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

sparkles at

[driven]

[ she doesn't notice him, just like she doesn't notice anyone else. her panic and frustration and need to get back keeps her focus on just what's in front of her, what should be coming out to help her. attendants, phones, a freaking letter with an address on it, anything. allison is grasping for straws at this point but like hell she's going to stop looking.

it just doesn't help matters that there's nothing of use to be found. nothing. it's suspicious, the complete lack of information, but allison doesn't have time to play detective with this.

with a huff and a slam of the drawer, she's down to looking around the lobby, looking for anything that might help her. that's how she sees the figure over by the fireplace, seeing him staring right at her. her eyes narrow for a second, not sure why he's staring or who he is, but then she focuses a little more and- ]

Derek? [ she doesn't remember where derek is supposed to be, but he definitely wasn't with them when they went to find lydia. but he's a familiar enough face that she's pushing herself back up over the desk to walk over to him at a fairly brisk pace. ] Derek, what's going on?

is dazzled

[engender]

[ he and scott exchange minimal information. he thinks it's allison, he's not sure (there's thomas to think about now) but her hair is similar to allison's.

looking up again, they lock eyes. his abilities have lessened considerably, but he can still hear her speak his name aloud. that answers that. it's how he realized scott was scott. they'd said derek's name, thomas had flinched and pulled away and generally been accusatory. this is allison argent.

derek was never close with her so the initial shock wears off in seconds. his initial reaction having to do with scott. most of his reactions now have to do with scott he finds, especially in this place.

before can think of something clever to say, before he can realize that they aren't actually friends but in fact, partial allies on a good day, she's up and over, approaching him. it's easy to evaluate that she's in one piece. she hasn't been stabbed. she's spry, she's quick. had she been kept? had she not died and been hidden away for all this time? until this moment when they let her out?

but why?

derek doesn't do dumbstruck but that might as well be what this is because he really should say words. they catch up to what he sees finally, focusing on the question allison asked. ]

It's - a hotel. Everybody was given a suitcase and a room. If I knew more, I'd tell you [ maybe that comes from her being dead. like he owes her something. what happened to her mother, that's dead and gone, both literally and figuratively, but in some ways, allison's death is still fresh for everyone. derek could see that. after all, isn't that why kate did it all?

for allison?

the rhythm of his speech returns to normal, his signature poker face returning. the face that used to be an alpha, but learned that power isn't everything. it's a briefing if there ever was one, serious, but - normal. as normal as it could be ]

Scott's also here. He's upstairs in his room. [ he'd confirmed it's her. he'd also confirmed she's alright. at least, he's confirmed it with his own eyes. ] And, if you see someone that looks like Stiles, it's not. His name's Thomas. [ that had been something to wrap his head around. ] We don't have any real answers yet.

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?

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) ]

xDDDD

[driven]

[ she presses her lips into a thin line at his answer, not liking this situation more and you. she'd assume finding out that someone else was here with her would be better, but it's causing more questions than giving answers.

allison looks back and derek is looking at her, catching her eyes, and she knows there's nothing off about the interaction itself but for whatever reason, her stomach tenses. is she missing something?

but it doesn't matter, because he's giving her scott's room number - right down from her's - and she nods. ] Did you run into him upstairs? How long have you been here?

[ her head is already a few steps ahead when his question comes, and it pulls her a little off-guard. is she okay? ] Yeah. [ she hopes she doesn't sound as surprised as she feels. derek, why do you care. ] Are you?

[engender]

[ he's acting the same again, not letting on that something might be different - or wrong ]

A few hours. His room is right next to mine.

[ the if she ever needs anything is implied but he'd never - outright say that to her. ] I'm fine. You should go see Scott.

[driven]

[ and that feeling is gone. allison doesn't know derek well enough to know if something actually is off or if she just imagined it, so as soon as he was back to acting normal again she decides to ignore it for now.

a few hours so not quite as long as her, but close. she wonders if that information is important enough to try to explore when he brings the conversation back to scott. to the fact he's here.

allison instead takes the 'right next to mine' as an explanation for how derek knew scott was here at all. allison nods, turning her eyes to the stairs. when derek goes on to mention that she should go and see scott, she turns back to him, almost guilty. ]

You sure? [ a beat, and then she takes a breath. no, that's the best idea. find scott and then move forward. ] And you'll be down here?

[engender]

[ it's best she does and he's not going to indicate otherwise. not now and not later. if scott wants to tell her what happens, then he should. it's not derek's place. he wasn't even there at the time. He's about to answer how sure he is (very, though he'd downplay that), but she realizes that seeing Scott is the smartest thing. it's what both she and scott really need ]

Yeah, I'll be down here. If not, my room's 117. [ as opposed to 115, since he could be on either side of Scott. ]

[driven]

[ maybe - depending on what scott tells her, on what she learns - she'll come to thank him later. she wouldn't have known about scott if she hadn't run into him, and while she and derek tend to act more as unwilling allies than friends, it was nice of him to say as much.

but chances are she probably won't. chances are, this will just propel things forward and go unnoticed and nearly unappreciated. ]

I'm in 119. [ she'd seen it on her keys earlier, has it memorized now. but she nods, turns to leave, but manages to stop for half a second and turn back to him. ]

Derek- [ it does say nearly after all. ] Thanks, by the way.

Uh-

[engender]

[ which is par for the course for them. but, maybe things out of her control will catapult something forward. even if it's gradual

his throat goes dry but he manages a smile - something allison may not remember seeing for months, but something derek has done more lately. ] You're welcome.

[driven]

[ she doesn't remember seeing that - ever actually - and it throws her for a bit of a loop when she does.

but she does need to go see scott, and she does need to find some answers, so when he says you're welcome allison just sort of nods, turning to head for the stairs. ]

I'll see you later.