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

main lobby, sir, let me know if this works

[engender]

[ The thing about them being stuck in a hotel on the smaller side, nothing can be hidden for long. Any group meeting in the lobby, anybody exploring or trying to break out, it's all out in the open. Derek gets a hint there are new arrivals when he sees someone he doesn't recognize. When you're around the same people for a month straight (by text or not), you still know new faces (and names).

It's fitting that the only familiar face he recognizes has spotted his daughter. Derek's on icy terms with her for reasons that are beyond him. (He understands her frustration but he quickly grew tired of her hatred being pointed at him. Despite that, he's used to it, he took it. He's giving her time. It's not like they've ever been close. It's like they're back in Beacon Hills.) He gives Chris and Allison their reunion, looking away when the embrace gets tearful. It's not for him to watch.

But, he manages eye contact, enough that Chris knows when he's done with his daughter - or if he has time (he will, they all have time. that's all they have) he can check in with him. Chris would have gotten a phone after all. For the next ten minutes, he scans the crowd of people, new and old, ducks into the projector room (of course there's a new movie playing), and checks the new floors.

Should Chris need him, later on, he can be found by the fire. He'd taken a reprieve because the fire had gone out (with the temperature going down), but it's back, and he finds it's something to focus on.

If not, his door's open. His door's open more often than not here, just in case. ]

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[The interaction between himself and his daughter was of no one's concern but his own. He's still not entirely sure what to think of her. Right now though he's just glad that she's around. Glad that his baby girl is alive and not dead, buried six feet under.

It takes a while before he finds the young Hale. It's not down near the fire. After all, he'd rather not be around the crowd. There were too many people there that he didn't know. At least his daughter and Derek were familiar faces. So he finds the wolf's room and leans against the doorjam of it, not saying anything at first.]

Derek.

[If the wolf wasn't sure about him or if he wasn't... from where he knew him, like Allison, he might need to come up with a better strategy of how to deal with the familiar faces.]

[engender]

[ His senses dulled meant he heard Chris only a few doors away (and not at the end of the hallway), not surprised to see that Chris found his room. ]

Chris. [ He thinks better than mentioning his reunion with Allison. ] Welcome to The Stanley Hotel. [ Derek has moments where he's funny (or attempts something like humor). Peter let him watch the movie when he was younger. It seems as good a reference as any. ] Which room is yours?

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[It wasn't all that hard to find the room Derek was holed up in. Not when it was on the first floor. Had it been one of the others then maybe he'd of been searching longer. However, he plans to get the lay of the land. To look around and map everything out in the hotel.

At the mention of the name, he can't help but crack a small smile. It's not that it's funny but the fact that Derek Hale is trying to be funny.]

310 is mine. So if you ever need me then that's where I'm going to be. If I'm not out mapping this place out.

[Now that he thinks back on the book that was in his suitcase, this right here was probably why.]

[engender]

There's not much to map. Two new floors. The stairs down lead to a dark hallway. The dark hallway has yet to lead anywhere. [ As in, he took one afternoon and never made it anywhere. ] How are you with horror movies?

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[He's a hunter, Derek, there's always more to map. Even if someone else says that there isn't. He'd find something new eventually. Though he doesn't plan to exhaust himself doing it.]

Pretty decent with them. Why?

[engender]

The usual rules apply. We have a ghost in our midst. [ A crying girl. ] The weather never lets up. The temperature lowered for several weeks. They've hit every trope.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[He really doesn't like the sound of that]

How many ghosts are around?

[There's a reason that he's asking, obviously]

[engender]

One that we know of. A girl. She cries and if you approach, she runs. She's loud. But, harmless.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

I've seen her around.

[Those eyes watch Derek for a moment]

How much do you know, Derek?

[engender]

If you're asking how much I know about this place, it's as much as anybody else here. As for when I'm from, I evolved. Kate escaped. You went after her.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

Which from what I can tell is barely anything at all.

[The fact that Derek's from a place he remembers, helps.]

Good. I don't like this place throwing curve balls at me like it already has.

[engender]

[ ... ] Like Allison.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[He clenches his jaw the moment the wolf says her name]

Like my daughter. I buried her and this place decides that it needs to play a cruel joke and drag her back.

[To rip his heart out. Though he plans to do that to the Nogitsune after the crap it pulled, after what it said]

[engender]

We'll find a way to bring her back with us.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[His jaw clenches even more, enough that it hurts]

You sure that'd be a wise thing to do?

[engender]

[ He's not sure of anything here. ] The Nogitsune was also taken. In Stiles' body.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

Oh, I know he was brought here.

[There's a bit of venom in his voice when he says it]

We need to make sure I stay as far away from him as possible.

[engender]

[ He nods. ] We'll make sure of it. Who else have you run into?

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[Of course they'd make sure of it. Otherwise, he'd be murdering a fox spirit]

No one that I know. A few of them were new like I was. A young boy mentioning a place known as WICKED. Another one who trusts as little as I do. Though he's probably more around your age if not a little younger. And then a woman who's been here for about a month. Who told me that the exits were indestructible.

[And, of course, his daughter. Derek knew that one already]

[engender]

Thomas? Did the young boy resemble Stiles? [ Because he'd mentioned WICKED. ] They are. Every one of them. And there are no front doors. It's as if they were paved over.

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

No, he didn't resemble Stiles at all. He looked like he could be younger than him. A bit harder around the edges for a boy his age.

[He doesn't like that next part out of the wolf]

The doors have been like that since you got here?

[engender]

Then they know each other.

[ ... ]

What doors?

[carrying_a_lightsaber]

[Don't go confusing the hunter now, Derek. That's not wise, you know.]

You said that it was like they'd been paved over. So I'm asking, Derek, have they been like that since you got here.

[engender]

Yes. Like they were paved over because there's only wall.