By the end of the day, there was only one thing that Regina wanted to do: Go home. To her true love and the little family that they had made. Today was no different. 
Now that Regina had made the deal with Rumple, that he would handle Hades and the Underworld, there was a lot less pressure on Regina. The 'only' thing she had to look after, was her mother and Zelena - oh and the small matter of trying to run Storybrooke like normal. And protecting everyone from what came through the portal.
But at least she didn't have to worry about how she would defeat the lord of the underworld. That was definitely a help. Everything else seemed doable, it wasn't like Regina wasn't used to threats against herself or the town. So much so, that she was almost used to it by now. 

It meant that she felt like she had control (more or less) of what was going on, and was able not to worry too much about everything, when she was at home. But she still worked a lot, so the time that she spent at home, was horribly limited. Roland, who went to bed first, sometimes didn't get to see Regina, other than in the morning. And if she was so lucky that she could take lunch off and spend it with him and Robin. Henry too of course, if he wasn't at school. (Which Regina really hoped he was, but she knew that he had skipped school before. Something he had gotten a serious scolding for) If anything Henry was becoming more of a worry to Regina than Hades. Which was saying something. 

This evening Regina was picking up Roland from a playdate he had had, with one of the kids who was around his age. He wasn't very keen to leave, which Robin had thought would be the case. Which was why he'd suggested Regina would be the one to pick him up. Because it was her, she was met with a warm hug from the small boy and he wasn't opposed to going home with her. Which was a relief, because Regina did not have the energy to discuss it with him. It didn't take the boy long to say his goodbyes and get dressed, so they could make their way home. All the while talking excitedly, about all that he had done that day. It made Regina smile and reminisce about when Henry had been that small.

Soon enough they were out on the street, on their way home. Regina kept a firm hold on Roland's hand and kept a look out around them, in case any of the creatures from the forest had made their way into town.  But once Robin came into their view, Regina let go of the boy, so he could run up to his father and give him a hug, like he had done with her. Regina smiled in greeting, as she got close to them. "I thought I was picking him up" Regina said, suddenly doubting whether or not they had actually agreed that she would pick him up, or if that was just something she thought she heard. 

---

Robin Hood

Robin walked down the street, heading in the direction he knew Regina and Roland would be heading to get back to their home. Of course, he had told Regina that she ought to be the one to pick Roland up, but he had ended up being unable to sit around and wait for them to get back home. So he had decided to meet them halfway, so they could all walk back together. Hopefully, Regina wouldn't find it annoying. Sometimes he had to hope that she didn't find his puppy-dog crush on her too irritating. Even though they had been going out for so long, he still had moments where he just had to see her and would do something mildly dorky to pull that off.

He smiled when he saw the two of them approaching, Roland running ahead to give him a hug. He got down on one knee, catching his son in a big hug and snuggling with him for a moment before letting him go and getting back to his feet. He smiled at Regina, moving closer to give her a kiss. "I know," he chuckled faintly, "but I started to miss you so I thought I would see if you wanted some more company walking back." He grinned at her sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"Puppy!" Roland called suddenly, Robin looking over at his son, then in the direction the boy was pointing. Across the street, standing perfectly still, was a mid-sized black dog. It looked rather unremarkable, though it seemed to be staring at them very intently. Its head hung low, a tense feeling in its body language. It didn't look like it was an extremely friendly dog.

Its eyes were blood red, and it watched them like they were enemies it needed to keep an eye on.

"Don't go over to it, Roland," Robin warned his son, "it's a wild dog- probably not something you should be touching." He could see the pout his son offered him. Every young child wanted to pet each and every animal they happened to come across.

It was kind of the law.

But Robin didn't really like the feeling he got when he saw the dog. The way it was watching them was a little... unnatural. He frowned at it, before looking at Regina. "I don't suppose that's a friend of yours in disguise, is it?" He asked softly, so as not to cause any panic if it wasn't really needed. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

It was only a dog.

---

reginamills

Of course Regina could never think that Robin love for her was irritating. Never. Not even when he came up with obvious excuses to see her, just because he wanted to, in the most inopportune moments. Because as unrealistic as it might sound, Robin always brightened her day, with his presence. And sometimes she felt it herself, that heart-clenching urge to just see him. Where that was all she wanted to do. See him and sometimes just to hide in his embrace and forget everything else. Like that day where she had had a fight with Henry in her office. She had needed to be held and be assured that she wasn't a horrible parent, that night.
Cora might have said that love was weakness, but for Regina, Robin was her strength.

It seemed like spending her mornings and her evenings with her family was far from enough. At least it felt that way, when she came home after a long day. Regina had no idea how the people from this land, managed to do that and still keep up with what their kids were doing. Or maybe that was the point, that they didn't, they didn't pay it any attention.
In any case, Regina leaned into the brief kiss, Robin gave her, like she hadn't kissed him in weeks. Now who was a lovesick fool? She smiled softly at him, as he said he missed her. So it wasn't just her who missed him all day. Good, at least they were as pathetic as each other. "I'd love to have your company" She replied honestly, her eyes on him, not able to hide just how happy she was with him, or how much she loved him. Cora would have scolded her, but Regina didn't care, she wasn't here right now.

Roland's call, tore Regina's attention away from Robin and over to the dog that Roland was looking at. It might not have been a very big dog, but the blood-red eyes, made a chill run down Regina spine. The fact that it was staring right at them, didn't help the feeling in her gut, a feeling like they should get out of there right now. She reached down and grabbed a hold of Roland's hand, just to make sure he didn't go anywhere. She didn't know what kind of creature that was, not in that form, but with those eyes, it couldn't be anything good.
Shaking her head slowly, Regina glanced at Robin, mirroring his frown. "No" She replied quietly, with another look at the dog. Putting on a smile Regina looked down at Roland "Let's go home.. Maybe we can light up the fireplace and make smores after dinner.. how about that?" Once she looked up, she shared another worried look with Robin, before she started to lead them all away from the dog, in the hope that it really was just a dog. At any other time she might have looked into it further, but not now, not while Roland was with them. She wouldn't risk his well being for that.

---

Robin Hood

Roland looked very distraught that he wasn't allowed to go and pet the puppy, looking up at Regina with a bit of a pout. Of course, since it was Regina and not his father, he was much better about not throwing a fit over things, always wanting to be on his best behavior around the woman. Still, there were plenty of times where that was extremely difficult for the young boy. Impossible, even.

"Can't I pet him?" He asked weakly, hoping Regina might say yes where Robin had told him no. Hearing the throat clearing of his father, though, made it clear that petting this particular dog was out of the question. Roland didn't seem to mind that the dog looked totally evil- it was an animal and he was programmed to want to pet it, no matter what.

However, his parents, both real and potential, seemed to have a very different view of the creature that continued to hover near them, watching them with an impossible stare. Robin was pretty sure the thing hadn't blinked once since they had noticed it.

It was very creepy.

Robin frowned, nodding and quickly forcing himself to smile along with Regina. "Yes, that sounds good, doesn't it? You like when we made smores, right?"

"Yeah!" Roland cheered, almost completely forgetting about the dog at the thought of chocolate and marshmallow goodness. That was the best thing about having a young son- it was pretty easy to distract him from something they would rather he not be focused on.

Sweets usually did the trick.

Robin smiled and nodded, turning to leave with the two of them. He wanted to get away from the creature before anything bad happened to them, but somehow he felt they had already fallen into some kind of trap and it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan. Typical- it wasn't like he thought he was going to need his bow picking Regina and Roland up. He hadn't brought any kind of weapon along with him.

---

reginamills

The dog let out a low snarl as the three of them started to leave, a dark aura starting to pulse from its mid-sized body. As the growling and gurgling continued, the magic grew more and more potent, making it crystal clear that this was no ordinary dog. More than that, it seemed to be dripping with an evil kind of magical power, beyond anything a mere animal might carry.

That dark magic swelled around the dog, forming a thick purple cloud around it as the throaty, malicious growling from the beast darkened and seemed to become even more menacing. The cloud started to spread out, expanding from a small ball around the dog to something that would be capable of covering an entire car. As the smoke billowed, sparks of magic shot through it like electricity, a sharp sparking sound filling the air. Any of the lights the might have been on in the nearby buildings flickered brightly before bursting and going out, the power lines also sparking dangerously as though they had been over-loaded with a sudden rush of power.

The growling sounds started to sound like they were echoing with one another, and as the smoke cleared it became obvious why that was. The creature's single head had become three large dog heads, each one with blazing red eyes, pointed ears and sharp fangs. They also seemed to be covered in various scars, likely form other confrontations in the past. The three heads sat joined on what was now a much larger body than before- the creature was easily the size of a horse, though the three heads made it seem all the more intimidating.

The three-head dog let out a trio of howls, its transformation seemingly complete.

Now that the gatekeeper to the Underworld had revealed itself, it seemed ready to do more than just stare at the loving family. With what could almost be described as delight in its eyes, the massive beast charged forward, rushing to catch up with Regina and the boys.

Regina shook her head lightly. "You should never pet a dog you don't know, sweetheart" That was true, but that was not, why they shouldn't pet this dog. The longer the dog looked at them, the more creepy it got. Regina looked up at Robin again, they really should get out of here, right now. Not that Regina didn't think she could take on the dog. She probably could, it didn't look like much of a challenge, but she didn't want to put Roland, or Robin for that matter, in danger. No, it would be better just to leave and hope the dog did the same.

Luckily Roland was easy to distract, all it took was the promise of sweets and the boy had almost forgotten the dog. Regina rand a hand through his curls, as she softly urged him to turn away with them, so they could walk away from the beast.
The fact that Robin had not brought his bow, puzzled Regina. He knew as well as anyone, about the beasts that were in the forest. And from time to time they got into town too.

The only thing on Regina's mind as they walked, rather briskly, away from the beast, was to get Roland to safety and also Robin, since he had been so absentminded as to be unarmed. She could protect them, she knew she could.
But then the growls intensified and Regina looked behind them, to see what the dog had transformed into. Her steps slowed to a stop, as she placed herself in front of her family. Before it had been an option to leave, because it was limited how much damage a dog could do. But this monster, she couldn't just leave this to roam the streets, she had to deal with it. Even if she was alone. "Get Roland out of here" Regina ordered Robin, as she conjured up a large fireball. Hopefully he would just agree and see the sense of what she was saying. Neither him or Roland would be able to fight, Regina could keep the monster occupied, while they got away from here.
She was ready to fight, but that didn't stop her heart from leaping into her throat, as the monster ran towards them. Regina let the fireball grow, until it was larger than her head, only then, did she shoot it towards the beast.

---

Robin Hood

(SKipping Robin and just posting with the NPC. I'll Include Robin stuff here.)

Robin nodded as he watched the creature transform, quickly moving to take hold of Roland. He picked the boy up, holding him protectively close against his chest. While he back up a good distance, he didn't go running off to look for shelter. His heart was a split. A part of him wanted to keep Roland safe, while the other half needed him to stay with Regina in case she needed help. Or, at least a distraction.

The dog let out a powerful howl before it sprang off to the side to avoid the fireball that had been tossed at it. The creature was much faster than it looked like it would be while sporting three heads, easily moving out of the way of the large attack before rushing in for a counter-attack of its own.

He snarled wildly as he raised what looked like a very powerful paw, swatting it at Regina's midsection without hesitating or holding back any of its power.

There was no reason for the beast to go easy on her, especially when he was there with the specific task of hurting her in the first place.

---

reginamills

Regina knew how to fight, she was well trained at it, sometimes she even liked it. In the past she had fought with a cold heart and not much care. Because she knew she would win and even if she lost, there wouldn't be much that she lost. But now, Regina didn't know how far Robin had gone with Roland. But no matter how long he had gone, they'd both still be in danger if this dog got away. Not to mention, Henry, Snow, Emma and the rest of their odd family. And the rest of the town of course. There was so much on the line. Regina knew she shouldn't be thinking about that, when she should be focusing on the fight. But she knew, that she would gladly give her life, to protect the people she loved. And now she might have to.

She could catch an arrow, or poof herself out of the way of a flying sword. But with no warning and such fast movements, Regina didn't have much of chance to jump out of the way. The paw hit her torso straight on, sending her flying into the front of a nearby building. Furthermore she felt her clothes rip and one claw sink into her skin, as it threw her aside. Regina took her beating quietly, letting nothing more that few moans escape, as she got to her feet, although she felt like screaming. The claw had definitely hurt her. She didn't look down, knowing that she needed to keep her eyes on the beast. Plus it would only make it hurt all the more and she didn't need to look, to know that she was bleeding.
Yet, she got to her feet and stumpled back towards the beast, if for no other reason than to hold it back from Robin and Roland. "I that all you've got?" she mocked it, before shooting a ray of her white magic towards it. She was glad that protecting what she loved, made her magic light. Had it not, she would have had a far smaller chance of beating the beast.

---

Robin Hood