[EP/GP] Check-In: I Assure You We Are Open

[st_abby]

The damp, cool, chilly morning clouded with fog seemed to fit the mood about the Madonna Inn. Nobody had been quite right since the undead invasion. Definitely not Vax'ildan. But for him, it was less about their sense of day-to-day calm and safety shattered, less about undead specifically. It was a lot more to do with losing Scanlan and Pike, and the new memorials installed in the Temple.

He wondered about it, not for the first time, even as he readied for the fresh arrivals that might be coming today - or not, because they didn't always. What decided who came and went? Was there any sense in how many and when or why? Not so far as he could tell, but he'd never been the brains.

Gathering up the great heap of cloth and rope in his arms, the lean figure summoned the wings of his armor, the black of his silhouette merging with the other dark and shifting shapes skulking about in the first light of dawn. With a crouch and a lunge from the roof, he spread his wings wide and circled through the air right up to the face of the main building, unfurling the massive banner he'd sewn of spare bedsheets and painted with dark dye to tie it up taut:

WELCOME NEWCOMERS
YES, THIS MEANS YOU
NO REALLY WE'RE SURE

Life kept going on around you, no matter how confused or scared or fucked-up you were. And the best thing, the kindest thing, the sanest thing he could think to do in all this was to start up the coffee machine, stack some decorated pumpkin-shaped cookies on a platter in the lobby, and prop open the doors for whoever would join them in being confused and scared and fucked-up today.

Comments

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"I don't know, to be honest." And Clarice didn't. "I'd like to stop the son of a bitches that killed my family. But a part of me, knows that it won't really matter. Someone else can fight that fight. It's kind of nice not having to worry about that other part of my life, you know? Would you?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He nodded, getting it. "Yeah. Nice not to have to worry whose staring at you or if you're about to walk into a trap." He paused, then pursed his lips "well, a trap for people like us. Of course if you piss off a talking raccoon you end up walking into traps on occasion."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

That made Clarice laugh, "yeah? What kind of traps does a talking raccoon have in his arsenal?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"Glitter bombs, mostly." He grinned. "So if I'm covered in it one day, I promise I didn't kill a stripper or something."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"I would have thought unicorn but I guess stripper would work." Clarice smirked. "Did you at least get your revenge for the glitter bombs?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"Once in a while I defuse one and set it back up in his room." Alec was trained in warfare after all. "That guy's gotta run out of steam at some point, right?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Would you?" Clarice snickered, "it depends on how stubborn and determined he is to get the last glitter bomb in."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He considered that. "You think he'd stop if I snuck in a shaved him bald?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Well." Clarice began with a smirk, "if it was me and you shaved me bald, I would probably teleport you in front of a moving truck. Just saying. He might see that as gloves are off traps now."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"I like your hair too much to shave you bald, don't worry." Though she had a good point. "Sort of hoping he'll just run out of steam, eventually."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Don't react. As long as he's getting a reaction out of you, he'll do it." She made a face, "I know that's easier said than done, but I do think that sooner or later, he'll get bored and move on."

Her lips quirked, "raccoons like shiny objects, I think. I'm a city girl so I'm not really sure. But maybe he'll find an oooh shiny and move on."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He already had with Alec and for a monent his eyes darkened and he was well aware of the locket in his pocket. It passed quickly as Alec shoved the feelings deep down inside.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, he's running out of places to hide them "

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Wait. Seriously? He steals shiny objects?" Clarice shook her head, "I was being a smart ass. I can't believe he truly is the stereotype."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"He's also apparently friends with a tree person back home, so I'd say lots of the stereotypes are true." He wondered just how 'tree-ie' the guy was, though. "My friend back home, Joshua? He's got some of the same hang ups that dogs do too. And the women in my batch often go through heat a couple times of the year because of cat DNA. So I guess you can't resist the animal impulses."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"That is just messed up." Clarice shook her head about what the females of Alec's group going through heat. "Not your friend Joshua but being in heat. You'd think that they would sculpt that out if they were genetically engineering the feline DNA."

She shook her head, "It's just a crap shoot and sometimes you get lucky and sometimes it bites you in the ass."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He shook his head. "Who knows? Pretty sure they got that problem under control with the X6s. You know scientists.. trial and error." He rolled his eyes.

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Yeah, bastards." Clarice wasn't a fan of scientists or doctors as Alec knew. "So what else you got on your list to get besides a bike and new material for revenge on the glitter bombs?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"Probably some books." Though those weren't for him. "And another gun, if I'm honest. When those undead things took over, sort of gave a whole new perspective on needing to be armed.

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"Don't forget bullets." Not that Clarice even knew how to shoot but she figured that bullets would be in short supply at the inn.

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He nodded. "Yeah. I've been able to make a few, but not enough to actually count if there was a big problem." And Alec didn't like asking people he didn't know for help - he always felt like he owed something and he didn't like owing things to people. This was why he never asked Percy for bullets.

"What about you? What can I put on the list for you?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

She took the time to actually think about it. "Would it be wrong to want something extravagant instead of practical like a bike or gun?" Clarice smiled slightly, "a cappuccino machine. God I miss a good Starbucks coffee."

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

He grinned. He sort of liked that answer. "No, that's an awesome answer." Actually, it sort of sounded like Max, really, but it was mostly she missed the stuff she could get at Logan's before Logan lost his wealth.

"Cappuccino machine it is... though, you know, I'm told Xavin makes some good coffee." Alec didn't know - he didn't need caffeine to stay awake and didn't really enjoy the taste.

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

"I've had their coffee it's good, but..." Clarice smirked, "they aren't always there when I'm in the mood for a good cappuccino." And it would be a nice extravagance to have in her room.

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_x5_494]

"Well then, cappuccino machine it is." He even wrote it down on the list in front of him. "Anything else, M'lady?"

Re: Clarice and Alec

[st_rongernow]

Clarice laughed, "let's see, since I have something not practical I should probably add something that is. I'm not a fighter, but you know what would be nice? Bow and arrow. Someone could shoot it through a portal and I wouldn't even have to be close."

She couldn't shoot it because her hands would be busy creating and keeping the portal open, but it would be a good skill to learn. Plus she'd look cool as hell shooting a bow and arrow from a bike.