Lucky Rabbit {Twisted Wonderland} [Various X OC]

Rundown New Home

"Uh, you want us to stay...here?"

"It's bigger than I thought it would be..."

In front of them was an old, rundown building with a rectangular sloped roof. Around half of the windows were boarded up, but light could be seen coming from the inside. Elle was pleased by this, because it meant the building had working electricity. The shape of the roof may be an issue, though...

While she was musing about what repairs may need to be done, Yu was standing in place wondering if the headmage seriously thought this was even close to an okay place to dump two broke teenagers. Crowley simply smiled at the two of them.

"Isn't it delightful? Right, scoot inside now. There you go."

The crow man urged the two towards the doors, one more eager than the other. Elle looked around as they approached the building, and noticed a stone bridge to their left that connected to the large castle looming above them. Huh. Well that's convenient.

There must have been some sort of archway above it at some point, because there was a single stone pillar on the lefthand side of the bridge. The one on the right, as well as the arch presumably connecting them, had fallen in the middle of the path, completely blocking the way. She could already tell they were too heavy for her to move, even if Yu helped her. Maybe they could just climb over them...? She'd put a pin in that for later. She glanced at the bridge one more time before heading into the ramshackle dorm.

...

The inside was better than Elle had expected. The furniture was mostly turned over, which meant the actual topside would be dust free if they simply flipped them right side up, and the floorboards were sturdy, if not a little creaky. The large window in the back had somehow managed to remain intact, and the carpets were in decent condition, if not a bit threadbare.

A huge plus was the fact that there was a large stone fireplace. All they needed was firewood, and their chances of freezing in the winter went down significantly. They wouldn't have to worry about burning the whole dorm down either, which was nice.

The wallpaper was peeling, and there were spiderwebs and cobwebs in the corners, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. With a little bit of cleaning, this could probably actually be a pretty nice place to stay.

"This should keep the elements at bay for the time being." Crowley said, already heading for the door. "Now, I should return to my research. Do try to find some way to busy yourselves. But don't let me catch you wandering the campus! Ta!"

And with that, he was gone.

Yu sighed, running a hand through his hair. What an irresponsible and careless headmage. He seriously expected them to live here?

"I don't even see a clean place to sit."

Elle walked over to an overturned armchair, flipping it over with only a bit of struggle.

"Here. It was upside-down, so barely any dust got on the underside."

Yu paused, looking over the piece of furniture blankly.

"Huh. I guess you're right. Are you used to dealing with places like this?"

"Yup! Trust me, this looks a lot worse than it actually is."

"Seriously? I guess I'll trust you to lead me on this one, then. I'm pretty good at cleaning, so you can give me pretty much any task and I'll be able to do it. So, where do we start? Just give me the word, boss."

Elle blinked, somehow not expecting him to offer his help. Not that she thought he was rude, or lazy, she's just...used to doing things herself. Seeing the determined glint in his eyes, though, she couldn't bring herself to turn him down. It would be faster with both of them working, anyway.