It was mid January in Madrid, Spain. Valeria had nothing with her but a light jacket and it wasn't helping. She'd brought a few blankets with her in her bag but she thought it'd look weird, a fourteen-almost-fifteen year old girl walking around with a blanket around her shoulders, entirely alone.

She parked herself on a snowy, icy and wet bench. She hated it but her legs and feet hurt like hell. The snow was still falling. It didn't snow very often in Madrid, only sometimes in January and late December. Valeria had been to Madrid one other time when she was six so it's not like she exactly knew her way around these parts. Hell, she hardly knew her way around Salamanca.

That's when she spotted it in the alleyway. A black and white ball. Looked like it could be one of four things:

1. blanket
2. jacket
3. a child
4. a stray cat or puppy

Valeria hastily approached the thing, seeing a black and white border collie puppy. She knew it was a border collie because she'd had one awhile back. A brown and white border collie named Sally who'd died when she was eight. The poor thing seemed to be freezing. It was whimpering.

"It's okay." Valeria whispered. "I here to help you, little one." She saw that the dog had no collar. "You're a stray. Just like me. While, I'm a runaway, but same difference." She picked him up and zipped him inside her jacket. "There we go, nice and warm." She searched around for somewhere she could take him inside. She spotted an coffee shop up just ahead and hoped they allowed non-service animals. Artemis really seemed to be smiling upon her today because they did.

She walked inside and found a seat where she sat with him. The puppy lay his head on her thigh and she placed a hand on his head. "Don't worry, I'm never gonna leave you behind. We're friends now. How's Charlie sound? Charlie and Valeria. That has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"