a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: March 3rd
What: Welcome, newbies.

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 a warmly crackling fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, though only one of them is open to the public. 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.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of the phantom carriage 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 popcorn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, but without any tea or hot chocolate packets around.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently closed, and the grand doors locked.

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

the doors to the courtyard and breakfast hall are unlocked, but looks like you've missed the morning meal. sucks for you.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors three and four. 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.

it's late when the newcomers arrive, there's a good chance you'd been about to go to sleep (or just waking up, who knows, your mom's not here to tell you when to go to bed or get up). but if you're paying attention, you might hear the hustle and bustle in the lobby below; or maybe you're just drawn there because your gut told you to go join the commotion. whatever the case may be, go mingle!

Comments

hallway / lobby / courtyard, ota

[comminatory]

hallway/suitcases:

[ They caught him.

The fact that Bellamy can't remember how or when they grabbed him is moot, at this point, because at the end of the day, he's still trapped, stumbling in darkness. He pushes himself to his feet, the bill of his guard uniform shading his eyes as he steps out into the bright light of the hotel hallway. The corridor is furnished much the same as Mount Weather's civilian areas: worn carpet that, compared to the Ark and the ground, is still an indulgence. Burnished fixtures, glowing electrical lights.

Startled, he staggers his way down the hall to grab his suitcase, looking up at the others there and questioning in a low, husky voice, "What'd they get you for?" They aren't his people. None of them are, in point of fact. Which means their punishment is for some other crime—and he can't help but wonder … If the Ark resorted to floating people to survive, what would the punishment amongst the Mountain Men be? ]

lobby/courtyard

[ Once he breaks the lobby, he drops the suitcase and makes his way to the doors, trying all of them. The ballroom's grand doors are locked, and as he notices the signs, he looks around, acute discomfort furrowing his brow as he notices that none are labeled for the main exit. Bellamy swallows a lump in his throat, curling his right hand into a fist.

The screening room door may be open, but it offers nothing to him. It's not until he finds the courtyard that he pushes both doors open and steps out through the threshold, staring into the mire outside. ]

Where are we?

[ He utters it with absolute loss, realizing quickly that the civilization of it all is quite different from the Earth they'd all landed on. The Mountain Men would never have a door to the outside so freely accessible: it could kill them. ]

[totheright]

In a creepy interdimensional hotel. ((The answer is offered by an incredibly well-dressed, disgruntled looking teenager who's standing right inside the hotel's doors leading out to the courtyard.)) You should be more careful about throwing doors open around here.

((It sounds like a warning, but really, Kaoru's just worried about his clothes getting rained on. This is expensive material he's wearing, after all, and with only five outfits as his options, he doesn't like getting them messy.))

[comminatory]

[ His head whips back around to look at the kid behind him. Bellamy's gaze narrows for a moment, bristling instinctively at what sounds like a warning, but Kaoru doesn't look like much, so it evens out soon enough. ]

You seem pretty comfortable with that. [ Which carries according disbelief, as he can't imagine anyone would be, if it were true. ]

[totheright]

I've been here a whole month. It's a lot of time with nothing to do besides processing the facts. ((Kaoru crosses his arms over his chest, glancing up at the sky.)) I thought I might as well spread the news to some of you new arrivals. We're stuck in a hotel, and being angry and paranoid about it will probably be bad for your skin, so I wouldn't recommend it.

[comminatory]

You've been trapped here for a month? [ If Bellamy seems shocked, it's entirely by how cavalier Kaoru is. ]

[totheright]

Yeah, and you only get the clothes that were with you in your suitcase.

It fucking blows. ((He doesn't swear often, but threats to his wardrobe are pretty cuss-worthy.))

[comminatory]

What about weapons? They stripped me of mine when they brought me here. [ Because in dystopian, post-apocalyptic Hell, this is where priorities lie. ]

[totheright]

Uh... good luck? If they're not in your suitcase, they're probably not here. And not much here can be used as a weapon.

((Wait, let him think.)) ... well, I guess the food they serve is bad enough that we'll probably all eventually die from it, but besides that.

[comminatory]

[ Irritation with the vapid responses has Bellamy grinding his teeth. After the clothes remark, Bellamy tried to keep in good faith. Give the benefit of the doubt. But this kid, whoever he is, he's not focusing on the big picture—more worried about comfort, something Bellamy hasn't had time to care about in a great long while. Or ... ever. Even the Ark was entirely utilitarian. ]

That's great. Thanks. [ Sour and insincere, he turns to brush past Kaoru and continue exploring. ]

[pajarita]

[there was nobody in the hotel the first time, a month ago; there were no people going about their business or even anyone coming down to check up on the newcomers. and after octavia manages to escape (alone, and here raven thought they'd make it out together at least) she doesn't expect anyone else to be brought in. but, she's wrong.

it's a slow-sinking feeling, that she's seeing a lot of unfamiliar faces as she comes down to the lobby. and then, when she comes out of the projection room, she sees a very, very familiar face.]

Bellamy? [her voice cracks a little bit, a whisper he probably can't see. she moves through the lobby towards where he is, louder:] Your timing sucks, shooter.

[comminatory]

Raven?

[ Shock has him turning towards her, then marching closer. The gruff surprise tempers out of his voice, turning into sharp concern, the kind that is ready to give her orders for her own good. Not the kind that's likely to cuddle. ]

How the hell did they get you too? [ She was supposed to be at the camp—safe, in other words. The fact that she's present doesn't bode well for their people. They had an army to worry about: did they really have time to kidnap the mechanic out of her workshop? ]

[pajarita]

[that's fine. when has she ever needed a cuddle? bellamy blake in strategic mode is a fine sight for sore eyes. pity she has to bring it down.]

I'm more surprised they managed to get you. I've been here for a month. And before you ask, it's not the Mountain Men. We checked. [She takes a look at his luggage, wondering once again if she should've taken hers with. It had been strategic, leaving it behind. but she's the only one living on two shirts and a pair of jeans here.]

It's a lot to debrief.

[comminatory]

I figured. [ He points over her shoulder to the courtyard door. ] That opens to the outside. [ A stupid plan, for a group who'd die if any outside air so much as leaked into their mountain unfiltered. No complex airlock systems. It's all ... rudimentary. ] But this doesn't look like any Grounders camp I've ever seen. [ In fact, it looks like it was sampled right out of one of the history books Bellamy clung so tightly to. ]

[pajarita]

[she snorts at that, because,] Please. The Grounders don't even know what a walkie talkie looks like. But I thought that too, when I came to on the first day.

It's not them, and that - [pointed towards the courtyard door] Might open to the outside but it leads to nowhere. We're in a box. Proverbial box.

[comminatory]

I know. [ Said gruffly. He'd tried already, searching out in the courtyard, evidenced by his damp clothing. A shake of his head is only vaguely disappointed—he hadn't expected better. ] But a box outside is still enough to kill one of the Mountain Men. They've got airlocks, filtration and containment systems. There's no way they'd survive that.

[ And the reasonable conclusion, however unpleasant, is … ] We're dealing with a new player? [ Would be a statement, if he weren't implicitly asking if Raven knows anything else about them. ]

[pajarita]

[some joke here about being wet. moving along -- she almost waves that off as data they both know from Clarke, except it sounds...different. more like the retelling of an experience than the reciting of information given by their blonde lil' wannabe heda.

she frowns for a moment, remembering to come back to that.] Yeah, and it's the kind of player that drags in people from different places. Different worlds, different times -- I've met an actual princess, she's nothing like what we imagine. [aka clarke? but excuse her right now she doesn't feel like using that term for her.]

Speaking of different times, there are discrepancies in what each of us remembers. I'm not sure if it's caused by amnesia or some other sort of tampering, but the fact is... [some news are hard to swallow. take 'finn dies, i had to, raven' for example. so, because they were hard for her, she actually is cautious first.]

What's the last thing you recall?

[comminatory]

I was inside Mount Weather. [ More specifically, in their ventilation shafts, scrambling around to try and take care of Jasper, Monty, Miller, and the rest of the 47 now that it was open season on their bone marrow. Amnesia doesn't sound good, but the most effective thing he can do now to clear it up is provide concise answers. ] Trying to disable the acid fog after Clarke headed out to evacuate Ton D.C.

[pajarita]

[there's something like marvel and relief that crosses her face, and the motion pulls at her lips until they're almost up in a smile.] You got in. [translation: thank god. he got in, and that means that their people have a chance.

and that means that maybe lexa wasn't lying. and they really have pacted with the grounders.

(and that means that finn--)] You're not going to like this, but I think you're the furthest one ahead. The timelines seem to coincide, so that's good because it means you'll get in whatever you learn here, but not all of us have seen it all happening.

[comminatory]

Raven, how is that possible? I was talking to you on the walkie-talkie today. [ And that prompts his number one priority, which is unexpectedly— ] What about Octavia?

9 million years late w/ tullys — i'm in it for the hugs tbh

[skaikru]

[ it's the second time in less than a week that she's run to him.

word had traveled quickly about the new arrivals, even to clarke griffin who had very little to do around here than try to keep the peace between raven and lexa. it'd been mostly running between the two of them and not sleeping for fear of seeing finn collin's face. between him, his ex girlfriend, and clarke's new girl friend the woman that'd made her kill him, clarke was pretty exhausted, but never so much to not investigate the further wonders — terrors? mysteries? — the hotel had to offer.

which was now apparently spitting out more people, more strangers from floors that seemingly didn't exist anymore. she'd almost been concerned that they were going to be the only ones ever, and after octavia had disappeared, that they were being picked off one by one. but now clarke's as close to giddy as she's ever been lately, and standing on her tip toes and searching over the heads of the sparse crowds.

when she finally spots him across the lobby, it's when he's come back in from the courtyard. damp from the rain, in recognizable, dirty clothes. looking as confused and angry and concerned as she had a month ago. there's weight in her feet until something snaps in her chest.

then clarke is bolting across the lobby, flitting this way and that around people and furniture with little to no grunted apology.

it's second time in less than a week that she's flung her arms around his neck too. ]

what is tullys tho

[comminatory]

[ This time, Bellamy's ready for it.

He catches Clarke, wrapping strong arms around her rib cage and holding her to him with steady hands. Instinctively, his head dips, face pressing to the curve of her neck, breathing her in and allowing all the relief that comes with her presence to wash over him.

Clarke's here, and he doesn't have to do this alone.

They've been through enough on the ground that he doesn't give a second thought to the fact that he's muddying and drenching the front of her clothes with transferred rainwater, too busy processing the relief that she's okay. The missile in Ton D.C. didn't get her—which means it didn't get Octavia either. Raven's timeline exposition means nothing in the face of the girl in his arms, present and real. She can't be from the past: she's here now. ]

Clarke. [ He breathes her name like a prayer, savoring the embrace for just a moment before he pulls away. Reunion is all well and good, but there's work to do. His level gaze meets hers evenly. ] Raven told me Octavia found a way out. [ The plea is implicit: tell me you have a plan. ]

the best coffee, u poor summer child

[skaikru]

[ it means something: not alone.

together.

and neither of them might be from the specific moment in time where the full weight of that is felt — just yet — but their roles were cemented early on, and made so much easier to bear when they were at each others backs instead of each others throats. her arms around his neck are all shaky relief, and something like comfort washes through her frayed nerves when they retract and look each other in the face. a smile threatens to flit across her lips, and then bellamy mentions his sister, and her heart goes crashing back down.

but she forces that smile. nods encouragingly. whatever raven's told him is apparently a lot more positive than what she's feeling about this whole disappearance thing, but damn it if she's going to open with i think your sister's dead. ] Yeah. [ her voice is hoarse, but doesn't crack. ] Yeah, she's out. I don't know how, but she is.

ummmmmmmmmmmm does this exist in america

[comminatory]

Where's her stuff?

[ He draws back the rest of the way, dropping his hands and looking up towards the stairs. ]

She must have left something behind. [ She wouldn't go without leaving anything behind, without a way to help them. Either she's coming back with reinforcements, or she left some kind of message that she couldn't wait long enough to deliver. ]

only in cool cities apparently

[skaikru]

[ ...oh whoops, apparently in all her wild searching for octavia herself, she'd forgotten to look for her suitcase.

they're still standing close, invading each others personal spaces, which makes the furrows in her brow and thoughtful (concerned) purse of the lip all the more visable. clarke shakes her head minutely from side to side. ]

In her room? We can't get in without key cards. [ speaking of which, very important conversational tangent: ] Where'd they put you?

[comminatory]

[ Patting his jacket, he produces a keycard with a number inscribed, holding it aloft for Clarke to examine. ]

306. [ He reads it aloud, offering a shrug that says it means nothing to him. ] You sure there's no way Raven could override the card-reader?