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

[sheriffing]

[The way Neal offers it up doesn't entirely work for her, and the growing frown on her face says as much. He's right about one thing, they do need to focus on this. They need to tear this place apart until someone owns up to bringing them here. They need to get back to Storybrooke, and to leave knowing that whoever started this isn't going to be able to do it again. And then, yeah, they'll see how the rest of it works. Except it's not raising the dead because technically - ]

You're not dead, Neal.

[Her hand moves to his arm to make her point, lingering there for a moment while she takes this in for a second time. He's alive. Body intact, heart beating, warm under her touch. There's no need to bring him back because that's already been done for them. Getting him to the right moment is what matters, now. He has to go back with her and Killian, and not on his own. Emma can respect his sacrifice, no matter how much she hates what he had to do for them. That can stick, but his death doesn't have to.]

You're here. I may not know where that is, but I know we have a chance to get you back where you belong. It might have taken me a while to figure it out, but I did. I figured it out. Storybrooke is our home.

[It's the place she misses when she's not there, and the one she'll fight to get back to. She gives his arm a gentle squeeze, unsure if he even remembers that talk. It's impossible for her to forget it, and that's not for lack of trying. She spent twelve years trying to lock away her memories of him, but it never really took. Even when she wanted to hate him, or just erase any memory of him from her life, some piece of her always held on.

The time they spent together led to some of the happiest memories of her life. Even with a broken heart, it was hard to close the door on what they had when it was good.]

I just wish I knew what would get us there. It's not like there's anyone around who can offer answers. I haven't seen a single person working here. It's like it runs on it's own.

[carjacked]

[ Maybe she's right. The way her fingers curl around his arm sends a warmth through his chest that certainly feels like life, it feels like a second (third? fourth?) chance, but he guesses that probably shouldn't be much of a surprise. Something about Emma always inspired that in him, the desire to fight, the desire to try harder and be better, to pick himself up and prove to her that he's worthy of every second she spends on him.

Maybe the solution here isn't to lower her expectations, maybe the solution here isn't to make sure she's braced for pain, maybe he shouldn't be making sure she feels as little for him as possible when he inevitably fails to be there for her again.

Maybe the solution here is to finally be there for her.

She won't be disappointed in him again if he doesn't disappoint her.

He swallows, eyes ducking down for just a second before they flit back up to her, brow knitting in earnest determination. He remembers telling her about how home felt, he remembers wanting to provide that for her so badly it hurt, and now he's overcome with the resolve to get her back there.

And it doesn't hurt that she called it our home. Like there's still a place for him there at the table, waiting. ]

I'm thinking we might have to slow down on this one. They're not gonna bring us here and leave us to our own devices forever, we just gotta settle in and make sure we're ready for them to show their face.

[ He tilts his head. ]

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that's not gonna be tonight, not with everyone and their brother down here tearing the place apart. I think all we can do right now is settle in, try and wrap our heads around this, get some rest and wait them out.

[sheriffing]

[She's tempted outright call him crazy for what he's suggesting. Contributing to the madness might not get them anywhere, but at least they'd be doing something to fight the situation they've been thrown into here. What are they supposed to do, just settle in and take it? Unpack the bags they didn't pack for themselves in the first place and act like it's alright that someone is keeping them here against their will? No matter how many times they've been trapped like this before, the first order of business was always to start looking for a way out of it. What he's suggesting goes against every instinct she has.

It makes sense, but that doesn't mean Emma has to like it. Being reasonable in an unreasonable situation is more likely to screw them over than it is to save them the trouble.]

Yeah, I guess.

[She makes a small noise of frustration, her hands falling to her sides helplessly. They have a home that they can't get to and a son who's going to wonder what the hell happened to them this time. Henry expects to never see Neal again, but Emma? Regina? Killian? He's going to question it when the three of them vanish into thin air, and he won't be the only one. They'll have people looking, maybe that counts for something.]

If nothing else, I should probably check in with Regina. We weren't exactly getting along back home, I need to know if that applies here, too.

[See where she stands and let her know that, even if she hates Emma for what she did, she still has someone here for her.]

... What room are you in, anyway?

[Walking away from him right now is going to be hard enough without knowing where to find him. If she has a starting place, at least she'll know where to go when she starts questioning whether or not she just imagined this.]

[carjacked]

[ Sorry about your frustration, Emma, but there isn't a whole lot he can do about it. That's kind of the point, actually- now that they've searched the place, now that they've tried picking locks and breaking windows, there's nothing left to try. He wants to break out as much as the next guy, but a couple hundred years in Neverland taught him the virtue of patience when it comes to escape, and a transient lifestyle makes settling down into a relatively clean and unthreatening environment not that terrible of a prospect.

Especially when his alternative is not being alive anymore. ]

Second floor, first room. 201, swing by whenver you need to, I mean it. Door's always open, even if it's not.

[ His casa is her casa or whatever, right? He's got all the time in the world if she decides she's got the time for him. Meanwhile, she's got some unresolved issues with Regina, so he nods his head toward the lobby. ]

Last I saw her's through there. Probably hasn't gone far, if you hurry you can catch her.

[sheriffing]

[The lobby? Yeah, thanks. Because this savior wasn't hoping to drag her feet or anything when it came to Regina. She's completely prepared for this conversation.

Good job, Neal.]

...I'll get right on that.

[She purses her lips together, eyebrows raising briefly before she concedes and takes a step in that direction. No time like the present, right?]

My room's 208. I should be just down the hall, if you need me.

[If he doesn't, too, but if she keeps talking this'll never end, so she nods and starts off toward the lobby. It can't go worse than the conversation she had at her brother's party. That's... something.]