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

[oceanborne]

[ The hug is definitely not what she'd expect from Cashmere, but complaining is the last thing on Annie's mind. She clings to Cashmere for as long as the hug lasts, desperate as much for the affection and familiarity as she is for the reassurance that she isn't entirely alone here. She's with another victor now, a better one than she ever was, and figuring this place out doesn't seem quite as daunting now that she isn't alone.

What is she wearing? A very good question, and Annie plucks awkwardly at a fold of the sheet she's managed to secure around herself with a few torn strips from the bottom and a bit of knot work. ] The very latest in Capitol couture, of course. Direct from the president's hidden prisons.

[ But they can discuss her fashion choices later, and she shrugs dismissively. ] Have you found anyone else yet? Gloss or Finnick or... [ Yeah, never mind. Those two are the only ones that matter right now, and maybe Cashmere's had better luck in finding them than Annie has. ]

[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.

[oceanborne]

[ It isn't anything she's keen to discuss, so Annie is just fine with keeping the details to herself for now. Besides, what piques her interest more is Cashmere's determined insistence that she just saw Gloss and Finnick. That was... okay, it was hard to tell time in her cell but she's pretty sure it's been weeks, if not months, since the end of the Quell. Of course, she's also pretty sure that Cashmere ought to be dead, so maybe she doesn't know as much as she thought. ]

Where have you looked so far? We should check everywhere, maybe they're lost. [ They're just disoriented from the arrival, surely. Annie turns to look at the doorway, like she expects Finnick or Gloss to just walk right in. ] It won't be a good show without two of the Capitol's favorites.

[64th]

If Gloss is lost I will kill him. [ she's kidding. but he's going to be in big trouble. she sets her jaw and tries not to let the grown dread in her chest settle in there. they're going to find the boys. ] Or he can have a pass this once. But I'm going to yell at both of them.

[ she nods to Annie. ] I looked, but we can look again. I couldn't find the room I showed up in again. Maybe the halls move. They do that in the arena all the time. Should we map it? [ Cashmere looks back at the mess she's made. ] We've got to have paper.

[ another glance to Annie. she frowns. ] Do you want to wear some of my clothes? [ sorry, Annie. Cashmere's a little scattered right now. ]

[oceanborne]

I don't know, Finnick might prefer facing death instead of you in a temper. [It's a weak joke, but she has to do something to distract herself from the thought of being here without Finnick. Being separated, that's something Annie got accustomed to a long time ago. She'd even made some kind of awful peace with the idea of him dying in the Quell, but after the abrupt way it cut off, and the long time she was locked up, she still doesn't know one way or another if he's even alive. And until they find him she'll never be sure, and the thought of it makes her sick with fear.

Mapping, that's a good idea. It's something to do, at least. ] We should mark where we've been, too. If the halls move, we need to track them.

[ She's just as scattered as Cashmere, honestly, so the offer takes Annie by surprise. ] Clothes? Oh. I suppose I should, yeah.

[64th]

[ it's not the best of Annie's jokes, but Cashmere smiles all the same. you really only have to bear witness to one of Cashmere's tantrums to find good reason to avoid them for the rest of forever. her anger has a way of getting the best of her. she knows that. ]

Yeah. [ and... apparently the tablet is going to be her best option for writing this down. great. the tablet is under her clothes, so she tosses pants and a shirt towards Annie. ] You're going to look very One. It's a dream come true, I know.

[ she picks up the tablet, examining it for the first time since she realized it had a camera. it's different than what she's used to in the Capitol, but similar enough that she at least doesn't feel stupid. ] So what was in your suitcase?

[oceanborne]

[ Catching the clothes with one hand, Annie nudges the door shut with her foot before she starts dressing. Sure, modesty isn't exactly a common ailment among victors, but that doesn't mean she wants anyone else in this place to catch her unaware. ]

You mean I'm going to look like a little girl who's been raiding her sister's wardrobe? [ She smiles like she's joking, but it really is true. Annie's always been one of the shortest victors, and her extended stay in the president's custody left her all angles and too-prominent bones beneath her skin. But at least she's wearing something more substantial than a sheet, so that's progress. Right now, she'll take whatever she can get.

She takes the discarded sheet and folds it up carefully, tucking it under her arm -- maybe once they've mapped this place, she can find some use for it. ] A piece of rope, this little scented squishy ball, and some kind of uniform, I think. I didn't really look too close, it seemed useless.