I USED TO DREAM THAT I WOULD MEET A PRINCE

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: May 7th
What: Feed me, Seymour

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is an richly crackling, rather excessively smoking fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, all three of them thrown wide open and welcoming. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either. there is, however, a pad of paper and a pen neatly aligned with the desk edge. you know. for notes.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of alice in wonderland will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old-timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of chipotle cheese popcorn corn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, with a few cups and some old looking packages of apple cider mix.

DINING HALL.

is tragically, painfully empty.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently open, and the grand doors unlocked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard are unlocked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one and two. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'll be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

EXISTING GUESTS.

are you dreaming of omlettes and regretting complaining about the constant pancakes and weak ass coffee yet?

Comments

[ukase]

This was starting to sound like fat camp without the fat kids. What a pile of shit, which actually added to how badly things had been gone before he had just sort of fallen on his face here. First of all, he hadn't been standing last he remembered. Now he was here.

"I wasn't in a situation that required me to pack," he agreed slowly. He made no move to check the suitcase though; he'd do that in private. "So what, we're all here under mysterious circumstances and supposed to starve to death or resort to cannibalism?"

[ingrantitude]

"If you can figure that out you'll have one up on most of us. I'd say it's a prison, but they've got a bunch of SHIELD agents in here."

Time to send up a subtle flag, see where Rumlow's head is at mentally.

"...Good ones. Apparently."

[ukase]

He only raised an eyebrow of passive interest because SHIELD agents could mean many things, even if it was indicated that they were 'good'. That was such a not-subtle choice of wording that he just studied the lobby desk rather than shake his head.

"Well, SHIELD is good. That means that some of them might have deductive skills to employ in order to figure out how to leave. Do you know the names of the agents?"

[ingrantitude]

"Coulson and the Cavalry."

An ex-avenger, and hell even if May wasn't actually here Kara could play her convincingly.

[ukase]

"A dead guy and a rezoned agent. Heard she was back in play. Who are you?"

This just seemed to get better and better. He didn't know everyone, but there were certain individuals that had enough reputation to earn his side-eye of their files when he was bored waiting for the next mission. Know thy enemy and so forth.

[ingrantitude]

"Ward."

He'll let that hang for a moment, "Formerly. Level 7."

[ukase]

No doubt a last name, and he let the silence hang longer as he processed the choice of words and where he thought he had heard such a name before. Not many Wards who got as high as Level 7 after all.

Ah, now he remembered. "Garrett's pup?"

[ingrantitude]

It might be interesting to watch his face - Ward looks his age for a moment, angry and annoyed. It disappears.

"...That's not what he actually called me was it?"

Astoundingly accurate, annoying, also - a rather painful reminder. It would be like him.

[ukase]

Rumlow smirked slow and full, not even bothering to hide it. He also knew Garrett's history and while they weren't personally close, he could respect the man's abilities and combat readiness.

"Maybe when he first acquired you. Who knows what he calls you now; you'd know that better than I. How is old Garrett?"

[ingrantitude]

"He's dead." thank god, never mind the twinge in his chest and the way his hands clench at the thought, "I'm told it was gruesome."

His arms cross, "But here I am. Still fighting the good fight."

[ukase]

Rumlow saw, but unlike the biting comment he could have made and normally would have, he only inclined his head slightly. "He was a good Agent, knew what he wanted and how to get it. Damn shame about that."

His eyes half-lidded as he contemplated that. "And has Garrett's pup got bite, or did the shock collar wear off with the finger off the button?"

[ingrantitude]

Ward's hatred is mingled with something like...what? Grief? He can't tell.

"Are you going to make me do the salute? jump up and down like a cheerleader at a west texas pep rally or do you want to know what I've been doing."

"We have another ally, a former SHIELD agent who's seen the light. Kara Lynn Palamas."

[ukase]

He wasn't certain where the attitude was coming from, but he personally wasn't going to make Ward do anything. He had just arrived after all, so it wasn't his business what the kid was up to for the time being until he had his bearings.

"I think you should take a chill pill and keep the attitude nipped and tucked. Not my fault you're all... whatever you are over Garrett." God, kid's these days had no ability to control their emotions.

"Never heard of her. She any good?"

[ingrantitude]

It's hard not to be annoyed by how he snaps to attention ever so slightly - before he forces himself to relax and fold his arms across his chest. It's because Rumlow was up there, god tier next to Pierce and the other heads and he wasn't afraid of it until...until what? Until now? Knowing that he needed allies especially in a place like this?

"She was whitehall's pet project for awhile. The cavalry fused a mask to her face so she can look like anyone. I had it re-programmed."

One of his better decisions, he says to himself, never minding how Kara had looked at him, pleaded with him, needed him, "She'll behave."

And he'll train her and protect her and keep her safe.

[ukase]

Now there was a name that he recognized very easily, and he suddenly had a bit more interest in this other agent. If Whitehall was involved, it meant that HYDRA was working on strong projects. A mind like that was not easily wasted, though they had not met formally much, enough to recognize the man by appearance and voice.

"So she's extremely useful," he said, though he almost took it back under the sheer notion that he had to be assured that she'd behave herself. So a few screws loose behind the mask?

"She's under your command then. How are her acting skills?"

[ingrantitude]

"She is." And Ward finds the iron behind it. she is, she's his - he's going to keep her safe from all parties, "...She's been playing Melinda May up until recently."

[ukase]

"The Cavalry? That's a riot," he replied, curling his lips in a faint smile. He had heard that she had been shifted assignments, though he hadn't cared enough to look into it. If he bothered with every SHIELD agent, he'd never sleep. "So what's your deal then? You said fighting the good fight, but who is here to fight against?"

[ingrantitude]

"How far do you honestly think, SHIELD is willing to go? There's a truce in place, with me - but the way things are going here with food it's always a good idea to have a trump card up your sleeve and be prepared for people to split into factions at any time.

I'm a realist."

And he sounds more then a little bitter, "...nothing lasts forever."

[ukase]

Rumlow smirked and set his hands on his hips. "Yeah well, your truce with SHIELD doesn't include me, and the sooner we get some information passing between us, the sooner I get to work doing what I do best," he said, his tone brimming with confidence. Yeah, the Triskelion dropped on him; he got better, and revenge was in the cards against SHIELD.

"No, nothing does. Change is good." For some. Others who fell behind the curve could just get swallowed up.

[ingrantitude]

"Hear me out for a moment." Ward held up a hand, "They have enhanced people. And we don't know what enhanced they have or for that matter if Coulson has more enhanced that he hasn't brought to the table. It's better to wait until we know exactly what we're dealing with."

He pauses, "We could turn the whole hotel against them then."

[ukase]

"Enhanced how so?" This kid wasn't giving him much to work with, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. He certainly was not interested in standing out in the bloody open where apparently anyone could walk by while he fished information. "Coulson, huh? I like dead people."

Three against however many wasn't helping him here. "And how many are in the hotel? I want numbers, not whatever pussyfooting you're doing."

[ingrantitude]

"They have abilities." Ward says, "I know of at least two. Maybe three people with abilities. The kind of stuff you'd only see from people like Banner."

"As far as I know there's just Coulson, his protege, and his lab tech. Coulson - can't get more enhanced then coming back from the dead right? And his lab tech-"

Fitz can take it.

Fitz will understand.

"...They ran into a bit of trouble in Puerto Rico and something happened to him. He won't talk about it but the little shit broke two of my ribs."

[ukase]

"Because we need more than one green rage monster in this world," he replied dryly. 'Abilities' was kind of all encompassing; he liked to think he had abilities that he honed and was about to employ fairly soon.

"He came back from the dead." Ah, that explained a few things. Fury had to know; had Pierce? No, the wily old bastard would have wanted that tech or whatever else was involved to do that. Immortal HYDRA agents and all.

"So you were witness to what happened to him and his abilities?"

[ingrantitude]

"That's not all."

He snorts. He was treading on dangerous ground here, "Coulson's protege shot me. But the two of them tricked me out into the open and I saw it for myself."

He'd have to leave Fitz a weapon. Or tell Kara to keep an eye out for him but with HYDRA here - especially someone as dangerous as Rumlow -

Yes. Kara.

He'd tell Kara to keep an eye out for Fitz. Back-up as it were and he'd keep an eye on her.

The thought of having a clear enemy is so refreshing he smiles, warm but not friendly. Friendly when it came to HYDRA meant threat. Even as he swooned ever so slightly.

"...God I'm starving."

[ukase]

Rumlow regarded Ward for a long moment, considering what he had been told, but he was mostly considering what he hadn't. He mulled it over quietly, still listening to the words the flowed passed him. He made a few connections of his own.

Avoidance behaviour. Throw out words here and there, change the subject often to confuse the subject. Give enough information to be interesting but not enough to be useful. Jump around. Hope for the best. Expect the worst.

He wasn't born yesterday. And shit the little menage et trois was down to masturbation again just like that. Not even the offering of a goddamn cigarette or a slap on the ass. At least he knew he was still back to the old motto of doing things himself was the only way to make certain it was done right at all.

"You're full of smoke and mirrors, but when you want to deal, let me know. Until then, stay out of my way, pup," he growled, grabbed the handle of his suitcase and moved to walk away.