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

[youcantransform]

'An organisation'. That's perfectly vague, but it's hardly as if Harry's got any room to talk, what with his current policy of non-disclosure.

(And even if he was being more open, he's not qualified either. He'd be - would have been? - a shit Arthur. Probably better than Arthur himself proved to be, the damned traitor, but still.)

"Wanting leadership and needing it are quite different," he reflects quietly, "particularly in the younger generation. Though if we have no common background and no common goal beyond survival, there's no reason the majority would listen to any one person."

Fostering co-operation might be a more realistic goal, he thinks. Encouraging a sense of empowerment.

[alifetime]

"That's what I was trying to explain to her. I don't think she got any of it. I think she's trying, doing the best she can but ... I don't know."

That's a lie and Jack knows it as soon as he says it. Against his will, he looks back to her.

"She's used to having someone else lead her or have a cause. I think. I don't know. I just met her an hour or two ago. Gave her a few pointers in getting a list of who is even here and what the skill pool is. She's saying something about a spirit and someone else was going on about a monster."

Dwelling on something for long in front of others isn't something Jack does. No, he'd prefer to do his deep thought or sulking on a rooftop far above the world. So instead of miring himself deeper, he turns back to Harry with a sly grin that is usually reserved for talking someone out of their underthings.

"What do you say we get the kids together and sneak off for dinner some night?"

[youcantransform]

Harry lets out a laugh, startled out of composure for just a moment.

In the last twenty-four hours he's suffered one of the worst disappointments of his life, travelled halfway across the world, slaughtered over fifty innocent people while under mind control, been shot in the head (potentially), been kidnapped to somewhere that appears to exist outside of space and time, and now asked to dinner by a handsome stranger in vintage army surplus.

Nobody ever said the life of a Kingsman would be dull.

"Yes, alright. Why the bloody hell not."

[alifetime]

Jack answers that laugh with a naughty grin, something he specializes in as Harry will come to learn. And Jack plans to put in the time for Harry to learn lots of surface things about him. If he was going to be trapped, he liked company.

Whether that laugh is a good or a bad thing, Jack doesn't know. This poor guy hadn't sounded too steady earlier.

"I don't know if you're able to consent right now. This a good time to ask about the blood or should we get to know each other better first?"

[youcantransform]

Harry's small smile takes a turn for the baleful.

"...Later," he says quietly. "But for now, I'll say I'm of more than sound enough mind to consent to dinner with a new acquaintance."

And that is all that is being consented to.

At this point.

(There's still rather a lot going on in his head, but. One takes one's relief where one finds it.)

[alifetime]

"Now all we have to do is find some food, and we have a great evening laid out. Problem is all they serve around here is breakfast according to what I've been told. Think we might be able to scavenge some fruit?"

Jack pauses as if thinking that out. What his mind is really on is what this later conversation could entail. If Harry is really a secret serial killer, Jack will not be happy. He's had enough of those thanks very much.

"Or we could start raiding rooms. Going to be harder to do without my gun, but we can try."

[youcantransform]

Harry is both frustrated and relieved that his arsenal has been reduced to one blade hidden in the toe of his shoe. He knows he'll have adjusted in a few days, but right now, a large part of him feels like he can't be trusted with anything more harmful than a cutting remark.

"We really ought to avoid breaking and entering, oughtn't we? In the interests of making a good first impression. Perhaps meeting for breakfast might be a better idea."

Meeting for breakfast as opposed to any sort of prior meeting that might potentially be followed by breakfast, though he doesn't doubt Jack will make the inference anyway. There's nothing strictly wrong with feeding people whose diet is light harmless perversion.

[alifetime]

Jack sighs, tilting his head to look at Harry as if he had just been denied his favorite type of candy. Too bad Harry didn't know that giving into Jack was like feeding a stray cat. It would keep coming back for more.

"For you, I will. Breakfast it is then."

Jack pauses, rocking on his heels before giving Harry a hopeful grin.

"Would it be rude to ask if we can go to this breakfast date after leaving my bed or would that be considered too forward? That way we would both be in the same place at the same time. Convenience and all."

One never knows if they don't ask, and Jack isn't above appealing to that English efficiency bit.

[youcantransform]

One could have seen that coming from Earth's upper orbit; he doesn't even pretend surprise, just chuckles and shakes his head.

"No, not rude, but I'm afraid I've never put out before the first date."

On this occasion he's almost tempted, but his body is such a hideous patchwork of fresh bruising that it'd be frankly impractical.

[alifetime]

If one didn't see it coming, they really had no grasp on who Captain Jack Harkness was. The fact that Harry meets his flirts with only a small measure of surprise impresses Jack to a degree. Most flutter about and blush when he tries or draws close.

"I wasn't speaking of putting out, but can't blame a man for trying. You make even a cardigan look worth stripping off with my teeth. Would you let me at least see you up to your room?"

It's the earlier sight that Jack is thinking of, not to mention finding out what Harry's room number is. Two birds with one stone.

"Creepy hotel. No staff. Us all showing up. You with blood on you. Think I'd like to make sure you get to your room all right."

Jack is not above pulling darker cards to serve his curiosity.

[youcantransform]

The ulterior motive to his kindness is fairly transparent whether it's truly there or not, but Harry takes it in stride. The hotel isn't large. Trying to be cagey about his living situation won't prove successful.

"And they say chivalry is dead." They don't say it in Kingsman. "I've been placed on the second floor."

[alifetime]

"Chivalry isn't dead. Just comatose."

He offers his arm to the other man to be the perfect host. There won't even be any attempts at a grope, at least not yet. They should get better acquainted than just setting the kids up for a date for that.

"Second floor it is. I've been told that avoiding the lift is best. You up for the stairs?"

[youcantransform]

"I think I can manage, yes. Thank you."

And - intensely amused - he takes Jack's offered arm.

[ooc: shall we wrap this one up here since we've picked up elsewhere?]