#abnage things

The robot looked at the traps, then back to its creator. "Pest infestation is minimal," it affirmed without opinion.

Xrumon ignored it, looking to the large window that provided a view out onto the city. He couldn't see the clinic from here. He would have to take the bus for his physical therapy now. His eyes flicked to the blinds, the cheap kind that were impossible to close right the first time.

"I see you're getting acquainted with the place already, good sir," drawled a voice from the doorway. Xrumon didn't bother turning around.

"Now, I know it may not be the kind of esteemed manor a debonair man of your status is used to, but you simply cannot beat this location, in my humble opinion," it continued, followed by the shuffle of light footsteps on hardwood.

"Is this, ah, creation, yours? You mentioned a few eccentric choices, sir..."

"Do not touch," warned Alpha.

Xrumon finally turned around, seeing the redblood who had been speaking earlier grin widely as he retracted his hand. The man had a large man of hair, voluminous enough that it settled its great curls down clear to his shoulders. A pale red scar ran across his right cheek, while his eyes continued to rest almost half-lidded in casual observation. His horns were entirely nondescript, which contrasted sharply with his almost refined sense of dress: a somewhat patchy vest over a mildly crumpled collared shirt, itself tucked into a set of dress pants that had seen far better nights. He even wore dress shoes that looked like they had faintly heard of being waxed in some bygone sweep.

"Yeah," Xrumon grunted, frowning deeply. "It's mine. Keep your mitts off of it, it could shatter your wrist if you're not careful."

"Sir, I am always careful in all of my actions," he replied, eyes swinging lazily to the tealblood. "And of those two.... mannequins? Also yours?"

He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. Near the doorway, two mannequins had paused. They were dressed in an odd assortment of random clothes, and both were locked in standard poses common to many clothing stores.

"You could say that," Xrumon half-answered. "Don't fuck with those. Ever."

The redblood smiled widely again. "Why should I ever? They move all on their own, certainly a fanciful trick," he said, clasping his hands together behind his back.

"Just call me Shitty Houdini then. If you start fucking with them, I'll know, and more importantly, Alpha will know," Xrumon sighed, shaking his head. "So, Abnage, what are the ground rules going to be? The mannequins are going to be around whether you like it or not, but Alpha will be in and out."

"I take it dear sir will not be capable of handling most cleaning chores?" Abnage said, reducing his smile to one of mere polite awareness. "I merely request you direct some creation of yours to discard of the detritus of our lives in that case."

"That is not our purpose," Alpha stated.

"Beg forgiveness, sir's machine," Abnage said with a deep bow, "But this is a shared living space. Oh, I do wish I had the time to clean up for all of us, but I can only afford to clean up after myself."

"They invented what you're talking about already, it's called a fucking Roomba," Xrumon answered. "I can repurpose one of my other designs to handle that. But I can't take the garbage out, I physically can't."

Abnage twirled a bit of hair around one of his fingers. "A terrible shame, sir," he said softly, adorning an appropriate look of understanding on his face. "Very well, if your little creations can take care of the vacuuming, I can oblige by removing our trash. Other than that, I may hang around sometimes, but fear not... My duties take me far and wide."

"Meaning?"

"I will not always be here. I may be gone for some periods of time. I have a number of duties as a humble servant that I must perform," Abnage explained, releasing his hair and looking to the teal again. "I thank you for believing in my ability to pay for half our required expense. It is so difficult to find a trusting figure for low castes...."

"Save your bullshit, little man," Xrumon growled, frown worsening while Abnage's smile only widened. "I wouldn't agree to be someone's roommate unless I had little other choice, and I certainly wouldn't agree without looking into their history."

"And I take it you quite enjoyed what you found?" Abnage replied.

"I know that you have nothing to gain by ripping me off, and that you need the protection Alpha here can provide. Let's leave it at that, 'Soapy'."

Abnage let a mild laugh slip from his lips, which twisted into something altogether more slimy than his normal smile. "Oh sir, you do flatter a humble man like me. Time was, one truly had to work hard to attract the attention of their betters..."

Xrumon sighed heavily. "Shut up. Just move your shit into the other room. I claimed the one on the right, and I deadbolt at dawn. If you're not back by then, then you better hope I didn't take my sleeping medication."

Abnage nodded, resting his hands in his pockets. "As you command, sir. I do hope we can become friends... like that ghostly pal of yours, hovering over your shoulder."

He winked at the brownblood he could spy hovering in the air, eyes flickering red for a moment. "If she-"

"They."

"Hey they," he corrected, taking a slight bow. "The pleasure is entirely mine, to meet you and yours."