GP/EP: Check-In Day: Turning Tricks into Treats

[st_alksthroughwalls]

Instead of the remains of a raucous night of dedicated drinking, the chairs were up on the tables, the counter was cleaned, the floor had been vacuumed and mopped as appropriate. Kitty had had plenty of time to straighten up at close yesterday, since almost everyone seemed more interested in drinking in Bonesville. For her part, she'd had enough after her and Wyatt's little adventure in Funland. At least, she'd had enough for the few days it would take her to heal.

On the upside, that made opening up this morning easy and fast. On the downside, it meant she had an entire day with not much to distract her from wondering when Barrel of Fun would lock down access to the outside and why it couldn't open onto a world with higher tech. She had managed to scavenge some computer circuitry and cell phones, but she hadn't worked out how they'd solve her current tech problem yet.

If Dot were still here, she'd be baking for Halloween. Even if they'd had to explain Halloween to her, she'd be making cookies and candy and cakes, and probably sewing costumes, too. Those thoughts summoned a wistful sigh from Kitty while she took down the chairs. She was still sighing when she finished refreshing her stock of cut up fruit.

By mid-afternoon, she'd put away a pot and a half of coffee, she was practically vibrating, and a buzz-by from Caroline prompted an amazing idea. Why not spend the afternoon testing Halloween and Thanksgiving cocktails, to help turn the arrival trick of Check-In Day on the 1st into, well, a little bit of a treat? So it was that the new arrivals, two days earlier than expected, found the bar counter covered with spooky and kooky and dry-ice steamy drinks and Kitty literally spinning between her coffee cup and the next bright green, weirdly black, or pumpkin orange drink.

[ooc: find Kitty making any of these or drinking yet another cup of coffee, she's OTA]

Comments

Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_unaligned]

Everything had happened so fast that Bo didn't even realize what had happened until after. She had gone to Lauren's pissed off about Nadia and then suddenly Nadia was telling her to kill her and attacking Lauren. Bo had moved on instinct. It had been the right thing to do. But as she pulled the knife out of Nadia's abdomen and saw the look on Lauren's face, Bo knew - things were never going to be the same between them.

With the sound of Lauren's heartbroken voice reaching deep into Bo's chest and clenching her heart, Bo left the apartment still holding the bloody dagger in her hand.

It took her a solid five minutes before Bo even realized she was no longer where she should be. When she did, she stopped and blinked. She was outside and it wasn't the city. She was somewhere else. Tensing, she immediately began to scan the area for threats. Obviously something - the Garuda maybe - did something. She just had to figure out what the hell was going on and punch whatever it was in the face. Bo was glad to suddenly have something to punch in the face.

She cautiously made her way towards what looked like a big hotel. As she drew closer she realized there seemed to be a lot of people who looked like they weren't exactly evil. She sheathed her blood-stained dagger at her hip and entered, looking for someone or thing to give her answers.

Re: Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_alksthroughwalls]

When the tall brunette arrived, Kitty had about four different thoughts at once: whoa, hey, today isn't Check-In Day! is she from Bonesville? Is that a weapon sheath? Damn! In spite of the coffee, it wasn't abnormal for Kitty to have four or even ten thoughts at once. She just usually didn't have thoughts with exclamation points.

But what the hell? At the Inn, changes in pattern (especially gorgeous changes to pattern) were worth exclamation points (even if she had a boyfriend she was totally into, she could appreciate, right?). For the sake of the change, though, she dialed herself down to at least an 8 before she said, "Hi. I'm Kitty. You're new, and you look like you could really use a drink," and gestured back toward the multi-colored array on her bar counter, which the new girl could probably see, since Kitty had just come out of the Cafe when she heard the front door open.

Re: Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_unaligned]

Bo turned at the voice and quickly did a once-over of the woman before relaxing just a little in the shoulders. Of course Bo knew enough about the Garuda to know it didn't play fair and anyone could be a threat to her. She also knew she needed to get information and she wasn't going to get that if she killed everything with a pulse at the moment - and this one with a pulse was pretty cute.

"I need like, 50 drinks, actually"

Re: Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"Maybe start with 5 and go from there?" Kitty suggested with a warm laugh. "I pour pretty strong. A hangover might be a small price to pay for forgetting this place--" She literally pirouetted, arms spread in demonstration, the combination of the caffeine, finally ending her celibacy, and how hot this new woman was making her effervescent, and then laughed again as she came off pointe. "But you'll still regret it in the morning."

She gestured toward the bar after. "After you. And I promise, no more ballet. I've had a little too much caffeine today." Which she didn't regret, now, since explaining the Inn to newcomers always took a lot out of her.

Re: Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_ubby]

Vex still wasn't sure she entirely understood the holiday, but when in Ank'Harel, as they say...

She had a costume picked out for later, and could hardly wait for Percy to see her in it. Then for Percy to get her out of it. Sexy costumes were a necessary tradition; she was sure she'd understood that part right. Also, there was candy, and the giving and receiving thereof. You said 'trick or treat,' and people were supposed to give you candy, and vice versa. Which was why Vex had come out of the inn's shop carrying a bag of something called Tootsie Pops, a sort of hard candy on a stick with chocolate inside.

She was still sucking on one that stained her lips (and tongue, but that wasn't as obvious) a deeper red as she went to see how Kitty was coming with her experimentations. Maybe she was looking for an outside opinion? What she didn't expect to find was someone new – the calendar most people here used wasn't what she was used to in Exandria, but most everyone knew when new arrivals were likely to show up, and that wasn't supposed to be until after Halloween.

"I see you found a place to get a drink or three," she said as she approached. "I know I needed one when I got here. Candy?" Vex held out the bag in offering. See? She could share.

Re: Bo's arrival - Assigned Threads

[st_unaligned]

Glancing up, Bo paused as she took in the rather stunning woman in front of her. Or maybe not a woman. Bo's eyes glanced at the slightly pointed ears. A Fae, then. It was often hard to tell whether or not a Fae was dark or light just by their appearance, but at this point Bo wasn't even sure it mattered. Both sides seemed to have it in for her.

Her eyes then fell on the candy. There was a slight pause before she reached out for one. If it killed her at least she wouldn't ever have to face Lauren again, right? "Thanks."

She unwrapped the candy and stuck it in her mouth. Somehow Bo managed to make even a lollipop particularly erotic. "How long have you been here?"

Bo - OTA

[st_unaligned]

This sucked. Everything sucked. Or maybe it didn't? Bo couldn't quite decide if it was a good or bad thing she wasn't going to see Lauren any time soon. On the one had, she wasn't going to be able to make an atonement, but on the other she wouldn't have to face Lauren's heartbroken face for a while. Could you even make up for killing someone's girlfriend?

Somehow she found her way into the bar and slumped onto a stool. "Beer. Wine. Tequila. Whatever." Bo just needed to have a bit of a pity party right now.

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_arknaked]

If he was honest he'd known he'd find her there before he entered the bar. Coming into the lobby he'd recognized a familiar scent, and was immediately on alert until he located her.

Happy to see her wasn't quite how he'd describe the emotion - certainly he could FEEL happiness but feeling anything where Bo was concerned was a thorny issue. And he wasn't entirely sure what he felt as he moved across the bar and slid onto the stool beside her.

"Bo." Chatty isn't he.

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_unaligned]

She had felt him when he came in the room. She didn't exactly know it was Dyson, but a succubus could always feels people they were with and with Dyson it was a whole more complicated. Still, after a few drinks, Bo was passing it off as some weird wistful thinking. That is until he sat down and said her name.

Her head whipped up. She paused, at first not knowing what to say. "Dyson?" Her voice was confused, disbelief, and there was the faintest of quivering. Suddenly the events from back home were fresh again and Lauren's crying rang in her ears.

Bo stared at Dyson without moving for a long minute or two and then without much thought behind it, leaned forward to hug him tightly. He had disappeared - again - and she missed him, but more than anything she just needed someone who knew her right now.

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

"You sound like I feel right now," Jackson stated, a glass of bourbon already in front of him - and it wasn't his first.

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_unaligned]

She looked over at the man. "Oh, I feel that way too, I'm just really good at keeping that off my face." Bo listed up the beer that was placed before her in a 'cheers'.

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_andingtall]

Sam didn't tend bar, but he'd been here longer than anyone but Snow and Steph, and they'd all come together. They'd figured out where the alcohol was almost before they'd been to their rooms.

So he kept walking past the newcomer with the dark hair and dark eyes and great legs until he got around the other side of the bar. "Tequila," he said and put a bottle in front of her and a glass. Then grabbed a pitcher and filled it with whatever Kitty had on draft. "Beer. Skip the wine if you're going for blackout. Last thing you're going to want tomorrow when you're trying to find your way out of here is a sugar hangover."

Re: Bo - OTA

[st_unaligned]

Bo looked up and paused. At least the people here were all very easy on the eyes. She let her eyes wander just a smidgen before taking the glass and pouring some tequila for herself. Her lips pressed into a smile. "Sounds like someone knows their way around a good night out."

Jackson's arrival - Assigned threads

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson was pretty certain he hadn't tested anything recently that would make him black out long enough to find himself transported out of England, and this didn't look like any part of England he'd ever seen, or even heard about. No, this looked more like he was back in America, which brought its own specific set of worries along, beyond how he had gone from walking over to the Leman Street house after a summon from Reid to standing in a place that had nothing to do with the streets of Whitechapel. He did not feel as if he'd been drugged - and he knew the feeling well, for all sorts of reasons.

There was a building in the distance, and there was nothing but to make for it, so Jackson did just that, checking that his gun was loaded and had not been interfered with as he walked. The closer he got, the more something seemed off with the place. It was a hotel, wasn't it? And familiar in its own way, he thought as he reached it, looking warily around, a hand on the gun at his side in what could have been a stance of habit, but really was him being ready to draw.

It was a hotel, and familiar in its own way, but details here and there were out of place, things he didn't know or could not explain. His hand fell from his gun as he stood in the middle of the lobby, looking at the amount of electrical lamps on the walls and ceiling.

Re: Jackson's arrival - Assigned threads

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie had not been expecting anyone new today. It was too early, they'd never come before the first of the month. Still, she'd been here long enough that she knew everyone by sight, most of them by name, even if she hadn't spoken more than three sentences to some of them. So the new face was immediately, obviously new.

Even though she'd watched his hand move away from his weapon, she found herself asking, "You ain't looking to shoot anybody, are you?"

Re: Jackson's arrival - Assigned threads

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson faced the girl who'd spoken up immediately, taking in everything about her. Her clothes looked as odd as everything in this here place, but she looked harmless enough. It would take a lot for him to want to shoot a girl, and a girl with those eyes on her, at that.

"'m really hopin' I won't have to," he answered, without stepping closer. He was a tall man with a gun, and she was a tiny slip of a girl. Better let her choose how much distance she was comfortable with. Didn't mean he wasn't going to ask the question burning his lips. "Where in the blazes am I? If you don't mind filling in a lost stranger."

Re: Jackson's arrival - Assigned threads

[st_affandskull]

New residents arriving early was unusual, and the unusual was always worth investigating. It appeared to be only two new people - hardly a flood! - but even a small sample could be interesting. And, of course, anyone new to this pink monstrosity could use company. And liquor, more than likely.

As Kitty was occupied with the newly arrived lady, Dorian snagged a bottle of something (whiskey, according to the label) and two small glasses. Bribe in hand, he moved to tap the fellow with the fine moustache (not as fine as his own, but whose was?) and raise the bottle suggestively. "Why hello, new friend! I've come to believe that a drink or several is a very appropriate early step in growing accustomed to this place. It is incredibly pink, after all. Join me?"

Re: Jackson's arrival - Assigned threads

[st_illfleshandblood]

That was a lot of enthusiasm - and an impressive moustache - but seeing as it came with a bottle of whiskey, Jackson was going to make do, even in his currently irritated state. "A bottle or several sounds about right," he agreed, trying to take the measure of the other man. He sounded soft, and he was being very friendly. He could be rich and lonely, or it could be a scheme. "You greet every stranger this way?"

Jackson - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson still wasn't sure he wasn't riding out the greatest hallucinogen known to man, but everything seemed real. Felt real. All too real. He'd gone on more than his fair share of drug-induced trips, and they'd never felt anything like this. Nor had any of his dreams. His thumb idly stroked the ring on his finger, and he pushed into the one place in this strange establishment that might offer him some solace: the bar.

"Please tell me you got bourbon here," he stated out as he grabbed a stool at the counter. Truth was, he'd take any kind of alcohol, but if he was going to be stuck here, bourbon would be very welcome.

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"We've got bourbon here." Kitty offered the other newcomer a friendly smile while she looked him over. Not from this century, she decided, and probably not from last. He spoke English, though, so Earth or an Earth-equivalent. Possibly from the Western states, but his accent didn't sound quite right for it, still it suggested--

"You seem like a man who wants his drinks straight up. But I've got a couple of bourbon cocktails I've been working on for Halloween, if you want to taste test them for me."

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson regarded the pretty lady behind the counter curiously. "You make special cocktails for Halloween?" That wasn't anything he'd ever heard of. "Well, darlin', I'll try anything once," he confirmed, tipping his hat at her in thanks for the offer.

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_ubby]

It wasn't a surprise when newcomers settled in the bar after getting the bad news they were stuck here for the foreseeable, and after meeting Bo, Vex noticed a second unfamiliar face justifiably working his way through a bottle. She caught Kitty at the other end of the bar first, and when she slipped onto the stool next to the new man's, she was sipping on something Kitty called Rich's Brew - a sweet, and yes rich, sparkling wine poured over ice and orange slices the color of rubies.

"I see you're a man who knows how to deal with the unexpected." Mostly she meant the drink, but she hadn't missed the gun in its holster either.

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

"I'm a man on his way to drinking himself stupid, if that's what you mean," Jackson confirmed in his own way, the slight slur to his words proving the truth of them. He didn't know if the woman was here to work him over, but then again, he couldn't tell much about this entire situation.

What would Susan make of all of this? She would be raising hell, demanding transport out of here this instant, he was certain.

He took another drink of bourbon.

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_oriedqueen]

When Regina caught word of newcomers arriving early, among them an attractive dark-haired woman who seemed to know Dyson, she frowned at herself in the window glass of the office, gestured with her hand, and when the smoke cleared, she wore a little black dress, black suede boots, and a burgundy blazer. Much better. Another gesture refreshed her eye make-up and her lipstick, and she gave herself an approving smile in the glass.

Much better.

Now, she found herself another reason to be in the bar--the other newcomer, and settled herself to keep an eye on things without a repeat of the day he'd arrived and she'd thrown him away from Snow.

"For a prison, it has a surprisingly well-stocked bar," she replied, as she took the seat next to him and offered him a sloe-eyed smile of welcome. "Regina Mills."

Re: Jackson - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson's mind was already wonderfully altered, courtesy of the half empty bottle of bourbon beside him, but not altered to the point he didn't realize it was a lady sitting next to him. Proper, high-class lady, even if a prostitute wouldn't have been caught wearing that dress in most public settings. He had nothing against it himself, although in his state, it did mean his gaze lingered on her legs for a beat before he drew them up to her face. "Ma'am," he greeted her with a nod, since his hat was on the counter, beside the bottle. "Captain Homer Jackson. I s'pose that makes me the most recent inmate."

That talk, at least, made the blunt, honest sort of sense, unlike the way everybody else had been putting it. If he really was stuck here - which remained to be seen - then this place was a prison, no matter how pink it was.