.
To him humans were nothing but a disease on the face of the earth.

D sighed again, missing terribly the familiar presence of a small, winged
creature on his shoulder as he tried to calm the wild swirl of his mind.

-o-o-o-o-

The rain started falling as he left. Leon only closed his mind to the cold water falling from the sky and trudged on, bullheaded.
His inability to help D resolve his issues was amazingly frustrating, and it
left him feeling powerless when D wouldn't let him in. He knew there were
things his lover had to figure out for himself, but Leon wasn't, and didn't want
to be treated like, baggage in this relationship. He took part in it, and
he was fully capable of answering for it to anyone who wanted to ask. He
wished D would at least talk to him about what still bothered him, but there was something� between them
now. Something that hadn't been there before. He knew D still had worries, but he wasn't sure he understood
exactly what was bothering the other man. They'd talked about it, and Leon thought they had dealt with any lingering issues pertaining to D's father and whatever shit he might decide to spring on them in the future. They'd talked about their relationship not interfering with D's work, and Leon thought he'd been able to assure D that his sleeping with the shop's proprietor would have no effect whatsoever on his trying to, albeit unsuccessfully, haul D up on whatever charges seemed appropriate at the time. Though, Leon had to admit, he'd been lax in his duties of late. It had been at least a year since he'd even tried to pin something on D. A year in which he had had much more solid proof of crimes committed which he could easily pin to the man, but had passed on the opportunities. Why?

Leon kicked at an empty beer can, sending it skittering across the sidewalk, through a
growing puddle, and into the street. He didn't want to admit it, but D's
"mission" made a sort of sense to him. It was almost like what he did- "protect and serve," except the people D protected were considered less
important than
humans by the laws Leon followed.
Less than human� What did that mean anyway?
A grunt of pain made Leon look up. He squinted through the falling water to see a group of four men standing around a fifth man who was bent over, clutching his stomach.
They were in an empty lot being used as a dumping place right next to a dilapidated
old house and small barnyard; a lamppost on the edge of the neighboring property
cast the only light over the scene. Leon grinned; oh, he definitely felt like kicking some punks' asses at the moment. He crept up on the group, ready to take a few out with the element of surprise and even the odds. But as he got nearer, Leon realized this wasn't just some random group of gang kids beating up on a hapless passerby. He knew this victim.

Jeffrey looked up at the ring of faces around him, his eyes wild and
desperate. His cab was parked on the street behind him; they'd probably posed as
a job, luring him out here to the middle of nowhere. Leon had a feeling the vandalism earlier was
related, and as he remembered Jeffrey's tired look upon seeing it he figured
events like that had been going on for awhile, all leading up to this; this
midnight correction- or was it an execution? Leon counted them again and realized his earlier calculation had been a bit off. There were at least six of them; Leon thought he spotted another figure moving through the rain toward the group, but he wasn't sure.
They weren't teenagers either as he had hastily assumed earlier that day; though
one looked to be early twenties, most seemed older. One of the circle moved and Jeffrey fell all the way to the ground
as a foot connected viciously with his abdomen; he coughed blood as a murmur of approval rippled through the onlookers.
"Fucking cocksucker," the man murmured. He grabbed Jeffrey by the hair and pulled his head up.
"Fucking nancy faggot."
Leon realized he wasn't really thinking at this point, but when he grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him around so that Leon's fist connected beautifully with his nose, it occurred to him that he really should have taken the opportunity to level the playing field a bit before he announced himself.

-o-o-o-o-

It started as a twinge in the back of his mind. A small, uneasy feeling. D thought it might be Leiella, but when he checked on her she was sleeping comfortably. Instead of disappearing, the feeling grew until he was pacing around the shop, unable to sit still and still unable to put a name to his unease.
It wasn't a physical pain, but rather a mental distress that was starting to
pull on him physically. He peered outside at the rain, falling heavier now, and wondered where Leon was.

Leon�
And suddenly the feeling solidified, settled in his brain, and a desperate urgency filled him. Leon. Leon was in trouble.

D was outside the shop, running through the rain, almost before he remembered opening the door. Wide eyes watched him go, the animals looking after him, Pon-chan pulling the door shut against the chill wind
in his wake. But
the god didn't go alone; tall, dark shadows with long, sharp teeth loped after
him, pacing him as he ran down the street, pulled toward something... he wasn't
sure what it was exactly, but he needed to be there. His heart beat
heavily in his chest, and it seemed to D that it pounded to the sound of Leon's
name, urging D on through the dark night.

-o-o-o-o-

Leon rolled with the punch, covering Jeffrey with
his body as he fell, released from the arms that held him upright. He
tried to protect the other man as another kick was aimed in their
direction. While he'd been off to a flying start, things had gone
downhill fast with
the odds so vastly out of his favor. Jeffrey grunted.
"You alright?" Leon murmured.
Jeffrey laughed, verging on hysteria. "No, I really don't think so."

"Shut up, faggot!" The self appointed new leader of the group- taking over
from the former who was off to the side trying to get his face to stop bleeding- a pale blonde with a buzz-cut, kicked them again and Jeffrey fell back to the ground, curled up,
his arms wrapped around his knees drawn up to his chest. The rain was
really falling now, steadily and coldly, and was starting to collect in serious puddles
all over the
ground as the earth beneath became saturated. "Don't you speak again." Buzz-cut turned back to one of his companions who handed him Leon's wallet.
"Shit," he murmured. "This one's a cop."
There were mumbled "Shit"s all through the group, followed by a more generalized murmuring that was indistinct under the roaring in Leon's ears.

"Shit!" One of the younger members moaned. "What're we gonna do? Mac's gonna
kill us. Shit."
One of the others- who looked to be late thirties, with dark brown hair that fell stylishly to his ears- glared at the younger man.
"Shut up, would you? Mac'll figure it all out."
The younger man nodded, moving nervously. "Yeah, yeah, Mac'll figure it
out," he repeated, reassuring someone- himself it seemed, since no one else was
listening to him. Two of the group were getting bored and aimed a couple
more kicks at Leon as he curled protectively over Jeffrey's prone form.
He had a brief longing for his gun, but almost immediately was glad the chief
had started making him check it in when he went off duty; a weapon like that could very easily
be turned on the one who'd brought it.

The man who had handed off Leon's wallet pulled out a cell phone as he
stepped away from the group for a short conversation. When he returned he
spoke in a low voice to the de facto leader. The man looked both relieved
and frightened as he turned to the others. "Well, Mac's gonna take care of
this himself." A murmur rippled though the group, and Leon felt a chill
run through him.
Before this "Mac" could appear and take care of anything, an anticipatory
silence fell over the gathering. Far off, through the momentary lull in the
pattering of rain, a deep baying sound echoed over the suddenly quiet group, the call answered by another dog from the
opposite direction and much closer. Jeffrey twitched, recognizing the sound. But before he could respond further, Annette leapt from a pile of junk clear over the heads of the circle to land beside Jeffrey. Her fur,
despite being laden with rainwater, stood on end all down her back and her teeth were bared to the root- her ears flat against her skull as her eyes blazed.

-o-o-o-o-

"Oh Andrew, what are you doing?!" Cathy shoved him in the shoulder, giggling.
"We don't need more drinks. Jill can barely stand up as it is!" The
foursome stumbled toward the doorway of the fifth bar of the night, pausing
under the overhang to look distastefully out at the rain.

Jill giggled as well and turned to Bill, motioning him to control his date.
"Shut her up, would you?! She's gonna ruin the fun!" Pointing Bill
at Cathy, Jill went to her own date. She rubbed up against him coyly but
the action was prompted mostly by a desire for warmth; she hadn't dressed for
the change in the weather. "Don't listen to Cathy, hon.
We're not done yet!"

Andrew grinned at her. About to answer, he was interrupted by his cell
phone. Sighing, he pulled it out. "Yeah?" he answered shortly,
his arm going around Jill. His
expression soon grew dark however, as he listened to what the caller was saying.
"What? Say that again." He listened again. "Yeah. Okay. Just
keep an eye on them; I'm coming now. Right." He hung up the phone and
smiled at Jill as he slid his arms around her waist. "Sorry baby, I think
Cathy's right. We've had too much fun." He tried to kiss Jill, but
she batted him away in pique at having him side against her. She was
easily won over though, and she giggled again as he kissed her neck, his hands
warm on her back. "How
about," he murmured, "we have a little side trip instead?"

Jill sighed, put out but also intrigued. "What is it?"

Andrew grinned at her, tweaking her nose. "I promise you'll enjoy it."

She frowned; she didn't think she would, but it was possible. Andrew
was involved in some sort of private security company; Jill had never
asked him about it too carefully, because she got the feeling that everything he
did wasn't entirely legal. She wasn't going to bust him on it, as long as
he didn't flaunt it in front of her, but this particular operation must be a legit job if he
was inviting her along. Finally curiosity won out. "Fine," she allowed
grudgingly.

Over a half an hour later Andrew finally pulled the car over and parked and
Jill was fully regretting her decision; it
felt like they'd driven across town and back. "This had better be good,"
she warned, her mood darkening as her buzz was fading and she found herself in the
middle of nowhere in the dark and still cold despite the car's heater.

Andrew grinned. "It will be. Wait here a sec. I just need to
pick up something." He got out
of the car, Bill following him after kissing Cathy goodbye. The other girl
pouted loudly from the backseat while Jill sat in the front, sulking more quietly.
After what was probably only a couple minutes, but felt like at least another half an
hour, she took a deep breath and opened her door, stepping out into the rain.

"They said to wait here!" Cathy called after her warningly, but Jill didn't
care. She wasn't the type to follow orders without a damn good reason,
particularly not when they came from her boyfriend. She absently noticed
the yellow cab parked nearby as she walked though the driving rain, pulling her
far too thin jacket tight around her. She stumbled as she picked
her way over a collection of debris, and, leaning on an old washing machine as
she tried to regain her balance on the treacherous ground, abruptly decided that staying in the car would
probably have been the better idea.

"Shit!" she heard Andrew say, loudly, very close to her. He must be
on the other side of this pile of... shit, she thought glancing at the pile
of tires and oddly shaped pieces of plywood stacked next to her. "You didn't say it was him!"

"Does it matter?" Another voice- subservient, trying to
weasel its way out of being punished.
"I didn't think it did. We're on the other side of town! I figured there's
no way you'd know him, or that she would."

The sound of flesh hitting flesh, then a soft whimpering. "Don't you
talk about her," Andrew said, his voice dark and hard.

"Sorry," the second man said, sounding it. "What do you want me to do?"
he asked, seeking to please.

There was a pause. "Here take this." There was a rustling of
cloth and paper. "Lock them in the goat pen and then give this to the dog."

The man giggled, the sound high-pitched and unattractive. "Sure thing
boss."

Jill narrowed her eyes, her buzz almost gone now, along with any other
distracting thoughts. There was something going on here,
something not overly legit, and she wanted to know what it was, even if it was
only to be able to shake her finger at Andrew later. She edged around the
pile, trying to catch a glimpse of the conversationalists, but they moved off,
toward a gathering of others grouped under the only working overhead lamp in the
area.

She followed them quietly.

-o-o-o-o-

The rain was falling harder now. D shivered, the sudden darkening of
the feeling he was tracing more to blame for that than the weather.
Leon... He shifted his direction, correcting himself as he bore on
toward where Leon was as if a hook was embedded in his chest and attached to a
line that drew him inexorably toward the very spot.

He paused once, when he realized he was close. His shadows came up,
nudging their heads under his hands, their tongues lolling out. "Good
hunt," they murmured. "Prey?"

"Soon," D murmured back absently. He moved forward, threading his way
through a maze of raggedly edged metal, abandoned appliances, and broken
furniture. Ahead of him somewhere, a dog cried out in pain.

-o-o-o-o-

Leon spat blood and glared up at the two newest arrivals to the group- putting
the grand total at nine- as two of
the other men grabbed him by the arms and dragged him off of Jeffrey. He
couldn't see much with the blood running down his face clouding his vision, but Leon thought
one of the
silhouettes looked familiar. He couldn't place it as he was thrown to the
ground inside of a wire enclosure. He heard Jeffrey cry out, in anger and
worry rather than pain, as the other man was thrown in beside him. Jeffrey
scrambled to his feet almost as soon as he was dropped, crying out, "Annette!
No, don't hurt her! Annette!" He grabbed at the heavy wire of the door to the
enclosure and pulled desperately. Leon pushed himself halfway up and
looked over to see what was going on.

Annette had done her share of damage to the group, snapping at anyone who
came close to Jeffrey or Leon and sinking her teeth into more than one hand or
shin. But finally Buzz-cut directed three others to throw a tarp over her,
pinning her down so that they could control her. Two of the men were still doing just
that, holding her down half wrapped in the tarp, as they tried to force
something down her throat. One of the new men finally snatched whatever it was
away from Buzz-cut and force-fed it to the dog himself, holding her jaws shut
until she swallowed whatever it was. Leon had a very bad feeling in the
pit of his stomach as two of them brought Annette, wrapped tightly in the tarp,
over to the fenced in area where they had already deposited Leon and Jeffrey.

Jeffrey tried to go to her as the men thrust their burden over the top of the
fence and released it. Annette fell, thudding to the ground, but Leon held
Jeffrey back, his arm half wrapped around the other man as he knelt in the mud.

"Let me go to her!" the other man demanded, but Leon still held on to him.

"Jeffrey," he murmured, keeping his eyes on the lump of tarp as it started to
move. "They did something to her, gave her something. She might hurt you; don't try to
touch her." But Jeffrey wasn't listening to him, and threw off Leon's
restraining arm as quickly as he could. He rushed over to Annette as she
managed to push herself to her feet, shaking off the last of the restrictive
tarp. But one look at her told Jeffrey Annette wasn't feeling herself.
Her eyes were wide and wild as she turned them on Jeffrey with no sign of
familiarity. She was shaking all over and saliva dripped from her half
parted jaws. She whined, a deep, troubling sound that shook her whole
frame. It grew, flowing up her throat until it burst from her mouth, a
full-fledged howl full of pain. Jeffrey took a step back from her, his own face contorted
in pain. Leon finally pushed himself to his feet, watching Annette warily.
Trembling, she stepped toward Jeffrey. Her movements were shaky but
determined as she advanced on him, long, pale teeth bared in the dim light from
the lamp. The rain slicked her coat to her body, matting her hair.
It made her seem smaller, but that was no consolation to Leon as he watched her
movements, still quick and dangerously unpredictable. "Jeffrey, move!" he shouted out suddenly as Annette leapt toward her
master with a sudden, rancorous lunge.

Jeffrey barely heard him, but some sense warned him and he managed to dodge
her. Misjudging the distance, Annette leapt far past Jeffrey and came
crashing to the ground, slipping in the mud as she tried to rise. As
Jeffrey turned to follow her movements Leon saw his face and realized the
moisture on it wasn't just the rain. Cursing under his breath, Leon tried
to walk over to Jeffrey, but he'd realized at a slightly earlier point in the
evening that one of the kicks aimed at him had managed to connect firmly
with his ankle. If it wasn't broken, it sure felt like it, and Leon didn't
think he was going to be moving very much at all for awhile, and definitely not
very fast. Almost as if she picked up on his thoughts, Annette turned
toward him, her eyes wide and trembling.

"What the fuck is going on?!" a voice demanded suddenly, and Leon tore
his eyes away from Annette to look past the wire fence, past the group of men
standing there like silent monoliths, to Jill, standing, soaking wet, trembling
with rage and pain as she locked her eyes on Andrew.

Andrew... Seeing Jill allowed Leon's brain to make the
connection it had been too distracted to make before. The vaguely familiar
latecomer to the party had been Andrew.

Andrew sighed, rubbing a hand over the bridge of his nose. "Baby, I
told you to wait in the car."

She walked directly up to him and slapped him across the face. "What
the FUCK is going on here, Andrew?!" she asked again, her voice even and
hard as she stared him in the eye.

He stared back at her, his expression just as hard. "We were just
teaching this diseased slime," he indicated Jeffrey, "its place when your partner was
unfortunate enough to stick his nose in someone else's business." His
expression became one of sorrow, but only briefly. "I'm sorry you had to
see this." he motioned to one of his men behind her back.

Jill nodded, her eyes meeting Leon's across the chaos that lay between them. "Yes, you are sorry," she said
clearly. "A sorry ass lying piece of shit!" Pain and grief flashed over her face, but she didn't allow them to linger.
"But not as sorry as I am," she said, softer now. Raising one hand she whipped
it around. The stiletto heels she'd been wearing earlier she now carried
in one hand,
removed from her feet to
facilitate walking through the thick mud and standing water. She smacked Andrew across
the face again, this time the pointed tip of one heel catching him in the cheek and tearing
through skin and muscle. He howled in pain, Jill already pulling her
impromptu weapon free and shifting one heel to her other hand as she turned
toward the group advancing on her in outrage as she attacked their leader.

Leon would have loved to seen how she did, but he had slightly more pressing
issues to deal with. Annette hadn't been distracted by Jill's entrance, and still
wanted to have Leon for lunch. Crouching, she leapt at him. Leon,
unable to dodge effectively, threw up his hands to block her as best he could,
but he recognized, somewhere in the back of his mind as he went down, that he was in deep shit.

-o-o-o-o-

Jill felt her anger flowing through her- anger and the deep,
deep grief of betrayal. But she held onto the anger; there would be time
for grief later. Anger let her attack that which had wounded her, and she
brought her second blow down on the top of Bill's balding head with all the fury
she could muster. He stumbled away, falling to his knees, bleeding.
She hit the next one in the arm, kicked the next one, and dropped one shoe to
grab the next attacker and flip him over her shoulder. She pinned that one to the
ground and dislocated his shoulder- painful and immobilizing, but not so
permanent a condition as death. She didn't really want to kill anyone...
After all, if they were dead they couldn't be in pain- in as much pain as she
was. She screamed at the next one, repeatedly belting him across the face with the
flat side of her heel.

She stood in the rain, shaking with adrenaline, and realized then that no one else was attacking her.
Looking up, she saw that the cavalry had arrived, though she certainly hadn't
called them. Two of the largest dogs she had ever seen were pinning the
other three men to the ground, crouched over them growling, baring wicked
looking teeth. One of them shook its shaggy head and glanced over at Jill.
It seemed to smile at her, its tail wagging once, but then it turned its
attention to something else. Jill followed its gaze to see there was one
more figure still standing. It was pulling at the door to a fenced in
area, and belatedly she remembered Leon.

Jill ran over to the fence, and she realized the figure pulling
open the door to the fence was familiar to her. She moved to help him, but
he already had the door opened and she only took it from him as he slipped
inside and then she held it open for herself. Inside the fence a man was sitting
up, sprawled in the mud. He glanced
over in surprise. "Count D?" he asked, but immediately he accepted the
unexpected arrival of the pet shop proprietor he only barely knew and moved on to far more pressing issues. "Annette! They did
something to her, and I think..." he paused, stumbling over the rest. "Oh
god, I think she..."

But neither D nor Jill was listening anymore. The rain was
falling so thickly she could barely see her hand held out in front of her, but
Jill followed the Count deeper inside the fence. She could hear something
growling- assuming it wasn't the roar of rainwater- and suddenly she could see
before her a mud covered apparition writhing around on the ground.
"Leon!" she called. He was here, somewhere, but she couldn't
tell the muddy combatants apart.

"Jill," he grunted back, and she breathed a sigh of relief to be
confirmed that he was alive. Looking again now she could see that he had
one hand buried in the thick, matted fur of a collie's chest and was trying to
hold the animal's jaws away from him. Covered in mud as everything was,
the only white thing Jill could see was the dog's glistening teeth. She was at a loss as to how to separate
the pair.

D wasn't. Kneeling on the ground he reached out to the
writhing mass of mud. Leon cried out in protest, but Annette immediately
turned away from him and buried her teeth in this body that was not going to
fight her. D flinched as her teeth dug into his arm, but he grit his teeth
and pulled the filthy dog against his body, murmuring to her softly as she
struggled. There
was a growl from behind Jill, and she realized one of those huge dogs had
followed them; it didn't seem to appreciate this strange, mad dog biting its
master. But Annette stilled almost immediately in D's arms.

Jill moved over to where Leon still lay in
the mud. "Damage," she asked quietly. Her
attention was still mostly on D but she put a hand on Leon's shoulder to find
that he was freezing cold under her touch.

He grunted, not looking at her. "My ankle's fucked up, probably some ribs too.
A couple deep bites on my arm and claw marks on my chest, but other than that just
a lot of bruises."

Annette whined softly, turning and licking
D's arm where she had bitten him, her ears flat against
her head and her tail tucked between her legs in sorrow. He touched her
head, speaking to her softly. She whined again, but turned to glance up at
Jeffrey, who had approached and was standing behind D.

"Annette," he said softly, and she went to him, crawling on the
ground. When she got to her master she rolled over on her back, exposing
her stomach, acknowledging that she realized her guilt. Jeffrey took one
look at her, then fell to his knees and pulled the sodden dog to his chest.
She whined, her tail wagging as she licked his face eagerly, embracing her
forgiveness.

-o-o-o-o-

Leon ached all over. He really
didn't feel like moving; he was pretty sure that would make everything hurt
worse. The rain wasn't helping- he was soaked to the bone, everything
feeling twice as cold as it really was, and slowly starting to realize that
moving somewhere else was the only way he was going to ever be anything other
than cold. He shivered,
then realized absently that he hadn't stopped shivering in quite a few
minutes. "Shit," he mumbled under his breath.

He heard Jill echo him as she stood, trying to pull Leon
to his feet also and looking around for something warm, or just dry, to
wrap around him. He would have told her not to bother, but his teeth were
chattering too hard to get the words out. He curled up, his arms pulled
against his chest, too tired and cold to worry about getting out of the water
that was making him colder. He could hear Jill swearing at him over the
roar of the rain that wouldn't stop falling, but he wasn't listening anymore.

"Leon."

Someone was calling his name. A familiar voice... and Leon
opened his eyes. Two eyes were staring directly into his; one of them was
such a deep gold that he reached out to touch the face it belonged to. The
other was a rich violet that seemed to soften as his fingers brushed against the
cheek beneath it. "D," he murmured.

"Leon," D said again. "Kiss me," he requested softly, and Leon
leaned toward him, not about to deny such a request, even on his supposed deathbed.
But D's lips tasted different than usual and there was a copper tang to the
mouth he thrust his tongue into. Leon pulled away, confused, but D only
ran a hand through Leon's filthy hair and smiled. "It will help you," he
said softly. And truly enough, Leon suddenly felt better. It was
like the sudden application of first-class painkillers to his system. He knew he
was still in pain, but it felt distant; and, amazingly, he could
almost feel his body starting to heal itself. He shook his head and realized
the rest of his body wasn't shaking anymore- he was no longer dangerously close
to hypothermia and shock. He raised his eyes to D and
really looked at him. Usually so clean and proper, D was absolutely covered in the
night's theme of mud, but he didn't seem to care as he looked into Leon's eyes as if
trying to gauge his recovery.

Annette whimpered, softly, but that was enough to remind Leon
that there were others here, others that needed medical attention but- more than
that- to get in out of the cold and away from this place of pain. He looked over at Jeffrey; the man looked
better than Leon was sure he himself did, but he was also shivering and overly
pale. Annette was licking her master's
injuries, and it seemed to Leon that her tongue was glowing strangely. He shook
his head, focused on other thoughts, and tried to stand up. Jill was at
his side, helping him, but as he gained his feet he realized his ankle wasn't
bothering him anymore and he could support his own weight while standing-
walking was another matter, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. "I'm good," he murmured to Jill. She looked
confused, but she nodded and went to Jeffrey.

D slipped in under Leon's arm, his body pressed against Leon's,
that pressure and the soft warmth of hands cupped around Leon's face spoke
words he knew D couldn't say out loud. Something nosed him in the back and
Leon put out a hand to feel a huge head press into it. He stroked the
damp fur obligingly, turning to get a better look at whatever it was. An
enormous wolfhound
lolled its tongue out at him, its tail smacking against him good-naturedly.

Somehow the group managed to drag itself over to Jeffrey's cab.
Leon leaned on D and his canine friend as he walked. His ankle no longer
pained him but he wasn't ready to trust his weight to it fully as he moved, and
anyway his head was spinning full of too much to take in so he let the shaggy
shoulder of the wolfhound lead him in the right direction and didn't bother
himself with trying to figure it out. Jill helped Jeffrey
carry Annette as they lead the way. With an unspoken agreement, Jill took the
wheel and D's two shadowy behemoths disappeared back into the rain as soon as
all of the humans were in the vehicle. Leon wondered where the hounds were
going- the gang was still out there, its members making their way through the
rain in a fog of pain or lying immobilized on the ground- but he found himself
ceasing to care too deeply about the animals' destination. D lay against him, feeling like the only
source of warmth in the world to Leon's cold bones.

Jill glanced at him, to determine their own destination, but
Leon shook his head when she mouthed "hospital?" He had a feeling he knew
why he didn't hurt as badly as he should, and if he was right he'd rather continue to get his
medical care from the same source he currently was employing rather than some stark white
room full of pointy objects. Jeffrey's main problem was Annette, and, again, D could fix her
better than anyone else could. Jill nodded, starting up the car and
driving them to the pet shop.

They seemed to arrive in no time at all; Leon's eyes blinked
open and he realized he had slept through the ride. He was warmer now,
thanks to D and to Jill's judicious use of Jeffrey's heater, but his bones
still ached when he forced them to move, to pull his body up out of the cab and
move into the shop. They all piled into the shop, in pretty much the same way
they'd piled into the car in the first place. As soon as he was settled in
a chair, Leon brushed away D's hands. "Annette needs you," he murmured, no
energy in his voice but the strength of truth behind his words. He saw D
start with realization; he had forgotten about her. Nodding, the Count
went to where the young collie curled in her master's lap.

-o-o-o-o-

So much pain in such a short life... D stroked his hand over
Annette's head and down over her side. She banged her tail against the
floor, seeking his eyes again to reaffirm that she was forgiven for her
transgression. "Of course you are forgiven, child," he told her and
she sighed as she leaned into Jeffrey's gentle hands.

"Thank you Count," she said back. "Thank you for Jeffrey."

"I did not create him," he responded, amused.

"No." She turned to lick her human's chin. D's blood in her
mouth from when she had bitten him eased into Jeffrey's wounds through her
ministrations, helping to heal them. "But you showed him to me. That is
all that concerns me. Without Jeffrey, life is very dark. But with him, I like
it very much." Her logic was so simple that D wanted to weep.

Much later, he showed Jeffrey to the door, Annette walking proudly by his
side as they left to return to their home. Jill went with them, catching a
ride back to her own home. She looked numb; D thought perhaps he
understood some of the pain she was going to go through in the days to come.

He shut the door, locking the world outside, and took a deep breath. It
was time he took care of something he had been needing to do for awhile. He went
into the front room where Leon lay back half asleep in one of the chairs. The
man looked up at D as he entered- the warmth was in his eyes. D took
another deep breath, steeling himself for what he had to do. He didn't
want to, but he could see no other way.
"Leon," he said, his voice firm. "You cannot stay here any longer."

-o-o-o-o-

Pet catalog & notes:
- The "medicine" D mentions toward the beginning is a reference
  to the story "Donor" (vol. 7).
- Dogs: There's a lot of dogs in this chap. Annette is a
  
  Collie,
  of the Lassie variety. Bruno the
  
  Mastiff accompanies Leiella the
  
  Chihuahua (all the medical
  information I have on Chihuahuas is from
  
  Wikipedia). And then there's D's
  
  Irish Wolfhounds. I love wolfhounds...
  They're
  
  HUGEfont color="#000000">. And generally really sweet.
- LSD is what Andrew gives to Annette. According to the
  Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, signs of LSD poisoning in dogs
  include: "Abnormal behavior, aggression, changing habits, Ataxia, Constant or
  increased vocalization, Dysmetria, Excessive salivation, Fever, Hypothermia,
  Nystagmus." Now go look up all those big medical words. (I had to...) Obviously (or hopefully it was obvious...) I've never seen a dog on LSD, so I
  played with what exact symptoms Annette had.
-o-O-o-
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Define Arc

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"Disease"

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