Trotting smoothly through darkening streets, Rita sped up her pace; it was late, with the sun had long since set. Fagin would be missing her presence at the barge if she stayed out much longer- and by her human friend's side was where she needed to be.
"C'mon Rit, what's the rush? Just stay out, just one night." A shepherd mix panted as he struggled to keep up with the hound. It wasn't easy when she so often ran right out onto the road; how she'd not been run over by now was a mystery to the much more cautious shepherd.
"You know I'd love to," Rita turned to her companion, briefly pausing to catch her breath, "I've just got other priorities. Fagin's not been feelin' too good, I told you. I should be with him." She carried on her way, leaving the young shepherd scowling.
They neared the barge, both recognising the point where they always parted. It had been agreed that no one would bring visitors back to the barge, just to be safe. The shepherd didn't mind all that much; like most street dogs, he was cautious of humans. He tried to be open minded about it all, strange as it seemed to him, but couldn't imagine himself willingly approaching a human, even a friend of Rita's. None of that, however, made it fun to farewell the girl he was so smitten with. He couldn't stop his ears from drooping.
Rita slowed to say goodbye. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow, Scout." She nuzzled his neck affectionately, feeling slightly guilty for letting him down. It had been happening more and more, what with Fagin feeling ill recently, but he'd always been patient. They'd been seeing one another for a few weeks, and while the shepherd hadn't quite gotten his head around Rita's friendship with a human, nor was he completely happy with her hanging around Dodger so much, it had been nice. The guy was sweet, if a little too serious at times. He made her feel special, something she'd missed out on as a little pup, and she fell for him easily as a result. At eleven months old, having a boyfriend was a brand new experience for Rita, and even after a few weeks it was still exciting.
"You better had. You know where I'll be." Scout smiled, covering up the disappointment he still felt. Rita could be a real challenge to pin down to a date- her devotion to her friends- and even that human- always outweighed everything else, despite the interest she showed in him. He gently played with the dark red-brown ear feathering that framed her face, causing her to blush beneath her fur. Seeing the look on her face brought home exactly why he persisted despite his girl's quirks.
Rita licked his muzzle with a flirtatious smile, and then stood and watched as he walked away. Since the harsh winter that had almost been her undoing, she'd filled out and grown taller, but still retained a bouncing, puppy quality in her movements. Even better nourished and more mature as she was, she was still a spindly slip of a thing, a product of her breeding- though not as scrawny as she'd been when she was living on her own. The fur that adorned her floppy ears was just starting to come in, the beginnings of the signature feathering that so many of her type displayed. Her look was topped off with bright blue eye shadow that she'd worn since she'd swiped from an unattended purse as a small pup. Actually, it had run out- she tended to be overgenerous when applying it as it wasn't exactly made for canine usage, but Fagin had replaced it with the cheapest alternative he could find. The resulting picture was of a rather scruffy young dog, but Rita was happy with her look and brimming with self-confidence. As she'd hit adolescence, she'd enjoyed the interest of young males (other than Dodger for a change) and found in herself a new flirtatious streak. Rita was proud and self-assured, more than capable of taking care of herself and tough enough that any unfriendly dogs she encountered would think twice before crossing her. She was growing up, no longer the naïve puppy that Dodger had brought home, but wily street dog just coming of age.
To Rita's relief, she found Fagin rather chirpier than he had been that morning. She bounded up to him, tail wagging and licking at the air even before she reached him. Between licks she yipped a greeting, leaving her master with no doubt of her excitement to see him.
Fagin coughed as he got to his feet, a remnant of his recent illness. "All right, all right! Easy on the licking, I don't remember ordering a bath!" He laughed all the same, and tickled Rita's exposed belly as she rolled playfully onto her back. After a long day, it was good for one's spirits to be greeted by the pup with such adoration. He'd been delighted to have her back after her disappearance during the previous winter, and though curious as to where she might have got to, there had been no hesitation in welcoming her back into the fold with open arms. As far as he was concerned, she'd never stopped being family.
Still grinning, Rita got to her feet to greet Einstein who had lolloped over to join in the love-fest. He was never one to miss out on hugs and belly scratches. Dodger, not so much; he sat watching from a distance, always playing it cool. He knew that Rita didn't need him to fling himself at her to know that he was happy to see her.
"Yo, Rita, how's the boyfriend?" Dodger asked casually, a hint of a tease in his tone. Like Rita, he'd grown into himself a lot over the previous months, and he no longer looked a puppy. He'd become increasingly independent; spending more and more time away from Einstein and keeping himself amused- usually at the expense of others. Nowadays, Dodger was more purposefully seeking out girls, though not with the intention of making friends. It was not uncommon for Rita to run along behind him, apologising on his behalf to young ladies who hadn't appreciated his over-zealous and usually unsophisticated advantages, but in Dodger's eyes it was just a bit of harmless fun.
Freeing herself from the friendly tangle with Einstein, Rita sat down next to Dodger and nipped his ear affectionately. "He's pretty good, just not happy with me rushin' off home. Nothing new there. We had a good time though, he showed me a really great spot with an amazing view of the park. We mostly just hung out there, it's out of the way so we weren't disturbed at all."
"Aw, our little Rita's all grown up." Dodger laughed, the teasing obvious now. He took a sharp blow to his ribs from Rita's paw for the cheek.
"Well, at least one of us is. Dodgie-baby, you're trouble." She wasn't really bothered by Dodger's mocking her, it was all in good fun. It was a contrast to her newfound relationship with Scout, who would never dream of having a laugh at her expense. The shepherd's idea of flirting was a polite compliment or a gentlemanly gesture; and it had occurred to Rita that Dodger could do well to watch and learn- not that the over-confident mutt ever seemed to have trouble reeling girls in.
Dodger dropped into a play bow, swaying slightly, making a challenge to Rita to sort him out. All joking aside, recently she'd been carrying herself with a greater maturity, becoming the 'grown up' of the group despite her tender age. He figured it was largely down to that shepherd kid, who was not a lot of fun himself. The shift had only made it all the more satisfying for Dodger to get Rita to enjoy a friendly tussle with him. It really didn't take much trying, she still knew how to let her fur down.
Seeing an opportunity for a rumble and taking it, Einstein bounded over, bowling Dodger onto his side with a joyous and booming bark. Dodger was quickly up and fighting back. Rita ducked out the way, but it was a pointless exercise- when a dog as large as Einstein decided he wanted to play, there was little to do but to give in and enjoy it. They tangled together, biting and lashing out at one another, filling the air with snarls. Even after Fagin had waded in to stop the scrap, all three dogs fell around, laughing.
"Oh, Einstein, you've gone and got drool in my hair again." Rita huffed as she noticed the slimy mess. It was one of the hazards that came with the Great Dane's company. She wiped it against his shoulder to remove the worst of the drool. Noticing the concerned look on Einstein's face, she offered him a reluctant smile. "Good thing I love you, huh?"
Life was pretty great, with the challenges of winter behind them and both pups well and truly coming into their own, things really couldn't be any better. Since coming back home after the long weeks spent fending for herself, Rita had managed to rebuild the bonds she'd shared with what had been her family, and they'd moved past the hurt- though Dodger had taken his time in forgiving her leaving them. That was in the past now, and it was almost as if she'd never been away. As Rita lay down in her bed to relax for the evening, she felt a certainty that this was how things were meant to be. Surely nothing could shake up the little family that the four of them had made together.