The Ruse Has Started

“Curt tossed the house together rather quickly, that was very nice of him,” Rozaliya mused out loud at Radice and Lino. Just as they left, Curt tossed them keys, gave an address, and told them to enjoy. After that, they just waited for Lino to grab an egg, and then they were ready for house viewing. She was still holding Radice’s hand as they approached the front door. It was quite a big house compared to the ones she saw in her previous wanderings. The front yard was fenced in with planter boxes under the windows and a row of fruiting berry bushes lined the fencing on the outside. The bushes weren’t that high, cut to be the same height or a few inches taller than the fence. It was a good start, and even if the inside of the house was more modern, she’d just gently decorate it to look like her old forest home as time went on.

Letting Radice free so he could open the door, she went in first and let him follow behind to inspect at his leisure. Entering, It was clear Curt did his best to stick to the theme Roza gave him, and he did pretty good on such short notice.

The living room was the first thing they saw. Its walls were painted various shades of green in triangular shapes that meshed together in a pattern. A flatscreen TV was mounted on an accent wall with a diagonal split in its two colors. Below it, a nice wooden table had remotes, shiny boxes that could be anything, and a few decorative plants on either side. Shelves lined the upper parts of the wall, filled with plants whose leaves dropped down in a pleasing manner. The center coffee table was shaped like a tiger and had a clear glass table top perched on top. A comfortable couch and hanging egg chair somehow blended in with the forest theme and completed the living room.

The dining area followed. It was similar to the living room, except the walls were painted with leaf-like patterns and one of the ‘walls’ was covered in shelves. The partial shelving wall separated the dining area from the kitchen, leaving it feeling nice and open. Plants wpund along the top of the cabinets, the fridge, the dining table, and a few daring ones even ventured a vine towards the center of the room. Herbs served as both decorative and functional features on the kitchen counters. The kitchen appliances looked new as far as Roza could tell; They were at least shiny and nice looking. There was also another hanging egg chair in here, which was nice if she wanted to watch Radice do any cooking, or if the dragons wanted to watch her own attempts while Radice was busy and away. There was also plenty of counter space–she had heard that was an important thing in kitchens.

They quickly assessed the few unexplored areas. A half-bathroom, closet for storage, laundry room, and garage all made up the base floor. The bathroom was filled to the brim and painted completely deep green, with the single toilet blending in with the colors of the room. It had a large sink and–like every other room in the house–had plants anywhere they fit. Roza was already amazed by what could be done by the friendly blond just to appease them. It would be nice if the entire house could be like this, but it was already quite a lot. The bathroom closet was completely void of plant life, but had a nice mirror with a beautiful border on the door. The lack of plants was probably for the best, since it was dark in there. The garage was also rather void, but had a shelf of spare plants, plant food, dirt, and gardening tools. Again, fine, but maybe if Radice didn’t have a vehicle they could change that into a garden of sorts. Then again, perhaps guests would need to use that.

The laundry room was much like the first room in theme and decoration, but still looked modern and nice. With just the bedrooms left, Roza wound up full of excitement, returning to Radice who was taking his time exploring. Tugging on him gently, her eyes sparkled with wonder and their usual sweetness. “It’s so nice in here! Don’t you think so?”

Radice nodded, also quite amazed at how quickly Curt put things together. It was fully furnished and everything...though a few tiny things had been prepared incorrectly on the upstairs floor. He couldn't blame him, both because of the short notice and because of their excuse. "We'll have to get another bed," he mused aloud. It could go in the second bedroom, though that also had its issues. He walked into that room to explore it a bit further. As with the rest of the house, it was filled to the brim with greenery and plants. The walls in this room had colorful flowers and parrots painted onto the walls in a simple style, artificial vines lining the edges of the ceiling, and bug netting draped around the most important piece of furniture there: the crib. "I guess the nursery could be converted to an egg room, but we'll have to hide the eggs when he comes over. Unless you feel like joining the Militia. Which you shouldn't," he said that last part quite firmly. He placed his own egg in the crib, a bit pleased to see it in a comfier place than Ometeotl's hiding spot. "You're only here until Spring, so if they even catch a whisper of what you are, your plans would be messed up."

There were plenty of other conversions to do; the garage could be converted into a garden, and the yard needed more plants. Maybe trees, to better suit the forest-dweller living here now. It slipped his mind that she'd need to be there for longer than a season to enjoy those trees. He certainly didn't have the willpower for large renovations like that, but Lino was absolutely buzzing with energy. She went from plant to plant, sticking her head in the flowers and then scrambling through the strange-smelling herbs. She was introducing herself to her new housemates in her own way.

“You can sleep in the big bedroom for now,” Roza said, “It’s more plain of plants and I’m used to sleeping on leaves and ground anyways.” Sleeping in the other room also gave her an excuse to stay with the egg, waiting for when it would hatch. Taking the egg out and putting it in the crib for now, it could stay here as they looked at finer details and figured out what needed to be done. The egg wasn’t extremely large, but it was big enough she wanted to put it down to get the weight off of her.

“Egg room should be fine, maybe just a dragon room in general if Lino doesn’t mind sharing a room with the dragon. The crib can stay up as a nest and we can put the eggs in the closet or cover them with a stack of blankets when needed.” She was curious why she shouldn’t join Radice in his work, but didn’t plan on it as it hadn’t been very fun to tag along for the most part. She stretched out with a yawn; The sun had started to die down for the night, making room for the moon that would surely be up soon. It was an exciting day, or at least more exciting than what she was used to. She wiggled her finger in what was unfamiliar to herself and possibly to Radice. She had seen people do so when calling others closer. When Radice leaned down, she took his face gently and gave a small cheek peck before she was on her way.

“Thank you again, Radice. I’m going to turn in for the night in the nursery. Both of you have a good night.” Off she went after, making a small pile of blankets on the floor and curling up in it, just ready to lay down for the day in the new home.

Radice made a mental note to talk about how socially acceptable kissing strangers was later.

In the meantime, he patiently made a list of the things needed in the home and sent Lino off to do a favor. While he waited for Lino to give the word, he pushed all the information into a note-taking app so he would always have it on hand. A better shower curtain, more dishes, a few specialized cooking utensils, cleaning supplies, a first aid kit--those little sorts of things that even Curt could overlook. One of the kitchen herbs started to shake and Lino's snout poked out from the shadows beneath it. "All clear. She's sleeping, and I finished my work."

“Thank you,” he replied. Radice set his alarm for much-too-early-in-the-morning, pocketed his phone, and approached the nursery as quietly as he could. He wasn't someone that would let another person sleep on the floor, even if they were used to being surrounded by plants. He saw the fawna asleep in the pile and gently picked her up, blankets and all. Lino grabbed the eggs from the crib with a few vines she conjured up. That way, the Riders could be a bit closer to their eggs as they slept, and Roza wouldn't get too worried if she woke up early. He brought her into the bigger bedroom–which now had many more plants than before, courtesy of Lino's magic--and placed her onto the soft bed. He grabbed a sheet of his own and fixed a small area on the floor for himself to sleep on. Lino quietly complained that he didn't do any sort of flirting with the lady, but he had already fallen asleep the second he laid down his head.