Half and Half

Chapter Twenty Eight

Before Mal knew what she was doing, she found herself launching herself at Persephone and giving her the biggest hug she could. In all honesty, she had been worried about what the pet would do for six months and if they'd be with someone who'd treat them right while she was back on the Isle. Now she didn't need to think about that.

Realizing what she'd done, Mal flushed slightly and broke from the hug. "Um...we can just forget that happened," she said softly.

"As you wish Mal," Persephone nodded, giving the younger girl a kind smile. "Now come on, grab your stuff! We've got a big day of pet finding ahead of us!"

Mal grinned and nodded, quickly rushing into the house to grab her bag before meeting Persephone by the designated teleportation spot. She frowned, though, when she saw Persephone shake her head.

"We'll be driving today Mal," the Goddess said, noticing the look on Mal's face.

"But...why?"

Persephone smiled as she looked at Mal. "Do you remember how you felt the first time you teleported? We wouldn't want to put an innocent animal through that, at least not on the first day they're meeting us. We want them to trust us after all."

Mal nodded slightly; that made sense now that she thought about it. Quickly getting into the car, Mal couldn't help but wonder what kind of a pet she'd get. They had to be something that would be easy to transport so the idea of eels was out of the question—even if Mal was sure her Uncle Poseidon would help her out with that. Jay, Jafar's son, had supposedly been given eels in his baddie bag and ended up having to give them to Uma because of all the work they needed.

Oh that's another thing, they have to get along with Uma and Harry's cats, Mal thought with an inward nod.

Uma and Harry's kitties were the highlight of the Underworld when they came to visit. Uma's girl, Oceania, was nearly all white with a few black parts; mainly on her tail and paws. Whereas Harry's boy, Patch, had been named purely for the black and white patches all over the kitten's body.

Mal was pretty sure they were all lucky that DeVil hadn't gotten the baddie bag with Patch on it otherwise Cruella might have started raving about Dalmatians. But Patch had lucked out and ended up with Harry, and it was clear that having Patch had helped Harry even if he didn't say so.

At the very least, it was always a delight to find Patch curled up in Harry's hat when the three of them were up in the clubhouse...or rather the four of them now. Uma and Mal had talked and Uma decided that Ben should know where the clubhouse was. He'd proven himself multiple times and the fact that he seemed to defer to orders despite being the next in line for the throne of Auradon gave him points in Uma's book.

Plus, as Harry said, Ben liked cats. Anyone who liked cats could clearly be trusted and he'd hook anyone who said otherwise.

"Alright, we're here," Persephone said as they parked in front of the local animal shelter. Mal was honestly surprised Auradon had an animal shelter but she wasn't going to complain. It meant that she'd be getting a pet who was like her; someone used to 'prison' so to speak.

"Welcome Lady Persephone," the employee at the front desk said as they walked in.

"Hello," Lady Persephone said. "I'm here to see about getting a pet for my daughter here?"

"Of course, right this way," the employee nodded and opened the door to the back room. "Please let us know if you have any questions."

"We certainly will," Persephone nodded as she and Mal made their way through the kennel. Mal looked all over but she couldn't seem to find a pet that screamed that it was her's. If that even made sense. She saw lots of happy faces and dogs wagging their tails as she passed but...