There was something off about Marian's smell. It reminded Pongo of when Cora had made herself look like Regina and took Archie: The smell was close but not quite right. (It had frustrated the dog to no end that he couldn't speak and tell them that something was off even if he didn't know what. The spell the humans had used only showed visual information, ignoring other more important senses.)

Pongo's ancestors had been war dogs, guardians of the land where they'd been originally bred. Right now, those ancient instincts kicked in as he moved to stand between Marian and the two humans he was with. He didn't growl but he was on high alert in case of trouble.

It had taken Archie a moment to realize that it wasn't just surprise that was affecting Gold: The man was going into shock. He almost asked Marian if it'd be all right if they came inside for a moment to let Gold rest and get something warm in him, but seeing Pongo's stiff, protective posture made Archie pause. For not the first time, he wished he could talk with the intelligent dog (clearly another storybook creature who'd been pulled to the cursed little town).

Instead, he gave a pleasant smile to Marian, grip on Pongo's leash tight in case the dog decided to take matters into his own paws. He gave a subtle little tug on the leash.

Pongo glanced back in his direction before focusing on Marian again, the dog understanding that he was only allowed to lunge if Archie dropped the leash. It was a signal they'd worked out after the whole Cora affair.

"Hi, Marian," Archie greeted her. "Was there something you needed? Gold and I were about to find a place to get coffee."