Happy New Year, folks! The Hotel is settling into the New Year with little fanfare. Mr Bennet remains at his post behind the hotel desk and helps check guests in and out daily. The Hotel continues to hustle and bustle and nothing seems to be going too awry beyond the usual shenanigans. In fact, one might even call this the slow season for the Hotel.
THE FLOOR IS LAVA
That is until the second week of the month where the intercoms start with Mr Bennet's pleasant voice coming through.
"Hello, hello! This is just a small warning that one of our floors, the current 79th floor to be exact, has had a small... malfunction, I suppose, and will be affecting the other floors of the Hotel. No word yet from maintenance when this will be over, so stay on your toes, my dear guests!"
And that's it. No indication of what the problem is, or anything like that. It's up to you to figure out what's going on! And what is going on? Well, it'll become obvious very quickly when wherever characters happen to be in the Hotel, they'll soon start feeling a very obvious warmth on the floor below them. It'll increase the longer they stay standing in one spot until it's almost burning their feet.
The only salve for this will be hopping onto a nearby piece of furniture and getting their feet off the floor. It'll soon become obvious that the entire Hotel has been wrapped in a game of The Floor is Lava, including the floor turning into actual lava on some of the floors.
SAFETY SLEEPOVER
Of course, the Hotel is not cruel enough to make the entire Hotel unsafe and soon enough Mr Bennet's voice will come through on the intercom again.
"For those looking for respite from our current Hotel wide game," because clearly it's a game now. "We'll be serving tea and cake in the lounge on the ground floor. Maintenance has been able to fix the lounge for now so feel free to come by when you can if you'd like to rest. We have sleeping bags!"
As folks enter the lounge, they'll find that Mr Bennet is true to his word. The lounge has been converted into a giant sleepover, with sleeping bags lining the floor and a long table off to the side where people can eat their tea and cakes. Mr Bennet is near the food table, handing out pajamas, toothbrushes, and sleep masks to those who request them. There's some new doors off to the side leading to some restrooms, at least, so guests can change in private.
Though, one thing to point out is when Mr Bennet says there's tea and cakes, the cakes happen to be lava cakes. He thinks he's funny.
THE FLOOR IS ICE
It'll take about two days for hotel maintenance to fix the Hotel and return it to normal. So that's two days of living out of the lounge or hopping around the Hotel to get places. What a headache. Mr Bennet will make another lively announcement on the intercom.
"We are back in business, folks! I've just been given word that everything should have return to normal now. Though, there is a warning to make sure not to walk around barefoot for at least another day or so while the Hotel settles. Thank you for your patience!"
What that means becomes obvious soon as anyone walking around now will feel that the floor is especially cold. That's a bit better than the heat, at least, but still kind of a pain in the ass. Anyone who tries to walk around barefoot will find that their feet quickly start to freeze but any permanent damage is easily avoidable by putting on some socks or getting off the floor entirely.
Though that said, the ice does lead to some furniture sliding around and even with shoes on, characters might find themselves sliding too.
What a lovely end to the holidays.
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hotelcaelum2024-01-12 09:44 am
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[ Aren't they all on vacation?
Regardless, Clara notes the headband
whoever picked it out has impeccable tasteand easily steps away from Giselle's door as she exits her suite. As she does so, Giselle might notice that Clara's feet are indeed not touching the ground, nor the hem of her flowy bottoms, lest they begin to singe just as the maid's shoes are beginning to melt, too. The herbalist doesn't seem to be particularly concerned about concealing this, either.Soon it will be a moot point to, anyway, as Clara responds: ]
I can carry you. May I?
no subject
[ She questions back, humming and tilting her head with a clever smile on her lips. If it looks like a maid, acts like a maid... then it must be a maid, right?? ]
But, oh my — are you certain? I will not refuse, as I fear I will only slow you down in this condition... [ Like, being carried will also slow her down?! But she's floating, so maybe it's preferable. She offered so readily, too, and Giselle can admit quietly to herself that she's not keen on testing the limits of the witch's curse on her body against the hotel's magic. At least for this specific instance. ] A rather chivalrous act, indeed. I thank you.
[ She'll reach out a hand, not quite sure how Clara intends to carry her along, but she looks ready and willing!! ]
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You are welcome. Think nothing of it.
[ It's less about being heroic (that is more Nicodème's thing) and more about... Well, it's of little trouble to her, and seems like the neighborly thing to do. Still, she says nothing to that effect, only taking Giselle's hand and gently guiding the maid closer towards her so that she can easily sweep her up into her arms in a princess carry. At once, it would be apparent that she's much stronger than her demeanor and attitude might otherwise suggest. ]
What is it that Nico says... Ah. Allons-y.
[ Annnd they're just floating over towards the elevators, drifting at an unsettlingly leisurely pace for the circumstances that led them to this. The floor hasn't quite turned into lava yet, at least, but who knows what might happen if they continue to linger. ]
no subject
Some part of her had been wondering how serious the other woman had been about carrying her — it's true that she'd seen Clara carry that heavy trunk with ease, but whether or not she could truly pull off lifting her off the ground and carrying her was another matter entirely. Perhaps she'd thought it'd been in jest, a friendly sort of banter. But the next thing she knows, she's quite literally swept off her feet, arms rather clumsily (and uncharacteristically tentatively) moving to loop around her neck and shoulders for extra stability. ]
Ah...
[ She can't help it, she lets out a little surprised sound as they start floating, blinking owlishly as she looks at the leisurely pace with which they're making their escape. It's almost kind of... nice? Otherworldly? Like nothing she's ever imagined before. For once, her expression seems more vulnerable, more open, as she rushes to accept this as her new normal, brows raising in recognition at the name. ]
Oh — Nicodème. You are acquainted? We have met several times... I have heard tell of his homeland, should you hail from the same place.
[ And the vampire thing would explain the strength and the flying... or, that's where her mind immediately goes to. Just how many powers do these creatures have? ]
no subject
She is very cold; she can feel it in stark contrast with the heat rising from the floor. And - yes, still she looks very pallid. Giselle really is quite a peculiar woman, she thinks, and she herself is an erroneous existence, too, by her world's standards. ]
We are old friends. [ but don't tell Nico she said that. ] So, yes, we hail from the same place. I am not a vampire entirely like he, mind you. I am only half. A dhampir.
no subject
[ She murmurs, looking up at her in wonder for a brief moment, before averting her gaze — it wouldn't be proper to gawk at her, regardless of how astonishing it is to come across yet another one of the more supernatural residents. ]
I am afraid I had no prior familiarity with 'vampires' before arriving to this hotel — forgive me in the event I am mistakenly inconsiderate of it.
[ There's a lot of vampire #lore she doesn't quite understand yet, given that the two sources from which she's pulled her information have vastly different testimony about what it's like to live as one. ]
I have since learned about their appetite for blood, and their inability to walk in the sun... though the latter seems to not be a concern for you, my dear.
[ Likely on account of her being a dhampir? ]
no subject
What an interesting woman.
But at her question, Clara offers a low chuckle, one that rumbles in her lungs and throat, that Giselle might ever so slightly feel from the way she's being carried. ]
Neither are a concern for a dhampir. I rarely hunger for blood, and I can walk in the sun. Quite convenient, no?
no subject
I was not aware that it was a possibility. Indeed, it does sound convenient...
[ Preferable to stalking around in the night and drinking blood, actually? Because she did feel that rumble of her chuckle, she tries to situate herself in a way that won't be pressing to hard on the other woman's chest, still thinking of her comfort despite her prone position. ]
Are dhampirs common among your kind, then...?
no subject
But she offers her answer easily enough. It is... easier than she thinks, to share this, despite it being the first time she has ever had to explain this. ]
Not so. We are normally seen as something like cursed beings and hunted down. I am the only one of my kind that I know.
[ And as such, Clara has at times, been that rumored witch or at the very least somebody to steer clear of. Despite her best efforts to remain as unassuming and undetected, there's truly no accounting for fear, at times. Still, she has never harbored any ill will towards humans who may have been frightened of her and sent hunters after her. How could she, when she in many ways embodies what their oppressors cannot accomplish? To many, she is little more than another vampire, but one who need not hide in the daytime. They should, by all accounts, be afraid of her.
Even though her expression always remains pleasant, and immutable. ]
That quite literally makes me one-of-a-kind, does it not?
no subject
...Yes, I suppose it does. In that sense, I suppose vampires and humans both have their own reasons for fear, given the state of your world.
[ With vampires in overwhelming power, a dhampir could be a would-be traitor to the ruling class. To a human, they could be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's beginning to make sense, why Clara's life has seemed so rural, each time she's spoken of her home. ]
Though I am certain nothing of the sort will inhabit the hearts of the guests here. [ True to her word, there's not a hint of malice, distaste, or fear in her expression — on the contrary she looks blank in a polite way, seeming not to need to try very hard to be calm. In other words, it doesn't appear she's masking her true feelings towards her. ] Were that the case... trouble would have already arose.
no subject
[ Clara doesn't think that she would have been particularly bothered if someone were to express a certain discontentment around her; it's nothing she's not encountered before, but with Nicodème here, she has a stalwart ally at the very least. It was he who first told her that she need not hide herself nor what she is here, after all, which tells her that he's determined that she is in no danger. ]
But thankfully, we are instead facing this kind of trouble.
[ Arriving at the elevators now, she nods her head towards the buttons. Her hands are, uh, full, so: ]
Would you mind doing the honors, Giselle?