[Midnight Hotel] May catch-all

[gistful]

Characters: Anyone, everyone.
Date: Month of MAY, 2016 (2017 in-game).
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, using the subject header to label specific rooms or for specific people. See also the OOC note at the bottom.
Warnings/Rating: Mark your threads if content warnings become applicable, please!

The overtone in the Hotel this month is rather melancholy. Anton is back on full-time duty with his usual courtesy after the visitors have left, though he rarely smiles, unless looking at some particular pictures. There have been a few other notable changes.

For one thing, Anton will not wear his usual funeral-director’s suit this whole month. He will, in fact, wear colour. For the most part he wears a three-piece suit of understated purple, accompanied by various complementary shades in shirts and waistcoats. (It was a gift.) Occasionally he breaks out, grudgingly, a kedanese variant of a traditional three-piece suit, though admittedly still dark in tones.

For another thing, the tablet at the desk which habitually chimes with a perky voice is gone, but there are a multiple of photographs pinned to various places at reception (to say nothing of his private office). All of these photographs are of the same group of eight men—Anton included, as well as Erskine Ravel and Skulduggery Pleasant—in various states of handymanship, craftsmanship, and physical labour as they renovate a building (in various states of completion). None of the images are posed, and some of them have an air of wistful uncertainty, but others an air of unthinking camaraderie, where the laughter is free.

The third and possibly most noticeable change is that the resident janitorial cleaning faery, Erskine, has apparently moved out. It is for that reason that Anton is regularly not available in the late evenings, since someone has to check up on Erskine now he’s living on his own.

Other than that, the actual Hotel’s workings remain as normal. The restaurant begun in April is continuing with reasonable popularity, running a little more smoothly than it did in the beginning. There is slight tension in the kitchen, as some of the kedanese cooks work out the hierarchy, but it never reaches a point where Anton has to step in. Still, there are some jaundiced glares being thrown around the kitchen and dining hall.

Meanwhile, the sleeping-bags are packed up and stowed away, and the commons are returned to their usual states after having been appropriated for the giant slumber-party.

[ooc: The Midnight Hotel’s status page is available here, with the rules at the top. PLEASE POST TO THE STATUS PAGE IF YOUR CHARACTER WOULD LIKE A ROOM, JOB OR AREA IN THE GARAGE, OR ARE MOVING OUT. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out.]

Comments

OTA - that curious old battleaxe

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alleyana starts skulking around the place at the start of the month, poking into this and that. Thankfully, she doesn't try to open any closed doors, other than the roof access, but a person could run into her in any of the hallways or open-access rooms in the first few days. Or on the roof, of course. Which she totally doesn't toss a few pebbles off of to see what happens. Noooope.

On a specific note, she keeps an eye out for Klaus, who she talked to on the comm at the very end of April. But it's not uncommon for her to end up talking with whomever she comes across that's of interest. She herself may be of enough interest to start a conversation with; a fully-armored woman whose face looks like it lost a war with a wall and a hatchet, missing an arm, and she still wears a mace on her belt and a huge shield on her back? Throw in the pointy ears, and even around here she may not be something you see every day.

(( OOC: Open To All! Just mention where it is in the hotel in the header, plz. :D ))

Lobby!

[purered]

It was hard for anyone with a working pair of eyes to miss Klaus. There weren't exactly many seven-foot tall fanged redheads walking around, after all. The man's appearance tended to give many the first impression that someone had stuffed a lion in a three-piece suit and taught it to walk on its hind legs.

Presently, he was coming back to the hotel after a rather long day at the flower shop. He'd taken time off to fill in for Anton, but now that the hotel's proprietor was back, Klaus had returned to his regular duties and there had been a bit of catch-up. He carried with him a number of potted plants (Leonardo had suggested them to spruce up their room), and a bag of groceries. This had become a bit of a balancing act - there were a number of Kedan children in the lobby playing tag, and Klaus was trying to navigate the chaos without accidentally treading on one of them - hard to do when you've suddenly been roped into being a base for the chasee's to catch their breath.

A pair of six year olds had latched onto his trouser legs when he spotted Alleyana.

"Ah - you must be the new arrival I spoke to. Welcome to the Midnight Hotel."

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alley was used to seven foot tall people with horns, red hair optional, so Klaus wasn't that weird to her. Not after kicking around with The Iron Bull and his longhorn 'rack' for years. Still he and his predicament were both plenty noticeable, the elf glancing up from a book she'd been staring into, from her place in a chair. The glance turned into a longer look, but not a particularly wary one.

Because again, the average qunari was just as big! And Bull hadn't been average.

"Hey," she closed the book in her one hand with a snap, and set it back where she'd found it before standing up. "That's me. You're Klaus, then; can't say you're hard to recognize."

Neither was Alley, of course. Especially with the armor and weapons... but she didn't intend to draw the latter in this place, even if she didn't intend to go unarmed.

...Ha, unarmed. Speaking of, it was apparent enough when she stood that she only had one arm. The other ended a few inches below the elbow, and was replaced with a metal rod. That was it, just a rod, with the dragonhide leather of her sleeve cinched shut around its base. It was about the same length as her arm and fist would have been, with no attempts to hide its nature. Could she at least wrap it in cloth or something? Sure. But why?

[purered]

Well, he certainly hadn't heard that (or at least some variation of it) before. He disguised a chuckle as a bit of a cough.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Are the lodgings to your liking?"

Klaus had never actually met an elf before. To be fair, a pair of pointed ears wasn't much of an indicator of being otherwise human when you came from a city mixed with interdimensional aliens and all other manner of supernatural beings.

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alley hardly minded not sticking out. That was a rarity even on her own world; less because of the elf thing, and more because of the Inquisitor thing. The glowing hand had been a give-away, and now the dragonbone bar of her left arm drew stares instead.

Or had, for the few weeks she'd been on her world, sans arm.

"Yeah, I'm not picky."

Roof!

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo had purposefully been making himself scarce whenever Alley was anywhere nearby. He didn't need a continuation of their near-fight in the library. Still, having to duck out of sight was starting to grate on him. To say they had gotten off on the wrong foot would be putting it lightly. If she was going to live here he'd have to swallow his considerable pride and do something about the potential aggression.

A peace offering perhaps? Or at least an attempt to make peace at all.

He'd seen her go up to the roof five minutes or so ago and he watched the pull down stairs for a while. Well, no point putting it off. He had intended to head up for a smoke anyways, at least he could pass it off as that if she got annoyed.

He wasn't in his robes this time, just what he usually wore under them. That and a small bag on a shoulder strap, resting on his hip. It was a bit more convenient way to carry the sutra while out of uniform. The first few pick-pockets had received resounding blows to the skull and that seemed to discourage most others.

Sanzo acted like he didn't know Alley was there when he reached the roof, immediately heading for the nearest edge and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alleyana was up there tossing a rock off the edge. It came back as though bounced, each time, and she caught it in her one, gauntleted hand before tossing it again. Apparently poking at wards was a good pass-time?

She was, in fact, making a slow circuit of the rooftop, curious as to whether she'd find any holes or not. So far, nothing. But the Inquisitor was known for nothing if not known for poking at what didn't necessarily need poking at. Wasn't that how it had all started; her crazy last few years?

The elf glanced at Sanzo, and rolled her eyes a little at his act. Like she was any less conspicuous without the glowing hand than she had been with it. Alleyana passed by him on her circuit, deciding she didn't care enough to test the spot he was occupying. This wasn't a real attempt at anything, anyway; just a poke. And a poke, and a poke. Why?

Because.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo was at least going to light his cigarette before dealing with this potential explosion. Tactful, he was not. As for what she was doing... Whatever, let her have her fun. It wasn't until he released the first trail of white smoke into the air that he bothered to speak.

"I didn't come up here to be an asshole." A very important thing to note with Sanzo, really.

[inquisitor_lavellan]

"Well, that's something," Alleyana paused mid-toss, the rock still in her gloved palm. She hefted it, then tossed it onto the rooftop where she'd found it. Pah, this prodding at the shields was pointless anyway. And what would she do if she found a hole? With her track record, she'd just go tumbling through it.

Come out the other side as spaghetti, maybe.

Whatever.

Alley folded her arms. Well, her arm and her metal rod. She didn't bother to watch Sanzo, opting instead to gaze out into nothingness. There was no reason to assume his statement was the opener to anything, after all.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo was pretty bad at apologizing to begin with and he wasn't even inclined to. He just needed to make sure he didn't get him and Amberdrake kicked out. Not that any of this was easy for him, what the fuck was he supposed to say?

"You smoke?" he asked, looking over to her. Peace offering it was, unless that somehow offended her. That would be his luck.

[inquisitor_lavellan]

"Only when I get lit on fire," Alleyana said, absolutely dry. "Or come stumbling out of the Fade."

She had no idea what a cigarette was; not a single ounce of recognition.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo looked away briefly, trying not to laugh at that. At least he'd only been set on fire once or twice. The last time had been pretty bad but-

He looked back and held up his cigarette. "I meant one of these. I guess you're not used to them." He didn't sound any ruder than he did by default. "Some old fart convinced me they're a good idea. Turns out they're pretty good for your sanity. At least if you're the type to get covered in blood regularly."

No doubt she was. Why still walk around in full armor otherwise?

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alley... approached, slowly, one sharp eyebrow arching. "I don't know what could have ever given that impression," said the one-armed woman, her tone so dry it could have crumbled away in the slightest breeze.

"Sanity, hm? If they addle your brain, then I'd pass." Maybe that explained his personality the other day.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Okay he could only keep up a mildly pleasant act up for so long. Another tendril of smoke rising up against the barrier that surrounded the place before he replied.

"I'm not stupid enough for that," he snapped. "It's just to relax and do something other than sit in a room or in that damn library. I'm trying to make some peace here, not get you high. I rather not get kicked out of here."

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alleyana snorted, but it was an amused one, and held out her gauntleted hand. "Fine, I'll try one. Can't be worse than the stuff Bull's Chargers like to get me to me drink."

One of those drinks would, as Bull liked to put it, 'put chest on your chest'. It had tasted about the same as it sounded; god awful with a hefty side of why did I just drink what he handed me.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo offered her one and was even nice enough to light it for her. Not that she could have otherwise. He wasn't going to hand off his current lighter to someone wearing gauntlets!

Now was he going to explain anything or see if she could follow by example? He chose the latter, an asshole to the bitter end, he was. Besides, she seems smart enough to figure it out.

"I have shit that's milder than whatever they got you to drink but I don't carry that around." And he still wasn't sure if he could do more than have a drink in his own room as it was. "Just try that instead."

[inquisitor_lavellan]

"Hn," Alleyana plucked it from his fingers nimbly enough with the pointy-tipped fingers of her one gauntlet. She eyed it dubiously for a moment, then stuck the not-on-fire end between her lips and inhaled.

Carefully, because she wasn't a moron.

She let the smoke out a bit faster than a veteran would have, but did not cough! This wasn't any worse than breathing around dragon-fire, after all. Not much more pleasant either, though. The elf made a face -- which was saying something, with her face.

"You like these?" She asked, with it still dangling from her lips. "It tastes like a dragon ate a barrel of gaatlok and then belched it back out." Which, since dragon fire was one of the secret ingredients to the gaatlok she'd encountered, meant regurgitated dragon fire. Kind of. It was hard to put one of her remaining fingers on it.

[badly_behaved_priest]

It was a true struggle to not laugh. Not wanting a gauntleted fist to the face was good motivation to contain himself, at least. She didn't cough, that was something.

"Better than nothing," Sanzo replied, turning his head to hide his amusement. "At least someone else has run into a damn dragon..." Completely different kinds of dragons, maybe, but he would take what he could get.

lobby!

[starspangled]

He needs to get out there, find out more about the city firsthand. He needs to talk to more people. Getting a room is just one thing on a long list of things that Steve needs to do to feel like he's getting the hang of things here. Having a roof over his head isn't even the greatest thing on his mind, but he was pointed in this direction.

So here he is, broad-shouldered and still uniformed, a shield on his own back. He's looking around the lobby, taking it all in when a shadow falls across his.

"Excuse me." Steve takes to the side before laying eyes on her - and then to the shield over her shoulder. "I was looking for the Midnight Hotel. Is this the place?"

Re: lobby!

[inquisitor_lavellan]

Alleyana would have been surprised to know the shield was one of the first things he'd noticed. The locals found staring at her pointy ears more interesting, often. Or at the flat metal bar that made up her left forearm.

Not that she was offended in either case. Offense would mean giving a damn; she refused to do so. Besides, no one here sneered and called her a knife-ear, so she'd take it.

"It is," the Inquisitor eyed Steve in return, and his own shield. Hers was bigger. A far less viable projectile, though; the huge, heavy, spiky monstrosity was meant more for bashing against dragons' and demons' faces. "You a newcomer, then?"

Not that she was much his senior if so; she'd only arrived a few days ago, herself.

[starspangled]

One of his teammates is green...green and really big. Steve might notice these things, but then he moves on from it. He nods in reply before speaking.

"That's right. I'm hoping to get a room for a few days. Just long enough to get on my feet." He doesn't like to let moss grow on him, and he's already heard about plenty of things that need doing. It's not entirely selfless - the more Steve can stay busy, the more he can keep his mind off of things. "My name's Steve Rogers."

[inquisitor_lavellan]

"A few days? And then what?" Alleyana asks, quirking a scar-crossed eyebrow. Not that it's any of her business, she knows. She can damn near hear Dorian drawling in the background; The Inquisitor is being inquisitive! Who would have ever guessed?

She misses her people, too.

"You'll have to talk to reception about a room; I don't work here," the elf is quick to distance herself from her own question. "I'm Alley. Alleyana Lavellan."

Not that the name holds any significance here, anyway. Just as Steve's doesn't bring a flash of recognition, no one's snapping any salutes at the Inquisitor, either. Which she's fine with; it's the rest of the situation she's not fond of.

This place feels like a diversion, like a trap. Like Solas somehow got her sent here to get her off his trail, to keep her safe while he rends the world apart. So he doesn't have to look her in the eye when he does it.

...She's starting to see the appeal in those cigarettes the priest upstairs smokes.

[starspangled]

It is a good question though, and it leaves Steve looking a little abashed and a little amused.

"I guess we'll see." A few days seems reasonable to get himself up and running in a new world. That independent little punk lives on inside him.

"Thanks. I'll check there." But before he can move on... "I couldn't help but notice the shield. Are you a soldier?"

[inquisitor_lavellan]

It's Alley's turn to face an unexpected question. The Inquisitor blinks, and considers her answer for a moment. "...Of a sorts, I suppose," Alley had never belonged to the ranks of an army, but she'd led one. Quite successfully, in fact, though she still held that most of that military success had been on the shoulders of Commander Cullen, not herself. He'd led the actual troops while she led the inner circle...

Realizing she's started to sort of... gaze off into nothingness, the one-armed elf shakes her head and forces herself to regain focus. "I see you've got a shield, too. Does that make you a soldier?" A reasonable question, she thinks, in light of his own question. If bearing a shield possibly equaled a soldier, then what does that make him?

Then, on impulse, she raises her stumpy left arm a bit, and the blackened, dragonbone bar that continues off it to approximately the length her arm plus her fist should have been. It's flat, and has two holes drilled through it. "I have to bolt mine on," she offers the tidbit of random information, "these days. But my grip's never been better."

Oh, gallows humor.

[starspangled]

"Yeah, I guess it does." Straight from the Army to the Avengers, in SHIELD and out. Steve doesn't even know what else to call himself, and that's probably a problem.

His eyes go from her face to her arm and where her arm should be when when she holds it up. Steve recognizes that particular brand of humor. Maybe it's the real brand of a soldier.

"I'd say you've definitely got me there. But what about your throw?"