Hunting
The sun peeked in around the curtains, and Miss Mary Josephine Ripley stirred. She blinked her eyes open, yawned, and stretched as she sat up, arms reaching towards the ceiling. After a good stretch, she kicked the covers off and got out of bed; her feet registered cold floor, but she'd long since stopped jumping or hopping or really being surprised by it: the floors back home - in their new home, anyway - were almost always cold, and they'd sold off most of the rugs.
Scavenai squawked in surprise at being suddenly covered with covers. He'd taken to sleeping at the end of the bed, given how cold the floor was. She wasn't sure how much longer that'd be a good spot for him, but then she didn't really know how long Gryphons took to grow up or how big he'd be when he was fully adult. For now, he was more or less dog-sized, and so his curling up on the bed was fine. She walked around Al's basket on the floor to gather up her clothes for the day. The Shafa sat up and looked at her as she passed. Almost time to do the washing, she thought to herself. Well, it was supposed to be to herself.
"I can help!" Scavenai offered, standing on the bed. The blanket was still draped over the top of his head, but his face was visible. His eyes shone eagerly.
"Thank you, 'Nai; I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow. Today, though, I'm job-huntin'."
"HUNTING?!" She winced. It was one of 'Nai's favourite words, along with "Finding", "Seeking", and "Searching". "Finding" was, of course, the Best Word Ever, because it was what Scavenai was best at in all the world (if you believed him). She had no reason NOT to believe him, of course, but he was still just a hatchling. Still, his enthusiasm was wonderful.
"Yes, job-huntin'. 's not that I don't like workin' here - I'll probably keep it up, at least part time on the weekends - but I need to be learnin', not just earnin' monies to continue livin' HERE." Almost immediately she wished she hadn't said it, or at least not said it that way. Both Al and 'Nai were instantly hurt, worried, and confused.
"Why would you want to leave?" 'Nai asked as Al's ears drooped. Shafa were not capable of multiple word sentences, she'd found out, but even with that, Aloysius was generally pretty quiet anyway. He'd been rather talky when she first found him, but she supposed that was an unusual circumstance for the wee thing. He'd been a little nervous around the Gryphon - who, even as a hatchling, was already much bigger than the Shafa - but even after just a couple days, Al seemed to accept that Scavenai could do all the talking for both of them...especially in situations like this.
Leaving the dresser drawer open, she turned to scoop up Aloysius and go sit on the bed next to Scavenai, draping her free arm over the Gryphon. "I have family back on my own world. Family that needs me. But I promise, when I find a way to go home again, I will not leave you two behind." She bent to snuggle Al reassuringly and squeezed 'Nai closer. She wasn't entirely sure how to house a Gryphon in their tiny flat, but she'd figure it out. Perhaps when she brought back proof of fantastical worlds, she'd become World Famous and give talks to important scientists and figure out a way to make money that way. I might even be Knighted... she pondered.
"Promise?" Al piped up in her mind. He looked up at her from his spot in her arms with big, pupil-less, sorrowful eyes (she could just tell that they were), and, as always happened with adorable fluffy things, she melted a little. Not that she hadn't meant what she'd said, but Al just had this effect on her.
"I promise. Now, I have to wash up and get dressed. We'll go downstairs for brekkies and then head out to see about findin' a job, hm?" If 'Nai had a tail, it'd be wagging about now, judging by the look on his face. She smiled, turned to set Al down on the bed (he promptly skittered under the covers for the last of the warmth), and went back to picking out clothes for the day (not that she had a wide variety to choose from).
The day was warm, for early Spring, but there was a fairly cool breeze, so MJ threw her cardigan on over her chosen outfit. She was wearing her clothes from back home; they were her best work clothes, and she wanted to show herself as a serious candidate. She supposed the soft blue-and-white cardigan was a little out of place, but hopefully they'd forgive that, given the chilly wind.
'Nai trotted alongside her, head darting this way and that. He was in full-on SEARCH mode, it seemed. Al was riding in the backpack she'd had made for him: brown leather, with a flap that fastened loosely so he could poke his head out the top (if he ever decided he wanted to do such a thing), slits cut in the sides so he could breathe easier, and a soft cushion in the bottom for comfort. Her rubber mallet, hanging from its loop on her pants, thumped against the side of her leg as she walked; her spanner and screwdrivers were in the overalls' chest pocket. She had Da's fingerless gloves on and fastened tightly and her hair braided (as usual) and tucked up under her cap. Aside from the cardigan, backpack, and Gryphon, she looked much as she had when she'd first arrived, only cleaner and slightly better fed.
"Over here! Over here!" Scavenai crowed in her mind, darting off towards a building. They were on the border of Needle Street and the old Residential District, and she quickly saw what had gotten 'Nai's attention: a sign with a crossed screwdriver and spanner. DERRINGER'S MACHINE SHOP the lettering proclaimed it.
She straightened her hat and, after a moment's thought, pulled off Al's backpack long enough to take off the cardigan. Tugging the pack back on, she tossed the cardigan over one arm and marched towards the door. Inside was a counter, behind which was a wall of cubbyholes filled with various parts, nuts, and bolts. Her eyes lit up, scanning over them all. Between the door and the counter, there were a few waiting patrons in the comfy chairs and a couple of end tables with newspapers on them lying about. A door behind the counter - the only part of the wall NOT covered in cubbyholes - led back to what sounded like the shop proper.
She walked past the customers and on up to the currently unoccupied counter. A hotel desk-style bell with a small, hand-lettered sign advised her to ring for service if no one was at the counter. She gave it a smart tap and waited for the ring to be answered. A middle-aged woman came out, wiping grease off her hands onto her shop apron so she could adjust her spectacles. MJ's heart leapt. Hopefully that'd be her soon. "Yes, what can I do ya for?" she asked.
"My name is Mary Josephine Ripley, and I'm lookin' for work. I've had experience..."
But before she could say more, the woman held up a hand and shook her head. "Sorry, girl, we got barely enough work for the people we got. Ya want work, try Professor Reeves or maybe Sarah Jane. But ya want some real advice?" She leaned on the counter and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Just stay away from Old Man Keyes." She winked and straightened up. "Good luck to ya, all the same." And she headed back into the shop.
MJ sighed and looked down at 'Nai. "Okay, see if you can find this Professor Reeves then, hm?" 'Nai was off like a shot, and she had to take a moment to laugh to herself as she ran off after the determined Gryphon detective.
'Nai was starting to get discouraged. He wasn't the only one. Professor Reeves, Ms. Sarah Jane Franklin, Dr. Conklin, and nearly every machinist shop in town had all told her the same two things: "Sorry, we're not hiring" and "Stay away from Old Man Keyes." The Gryphon, so proud of his ability to find things, was getting as close to pouting as something without lips could. It was, admittedly, disheartening.
And then, of course, there'd been Profesore Santiago, who'd looked her up and down before declaring that he would only hire a female assistant if she had significantly more bust and less clothing. 'Nai (and, surprisingly, Al) had been instantly angry - not that MJ hadn't been. She'd just thanked him for his time, turned on one heel and left. And though she warned her Bonds that they were not to hurt El Profesore, she hadn't stopped 'Nai from deciding to relieve himself in the man's front yard, either. Gryphons had to go at SOME point, after all.
After that, she couldn't see that "Old Man Keyes" could be much worse, honestly. "But they ALL said to stay away from him!" 'Nai protested. Santiago's attitude seemed to have aroused her shinies' protective natures, which was quite sweet.
"I know, but I need to be able to say I at least tried everywhere."
"...well, he's over this way." There was much less enthusiasm in 'Nai's voice now. He was feeling dejected, and MJ patted him twice as they headed for a house set back away from the other homes, on the very edge of the old Residential District. Its backyard was practically a scrapyard, bounded by the town walls at the far end and decrepit picket fencing that might've been white once. The piles of scrap metal, wires, and junked contraptions were scattered here and there about the dying grass within the fences' confines. The front yard, unfenced, was starting to suffer the same fate.
The house itself was grand, though also starting to show its age: worn stairs teetered up to a covered porch. The support beams were nicely carved, and they'd been white once, like the fence. The 2-plus storeys of the house had been painted a cheery yellow once, but it was also faded, flaking, and stained in places. The windows had been bordered in white, but naturally they hadn't fared much better than any of the rest of the house. At the top, just under the roof, the window was circular with wooden spokes, in comparison to the normal rectangles of the other windows. The shingles on the roof might've been black once? They were a smokey gray now. There was a large - VERY large; it nearly doubled the size of the house - room added on to the left side; it had two parallel sets of barn-style doors swung open: one opened on the front yard and the other on the back.
It was to this large room that MJ was drawn, as there were the unmistakable sounds of tinkering from within: the click and bang and cussing of an inventor, mechanic or machinist at work. As she approached, she could see more: two workbenches, a tool cabinet, a drafting desk and stool. Crates and boxes. Blueprints were tacked up to a corkboard, and a large machine of some sort hulked in the middle of the floor. She could see legs sticking out from under it...
And then it exploded.
"Mr. Keyes?!" she darted forward, waving choking smoke away and coughing. Well, this is familiar, at any rate, she thought. The explosion had been relatively small, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be damaging... From within the house came a sudden riot of squeaks, barks, squawks, and howls. Within the workshop, the top part of the machine was gone, bits clattering to the ground. The bottom half was still intact...and the legs were still under it.
There was answering coughing and a wizened voice called out, "I'M STUCK!" She looked around as best she could through the slowly-clearing smoke. There was a faint square of light above them.
"'Nai! Can you get up there and get that skylight open?!" she wheezed, pointing up.
"ON IT!" as he leapt into action. There wasn't enough room for him to get a running start to fly, but between workbenches and crates to jump onto, he managed to get high enough to push the hinged skylight open. He found a bit of stick to prop it open with, and swooped back down triumphantly. "DONE!"
MJ kept fanning the smoke away. She heard Al sneeze and cough in his pack and she pulled it off, setting both it and her cardigan just by the door, where they'd get the most air. "Mr. Keyes?" she asked again, getting closer. The contraption had, indeed, fallen on him. "Are you hurt, or just stuck?"
"I'm FINE!" he grumbled loudly. "Once you get this damn thing offa me!"
"'Nai, come help." She found what seemed like a good place and lifted. "Push that...block over..." she grunted, followed by a bout of coughing so severe she nearly lost her grip. Scavenai pushed a cement block towards her and together they wedged it under this part of the machine. "Good, go get another one, for the other side." She ran around to repeat the procedure; of course, once she had the other side lifted, Mr. Keyes wriggled out and stood up. She had 'Nai help her prop it up anyway. It wasn't very sturdy a prop job - would need at least one more block, preferably two, for that - but it was enough for the moment.
Mr. Keyes dusted himself off as the last of the smoke cleared out. He was shorter even than MJ was, fat, and bald. His spectacles were sooty and when he sneezed his large moustache - big enough to cover his entire upper lip - expelled a cloud of smoke and soot and dust. Apparently the moustache was normally white, like (what there was of) his large, shaggy eyebrows. He replaced the spectacles and looked at her and 'Nai. "Who're you then?" he demanded. "You from Santiago? Reeves? Who sent you around to come snoopin' on my designs?"
"No one, sir. I'm Mary Josephine Ripley. I was..."
"You're Who Now?" he interrupted loudly. "Speak up, girl, I just had a machine explode on my head!"
She gave up on being formal. "EMM. JAY. RIP.LEY," she repeated slowly. "I'M. LOOKIN'. FOR WORK."
He eyed her dubiously, then pulled out a handkerchief. He sneezed into the center, then used a corner to clean soot out of his ears, all while looking her over. He started walking around her, then came in close and poked at a bicep. She pulled her arm away and frowned a little, but didn't move away. He peered up at her, then harrumphed. Well, I guess I'm not going to be working here either. He started picking up bits of his exploded device.
Fine then. As she headed for the door, she commented, "You use too much oil. That's why the smoke was so thick; probably didn't help with the explosion either." 'Nai looked at the door from the workshop into the house; the animal sounds had settled down. MJ just kept heading for her pack and cardigan.
"Where do you think YOU'RE going?"
She turned back to the old man with his arms full of ruined machine parts. "I was..."
"I won't tolerate slackin' on the job. Now help me gather this stuff up! And it's DOCTOR Keyes, THANKYOUVERYMUCH," he instructed her grumpily.
She wasn't sure she'd heard him right at first, but then she smiled. "Yes, sir, Dr. Keyes, sir." 'Nai took off running, he was so happy! He ran from one end of the workshop to the other, then took off flying.
"Damn flibbertigibberts," Keyes grumbled at the Gryphon's behaviour. "And tomorrow, you best show up bright and early. And bring sammiches."
"Do you take tea?" she asked amiably as she bent to gather up a twisted shard of pipe. Her brain was practically singing. A job! A job! With a REAL inventor! If she'd had any doubts on that score, the explosion and his reaction to it had settled them. Now that she was in the workshop proper, she could tell that it wasn't the first explosion this shop had seen, judging by the marks on the walls and floor. She was beside herself with joy.
"Go easy on the lemon," he replied.
And then she remembered to add, "Oh, and I'll need weekends off, sir."
He dropped the collection of junk on the floor in shock. "Weekends off?! WEEKENDS OFF?!" He didn't seem happy about that.
MJ practically hugged the trash she'd been picking up. "I'll still need to work weekends at the Dragon, to cover my room and board, Doctor."
He harrumphed again, which blew out his moustache like a little white waving flag. (Well, it was whiter than it had been anyway.) "No, no, no, that won't do. Drop that stuff and come with me, girl. Bring the critters." She blinked. He'd only seen 'Nai...how'd he know...?
But he was already heading for the door into the house proper. She tossed 'Nai a look and a shrug as he landed from his victory lap, then ran to snatch up Al's pack and her sweater. She swung the pack onto her back (carefully - her snuggly fluffy Shafa was inside!) and hurried to catch up with Dr. Keyes.
The kitchen was just inside, apparently, and it was full to bursting with Shafa, a couple of the wolf-beasts she'd come to know as Barghests, a smiling cat or two, damn near an entire pack of Tzingane, and some flittering half-bird, half-mouse things. They were crowded around the old man, who seemed to just be trying to get through the room. "Get off me, you lot of useless beasts! I'm fine, I'm fine, get off!" They finally let him through, but now it was her turn to be sniffed and cooed at and eyed and inspected as she pushed her way through as politely as possible. Scavenai kept a sharp eye out for any of the shinies who might mean trouble, but most just seemed to be curious.
She emerged from the kitchen into the foyer. She could see a parlour just past the staircase, but Dr. Keyes was already heading upstairs. She took off after him. "Um, excuse me, sir, but where're we...?"
"Hush up," he snapped, so she hushed up. On the second floor landing, he executed a sharp 180 degree turn and walked past two doors to a third, thinner doorway at the end of the hall. He tugged it open to reveal a skinny and steep flight of stairs. "Mind your head," he ordered as he marched up. She nodded and followed after.
They came up into an attic of old furniture and boxes. The circular window had a mate on the wall opposite, and there was another, larger, skylight here. An old twin-sized wireframe bed crouched in one corner, near some pipes with ventilation slats in them. There was a dresser that was still in mostly good repair and had its own dusty mirror attached to it. An armchair with slightly torn and faded but still functional upholstery seated two stacked boxes, and was kept company by a small nightstand that had two shelves and a drawer. A chair was stacked atop its matching writing desk. The ceiling came to the sharp point of the roof, and there wasn't much light up here, even at this time of day. Cobwebs and dust were thick.
"This should suit you, if you're not the picky kind," Dr. Keyes rumbled. "The boxes have to stay up here, but I don't much care what you do with the rest of it. Leave the boxes close to the stairs, so I can get at 'em if I need 'em. Clean up after your critters. Breakfast and dinner are both at 6; lunch whenever we get aroun' to it."
She wandered over to the window as he spoke. The one by the bed overlooked the backyard. She was listening, really, but she was also looking out over the scrap and grass, and the single tree out there, standing tall despite the junk surrounding it. She didn't notice where Dr. Keyes was until he was poking her arm with something. She looked down quickly and he was shoving monies at her. "Oh, no, sir, I don't need..."
"Nonsense. Take it. You need fresh linens and things, 'm sure. Lamp, probably, though there may be one around here somewhere. House is wired up for electric, 'cept up here." He shoved the monies at her. She took them hesitantly and realized it totaled up to nearly 200!
"This is too much, sir," she said firmly, feeling the awful sting of Charity and its twin, Pity. She thrust the monies back towards him. "I cannot take your charity."
Harrumph, harrumph. He eyed her like she'd just called him an offensive name. "It's not charity, girl; it's an advance on your weekly wages. Means I'm not paying you this Friday. Go on. You come back tomorrow with whatever you've got. And bring the tea and sammiches, too." He headed towards the stairs, grumbling about kids these days.
200 monies a WEEK?! She gave chase. "Isn't this a bit much though, even for wages? Especially if you're lettin' me live here..."
"NONSENSE!" he said, turning on the stairs to glare up at her (she had no idea how he could manage this trick: the stairs were so very narrow and he was so very rotund). "You trynna talk me DOWN on your wages? Supposed to be trynna talk me UP!" He snorted in disbelief. "Well, I don't need you to be a genius, just to know your way 'round a shop." He pointed at the monies in her hands. "That's what you're gittin', no more and no less." He faced her full-on and came back up the stairs.
"I know what they say 'bout me. I'm crazy. I'm dangerous. Nothin' I make works. Well, that's fine; I'm not buildin' anything for that pack of idjits anyway. I'm buildin' to make life better for everyone else, and that's worth a risk now and then. You probably went to all those morons, didn'tcha?" When she nodded, he snorted. "They all told you to steer clear of 'Old Man Keyes', didn't they?" She nodded again. "Ayup. And you came out here anyway. So you're either hard up for monies or the kind to find out on your own what's what. Maybe both. Either way, I need an assistant, and I ain't had an assistant yet made any less than 200 monies a week. Not 'bout to start payin' less now." He turned to continue his descent.
"Are you sure you can afford this?" It was hard to believe that, given the state of the house and yard.
"'Course I can, girl! I'm not a fool. Now you just hush up that pride of yours and take the monies. You need it. 6 AM sharp, you better be back here, and remember no lemon in that tea!" And he shut the door behind him.
She turned and looked around the attic, still holding the monies. 'Nai was poking about, seeing what all there was to find up here. That'd keep him busy awhile, she figured. She took her pack off, put the monies in her pocket, and let Al out to explore. He crawled around near the boxes and looked about the strange place.
She surveyed what would soon be her room. It was easily two or three times the size of her room at the Dragon, even WITH all the boxes being stored up here. "Well, the first thing I need is..."
"FOUND A RUG! And it looks COMFY!" 'Nai hollered excitedly. She laughed.
"Home?" Al asked, sniffing at a box.
"Home," she replied with a smile.
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