Accepting Tamma's invite, Miwah stepped inside the room. Before she could get a decent look at the interior, a strong and earthy scent struck her nostrils. She bobbed her head back from the force of the aroma and closed her eyes. She tried to lift her hand wave away the scent from her face only to stop herself when she noticed that Tamma was watching her.

The room spanned the length of Miwah if she spread her arms apart twice. The floor was obscured by clothing, wood shavings and rolled up bits of paper. Pressed against one corner was a slim mattress fit for one person. It was bare of pillow and blankets, evident by the fact that they were on the ground and almost buried among everything else that littered the floor.

"So... what do you think?" Tamma followed Miwah, standing behind her as she gazed at the ground. "Don't spare my feelings. I can get this cleaned up in a matter of minutes."

"It is fine!" Miwah said awkwardly.

"That's why there was some hesitation in your voice, right?"

Miwah turned around but kept her eyes on the trash and junk next to her feet. "Oh, I have seen worse."

"No you haven't."

"Tamma. I do not have the luxury of being picky. I am more than grateful to have shelter for the night."

The hunter squeezed her way past Miwah and began to pick up some of the bits of junk on the floor. "That's one way to look at it. But I've been meaning to tidy up anyway. Now I have a reason to." She wadded up what she had in her hand and pushed it to the side of the room. "Besides, there's barely any room in here in the first place. I'll have to clear this place up so there will actually be some space to sleep."

"Let me assist you," Miwah reached down and lifted the cloth blanket off the ground and tossed it on top of Tamma's bed. She then stepped a bit further and picked the pillow up and carefully placed it on the edge of the mattress. The seamstress gasped and jumped back when she saw a small shadow move across the now clear sliver of wooden flooring.

"Everything all right, Miwah?" Tamma asked as she moved her attention to the direction of the gasp.

"I... think I saw something scurry where your pillow was. Looked like... an insect."

"Drat," Tamma exclaimed as she tiptoed over the floor to Miwah's side. She peered down and looked at a turned over jar on the ground. She reached down and picked up the container whose lid had been removed. "There goes my bait."

"Bait?"

"Yeah. This held a bunch of Mountain Crawlers. They make great bait for the fish down by the harbor. Bought a bunch of live ones yesterday but it looks like the jar was opened." Tamma turned around to face her brillick that stood in the corner opposite of the bed. "Did you do this, Lug?" The animal whimpered before resting his head on the floor. "That means 'yes.'"

"You said... live?" Miwah asked.

"Yep. That's the best way to attract Pearl Sea Bass. You hook them while they're still alive. The squirming grabs the attention of the fish."

"I believe you. But I am more concerned with the fact those... Mountain Crawlers are loose in this room!"

"They're harmless," Tamma said. "They don't bite or anything like that."

"But... what if they crawl on you? Or me?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Just knock them off."

Miwah gave Tamma an unenthused glare.

"What?" the hunter said almost defensively. "You afraid of swallowing one in your sleep? They're not poisonous, Miwah. Trust me. I've eaten some before."

"All right." Miwah turned away from the conversation and went back to straightening up the room. "Where are we putting away the stuff that you do not want?"

"There's a place downstairs where you can dump off your unwanted items."

Miwah held onto a small pile of junk from the floor and presented it towards Tamma. "But these are your unwanted items. Should I take them out for you?"

"Fine, fine. I hate wasting money, but it looks sacrifices will have to be made."

The seamstress looked down at the pile of assorted items wedged between her body and arms. "I don't think this will be going to waste. Seems like these containers and wrappings have already seen more than their fair share of usage."

"Yeah, I get it." Tamma trekked towards the front of the door and exited, leaning over the railing at the edge of her floor. "Just head straight down and to the left door underneath the staircase. There's a communal dump where you can put everything."

"I will be right back," Miwah said as she stretched her upper body forward enough to see where her next step would be. She crept down the flight of stairs, making sure not to spill any of the junk that overflowed from her arms.

"And it might be stuck! Just give it a good push to open it up!" Tamma shouted from her room. Miwah glanced upstairs towards the sound of Tamma's voice before continuing on towards the disposal room. As she went underneath the staircase, she began coughing from the rush of dust enter her lungs. With some quiet wheezing and sneezing, the woman continued forward, carefully avoiding the cobwebs that covered the corners.

The seamstress squinted her eyes, looking for the door that Tamma mentioned. She paused as her eyes drifted past its handle. The wood was chipped and the edges of the frame frayed. A putrid scent became more pungent the closer she got. Miwah turned her head to the side, angling her nose away from the source of the smell. With her foot, Miwah pressed against the bottom off door. She then bent her knee and with a swift, yet powerful thrust managed to get the door open. It flung to the side, bumping against the wall as it opened.

Rain poured just beyond the exit. Through the falling water, Miwah could see a large basin made of stone sitting outside. She dashed forward to minimize getting wet and quickly hurled everything that she was holding into the container. As she dropped the rubbish, her eyes got a solid glimpse of the disposal area itself.

Brown stains covered the edges and sides of the stone structure. The diameter spanned for nearly twice her height while the contents of the basin made it impossible to gauge its depth. Everything that had been thrown in it had melted and congealed into a single mass of black and brown slop. The entire time, she held her breath, fighting the urge to inhale. She darted back inside, leaving the door open behind her.

"Disgusting," Miwah said to herself. The seamstress shivered at the thought of the disposal basin before heading back upstairs. Tamma waited for her at the top, holding onto another pile of assorted rubbish in her arms.

"Is it full?" Tamma asked.

"There should be enough room to fit the rest of what you have in there."

"Good."

"Does anyone ever come by and... clear the space out?"

Tamma shrugged her arms as best as she could. "Don't know. I've never seen anyone come by and clean it out."

"Explains a lot."

"Let me get by real quick, Miwah," Tamma scurried down the steps while Miwah pressed her body against the wall. The hunter hurried down to the basin and vanished outside. With her away, Miwah went back up the steps and looked inside the room. The floor looked identical to when they first started, still completely obscured. As her eyes scanned the room up and down, Lug lay down on the ground, nudging garbage to the side to make space to lay his head down.

"This will take a while," Miwah whispered to the brillick.

"You can say that again," Tamma said from behind. A startled Miwah stood up from her position and faced the hunter. "Maybe I should not let it get this bad next time."

"Nothing wrong practicing a bit of tidiness. But you will have me, and if it is any help, I can make sure that this room does not get like this again."

"Like you're my servant? No, no. I can't do that," Tamma replied, waving her hand at Miwah. "You're a guest. What kind of host would that make me?"

"You are letting me stay here. Without having to pay for anything. It is the least I can do."

Tamma nodded. "You've made a good point there. I'll make more of an effort to keep it from getting this bad and you can get whatever slips by. How does that sound?"

"More than fair."

"Shake on it?" Tamma extended one hand to which Miwah quickly shook. As their hands clenched, Miwah could feel grease from the hunter's hands get onto hers. Both released their grips. Miwah stared at her fingers with disappointment upon seeing the sticky grime drip down towards the palm of her hand.

"Sure... I am fine with that..."