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

[kirking]

Can't say that I have.

[Kirk pushes as hard as he can against the lock on the window for a few more seconds before he just. Gives up. With an annoyed sound, he turns to face whoever's talking to him, doing a double take when he realizes that he's talking to a kid.

Great, there's kids here too. That's just awesome.]

Is she your... sister?

okay Q like person you are so funny.....

[kirking]

[Kirk stops in his progression from one window to the next, and turns back around to the man he'd just walked past. Walked past and had pretty much disregarded because he wasn't doing anything but sitting on the table.]

That's funny. How's holding down that table working out for you?

Lobby/Front Desk

[mygame]

The type of hotel that would greatly appreciate it if children didn't sit on the front desk.

[The Nogitsune is still having far too much fun pretending to be one of the staff and sending everyone in circles. Everything can't be about the large tricks being pulled off. Even little ones can feed it and provide enjoyment at the same time.]

My name is Stiles. Was there something you were looking for, Sir?

[64th]

[ that wasn't the answer she was hoping for, obviously. she's disappointed and her anger deflates, leaving Cashmere looking vaguely sad. what's she going to do if she's alone? what are they going to do to him? ]

Yeah. I've had better ones. [ worse ones too. this is pretty far up on the list, though. she hesitates like she might apologize for being totally insane and attacking him but she doesn't. ] Are you alone?

[kirking]

[This isn't vandalizing if you asked him, which he would know because he's done it more than once, before Starfleet, before he did something with his life. But Kirk does stop, if only because finally someone is stepping forward and that's good. Now they can talk.]

You mean besides the obvious?

How do you get out of here?

[loyals]

[ They might have to deal with some crazy stuff, but they get shit done, okay.

Scott grumbles a little, agreement that they think they're funny, but the werewolves sure don't think they are. Kidnapping is the last thing he'd ever consider funny, but the "gifts" don't help. ]

They're trying to find answers, too. [ Hopefully. But then he looks down at the suitcase again, thumbing at the numbers. ]

You knew yours, didn't you? When I put it in, it made sense.

[mygame]

I do apologize on behalf of the management, Sir, but exiting the building at this juncture isn't feasible. I'm sure you understand.

[Polite smile back in place, the Nogitsune shrugs along with its words. Can't do much to help you. So sorry. It loves frustration and all this anger so. It's well worth pretending and being nice to humans.]

My name is Stiles. Is your room satisfactory, Mr...?

[loyals]

[ Scott almost doesn't answer the door.

It would paint Derek in a poor light, he's sure, but he can't do it. He hears her voice on the other side, and his breath catches in his throat. So it isn't a case of the Thomas guy, isn't a copy, isn't a trick. If it is, it was good enough to pass Derek's inspection.

Because there wouldn't be a knock at his door if Derek didn't believe it was her.

Slowly, he moves across the room, fingers closing around the knob. Below his bed, Scott has the suitcase that contains the halved berserker mask. The combination on the lock coincides with a date, one that he's never going to forget. Like the keyword to the dead pool, it's going to taunt him for days to come. Weeks. Months. Years.

After bracing himself a moment longer, as if it'll give him an answer, he unlocks the door and opens it.

Just seeing Allison wrenches something in his chest, and he tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. ]

[64th]

[ Annie in prison? why would Snow put her in prison? apparently Mags volunteering didn't do anything to save Annie. she has questions about that, better saved for later. once they've figured out where they are. once she's sure it's safe to ask. this is all Katniss' fault: the Games, the prison, the hotel. the stupid girl from 12 who ruined the last good pieces of their lives. ]

No. [ Cashmere shakes her head. not in the lobby, not in the halls. no suitcase for Gloss either which she knows in the back of her head isn't promising. ] They have to be here. They were just - I saw them. If I'm here, they have to be here.

[64th]

[ staying close is less about intimidating him and more about looking like she isn't intimidated. she did already go all in with the whole being a crazy person so she might as well roll with it.

Cashmere looks him up and down. she's literally never seen him before in her life. his accent is weird. wherever he's from, it's no where she's ever been. ] You don't recognize me? [ that's... weird. right now her face is plastered all over the Capitol. kids have action figures of her. where the hell are they? ]

Humor me. Who are you?

lobby!!

[loyals]

[ Having found Derek and... and Allison, Scott sets out to find the rest of his pack. They've got TTY be here, somewhere, unless whoever brought them here just picked and plucked them with no rhyme or reason. Especially with Allison alive again, and someone that looks like but isn't Stiles.

It's when he heads back to the lobby that he finds, first, an abandoned suitcase. Mainstream media has him conditioned to approach it slowly, until he sees the familiar name on the tag.

He picks it up without hesitation, head whipping around to seek out its owner.

And when he spots her just standing there, hand pressed to the curtain, he doesn't say anything. Instead, he wordlessly approaches and reaches out.

And this is how they can be found: Scott holding her suitcase in one hand, Lydia's free hand in the other, waiting for her to come back. Patient but protective, shooting anyone unfamiliar that approaches them looks of warning. ]

[64th]

In theory. [ which is basically her way of saying she knows her no food theory is kind of ridiculous but she's also never going to say she might be wrong. ]

You talk weird for a kid. [ and shouldn't he be looking for his parents or something? ]

[carjacked]

[ His expression turns instantly solemn at the mention of his son, a dark sort of determination crossing his features. He shakes his head. ]

No. Not since I got here, no, I was about to ask you the same question.

[ Because if Regina's here, if he's here, there are bound to be others. Curses, spells, kidnappings, whatever, they don't ever hit that town by halves. Which is what it's gotta be, if Regina isn't dead. She can't be dead, right? There's no way. There's no way their son could-

No. She's fine. ]

ota

[withbread]

[ Peeta is launched into wakefulness, a harsh sound coming from his throat that's more scream than anything, but one might be able to make out the name 'Katniss" in his scream. It doesn't take much provocation to shove him to his feet (stumbling ever so slightly on the artificial limb) and out the door. This has got to be another arena, another one of Snow's games. With that in mind he stoops, grabbing up the suitcase. As weapons go, it's not great but it's something. He doesn't bother to figure out if there are clothes in his suitcase (and he really should). The quarter quell uniform he's wearing is more acid burned than anything, torn, shredded and scarcely covering things that ought to be covered. He has welts on him from mutant mosquitos and acid burns dot his skin. He's also got the remanants of some sort of green-gray ointment smeared into his skin. The bridge of his nose and cheeks are sunburnt and his hair...well, let's not talk about his hair. It's gone from beyond bedhead to something...not good.

He lurches down the stairs toward the main lobby, occasionally screaming Katniss' name like it's something ripped from his bones. He will frantically pull at doors, opening them, screaming Katniss' name then moving onto the next thing. Rinse and repeat. ]

later;

[ Once he's found Katniss he'll calm down a little. He's still going to be suspicious as all fuck, but at least he's changed clothes and is doing some exploring, talking a little to people and figuring out what's going on. ]

[engender]

[ Shit done right. ]

There aren't any. [ And while he knows answers need to be found to be called answers, nobody is finding any looking through his stuff. ]

I just knew. [ That means the same goes for Scott. ]

later

[64th]

[ yeah, she saw him earlier, on one of her rounds around the hotel while look for Gloss. yanking on the doors, screaming like he'd last strand of sanity - she'd wondered if she looked that crazy and decided she wanted nothing to do with him.

but she's brought down her crazy a few dozen notches, and from the looks of it so has he. Annie Cresta, Johanna Mason, and Peeta Mellark. it's a weird mix of company and she's going to try to make allies where she can since Johanna will probably figuratively and literally stab her in the back the minute she finds a knife. Cashmere finds him while she's wandering the halls, still trying to find any sign of her brother. ]

You clean up nice, Twelve. [ she's ditched the quell uniform too, but she'd only been in the arena 10, maybe 15 minutes. so she's still looking less roughed up than him. ] What's your name again? [ she knows his name but is going to act like he's not the center of Panem's attention. she might not be very good at making friends. ]

[hacker]

No. You don't get it. [ As she quickly corrects him, she shakes her head, insistent. ] I don't want to stay: I want to know who paid you for room 114, and then I want a working phone so I can get the hell out of here.

[64th]

Small and rainy. [ she manages a half-smile. at least she's not missing out on a better view. there's something eerie about the rain. it seems artificial - but so does the rest of the hotel. ]

Did you find a tablet in your room? [ she immediately hid hers. first under some clothes, then inside the dresser. fuck that thing and it's camera. ] It's creepy, right?

[mygame]

[The Nogitsune listens politely, nodding a little as she speaks. Its fingers tap the front desk in an aimless pattern before stilling.]

I do understand, ma'am. Unfortunately, our financial records keeper isn't here at the moment, or I would do my upmost to get that information for you.

Due to the rainstorm we've been having, [it gestures to the water-streaked windows with a small shrug] our telephones are also currently nonfunctional. I do apologise for the inconvenience. The moment service returns, I can have one of our bellboys find you if you care to leave a name. It shouldn't be too much longer. I understand the repairmen have found the outage and are working on it.

Is there anything else I can do for you, ma'am?

[It loves this place. Although, it may not love it so much if and when the real owners found out what it was up to.]

[engender]

In the suitcase between two shirts. [ he hasn't ... fiddled with it. ] As far as everything here is concerned, it doesn't rank high - I think the lack of a front door and the hallway that goes to nowhere could give them a run for their money. [ finally, he looks back at cashmere ] Have you been downstairs?

[64th]

Yeah. Once is more than enough. Do you think the freezer has food or bodies? [ the door didn't open so who knows? Cashmere's been hyper-focused on food since the minute she arrived. she's spent too many years watching too many tributes starve in the arena. and this feels a lot like an arena. ]

[engender]

I haven't given it much thought. [ but now he is. ] The only open doors are the ones to our rooms and the screening room. The film plays on a loop. As far as I can tell, that's not possible.

[64th]

I didn't think it was possible to wake up in the basement of a hotel I'd never been to, but today is full of surprises. [ bad surprises, mostly. she smirks. ] I'm Cashmere. And you are?

[engender]

Derek. [ but that's new information. ] You woke up in the basement?

[64th]

[ she has to think about that a moment. making it to the lobby is something of a panicked blur. was it up or down from the lobby? ] Sorry. Down that weird hall. It's been - [ she shakes her head. ] I spent this morning trying not to die while people bet on when I would. I just wanted out.