---SOME PORTIONS LOST AND REWRITTEN AFTER THE FACT---

As he walked into the elevator, Astra could feel relief as the sounds of Ariana Grande faded to background noise, slowly becoming nothing. Unfortunately, as the music muted, the sounds of muffled stomping and yelling took their place. Even from down the hall, it felt to Astra as though the building was rumbling. 

Walking down the hall, it only got louder until Astra reached the bend in the building, coming up on room 413. Outside the door stood a young woman in a purple sweater listening intently at the door, and a young man standing impatiently a few feet away. 

“C’mon Dora,” the man complained with a sigh, his voice disinterested. “You’re gonna get yourself in trouble.” He wore an unseasonably warm grey hoodie, his eyes seemed tired, and his brown hair was a mess. 

“But what if something happens?” the girl replied. “I wanna know!” 

“As though you won’t hear it from a mile away anyways?” The young man tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at an impatient Astra. “Besides. I think someone else needs the door.”

“Oh!” it seemed she hadn’t noticed the dragonling arrive. “Are you staff?” 

Astra gave an annoyed nod, gesturing for the girl to move aside. It seemed he didn’t want an audience. 

“Uh, oh, okay,” the girl replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. The young man groaned and shook his head, grabbing her by the arm as he dragged her down to the end of the hall, to which she unhappily complied.

Astra knocked on the door expectantly, only to be drowned out by the muffled sounds of arguing through the walls. 

“Calm down, I’m tellin’ you I didn’t do nothin’!” 

“And I’m saying you’re a liar! You know you’re gonna have to pay me back for that!” 

*KNOCK KNOCK* 

“Uh hold up, Benji,” the screechier voice was quieter now - almost contemplative. 

“BUZZ OFF!” the deeper voice replied, making Astra feel like the ground was shaking beneath his feet. 

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“No I mean it I think that’s -” 


Astra could feel rumbling as something approached from behind the door. Slowly, it creaked open, leaving him facing the number 13 on a sports jersey. Looking up revealed an imposing, hairy figure, built up of sharp claws, green fur, and muscle. ‘Sasquatch’ wasn’t a far off description - the man was clearly a bugbear. He must’ve been Benjamin.

“Who’re you!?” The hairy resident growled. “We’re kinda in the middle of something here.”

“I’m staff,” Astra replied coolly, staring up at the man with an air of disinterest. “I was told there was a property dispute of some kind?” 

This seemed to catch Benjamin off guard. “Oh, uh, was… expecting Juan.” He slowly siddled to the right, making way for Astra. “Come on in.” 

As Astra caught a glimpse of the apartment, he could see that the residents clearly didn’t put cleanliness at a high priority. Empty pizza boxes stacked high next to the trash-can in the corner of the kitchen, and gnats seemed to float around the unclean dishes in the sink. As he walked into the living room of the open floor plan, the hardwood also seemed to be splotched with an occasional stain. Two doors obscured the two bedrooms - one to the left and the other to the right, but Astra could hazard a guess that it wasn’t going to be much better behind them. 

‘Someone ain’t getting their deposit back,’ he noted, rolling his eyes. The living room itself was strewn with the sort of detritus only two dudebros could generate. Magazines, video games, a skateboard, a few empty bags of chips, and the distant smell of what was probably weed. Perhaps the centerpiece of the chaos though was a short, green skinned fellow hanging from the ceiling fan, as though he had scurried up there to hide. He was only about 3 feet tall - any bigger and Astra wagered the fan would break. He seemed to gather this from Astra’s disapproving glare, and promptly let go, dropping to the floor with a thud. 

“So, explain to me what the problem is,” Astra stated calmly, after a deep sigh. 

“The problem is that this little punk stole my bike!” 

“I didn’t steal nothin’ - I can’t even ride that thing! You got like six feet on me!” Astra supposed the small one - clearly the screechy voice he heard behind the door, was Dren. 

“You know that doesn’t mean anything you degen!” The bugbear pointed an accusatory finger at the goblin. “I’m tellin’ you, this skid lies all the time. He totally took it!” 

“I did not!”