Our World Without Fences

"Angel!?"

One ear shot up, one eye popped open -- no, make that both eyes -- and the mongrel was scrambling down the crates before you could say 'tenderfoot.'

"ANGEL!!"

It was as if all of his hopes and dreams had suddenly been answered. Scamp barreled towards her, paws slapping the ground in a furious blur, and in an instant the two were tumbling in a yellow-and-gray heap. The only sounds that he could muster to make were excited laughter, and the repetition of her name. Oh, how good it felt to say her name. And to see her, and smell her, and know that in this moment she was tangible and real... it all caused his heart to swell. Just as her own fluffy tail had been wagging furiously, so too was his wispy gray one.

He was over the moon. 

The dust settled around them. Scamp rose to his feet, eyes closed, and shook out his gray mop. He couldn't stop smiling. His heart was racing at a million miles an hour. And his head was filled with such a cloud of bliss that, in the moment, any anger he held towards her or the rest of his family walking out vanished in an instant.

"Oh Angel, I gotta tell ya -- it -- it's so good to see you." He opened his eyes, still shaking out a hind leg or two. He studied her face, almost instantly losing himself in her eyes as he had done so many times before. The excitement in his voice was clear as day, but if one listened closely, there was just a hint of nervousness to it. It was an almost unconscious expression -- as if he feared that Angel would disappear into thin air.

"I mean, it's been so long -- well, I guess it hasn't been that long, but between you, and mom, and pop, and Danielle, I just -- I -- I..."

In almost an instant his tone quieted, shifting drastically. His gaze traveled downwards, stopping first at her shoulder, and then at her hind leg. A pang of guilt quickly rippled through him -- she was injured, and he was careless enough to tackle her without a second thought. He bit his lip. How did she even hurt herself in the first place? And where did that strange fur color come from?

"Are -- are you okay? Did you... get hurt out here?"

The questions tumbled out of him before he could stop it. He knew so little of what she was doing so far away from home that the possibility of her getting injured had felt relatively intangible up to this point. But this cemented what had previously been nothing more than a concept. He got closer to her, sniffing at the bandage. There didn't seem to be any other visible wounds -- not on the surface, at least.

"Wait..." 

It occurred to him to take a step back, both physically and mentally. There had to be a reason as to why she was wearing this bandage -- that much was obvious. But so long as he had her with him, he didn't want to waste the opportunity to get as much information as he could.

After all, she was the one who had left in the first place.

He tilted his head, brow furrowed. He wasn't malicious by any means, but curiosity was now tinged both in his affect and his gaze.

"What have you been doing out here?"

“It's a long story, but...well...I guess I should start at the beginning.”

The gray mutt listened intently as Angel spun her yarn. His gaze never strayed from her while she talked -- his expression melted almost instantly. As it had always been, Angel was most beautiful when she was expressing herself, and exactly what she was expressing sounded so exciting. A supply team? Getting caught in an ambush? Her description of the Frozen Hearts Curse caused him to bite his lip, but once she described the experience of being taken hostage, he was visibly wincing. It had barely been a month, and she had already seen and done so much. But she had survived it all, just as she always had. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so worried after all.

Scamp's thoughts were interrupted by her subsequent apology, whispered softly in his ear. Just the touch of her muzzle made his heart flutter, but hearing her voice waver caused his pupils to shrink. Tears welled at the corners of his eyes, which he sniffled back immediately before they were noticeable. It was a powerful dichotomy -- he ached with joy to have her near him, yet he couldn't help but be concerned for everything she had been through.

"Oh, Angel... "

He pulled her into an embrace (minding the shoulder, of course) and kissed her muzzle. If there were still any hard feelings about her leaving, he dismissed them immediately. They were here together, and that was all that mattered to him. His signature grin was presenting in his features once more.

"I -- I was so scared I'd never see you again, too. I'm just glad you're all here in one piece!" He began reflecting on his own time away from home, and his smile returned full-force. After all, Angel had just told her everything she had been up to -- the least he could do was return it.

"I've been doing a lot of things out here, too. There's this really cool wolf-dog who's been teaching me survival skills. I met a dog who knew Pop when he lived on the streets! And I've been working on some dance moves, too." The last one was not without a hint of embarrassment -- truly not one of his proudest moments, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

The passing allusion to his father brought a new realization to mind. Angel was here... but where were their parents? Or Danielle, for that matter? The latter wasn't so important to him at the moment, truth be told -- but if she at least knew where Lady and Tramp were, they could address their sequential departures together. 

"Have you seen Mom and Pop lately?" An innocuous question, but one worth asking. "They should come by the Duckling sometime. I -- I kind of want to talk to them."

Watching Angel’s entire demeanor shift upon asking about the whereabouts of their parents sent a ripple of nervousness through him, if only for a moment. His personal frustration of not knowing where they had landed was one thing, but if Angel didn’t know, then they were surely out of luck. But he perked up the instant she mentioned spotting Pop. Where one went, the other was sure to follow.

“Phew! That’s good to hear.” His statement was followed by a soft chuckle. “Wonder what they’ve been up to, huh?”

An answer to his question didn’t matter so much as Angel’s affirmation of his proposal, which was met with fervent nodding on his end. Beyond seeking clarity (which, mercifully, he was on the track to achieving), he just wanted to be with them. Constantly being in their presence was something all-too-often taken for granted by the gray mongrel. And odd as it seemed, Angel being here with him made their absence feel more apparent, rather than diminished. The same went for his sisters, royal pains they all were.

The thought of sisters brought to mind Danielle – the only one of the three he knew to also be with Angel. For a moment, he considered asking about if she had seen her as well, but with the pomchi’s apprehension over the initial question, it was best not to press. If Angel had only seen their parents once or twice, it felt much more unlikely that she had seen their sister as well. After all, they were both so busy it seemed – Angel with her supply trips, and Danielle with… well… something, he was sure. His focus was shifted quickly over the blonde canine’s remark.

“Word spreads fast within the Suns. I'm surprised with all you’ve been up to we haven’t run into each other sooner. They seem to like to keep the trainees busy.”

“The... Suns?” Scamp was genuinely confused. If it didn’t come through in his voice, his furrowed brow and cocked head said it all. What in the world was she talking about? He racked his brain, trying to think. The term sounded familiar, at the very least, but he couldn’t quite place it…

He looked at her collar. Realization hit him like a bolt from the blue. His features immediately shifted to something akin to shock. The other army.

She didn’t know.

“Oh right! Right. The Suns.” He cleared his throat, eyes darting. His body language was turning squirmy. He was feeling a weird sense of guilt in that moment – but at the same time, things were finally starting to make sense. That’s why he hadn't seen any of his family! They were living out here while he was spending almost all of his time in Corona.

And it was going to be a hard truth to break.

“About that…” Scamp took a deep breath, getting himself under control. She’d have to know sooner or later.; best get it out while she was there. He turned his gray head towards the mouth of the alley, gesturing to the wall. A large painting of a wing – a golden glyph – adorned the space. He turned back to look at her, steadying his gaze, half-smile on his shaggy maw.


“I'm training with them.”

The tension in the air could have been cut with a butcher’s knife.

For one fleeting moment, Scamp was hopeful. Hopeful that, at the very least, this sudden revelation would be met with minimal resistance. The moment her expression crumpled to defeat – head dropped; tail stilled – it felt as if the air had been sucked out of him. With each tentative step of hers towards the insignia, his smile faded until it was no more.

His behind met the pavement; gray shoulders rolled forward in a slouch. Maybe he should have kept his big mouth shut.

Undeniably, the mutt was relieved to find himself back under her embrace a moment later. The corners of his boxy jaw tugged upwards as the blonde’s features shifted back from disappointment to affection. Her violet eyes brimmed with compassion; his own expression softened. After all they had been through together, Scamp should have known it would take more than that to drive her away.

Yet… it wasn’t quite right.

Angel’s warm smile was infectious, but not absolvent. The longer he focused on her loving gaze, the more flawed her mask appeared. Any spark of liveliness residing in those eyes – a spark he knew so well – had up and vanished. Her paw brushed him gently; the tips of his ears bounced. But her energy was minimal. She was still hurting.

"Oh, tenderfoot. I should have never left home, left you. But why them?"

“Why them? Why them!?”

His tone bordered on incredulous, but his expression told a different story. Thick brows creased over gray eyes, showing an all-too-familiar eagerness in his shaggy face. He was a less skilled actor than his partner; disappointment filtered through, clear as day.

“I have learned so much more than I ever thought I could from these guys. I-I know it hasn’t been very long, but – Angel – they know everything. And – even though I’m a trainee – I get to do whatever I want, go wherever I… please…”

Scamp snapped up his jaw; self-consciousness had taken hold. All the while, his gaze steadily traveled downward as he spoke. This was starting to sound familiar. He quickly cleared his throat.

“But – there’s so much more to it than that.” The mongrel’s head swung side-to-side before dropping his voice to a whisper. “The Wings help people, Angel. We give people a place to stay – and protect those who can’t protect themselves – and… make sure the Thorns don’t get the upper hand…”

He stopped himself once more before he could ramble on any further It was a lot to take in at once; perhaps a little too much. But ultimately, it felt futile. Despite the optimism on display, Angel’s mask was slipping.

His heart sank.

"Scamp, you..we...have a family. Please, don't do this. We shouldn't separate ourselves. Not now...not, ever."

He bit his lip, watching her dandelion ears drop in defeat. Only one other time in his life had Scamp felt so conflicted about his choices – tonight, he was feeling closer than ever to that moment. Angel's expression brought him right back to that day in the alley -- the day he found himself caught between worlds new and old. The doorstep of a decision he would come to regret.

A selfish part of him needed to know that kind of heartbreak would never happen again.

Tenderfoot turned his own head to the side, ears flopping forward. His mocha-brown gaze shifted upwards, giving attention back to the glyph in the alley. For a moment, he simply stared at it, brows furrowed into an expression of curiosity.

There was more than one Snuggly Duckling; that Scamp knew as well as any other Wing. But he also knew that there were Wings who preferred to center their work in one location: their homes. Thomas O'Malley's base of operations was Paris. Rapunzel favored Corona. Surely, he would be able to do the same in Arendelle...?

Slowly his eyes arched up in realization. The faintest hint of a smile crept back to his fuzzy mouth. He extended his free paw, gently placing it over hers, and his wispy tail began wagging back and forth.

"I don't think we'll have to." His gray head tipped towards the Snuggly Duckling sign in the distance, visible under the streetlights.

With renewed, rapt interest, Scamp explained his plans. How the Duckling served as a hub for Wing activity. How he was free to travel between locations. And -- most importantly -- how he could use Arendelle's location to make sure he was close to her and the rest of the family at all times.

In the back of his mind, a twinge of guilt struck him. Once again, he was giving her information that should have been kept under lock and key. But in the moment, he didn't care. Their reunion was no lost cause.

It may not have been the ideal solution. But it was the best solution he had.