The door opened to a woman with short, blonde hair and not a clue who he was. While that didn’t take long to fix itself, it did earn Annalise a raised eyebrow from the Grigori. Did the person he was in conversation with fail to mention the monumental change to the rest of the tenets? That was certainly a red flag.

But not large enough to end things before they began. “Hello there, Ms… Annalise, correct?”

“I-I’m friends with june sleigh ,” he quickly tacked on. “She’s told me about you before.”

The man didn’t waste any time and slowly entered the cozy apartment. Pictures did it plenty justice, but being in person always was different. And so far, the real thing was far better than the concept. He saw someone on the couch in another room.

“As I’ve just said, I’m here to discuss any last second changes, considerations, and make sure we’re on the same page before I sign the lease agreement,” he explained. While he would’ve preferred to do this in the kitchen, or some office, he instead navigated toward the living room.

He walked over to the first empty seat he saw and planted himself down. The briefcase was set on his lap, and he opened it to reveal its barebones contents: a massive wad of paper, a calculator, and a small pencil bag. He pulled out the pages and started to rifle through them.

“Apologies if I’m interrupting something important,” he said to Rory. “I believe I was in conversation with you, Ms. Rory, about the apartment availability? But if Ms. Annalise holds the lease, then I believe she and I should discuss it proper.”

---

Rory Faust annalise henderson marilee beaufort

“Nothing major, for the actual lease,” he said as he riffled through the pages. “Just wanted to confirm dates, payments, and the rules between the landlord and the tenants of this apartment.”

From the bundle of paper, he finally settled on the section he was in search of. He pressed hard against the crease and set it over on the other side of the table, towards Annalise. It’d be the boring legal jargon that stated the official payment amount for the whole apartment, the dates associated, and with a few written-in number crunches for what it’d be divided by four.

What he’d pay if signed on.

“What I’m more interested in are the rules not in the lease: between roommates,” he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small notepad and pen. It clicked once and flipped open to a sticky-noted page. “Less formal, but the most important part of a shared living space.”

If one hated the people they lived with, then the signed lease would be more of a prison sentence than a communally shared living quarter. That was most unideal for everyone involved.

“My first question, naturally, is the roommate situation. If I’m not mistaken, I’d be boarding with… whom, Marilee?” He tapped a note into the paper. “And in regard to that, is there an agreed upon Lights-Out with everyone, or just the singular roommate?”

---

annalise henderson marilee beaufort Rory Faust

Grigori wrote down the information as it was fed to him, his pen licking the page at a modest pace.

‘Solo-room, next to downstairs bathroom. No furnishings.’
‘Relaxed bed-time schedule. Open to conversations via text about noise.’

Not his preferred method of communication, but he supposed he could always just walk over and talk with the others anyway. Not like the distance was grand, a journey into an entirely different city. It also meant they probably communicated via text for most things. “Noted. Apologies, Ms. Annalise. I must’ve gotten something mixed up in the messaging.”

“Next question: chores. Are there set guidelines for each member, or is it changed weekly, or something in between? And the food situation-- essentially the same parameters as the chores.”

He leaned forward, his eyes locked with Annalise. His eyes cut through hers, deep into her brain. All his focus went into her soul as he waited for a response. This was the most important aspect of this living situation: would they try to brute force it all onto him, lie and let him find out the hard way, or be honest and upfront about it?

---

annalise henderson marilee beaufort Rory Faust