[GP] Réveillon & New Year's Eve & Check-In

[st_rangepalette]

Emma had said, during Winter's Crest, that she missed a tradition from home called réveillon. She seemed also to miss her cousin, as Lillith missed hers. Since she wished both to learn to cook and to be of comfort to her friend, it had been decided they would make a réveillon dinner for New Year's Eve.

Yet when Emma began to lay out the courses -- oyster soup and potato & leek soup, salad, a gumbo, venison roast, cheeses, and creme brulee, plus several hors d'ouevres not yet decided -- Lillith quailed at the size of the undertaking. Surely she would wish someone to assist who could contribute more than roasted rabbit, wheat or potato flour dumplings, and koláč.

Since Sunny likewise missed her family and would certainly wish a distraction, when she entered the cafe where they were planning, the other two seized upon her almost at once. Sunny could hardly resist their dual entreaty, even had she wished to, and Lillith thought she seemed even more ready for company than previously. Of course Sunny had offerings of her own: jolloff rice, peppered chicken, and fried plantain.

Between they three, the planning and the cooking were very nearly merry, and Lillith kept them liberally supplied with champagne (her personal favorite), too. By late afternoon of the eve of the new year, they had begun lining tables with dishes, and enlisted the help of other friends to make the evening event widely known.

Of course, in addition to the réveillon feast that took over the steakhouse, alcohol flowed freely, lights sparkled brightly, the nightclub had music for dancing. And at some point the Inn or Caroline or Regina hung mistletoe from several of the primary entrances and exits so that unless one wished to or was unaware of the tradition, no one (not even any new arrivals) need greet the new year unkissed.

Comments

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana was itching to be gone, but if Emma was telling her the truth, it wouldn't do any good. She absently scratched Hei Hei's neck while she considered what to do. Hei Hei responded by going limp.

"How do I get a room?" she asked. If they had a room for her, it would be rude to refuse the hospitality.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"You give Darryl your name at the front desk," she explained. "I can go with you, if you want. Darryl... I don't think he's a person, but nobody really knows what he is. He'll have tell you what room you're in, give you a key to get in it, and probably offer you towels whether you need them or not. But he's harmless."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana had no idea what a front desk was, so she nodded quickly at Emma's offer. "Thank you, that would be helpful."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

Emma smiled, glad Moana agreed, then led her through the lobby to the check-in desk, where Darryl was waiting as blandly bland and unmemorable as ever. "This is Moana of Motunui."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

"Chief Moana, welcome to the Madonna Inn. Your room is the Captain's Bridge, room 104, in the first building. Enjoy your stay with us." The man behind what Emma had called the front desk, handed Moana a small white piece of paper with something flat and smooth inside, like a highly polished shell or stone.

"Thank you. How do I le..." Moana began but Darryl interrupted.

"If you need anything, you may always call room service. Would you like fresh towels?"

Moana clenched her jaw. "No. Thank you." She looked at Emma. "Where is building one?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"It's this way." Emma ignored Darryl, something that was much easier than it would've been if he'd felt like a real person, and started the right direction, grabbing a map on the way out of the lobby.

As they walked she explained, pointing things out on the map. "This is the main building, where we are now, with the shops and restaurants – where you can get things to eat and drink, or pick up clothes or other supplies and things maybe, the selection is kind of limited. Then there are three buildings with guest rooms. I'm in building one too, just a few doors down from you."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana studied the map closely, looking from it to her surroundings and back over and over to orient among the massive buildings. She was relieved to see that building one was one of the smaller structures. Which didn't mean that it was small. It was huge. She could hardly imagine how long it must have taken to build.

They came up to the door marked as hers. Moana pushed on the door. It did not move. Perhaps it needed a sign. She lifted the thing that Darryl had given her and pressed it against the door. Nothing happened. Moana glanced inquisitively at Emma.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"It's called a key card, or just a key," Emma explained, gesturing before taking the sleeve from Moana and drawing the plastic from it. She made sure Moana was watching, and made her motions deliberate as she oriented the card the right direction and slid it into the slot on the lock, explaining each step along in the process. When the light changed colors, she pushed down on the latch and the door swung open a few inches.

"Do you want to try it yourself first, or go ahead and see your room?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana's eyes widened. "Let me try!" She accepted the key card back, rotated it just as Emma had and put it into the slot on the handle. Just as it had for Emma, the lights changed color and a click sounded. She pushed down the handle to open the door.

"How does it work?" she started to ask but then looked past the door and into the room beyond.

It was enormous. Of course, everything here seemed to be, but this was meant for one person? Impossible. The largest house in the village had not been this large. Maybe she was meant to share? "Is there anyone else living here?" she asked instead.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"I don't know." Darryl hadn't said anything, but he hadn't told Emma about Jag either when she checked in. "I don't think there was anyone here before you, but I don't know if another new arrival is supposed to share. I could find out." She could call the desk and ask.

"I think most people don't share, but my room is bigger, and there are two of us supposed to live there. And a spirit."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

"A spirit?" Moana asked, her dark eyes wide. "What kind of spirit?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"A ghost? She's nice." She didn't remember her name, so it was possible she'd been gone for a long time. It could be hard to tell, Emma knew. But she'd been really sweet to Emma when she was upset, worrying about Pyro and missing home, wondering how much she'd hurt Jag just by being herself.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Ghosts were less worrisome than other spirits may have been. "Did you know her? Is she an ancestor of yours?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"No." Emma shook her head. "There are a bunch of ghosts here, but they won't hurt you or anything. They're stuck here just as much as we are."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

"Oh." Moana felt a little bit of hope that she hadn't realized had lit within her snuff out. If there had been ancestral spirits, perhaps... No. Nevermind.

They were still standing in the doorway. Moana took a breath and marched in, head high. She was Moana of Motunui. She would not be afraid of a room.

"Why is it so big?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

It was a big room, although not the biggest in the inn, and she thought for a moment about how to answer. "People like space. Especially... we're cut off now, but if we weren't, where in the world we are, it's... things are big, and spread out." Western expansion. White people taking over land that didn't belong to them, and already had people on it. Thanks, Dani, I know, but I'm trying not to scare the girl when she just got here.

"And I think this was supposed to be a fancy hotel," in a kitschy kind of way "where people would want to splurge a little, feel like they were staying somewhere special."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana looked back at Emma and gave her a skeptical look. "If they want space, why don't they go outside?"

She shook her head and set Heihei down. "This place is very strange."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

That was a very good question, and one Emma wasn't sure how to answer. Other than that sometimes people wanted space, but they wanted it inside, protected from the elements. "It can be," she agreed.

"And some people do go outside. Thing to remember is, everybody here, we got pulled here just like you. Some of us from places like this one, others from places really different. So most people will understand when it all seems really strange and confusing.

"I don't want to make assumptions about what you will or won't know, but I'll explain what I can. Show you how things work. If you want."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

It wasn't necessarily a relief to hear that she wasn't alone in finding this all very strange, but it did help a little bit.

"I do want," Moana said with a firm nod. Heihei wandered off and started to peck at the walls. Moana let him. "The more I understand, the better I can find my place. At least until I can get home."

She didn't have a boat. That was going to take time.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

Emma had mostly forgotten about the chicken until she heard the tiny tap-tap of him pecking at the wall. "Don't let him poke the outlets," she said, finding the nearest outlet to show Moana what she meant. "He might get a nasty shock." Yeah, there was something about completing a circuit, but Emma wasn't sure exactly what it would take, and better safe than sorry, when it seemed like Moana's pet.

"The bathroom is what surprises a lot of people from worlds not like this one." She started to lead the way into what was, objectively, a large bathroom.

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana gave Heihei a skeptical look - telling him not to peck at the box on the wall would not work, then just scooped him up again to avoid the problem. She followed Emma to the next room. Shiny white stone was shaped into two basins. In the corner, another smaller room within the room was all blue stone. "How does it work?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

Emma moved first to the sinks, turning on first one tap, "Cold," then the other, "and hot water. Pull this," she moved the lever for the stopper, "if you want to fill the sink, instead of letting it run right down the drain." She let the water fill for a moment, then turned off the taps and released the drain stopper, so Moana could see how it all worked.

"The shower is for bathing," she explained, moving over to the blue tiled alcove. She pulled up her sleeve before turning on the water while still standing outside. A spray of water came down like a heavy rain. "Hot and cold water here too, so you can get it to a comfortable temperature."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana reached her hand out to the spray, surprised that even as she held her hand under the spray it gradually warmed. "That's clever!" She wasn't sure why anyone would want to bath in hot water, but then again, the weather here was much colder than she was used to. "Is this where you wash your clothes too?"

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ackeddeck]

"No." Emma frowned at herself and the quickness of her answer. "Well, you can. But there are washers and dryers in the laundry room that a lot of people use."

After turning off the shower, Emma moved on to the remaining marvel of indoor plumbing. "The toilet is for, uh..." How did she put this? 'Go to the bathroom' was vague, when they were already in the bathroom. "Relieving yourself." Maybe it was better just to show how it worked. She pushed the lever. "You use this to flush everything away after."

Re: For meeter and greeter

[st_ellarnavigation]

Moana jumped as the 'toilet' roared to life with a rush of sound and water. She was pretty sure she understood what Emma was saying. She also found it somewhat alarming. "Oh. Okay."