Coming home after a successful day, Rita was in high spirits as she trotted along the shortcut she always took, a wallet clasped firmly in her jaws. It had been a busy few hours, as she caught up with Scout, and by happy surprise, her father. She'd bumped into Storm a few times since becoming separated from him on New Year's Day, and he'd been hugely relieved to see that she'd not only survived, but found her way home. He wasn't a particularly sociable dog, but he always welcomed an opportunity to catch up with his daughter. Rita was tired after the long and busy day, and was with relief that she saw the welcoming sight of the old barge in the distance. As she finally came down the stairs, a scent hit her, strange and unfamiliar. On guard, she realised that the voices she'd been hearing on approach were not sounds from the television set; there were dogs down there. Her hackles raised as she braced herself for a confrontation, and she rumbled a low growl as she descended through the doorway. Einstein was down there, and he seemed unconcerned, a fact that calmed Rita slightly. She saw the strangers- there were two, one of which was clearly just a pup. Her lip raised in a snarl, she rounded on to them and looked back to Einstein. "You okay, Einy?" she asked, "Who are these guys?"
"Fagin brought them home." Einstein was beaming. "They can stay, right?"
The pup rushed forward, pulling away from the large, barrel-shaped dog who had held him back. He was the tiniest dog that Rita had ever seen, were it not for the furiously wagging tail she might have mistaken him for a rat.
"Ooh chica, they didn't tell me you were a babe!" The pup's eyes were wide as he approached, and his tongue lolling out.
Rita stepped back quickly, the snarl returning to her face in an instant. She had no time for any of that garbage, Dodger's overzealous romancing was quite enough to have to put up with in her own home. "You watch yourself, kid. Put your eyes back in your head where they belong- and keep them there."
The larger of the two strangers, a rather rotund bulldog, replaced his paw on the pup's tail, pulling him back. He avoided eye contact with Rita, and busied himself with restraining the struggling pup. "Tito, will you stop that? I don't believe you grasp what ruffians like these may be capable of- and need I remind you that you are little more than a mouthful to them? Besides, you don't know where she's been, the filthy creature," he hissed at the pup, wanting to keep as much distance from these frightful dogs as possible. He had no doubt in his mind that folk of their kind were dangerous to say the least, and would think nothing of mauling innocents live he and the tiny pup. Still avoiding looking her in the eye, he looked up to Rita. "I can assure you, scoundrel, that I have no interest in exchanging pleasantries. Your master brought us here, and as we have nowhere else to go, here is where shall spend the night."
"Look, if you're thinkin' we're gonna eat you, maybe you'd be better off leavin'. No potential cannibals outside." Rita stared down the stranger, the venom in her voice a reflection of the fury that his words had incited. The bulldog shied away from her, his nerve obviously failing, and he looked at her in repulsion, barely covering up the fear in his eyes. Seeing how frightened the idiot stranger really was, Rita wondered if she'd been a little too hard-headed in her response to them. She made an effort to soften her approach, despite her anger at the insult thrown her way. The bulldog appeared well fed, and clearly had enjoyed a privileged lifestyle. This must be a shock to him. "If Fagin took you in, you're welcome to stay. Dodger's bringing the food home today, he shouldn't be too long. Take what you need. And you can look down your nose at us all you want, but it's your kid who could do with learnin' some manners." She looked down at the tiny pup, a Chihuahua, who had finally ceased his attempt to get nearer to her, and then to Einstein who was trying to entice the kid over to play. "Mind you don't crush our guest, Einstein." Rita almost cracked a smile at Einstein's friendly nature, he seemed to like just about everyone. Turning her back to the strangers and retreated to her bed for some space while she waited for Dodger and Fagin to return home. With such hostile company, her own home was now an uncomfortable place to be, and she just wanted to get away from it. She hoped that the visitors would not be staying long.
Rita stayed tucked up in her bed, silently listening to the sounds of Einstein playing with the tiny puppy, who was constantly chattering away. The kid didn't seem too bad, a little overenthusiastic maybe, but clearly fearless if his feisty attitude toward the almost exponentially larger Great Dane was anything to go by. She was in a half mind to stop being so stubborn and go and join them- really, it sounded like they were having a great time. It was just the sense that the bulldog gave her… that she had all the value of a piece of excrement on the bottom of a shoe, which left her reluctant to leave her safe space. Every now and then the pompous fool would interrupt the game of the other two, reminding the pup (whose name, judging by the older dog's reprimands, was Tito) of how dangerous the savage street dog with whom he tangled was. The sound of footsteps on the stairs was the signal that Rita was waiting for, and she finally emerged from her bed.
"I hope you guys have been playing nice!" Fagin said as he came through the doorway, Dodger close at his heels. The bulldog held back as the others rushed to greet them, the short hair on his shoulders raised defensively as he eyed the mutt. In contrast, Tito was eagerly sniffing at the older pup, completely fearless.
"So, kid, Fagin brought you in, right?" Dodger could sense a potential friend in the tiny Chihuahua, the kid clearly had attitude.
"Yeah, man- I was out with my brother Frankie- I found him after I got out through the fence, and Fagin gave us biscuits, he said we could come home with him. And now we're here." The Chihuahua never stopped bouncing, hitting the ground with each syllable.
Dodger glanced over to the other newcomer, who was keeping his distance. "I guess I missed formal introductions?"
Rita shook her head. "We didn't get to that part yet."
"Yeah, Rita's been hiding away. I think she doesn't like our new friends." Einstein said sadly.
"What's up, Rit? Who put your tail in a knot?" Dodger asked, noticing his friend's avoidance of the bulldog.
"I just wasn't expecting to come home to a little kid drooling over me and some over-privileged pet treatin' me like something he dug out of a trashcan. As long as they play nice, so will I. Simple." Rita was sick of the tension that had built up, and hopeful that Dodger could smooth things over. If anyone could charm the bulldog into a friendlier state, Dodger could. "We may need to start over."
Before any sort of a real meet and greet could commence, Fagin called the dogs over for a bedtime story. Needing no further encouragement, Einstein was at his master's side in an instant. They'd enjoyed stories together since he was just a pup and it had always been a special bonding time for them. Rita was grateful for the distraction and lay at Fagin's feet. Until recently, she'd listened to stories from the scruffy man's lap, but she was almost full grown now and while such a feat was doable, it was no longer a comfortable experience. Just one of the many hardships of growing up.
"Guess proper intros can wait a little," Dodger grinned, happy enough to just enjoy the story and a chance to wind down for the day. He turned to both of the newcomers. "Just the basics for now- name's Dodger; Einstein an' Rita you sorta met. It might not be what you're used to, but this is our home, and as long as you're here you gotta respect that. And kid, you want to back off with Rita; she's not interested. Think of her as a sister or somethin'. She's harmless enough if ya don't give her a reason not to be, but you cross the line and she can pack a hell of a bite. Don't be jerks and you'll be fine. Einstein wouldn't hurt a fly, so no need to worry there."
The newcomers listened, and the pup was first to speak. "I am Ignacio Alonzo Julio Frederico de Tito, and this is Frankie. I found him wandering around on his own, so we've been hanging out- just so he's got someone to fight for him if he gets jumped. Frankie's scared of just about everything!"
"It's Francis, pipsqueak. I will also have you know that being suitably cautious of thugs on the streets does not a coward make."
"You comin' for the story then, Francis… er…" Dodger had forgotten the name of the pup. It was fair enough, considering the name easily rivalled the kid himself in size.
"I have simply been calling him Tito." Francis told the mutt as he tentatively followed behind him. Sheepish, he avoided looking Rita in the eye as he moved in to join Fagin's audience. He'd realised that he'd behaved poorly, and while he was still unsure of the leggy young bitch, he was now more preoccupied with embarrassment over his social faux pas. He was surprised as she moved to the side, allowing him to sit in. There was little Francis could do about his current situation, so he made up his mind to try and make this -hopefully brief- chapter of his life as smooth as possible, even though that would mean fraternising with less savoury types. He forced a smile and tried to focus on the story. It wasn't exactly Shakespeare, but at least it was a distraction from his present predicament.
Tito clambered up the side of the chair and onto Fagin's head, his little paws dangling over his face. Fagin shook his head back as the flailing feet obscured his vision.
"Yo, Tito, he can't read with you flappin' in his face." Dodger laughed, and watched as the Chihuahua shifted to a less awkward position, sitting atop his new master's shoulder. Truth be told, the mutt was excited about the new additions; this kid would have no issues in being led astray, and Dodger was looking forward to being a terrible influence. He figured that Francis would be OK once he settled down, it just might take a while. He quietly hoped that the newcomers would end up staying permanently.
Rita sighed to herself, finally relaxing a little in the company of the unfriendly bulldog. It looked as though Dodger had made a good impression, and that maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she'd first thought. The coming days would be interesting, of that much she was certain.
Sleep that night was short-lived, Rita found herself awoken by crashing and banging. Her hackles raised and she got to her feet in an instant- if there was danger, she's be ready for it, no matter how unsociable the hour. As her head emerged from the curtains of her bed, it became clear that there was no threat, just the tiny puppy making a terrible racket as he continued his exploration of his new home.
"You mind keepin' it down, Tito?" Dodger yawned, watching as the Chihuahua appeared from beneath the pile of plates that he'd sent flying. It seemed that the kid didn't have an off switch; he just kept on going late into the night. Dodger liked the pup, but after long hours being kept up, all he really wanted was a chance to get some sleep.
"Aw, man! I'm too excited to sleep. I've got my new digs to check out!" Tito bounced up onto Francis' back, his preferred vantage point from which to plan his next foray. He cared little for the grumblings that came from his companion-cum-lookout-post, he had nothing to fear from the bulldog.
Rita huffed and turned back into her bed. The curtains did little to block out the noise. "I promise you, it will all still be there when you wake up in the morning. You can take the place apart when everyone's not tryin' to sleep."
"Okay, okay, I'll be quiet!" Tito shouted back. He carried on with his exploration- the barge was a very large place for such a small dog, but tried to keep the noise down.
"What are you looking for?" Einstein asked, carefully getting down from Fagin's lap so as not to wake him. The Great Dane wasn't really into late nights, but judging by the enthusiasm in which Tito was getting into everything, it seemed that he was missing out on a lot of fun.
Rita groaned. Now that the kid had an accomplice, the chances of him getting to sleep any time soon looked pretty dismal. It took only a matter of minutes for Tito's idea of 'quiet' to descend into more of the leaping around, knocking things over and trying to taunt Francis into a row. "Hey Francis, is he always like this?" Rita asked with a yawn.
"Not always," Francis had given up trying to sleep by now and was keeping an eye out for Tito so he could swat him with his paw, "Frequently though. In my experience- and I have only known the fellow for a few days, sooner or later he will settle down."
"How'd you end up together?" Rita asked, having given up on sleeping through the noise. After the rough start she'd had with Francis, it was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the strange dog.
"I'm not entirely sure, I just acquired him at some point. I was wandering alone… and then there he was, following behind me." Francis said, still unsure of the young hound, but happy to make conversation while Tito's antics prevented sleep. At least it took his mind off the horrid scents that filled the barge. "Aside from my human, I lived alone. I'm afraid I had very little to do with other dogs in my old home, but for some reason or another, Tito wanted my company."
"This must be weird for you, hey Francis?" Dodger asked. He'd already become fond of his new companion, despite his apparently stuffy and pompous nature.
"I am indeed finding it a challenge, yes." The bulldog said sadly. It had been a painfully difficult few days as he found himself completely out of his element. The kindness that Fagin had offered him was welcome, but it did little to bring comfort in the face of such a major upheaval. He was distracted from his thoughts by Tito flinging his tiny body at him. "Oh Tito, do stop being such a pest!"
"C'mon, Frankie man! Think ya can take me?" Tito laughed and jumped up and down on his large friend. He bounced easily out the way of Francis' swiping paw and gnawed on his ear.
"And you, Tito? You ran away?" Dodger yawned as he spoke, and held out hope that the pup would settle with some conversation.
"Yeah, man! They wanted me to stay home all day, sit on their laps and be treated like a toy. I wanted out, so I slipped through the fence."
Rita wrinkled her nose in disgust, thinking back to her early puppyhood in an instant… those horrid weeks of desperate longing to be chosen to join a human family. "You know there are dogs out there who would do anything to find a home? What kind of a dog would abuse a chance like that?"
"Cool it, Rita. The kid just went and made a vacancy for another dog who would want it-why should he stick around somewhere like that? I know I wouldn't." Dodger said smoothly; an argument had certainly not been his intention. He knew that it was a sensitive area for Rita after all that time she endured being made to feel unwanted, and then the loss of her sister, but at the same time sympathised with Tito. The thought of being cooped up, unable to act like a real dog was quite an unpleasant one.
"I must say," said Francis, sadly, "that I cannot fathom why a dog would leave a comfortable home and choose to live like this. I have lost everything, and here you are inflicting the same situation upon yourself. I don't understand." His mind wandered back to the place he'd grown up, been fed hearty meals and enjoyed the finer things in life. He would do anything to go back to such a time, but unlike Tito, he had no choice in the matter.
"Hey, you wanna go and live like that, be my guest. They're not making a lapdog out of me!" Tito yapped.
Einstein whined, the tension that had suddenly filled the air making him uncomfortable. "It doesn't matter really, does it? It's done now, and we have a new friend. Isn't that a good thing?"
"Sure it is, Einy. The more the merrier!" Dodger allowed himself to get drawn into Tito's game, batting at the pup with his forepaws. It wasn't as if anyone was getting to sleep anytime soon.
Rita conceded that Einstein had a point, there was little to be gained by giving the kid a hard time, no matter how wrong it seemed to her. At any rate, it was far too late in the night to be quarrelling. In her eyes it was also too late to be play-fighting, but Dodger and Tito were happily crashing around together. How Fagin was still asleep was something of a miracle- he must have been pretty tired to sleep through all this.
As Einstein made to join the pups in their rumble, he tripped over the little Chihuahua as he darted around his feet. With an almighty crash, a pile of plates and dishes went flying, and Fagin was finally jolted from his sleep.
"What in the world… do you have any idea how late it is, boys?" Fagin rubbed his eyes as he tried to wake up enough to sort out the chaos. "Settle, settle down!" He offered a hand out towards the squirming Tito and scooped him up onto his lap. "Have you been keeping everyone up?"
Einstein happily snuggled up back on his master's lap, and smiled as Tito finally settled down, tucked up against his cheek. Dodger breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that sleep would at last be on its way. The hours of manic activity catching up with him, Tito was off like a light just moments after laying down his head. In the quiet that had so quickly descended upon them, the others would not be far behind. A new day lay ahead, the start of something different for them all.