Warm Blanket

"Well... Here's the place."

The door creaked loudly as Antigone opened the door, causing Pontius to wince before his eyes squinted at her, a frown upon his dark features. Only afterwards would he step into the house, holding the little child gently to his chest, she huddling into him under his warm undercoat amidst the cool, winter air.

It wasn't bad for such an old building, if he were to be honest with himself. He walked right into the living room and the kitchen was open and came after. There was a small hallway that opened right next to the kitchen and appeared to lead off to a few more rooms. Very little furniture was already included, though he could see his work was cut out for him. Carpets needed to be cleaned, some spots looked like they'd need to be replaced, too. Most of the furniture looked a bit worse for wear, too, but it wasn't like he was expecting a lot from a place that was considered to the general public as a 'ghost town'.

Those robin-egg blue eyes of his idly scanned his surroundings before glancing back to the mayor, who stood by the now closed door.

"Any mold or rattata problems?" He begged as a brow rose.

"No, not that I'm aware of," she replied.

"The location is stable?"

"Yes."

"What are my requirements for living here."

"If you choose to stay, I'd be asking you to pay taxes twice a year, per usual. Other than the general guidelines that we went over, that's about it."

"Mmm..." A soft thump sound came as he took a step further into the building.

"Does it have anything I could utilize?"

"Like what?"

He looked from side to side, as if contemplating to answer that question before huffing.

"Blankets."

He watched as the woman mulled such an answer over before glancing to the young girl in his arms, she soon glancing to her shoes to think a moment.

"There should be some in the first bedroom. There's an old crib in there."

That answer caused a spark to flash through the man's eyes and he seemed nearly pulled to the room she spoke of. As if he had been called or was pulled by the hand, he wandered slowly toward the hallway and, ultimately, into the bedroom.

It was nearly empty except for the crib and the blankets piled haphazardly upon it, something he couldn't help but sneer at a little. But, otherwise, it looked clean, save for the foggy window that struggled to allow light into the room.

A few quick strides and Pontius was at the crib, pulling off blankets and expecting them for ware. He pulled off a brown blanket first and it looked like it had holes in it. A soft grumble escaped him before he threw it off to the side. The second was blue... but had odd stains here and there. Again, tossed to the side. A few more smaller blankets later and his eyes alighted upon a small, white little blanket with black and pink polka dots on it. It looked to be in good condition, no stains or holes or anything else. It even smelled good.

He looked it over a moment before brushing off whatever else was within the crib, only to reach over for the little bundle that still slept under his undercoat. He gently and gingerly pulled her out from underneath and could only smile at the sight of her sleepy little face and her eyes that seemed to open slightly as if looking for the reason as to why she had been moved.

"I'm sorry, my dear. Go back to sleep," his voice was soft as he urged the baby to do so, speaking to her as if she would actually understand. Only after would he lean down and gently place her on the soft mattress of the crib, wrapping her within the polka-dot blanket and making sure she was snug.

"There. That should keep you warm." He mused. And, sure enough, she was back to sleep in seconds, her little tummy rising and falling with each little breath.

A soft sigh escaped the man then, as his shoulders slumped a bit. Eyes stared upon his little Minocqua for a moment or two before he turned around... only to be greeted with the mayor, Antigone, leaning against the door frame, her arms folded against her chest.

Immediately a scowl graced the calm smile that was upon the man's face.

"How long were you there?"

"Long enough."

It was easy to see he didn't like that answer. The woman was smart enough to divert his thought process, though.

"What do you think of the house?"

It took him a moment to think about that, and his eyes darted here and there as his thoughts ran... but, eventually, he did speak, quietly, as to not wake the baby.

"I'll take it."