Well, that had been exceptionally easy. Without much prompting at all, Hades was now talking about keeping the three-headed dog (that she wasn't totally convinced was a dog) down here. To keep it safe. Which still didn't explain where the thing had come from, but it was possible Hades didn't know. He didn't seem to know what dogs looked like either or he would be more surprised by the animal's appearance. Other people certainly would be.
Like Zeus. The new king of the Underworld didn't seem to much like the new king on the mountain. Sibling rivalry, maybe? Lottie didn't think Hades hated his brother or anything, but he'd sure been fast to make the call to keep his new dog away from Zeus. It would be really, really wrong of her to use that tension to further her own plans, she told herself. It was not nice to manipulate Hades' relationship with his brother, not for the sake of a dog. Except it wasn't for the dog. In the long run, it was for Hades. And just because he already had a bias against his brother didn't mean she should exploit that. Family was important.
Then again, Lottie couldn't fathom sending any of her siblings off to some far removed place like Zeus had done to Hades. So maybe they could be Hades new family now. Her family. They could help him settle in, give him support, teach him what family was about. That made her feel a bit better. Plus, she wasn't going to say anything that wasn't true anyway.
“That's a good idea,” she said, nodding. “Since he's big, with all those teeth, other people might not be too comfortable around him. And you know, lots of people, when they're uncomfortable or scared, they do stupid things to try to get rid of what upsets them. I don't know much about your brother, but he sort of comes off as a bit reactionary. It'd be a shame if the dog got hurt just because he's unusual.” She chewed on the corner of her lower lip for a moment in contemplation, then added, “Maybe it might be better if he didn't know anything at all about the dog. Or that you have it.”
As an afterthought, she suddenly asked, “Can I see him?”