tushanshu_logs | you're no protagonist

Entry tags:

you're no protagonist

Characters: Krei, Callaghan, & Anton
Date: Marchish, following this TDM thread which we are taking as canon because Reasons.
Location: The Hotel
Situation: Callaghan drags Krei to the Hotel after dragging him out of trouble with some Kedan ~~and finishing the mugging they started~~. Hi Anton, have his best frenemy, please help keep him out of further trouble.
Warnings/Rating: None except for repressed homicidal thoughts?

By the time they reach the Hotel's entrance, Callaghan is relatively certain he's made clear the need for Krei to behave; intimidation is not something he particularly likes, but he reasons it's necessary, here. And even if Krei did talk- who would believe him? Robert's already been here long enough to feel that people would at least doubt, but he doesn't want any sort of rumor undermining what he's begun.

He's barely started to accept he has to make a life here, and now Krei's threatening it all with his mere presence.

But true to his words, he's brought him to safety. Pushing open the doors to the lobby, Callaghan takes a look around, then makes a gesture towards the sitting area.

"Stay there. I'll find Anton and explain."

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"Everyone has the potential to be trouble," said Anton simply. "That is why the Midnight Hotel exists; to minimise the trouble for all in at least one location, regardless of when it began. Shall we?" He hung up the towel turned to stride toward the lobby without picking up his coat. In spite of that, even with his rolled-up sleeves, with his tie and waistcoat he still managed to look like a funeral director.

Callaghan's not far off the mark. After meandering slowly through the room for a minute or two, Krei drops unceremoniously into a chair and sits there with one arm propped up on the arm of the chair, cradling his forehead. He's still too wired from the events of the day to doze off, but it's the first bit of peace he's had since crashing into Robert in that alley. It's just enough time to look back on the events of the last several hours with a growing sense of dismay.

At the eventual sound of footsteps he pushes himself back to his feet, re-buttoning the front of his suit jacket. He spares a quick glance at the unfamiliar man accompanying Callaghan, but he's going to stay quiet until proper introductions are made. It's the polite thing to do, and Alistair Krei is rarely anything but polite.

He'll even try to keep the anxiety from his face when he looks back over at Callaghan. Which may or may not succeed. He's not exactly bringing his A-game today.

All that gets is an unhappy 'mmm'; as much as he wants to further stress it, what will it do? He's said his piece, and even that involved an admission that Alistair might not be at high risk from trouble here and now. But who knows?

The sooner he can step back from this and think, the better.

He follows Anton back in to the lobby, frown only deepening as Krei returns into sight. At least he stayed in place, and that is what he'd ask-demanded...

"Anton- Alistair Krei. Alistair- this is Anton Shudder, the proprietor of the hotel."

There's the urge to add something along the lines of while you're here, you do as he says- but the look in his face will have to speak for that.

The tension was practically palpable, and Callaghan's words almost clipped as if he was withholding something at the end. If Anton had had any doubts of there being bad blood here, they would have been gone; but at the same time, it was curious. Alistair Krei, from his nervous movements, wasn't a soldier. In the public arena in some fashion, but hardly a fighter. And the anxious glance he gave to Callaghan? That was the look of a frightened man.

Anton had a nagging and unwelcome suspicion that it wasn't Krei he'd have to watch, at least when these two were in the room together.

"Mister Krei," he said, offering his hand to the newcomer with a gentle smile. "How much has the professor informed you of this establishment?" Anton was striking primarily in his impassivity. In spite of the genuineness of the smile, the man presented as someone impossible to ruffle--primarily because he was impossible to ruffle.

The offered hand might have been enough to put Krei at ease were Callaghan not standing right there. Handshakes are normal. He's used to handshakes. As it is, it helps, but there's still that lingering feeling of dread. Any friend of Callaghan's....

Nevertheless he takes the hand, offering a smile of his own. He normally has a very charming smile, although it's a little smaller than usual today--he's trying not to start his busted lip bleeding again. Probably wouldn't do to go bleeding all over the hotel. "A pleasure."

At the question he glances over at Callaghan. It could almost be called a glare. Almost. One eyebrow raises just slightly. "Not at all, to be honest."

But Krei, Callaghan is keeping his hands to himself. They're at his pockets, and he looks only so different than he did at the showcase. That's not threatening at all.

(He couldn't set the hotel on fire if he tried.)

"I told him it was safe, and that he could stay here while he got his bearings," he informs Anton with a sideways look. Maybe not word for word, but close enough to such. I doubt even you can get in trouble. "I haven't touched on the magic, if that's what you're wondering."

His gaze may be trailing back towards Alistair, if only to see what his reaction to the m-word is.

"I see," said Anton, catching the trailing glance. It was a testing glance, and he recalled Callaghan's disbelief about magic. Krei was likely not aware of the potential, either. Anton inclined his head toward Krei. "If you'll follow me to the desk--" He nodded toward it, turning with his arm extended to guide Krei in its direction. "--I shall tend your injury and explain the details. You are not familiar with magic or magical theory, correct?"

Magic.

Magical theory.

If he weren't currently in a city that shouldn't exist, surrounded by people that probably shouldn't exist, this might just give him enough cause to think that both of them have lost their minds--or that it's some sort of game. Pulling the new guy's leg. Except he knows Callaghan well enough at least to know that he probably wouldn't bother playing games, not like that. He's straightforward. Painfully so.

Still, magic. It's hard to keep the disbelief from his face. "I, ah... no, no I'm not."

He can't help it--he shoots another quick look at Callaghan even as he's being directed toward the desk, hoping the other man might somehow, miraculously clear things up. Are you kidding me?

Edited 2015-03-17 03:33 (UTC)

Oh, now he has to stay, if only for another minute or two. Is this considered sadism? Callaghan's at least smiling when Krei looks at him, but he doesn't look as though he's joking; just that he's amused by it all.

"There's nothing like it, back home," he reminds Anton. And as for Alistair; "My crash course was significantly more overwhelming. You're welcome."

Then again, it involved Tony Stark, and he had asked for it all at once.

"Magic," Anton confirmed. "The magic from my world is not, contrary to popular opinion, the antithesis of science, but something of a step to the side. Professor Callaghan has been studying it alongside the mechanics of the Hotel's utilities." He reached under the desk for the first-aid kit, or at least the complete version, and put it on the top.

"Here." He gave Krei a small pot of cream and a mirror. "Dab this on your lip and leave it, and it should heal within an hour." There was no point in wasting actual magic on split lips, but salves, dissolvable salts and other magical--and usually horrible-smelling--remedies for minor cuts or bruises were common luxuries these days.

"The Midnight Hotel is something of an interdimensional premises," Anton went on blithely. "It can be entered into or exited from six different doors within the city of Keeliai. It has one major rule: no violence is permitted, including theft or entering rooms not yours without permission." Actually there were two, but Anton rarely mentioned the second one, since it was covered under 'no entering rooms not yours' and implying there was anything special about it was generally a recipe for disaster. "Those who contravene the rule of non-violence will face me in battle on their victim's behalf."

It was a lot of information, but Anton was patient, if it took Krei a few minutes to register all of it. Besides which, he had a feeling Callaghan might need the reminder.

That is certainly a lot of information, which makes Krei all the more grateful for the first aid cream and the mirror. As foul smelling as the stuff is, it gives him something to focus on as he's listening to Anton explain about interdimensional premises and the like. He nods to the man and mutters a quiet thank you for the cream, not wanting to interrupt. If he's going to be staying here for any length of time he'd like to know what he's dealing with, as completely insane as most of it sounds.

And then they hit the part about non-violence and Krei has to suppress the urge to grin.

Had Callaghan known about that when he'd brought him here? Or had it factored into things at all? Either way it's a blessing. Alistair clears his throat, tamping down the feeling of relief long enough to ask, "You face them in battle? That sounds a bit... drastic. Does that happen very often?"

"It does not," Anton said, and he noticed the edge of what might just have been relief in Krei's face. The only violent occurrences had happened when Anton first found the Hotel had arrived after him, after it had already been claimed by about a dozen gang-members who didn't believe it was already owned. It had also happened after the Foreigners' year-long sleep in the Dreaming, when a band of a half-dozen Snakes got it into their heads that they had a right to dictate the rules on weaponry within the Hotel.

There had been a number of broken bones and bruises on both occasions. None of said broken bones and bruises had belonged to Anton.

"The Midnight Hotel was built as a sanctuary unaffiliated with any outside nation or authority," Anton explained. "Rest assured no one who pursues you outside these walls will be permitted to do so within. Have you any other injuries which require tending?"

Edited (wording) 2015-03-17 04:51 (UTC)

"Mm? No, that was it, thankfully." He doesn't bother to mention the fact that he has Callaghan to thank for keeping his injuries to a bare minimum. They're already been through that, he and Robert, and singing the other man's praises would be approximately like pulling teeth at the moment.

Speaking of pulling teeth:

"I suppose we should discuss the matter of payment, then?"

Callaghan has his credit cards, every last one of them. The man even has his driver's license. Alistair knows they're worthless here anyway, but to truly, physically have nothing.... It's almost painful. He's so used to having anything he could possibly need or want at his fingertips. Discussing payment in front of Callaghan is like salt in the wound, almost like begging the man to gloat just a little harder.

There's a flicker of something at the reminder, but Callaghan only listens. He's not - quite - disappointed at the lack of further stressing on just how out of his league Krei is, be it in magic or anything else...but it soon enough comes around to such, and then he steps in;

"He's come only with foreign currency, and isn't much suited for the kind of work I've been helping with. There's not much he can do, but if necessary, I could..."

There's not any smugness or malice in it. There is, however, a casualness that borders on insult; the smooth assumption that Krei has nothing to offer, and therefore needs assistance in taking care of that payment, and therefore it is up to Callaghan to provide it.

It's a challenge. Prove him wrong, Krei, or find yourself further indebted.

Was there any degree of possibility that Callaghan was speaking from the kindness of his heart, given the clear restrained fury he was radiating and the obviously biased warning he'd tried to give Anton? Anton thought not much of one. The comment about Callaghan's own work was interesting--obviously they were in the same field, though if Callaghan was an engineer and Krei a businessman that didn't mean there was an equality in their skills.

It just depended what sort of businessman Krei was. And why Callaghan would want to hold a debt over his head.

"I accept work in exchange for room and board if you've no juulan," Anton said patiently to Krei. "Though if you would like to exchange any of your foreigner currency, I can do so here at the Hotel." It was a minor loss, except for whatever bullion the coin offered--but that could be quite lucrative on its own. "In the meantime, what practical skills can you offer?"

If Alistair had been flirting around the edges of glaring at Callaghan before, all pretense is gone now. The look he gives the other man could freeze water.

"I'm a computer engineer," he sighs, turning back to Anton, his expression quickly flipping back to one of casual civility. "Technically I'm the CEO of a technology company, but my specific field is computer engineering. That said, I realize there probably isn't much call for that sort of thing here...."

Hadn't Callaghan said something about this place being a century behind them in technology?

"Failing that, I've done electrical work and some mechanical engineering." Probably enough to qualify in a place like this, anyway.

Callaghan very deliberately doesn't meet Alistair's gaze. Not from any lack of courage, but from the implied you're not worth deferring to. But even that is a challenge, because all told?

He's wondering what Krei thinks he can offer, too. Whether the 'debt' is taken or he gets a better idea of what the other man will be up to, both will work.

Nonetheless, he does arch his brow slightly at the offer- already thinking to the work he's done. If Anton wants to find another task for it, fine, but Robert doesn't like the idea of Alistair going over what he's already worked upon. And it's more than that.

"Something simple."

With what he's said already, it could very well be another insult. But he's a bit more serious, now, to Anton; with their earlier conversation, Callaghan is already thinking of what would happen if Alistair tried his hand with sigils...

He's pretty sure that Anton's smarter than that - Robert himself is only getting the basics, nowhere near enough to try doing it on his own, even if he had the whim to try - but the concern remains.

Nothing you can't go without.

Edited 2015-03-18 04:33 (UTC)

So, roughly the same field. Anton ignored Callaghan's Look and nodded. "I have a number of mechanical engineers at my disposal and don't need another," he said calmly, "but I have been wondering, of late, whether it is worth having a computer system for some of the Hotel's business. If you can build me one of those, I would consider if sufficient deposit. We can re-negotiate once you find some solid work."

The Metalworkers and Stark Industries sprang to mind. Even if Anton didn't wind up using the computer, as could very well happen, either he could sell it to one of the kedan or Krei could take it back and do the same, and back-pay in juulan.

It certainly doesn't hurt Krei's feelings to know that he's not needed for mechanical work--he knows the field, but there's a reason he didn't pursue it personally. He nods as Anton speaks, then reaches into his suit jacket and pulls a sleek tablet computer from an inside pocket. The device is mercifully undamaged by the events of the day.

He doesn't bother to look at Callaghan this time, knowing that the only reason the computer isn't in the other man's hands right now is because he'd pissed him off enough to forget about it. Not his problem.

"I don't know what kind of battery life I've got left," he says, thumbing the power button, "or what kind of tech you've got here, if it's even possible to charge something like this, but I can do some digging, see if I can figure something out."

The display powers on and Krei activates the holo-projection feature. The desktop icons burst off the glass in a little shower of light to wind up hovering over the tablet.

"It's an option. Otherwise I'll see about building something from scratch."

So much for the advisory. Although if Anton's gotten by without it...

...

Oh.

That tablet would have been useful to demand of Krei, but- Callaghan's not so blind as think that he can get it at this point, not with Anton right in front of them. It's an ache, though, to see the tablet a prime example of what he doesn't have here. He has a workshop, a primitive worktable, he has the microbots hidden away...

But things he'd once taken for granted, he's reminded of all in a flash, and he tightens his jaw for it. Had Krei hidden it? Had he just not thought of...?

"If you've got this in hand, then."

If nothing else Callaghan knows he needs to clear his head.

Edited 2015-03-19 01:01 (UTC)

"I believe we do," said Anton, now meeting Callaghan's gaze, and catching the ... something close to hunger, perhaps. Definite frustration. For all that Callaghan was trying to cast a shadow over Krei, having Callaghan out of the conversation was probably the best for both of them. "Thank you, Professor. I shall see you another time."

If Callaghan didn't avoid the Hotel for a while. ... Or even if he did. Hm. Whatever was happening between the two, at least it was mutual.

Anton turned his attention back to Krei. "I am familiar with holograms," he said, though of course the ones he was familiar with were made of magic and weren't holograms at all. "They will be more useful than buttons. All I require is that they are big enough for me to see and use--I have an unsteady hand, on occasion."

Side-effect of having the gist. Sometimes its presence shook him, even when he hadn't used it.

"Robert."

It's difficult to keep the look of triumph from his face as he says it--and it's an actual triumph this time, unlike the premature version earlier in the day--but he somehow manages. For the most part. Callaghan did keep him from getting ground to a pulp by the kedan, and that counts for something...

...although if they're going to start keeping score, Alistair's pretty sure Callaghan's running deep in the red from the get-go.

But finally, after hours of feeling completely lost, Krei is back in his element. He nods to Anton. "Not a problem. I can adjust the interface to make it even larger if you like, and if I can find you a steady power supply you should have more than enough memory on this thing for whatever you need. Just let me clean it up a bit and lock the few personal files I have on here until I can get them transferred to something else, and then it's all yours."

If it sounds like a sales pitch, well. It's what he does.

Anton kept one eye on Callaghan as the man left, noted the tension in him as he did, and for a brief moment considered asked Krei what had occurred between them before dismissing the idea. It was obviously highly personal and Anton didn't know Krei well enough; but he did know Callaghan well enough, and would have to check on the man at a later time, once Anton had made his own conclusions about Krei.

"One of my other patrons, a Tony Stark, may be able to set you up with a power supply," Anton said. "Otherwise, the outlets in the Hotel will be able to accommodate any power resources you may need--assuming you world is near enough to mine to utilise the same types of plugs from nation to nation."

It meant the outlets were rather larger than anywhere else, but on the other hand there was a plug for every type available. It had been easier than distributing them at the desk.

Krei doesn't do anything quite so tactless as sigh with relief as Callaghan departs, but there's an obvious shift in his demeanor. Suddenly he's more relaxed, more confident, and he smiles at least twice as often as before. He's not a completely new person but he's certainly brighter without Callaghan's influence nearby.

"I'll take a look, and I'll see about contacting this... Stark, was it?"

If there's someone who can hook him up with a power supply even in this place, as technologically backwater as he's been led to believe it is, they might just be his key to finding out the exact state of the tech here--and what's been done to improve it.

Of course now without Callaghan around, knowing that he and Anton are on friendly terms, Krei can't help but feel that there's some sort of vacuum in the conversation. An obligation to explain that whole unpleasantness, as it were.

He smiles and ignores it.

"I do appreciate this. The room, the..." He gestures to his face, the busted lip. "It's been a hell of a day."

The change is almost astounding. So astounding as to be troubling. "Yes," said Anton, deadpan but with a hint of humour in his eyes. It always amused him when someone didn't recognise Tony's name, given that 'Tony Stark' was such a pop-culture icon. Not that Anton ever mentioned it. Privacy, and all that. "He's young, but something of a genius in the field of engineering."

But at the thanks Anton only smiled, and contrary to his usual impassiveness, the smile was the unexpectedly gentle sort--unexpected only because there were times Anton presented as far too uptight to soften at all. "You're welcome," he said, and his tone matched his expression. "Shall I show you to your room? We've only dormitories available currently, I'm afraid, but there are one or two without many boarders."

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you're no protagonist

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I can see Cal taking his leave if you guys want to take it from here?

sure. assuming Krei doesn't pull out his tablet in the next tag. XD

Nah, although smug look at the no violence rule is totally go

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skipping with permission

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