later he heard his familiar voice so close. “Yo, Grimm. Wanna go for a run?” Grimm nodded fiercely, getting up immediately and following Dodger up the stairs and out of the boat.“So where are we headed?” He asked. Dodger looked thoughtful and shrugged. “Anywhere you want.”

~

Adrian’s vision was blurry. He groggily opened his eyes, closing them momentarily before deciding to finally wake up. What happened? He shifted his paws through on the blackened street, shielded by walls on either side. They were in a narrow alley way. He turned to his left and saw another dog there, still out cold. I must have fainted a few miles after… Then it hit him. He remembered everything in a flash, the way you do when you get up in the morning. Except now it was late afternoon. He gauged the sun’s position and figured it would set soon.

Getting up strangely, Adrian stumbled once or twice but managed to get a good hold on his legs and closed the distance between him and the female dog. He sat by her side, watching her to see if she stirred. She still had dry blood on her, which reminded him that he had some around his neck too. He needed to get that cleaned up. The only way he knew to help her from the blood loss was to either high tail it to the vet, or get something to eat, and since he had been stupid enough to leave her sausages behind, it was up to him to get some meat, fast.

He nudged her with his nose, attempting to get her up. “Hey, wake up,” he said in a mid-neutral tone. It wasn’t too loud and wasn’t too soft, but it also wasn’t showing much emotion. It just… was. Method groaned quietly. If Adrian hadn’t been so close, he probably wouldn’t have even heard her. As her eyes fluttered awake, she suddenly looked startled. She managed to calm down a bit, but Adrian could tell that she still looked a little freaked. “You… you’re…” She stammered, not sure how to finish.

She got up quickly, impressing Adrian at her speed. Collies were apparently faster than he had at first anticipated. She was taking quick, deep breaths, signaling that she was wary of Adrian’s presence. He ignored the unwelcome signs. “Listen, let’s go get some food, okay? You’re badly hurt…” He glanced at her side, matted with dry blood. She looked like she wanted to say no and run like a speeding bullet, but Method knew it would be idiotic to run. She couldn’t possibly make it back to the boat from here… wherever here was. She couldn’t even get food without being noticed. All the red was a billboard. Not to mention she was feeling faint. She nodded reluctantly, following Adrian with a cautious step.

It took almost half an hour, but finally the duo stumbled upon a dumpster. It was behind a fast food restaurant but hey, it was better than going hungry. Adrian dived into it excitedly, trying to find the best and least rotten food available. He grabbed a quarter eaten hamburger and grinned wildly, gripping it tight and throwing it over to Method, who was still outside of the dumpster. “Hey, I never asked you for your name before,” Adrian commented. Method shrugged, saying it quickly. “And yours?” Adrian replied it subtly, through a jaw full of French fries. He gulped them pleasantly, not having had a decent meal in two weeks.

He finally hopped down from the dumpster, scrambling a bunch of half eaten goodies all over the floor. Method and Adrian both took it in gratefully, delighting in the fact that they could eat in peace – for once. Usually dog catchers were on their tails. Although they had never known each other before, Method felt as if she knew this male… Adrian. Maybe he could be Grimm’s brother… although that seemed odd to her. Grimm had never mentioned having a brother before.

“Hey… Adrian?” She said a while later. He quickly swallowed a chicken nugget and looked up at her with a look that said ‘Shoot’. She pawed at the ground, mentally noting that she had to clean up somewhere… the blood was getting a little gross. “Would you happen to be a chow… shepherd mix?” Adrian nodded, almost positive where this was going. It was putting him on the defensive. Method was a bit surprised, but decided to take the next step, beginning to feel confident. “Do you… know a dog named Grimm…?” Adrian’s expression changed. He seemed irritated now, as if Method had just morphed into a pesky fly.

“Adrian?” She said a few minutes later. Adrian turned his body away from her entirely, ripping absently at a hamburger bun. “Yeah, I do. He’s my…” He coughed uncomfortably. “My brother.” Method couldn’t help but skip an intake of breath. “Your… what??” Adrian growled imperceptibly; Method didn’t catch it. Adrian spat out, “I’m not repeating it again.”

This took Method aback slightly, but she recovered in a matter of seconds, trying her hardest to get information without pushing her luck. “He never told me about you…” She began, attempting to get Adrian to finish off the sentence. He didn’t fall for the ploy because just then, he sniffed the air and snarled. There wasn’t even a warning growl – just a straight out snarl. Method jumped at first, thinking it was directed at her, but then she noticed that there was a figure behind her. “Who-” she began, but was cut off. Adrian stepped in front of her shouting, “What are you doing here, Alphonse?”

Another black, tan, and white dog appeared from the opposite end of the ally, not looking happy at all, however, not looking as hostile as Adrian either. “The question is, brother, why do you have her?” He pointed to Method with his eyes. Adrian looked back at her minimally, just as he had the dog catchers’ hours earlier. “That’s none of your concern,” he spat out harshly. Alphonse didn’t seem fazed.

He took another dangerous step closer, merely seven feet away from Adrian. “Are you still trying to get back at Grimm?” He asked without mercy. Adrian growled audibly. “Don’t say his name!” Alphonse leaned back on his paws. “Why not? Because you’re afraid you’ll remember that nothing ever happened between you two?” Method was watching these comments go back and forth. Alphonse, apparently the third chow-shepherd brother, was speaking with acid, yet somehow calmly. Nothing Adrian yelled at him seemed to concern his emotions. It was scary, but it seemed effective. He had earned Method’s respect for that. Adrian, on the other hand, seemed to be losing control by the second. Obviously, he was angry that Alphonse didn’t believe him… or wasn’t on his side or something like that.

“How could you say that?” Adrian snapped, biting back tears; he refused to cry right now – he refused to cry at all. Alphonse was now merely inches away from him; the two were invading each other’s breathing space. “What? The truth?” Alphonse barked. Adrian couldn’t handle it anymore. He went full speed at his own brother, blinded by rage that shouldn’t have been there. “How could you take his side?” He screamed, as he went for Alphonse’s neck. Alphonse quickly dodged, going for Adrian, but Adrian was quick too, and turned on his heel to escape his brother’s defense.

Alphonse looked annoyed. “Why can’t you see it?” Adrian narrowed his eyes, having a stare down with his brother. “There’s nothing to see. He abandoned me and that’s it. He’s going to pay.” Alphonse shook his head. “You’re so hard headed and stubborn! Grimm never left you, Adrian. If you’d stop being an idiot for at least two seconds, you would realize it!”

~

“How come we’re at the pawn shop?” Grimm asked, not sure where Dodger wanted to go or why he even wanted to go out in the first place. He had said it was just to stretch his legs, but Grimm wasn’t entirely sure he was being truthful. Oh well. He had decided to leave it. Dodger flicked his tail as he looked around at all the signs. When he finally saw the shop, he nodded to Grimm and headed in that direction. “’Cause I wanna visit a friend.”

Grimm knew who he was talking about, and it was pointless to ask, but he did it anyways. “Castor and Hera?” Dodger nodded. Grimm was a bit confused but could only guess that maybe Dodger was feeling sentimental today. After all, he had spent the last two days lying on his comfy arm chair. Maybe he wanted some exercise or someone to talk to besides the gang. It’s what Grimm would want himself.

“Yo, Castor! You in there?” Dodger yelled, knocking on the door with soft thuds from his paw. Castor appeared at the window, grinning momentarily before heading to the door and nudging it open. “Hey Dodger, hey Grimm. How are you guys?” Dodger smirked and said, “Great.” He wasn’t the ‘and you?’ kind of dog. Castor got that. So, he changed the subject. “What brings you here?”

Dodger admired his understanding. He seemed to get other dogs in a way that not many could; he also cut to the chase. Dodger began mildly, but as his sentenced continued, his voice progressed in seriousness. “We have a problem.” Castor thought about this and nodded. He looked back in habit for Hera, but remembered that she had gone out for a bit to get water. She would be back soon. “What kind of