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

[mygame]

[While the Nogitsune is a patient creature, capable of waiting things out, it had left the lobby to snoop around elsewhere. Upon its return, its head tilts in curiosity. Well, well. It hadn't thought finding Stiles would be so easy. Far be it from a fox to pass up the easy target for a harder one.]

Imagine meeting you here.

[The smile it wears is an empty of warmth or friendship, a mask it wears like all the rest. Had one of those who knew Stiles been watching the Nogitsune walk into the room, they would have known right away what it was. Stiles never moved with the lazy alleycat gait that it did. Stiles' eyes were a warm brown, not black voids.]

'Not expecting' is something of an understatement.

[1_truth]

But if we got in then there has to be a way out, right? [ An entrance could easily be turned into an exit as far he's concerned. ]

[ He sits up a little when he hears the lock click and leans over to see what's inside. Considering how this place had been so far he was almost expecting picking the lock to not work but then again there's no reason why it shouldn't. ]

I'm Conan by the way, Edogawa Conan.

[mygame]

Can I help you, ma'am?

[The Nogitsune leans against the counter, the picture of a bored teenager employee. It isn't, of course. No real staff are about, but the creature is having a good time causing as much confusion as it can.]

There is a movie playing in the screening room if you would care to attend. I'm told it's an interesting one. Unfortunately, our popcorn maker was sent out for repairs.

[Of course given that this place strikes the Nogitsune as a place out of one of Stiles' bad movies, a front desk worker that looks as ill as it does might not be too out of place.]

[greenies]

[ thomas just gives him a weird look, because what show. what? what even. this apocalypse survivor is more interested in the questions about where they are, and thomas frowns for a second, though it looks more confused than angry. ]

Maybe there was another memory swipe. I was just with them... [ the second part's more to himself--thomas's head hurts just thinking about it. ]

It's fine. I guess if I had any dopplegangers, I would've thought they were dead by now. [ either because of WICKED or because of the flare. that was an incredibly lame attempt at a joke, but he tried. ]

[greenies]

[ look okay most of the time he's the person running not the person intimidating ]

There's a spaceship? [ W H A T ] Is that a new development? Why would--I didn't even know WICKED had a space travel sector. I guess maybe I used to know that. [ thomas quickly realizes he's making negative sense, so he catches himself before he continues off on a little bit of a ramble and shrugs his shoulders, trying for a half sympathetic smile. ]

I have no idea what a grounder is, so, no. And...sorry for pointing a knife at you. [ sort of. she's not a crank, so, he does feel kind of bad. ] Not the best introduction.

[greenies]

[ the jorge thing makes him chuff a soft laugh, because, yeah. he has a point. jorge probably would've gotten the crap beaten out of him--thomas shouldn't feel proud of that, but he totally does.

however. none of that makes any sense. thomas stares at minho for a minute like he's gone off the deep end himself, brows furrowed, trying to ask and trying to understand literally all at once. ] Lunatic girls? What are you talking about? The last girl I saw was Brenda.

[ almost instantly, thomas feels...odd. off. violated, like someone reached in and snatched his memories again. what did WICKED do to him when he was on that berg? it was obviously something more than just fix up his shoulder. here comes thomas the question man, minho, your favorite. ] Minho, what? Did they wipe my memories? Why're you--we made it? We made it, that's great! Are Newt and Brenda okay? Teresa, did we find her again?

[greenies]

[ he pulls his arm back when the girl touches him, almost immediately, half out of reflex and half out of instinct. thomas has a hard time trusting people touching him, especially random strangers calling him by different names. he stares at her for a second, brows furrowing together, before he shakes his head. ]

Sorry. What the shuck's a Stiles?

[mygame]

[This is just brilliant. Food is literally bumping into it, overflowing with fear.]

Can I help you, sir?

[The Nogitsune offers a hand to help Peter up, black eyes watching him intently. Humans. They were such silly creatures in its opinion, but it was fun to wind them up and watch them go. While it does prefer a grander scale to work on, pretending to be hotel staff is a start.]

My name is Stiles. Is there something unsatisfactory about your room?

[pajarita]

Was -- I said there was. And it's cool, don't worry -- it's a good reaction, at least. [kudos to you, thomas with the knife. he's not making that much negative sense, because raven's picked up whatever wicked is it's not an adjective but an actual name. organization maybe?]

And it wasn't put there by Wicked, or if it was then they did a pretty crap job of making sure the nations didn't kill each other before trying to unite under one giant ark.

razzle dazzle?

[driven]

[ in the moment, allison doesn't care much about where their relationship stands. as far as she's concerned, derek is just an ally. someone she recognizes, someone she knows. someone who she can go to, in a situation like this, and who will help. because there's no way that derek could want to be in this situation any more than she wants to be here.

if she wasn't so determined and so frustrated with her current issue of finding any way out of this freaking hotel, she'd pick up on cues. on the tension to derek's shoulder, on the way he stares at her with something that she might have recognized as shock. allison's gotten better at reading people, especially people she actually knows more than just a pasing glance, but that's not important.

allison needs answers. she needs to get out of here.

derek seems almost at a loss for words at first, and when allison comes to a stop in front of him, she almost comments on it. almost. except he starts in the moment she thinks about it - hotel, suitcase, room, all things she already knows - and allison frowns. she could tell him how unhelpful all that is, except for that addition he leaves at the end. if i knew more, i'd tell you and maybe she's more willing to trust him than she thought when she actually believes him. ]

There's no door. Or phones, or identification info. [ she looks back over to where the desk is and bites at her lower lip, trying to think. ] Did you wake up in the hallway upstairs too? [ it has to be something from the nogitsune, the oni. some kind of magic that's forcing a hallucination, maybe? but why a hotel? and looks back to derek and finds that he looks normal now - not tense, not like he's at a loss as what to say.

for half a second, she wonders if she's imaging all of this. if this is supposed to be a dream. but why derek? why this?

her eyes widen when he mentions scott, and something about someone who looks like stiles but whose name is thomas, and she shakes her head. ] You're the first person I've found. [ they can deal with the not-stiles later. they can deal with the answers bit when she finds scott. ] Where's Scott's room?

Lobby/Front Desk

[mygame]

Sir, I really must ask that you stop vandalizing our property. Is something the matter?

[Because the Nogitsune is helpful like that. Well, not really, but it is having a good time pretending to be part of what's going on instead of a victim like everyone else.]

[Behind the front desk, it looks as harmless as it can. Just a normal teenager. Yep. Nothing more than a bored teenager that got stuck working the desk.]

[mygame]

[Five times? Really? That's the expression the Nogitsune tries for as it head back around to the front desk. Creepy empty hotel, creepy teenager front desk person, right? Damn shame the Nogitsune is trapped just as they are only having a good time with it.]

Yes, ma'am, the bell works. My name is Stiles. How can I help you? Something not right with your room?

[A hand reaches out to still the bell. It would be a great thing to steal later. A small smile and polite false interest fills its face while its dark eyes study her.]

and they'll make you a star

[engender]

I woke up in one of the empty rooms.

[ he looks past her toward the desk, as if he could possibly see more than she can. he can't. nothing else new appears. it's just as bare as when she checked. he meets her eyes again, making the conscious decision not to waver, to look away. he stands his ground. ]

116. Back up the stairs. We're next to one another.

[ derek tried dealing with the answers, tried dealing with the berserker mask. but time apparently means nothing because the oni and the berserkers are separate creatures. he entertains the thought that allison could've been alive all along. but, how could someone keep that from them. from chris ] You're okay?

[ he has to ask, for scott's sake, and partially for his. (and of course for hers) ]

[engender]

A memory swipe? [ catch him up here, thomas, because now he's not convinced you're not stiles. ] WICKED can do that? [ he's at least smart enough to know it has nothing to do with the show, now. ] St - Thomas. [ he tries to get his attention ]

[ thomas' joke rubs derek the wrong way and awakens the protective side in him, for scott's sake. ]

Somebody wants you dead?

[engender]

[ not registering. ... still not registering. ... wh- what? ]

Space. [ picture little red riding hood in into the woods (the obc) speaking to cinderella, 'you talk to birds?' his tone is dry, if a little bit skeptical. ]

[starspangled]

[His room smells like his old apartment back in Brooklyn; musty, a little damp. It's about as bright too, and probably not much bigger. But at least it was home. This...Steve isn't sure what this is, but he's going to find out.

Steve hears her voice calling out when he steps into the hallway, the sound of it soft now and barely audible over the sound of the pouring rain. He starts to follow it, the ringing of the bell helping him pinpoint exactly where she is.]

Hey.

[He keeps his distance when he comes into view, keeps his hands visible while he looks down at hers.]

Are you okay?

[starspangled]

[They'd met earlier, in a darkened stairwell, Bucky stalking after him when he'd been the one to realize that Steve was there first. He's always been haunted by him one way or another, this boy that he couldn't bury long before he knew about the Winter Soldier.

But Steve knows now, and he knows Bucky's here. And this hotel isn't big enough to keep him from finding him. His search finally brings him to the screening room, the black and white film familiar to him too, in a place where nothing else is.

Except Bucky.

He leans in the doorway first, soon moves away from it to keep him from feeling trapped. Steve leans against the wall, eyes adjusting to the darkness and on the assassin more than they ever look at the movie.]

This movie used to scare the hell out of me.

[If Bucky doesn't remember that, it's probably because he didn't know it. Steve was too stubborn to admit he was afraid.]

[arms]

I don't know what they did. If they did, I'm gonna murder them - I told them to leave you, all of you alone, shucking - yeah. Okay. [ Minho stops, because his head hurts as much as the rest of him now, and he breathes out a noisy sigh that becomes a soft hiss. Right, hurt. He needs to keep that in mind.

But he also apparently has to catch Thomas up. What? What the hell did they do to him? Is it another trial? Is this place another trial? They'd basically told him it was over. But here they are, so it has to be a trick. Especially with what happened, what Tommy is missing. ]

We made it. Not all of us, but they dropped you back off in the Scorch again and we headed out. That's when we ran into the other group, Aris' girls. Except Teresa was in charge of 'em, and that whole "betrayer" thing back at the school wasn't some trick from WICKED. It was real.

[ Minho tries not to get angry, but he obviously fails, clenching and unclenching his fists, jaw tight, eyes unhappy. ]

[hacker]

Yeah, a lot of things are not right with my room. Are you freaking kidding me?

[ She slaps her hand down on the counter, but lets the anger dissipate by rocking back on her heels, rolling her eyes and drawing a deep breath. Whoever's fault it is, it's not this kid's. Her shoulders sag, and she shakes her head. ]

Look, just— Did you see who brought me in here? Had to be earlier today, or … last night, maybe.

[pronged]

Merlin. Wormtail?

[This is just like old times, isn't it. Wandering around the castle in the middle of the night. Doing "research" for the map even after they created it because you never know what might need to be added. James is even having the air crushed out of him by Wormtail, a wonderful recreation of the time in third year when they found one of the passages to Hogsmeade and then proceeded to get trapped in said passage until morning when Remus finally came looking for them.

That was a laugh. This, this place, ending up here with a wand that doesn't work, it's not broken he just can't do any magic, this isn't a joke. But he's James Potter and he doesn't scare easily.

At least. He's not going to show it.]

I know that girly shriek anywhere. But please, get off me. You're crushing my spleen.

[hacker]

No, I am not o—

[ The frustration bites through before she turns all the way to look at him, pressing one hand on the countertop, jaw grinding, but the tension all tapers off the moment her eyes fall on Captain freaking America. The hand on the concierge desk knocks over a jar of pens and she scrambles to catch it, only for them to clatter across the floor. ]

Oh my god.

[ She straightens, eyes wide enough for the whites to be visible all the way around. ]

You're— [ And then something else settles in. Dread, awareness, perspective. Whatever it is, it's not good. They didn't just pull her out of some underground, alien city. They grabbed Captain America. ] … We are so screwed.

[kirking]

[For a brief, irrational moment, he's reminded of Bones when they first met. Maybe it's the flask, or the way that this guy just looks irritated as fuck to even be near him or the perpetual look of not having shaved in a few days.]

I believe you. [Not judging but wow look at the mess. A man after his own determined heart.]

I'm Jim Kirk, by the way.

[kirking]

[Well, she hasn't known him for very long because he's said way stupider things.

Kirk nods with understanding, a soft 'oh' escaping his mouth. The lightbulbs are on upstairs. Gloss is her brother's name. Kind of a weird name for a girl that looks human but hey. His mother wanted to name him Tiberius.]

Haven't seen him. Sorry about that, it's uh-- been a strange day.

[mygame]

We staff can't tell you much right now, ma'am.

[The Nogitsune's expression remains bland no matter how much it is enjoying the game and her frustration. After being locked in a box for too long, why wouldn't it?]

If you can tell me your specific complaints, I'll see what I can do for you? We here at the hotel look forward to serving you while we... well, for the duration of your stay. Your comfort is of the upmost importance to us.

[Cue helpful little smile right there.]

Your name and room number, please?

[mygame]

[The first question that comes to the Nogitsune's mind is why it would want a book written by some human king. That one stays unasked because the fox isn't coming out of the bag that quick. Of course it has no idea that it's giving away a lot by not recognizing a bible of all things. Sure, the former hosts it had knew what one was, but that was useless information that the Nogitsune never bothered to assimilate.]

[The second thought is that humans are just stupid enough to follow someone in droves because of a foolish title such as 'king'.]

I have no money and no need of some book a king wrote.

[Gabriel's manner isn't off-putting to the Nogitsune. It's the utter lack of any of the things it likes in this human. Everyone else had been upset, angry or running in circles. This one is not. Why? Curiosity is one of its worst points. The chair it steadily ignores. Sitting never ends well. Last time it ended up with its mouth duct-tapped shut.]

Why are you selling books of all things here? Do you have any others?