House of Madness

"Wow, you certainly travel light," Muir said, eyeing Alexander's purse and unintentionally ignoring Alexander's first question. "I suppose you can hang around, but you'll have to keep it on the down-low. The boss does not encourage friends at work since it can be very distracting. I suppose that's fair, but if it's just this once and you don't disrupt anyone else, why not?" He grinned and jerked his head toward the door. "Come on! Let's go in."
 
"It's okay!" Muir laughed. He opened the backdoor and motioned for Alexander to go in first before he walked in. "You can either go through the aquarium or hang out in the staff louge. Just try not to bother anyone and it'll be fine."
 
Alexander flew inside and gazed about the massive place with his blue eyes wide in amazement. The tanks contained just about any type of aquatic creature: great whites, humpback whales, eels, squids, bottle-nosed dolphins, etc.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He flew off, calling over his shoulder. "Be in the staff lounge!"
 
Muir gave him a little wave and went back to work. He trusted Alexander to keep out of trouble, and he needed to work or else they'd both be out of a job. The next four hours were dedicated to keeping the place clean and answering questions from visitors. It was a good job! One he was happy to do. It also meant that even though they were inland, he always had constant access to water. It was good.

When his shift was up, Muir changed into his usual street clothes and went to find Alexander. "Alexander!" he called, looking around the staff room, first. "Are you in here?"
 
"You don't have to shout, Muir, I'm right here," came Alexander's voice. He appeared from behind a wall, carrying a plate with one of each sweet in the lounge on it. There was a cinnamon roll, some reese's cups, a chocolate-frosted chocolate doughnut, and a piece of fudge.
 
"Oh, there you are!" Muir eyed Alexander'splate dubiously. "Uh, I was going to offer dinner, but I take it you've already eaten. Come on, let's go home. It's a bit of a walk."
 
Muir considered putting the plate away then shrugged and left it. He honestly had no idea what to do with it, so he didn't bother to do anything with it. The cleaners would know what to do with it. They had to deal with random stuff left in all sorts of weird places.

"Oi! Wait up! Not all of us can fly, you now!" Muir called after Alexander, hurrying to catch up. He led the way toward the house on the outskirts of town, whistling merrily to himself. He was lucky to live close enough to walk to work.

The house was a bit small by all appearances on the outside, old-fashioned, blue, but neat and tidy with a small front yard and a few flowers to make it seem bright. A wooden fence blocked off the view of the back yard. The small houses on either side seemed equally small and neat. Nothing particularly special or threatening.

"Here we are! What do you think?" Muir asked, gesturing to the house.
 
The bird looked at the house with a bright grin. It gave off a rather homey vibe, despite it being small. The flowers were a nice touch. "I love it! It's so cute!"
 
"I agree, just don't tell the house owner that. He hates when people call his things 'cute.' Not sure why," Muir chuckled. He led the way up to the door and unlocked it, stepping inside. ""Hey! I'm home!"

A red haired fellow wandered into the living room from the first room. He stood for a moment, staring at the pair, long, slender hands accented by grey, fingerless gloves resting at chin level. Then he suddenly smiled, ruby colored eyes lighting up. "Ah! Muir! You have brought a friend!" he cooed. "That is absolutely delightful." His hands dropped to his sides, the movement smooth despite the fact that he appeared to be wearing at least three layers of shirts on top of grey slacks. A light blue shirt trimmed in gold, a black vest trimmed in red, and a green vest on top of that trimmed with purple. A red tie topped it all off. He ran a hair through his uneven hair then presented it to the bird man. "Welcome to the house of Pendle!"
 
The birdman flew in and clumsily landed prone at the redhead's feet. Standing, he offered his hand. "Thanks, bud. Name's Alexander."
 
"Vladimir Verenich," the magician said, accepting the handshake lightly. "You may call me Vlad if you would like. Most do."

"Alexander is having a bit of a hard time, so he is going to stay with me," Muir explained.

Vlad smiled at that. "Ah, I see. That is most unfortunate. Were you planning on sharing your room with him, then? Meaning you will be moving out of mine."

"I had to stay in Vlad's room while my room was repainted, but it's fine now," Muir hurriedly explained, "although if it's only going to be for a short time, perhaps I could continue to stay in Vlad's room while you stay in mine. How does that sound?"

"What is a few more days? I do not mind," Vlad acquiesced graciously.
 
"That's wonderful!" Alexander chirped, flapping his arms excitedly, some feathers landing on the floor. His expression softened into sincerity. "Thank you, both of you."
 
"Oh, don't thank me. There is no reason to thank me," Vlad smiled. "Off you go. Muir will tell you the house rules. I need to find my tie and go off to work."
"You're already wearing a tie," Muir pointed out.
Vlad looked down. "Oh! So I am. Never mind then. See you around!"
As Vlad sailed off, Muir pointed toward the right. "Kitchen is there. I'll come back to that and tell you the rules in a minute. Straight ahead is the room I share with Vlad, then Tinker's room is next, and my room is at the far end of the hall. Bathroom is on the other side. Come on! I'll show you."
 
Vlad led the way down the hall to the third and last door on the left and opened it to reveal a smallish yet still comfortably sized room. A bed and a chest of drawers were the only thing in the light blue painted room plus a small closet. A nicely sized window let in a lot of natural light.

"What do you think?" Muir asked.
 
"It's certainly better than being outside," Alexander entered the bedroom. He put his purse on the dresser and sprawled himself out on the bed, shutting his eyes for a brief moment.
 
"I'll let you get settled," Muir said, moving to leave. "I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready."

He left his friend to get settled and headed into the kitchen to get a snack. He tended to get off work at an odd time. A little too late for lunch, and a little too early for dinner. So, he tended to eat a big dinner and breakfast and just snack for lunch when he got home.
 
After a moment just laying there, enjoying the comfy bed, Alexander sat up and reached for his purse. He opened it and pulled out his iPhone and charger. He gazed about the small space, eventually settin his sites on a wall outlet between the bed and dresser. Plugging the mini USB end into the device, he plugged the charger end into the wall. The phone blinked to life a moment later, and he put it on the dresser and walked out into the kitchen. "So, what's for dinner? I'm no chef, but I'd be happy to help."
 
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