Chapter V Part II

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Dell smooshed her face up against the dusty window, trying to figure out where in the world Patches was. She knocked on the pane a few times, then knocked harder. She successfully spotted a white and black paw poking out from behind a bush not more than twenty meters from the school, waving wildly.

"Hey, are you banging on something in there?"

"I... n-"

"If you break something, the captain isn't going to let me off the hook!"

Dellanor started searching for something to pry the window open. She saw Patches look left and right, ensuring there was nobody to see him. He then emerged from the shrubbery, creeping his way towards the school.

Rover's ears piqued up suddenly after a moment of silence. Dell was deathly afraid he had somehow figured her out by her uneven breathing and pounding heart.

"Someone's coming! Agh! I knew this was a bad idea!" The russell said, pouting in frustration.

"I'm sorr-" She began to whisper, but Rover cut her off.

"Just shush and stay in there, don't make any noise!" The jack russell whispered as loudly as he could, trying to make sure Dellanor was the only one to hear him. She felt the dust of the room compounding her difficulty breathing. 

Suddenly, the jack russell spoke. "H-Hey Ginger!"

There was no audible response to the jack russell, but Dell remembered who Ginger was- she was a friend of the cat and some kind of freakish magical dog, with an equally freakish demeanour. In the brief moments Dell had heard her speak, Ginger seemed to only care about finding the dalmatian and little else. 

"... Are you okay?" Ginger said, standing at the doorway to the library now.

"Haha! Yeah! Just checking around for intruders! I thought I heard something at the back of the library but it was nothing. I was just locking up."

Patches was making gestures at Dell, telling her to open the damn window so he could climb in. Dell, for her part, told him to quiet and then began to cough lightly. She felt her body going through the usual pains of her asthma. Still, She tried desperately to control her breathing for the time being. Patches, seemingly getting the message, slipped out of view below the window.

"...I'll take a look." Ginger said, asserting herself.

Dell could hear some strange humming coming from the doorway now, and although she couldn't see it, she knew Ginger was doing her life-sensing junk. It was only a matter of time now before she'd get caught. 

"Wait. I can't let you in on strict orders from the captain; no one is allowed into any of the rooms without being a part of a class accompanied by an adult."

Dell peered through the crack in the door and was able to see the duo talking to one another.

Suddenly, she heard a noise from behind her and saw Patches trying to pry open the unlatched window. "No no no! Not right now!" she whispered, right as the anxiety of the situation coalesced with the dusty environment. She felt her diaphragm slow, then begin to seize. She reflexively tried to find out what might be squeezing down on her chest, and bent down on one knee, grimacing as she grasped her hoodie and fanned it hoping to cut the pain before it intensified. She needed her inhaler, although it's use would make an awfully loud sound- definitely loud enough for Ginger to hear.

Dell could hear Ginger's smile changing the tone of her words. "Rover... I was the one who told you to guard the school."

"No, Sparky did."

"He told you to do it after you wouldn't listen to me."

"...Well anyways, you're distracting me from my guard work."

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