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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From the way Giselle speaks, it's as though she may understand the importance of a memory. The burden of it, perhaps, because of what memories represent. ]
He was... gentle. Intelligent, caring. He always thought more of others than himself, even though he was sickly. Understandably, he feared death, as he was closer to it even more than most humans.
He loved to read.
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He sounds like a lovely gentleman. [ Sweetly, while she fixes a wide smile onto her face and watches Barghest's finger on the cup. ] Do you have love in your heart for him, my dear?
[ "Have," not "had" — that's an important distinction, to her. ]
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... Yes. [ She says, after a pause, not because she doesn't know the answer, but because she isn't sure how to word it. ]
I don't believe that will ever change.
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Her smile eases into something more clever, in response to her frazzled surprise. ]
Indeed. If you keep him alive in your heart... it will not.
[ a beat. ]
Do you wish to see him again?
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[ Promptly, perhaps more promptly than one what might expect when asking such a question, but she says so decisively. It's not an answer impulsively given.
But she offers no explanation, not without further questioning.
But as far as she's concerned, she doesn't deserve to see him again. ]
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...Oh? And why ever is that?
[ The question is posed innocently; Giselle knows when not to prod to avoid hitting a sore spot, but she thinks she would have been rebuffed by now, verbally or nonverbally, if she were not meant to travel down this line of questioning. And, besides, she will always offer her condolences, if she missteps.
It's just, she can't fathom loving someone and never wanting to see them again. Some selfish part of her truly wants to know the reasoning behind such a strange reaction. ]
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[ Simply. Succinctly.
Rather miserably, but there's no sense that she's exaggerating or being dramatic about the statement. ]
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And how are you so certain that would come to pass?
[ All things considered, she takes it very in stride, not seeming to be very shocked by this revelation. ]
Have you an impulse you cannot control? Or, perhaps, it is something about him specifically?
[ Even her inflection doesn't change, still retaining that polite, serene varnish — and neither does she reach out a hand to comfort her. Then again, she also doesn't pull away. One gets the sense that "killing" is no longer something she feels immediate need to blink an eye at — if anything, she seems to hone in on her companion more, invested in getting to the bottom of this, now.
Perhaps... in getting to the bottom of whether she believes she can change. Or if she simply wishes to embrace this. In attempt to make her feel less isolated, and to negate the need for her to answer in words, if she so wishes, she puts a hand over her chest, looking at her seriously. ]
I once had a master with such an impulse. I saw for myself how it tore at him.
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[ Barghest echoes it quietly, gazing down at her tea. It's nothing she tries to hide here. She just doesn't bring it up. ]
In a sense, the answer to your question is both. I am cursed to consume those which I love.
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[ She murmurs, head tilting. That word, "consume," sends chills down her spine, though she keeps her expression stony and passive to mask it. ]
You do not enjoy it, then. [ Because there sure are people who would, being the implication. ] Some would seek to grow attached to as many as they could, were they bearing the same curse.
[ She shifts, hands tugging her braid over her shoulder. ]
And yet, the opposite seems to be true for you.
no subject
I don't wish to become a monster.
[ And yet, without fail, it happens. ]