Hunting for Homes [CLOSED]

Now, where to start looking?

Upon leaving the teashop, Xarias followed Fei outside, noticing how busy everyone around was with their own business. There was definitely more people now then there was when he first entered the shop, people were bustling about, minding their own business, one person even bumped into Xarias and glared at him before leaving while hauling a bag that was twice his size.

After getting away from the crowd, Xarias looks over to Fei and asks, "So, we search online for some adds? Or do you want to look on foot?"

Blushing slightly at Fei's suggestion, Xarias shakes it off and pulls out his scroll, searching the internet for nearby apartments for sale or for rent. Sifting through the adds, Xarias spots one a couple of blocks away, not too far to walk to on foot. "If you're willing to walk there's an apartment nearby here in this district but if you don't like it we could find something else." he said, showing Fei his scroll and the details of the apartment on it. The page showed it to be a bit small but close enough to downtown vale without being too noisy and distracting. Studying the page a bit Xarias scratches his head, thinking whether or not they should be going there or finding some place else.

"Uhm, ok. Let's go then." Xarias said, starting to regain his footing after being nudged on by Fei. "It's a few blocks away but it doesn't seem to far to go to on foot, hopefully we know it when we see it and we don't get lost on the way." He said, putting his scroll away, now walking leisurely with Fei to their destination.

After walking for quite some time, Xarias checks his scroll to see if they were in the right place. "Let's see, this seems like it." he said, scanning the building with utmost scrutiny, carefully taking note of the buildings facade and structure as if studying his prey. The building wasn't all too big but rose a few stories off the ground, roughly 12 floors in height and moderately built. The facade consisted of some careful masonry near the entrance, contrasting with the modern-looking glass windows on the next floor.  Since he wasn't much of a speaker with others, Xarias decides to let Fei inquire about any openings. "So, ladies first?" he says, extending his hand towards the doorway.

Just as Xarias was about to reply, a tall woman wearing a dark purple suit and black sunglasses greets them with, "Welcome to Madame Drole's humble abode!" before suddenly hugging Fei with utmost delight. "My, my, what do we have here? A young couple looking for a new home? How romantic."

Looking around, Xarias sees no other people before realizing she meant them and hurriedly said, "You got it all wrong! We're not a couple, we're just friends!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, no need to hide your embarrassment young man. There are plenty like you and like I always say, the younger the better!" she interjected, giving them a wry smile, clearly amused by Xarias' panicking. Not even letting him reply yet she says, "So, I assume you two are looking for a nice apartment, and by the looks of it something moderately sized but still comfortable enough. Mhhmm, ahh, got just the thing!" she quickly said before dashing off towards a nearby door.

"Wait!" unable to explain their situation, the lady shut the door before Xarias could say anything. "Sorry about that, I'm guessing she's the landlady. She seems to think we're a couple for some reason. Odd" he said, slightly blushing before shaking his head vigorously, trying to shake the thought off of his mind.

"Yeah, I guess we should do that." He said, still blushing a bit from the previous events, waiting for the landlady, Xarias says, "I wonder what kind of roo..."

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Madame Drole shouts out, extremely pleased with her customer patience despite the relatively short time they actually waited. "Now if you'll follow me I'll show you to your room!"

Dashing off again she heads to the elevator down the lobby, while swinging the keys she got on her right index finger. Seeing as the two were slightly lagging behind she dashes back and says, "Quickly, quickly. Don't be snails now, young couples should be lively!"


"But we're no..." Just before Xarias could finish a sentence, the woman dashes off again to the elevator, tapping her foot as she waited for them. Shrugging towards Fei he starts walking towards the elevator. "Maybe we'll get to explain better in the elevator." he said, trying to hide the blushing on his face by the woman's previous comment.

"Sure you are, it all starts out as friends but later on..." Laughing heartily, the woman wipes back a tear as she smiles brightly towards Fei. "I'm sure you'll love the place I've got just for you, spacious, aesthetic, and best of all designed by me!" Pressing the button for the last floor of the building, just before the roof, just as Xarias walks in smiling at the two.

Sighing a bit, Xarias just shrugs and says, "Well, it better be good." A slight hint of irritation in his voice.

"OF COURSE IT IS! You'll be amazed at the wonder that is the work of Madame Drole!" She exclaimed just as the doors closed.

It didn't take long to reach the last floor, the building didn't rise too high anyhow. Now skipping towards a large door, the landlady inserts a large silver key into a very pristine-looking yet oddly shaped door and heads inside.

"Let's go then." Xarias said, having quickly cooled down as the lady left, following in suit while heading for the door just a few feet down the hallway.

Just as Xarias walked in he noticed the apartment's layout and quickly appreciated the design, somewhat cooling down upon seeing it. It was actually quite large compared to what he expected but that suddenly made him realize if he would be able to afford it even with Fei along. Inspecting the living room, he slides his hand across the couch, appreciating the soft feel it had to it. Taking a step into the next room he looks over and notices it's the kitchen but it was lacking in utensils and the like, though that'd be expected due to the fact that they probably had to get some themselves. Looking over to Fei he smiles and says, "Looks nice, what do you think? Might be a bit pricey but we could probably handle it."

Oh yeah, I completely forgot. But wouldn't something like this be too much for me alone?

Trying to get his thoughts together he started to realize he was just assuming that she wanted to find one as well. Thinking it over he smiles and says, "It's a bit too big for just one person, and if you want, I bet I could figure something out" Besides, aren't you a bit sad at Beacon all the time?

"Figure what out?" Suddenly appearing behind Xarias, Madame Drole throws a quick question at her unsuspecting victim before grabbing his shoulders. Cringing slightly as she grabbed him, Xarias shakes her off and says, "You could at least give a warning before doing that!"

"Now, now, temper, temper" She says, quickly dismissing him. "You're probably worrying about the price now, aren't you?"
Damn, she's sharp!
"But no need to worry, because since I like you both so much I'm willing to give you a discount!" she exclaimed with utmost glee. "Besides, you looks so cute together!"
"Just how much of a discount are we talking about here?" He said, quickly raising an eyebrow at the eccentric woman's sudden offer.

"Let's just say in exchange for almost half of it you'll have to help me around with maintenance every now and maybe even do a few errands. So, what do you say?" she said, a slight hint of excitement in her voice.

"Fei, what do you think?" he says, looking over to Fei, somewhat hoping she'll change her mind for some reason.

Smiling brightly at Fei he says, "Great! Now how do I..."

Suddenly cutting Xarias off she exclaims, "Wonderful! Now if you'll follow me sir and ma'am, all you have to do is fill out some forms and the like and we'll be done." As if grabbing a scroll from midair, the lady presents it to Xarias and Fei, a somewhat long document that stated ownership, terms of living, and other boring stuff. Groaning a bit at having to read all of that through, he starts going through the "paperwork" and finally gets to the end where he should sign. "I'll get a copy of this, right?"

"Of course you will. Madame Drole ensures that all her tenants shall only receive the best of the best." she replied.

Looking over to Fei,unknowing of her plan, he blows his hair from his eyes before saying, "So, I'll sign it up in my name then we'll be good to go. I could help you with moving in too, you probably have a lot of stuff back at Beacon."

"My, my, what an unexpected turn of events." She said, "I feel utterly crushed! No, betrayed!" Starting to wail and cry at the sudden turn of events, Madame Drole grabs a handkerchief from her right breast pocket and starts blowing her nose. After a minute of crying and ignoring their explanations she suddenly goes back to normal and says, "Maybe...but do not expect them to be as wonderful as this one. And are you sure, young miss? Because you won't find a offer like this elsewhere."

Still a bit confused over what was happening, Xarias is lost in thought over what he should do. The sudden wailing caught him completely off guard but then he suddenly remembered why they came here in the first place. Staying quiet over the exchange he mentally scolded himself for acting so stupid while probably embarrassing both himself and his new friend. Sighing a bit he quietly said, "Well, I guess it may be a bit too much..." I'm such an idiot...I should probably cut the whole thing off...besides, the inn was always quite comfy...

"Huh?" Upon hearing Fei's sudden concern Xarias snaps out of his little mental prison and turns to her to address the issue. "I-it's nothing. I mean, if you really don't want to stay I won't force you." Quietly thinking over his options Xarias places his hand to his chin and mulls over the possibilities left, be it if she did decide to join him or not. Raising an eyebrow to the landlady he says, "Give us a minute to think this over."

Leaving the room, Madame Drole heads for the other rooms to do some inspecting just in case they really did decide to get the place. Checking the bathrooms, bedroom, and the like for any problems. What an odd pair they are.

"Of course I want more friends, it's just that..." Taking a deep breath Xarias continues, "Do I really need a permanent place to stay for such a thing?" Thinking it over again, Xarias starts to see an error in his actions. He's obviously rushing the whole thing although it's not that bad an idea, just not something that should be done as a spur of the moment thing. Looking Fei in the eye he says, "I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."