Drifting Through Realities

Chapter 12 - I've had it with these teeny tiny beds in this teeny tiny house!

Waking up the next day in my tiny bed finally decided it: I would go looking for a place that I could live in without hunching over all the time. I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciated what Vinyl and Octavia had provided for me so far! I really did!

But being taller than the clearance on most of the doors and having to curl up to sleep on the bed? It was getting just the tiniest bit old. I stood up, cracked my back, did a few exercises to keep myself limber, and walked downstairs. Octavia was sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee, while set out for me was a slightly-larger cup of coffee. I picked it up, sipped, and nodded my assent. This was the good stuff.

I looked over to Vinyl's place at the table and noticed a newspaper. I blinked a few times before snagging it and proceeding to read up on the latest things happening in Canterlot. Specifically, I was looking for a Classifieds section, one that would tell me of houses or apartments I could rent and either have fit me or renovate to fit me.

I looked over the paper at Vinyl, raised an eyebrow, and returned to my search. "What, did you think I couldn't?"

Octavia snickered at that as she began to dig in to her omelet. Vinyl shook her head and placed one in front of me. "Nah, it's just, usually I read it first. So it kinda threw me. Whatcha lookin' for, anyways?"

I turned the page and found what would pass as the Classifieds back home. Bingo. "My own place."

I looked up to see Octavia nodding while Vinyl had just stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth. The eyebrow raised itself again before I offered an explanation. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what you've done for me, really, I do. It's just, this place is sized for you guys. If I'm not knocking my head on the door frames, I'm getting more backaches by sleeping on the bed."

I turned the page, noticing a few interesting annotations on some of the offers. "Besides, any place I find, you two are more than welcome to come visit."

"A sound policy," Octavia said. "You would probably be better off looking for one that caters to Minotaurs. They're the only other bipedal creature that frequents Canterlot that has anywhere near your build. Look for listings that have the letter M in the title."

"Oh, so that's what those extra letters meant! I suppose those without are for ponies." At her nod, I continued my line of questioning. "What about D and G?"

"D stands for dragon, Eric," Vinyl pitched in. "It's rare, but occasionally a friendly one will visit and need a place to stay. Maintaining a property that a dragon can actually stay in is hard work, and doesn't always pay off in a pony's lifetime, but when a dragon comes to stay for a spell, he stays and pays."

I nodded at that, then turned to Octavia. "G means Griffon. Seeing as how they are slightly larger, bulkier, and have a differing diet from ponies, the maintaining of a property catering to them isn't as difficult as ones for Dragons or Minotaurs. The main things are making sure the master bedroom is clear so the griffon in question can nest however they choose to, and maintaining a," here she gagged a little bit, but forced the words out. "meat locker."

I blinked a bit before slowly nodding. "Makes sense. Both why they have it, and why you're repulsed by it. So I'm looking for M's, then. I can do that."

I then came across a most promising listing. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, basement, all under an M listing. I rotated the paper to face the mares and pointed at it with one finger. "Does this seem like a reasonable rent to you two?"

Octavia slowly nodded while Vinyl just shrugged. "Depends on the condition. I mean, that amount a month is a little on the cheap side, sure. But there's usually a reason for that. You'll be able to make rent easy with your job, once payday rolls around anyways, but that means squat if the house is in terrible shape."

Outwardly, I nodded, while inwardly, I smiled. Good thing I still have an ace up my sleeve...

Vinyl finished her breakfast and took our dishes to the kitchen. "Go get washed up, then you and I can take a look at this place."

-----

The house in question was not as bad or worse than Vinyl and I feared. It was, in fact, in decent condition. Oh sure, there were a few issues, like a dent here, a scratch there, faded paint, all that good stuff. But there was nothing stopping the house from functioning like a house. Vinyl and I stared in slight shock from the outside, having already been given a tour within by the one renting it out. The mare's name was Exotic Estates, and tended to deal in houses for those of the non-pony variety. She would find them, buy them, fix them up, then rent them or sell them to those who wanted or needed them. Apparently, the reason this house was going for so cheap was not because of the slight damage on some of the walls (and she warned us about letting a minotaur visit and get drunk while she pointed it out), but because there hadn't been a minotaur applicant for the past six months.

"To be honest," the cream-colored, red-maned unicorn stated, "I was afraid there was the chance I would have to tear this property down and build one for a pony in its place. If you're willing to live here, that'd be wonderful."

I looked down at Vinyl and she flicked her right ear at me. We'd established beforehand that the ear flicks would be a set of signals. One left meant acquiesce, one right meant haggle. Two left flicks meant go for it, and two right flicks meant don't even try. I hummed and put my hand to my chin. "I dunno, there is a bit of wear and tear on the property. If I want guests over, I'm gonna have to fix that, and it'll cost me time and bits..."

Exotic Estates sighed at that. "Fine, fine. First rent payment is half-off due to the damaged nature of the property and your interest in fixing the estate up. Should you manage to do so by second rent, then I'll give you a discount of ten bits on every payment. Otherwise, regular rates come back and stay."

Vinyl flicked her left ear twice at that, and I smiled. "Miss Estates, we have a deal. Shall we draw up the paperwork?"

She smiled as well, and from her saddlebags a small set of papers drifted out in a red aura, along with a quill and inkpot. I groaned at the sight, reached into my pack, and pulled out a pen. Never leave any tech-world without a pen for the bag, that had been my motto! ...I think I still have at least twenty in there, now that I think about it. The paperwork was signed, Exotic Estates and I shook on it, and she smiled at me. "That'll be fifty bits."

At that, Vinyl's horn lit up, and a small bag drifted from her saddlebags. I'd tried to talk her out of paying my rent for me, but she was adamant about this. All my arguments fell flat against her and her reasoning, which easily repelled my own, with six simple words from her:

I felt terrible, I really did, by leaning on Vinyl still. However, she was not taking no for an answer, so I merely let her spend her bits on the human that had fallen into her life. Estates raised an eyebrow at this behavior, but accepted the bits all the same. "Very well. Rent is due at the end of next month, as are the repairs if you truly can fix this place. Take care, and good luck, Mister O'Mally."

I nodded at her, and as Estates rounded the corner to her next appointment, I knelt down and wrapped Vinyl up in a small hug, causing her to give off a small squeaking noise. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you. I don't think I could have gotten this place at the rate I did, earn a discount, or know whether or not I was getting cheated without you helping me. And let's just gloss over the fact that you paid for my first rent, cause you know I'll pay you back. I owe you and Octavia so much for taking me in and looking after me."

Vinyl stuttered for a moment before her mouth kicked in. "No problem, I wasn't gonna leave you hangin'. Just take care, alright? The club's not open for a few days, so just take this slow, make a list of things you need. We'll go over them together."

I smiled and stood up before slowly advancing on the property. "Oh, don't you worry Vinyl. I have a way to fix this place up by next month with only a few complications. True," here I turned back to face and point at her, "I'm still gonna need to crash at your place until my paycheck comes in and I can afford things like food, but there is one gadget I picked up that'll help out with this."

I turned back to the house and could not stop my smile. I'd been itching to unleash the little guy ever since I got him, and swore that I would only do so when my Drifting days were done. Since that seemed to be the case here...

-----

I walked into the basement, took my pack off, then fished around until I found a cold, metallic sphere. I pulled it out, revealing that it was brass in coloration, with a hole on the 'top' for the key to wind it up, along with four other circles that hid the arms and legs. One larger circle indicated where the eye would appear when it was 'alive', and I smiled. Agatha had been a remarkable woman. Interested in studying me, my crystals, my limbs...We eventually made a trade: she could study my limbs if she would give me a helper Clank, and she could study and use my crystals if she could provide a hilt for my sword blade.

Amazing, energetic, downright mad woman. But still, one of the nicer ones that I'd encountered. I stuck my hand back in my bag, rooted around for a second, and pulled the key to the Clank out and wound it up. After a second's pause, the eye popped open, the arms and legs popped out, and it gave off the distinct impression of looking at me. Carefully, I set the little guy down and watched him look at his surroundings. He was done with them in a second, and then he observed me.

"Okay, so, if I am permitted to guess, you're aware of who made you and are looking for her."

There was a dinging noise from the Clank, and I smiled. "Okay, system established. One for yes, two for no, three for if you don't know, and four if none of the above apply for some reason. Understand?"

Another ding was my reward, and I nodded at him. "Okay, so, let me tell you a little something about myself so that you understand properly. I'm Eric O'Mally, I'm a Drifter. I've been bouncing around between so many worlds that it's not funny. I met your mistress some time ago and made a trade with her that resulted in her giving me you so that when I finally settled down, I could have some help in making my home defensible."

There was a pause for a moment, and then there was another ding. I kept up the smile and nod. "Fantastic. Okay, so, the house is currently mine, and I've been promised a discount on the rent if the current damage to it is repaired by the end of next month. Frankly, I'd prefer to get it done sooner than that, which is why you're out."

The Clank dinged again, before it made for the stairs out. I reached out a hand, and he looked at me before dinging twice. I shook my head at him. "The locals haven't seen anything like you before, and I'd rather you not get smashed just for going out in the daytime. If I take you upstairs and put you in a room with a window, do you promise to wait until night before going out?"

The Clank mulled the thought over for a second before dinging again, and I picked him up and went to the living room. From the window in it, one could clearly see the sky, and I carefully popped one of them open just enough for him to be able to get out when the time came. "When night falls, wait half an hour, then go out and find the local scrap yard, and do what you do best. I'll come back tomorrow to check up on you. Top priority is to first repair the house, then to set up a place in the basement for you."

The Clank dinged again, and I set him on the ground. I just hoped that by giving him free reign, I hadn't unleashed something that couldn't be stopped...

Drifting Through Realities

by Thadius0

Chapter 12 - I've had it with these teeny tiny beds in this teeny tiny house!