sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: February 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.

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 tall pull-down screen, a silent version of nosferatu 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 timey music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl that looked like it once would have held popcorn. but is now unfortunately empty. same for the large hot drink dispensers labeled "hot chocolate" and "coffee".

OTHER.

the ballroom and breakfast hall are currently closed, grand doors locked.

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

the door to the courtyard is locked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one & 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'd 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.

Comments

[hacker]

That depends: do you have a high-powered rifle or plastic explosives of some kind?

[ Said matter-of-factly, and carrying an assumption of the negative. Sighing, she waves towards the window and shakes her head. ]

Nah, I think you're right. Which sucks, because Neal and I were already nosing around the downstairs, and the locks aren't even real locks. There's no picking them.

[hacker]

Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the whole choking thing really gives the wrong impression.

[ Seriously. Not a good way to greet new friends. Her hand raises to rub at her throat finally, for emphasis more than anything else. Put off and wary though she may be, it's pretty obvious he's an enemy of HYDRA at this point.

An enemy of my enemy.

But in her experience, former HYDRA never really means former. Pick a side, Ward. Her back teeth grate as her jaw clenches up, shadows casting across her cheeks as muscles tighten. ]

And you sure as hell aren't SHIELD.

[engender]

The catch is like anything else. Businesses can be corrupt. There's crime. Fraud. But, there are also good people. Non profits that help. Environmental causes. There's good and there's bad.

[villainously]

[ actually, his mood really isn't her fault at all. he'd already been in an uncomfortable place before arriving, and now being stuck again with no answers and no idea what is going on? well, it's been pretty corrosive to his more or less genial personality. he waves a hand, always one to gesture even though he has absolutely no reason to. yes, he'll give her the back of his head as long as his face gets a pass.

her brother. he frowns, just slightly. that's likely who she's asking for. ] Gloss, was it? [ still a bloody odd name, but modern worlds did hand out strange ones on occasion. the idea of missing a brother is something he can understand, even though it's been centuries since he had a brother to miss. ] I'll keep an eye out for him, darling. [ as for someone he's looking for, well... ]

A woman named Emma. Or a boy named Henry. [ there's a whole army of Charmings, too, but those two are closest to his heart. ]

[villainously]

[ yes, very pre-space travel! or, actually, he'd been to a world with it, he'd just never heard of it before. still, the prime directive was probably safe. a captain of sorts himself, and a fan of the stars, it was impossible to look at them and not wonder what the heavens might be like.

and apparently, this Kirk had sailed them. ]

A ship that sails stars. [ the Jolly Roger had flown a time or two, but that was not the same as actually being in space. the absolute wonderment in his tone is not befitting the situation, but it's a welcome reprieve, even if it lasts a moment. ] No, can't say I have.

[64th]

[ Capitol people and cameras? that she can handle. these strangers? well. she's going to need Peeta's help. she not exactly known for being the friendliest of the victors. she rolls her eyes at him. he really would have fit right in with the rest of the Capitol's darlings.

she wonders, briefly, if she can trust Peeta. bracelet or not. she watched him with the careers in the 74th Games - they had never even suspected that he wasn't actually on their side. but if she can't trust the people from Panem, who can she trust? all of them together is different than she and Peeta alone. because he would absolutely betray her to protect Katniss (and as much as she hates Katniss she couldn't hold that against him). he doesn't seem as likely to betray her when the others are complete strangers. ]

It's a deal, then. [ she closes the distance between him, and offers her hand to shake. maybe it would surprise people, but Cashmere is always good on her word. ]

[starspangled]

I've already tried that.

[And if she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., if she'd even seen the Battle of New York on tv, she knows what that means. This place is officially a problem.]

We'll keep at it. Which room are you in?

[hacker]

Kinda forward for a 1940s guy.

[ Smirky smirk. Skye waits a beat for laughter, then her smile dies down and she clears her throat, shifting her weight and nodding. ]

That was a— Yeah. Okay. [ She raises a fist, jerking her thumb towards the stairs as she simply answers in a more straightforward fashion: ] 114. I'm in 114.

[pontificus]

The year of our Lord fourteen hundred and ninety three.

[What a strange thing to ask, but gathering from the interesting garb and even more interesting manners of those she has met, something must be afoot.]

And you? I am to assume it not quite the same.

[loyals]

They're also looking for free stuff? [ Okay, he was trying to be optimistic, Derek. Give him points for that, at least. He knows people have no business going through others' stuff, but a small part of him still holds to a hope that they're all better than that. ]

Yeah. [ A simple answer, and he slowly moves to stand. ] Was yours a date, too?

prays with

[loyals]

I'm pretty sure I'm real. Do I pinch you, or do I pinch myself? [ The comment is more belonging to Stiles than Scott, but he has to ask the question to find some form of normalcy in this situation.

But rather than draw back from her, Scott rubs his thumb over her knuckles, apologetic for startling her but trying to soothe her from the obvious strain that she's already under. It only makes him want to get them out of here faster, so that they might not learn whatever whispers in the rain that she was picking up on. ]

You hear anything?

[pontificus]

They have books on such subjects? [It is truly astounding, mostly because paper and print are still a prized commodity where she is from, but she can imagine some learning such matters, toiling away at a desk.

Lucrezia turns back towards the projector, not entirely getting his analogy, but thinking she understands the idea of the light.]

How is an image captured with light? [He clearly knows about this.]

[loyals]

[ There's an attempt at a smile, a twitch at the corners of his mouth that doesn't really reach his eyes. This is - impossible, but so are a lot of other things. The kidnapping itself, the mask, the fact they've been brought to a hotel with no staff and no doors, the lapse in his lycanthropy. Peter has come back to life. Kate came back to life. Derek came back to life.

Anything is possible. Allison walking and talking in front of him as if nothing is the matter is entirely within the realm of possibilities.

He needs Stiles. He needs his mom. True alpha or not, this is too much for him. They mourned and buried her, lived with her ghost every day. Scott has tried to turn to his right so that he could tell her something, the same he had tried to turn to his left when Stiles had been missing.

But this time, there was no coming back. There was only blood on his hands and the memory of her warmth and light fading away in his arms, nothing he could do because there wasn't any pain and she was gone so fast.

It happened so fast.

Closing the door as she stops, he brings a hand up to pinch at the ducts of his eyes, taking a deep breath. ]

What's the last thing you remember?

[arms]

[ Bringing a hand up to scrub through his hair, Minho thinks about how to do this. Because he doesn't know what Thomas is missing, doesn't get how this could happen. (The concept of time displacement has not yet occurred to him, but speaking to more people in the hotel will, eventually, bring it to mind. And it'll make sense, eventually, because not much else does in the first place.) He takes a deep, slow breath, obviously trying to calm himself, and he pieces everything together. ]

All right. Far as I know, we didn't lose anybody, right? And then the girls come along, and they're seriously packing. And at first, it was a good thing, because safety in numbers. For as much as me 'n Teresa sniped at each other, it was... better, after we all worked on the puzzle.

[ He moves, then, angling himself to be directly in front of Thomas. Setting his hands on his shoulders, he cocks his head a little, meeting his eyes and holding his gaze. ] But they took you, Thomas. They put you in a shucking sack and beat you. And no matter what we said, they threatened to do worse if we tried to go after them, tried to help you.

[arms]

[ The trials and tribulations of living in a post-apocalyptic world. Minho doesn't even think that Peter looks like he'd be much of a threat, but he's still on guard, because more than once people have shown that they're far more than what they appear. Nothing hostile, just obvious caution as he stays where he is. ]

Depends on if there's any walls or anything to climb out there. [ They tried everything in the Maze. Why not here, too?

But the comment about there being less outside makes him laugh, and he collects what he can from the desk. ] See, already been through that kinda thing before. World outside was klunk compared to what we'd been living in for two years. At least this place seems to have rain.

[ There's a pause, as he considers the offer, looking at the windows. ] Better not, at least not right now, unless you got some way to protect yourself. Could be booby trapped, and better to be trapped with a head to think with than trapped and dead 'cause your head got knocked off.

[engender]

[ He shrugs at that, figuring they might be. ]

It was the date of the fire.

[loyals]

[ His fingers drum on the case. ]

Allison's death. [ It's a lot to admit to, but he thinks that Derek gets it. Death and loss isn't something he wants to bond over, but if there's anyone he can talk to about it.

Well, it's Derek. ]

[engender]

[ They share the silent moment of contrition between the two of them. The moment passes and they have to push forward. ]

So, what do we know?

[loyals]

[ The weight held, almost indulged despite how little either one of them would like to call it indulging, Scott moves in one easy motion to duck down and shove the locked case with the horrible date and the equally horrible mask, both reminders of their hardships before this place, underneath his bed.

"Here's hoping to no nightmares," as if he doesn't have them already. ]

Our abilities are... dampened. Maybe halved? [ He looks to him for confirmation as he straightens. ] There's no door to the outside, except maybe one that's probably not an exit, but all "public" doors are locked. No staff, no knowledge of how we got here in the first place. Just - hit the floor running, kinda literally.

[engender]

[ He nods once. ]

There are people we don't recognize who don't recognize us. One person claims to be a zero gravity engineer. She grew up on a space station. [ Which... sounds crazy, right? ] The one piece of machinery is a projector that repeats the same movie. Nosferatu. [ He does check if Scott catches that or even knows what it is. He'll explain if need be. ]

[loyals]

So, alternate... I don't know, life? World? [ Scott literally doesn't know, this isn't his forte. Stiles. That sounds like an impossible thing in his head.

The movie isn't quite a swing and a miss, but it doesn't catch right. It's more like a foul ball, than anything. The face he makes says it all. ] I should know what that is, 'cause it sounds familiar, but...

[engender]

Universe? [ He looks to Scott to confirm that idea. He knows it has to be, especially with Cashmere's background. But, he's not going to depress Scott about children hunting each other to death on TV. ]

Vampire, Scott. [ He needs to culture you. New York trip so he can tour you around his old haunts, including an old Greenwich Village theater. ]

[loyals]

Universe. [ What is this place, and why is it bringing people here from other universes. ] That's so insane. I can't believe we're talking about alternate universes right now.

[ But then, of course, there's that grounding sensation of pop culture unawareness. He looks sheepish, which is a relief considering the entire situation and their previous discussion. ] Right. Right, okay, that definitely sounds vampire-y. Vampiric.

[engender]

Stiles would be having a field day.

[ He'd be stringing up colored thread. Finding patterns. He and Lydia, both. Just picture the patented, 'Scott, you're the most adorable alpha' heart eyes Derek gets. ] I don't think it has to do with anything. I think it reinforces the atmosphere.

[ At least they're not playing The Shining. ]

[loyals]

He'd be trying to connect universes and figuring out how they lay with ours, and if this is another universe itself.

[ Does he know much about this topic? No. But Scott knows Stiles, and that's what counts here. Be nice if he could be here to explain everything about Nosferatu, though, and to grill Derek with him about whether vampires are real or not. ] So you don't think we'll randomly see a weird looking vampires anytime soon?

[ That would be a reference he'd get, if only because of references that people made at the motel. Fitting, though. ]