hotelcaelum | Event Log #002

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Event Log #002

EVENT LOG
number 002

The hotel humbly hopes that you're settling in well and are taking advantage of the various pleasures on offer for your stay. In Mr Bennet's opinion, things have been going quite well and he doesn't think that the guests are unhappy at all. New guests have arrived, some have left, it's all going along perfectly. So, of course, this is when the next troublesome thing pops up.

SHADOWS

One morning, characters will find the hotel to be a little dimmer than usual, a little more shadowy. Yet if anyone asks Mr Bennet about it, he will claim to not have noticed anything different than usual. Either way, as the characters move on with their day, they'll start to notice a few odd things start to happen.

PHASE ONE: Initially, characters will notice their shadow beginning to move a little out of sync with them. Discreetly at first until eventually, their shadow takes on a life of its own, mischievously playing with characters and enjoying their newfound freedom. Very Peter Pan, and completely harmless.

PHASE TWO: Now, shadows might disappear entirely, roaming the hotel to their own discretion and ignoring the characters they belong to. As the shadow takes on this free will, characters will begin to feel slightly off balance and have a hard time feeling whole without their shadow around. The shadow may become slightly aggressive as well if told they should return to their characters, fighting back in their own way from knocking things over to outright attacking other characters. It's a little hard to fight back though when your opponent is a shadow, isn't it?

PHASE THREE: The shadows have become fully aggressive now, fighting anyone who tries to get them to return to their original person. Characters will find themselves feeling weak and low energy as a result of losing their shadow. Eventually, the shadows will come back to their owners but the characters will find themselves sinking into their shadow, eventually changing places entirely with their shadow. The only way to rescue a character from this fate is for another character to pull them out of their shadow forcibly. The bright side is once a character is pulled out of their shadow, it all returns to normal and their shadow is no longer sentient.

These phases will last over the course of the week and it is quite alright to stay in phase one/two/three. Not all shadows will become aggressive, not all shadows will be playful. Feel free to manipulate your character's shadow in the way that's most fun for you.

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[ The shadows have truly been rather troublesome, somehow both incorporeal and tangible enough to cause havoc all at once, yet still Bruno manages to devise his own solution to the problem. A zipper gives way to an empty void on the ground beneath the shadow, and sure enough, it drops right into that space, and not a moment too soon. Just as it descends, a slit of light forms along the shadow's surface and opens to reveal a rather reptilian-looking eye, but all too soon it and the shadow are lost in the abyss.

Sumina watches, her grip against Bruno growing tighter when she meets that unsettling gaze, but they are rid of that eye soon enough. She heaves a sigh of relief and now, having fully emerged from her shadow after its final attempt to replace her, she is hale and whole.

Exhausted from the whole week's shenanigans, but at least she is in one piece again. ]

It... It worked...! Was that your power, Mister Bruno..?

[ Huh. That's different. For a moment, he tenses, preparing to fight an entirely new enemy - but the eye vanishes along with its shadow into the zipper. Were it a regular, corporeal person, it might have dropped into the floor below them; as things stand, he's guessing it simply got sucked down into the darkness. At the very least, it's not trying to drag Sumina down with it anymore, and that's about all he was hoping to accomplish. Once he's confident enough that it's not about to come back, he lowers the two of them back down to the grass again, with the zipper that had previously engulfed the shadow closing up and vanishing as if it hadn't ever been there.

The question seems to catch him somewhat by surprise, stern expression shifting briefly. ]

... Yeah. I wasn't expecting you to be able to see it, [ he replies, setting her on the ground before himself. The arm that had been hanging onto the willow tree zips back up, too, reattaching itself normally to his shoulder, but he hardly pays attention to this; instead, he gives her a once-over. ] Are you hurt?

[ She doesn't quite let go even after he sets them back down firmly onto the ground (floor? Gods this hotel is strange) while she finds herself needing just another moment's of support. As the cover of the willow tree shifts above them with a breeze, permitting just a little bit more light past the shade, Sumina's shadow appears beneath her once more— but appears totally normal and as a shadow should appear. No sentience, no autonomy. ]

I'm—

[ Is she hurt? Sumina's gaze casts downward, and even where the shadow had wrapped around her to try and ensnare her, there doesn't seem to be anything amiss, at least at first glance. ]

I think I'm mostly alright. Thank you, Mister Bruno. I would have been in much bigger trouble if you hadn't come... Ugh.

[ She lifts a hand to rub at her head. She's so damn tired from this whole ordeal. ]

[ she can hang on as long as she needs - Bruno doesn't seem bothered, even moving a hand to her elbow in support. This is, understandably, a bit intense for an ordinary hotel owner. Or, well, "ordinary," seeing as his Stand is visible to her. But that can wait. His eye lingers on her shadow, not entirely convinced that things are over, despite the fact that he'd gone through the same thing not long ago; the solution almost feels too easy, after how hard they'd all fought against the things all week. He doesn't trust it.

Regardless, he offers a nod. ]

Good. I'd tell you to be more careful, but I can't fault you for this. Nobody can run away from their own shadow.

[ all business, as usual... ]

I'll bring you back to your room. [ a beat. ] I know you're exhausted. The same thing happened to me.

[ That's right... Nearly everyone has had their own experiences like this with their shadows over the last week or so, haven't they? But try as she might, the best she could really do was following her own around and make sure it wouldn't wreak much havoc. Her own averseness to picking up helpful skills for such situations is really biting her in the ass... while on vacation, of all things. ]

It did, didn't it... I'm glad that you were able to overcome it, then, Mister Bruno. I wouldn't mind the help getting back. Just as far as the elevators should do... I've caused you enough trouble as is.

Helping you isn't trouble, [ he responds simply.

If helping people was a burden to him, he wouldn't do it. Quite the opposite: if he knew she was struggling and did nothing to solve it, that would trouble him. Which is exactly the sort of attitude that landed him in such hot water in the first place. He's learned over the years that empathy's not the kind of personality defect one can easily overcome. ]

... Before we leave, I saw something strange in your shadow. Did you notice it?

[ It's that same empathy that has saved Sumina today, and for that she is and will continue to be endlessly grateful for Bruno. Truly, she doesn't know how she might ever make this up to him...]

His question, though, gives her pause. ]

I— I... [ her lips press into a thin line for a moment before she goes on, ] I did notice it. What did it look like to you, Mister Bruno?

[ oh, she definitely knows about it - whatever it was. He's sharp enough to intuit that maybe this wasn't so much a feature belonging to the shadow creatures, but one belonging to Sumina herself. Best to tread carefully, then. ]

Mm. It looked like it had an eye of its own. I haven't seen anything like that on the others.

[ a pause. He regards her for a moment, pondering. ]

... Don't worry. Your affairs are none of my business. But if there's something other than shadows trying to kill us, I'd like to know.

[ did he just make enemies with some entity by zipping it away? it definitely saw him... ]

[ So he saw it clearly enough, then, but if he's made the connection to the eye he saw being rather draconic, he doesn't say it - and neither will she. Visibly, though, she looks relieved when he doesn't question her any further beyond simply wanting to know if it's something dangerous, something that could endanger them further than what this mess with the shadows has wrought.

She shakes her head. ]

It's... Not something that you have to worry about, in that sense. If - If I had to guess, given how my shadow behaved, it was simply a reflection of an 'opposite' me. If that makes sense.

[ ... ]

I do appreciate your discretion...

[ Dragons are extremely far from even being a consideration, so Sumina can rest easy. Theoretically. Does her explanation make sense? No, not really - but it's far from the most nonsensical thing he's heard, so he nods regardless. Perhaps their shadows are an inverse of them, or at least a representation of it, and perhaps an inverted Sumina of some kind already exists...

The details ultimately don't matter. She says it's nothing to worry about, and he believes her. Bucciarati gives her a wry half-smile. ]

Discretion is part of my job. I know everyone has a secret - even an innocent hotel manager like you. And even me.

[ he stands up a little straighter, taking a step back. His hand's still at her elbow; he'll support her until she says otherwise, it seems. ]

I'll take your word for it. Do you think you can walk?

[ Even in this state, Sumina can't help but note what he says, of discretion being part of his job. It does certainly seem like they both have secrets, but he graciously leaves hers well enough alone, so Sumina gives him another grateful nod as she stands still for a moment, as if to test the steadiness of her own two feet. ]

I... I can walk. I should be able to make it back to my suite...

[ well, she doesn't look like she's about to fall over, and her shadow hasn't started trying to climb back up her legs. Success? Tentatively? He lets go of her, stepping back, and nods. ]

Let's head for the elevator.

[ turning towards its general direction - he's never been to this floor before now, but he thinks he remembers where it is? However, he pauses slightly before he starts off. ]

That reminds me... There was a mess back in the pub. [ "your shadow is crazy bro" remains unspoken. ] Was there anyone else injured?

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Event Log #002

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