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.

[greenies]

[ the way this guy walks, the way he moves, thomas immediately thinks crank. as soon as the guy--who claims to know him--starts to approach him, thomas reaches into his harness and pulls out his knife, clutching skilled fingers around the handle tightly. unlike the nogitsune's former host, he'll meet a challenge in the boy who matches him--he's a little less than useless. ]

Get back. [ he says, clear as day, trying to remember. the guy--he looks just like him. just like him. is it possible for WICKED to make clones? they would, if they could. what if there are clones of all the boys who died out there somewhere, wandering around, infected by the flare and going mad?

though his head is spinning, thomas keeps his ground. ] Why do you look like me?

[mygame]

[How odd. It has to spend a few seconds wondering if this is the result of some sort of mental trauma or a facet of this place that it hadn't considered. Surely this is Stiles, isn't it? Even no longer being 'them' instead of 'him' and 'it', the Nogitsune is sure of it. Instead, it pastes its polite smile back on its face and steps behind the front desk instead of towards Thomas.]

I do apologize, Sir. I thought you were one of our staff. My name is Stiles. Is there something I can help you with?

[The distress of the entire hotel is something the Nogitsune has come to love as much as it could be said to 'love' anything, but this one, this person, is especially interesting.]

[greenies]

[ thomas stares at the guy even as he slides behind the desk, watching him like an absolute hawk. all of his posture is tense and he shows no sign of letting go of his knife, instead tightening his grip around it as he watches the guy--the crank?--move. ]

Answer my question. [ because unless WICKED makes clones? this should be impossible. there's no shucking way. ] Why do you look like me? Are you a crank?

[mygame]

[How it loves that stress and upset in those around it. Whatever this wonderful place is, the Nogitsune doubts it will ever lack feeding. But back to its current puzzle. The boy looks to be Stiles but the way he holds himself says that is a lie. The look in his eyes alone is different. This is what the Nogitsune believes Stiles could be if the right conditions were applied, but is far from.]

I cannot say why you look like me. I have no siblings, no living relatives since my father died. They do say that everyone in the world has a doppelgänger somewhere. I am sure it's nothing to be concerned with, Sir. The Hotel is like this sometimes.

[The lies roll off its tongue easily with a polite tone, its posture relaxed compared to Thomas' stance. The Nogitsune even smiles as if a knife weren't being brandished in its direction.]

I am sorry, but I don't understand, Sir. What exactly is a 'crank'?

[greenies]

The Hotel's like what? [ it's the creepy smiling that throws him off. not just because it's shucking weird and anyone who does that can't be trusted, but it also reminds him of a certain crank, his loud "rose took my nose" song echoing through the building he and brenda were hiding in. he'd never forget that, and he'd never be off his guard enough to get caught by a crank again, either.

even one that seemed to be fully in grasp of its mental functions.

maybe. ] Get out of there. [ he gestures with the knife, out from behind the desk. ] You're not part of the staff. Do you think I'm an idiot?

[ though, thomas is mostly all talk--he's not sure what he'd do if a crank pops out and attacks him again. but cranks hallucinate so often that this guy's act here--it's gotta be one of those. ]

[mygame]

[This could be incredibly useful should the Nogitsune discover the wolves from Beacon Hills here. So far, it has only seen Lydia, but if she is here, more are sure to follow. Having someone that could be mistaken for it, especially a someone that is armed, well that just fits in perfectly. A nice stabbing might be just what a wolf could use.]

I'm not exactly sure what to think of you other than that you could be an illusion attempting to throw me off.

[Of course it doesn't come out from behind the desk. Not when it's winning.]

I suppose it's entirely possible they fell in with a witch, but the only one I've met here didn't have any of her powers. You look and smell real enough. By the way, there are bathing facilities upstairs I would suggest you make use of.

Has anyone called you 'Stiles'?