[GP/EP] Check in Day - Feb 1

[st_raighttovampire]

Caroline waved to Kitty as she dropped into her table in the cafe. It was a banner day. A full month of living in a hotel without her mom or her friends, hungry literally all the time.

But at least there was coffee.

Caroline went through her notes - many people had already started to take on roles in the hotel. Snow and Lindsey ran the stables. Kitty ran the bar. The brothers tackled the ghosts that popped up now and then - Caroline held her tongue on how wrong it was to discriminate against the undead. The list went on.

Caroline knew very well - having a job kept the despair of being trapped away.

She hadn't expected today to be different than any other day, but then, she should learn to stop expecting things. Apparently, it was check-in day again.

Comments

Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_illavirgin]

He shouldn't have been walking the Ways on his own, not with the injuries he was recovering from. But it was a short trip to head over to Texas to visit Bill Meyers to check on his fellow Warden, and he'd travelled it enough to feel confident enough that he'd almost switched off as he exited the Waypoint.

But it was wrong as soon as he saw it. This wasn't even close to Dallas. What the fuck had happened? He turned, intending to head back through, try and figure out where he went wrong, but as he tried to open the Way, it just wasn't there.

He could stand there and swear at it, and keep trying, but being out in the open in who knows where wasn't a wise move - frankly, he needed to sit down. Leaning heavily on his staff, he followed the path he found himself on, seeing a light in the distance. As he got closer... was that a cafe? Really? What the hell had he walked into?

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

Molly hadn't yet figured out the 'pattern' to new arrivals but she knew there had to be one. She was on her way to the cafe when she caught sight of a familiar figure. "Son of a bitch." She muttered and quickly veiled, the last thing that she needed was a Warden catching sight of her. Though she had to admit that Carlos wasn't as big of a dick as the others.

She watched him for a good half hour before making up her mind that he was just as lost and confused as everyone else that arrives in the hotel. Molly left the cafe, not wanting to be seen unveiling, and stepped into a shadowed alcove. One minute you could see the walls and the next a blonde was standing there.

It was tempting to leave, before Carlos knew that she was there, but Molly knew that it would only be a matter of time and frankly she'd rather the first meeting be public. So she re-entered the cafe and made her way over to where he was.

"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

Molly was good - so good that Carlos couldn't feel her veil at all, so he was not expecting her to appear from the shadows. He did a reasonable job of not jumping, he thought.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Molly Carpenter. What the... what are you doing here?" Was this place gathering up wizards, because that would just be too weird, and would put him on edge even more than he was.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

"Well that is a different response than I thought I'd get from a Warden." Which actually calmed Molly's nerves. It meant that this place wasn't connected to the Wizard's Council, not that she'd given that much thought. But Carlos showing up had made her wonder if they'd sent someone after her but his genuine surprise and rattled nerves helped to take care of that concern.

"Welcome to the Hotel of the Weird. I'd say Hotel Hell but except for the cook's extreme fondness for all things chicken it's not really hell. And how I got here, I'd say the same as you. Well maybe not the same, I was in Chicago, doing dark magic and making baby sacrifices. You know, normal shit for a Warlock."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

"What, did you think I was going to take you in on the spot to... where? As far as I can tell we're stuck here. It's a bit difficult to take anyone anywhere." But he relented a little.

"Last I heard you were kicking Fomor butt in Chicago," he pointed out, narrowly avoiding rolling his eyes. "Which frankly is good enough for me. I like to think I'm one of the good guys. You know, that rare but extremely good looking breed?" But he had done his bit to help her, by nixing several investigations into her, making sure Warden attention was elsewhere. Harry trusted her. That truly was enough for him.

He pulled a face. "Chicken? Really? Tedious. How does it work if you're vegetarian?" Which he wasn't, but hey, it was a valid question.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

Molly arched an eyebrow at that. She hadn't known anyone knew what she'd been doing with the Fomor, outside of the people she trusted in Chicago. Her wall of bitch crumbled a bit.

"Yeah, he has a real fondness for it and because of that, I've stayed away as much as I could from the chicken." She didn't think anything was drugged, but that didn't mean there wasn't something else in it. It might be just that that is all he knew how to make. Molly totally got that since she couldn't cook worth shit. She was just suspicious by nature, especially lately.

"And I've no clue how that works for a vegetarian. I guess they're shit out of luck or maybe there's enough for them. I've noticed that when I want a greasy hamburger and fries, someone is nice enough to make it for me." She made a face, "or at least I'm assuming it's hamburger, maybe I don't want to know."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

It was hard to miss that Fomor were dying in the east, and it really didn't take much to put it all together - at least for him. Thankfully the rest of the Wardens had been far too busy to worry about it, so he had 'persuaded' them that there were issues elsewhere that took their attention away from Chicago. Just a little thing he could be doing to help.

But he agreed with her. Anyone who supplies that much chicken is suspect. Or they had something in the region of a ton delivered. Either of which was terrifying and something to bear in mind. "So what else is there here other than dodgy food?" Thing he needed to know.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

Molly could feel his confusion but also his pain and from someone that was still having issues with her leg, she got it. A small part of her would have liked to ignore it. The dark and bitchy part of her soul but Molly actually liked Carlos if he hadn't been a Warden ...

"Come on, let's have a seat over there and I'll let you in on what I've found out so far. Not that there's a lot." Of course it was only what she was willing to share. "I thought at first this was connected with the Sidhe but there's iron here so that got ruled out quick."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

Hey, it wasn't his first choice to be a Warden. He got into it because of his amazing skills as a fighter in a time of war. The rest... well, he could see the problems within the White Council as well as anyone. And he liked Molly. She was cute - and more, these days. Old dinosaurs like Harry wouldn't understand.

He nodded, and walked over to where she indicated. He knew that Molly had no reason to trust him, but if they were stuck here, they'd have to find some way to work together. "I was walking through the Ways and got turned around," he said as he sat down heavier than he would have normally. The relief was great. "But it doesn't feel like the Sidhe playing games."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

Molly hesitated as she had an internal battle of what to reveal about her arrival and what to keep to herself. In the end, she decided it would be good for Carlos to know but also for Warden Ramirez to know. In Molly's mind they were blended but also different. Sort of like Molly and Ragged Lady.

"Lea has been taking over from Harry as my mentor since ..." She trailed off because Harry's death still hurt a lot. "well since, and I thought this was another test at first. It was only after I noticed that there was iron here that I knew that the Winter Court wasn't behind it."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

"Lea? As in the Leanansidhe?" Because everyone wanted to be trained by Winter Court nobility. "Dios, Molly." He needed a moment or two to absorb that. If Winter Court was taking an interest in Molly, what was she to them? "They aren't working through intermediaries? It wouldn't be the first time they'd done something like that."

He was cautious, who could blame him. There was a reason he'd stayed alive longer than most of the other apprentices who became wizards at the same time as him. He was a survivor.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

"I thought that, too. I haven't ruled that out, they are tricky pain in the assses, but there are so many normal people here." Molly paused and re-assessed what she said, "uh not normal as in boring but normal as in not magical or supernatural. They do like to play with us, but not really with them."

She wrinkled her nose, and continued, "that makes me sound like we're not human but you know what I mean."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

Carlos laughed. "I got what you mean. Don't worry, we have normal people in California," he joked in return. "I tend to assume there are non-supernatural people in a place when I arrive somewhere strange until it's proved otherwise. It makes it easier, I find." But Chicago seemed to be the real gathering point for the supernatural, he'd found.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

Molly thought of everyone that she'd seen and the few that she'd actually met. "Not that you can tell by looking, I mean we don't look like we're magical, but if I had to bet, I'd bet there were more non-supernatural in the hotel than there were supernatural." She rolled her shoulders, loosening the muscles. "That only begs the question, why us? There were four people that were the first to arrive and then a butt ton of us came in. Now you and the few others that I've seen today. There has to be a common connection but hell if I can figure it out."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

Okay. He could work with that. He just hoped that they were open minded enough to accept the supernatural, because it wasn't exactly something that could be turned off, and the stress at being stuck in one place would no doubt get to him and Molly eventually, and goodbye technology. His control was impeccable (unlike some wizards he could name), but life was what it was.

"So, we're all from random places are we? Maybe the question we should be starting with isn't why, but how?" Because there was no way he and Molly were both on the exactly same part of the Ways to be brought here? "Where were you when you were brought here? And I don't care what you were doing, so don't worry about that." Now wasn't the time to be precious about being a Warden.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_eampunk]

"Literally in Chicago." Molly offered. "Kicking Fomor ass." She smiled slightly, "that's my story and I'm sticking to it. If anyone says that the ass being kicked was mine, I will deny it."

She ran her fingers through her hair by her temple, easing the tension that she could feel building there. "I was in the middle of a fight or at least the middle of my rave spell when I got here. What were you doing?" If it could be narrowed down to a certain activity or the equivalent of a non-magical one, maybe Carlos was on to something.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - [AfterCaroline]

[st_illavirgin]

He held his hands up with a faint smirk. "No one will hear any different from me," he promised. After all, he wasn't exactly in any fit state to say anything else.

"Was heading down to Texas to visit Bill," he said with a slight frown. Bang went the idea that it was something to do with the Ways. "I got turned around, and ended up here." Okay, at least they were both still magic happenings. That was something, but it didn't explain anything else, like how the normal folks got here. But hey, it was a starting point.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_raighttovampire]

Most people came in the front door. The man who appeared from nowhere in particular was a little surprising.

Caroline stood up when she noticed him, half-curious, half-defensive. What was he? A ghost like some of the rooms had? Or another hapless human ensnared by the hotel?

Caroline picked up a mug and filled it with coffee, then carried it over to him. The best way to find out was to ask. "Hi there."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_illavirgin]

Hey, he was used to arriving from unusual directions, he still managed to shock people who should be more used to it.

Oh hello there, pretty woman. He couldn't help but notice her, even before she came over to talk to him. He leaned on his staff, trying for a casual look, though his leaning was possibly heavier than it should have been. His back was killing him, and he needed to sit down at some point, but he was not going to show any weakness if he could help it. "Hello? Can I just ask - where is this place?"

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_raighttovampire]

"This is the Madonna Inn. It's...probably in California and..." Caroline offered him the mug of coffee and gestured to one of the booths. "You're probably going to want to sit down for this. There's not a lot of good news heading your way in the next five minutes. But the coffee's fresh."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_illavirgin]

He frowned as he looked around. "I was in California," he said, trying to figure out just where in California it was, if indeed he was.

He took in a deep breath, then puffed it out. "That sounds like I'm really not going to like it. As long as there is plenty of coffee, lead on.2

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_raighttovampire]

Caroline patiently held out the mug of coffee to him, waiting until he took it before guiding him to a booth. She sat down, crossed her legs and leaned forward, her expression serious. "So, this is a hotel. But none of us intended to end up here. Hell, a month ago, I was celebrating Christmas with my mom. In Virginia.

"The only thing we do know is that the staff here were apparently expecting us and none of us can leave. If you go over to the front desk, the guy there will give you a key for your room."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_illavirgin]

Carlos was grateful to be able to sit down, and could barely disguise the small noise of relief he made as he took the weight off his legs. He really needed to work on his fitness, but he knew that he couldn't push it too far too fast. "Yeah, I was travelling elsewhere, and shouldn't have ended up here." And it was worrying when you ended up somewhere you didn't intend, as it made you wonder what the supernatural had in mind for you. He hated being on the backfoot without a lot of firepower under his belt. He suddenly missed having his gun by his side.

"That's all you know? No idea who brought us here and for what purpose?" Urgh. Just urgh.

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_raighttovampire]

Caroline hid a frown as he sat down. That had sounded a lot like pain. She figured she could follow up on that after she finished the whole orientation speech. "It's not all we know, but it's the most important thing. Kitty-" Caroline gestured at the pretty brown-haired woman behind the bar, "-is working on a bunch of science angles for why we're here. Other people are trying different theories. So far everyone has the same answer. We just don't know. The staff doesn't ask us to do anything. They're happy to help out in whatever way they can within the limits of, you know, a regular hotel worker's job description. They're weirdly obsessed with making sure you have fresh towels. Which is pretty nice, actually."

Re: Carlos Ramirez - Assigned threads and OTA

[st_illavirgin]

She would be right. But Carlos seemed to have spent a fair part of the last seven years in pain, one way or another, so he knew it would improve. He was alive, that was all that mattered. So many he knew hadn't made it.

He paused for a moment, then decided to grab the moment. It wasn't like he could hide it, after all. "Has anyone tried a magical angle?" Science was great, and had its place, but hey, you had to be open to everything. "Just... if it isn't getting anywhere with science, try for the crazy, right?" Of course, he was leaving himself at a huge risk, but fuck it, he was carrying an obvious wizard's staff, runes carved in it and all.