Chapter Text
10:05 p.m., Coney Island, NY
“We found her!”
Everyone startles as Cowgirl slams the door open, Cochise short behind. Truly everyone, Rembrandt and Ajax were also there. They were playing poker with Cleon as dealer, Fox and Comet watching silently from the couch, Swan and Mercy lounging on the other end of the piece of furniture and half-watching some documentary—it was, like, a tradition for them. But everyone whips around at that, with all different reactions.
“...who?” that was Comet. And Mercy, at the same time.
“you’re not...” that was Cleon.
“you’re screwing with me.” Ajax.
“Really?” Rembrandt.
Swan doesn’t say anything, just stares. Fox too, actually. But they’re clearly paying attention too as Cochise and Cowgirl walk in and close the door behind them. Cowgirl leans against the back of the couch, nodding in a way that looked genuinely shocked at her own words.
“Yeah. She’s up in Queens.”
“W-who?” Comet asks, quiet as a mouse and confused.
The Warriors looked at the confused Warrior, and then Mercy, who was equally confused.
“Hound...” Swan answered, her voice equally as quiet as Comet. Mercy looked up, her mind recalling the times and stories of the past Warrior that suddenly disappeared on the day of hell.
Comet simply nodded quietly, which stuck out to most of the other Warriors—how did she know who Hound was? —but not as much as what Cowgirl and Cochise were saying right now.
“She’s alive, right? She’s alive and well?” Swan asked, her voice pleading for an answer that the younger Warrior was okay. Mercy placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to help comfort her, but Swan kept going. “Cowgirl? Cochise?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she’s alive,” Cochise said, nodding, which relaxed Swan a bit but not completely. Hound was alive, but they don’t know if she’s well. They don’t know if she’s okay, and somehow that’s both better and worse than not knowing if she’s alive at all.
Cleon must notice her nervousness because she speaks up, determination in her voice. “Warriors, vests on.”
And everyone gets up at that. The poker game is forgotten as Rembrandt and Ajax push to their feet, following Cochise and Cowgirl out and into their apartment. Fox and Comet are up from the couch, as are Swan and Mercy, scattering to grab their vests and shoes. Cleon’s was already in reach because of course it was, she was Cleon. They’re already outside the apartment building in a few minutes, Mercy silently attempting to calm down an anxious Swan as they start towards Stilwell station. They know, generally, where they’re headed. Queens is a couple hours away by train.
They’re going uptown for the first time since...well, since they lost Hound. And now they were getting her back, they’ve gone full circle.
“Warriors, you ready? Vests on?” Cleon asks, and there’s a feeling of Deja vu from most of the others.
“We ready.”
“Let’s go.”
_________
10:25pm, Queens, NY, ???
Hound stared at the subway train map, confusion filling her.
Okay, Hound. That goes there. But what does... Where the heck is Coney Island?!
She thought, sighing in defeat. She went back up, climbing up a lamp pole, and jumped onto the roof.
It’s been months... And they’re not around... She thought, sighing as she leaned onto a ventilator. She had no clue how to get back to Coney. She wasn’t one to read maps. No one really taught her... And her school? Her brother would make her skip class to grab cigarettes. With a sigh, she took her collar out of her pocket, putting it on. She’s been keeping it in there to make sure no one could hear her, whether it's for pickpocketing or stealing some store food.
She just wanted to go home. She wants to see her family again. Her real family. She wants to be back at Coney. She wants the Warriors back...
_________
10:30pm, Queens, NY
“How the fuck did this girl get in Queens?!” Ajax complained about the fifth time this trip. The other shrugged, but Cowgirl spoke up.
“Don’t know.” Cowgirl said, making Swan chimed in next.
“She probably misheard Cleon. She went uptown, rather than down.”
The Warriors walked out of the subway, seeing the streets of Queens. It wasn’t crowded, due to it being the middle of the night. There were barely any street gangs walking around. Good for the Warriors. Makes their job of finding the lost Warrior easier. Or... So they thought.
They had no clue where to look first. This place was new turf that they haven’t explored.
Comet was studying the map weirdly intently, the area around them too, like she was seeing something and not at the same time. None of them noticed at first, too overwhelmed with the new location, but Cochise was the one to finally speak up. "You see something, Comet?”
The youngest Warrior kind of shrugged, pointed to a spot on the map, pointed to a streetlamp, then made a motion with her hands. Cochise just kind of stared at her, then Ajax of all people spoke up.
“You think...what, she found a place with more damn streetlamps to climb?” she asked, also clearly confused. And Comet nodded at that, again pointing to an area on the map of Queens that was outside the station—it looked like it had more buildings than the rest, which would mean more streetlamps for Hound.
Cleon nodded and looked at Swan.
“Well, we’ve found our lead. Now let’s grab our Hound back.”
_______________
10:49pm, Queens, NY
They couldn’t find her. They couldn’t find her anywhere. No leads, no trial, not even the local gangs or store owners know where she might be. Nor what she even looks like. One person asked if she was hot, to which Swan almost punched the guy if it weren’t for Mercy beside her.
“Cowgirl, are you sure you and Cochise weren’t smoking pot again?” Ajax asked, making Rembrandt push her gently. “What? This is basically a wild goose chase! We haven’t found her anywhere! She might be dead for all we know.”
“Don’t say that.” Swan snapped, her voice low and menacing. Mercy gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and Swan relaxed. She couldn’t be dead. No, no, she isn’t dead. Comet titled her head at the two, seeing Swan disheartened at the mention of Hound possibly being dead. And in a way, it made her sad too. Like she was preparing to mourn for someone she had never met. She wouldn’t be able to meet the Warrior the others seemed to love. She wouldn’t be able to learn how to climb streetlamps with her. She wouldn’t have another member of this messed up family—because yeah, they were family to Comet now—, another person to add to this mess of a collage.
The thought of that was a bit disheartening, but something inside of Comet still tugged at her, told her don’t draw that conclusion so soon.
“Okay, enough.” Cleon said, her voice making everyone look up. “Roll call.”
Everyone said their names in roll call in order with practiced ease.
“Cochise.”
“Cowgirl.”
“Fox.”
“Cleon.”
“Ajax.”
“Rembrandt.”
“Swan.”
“Mercy.”
“Co--”
“Hound.”
....
Silence. Drop dead silence, as if thinking they misheard it the jazz-like slide of the name.
“Hound?” Fox asked under her breath, trying to look for the hidden Warrior. Suddenly, the streetlamp behind them flicked, as if the light was dying. Or... There was a sudden weight. Comet and the others looked behind them, seeing a silhouette of something, or someone, on top of the tall light. It didn’t seem threatening, just watching them. Menacingly. As if planning their deaths. Or how to greet them all.
Comet took a step back, confused—she could only assume this was Hound, but also the sudden interruption in the roll call had…slightly startled her. Needless to say, she wasn’t exactly scared, more wariness mixed with excitement at meeting this new- well, old? Warrior.
The shadow figure titled its’ head at seeing Comet and Mercy, and then just... Disappeared. Only to slide down the streetlamp like a fireman pole. She came into the light, revealing herself.
Some of the Warriors gasped at the sight of the girl. Her reddish-brown hair was overgrown, her curtain to the side bangs were in her face, her hair half up half in a bun tied up with a red protective wire. Yet, there were still those tufts of hair on either side, still grown out, that makes her look like she has floppy dog ears. Her yellow eyes were still bright but had dark bags under them. Her face was bruised with a few cuts, with a swelling of her cheek from a punch. She titled her head, and then quickly went to grab something from her back pocket. She pulled out a black leather collar with a silver circle pendant that jingled with every movement. It was placed around her neck, and she smiled. That was Hound.
“Wonder if you guys would come back.” She said with a nervous chuckle, and small shrug on her shoulders.
But now, when she looked around, there were...nine Warriors staring at her, not just the seven she knew. Who were these people? One of them was stood next to Swan, the other standing off to the side, out of the light of the streetlamp that Hound had previously been perched on.
And suddenly, the woman next to Swan is moving quickly and her hands are on Hound’s shoulders and she’s talking like she’s just found the most adorable image. “So this is Hound? Oh my gosh, she’s so cute, why didn’t you tell me how cute she was Swan?”
Hound shoots a nervous glance at Swan, a very clear who is this? Swan sighs at the interaction, though she does proceed to explain. “Yes, Mercy, this is Hound. Hound, this is Mercy. We picked her up the night we lost you, she’s...also my girlfriend.”
“She- your-...finally!” Hound’s reaction is both surprising and utterly unsurprising—Mercy is laughing hysterically, and Swan is just staring at her. Cowgirl is trying to control her snickering at the sudden burst of noise from the recently found Warrior. The other girl she doesn’t know—looks younger than her, maybe—is staring curiously at her, not saying anything.
Hound continued, still almost exasperated. “I thought, like, Cleon was your only proper human connection or something.”
Cowgirl broke at that, started laughing so hard that she doubled over, ending up on the ground, Cochise making sure she was okay while holding back her own snickers. Ajax barks out a laugh of her own at the bluntness of it, Rembrandt shaking her head fondly. Even Cleon looks amused at that, though she kind of agrees with Hound on that front. Prior to Mercy, and even to an extent now, Swan had never been the type to seem like she would find a partner.
Hound stuck her tongue out with a smile. Not a mocking way. Just in a happy, puppy-like way. Her gaze went to Comet, and she titled her head. Comet mimicked her movements, titling her head in curiosity. Hound blinked twice, and Comet did the same. Almost like a mirror, except here, instead of her own reflection, it was a younger one with a space-themed bandana around her neck and a faded hoodie that Hound recognized as Fox’s.
Comet, curious but silent as ever, took a couple of tiny steps towards Hound. She didn’t know too much about the slightly older girl, but what she did know interested her enough to want to learn more. She just didn’t know how to approach...well, conversations in general with her preference of silence—she had read at some point that it was called ‘elective mutism’ or something, she didn’t really know—but especially ones with people she didn’t know.
So instead of letting herself think about it forever, she kind of just waved, curled in her fingers but not her thumbs, pushed them together and rolled forward, pointed at Hound. Hello. How are you? Comet wasn’t sure if the other girl would understand her, and she figured the answer wasn’t going to be ‘well’, but she tried.
“Oh,” Hound said, and Comet gave a small smile when she realized the girl understood her. Hound continued, gesturing to her side, “eh, just a slice to the side. I’m great.”
Cochise looked up at that, turning to Comet to relay whatever it was, not having completely heard over Cowgirl’s slowly calming fit of laughter. Comet made a kind of slicing motion on her side, which shifted Cochise’s confused expression into exasperation.
“Hound...can you go any length of time without getting injuries?” the older Warrior asked. Hound, in response, simply shook her head and grinned, showing off her slightly-sharper-than-average canines. Ajax ruffled the Warrior’s hair, making the bun fall out of place and caused the bangs to fall in front of her face, like Comet’s when she was first introduced to the Warriors. Cowgirl came back up from the floor, wiping a stray tear. She looked at Hound, seeing how the girl needed a cut. But they’d do that when they get home.
“Well,” Cleon said, making everyone pause. “Looks like we’ve found our Hound.” She chuckled, patting her head. Hound smiled, a small blush coming onto her face.
“Let’s go home then!” Ajax cheered, wanting to go home desperately which made everyone laugh and Rembrandt rolled her eyes. Everyone cheered, walking back to the subway and Comet glanced over to Hound, seeing the older Warrior smiling, her yellow eyes sparkling with excitement, relief, and something that said that she missed this. Comet couldn’t stop watching her, and something in her just knew that Hound and Comet would get along swell.
__________
12:35 a.m., Coney Island, NY, Cleon’s apartment
After the Warriors had dinner, got Hound patched up and cleaned up with new clothes, the lost Warrior immediately crashed onto the couch, her head on the arm rest and her body curled up to let others sit down. Hound got new jeans since her’s were now ripped, and her shirt was now replaced with a black “The B-50’s” band t-shirt from Ajax. Cochise was sewing Hound’s vest on the other couch in front of the tv, Rembrandt was braiding Comet’s hair, Fox was making a card pyramid with Ajax, Cleon was grabbing a coffee with extra espresso, Cowgirl was in the kitchen most likely grabbing a shot, and Mercy and Swan were next to the sleeping Hound, Mercy was unable to stop staring at the Warrior. Swan rolled her eyes but rang a small bell that she kept in her pocket in case Mercy got distracted by something.
“Mercy,” Swan called, getting the attention of her partner. “Leave her alone. We’ll have time to be with her when she wakes up. You’ll be able to give her all the affection you’d want.” Swan saw Mercy get obviously excited, and something in her just wanted to give all the affection to the Warrior. Hound was missing, but now that she was back, she was probably going to get a lot of attention.