checkingout | master of the house, quick to catch your eye (OPEN)

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: April 5rd
What: Welcome, newbies + happy Easter eggs.

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 an empty, ashy fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, all three of them thrown wide open and welcoming. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

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. there is, however, a pad of paper and a pen neatly aligned with the desk edge. you know. for notes.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of the cabinet of dr. caligari 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 music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of caramel corn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, with a few cups and some old looking packages of hot chocolate mix.

BALLROOM.

the third set of grand doors have been thrown wide to reveal a brightly lit, festively decorated ball room. all across the polished wood floor, all over the tables and chairs around the edge of the room, under the curtains, in the corners, hiding in the shadows, and behind the doors, characters will find:

easter eggs.

plastic easter eggs filled with jellybeans and chocolates, real eggs dip dyed and rolled in glitter; foil wrapped chocolate eggs, sugar eggs with little diaramas in the middle. there will be novelty plastic easter bunny rings sprinkles about, and general little plastic childrens toys. there will be plastic and paper easter basket grass sprinkled all over, and upbeat ambiance music intended to excite.

by the front door will be basket for people to use in their quest to collect the hundreds of eggs scattered all over the room. a sign on the floor invites them to "take one" in curvy handwritted script.

but there's no sign to warn that — some of these eggs?

are going to explode in your face.

( event details. )

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently open, and the grand doors locked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard and breakfast hall are unlocked, food is currently being served. a lot of it is candy.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors four. 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'll 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.

EGGSISTING GUESTS.

happy easter, kids.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Really? I was never into hunting eggs," he said, bending down to pick up another one. "I always hid them for my sister and since she was the only one who was hunting, then she got them all."

He found another glittery one and handed it over to Cissie. "Here. You seem to like these."

Cissie giggled, and took the egg with a grin. "I do like them. They're pretty." She dropped it into her basket and looked back up at him with a smirk. "Confession, though--this is my first Easter egg hunt too."

"How?" he asked as he opened another one. Capa had a strong sense of community, though and left the egg hunting to the others. No sense in trying to take them all.

"You seem the egg hunting type..."

Cissie shrugged a shoulder, picking up another egg and following Capa's lead, opening it. She smiled at the jelly beans inside, popping one in her mouth. "Well. Mom was more of the 'grab a premade basket at Walmart and call it good' kind of Easter planner than the Easter egg hunt planning type. So Easter was usually waking up to the basket and then being late to church and Mom being annoyed at the lack of parking spots and good seats inside."

She smiled wryly up at him. "And then I got too old for egg hunts. Or so they said."

Capa laughed, almost bitterly. "That's...really normal," he told her. "I didn't expect that. I was starting to expect the abnormal around here." He put the basket down and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking around the ballroom.

"My sister would have been so disappointed."

Cissie laughed as well, more surprised than anything else. "I think that might be the first time anyone's ever called me or my mom normal," she confessed, shaking her head in amusement. "Why would your sister be disappointed?"

"Well, I only have limited knowledge of you," he confessed. "I hope that wasn't a bad thing." He looked sheepish for a moment before he addressed her second question. "Because she doesn't have to hunt. Her favorite part of egg hunting was my mother trying to put some in the fridge, or in lamps."

"Not bad," she replied quickly. "Just different. The most common adjective applied to my mother is 'crazy,' actually." She smiles to take the sting out of it, but it is the truth; it's just a truth she's very used to. Her smile widens a bit as he talks about his sister. "Your mom sounds like she did some awesome egg hunts. Those are pretty creative hiding places!"

He knew better than to ask more than she had just given him. After all, when a person describes their parent as crazy, it's probably just better to take their word for it. Besides, Capa was very certain that he wouldn't ever meet the woman anyway.

"My sister learned it from her," he continued. "She has two kids now and I'm pretty sure that she does the same thing to them."

"And I bet they love it," she said with a grin.

"They do," he answered easily, but talking about his family both made him smile...and made him upset. He picked up another egg and tossed it lightly towards her.

"Enjoy your egg hunt," he told her. "I'm...Capa, by the way. See you around?"

master of the house, quick to catch your eye (OPEN)

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