🎁 + a light purple collar with a silver tag reading ‘Angel’!
Mrs. Tweed knelt down and held out the present to the newest addition to her family. “Here you go, sweetheart. Merry Christmas!”
Tod grinned and rubbed his head against Angel. “You’re really part a’ th’ family now, Miss Angel!! Golly, it sure is pretty!”
@thefcxandthehcund 💙
Send in 🎁 + an item to give my muse a Christmas present!
Her tail wagging a million miles an hour, Angel sat back, stretching out her neck to let the woman fasten the collar in place. Once done, she shook herself, allowing it to settle just perfectly, neither too tight nor too loose, the tag bumping lightly against her breastbone. This was, it was...
She was at a loss for words. She had already known that she'd been accepted here, that she belonged... but this gift, the badge of faith and respectability that she had yearned for but believed herself unworthy of for so long... it was a real tangible thing, and its gentle weight at every tilt of her head reminded her that it was true. She had a place of her own, she belonged.
She could feel tears of gratitude burn her eyes, blinked them away from sheer force of habit. To feel so much like she mattered was a feeling to beautiful to put to words.
Stretching up, she licked Mrs. Tweed's hand, damp eyes alight with gratitude. In this moment, nothing at all could have made her feel better than this.
And to Tod, essentially her little brother now... her gratitude towards him, too, overflowed. Not just for the compliment, either... if not for him, she knew, she wouldn't even be in this place. Just from that one chance encounter, he had given her more than she would have ever dared to hope for again.
All she could manage was a whispered but very much heartfelt "thank you."
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☯ + the scene where Angel gets accepted into Scamp’s home!
Send me '☯ + a scene from my characters canon' and I will drabble it from my character's POV.
And... there it was. Watching Scamp reunite with his family... his sisters running to greet him, his mother nuzzling him so lovingly, his humans hugging him and fawning over him... though Angel lingered at the gateway, knowing better than to intrude where she wasn't wanted, it warmed her heart to see. The love rolling from all of them was such a very tangible thing, and for a few moments she simply basked in it, her own tail swaying gently.
This was her dream, forever unreachable to her... but she didn't begrudge Scamp a moment of it. Her boy, her friend... just seeing how very loved he was, was enough for her.
He'd made the right choice. He was home.
And she couldn't have been prouder of him.
And yet... now, it slowly started to dawn on Angel that... this was probably it for them. Her job, her mission - self-imposed though it had been - was done.
She was happy, so happy for Scamp... but she ached for herself.
(Under the cut for EXTREME length!)
Having burned her bridges with the junkyard gang, she had nothing to go back to. She had no regrets, of course; she was free of Buster, free to be herself, and felt more at ease with that self than she had in a long time. But still...
She couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from curling down as she contemplated the empty future ahead for her. But there was no escaping it; the longer she lingered here, the harder it would be to leave it all. Swallowing a lump in her throat, the little Pom-mix turned her back on the best friend she'd ever had and slunk off, unnoticed by anyone else.
Or, so she thought, for at least half a moment.
A cacophony of familiar barking followed her down the steps, letting her know that her departure hadn't gone entirely unseen. Dear Tenderfoot... but though the thought that she hadn't been forgotten touched her heart, there was really nothing else Scamp could do for her now. To linger over the goodbyes would just make a hard parting even harder...
And yet, over the yipping barks, Angel could have sworn she quite clearly heard a human voice.
"Jim, dear, I think Scamp brought a friend home."
And now, finally, she turned. Scamp stood partway down the pathway, he'd clearly run after her a little way, and he tossed his head back, silently inviting her to...
To...
No. It- he couldn't- he didn't mean--
All eyes, Angel became suddenly aware, were on her. A moment ago, she'd thought that only Scamp and Tramp of the whole group had known of her existence at all (his uncles had been too busy bickering amongst themselves to pay her much mind, after all); but now everyone, human and canine alike, were watching her. And many of them were smiling...
Her heart dared to leap.
And then the human, the one apparently called Jim Dear, was beckoning her. He crouched to one knee, clicking his tongue, calling her over...
It wasn't... it couldn't...
She was dreaming, there was no way it was real...
And yet, against all odds, and certainly against her better judgement, she felt her legs start to move, propelling her forward. Her ears pinned back nervously, her posture on instinct becoming small and submissive... he was a stranger to her, after all, and she had no idea what to expect from him. Surely, though she may hope against hope itself, surely he couldn't actually--
She daren't even form the thought.
As she reached Scamp's side, she was aware of him slowly falling into step beside her. She didn't look at him, couldn't take her eyes off the beckoning hands that promised everything she'd ever dared to hope for... but she didn't need to look at him. It may have only been two days together, but she knew his presence by now almost as well as her own, and she appreciated it immensely.
"Come on, girl. It's okay. Don't be afraid."
All eyes were still on her. Peripherally, she was aware of the expression of curiosity on Lady's face; of the encouraging smile worn by The Tramp; of the knowing looks passed between uncles Jock and Trusty. Of the trio of girls tripping over each other to crane their necks for a better look at her, but all smiling even so.
She didn't know what to expect, still... but it couldn't be bad, could it? Not surrounded by so many kind faces. She was dimly aware that Scamp had stopped keeping pace with her, pausing beside his father, but her own legs kept on moving without her consciously telling them to, and the big human was coming closer and closer...
"Did you help our Scamp out on those lonely streets?"
It was his tone, more than anything, that set Angel at ease. Jim Dear had a kindly voice, full of affection and gentleness... and with a tone, moreover, that told her he was very used to talking to dogs.
Her head finally raised, her ears pricking back to their normal upright (on one side at least) posture as she reached him. Angel would freely acknowledge that, despite the reputation dogs had, she was no great judge of human character - if she was, she wouldn't have been left heartbroken so many times - but something about this Jim Dear exuded warmth, compassion...
She dared to smile, even to bark a response that she knew he wouldn't be able to understand. She knew, of course she knew, that if there was any moment to be on her absolute best behaviour then this was it. And she was still a scruffy, stinky stray that had no business being welcomed by humans of 'Snob Hill', of all places...
And then-- then he was petting her, strong fingers gently scratching behind her flopped ear, and Angel practically melted in bliss. It had been how long, so long, since she'd last been petted, and the tender sensation brought so much long-buried love and affection rushing back to the surface. It even just that moment, she felt loved, almost even wanted...
As Jim Dear straightened back up, Angel became aware for the first time of the other human presence besides him and his wife, the one much closer to her own level. The baby-- no, not quite a baby, but certainly younger still than little Emmie, the child who had meant so much to her in her third home. But whatever his age, he was watching her quizzically, but smiling. And while, deep inside, Angel knew that there was no way a dirty thing like her would be allowed anywhere near a human child, memories of Emmie were bubbling to the surface now to, of their friendship, of the way the girl had loved her so dearly... common sense be damned, she took a careful step towards the child. Then another.
No-one yelled at her. No-one shooed her away from him. And then he was opening his arms to her, and though she knew, she KNEW that she shouldn't, in a sudden flash all Angel could see was Emmie doing the exact same thing, and instinct took over. Gently, ever so gently, she hopped into the outstretched arms, small head butting up against his shoulder; and he was hugging her just as Emmie had used to do, and her tail was wagging, wagging more vigorously than it had in many, many, many days...
She was sure any moment now she was about to get shooed away. No sensible human parents would allow this, at the VERY least not until she'd had a bath and they were sure she wasn't carrying some kind of disease. But in that moment, the affection, the love pouring into her heart was worth a million scoldings. And even then, the next words she heard weren't that at all, but rather:
"Awww. She's a little angel."
She wasn't surprised when, a moment later, the young boy was lifted away from her... there were limits, it seemed, to how long even the most tolerant human parents would let their kid cuddle a grubby little puppy. But there was no disgust, no scolding. Just... well...
She couldn't help but grin ruefully to herself. Angel... it seemed there was no getting away from the word, was there? What had started out as an unwelcome nickname from Buster, and had become a very deliberate irony, a name that she'd never choose but had become stuck with because everyone in the gang heard Buster calling her it and assumed it was her real name, and she'd had so many real names that she simply couldn't be bothered to correct them...
And yet now...
To be gifted the term so sincerely was something else entirely. Not as Buster's little messenger angel, announcing before the so-called 'king' when he claimed his territory; not a sarcastic way of referring to how much of a troublemaker she could be; but genuinely because the family here were seeing her as so genuinely sweet and innocent...
Nothing could be further from the truth. But at the same time...
For the first time ever, that hated nickname felt good.
Even more so as the child echoed it happily.
Maybe... maybe it could be...
She had no illusions about being taken in permanently, of course. No family with six dogs and a child already would want another permanent addition; but there were rumours of the way The Tramp had used to live, regularly dropping into certain homes as a welcomed guest. Buster, of course, had sneered at such a way of living; but who cared what he thought anymore?
Just one day a week in a home would be as much heaven as she could possibly dare hope for.
And then, the suggestion she'd not dared to imagine...
"Jim, dear, you don't suppose...?"
"Oh no, darling. We've got enough dogs as it is."
The refusal surprised her not in the slightest; and yet, even so, it still hurt a little to hear it voiced aloud. But she wouldn't whine or beg, she would just look at Jim Dear, a silent request for she didn't know what, even just being accepted for a single day would be more than she could ask for...
But she didn't need to whine or beg; from every side around her, she could hear such little whimpers. She had been willing to take whatever came, but everyone around her... she chanced a look. Every other dog, from Scamp and his parents, to Jock and Trusty, to even his sisters who she hadn't met and knew nothing about... every canine face was turned to Jim Dear, each bearing the famous puppy eyes, little pleading whimpers in the back of several throats and Scamp's most prominently of all...
All... for her.
They all... wanted her.
HER. The dirty, scruffy little stray, who had long ago made peace with the fact that no-one would ever want her, at least not for long. The bad dog who was more trouble than she was worth, good for nothing except cheap tricks and kissing Buster's ass because she was too afraid of being kicked out of the only place that would have her to do otherwise...
They wanted her.
Even as Jim Dear's resolve started to waver, she looked away, overwhelmed by what was happening - but just as quickly looked back, now wanting to miss a moment. If this was a dream, it was a more amazing one than she could have imagined...
Jim Dear finally gave up entirely.
"Oh, what's the use?"
And then, to her: "Welcome to the family, Angel."
The family.
THE FAMILY.
HER FAMILY.
Her dream come true.
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