A Common Interest (Private with DRX)

[R682]

(I've had to put paragraph breaks in as '/', as they don't seem to be working right now.) There was a lot of work to be done. / "I didn't think it would be this messy" Erin remarked, blinking in the gloom as they made their way inside their new rented house. / Whoever had lived there before hadn't moved out as such. The girls didn't know whether he or she had died, been evicted, or simply vanished, but they'd known the house was being rented 'as was', and it would be their job to bring it up to spec. That was why the rent had been so cheap, after all. But they hadn't exactly expected this. It wasn't filthy, at least. There was just a lot of clutter. Old newspapers, books and DVD cases, strewn around the floor. Pieces of furniture and random ornaments arranged here and there without any real apparent order. Anything valuable was gone, no TV or anything like that, but apparently the previous tenant, or the heirs, hadn't felt the need to take anything else. Well, so apparently it was all theirs now. It just needed sorting out. / "What do you want to do first?" Erin asked her friend Hitomi, beside her, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "Shall I take one room, and you take another?" / That was just like her, after all; straight down to business, without a second word.

[DRX Dragon]

Hitomi looked at Erin after looking at the living room and everything that was in it saying " Well before we come up with a plan to attack I suggest we look at all the rooms in the house to see just how big the mess really is and then we can go from there " Then Hitomi walked into the kitchen and saw broken glass all over the floor along with silverware scattered all over the place. After seeing what was in the kitchen Hitomi looked at Erin once again saying " Dang why do people tend to leave such a mess when they move out of a place "

[R682]

"I don't think these people moved out normally," Erin murmured quietly. After all, houses didn't get put up for rent sight unseen, renovation required, and this cheaply, very often. Something very strange must have gone on. Really, a little broken glass and clutter was the least their ought to expect. But the mystery of it certainly was disturbing. "We should check upstairs," Erin said at last. She wanted to know what room was going to be hers, so she could get started on clearing that, and plan where her computer setup was going to go. Also, what condition the bathroom was in: they could make do without the kitchen for a good while, but the toilet and the shower had better be fully functional or that'd be a real problem. Feeling the imperative to find out, she didn't wait for Hitomi, but turned and hurriedly led the way, with her head down.

[DRX Dragon]

After seeing Erin rush upstairs Hitomi walks hastily upstairs and to the left Hitomi looks at the restroom and it appears to not have been used in a long time and then to the right was the master bedroom and to Hitomi's surprise there appeared to be about 6 packs of adult sized baby diapers and in shock of seeing that in the master bedroom Hitomi yells out " Hey Erin you need to see whats in the master bedroom quickly " As Hitomi picks up a pack of the diapers in complete shock

[R682]

"Hm?" Erin quietly reappeared. She'd made a bee-line for the smaller of the two bedrooms at first, assuming that one would be hers. It was relatively free of clutter, besides a few cardboard boxes, as if it had hardly been used.

Of course, the other concern was the bathroom. She'd already been on her way to check that out when she heard Hitomi's call. Assuming it was one of alarm, Erin came quickly to her instead. What had her friend found, a body?

At first, she had no idea what it was that her friend was holding. Then she saw the illustration on the side of the packet and the others alongside it, and realised what it was. Even then, she didn't appreciate the significance until she registered that the things could not be common-or-garden infants' diapers. These must be far larger in size than that.

"Hm, weird..." she appraised softly, wondering about the strength of Hitomi's reaction. She seemed very excited about something that was a mere oddity. But then, a strange subconscious tingle seemed to stir in Erin too, at the sight, that she couldn't quite explain.

[DRX Dragon]

" Yeah I think I know why the place was put up for rent so cheaply for now " Hitomi said as she looked at the rest of the room seeing a diaper pail, a crib and what looks like a strap table and after seeing all that Hitomi goes back downstairs and heads towards the basement to look at what lies down there and to see what kind of work needs to be done and when she arrives at the basement she is utterly in shock at what needs to be done to improve the basement

[R682]

Erin stayed in the room now, however, wondering why Hitomi had left so quickly. It really was strange that she'd made such a fuss and now didn't want to stay to investigate, or to figure this out. It didn't make sense: the previous owner must have been disabled or something, she guessed. But even then, why have things like a crib and a changing table in such an infantile style? Surely there were more adult-appropriate equivalents for those who needed them?

Not that there wasn't a still certain fascination here, too. Erin fingered one of the packets of diapers, feeling the thickness and unable to help but imagine what it must be like to wear one. It must be kind of comfy, if you weren't embarrassed by that kind of thing, or you were used to it. Plus it must be so nice to feel protected like that, and not like you always had to worry about the toilet. It must make you feel a lot safer if you were in a car or something, or someone else was using the bathroom.

Speaking of which, that was something else she needed to check out, and best to do it while Hitomi was distracted. Otherwise she would have stayed and investigated further, but it felt a little embarrassing for Hitomi to even see her going into the bathroom, so better she did that part while Hitomi wasn't there. The fixtures and fittings were all there, she'd already seen that much, and that the room itself was relatively clear. But she'd better quickly check that the toilet and the shower actually worked, if only to set her mind at ease.

[DRX Dragon]

Hitomi walks down to the basement and from what she sees its no wonder why the house was rented so cheaply. Walking through the basement Hitomi realizes that there is gonna be a ton of work involved in order to make it right. Then after going through the basement Hitomi went back upstairs and after a few minutes of searching she finds Erin and tells Erin " You need to check out the basement and see the damage that was done to it and we need to replace the heater before winter otherwise we will freeze "

[R682]

Erin jumped, and scurried out of the bathroom before she'd had a chance to check the flush.

"It's alright, I wasn't doing anything," she flustered. "Just wondered if the plumbing was working..." She swallowed, thinking. "If the boiler isn't..."

She wasn't too immediately concerned about that. They could always wear coats and jumpers, after all. But a warm shower was much more of a necessity. And if the toilet didn't flush... was that what all those diapers were doing there? Would anyone resort to that rather than simply get such things fixed? Well, she didn't know about that... but she knew she'd rather wear a diaper than have to do it in her pants. Or in a bucket, come to that...

"Maybe you should check the bathroom," she suggested to Hitomi, wanting to hurriedly distance herself from such affairs. "I'll go and see the basement. Maybe I can fix it or something..." Not that she would expect herself to be too handy if it was a plumbing problem down there, but wiring or circuit board controllers, maybe she would be able to do something with.

[DRX Dragon]

Hitomi agreed to check the bathroom out and she heads to the restroom and checks it out and inspects the plumbing and sees that its all right. Then she flushes the toilet and it doesn't clog but upon further inspection of the shower Hitomi sees that the shower head and the stems need to be replaced. So Hitomi heads back downstairs to the basement to find Erin