strangetrip | [EP] A Bored Smartass

Alec was bored and so he decided to test the waters with the various creepy Inn workers. He started by walking up to the man at the desk. He plopped the towels down on the counter. Some were ripped, others had blood on them. "This is really unacceptable. How's a guy supposed to enjoy his time here at the Madonna Inn when these towels are dirty and destroyed? I thought this was a fine establishment, but I guess I was mistaken." The man behind the counter apologized, though there didn't seem to be any actual regret in his voice.

"Take this down. I want blue towels. They should smell like Lavender. And folded like various animals on my bed." There was a nod from the man, but how much would actually be followed through it would be hard to tell. Alec ended their interaction by tossing one of the towel's on the man's head.

His next destination was the kitchen. The chef was there preparing something chicken, as always. Alec stood next to the oven, watching. When the chef turned to get an ingredient, Alec flung a few shrimp into the dish. He watched with vague amusement as the chef came back, discovered the shrimp, and threw out the contents of the dish before starting over again. Alec repeated this a few times, the last two times being blatant about it and not getting much of a response from the chef at all.

Hours later Alec ran into the housekeeper. He spent a good hour walking behind her littering with small pieces of paper. Each time she'd stop and pick up or vacuum the mess. At one point he walked up looking earnest. "Oh here, let me help you." He grabbed the vacuum cleaner and 'accidentally' emptied its contents on the ground. The woman didn't even blink, but started to sweep the mess up.

After a while, Alec got bored of even this and ended up flopping down onto one of the couches in the lounge and exhaled.

(ooc: Feel free to find him at any point in his journey)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Though his stance and demeanor stayed the same, Alec's reflexes were ready to move at an instant. "No offense, ma'am." Definitely a poke at her age. "Maybe the reason no one's able to find a way out is everyone keeps treating the workers of this place like people when they aren't."

The ma'am he undoubtedly meant as an insult, she took in a Queen's stride. Her lips curved in a regal, sharp-edged smile. "It's cute you think you're the first to take this seriously, when you are nothing but a cruel child, tearing the wings off dragonflies to watch them die."

"No, actually, that was my twin's MO. He was kind of insane. An embarrassment to the family." Which was all true except twin was more like clone and family was military instillation. Alec pointedly ignored the guilt he felt about speaking about Ben like that - Max wasn't here. She wasn't going to hear what he said so it didn't matter.

"So, what have people learned from interrogating them? Where do they sleep? When do they eat? What do they eat? Where do they go on their off time? Do they feel pain? I mean, there's just so many questions and most people don't seem to have an answer except that they're weird."

Regina allowed him his bullshit, every line in her being making it clear that she knew it for bullshit and didn't care for it in the least.

"And because they're weird, you can experiment on them?" Her gaze held nothing but contempt and the fire at her fingertips seemed to dance to the tune of her anger. "They are servants. Faithful servants. Where I'm from, a child who tormented the servants was whipped and sent to bed without supper."

Regina Mills. Champion of the brain-addled common man. Never mind the irony. She had been this boy and she'd be damned if she'd turn his boredom loose on the in.

"From where I'm from we don't have servants. We have people who work for other people." He thought briefly about Rachel's family. They had servants, but they were also one of the rare rich people left in the country. His eyes subtle moved to her hand, then back to her. He could dodge bullets. He could probably dodge fire, right? He dipped his head to the side as if considering. "Unless you look at it a little more metaphorically and then we're all servants to the government in the useless cog of life."

Alec McDowell, waxing poetic.

"Seriously, though. What's this guy's name? He have a family? He even bleed?"

Servants to the government in the useless cog of life? Her gaze narrowed again, but for the most part it was intentional in an effort not to roll her eyes out of her head and down the hall.

"He bleeds." There had been an incident with a dropped vase early on. "They're alive, the three of them, but either they're brain-dead or brain-washed. They are servants. It's the entire point of their existence, and I will not allow them to be tormented."

He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of brainwashed means information could be extracted, but then decided this lady definitely would not care and he didn't want her knowing any more about what he might know about programming or deprogramming people. He lifted his arms up instead in a 'don't shoot' gesture. "Alright. Alright. Fine. You win. I won't bother what's his face or what's her face or what's his face two."

Regina didn't believe that for a second, but she believed he'd try to make sure she didn't find out about it. He'd soon learn that was extremely difficult in a community of this size.

"See that you don't," she said, spun on her heel, and rotated her lifted hands at the wrist. In the next instant, purple smoke billowed up around her.

When it cleared, she was gone.

[EP] A Bored Smartass - OTA

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