Trouble

[Jenn]

"You would have been made aware of the rules, and the consequences of breaking them when you joined. Unless you are mixing us up with the Freedom Fighters, there are actual consequences for rule breaking here."
Jenn frowned at the tiny dog, while she understood her strife and anger, she needed to be told,
"Show no mercy to the enemy, and never betray the Rogues. Tramp, by stepping in and attacking Dobson to save this other dog, has broken both of those rules. He turned against one of his own in an attempt to save an enemy."

Feathers ruffled, and while her voice was stern, the look in her eyes was almost sympathetic. Seeing someone you love going through something like this, regardless of the crime, must be heartbreaking. She herself wasn't even sure if the punishment really fit the crime, at least not for a first offence, but at the same time, she knew Clopin's word was law.

[Shanty]

It’s a good thing the clamped arm can’t tighten any further.

Jenn and Hades, being so close, can see something odd happen to the Captain. There’s a series of clicks, her silicone skin deforming and straining slightly in places before settling down. The port on her chest flashes from its warm orange to a clear view of raging flames. Smoke rises from her lips, and small flames accompany her words, like a tongue from hell.

Angel was trying to start as much of a mess as she could. A riot. A revolution.

“While I can’t condone all the dancing and singing, you two knew exactly what the rules implied. He did not choose to flee, and instead choose to harm our own. You choose your fights, or you die. That’s not just our rule, it’s a rule of life.”

Shanty’s already harsh voice turns dark, silicone struggling once again.

“Those words are those of a turncoat, pup. I would rapidly realize what you’re saying, and where you are, before continuing, or we may have more than one traitor on our hands.”

[Buster]

Half-flopped ears flicked back more as Angel's outburst of anger and loss continued, comparing the Rogues to the Blackbloods if Clopin went ahead with executing Tramp for his betrayal. Buster narrowed his eyes slightly before glancing at Dobson as the other Doberman came to sit beside him, a small smirk crossing his maw as he noted Dobson's excitement over the prospect of more bloodshed. 

"Hiiii Buster~"

"Hey Dobson~" Buster greeted, his stubbed tail wiggling slightly. 

"You excited?"

Buster smirked slightly and leant against his boyfriend, a small nod leaving him. "Mhmm~ I can tell you are too"

Buster mused before he focused his sights back on Clopin and Tramp upon the stage.

He was half tempted to add his input to Jenn and Shanty's warnings with Angel but decided to let them handle her instead. He'd ceased caring about the Pomeranian Mix when, like Tramp, she betrayed him and chose life on the end of a chain over the freedom he could promise her. 

[Clopin]

Maybe we've made a mistake.

I see no Rogues here. 

I see the Blackblood Legion!

The execution came to a screeching halt as Angel’s words rang out amongst the crowd, and they gasped in shock at her words. Both Jenn and Shanty rushed in to warn the pup to choose her next words carefully, but it was too late. She had the King’s full attention now.

He turned from the scrawny dog being held down, and looked down to Angel, with a strange look in his eyes. It was a mixture of anger and disappointment. A notable silence fell over the room, and for a brief moment, the flames of the torches nearby flickered ever so slightly.

“How dare you compare us to those Blackbloods. We may not have the endless kindness that you would expect out of the Freedom Fighters, but we care for our own. I have spent my entire life ensuring the safety of my people, and for no one else. I will do the same for my own army, even if it means executing a traitor, no matter the circumstances.” Clopin said, his voice dropping a few octaves from its normal pitch.

“Watch your tongue, Angel.”

Clopin then turned on one foot towards Hades, nodding at him as a signal to begin.

Virgil and Dante looked towards Cerberus, before loosening their grip on Tramp.

[Hades]

Hades had watched the entire exchange with the small pup with a bored expression. Apparently it was a family trait for these dogs to not follow the rules, he wouldn't be surprised if she was the next one up there.
When Clopin looked towards the god, he gave a snap of his fingers.

Without hesitation, Cerberus rose to his paws. The large dog had already taken up quite a bit of space in the room, but now his towering heads almost brushed the ceiling. Three sets of red eyes focused on Tramp, and growls echoed off of the stone walls, causing vibrations in the chests of all those present.

They were ready to attack, to snap up the tiny mongrel and shred him to pieces, but they waited a moment, hoping to see the satisfying look of fear in their victim's eyes before they lunged.

[Tramp]

Tramp snarled and kicked Virgil and Dante, hoping to distract them long enough, but the ropes were to tight. He snapped his jaws at the ropes, but they didn't give in.

He then snapped at Clopin while his back was turned.

[Deleted]

Angel scoffed at Jenn and Shanty's words. If they truly believed that this was right, then they were already lost. "That is not what I meant," she snapped. "If Tramp has to be held accountable for what he did - fine. Ground him! Demote him! Throw him in the dungeon! But don't kill him! He is not our enemy!"

At Shanty's warning, the Pomeranian mix's lip curled. "If I'm a traitor, then this is not the Rogue army," she growled. 

"How dare you compare us to those Blackbloods. We may not have the endless kindness that you would expect out of the Freedom Fighters, but we care for our own. I have spent my entire life ensuring the safety of my people, and for no one else. I will do the same for my own army, even if it means executing a traitor, no matter the circumstances.

Watch your tongue, Angel." 

Angel knew she should shut up, but she could not. Clopin needed to see that this was wrong. "Why do you all keep bringing up the Freedom Fighters?!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "I get it; they're doormats! But I'm not talking about the Freedom Fighters. I'm talking about the Rogues. What you're about to do is an evil thing. You say you care for your own. Well, Tramp is one of us too. If you kill him, then no one is really cared for. All you're proving is that your people are just a means to an end." She could not keep the note of scorn from her voice even though she knew that it was unwise to let her contempt show when addressing the king. 

"Do the right thing."

[Deleted]

His original giddiness disappeared as the sound of a shrill screech echoed through the noise court. Whatever festivities or cheerful jubilation that had been about to happen fell to a halt and Dobson could felt his grin fall into a thin pressed line on his maw. Pink hues bore down at the girl as she argued with the Court of Miracles king and anger gripped him tightly. What a stupid child Tramp had raised.

The Doberman was up on his feet almost as soon as Cerberus was, however, his intent was not on Tramp. It was on Angel. Perhaps it wasn't his place to talk but when did he ever properly follow the hierarchy of the Rogues? Never.

"The right thing? As if you could know what the right thing was." He scoffed suddenly, his light-colored hues narrowed dangerously at the pup. The fur along his back rose, anger radiated throughout his mortal vessel. "That puppy you so willing want to justify as part of Tramp's release was an enemy, right outside our walls! He made the mistake of trespassing and it cost him! And for your happy little information here, kid, that child would have grown. That child would have grown and become a threat to us, to our people, to our 'family'. Tramp knew that, he had that in his mind, and he still broke the rule by protecting or trying to save that damn RUNT!"

He shook his head almost gravely. His expression turned into something rarely seen on his face. Something that mimicked seriousness. "Child or not, they would have been a threat at one point or another. Tramp has broken the rules laid out for him, and now he'll pay the consequences. This is war, kid. People die, people murder, and it doesn't get any easier. So shut your mouth before you say anything else stupid." 

[Buster]

Angel's continued disagreement with the chosen course of action drew a loud growl from Buster's chest. He had half a mind to snap the smaller dog up and toss her to the mercy of Cerebus but Dobson's intervention had him pause in rising to his paws, half-flopped ears perking at the lecture the other Doberman delivered. He doubted whether Angel would actually take the other canine's words to heart; she'd often feigned obedience while under his protection and he couldn't see that trait changing so easily.

Buster curled his lips slightly and stood to nuzzle Dobson's flank lightly before glaring down at Angel.

"Leave her Dobson... If she wants to be a traitor twice then let her." He wasn't going to risk his own neck trying to sway her from a path she'd likely already set herself upon.

[Cerberus]

Feeling tired of waiting, and annoyed with the traitor, especially when he noticed Tramp snap at Clopin and his guard dogs. Two heads nudged the king and the other two dogs out of the way, and the third head wrapped his jaws around Tramp's body, tossing him in the air before catching him again.
He was going to enjoy this new chew toy.