"Let's start with you, Miss Sinistra." The stallion looked at her and was all of a sudden all business, although he kept his fatherly tone. "You living here would guarantee that the garden is well cared for, and your calm and disciplined behaviour that certainly originates from your magical education will help you run this household smoothly. I don't have to worry about the house being in prime condition or about complaining neighbours."
Sinistra felt her heartbeat pounding up in her throat and it took a moment to sink in that she had been told only positive things. Where was the catch?
As expected Mister Indi continued his speech. "Still, your behaviour can't hide the fact that you have just arrived in Dolltopia. You have no clue how to operate a washing machine or how to connect a tv. You need someone who takes you by the hand and explains this world to you, or else you might one day burn the house down with a device you don't understand."
"But..." the Elementalist tried to disagree but was ignored by the stallion who now turned towards Eternia.
"As for you, Eternia... You are very street-smart and your open demeanor will allow you to quickly build relationships with the neighbours. Good connections are always helpful. You can also teach your house mate a lot."
Eternia lefted her arms in protest but he ignored the gesture and went on: "If I judged your gaze during the tour correctly you also have palpable plans for renovating the house already and I don't have any doubts that you also have the energy to go through with those plans."
"So where's the problem?! Why should I share this house with this stranger?!"
"Let's be honest, you're young and like to flirt. That means you'll probably won't be home that often to take care of the house, and once you find a good boyfriend you will move out again very quickly."
"Why should I do that?" Eternia was perplexed by the stallion's deductions. Especially because he was correct.
Indi looked at her amused over the rim of his glasses. "Don't you remember the wording of the advertisement? There's a reason I prefer women or dwarves as tennants for this house, even though you probably suspected other reasons for that. The ceiling heights here are quite uncomfortable for most human men. In case you didn't notice, even you two almost hit the ceiling with your heads here in the kitchen."
Both women instinctively looked up and the landlord continued: "Your boyfriend would never want to move in with you here, and you wouldn't continue to live here for long if even having breakfast with you is a pain for him."
Eternia stayed silent.
"The actual issue, however, is money!" Within the blink of an eye, the landlord's face became dead serious and he started to walk to and fro. "None of you can fool me. That none of you showed me any proof of her income when I asked about your jobs speaks volumes. You, Miss Sinistra, are 'self-employed' because you don't live in this city for long enough yet to find a true job. It seems like you come from a good family, so I assume you brought some savings with you and hope to pay the first couple of rental fees until you find work."
"Woooooow! Is that true, Sinistra?!" Eternia laughed and shot her counterpart an amused look.
"Yes, it's true", the Elementalist admitted after a short pause. She felt awkward and skidded back and forth on the bench. "But I'm hard-working and diligent! Surely I'll find work fast!"
"Ha, ha, ha, you're so out of the game now!"
The landlord ignored the blonde's laughter.
"And you, Eternia, don't have a steady job either. If your photos had been printed in any notable publication you would have proudly told me about your portfolio. I suppose your model jobs so far were only tiny side jobs. Perhaps you really do catwalks for one or two bridal boutiques, but that doesn't pay that well."
Eternia choked on her laughter and blushed so hard that Sinistra couldn't surpress a "Whoa.".
Indi turned back to face them and looked both women in the eye one after the other. "You both plan to move in without friends or family so there are no unknown persons with fixed income, either. Please don't think I have a heart of stone. You are both young, looking for a chance, and you're the first one to have applied for the house. I also think you're both likeable and as for myself, I'm at a point in life where I'm actually only interested that the costs of this house break even and it gets taken good care of. But please don't think that this makes me careless."
"I would never think..." Sinistra began but shut up when Mister Indi shot her a stern look.
The stallion went on. "If you both sign the lease contract that doubled my chance to actually get the rent in time. Even if both of you have to work odd jobs at first, combined you should be able to find the money."
Once again he gazed at both sternly. "Therefore, my position still stands: I'll rent this house out to you as a shared house or I'll find a different tennant altogether. Please discuss this with each other and come to an informed decision."
"Phew", said Eternia. All of a sudden her head was spinning. "How much is the rent, anyway?"
"840 Topi-Yen, and that's including all running costs."
"Gosh, that's really cheap..." The blonde exhaled very loudly. It was hard for her to admit. "But it's more than I can afford by myself right now, indeed. There's still telephone costs, internet access, food, dating and shopping..."
Sinistra got up and played with her skirt, lost in thought. She could think better when standing. "My savings would only last for a few months in this, too. And still, this large house costs barely more than a tiny appartment." She also sighed.
Mister Indi pretended to be invisible and let the two girls talk it out.
"It's cheaper to cook for two..." the blonde said musingly. "But actually..."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing." Eternia was unwilling to confirm to her counterpart that she indeed only planned to live here until she found a steady boyfriend. It wasn't her problem whether the other one would get into a problem then.
Sinistra looked at her waitingly. When it became clear that Eternia wouldn't elaborate on her comment she said cautiously: "There are two rooms. Each could have their own zone..."
"Right... We don't have to become best friends in the universe to make this work, right?"
"If we make a plan and discuss the details... Back in the academy I also had a roommate and that was never a problem."
Eternia eyed the young woman sceptically. "I'm not so sure though if we'll get along in terms of decor, though. I neither like dark nor such outdated things as you."
"As long as I can decorate my own room to my liking and you leave me some space for my stuff I'm very much up for compromise."
"Promise?"
"Actually, I like a lot of the things I saw in Dolltopia's shop windows! But you have to compromise too!"
"Alright. And each may invite their friends and hog the livingroom after giving notice."
"Sure, why not... But I want to grow plants in the garden."
"As long as you leave me some place for a sun lounger I don't mind."
"Alright. But if I take care of the garden you have to pay me back by answering my questions about city life here in Dolltopia."
"No problem. Then we try this?" Eternia made sure.
"I'm in." Sinistra nodded.
"Alright, Mr. Indi, you won. We'll rent the house together." The blonde still grinded her teeth a bit when she stood up and told him.
In in instant, the stallion stopped playing deaf and returned to being his happy, fatherly self. "No, the two of you won, since you'll rent a really awesome house at a breathtakingly good rate!"
He smiled broadly.
Eternia refrained from making a snappish comment and took a deep breath. "Okay. But what if it doesn't work out? You quite steamrolled us with your request, after all."
"Hm, I feel you. Let's do it like this: At first, the lease contract only runs for three months. If you two don't get along you can move out anytime during that period and look for a new place. If everything works out, however, the contract automatically prolongs to an indefinite period. Is that okay?"
"Okay!" Eternia nodded and Sinistra was relieved too. "That sounds fair."
"Great. If there are any chances, like one of you moving out eventually or a third person joining in, we will just discuss it and surely find an unbureaucratic solution again."
"Speaking of a third person - are pets allowed here, in theory?" Sinistra inquired tentatively, which earned her a gloomy glance from Eternia. She flinched, blushed and quickly added: "Not that I actually plan to get one! A tiny one... that doesn't create much dirt... perhaps... someday...? I'm sorry, it's simply expected of serious magicians to own a familiar eventually..." The look on Eternia's face didn't get any better. Sinistra sweated. "Or maybe one has to petsit an animal for a friend one day!"
The landlord laughed. "Well, on the one hand, there's the municipal park right behind the house, so you shouldn't be surprised to have the occasional unwanted guest in your garden. Perhaps a small dog or a cat would even be quite helpful if you also plan to grow vegetables, especially carrots." He winked towards Eternia. "I'm sure there's more than one attractive owner to be found at the dog run in the park."
He trotted towards the door. "On the other hand I'm a pony, as you will have noticed. Do you seriously think I would disallow animals in the house?"
"We'll discuss that later", Eternia hissed in the direction of her new housemate when the landlord vanished into the corridor.
Dolltopia 0004 <- # -> Dolltopia 0006