Just this once..

Just this Once
Rutilus, currently disguised as the inteligent and good-looking person whom he had so aptly named John van Lupe walked trough the streets of the city, he seemed to avoid the attention of humans entirely as he commonly snuck into dark alleys to seemingly escape their prying gazes; he took a good look in each alley. His hand clenched around a small bag, moving over to one of the corners. Rutilus proceeded to open the bag, taking out a chunk of freshly cooked meat, which he tossed on the ground.

A rustling sound from the nearby containers was heard. A lone grey puppy wobbled over towards Rutilus, before it gently sniffed the meat - taking a bite before yarping happily and ate the rest. Rutilus reached out with his hand as he gently stroke the puppy just below its ear, a smile playing upon his lips.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him halt his movement though. Rutilus barely managed to hide his presence before the one approaching arrived.

A young girl, likely only about eight years or so entered the dark alley. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for as she smiled widely when she saw the puppy: The dog answered with a happy bark as she approached it, embracing it in a soft hug.

Rutilus watched the scene unfold - his normally savage, almost bestial features softened visibly as he realized that the child truly loved the puppy; this was only further emphasized by the fact that she too carried with her a small bag, whom she proceeded to empty across the floor, there was really only a single chunk of meat - But the puppy ate it nevertheless.

Much like Rutilus had done before, the girl petted the puppy while he ate. Afterwards they played around for a bit before the girl exlaimed, albeit with a certain reluctancy that she had to head home, and assured the puppy that she would continue nagging at her parents til they agreed to let the puppy come and live with them.

-

This continued for a long time, Rutilus would commonly show up in that very same alley to watch the girl whom seemed to care for dogs as much as he himself did. Every time she came she would bring with her some food and she'd always reassure the puppy that her parents would certainly change their mind sooner or later.

One day however, the small puppy caught eyes of a passerby cat; it barked excitedly before it ran off after the cat - which darted across the road. The dog following in its heels, the young girl desperately attempted to catch it but she failed to reach it. She stumbled in her small slippers and fell out onto the open road; right in front of a large truck, it wouldn't be able to stop in time. The girl covered herself with her arms in a futile attempt to defend herself, before..

What happened next was something which the people whom witnessed this incident were completely unable to comprehend, a split second before the girl would be hit by the truck. She was seemingly yanked up by thin air and half-hurled half-carried out of the way, dissapearing into nearby backyard.

She looked around herself, clearly just as surprised as the other witnesses as to how she had managed to escape. As the crowd of people ran to meet her, a lone figure; unseen by the masses stood leaned against a nearby wall. A young man whom only wore a pair of maroon slacks. He looked at the girl one last time, before he spoke to himself "Just this once, kid".

With that, he turned around as he seemingly just vanished.

-

The girls parents, when they heard of the incident finally accepted the puppy into their household (It had managed to get across the road completely unharmed) - If only to protect their child from ever playing the role of a possible martyr in the future.