tushanshu_logs | [Midnight Hotel] April catch-all

Entry tags:

[Midnight Hotel] April catch-all

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

The last month has seen some new faces, including a young man by the name of Yuri who’s taking over the Hotel’s breakfasts. Thanks to a suggestion by Skulduggery Pleasant, there is now a sheet on the desk for newcomers to write their names and languages—an informal Foreigner census sheet, as it were.

There is also a new feature in the lobby—a birdhouse with a peppermint-fragranced candle on the porch and an owl tucked inside to project the nest. It’s hung from the balcony over the desk, and in fact its presence there has dissolved some tensions among the kedan which had not been readily apparent until they were gone. If anyone asks, the kedan will freely explain that a house-guardian traditionally protects a homestead against nightmares, bad luck and ill-will. Fighting under the eye of a house-guardian is Very Bad Luck, even if fighting in the Hotel wasn’t bad luck already.

The garage is also newly opened, shiny and bright and still smelling of steel and brick from the construction. The Bentley has claimed her rightful place inside it, but be careful about touching her; her owner is possessive. There is a sign-up sheet at the front desk for the four fee-based work-spaces now available there. They’re medium-sized and in cubicles against the wall, with some space underneath for storage and power outlets. Chairs are bring-your-own. There are also storage spaces on the other wall, for those who’d like to lock their things away somewhere more private.

In general, however, the Hotel is running quite smoothly and more and more the kedan are relaxed about being there. Those who are regulars are less likely to call it ‘the Foreigner’s hotel’ and more likely to call it by its name, in passive recognition of its place in the city at large rather than as a representative of the outsiders.

[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 OR A JOB. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out.

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['cool'? really, Hiro? Robert snorts a bit at that, but his smile's still present.....up until the mention of the taser]

...why do you need a taser?

[~~u fuckin kno why~~]

For...self-defense?

[Hiro ducks his head, sheepish and shrugging his shoulders. No, don't look at him like that, adults are always looking at him like that and he knows they have a good reason to but he's for real right now. Self-defense only.]

You know, in case of roughnecks 'n stuff. Like the guys at this place we're going.

[~~rude!!!111one~~

Callaghan stares down at Hiro for a moment...then shakes his head with a heavy sigh]

I can solve part of that; stay by me, and nobody will bother you. In fact, I want you to promise that you won't even go here without me- unless you'd rather turn around head back for the hotel.

[them's the breaks, kid.]

[Hiro trips, startled, and straightens in a hurry, waving his hands and looking vaguely stricken at the mere thought.]

No! No, no, I wanna go, I just...

[Don't send him back to the hotel, Professor, he will lose his mind with boredom now that he doesn't have anything to do. ]

Won't go by myself. Promise. Cross my heart.

[there's a moment of consideration, and then Callaghan nods. even smiles, a little bit.] All right, then, I'll take that promise. We don't need you earning yourself any more little scrapes.

[slight jibe at the bruise? slight jibe at the bruise. he'll keep pleasant conversation as they walk, not prying too much, but trying to get an idea of what Hiro's been up to since he got here- as opposed to what he was doing before, and after the whole...fire thing. he'll be happy with answering the same on his own end, though he won't go in to detail with much- a few days working with Anton in the beginning, setting off on his own, doing some labor-for-trade work to keep himself afloat, even teaching a few students who seem promising...

there may be a subtle hint, there, with the way he compares them to Hiro, that it would be possible to take on another. but he doesn't say it outright. only lets the implication drop before moving on, and it's not long before he's leading Hiro in to a larger building and

well

there is a lot of Kedan, here. noise and sound and all sorts of bartering going on, here, and a crowd that's easy to get lost in.]

Edited 2015-05-01 00:42 (UTC)

[For his part, Hiro gradually shakes off his initial reticence over hanging out with Robert Callaghan of all people - because seriously, the guy's a robotics celebrity, and that's intimidating - and as he manages to relax, he grows more talkative, more animated, more generally excited. He maybe, not-so-subtly hints back that it'd be cool to have a chance to do what he couldn't, back home, and actually get to study under the man.

And, well, the circumstances are different than the ones that kept him away from SFIT in the aftermath. His brother's here. Maybe he could give it a shot.

And then they're at Callaghan's secret trade spot, and it's a whole lot busier and more organized than Hiro had imagined. Up until this point he's been carrying the mental image of maybe a seedy Kedan in a back alley, flashing metal parts from inside the flaps of a trenchcoat. This is not that.

It's crowded, and he tries to stay close, but inevitably there's a distraction or three and it's a busted microwave that grabs Hiro's attention long enough for him to get lost.]

Woah, hey, wonder if you could strip the power source outta that and maybe -

[Oh, wait. Hiro looks around and realizes he's alone. This was the thing he wasn't supposed to do, right? Whoops.]

[it'll be a play with hints, then. Robert's certainly not against the opportunity to keep an eye on Hiro, not when it accomplishes a handful of things at once. he'll think more on it later, but for now he's trying to simply steer him through the crowd with a hand on his shoulder.]

I'll take you to a few of the 'better' merchants, some will fleece you for all you've got-

[wait...Hiro's shoulder feels weird. Robert looks down to find that's not Hiro but a kedan, looking up at him with a perplexed expression- Robert immediately pulls his hand back with a quick apology and looks around, alarm rising. where is...

he can't see him]

Hiro!

[okay, so that's drawing a bit of attention to himself, but- damn it, he needs to, what if the boy's lost, what if one of the kedan roughs him up, what if he has to return him to Tadashi with another bruise, what if he can't return him at all, what if what if what if-]

[It's crowded and noisy, and Hiro's only so tall, can't see over most of the kedan to spot Callaghan in the crowd, but he has ears. He can recognize his own name. He winces, sheepishly excusing himself from the seller's table and attempting to squeeze his way through the throng in the general direction he thinks he should be going, but it's not easy and he keeps bumping into Kedan and -

And then there's one in particular that steps in front of him and won't move and -

Well, okay. Think fast.]

Over here!

[Hiro raises a hand and waves enthusiastically, jumping to hopefully grab Callaghan's attention. This, too, is drawing attention to the both of them, but if anybody makes the association between the skinny teenager and the large, angry-looking man apparently searching for someone in the crowd - well, he can't say that wouldn't be a good thing.]

[whatifwhatifwhatif-

there. Robert homes in on the cry, fully ready and willing to play a warped game of 'Marco Polo' if need be. thankfully, it's not long before he manages to find him, and what Hiro will find is a flash of worried-fueled-anger.]

I told you to stay by me-!

[most of his students are familiar with this sort of thing, if only through stories; the anger of Professor Callaghan is not something anyone deliberately invokes. restrained as he's trying to be, it's still impressive- likely, especially so to someone who's never seen it before]

[There's a brief moment's shock that flashes across Hiro's face, a visible flinch and a step back he doesn't mean to take, but it happens anyway. No, he's not really expecting it. He doesn't know anything about Callaghan except that Tadashi thinks the world of him, and to suddenly find himself the object of an outburst like this feels like being shoved under the world's biggest magnifying glass - exposed to the heat of a hyper-focused pinprick of light.

It stings. He feels the immediate sinking sensation in his chest telling him he's screwed up, and screwed up in the company of Callaghan of all people, and if there was ever anybody he didn't want to make an idiot of himself in front of...

Hiro draws a blank. For once in his life he doesn't have an excuse or even a clever response; he can only duck his head and stammer a quiet apology, the only thing that comes to mind at the moment.]

[Callaghan reaches out to grab Hiro's shoulder, and- hesitates, for a moment, seeing the reaction. very briefly, he sees Hiro reacting another way to an angry outburst...

and then he heaves out a heavy breath, hand resting on that shoulder and squeezing lightly.]

Don't scare me like that, all right? I'm responsible for you here.

[Hiro doesn't understand the hesitation, but then he doesn't understand the gesture that follows it, either, stiffening slightly. His eyes flick to the side, lingering on the hand on his shoulder and then lifting, confused. He doesn't...really get it, but okay. He nods.]

I - okay. [Worrying on Tadashi's behalf, maybe. Probably. It's the only explanation that makes sense.] Sorry. Got distracted.

I noticed. [so. very. flat.] You might want to consider paying a bit better attention.

[beat]

Or explaining what, exactly, caught your eye?

[If he could sink any lower, he'd go through the floor; his brain's quickly filling up with oh god, oh god, oh god on repeat, and the strong urge to bury his face in his hands in shame. And not much else; for a second he can't remember what was so important that he strayed away from the Callaghan-approved safe zone in the first place.]

Uh....uh. Just a busted AC unit. I thought maybe I could gut it for parts, or...I dunno. [A shrug. His eyes go in the general direction of the bench he spotted it at, but not for long.] Forget it.

If you can use it for parts, you can use it. Come on, we'll take a look. [that hand on Hiro's shoulder? now pushing a bit, in a clear gesture to lead on.

frankly, he's pretty sure Hiro can find some things in here that he might have overlooked, so it's worth investigating in his opinion]

What? [Hiro stumbles a bit, at the sudden nudge, looking a little confused. He thought he was in trouble? He's pretty sure that's what was happening here, up until a second ago.] Uh, okay -

[He has to take a second to get his bearings and remember which direction he came from, but once he figures it out he leads Callaghan back to the seller he originally stopped at. May as well keep that hand on his shoulder. Or see if anybody's selling a kiddie harness and a leash.

He stops a short distance away, so as not to draw any attention or hassle from the vendor yet, but the unit's still there. He nudges Callaghan and points.]

See? It looked like it was in pretty good condition, except the front mesh had a hole in it. There's gotta be parts in there that'd work for other things.

[no harnesses and leashes that Callaghan can see, but don't tempt him, Hiro, he may invest in one. that thought aside, ke looks over the piece critically, but at the kedan's expectant expression, eventually shakes his head

he steers Hiro away without a word, at least until they're out of earshot and able]

We'll swing around on the way back, but for now it's better just to remember where it is. I doubt it'll move by the time we get a better look at what's here, and decide if we do want it after all.

[Hiro opens his mouth to protest, but one sidelong glance at the vendor shows an expectant expression bordering on predatory, and suddenly he recognizes the price in juulans ticking up in the kedan's mind.

So he plays along and looks wholly disinterested as they steer away, busying himself looking around at what else is available.]

You're probably right. That dude was totally gonna rip us off.

[Alright, so, he's not totally inattentive.]

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[Midnight Hotel] April catch-all

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I'M RETCONNING THE THING BECAUSE NOT SURE IF MICROWAVES OK

WHEN IN DOUBT crazy dream thing

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this thread is OOOOLD and we can wrap it up soon if you want, assume they bought things and shopping