The Midnight Hotel January catch-all

[gistful]

Characters: Anyone, everyone.
Date: Month of January, 2016
Location: The Midnight Hotel
Situation: Catch-all post! Feel free to use this post for anything that happens within the Midnight Hotel over the month of January, using the subject header to label specific rooms or for specific people. Please also see the OOC note at the bottom.
Warnings/Rating: None thus far.

The Midnight Hotel was among the few buildings which showed no sign of having been damaged by the invasion six months ago. That followed, of course; the Hotel hadn't even been present. But either way it stood out, and many of the kedan knew by now that the building, so different from the architecture of the rest of the city, was a safe-haven. Too many mistook it as a Foreigner safe-haven alone, but not all; even now there was usually one or two kedan present.

Some of them were gang-members, ones with whom Anton had forged closer relationships before the Foreigners' year-long disappearance or simply those who chose to visit in defiance of the general public's opinion.

Anton had taken great pains to give the Foreigners structure and normalcy. While the means of payment were, in some cases, not much more than an illusion, he gave as much in the way of purpose as he could. As a result there were now many Foreigners on staff at the Hotel, though of course the rules were still in strict effect. Anton himself was readily available at most given moments if needed for assistance, questions or otherwise.

There was also an oddity in the lobby: a construction in one of the corners where a long bank of three public consoles was being built. The Metalworkers responsible for its construction were generally taciturn and more concerned with their work than with interactions, but they didn't seem worried about being observed or by the close proximity of the Foreigners.


[ooc: The Midnight Hotel's status page is available here, with the rules at the top and ongoing status at the bottom. PLEASE POST TO THE STATUS PAGE IF YOUR CHARACTER WOULD LIKE A ROOM. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out, so you can assume they're 'paying' in some method.

If you have a specific job for your character to do around the Hotel (eg working the kitchen, security, house chores) please also note that so I can keep track of Anton's casual staff.]

Comments

[ruinsprofessor]

He was being ridiculous, and he had to know it. Smiling anyway, Raine unlocked the door for him and entered.

She hadn't quite made the room her own; her staff leaned in a corner and the desk was entirely covered with an assortment of things pertaining to her research, but the bed was made and didn't look like it had been used recently, and there were nothing like personal touches in evidence. "Feel free to make yourself at home," Raine said, a little dry, as that was one of the primary reasons he was here. She tossed her key gently into the mess of papers and, brisk, turned down the covers on the bed.

[peacefullywreathed]

It seemed ironic for the invitation to be tendered given how little of the room Raine seemed to have possessed, Solomon noted with a glance around. "I should hate to do so before the lady of the room," he said dryly, but toed off his slippers. "It seems somewhat rude, to take over someone else's room."

Certainly it wasn't just a matter of bringing all his things up in the morning, especially if he was coming into a space with ill-defined boundaries. Solomon made use of whatever space was available, with the result that his room seemed deceptively more 'owned' than it was. Though he spoke lightly, it would, in fact, be rude to come into Raine's room without first having determined how much space ought to be his.

[ruinsprofessor]

At first she gave him a faintly quizzical look; then Raine glanced over the room again, with a new eye, and realized what he must have meant. "Less rude if you're invited to do so," she pointed out. "As long as I have room to work and sleep, I don't mind."

Years of itinerant living had accustomed her to living sparsely. Iselia had changed that -- somewhat -- but this was Keeliai, and this was her third lodging inside, effectively, a year. It seemed foolish to get too comfortable, even if the Hotel was theoretically outside the flux of the city itself.

[peacefullywreathed]

"Still," Solomon said, sitting on the bed and looking around. "Invited or no, a space can be still be claimed by one person, even if another should exist there." He'd never shared a space before and his mother had died before he was born, so he'd never had the opportunity to see his father sharing a living space either.

At the Temple acolyte space was clearly delineated, and masters had their own rooms with the occasional visitation rights. What, exactly, was the convention here? Solomon honestly had no idea, and while the confusion didn't exactly show, the way he frowned at the bureau was a fairly clear indication of it.

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine noted the frown, followed his gaze. No, what she knew of his living situation previously wouldn't have allowed for experience with cohabitation, would it. And this was decidedly a different dynamic from the space she'd shared with Genis.

In a moment she lifted her shoulders briefly. Not quite a dismissal, but she didn't have a good answer for him. "I don't have much," she said at length, coming around to stand before him. "And as hospitable as Anton is, the Hotel is unlikely to be viable as a permanent residence. If it makes you more comfortable, we can allocate the available space evenly between us in the morning. Do you object to your things being shifted occasionally, should the space on, for instance, the desk become necessary?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"As permanent as there is, until either of us find a fixed income for somewhere else," Solomon pointed out. Raine was far more likely, with far more beneficial skills for the community. Solomon had established himself far too much as a necromancer; now all kedan wanted were to discover the fate of their missing loved-ones. It was still possible through detective-work, but there was a greater chance of failure and therefore a refused wage. Solomon didn't like failing.

"I'd hope I wouldn't clutter the desk to the point to make that necessary," he said dryly with another glance around, and swung his legs into the bed. "But yes, I believe a proper allocation might be necessary." When in doubt, delineate constraints first.

[ruinsprofessor]

"That's true," she admitted. "There's some potential, but the healer's guild is unlikely to be a profitable venture for some time, if ever." Important work, yes, not anything she'd give up, but a livelihood would also be necessary, one way or another, before a place of her own -- their own -- became possible. Even so, Raine was reluctant to call the Hotel home, or to treat it as if she might not have to leave suddenly.

Home was more about the people she was with, in any case. Iselia aside, it had nearly always been that way.

"All right. In the morning, then." Raine nodded, and, in the apparent lack of anything else to handle on that front, went to turn the lights off before returning to the bed, slipping under the covers beside him. "Do you have any other concerns that we should address before then?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"Any other concerns?" Solomon repeated thoughtfully, as if giving the matter genuine consideration while he made himself comfortable. He rolled over to wrap his arms around and kiss the tip of her ear. "No, I do believe I'm quite unconcerned, currently." He smiled in to the darkness and her hair. "Good night."