Once We are Descendants

Chapter 30: Friends and Enemies

"Well that is certainly something you don't see every day," Killian says.

"You guys see dragons, knights, curses, and mermaids on a daily basis and this is what shocks you?" Mal asks.

"I'd hate to see what scares you guys," Dude says. "Hey Mal, where are we?"

"The Land Without Magic," she explains, holding Dude in her arms.

"No wonder it smells so different. Okay, who smells like seawater and eyeliner,"

Regina and Crystal snort, trying to stifle their laughter. Rumple is also looking very amused.

"Hey buddy, what's with the utensil?" the talking animal continues. "Is it you, Captain Crook that smells like makeup and old seaweed? What is that thing for anyways, opening cans or herding sheep? Could you make it more useful and open a can of dog food for me?"

Killian does not look particularly amused, but Emma's trying to hide her smiles. The pirate is used to Regina's sarcastic comments about his appearance, the Dark One's daughter's too, but coming from a talking dog is something not entirely pleasing to him. He bites his lip to hide the annoyance.

"Hey... Dude how about this?" Crystal offers, she waves her hand and conjures up a nice chewy bone for him. "Will this curb your appetite?"

"Oh man, you are now officially my new best friend in this town," the dog says, wagging his tail in excitement. The young adult gives him the bone which he chews on happily.

Mal lets him down onto the floor to enjoy his treat. Suddenly, Neal begins squirming in his mother's arms, making a big fuss.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asks.

Neal babbles something and is pointing down, kicking, and trying to communicate his desire to be let down. His mother obliges and places him on the floor, to which the toddler crawls over to Dude. The dog looks at him with the bone in his mouth, cocking his head to the side in curiosity. Neal reaches over and grabs a clump of the dog's brown fur rather roughly.

"Ow, hey..." Dude barks, dropping the bone in pain.

"Gentle Honey, gentle," Snow says. She grabs her son's hands to release the clump of fur the toddler has in his grasp; she then guides his hand gently to show him how to pet the dog properly. Once the little prince gets the hang of it, he starts petting Dude with a much softer touch. The talking dog then sniffs the baby curiously.

"How come you don't walk like the rest of the humans?" he asks.

Neal makes some sort of noise as if to answer the question. A big smile spreads across the tiny tot's face, happy to hear this animal talking to him.

"Sorry, I don't speak your language..." The brown dog then goes up and licks the toddler's face, to which Neal squeals in uncontrollable delight. The happy noises make the others towering over the two smile widely. Dude continues to lick the boy's face. "Mmmm, what did he have for lunch, peanut butter? He tastes much better than he smells. I expected him to taste like powder or maybe salt."

"I think Neal's found a new friend," Crystal says, still cradling a sleeping Gideon.

"Indeed," Killian agrees. "A friend with a rather big mouth,"

"Who is no different from Zelena," the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin smirks.

"Zelena?" Mal asks in confusion.

"My half-sister, The Wicked Witch of the West," Regina explains.

"Wicked Witch..." Mal trails off, trying to remember something that she'd read. She slightly resembled Belle when she was thinking of something "Is she from a land called Oz?"