A litter of puppies meant a serious lack of rest for Elvar, particularly since this was Bird's first litter. She had finally gotten all of the bitch's genetic testing done, as well as some shows in the past year or two, and Bird had proven herself to be a versatile and stable example of the breed. Friendly but aloof, loving but reserved with strangers, and even-tempered but enthusiastic about her bitework. Elvar had been waiting to pick a new bitch from her litters, and had a good feeling about this one (after a hundred years of breeding, her eye was pretty good) and she had been right.<br/><br/>But even the best dogs occasionally turned out to be terrible mothers. First litters were always most stressful. After the first pup, Bird had stared first at the pup, then turned to her owner with the canine equivalent expression of shock, horror, and absolute confusion, silently asking,<span style="font-style: italic">What the hell are these things?!</span><br/><br/>A month later, she was doing quite well and Elvar had<span style="font-style: italic">finally</span>been able to get a bit of rest. It wasn't much, and she didn't<span style="font-style: italic">really</span>need it to survive, but lack of sleep made her cranky and short-tempered. It was rewarding and she loved what she did, but anyone who knew her well also knew not to ask much, if anything, of her when there was a new litter.<br/><br/>Which is why it surprised her when someone rang the doorbell. Five dogs started barking and crowded the baby gate in front of the door, and she shushed and shoo'ed them away. Who would possibly be here? She had few friends, preferring her dogs to most company, and those she knew wouldn't dare disturb her unless they intended to puppy-sit for a while.<br/><br/>She cracked the door, and found a redhead she knew quite well standing on her porch. Behind her, appearing withdrawn and nervous, stood a young, Hispanic man. He looked thin and a bit sunken in, but healthy enough to still be functional, and Elvar had a hunch that she knew exactly where this young man came from.<br/><br/>"Why do I have a feeling this is one of your asshole little brother's 'products'?" she asked, the brother comment earning an eye roll from her friend. "Come on in. There are puppies, so watch out for Bird -- she's been good, but I haven't had anyone over so I'm not sure how protective she'll be. The kitchen is blocked off so it shouldn't be much of an issue."<br/><br/>"Thanks. I wouldn't bug you unless it was kind of an emergency, but I picked this dude up last night. I'd shelter him, but I'm a little too close to the situation and Altman will probably look at my place first." Marie had no reason to remain on good terms with him now that Carson was dead, but she also knew that the escaped slave wouldn't be safe with her. Altman had, on a few occasions, barged into her house without permission. He was always met by ten or twenty angry, abandoned adopted scions, but often just shoved through them to search her house. Truly the most inconsiderate little shit she knew.<br/><br/>Elvar nodded as she moved the gate aside and waved them into the house. "Yeah, I figured. Luckily I've had a little more rest the past couple of days so I'm not as grumpy, but there are exceptions to be made anyway. What's your name?" She turned to the man gingerly following Marie.<br/><br/>He hesitated, but quietly responded, "Lupe Rio." Marie nudged him, and he put his hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you. Are these your dogs?"<br/><br/>"Nice to meet you, too," Elvar replied, shaking the offered hand. "There's five adults and, currently, eight puppies. I assume Marie warned you that the house is usually covered in dog hair and that I breed these guys, right?" When he nodded, she grinned. "Great, so not too much of a surprise. You okay with dogs?" He nodded again, a little less emphatically, and she called Ghost over. The giant white floof half-bounded, half-wiggled over in a way that made his almost-300-pound body look a bit less terrifying, and Lupe hesitantly patted his head. The big dog shoved his head under Lupe's arm and grumbled, pleased when it resulted in ear scratches.<br/><br/>"So," Marie started. "I'm just gonna talk for you and get Elvar up to speed, alright?" When Lupe nodded, she turned back to her friend. "He was a refugee from Honduras who happened to stumble into Altman's path --hence, not going to police when he escaped. He's nearly fluent in English, he told me he had been studying hard in preparation to move here, and unfortunately hit some of Altman's contacts when coming over the border. They dumped him right at Altman's doorstop and he's been there for... three months?" She glanced at Lupe for confirmation, who gave her a distracted thumbs-up while scratching Ghost. "From what I understand here, Altman wasn't around, Lily wasn't paying attention, and someone didn't lock doors? Right?"<br/><br/>He nodded. "Yes, I tried to open a door and it was not locked, and the other doors leading out also were unlocked. I got lucky. When I left I walked for a bit and then Marie picked me up."<br/><br/>"I was visiting Nazi Almond to give him some of Carson's stuff and he looked lost, so I offered him a ride and let him stay the night."<br/><br/>Elvar snorted at Almond, an inside joke, and sighed. "Yeah, I'm assuming you've been through a lot. We'll go shopping for clothes and food later --I might have some frozen dinners-- but there's a guest room down the hall and a bathroom at the end if you want to shower. I might have a few things you can borrow to wear, too. They'll be short on you but they'll fit okay otherwise."<br/><br/>Lupe smiled tentatively and moved toward the hall. "Thank you for your hospitality. Is there anything I can help with?"<br/><br/>She waved him off. "I'll probably put you to work with the dogs later, but go wash up and take some time to decompress first. Enjoy some peace and quiet and, y'know, not-torture first. Maybe in a couple weeks?"<br/><br/>Elvar had been through this before. When possible, she took in ex-slaves of Altman's, gave them a roof, food, and a bed to sleep in, and often referred them to therapy if they wanted it. Never for free -- they worked for her, but she split profits with them so they'd have some savings if and when they decided to leave. Most decided to strike out on their own after a few months, some stayed a year. She heard from some of them still, many successful, some still just surviving, but she was proud of all of them and liked helping when she could.<br/><br/>The door down the hall closed and she heard the shower turn on, and turned to Marie. "So, busy day, then?" she smirked, and Marie rolled her eyes.<br/><br/>"Just a little. Weird of Altman to leave things so easy to escape, though. It's not like him. I'm glad this kid got out, don't get me wrong, but that's weird." Her lips drew into a line, but she came up blank. "He got lucky, I guess?"<br/><br/>Elvar hummed in affirmation as she moved to peer into the kitchen. Bird and the pups were all fast asleep, snuggled into the blankets she had down.<br/><br/>b"Yeah. Very lucky."