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

[amplified]

( ... four. he says four of us. she's about to ask who else, and then derek drops the a word. lydia's face drains of color instantly and she just. stares at him, her lips parting on their own. she gapes, and her eyes well with tears. ) That's -- that's impossible.

[amplified]

As a heart attack. ( sorry, raven. trauma unit 001 here, and the biting isn't the kind that ends in wet sheets, either. sucks a lot. she won't drop the word 'werewolf' just yet, though. easing into it bruh. easing in. ) Good. That's a relief. At least some of us are in decent physical shape. Still doesn't explain where we are, or how we got here, but it's a start. Do you have any medical experience? Maybe we could set up a place where the injured can be treated... ( BLUH BLUH BLUH )

[amplified]

( hey she'll appreciate his lack of tact. kid's got balls, eh? )

I'm starting to wonder. But kidnappings don't usually involve amnesia like this. I would at least remember being dragged somewhere.

[amplified]

Mm, you too --? ( she's polite and cordial, but really, lydia has no idea who he is and the expectant question in her eyes and the way her voice turns upward gives that a way. truly though, she just feels badly for him. he seems to believe she should recognize this girl's name. like she's famous or a celebrity or something. ) I'm sorry. I've never even heard of her, not once. I -- um. Am I supposed to?

it's ok so am i and you can totally drop this/handwave if you need to bc it's almost a month old lol

[amplified]

Oh - I -- well. ( BATS LASHES FLIRTATIOUSLY SMILES CHARMINGLY FANS S..ELF..??? no but really she just grins widely and is all sparkles and sunshine and sweetness. ) Thank you, then.

( she offers a hand for him to shake. ) Did you just wake up here?

[pajarita]

[actually you know what, that 'decent physical shape' has raven directing a very weird look at lydia, then looking pointedly at the brace wrapped around her left leg. decent her left foot.

she shakes her head.] I'm not the medic.

[technologist]

[ no awesome was the right answer That enthusiasm dims a bit at the implication. He's still curious, but there's at least an attempt at being more sympathetic and polite about it. ]

You didn't... [ Not that there's a polite way to ask this. But he can't help but think of the guy he ran into earlier, the conversation about his being inconveniently dead before being dragged here. ] Were you...

[ Please read his mind so he doesn't have to say it, ty. ]

[technologist]

[ Which is fair enough, and maybe he's being kind of defeatist by assuming they won't get out of here before they starve. Unfortunately, that's sort of where his head's at. ]

Yeah, but— I mean, it's already been an hour or two, and we haven't heard anything on the network that's any sort of helpful.

[ He gives a shrug, mildly apologetic. ]

[hacker]

[ Usually, Skye isn't so reluctant to admit when Fitz has a point. But then, usually, their friends aren't in total, natural-disaster-levels of danger and injured. Up until this point, it's never occurred to her to stop trying to find them, to stop trying to get back to them for even a minute, but—

But the day she's had is catching up to her, and it's catching up to Fitz too. She presses her tongue between her lips, thoughtful, then turns toward the room labeled for dining. ]

Let's see what's around. [ But when she steps over and pulls, the doors are still locked. ]

[totheright]

I mean, it's a mass-kidnapping. That's pretty unusual. They must have had some super great skill to pull it off, so I wouldn't be surprised if they... I don't know, they drugged or something to make us forget.

[technologist]

[ Well, that's disappointing. After staring at the locked door for a moment: ]

There isn't any popcorn, either. [ In the screening room, he means. He checked. ] I was watching, by the way. The network. To see if anyone turned up, but...

[ Nothing, as she very well knows. ] That's probably our best bet, yeah? I mean, assuming everyone's got free access to it.

[ Which he's hoping is the case. The alternative is that their people are here and don't have access, for some reason, and that isn't a pleasant thought. ]

[hacker]

Fitz ...

[ She softens, giving the impression that she wants to break news of some sort to him, but as she turns towards him, she stumbles on the figurative dismount. Her lips press together, and she rethinks it. ]

... I'm sure they're out there looking for us now. [ And not dead in the bottom of some temple in San Juan thanks to her stupid idea to go down there. Stupid, stupid, stupid. ]

[technologist]

Yeah.

[ The agreement is quick, if not overly enthusiastic. He turns around to give the rest of the lobby a once-over; it's quiet. Still no staff, nobody at the desk. ]

Maybe we should get back to the rooms.

[pajarita]

[there's no coming back from the dead in her world, so she definitely is not filling the gaps.]

Was I what?

/ wrap

[hacker]

[ It's the silence that does it, makes it obvious that neither of them have complete faith in what they're agreeing on. If they want out of this, they'll have to get themselves out. She reaches out to clap a hand on Fitz's shoulder, nodding her agreement and striking out back up the stairs with him. ]

[trepidations]

Yeah, I.... I wondered the same thing. It's not like we're from the same places, or... or have much in common. So I don't know.

[ He wishes he did, though, but there doesn't seem to be any real answer to anything here. ]

[amplified]

I've gone into fugue states before. ( lydia loops her arms around herself and sighs, looking back toward the window. ) Where I've lost time, or forgotten where I've been or what I've been doing. This is too grand a scale for something like that. There's more to it. I can feel it.

[amplified]

( 'NAH I'M OK' does not equal LEG BRACE, but she assumes that raven has a good idea of her pain threshold. she's just rollin' with the punches. ) Do you know someone here who is?

[withbread]

[ So. Clearly. Confused. Of course, she ought to know who Katniss is. ]

She's a victor in the Hunger Games. [ he's at a loss for how to explain how Lydia wouldn't know Katniss. ]

[unforgives]

It's okay, I get what you mean. It's better to cautious than be sorry for it later, right? [meanwhile emily's assessment of cashmere is about the same except she isn't as quick to judge her based on that either]

[pajarita]

I know someone who is. [The Griffin women, Jackson. Unfortunately --] But none of them here.

[jarnsida]

He is, in battle as well as wit. ( Flattery will get her everywhere. He grins. ) Thank you. Though I think I will not have his wisdom for a long time. And is your mother as resourceful as you are, my lady?

( Ah, so that's what it is. The corners of his mouth twitch upward in amusement. ) Yes. But Northwomen don't. Not even the slaves.

There is no need for you to bow to me. We are equal here, aren't we? ( Something he kind of likes, actually. So he has run with that. )

Not anymore, I think. He is making a life for himself, and learning how to fight. Changed his clothes. I wonder sometimes if he has accepted our gods, or still loves his own. My father says that if one listens to the stories Athelstan tells from his holy book that there are many similarities between them.

( So she has at last one sibling, whom is a priest of sorts, if an extremely high-ranked one. Unsurprising, but also interesting! )

Is your god one of love and compassion only, or are there other sides to him? I admit, I am curious to know if my father may be right.

[wickedlyable]

((She can't help groaning. This is just fucking frustrating.)) There's not much we can do about that besides scouring the hell out of this place and interrogating the staff when they show up.

[totheright]

What do you mean, fugue states? ((He frowns, a little taken aback.)) Do you get drugged often? Shouldn't you try to avoid that?

[pontificus]

My mother is far smarter than the credit she is given, though I give credit to my father's mistress. Guilia Farnese and I are dear friends. My mother is humble, gracious, and steadfast where Guilia has all the grace and slyness of a fox. [She lifts her chin proudly, giving a wide grin.]

I bow to you to show you my respect, and I give it freely. It does not make me less of a noblewoman. [It is the station she salutes, and not his gender. Though it is certainly harder to gain power in Rome.]

There is much writ about our God. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." And yet, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." There is the tales of Noah, Sodom and Gamora.