[GP/EP] Check-in Day

[st_igmatized]

It was a musical day at the Madonna Inn, both inside and out. Curnen had taken her usual place up on the roof and was singing charms to the sky to keep any wanderers from getting lost (though that part of it was not immediately obvious). Unrelated to that, Sunny was on the dance floor in the bar, summoning songs of her own with her knife to keep her moving before she went to do her shift at the library later. It was one of those days where if she thought about it too hard she’d start thinking about that empty bed in her shitty room and the person she most wanted to be there.

This of course eventually seeped into her magic. She knew better. Maybe she’d even wanted that to happen.

Because just once, between different pop hits and dance beats came a rather unexpected French love song. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but the exasperation didn’t last. Before the lyrics started up she was waltzing. By herself and not caring how it might have looked. And for those three and a half minutes, she dared let herself hope for the slimmest chance that Orlu might come through that door.

She didn’t let herself hope too hard, though. There was admitting to feeling things and there was setting yourself up for certain disappointment. She’d lived too long with disappointment to do that to herself.

Comments

Corbie - OTA

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Corbie would like to say that after so many arrival days, you got a sense of when someone was coming and when they weren't, but the truth was, you had no damn idea. That and the possible stimulation of meeting a new person, it got a body busy. People were in their usual places even if that meant ‘the hell away from the inn’ because some just didn’t want to do the new people thing. Today felt different, though. And after a moment, she realized why.

It was May fifteenth. The anniversary of when she’d stumbled through to this tiny, enclosed world.

She had been here for an entire fucking indiction.

Already feeling off, from there Corbie became downright listless. Gran would be ashamed, she knew. Corbie had been raised to believe that working was better than worrying, that staying occupied at least filled time with something useful while idly moping or fretting was an indulgence they couldn’t afford. And it had been. At home, she would never have been able or allowed to sit idle when there was so much to be done.

Today, though, the weight of ‘what’s the point?’ had gotten to her. She was sitting in the cafe with what was supposed to be lunch—technically breakfast, since she hadn’t eaten yet today—and found she still had no appetite. She wanted to eat. But just the thought of swallowing around what seemed like was becoming a fixed lump in her throat was tiring.

She pushed the plate away, folded her arms, put her head down, and closed her eyes. She missed her friends and her teachers. She missed church and the crowds of cities. She missed knowing where she was and what her place was there. She missed Felix so much, it felt like she’d never breathe right again.

After a while her fingers began to move as though over a string of beads, over a coraline she’d left behind, lips moving in murmured prayer, “I believe in the great Lady, She who waits behind all things...”

Alec/Corbie

[st_x5_494]

Alec could usually tell where Corbie was in the room. Somehow she just had that presence about her, even if he didn't want to admit it. When he walked into the cafe and saw her like that, he knew something was wrong - Corbie was usually the solid one.

He walked over, eyeing the food that didn't seem to be touched, and slid into the seat across from her. For a moment he didn't say anything.

"You okay?"

Corbie & Mildmay

[st_onecoldfox]

Mildmay had been in Corambis long enough to recognize the motions of Corbie's hands and what it meant. Finding her a coraline went on his list of things to do, and soon. Wasn't right she didn't have one. Since she was praying, and yeah, 'cause he was still himself, when he slipped into the seat next to her, he didn't say nothing. Sent a steady glare around the room warning off anybody who might want to bother her right then, but let his presence at her side say what she needed to know.

Something was fucked, Corbie hurting like this, and Kethe if Mildmay knew there was anything he could do, but he'd try.

Re: Corbie - OTA

[st_illfleshandblood]

Jackson had gone on lunch break, in the middle of his shift, because nothing was happening, and he'd been hoping to catch sight of some newcomers - maybe some of them would even be in need of medical attention, who knew? A man could hope. When he spotted Corbie in the café, he didn't think twice about heading over, especially given that her body language screamed 'not doing too well here', at the very least. Lunch could wait, and the clinic could wait, too.

"Hey, darlin'," he greeted her softly as he reached her, putting a hand on her back as he crouched beside her. "What's goin' on?"

Re: Corbie - OTA

[st_andingtall]

Sam had only been passing through on his way to check the roster and see if any of the new guests had ghost roommates who needed someone to talk them through the sudden invasion of the living. He wouldn't have stopped, except that arrival days had a rhythm, a particular energy, that he'd gotten used to. Caroline, Kitty, Corbie, in particular always seemed to be around, bright smiles for the new arrivals, but when he scanned the cafe, at first he didn't see Corbie.

Then he did, and she had her head down on her arms and she seemed to be praying a rosary or something like it. He wouldn't have bothered her, but she just seemed so flat compared to what he was used to that he found himself sitting down beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything, because he didn't want to interrupt. He could wait until she was done.

Assigned Thread

[st_arlord]

What the eff?

One minute you're hiding from a super powerful potential father-in-law about ready to kick his butt and the next you're... in a desert?

Peter Quill still had his gun drawn when he turned the corner of metal debris, ready to attack Thanos, but Thanos wasn't there and it wasn't even Titan anymore.

Confusion riddled his face.

He lowered the gun and looked around. His eyes landed on a building across the way. Maybe Thanos used the reality stone. Maybe this is all fake. Quill had seen the gem in action. It was no joke.

There wasn't anything much to do except try to figure out what the hell, so Quill began to hum the 'Pina Colada' song casually like this was no big deal and he wasn't freaking out at all.

He sang it until he was done and through the front door of what was possibly the coolest looking hotel in the history of hotels.

Mary/Quill

[st_huntermom]

There was always the faintest hopes that maybe John would show up during one of the check-in days. Mary knew it was a long shot, and it wasn't exactly pining either, but there was always casual interest of arrivals. Since the inn was small, when the man walked into the lobby, it was pretty clear he was new.

"A lot to take in, huh?" The hotel, she meant.

Quill & Sunny

[st_igmatized]

It was about time for Sunny to get to the library and take over for Yana, but check-in days were always different from the usual routine of the inn. When you encountered a new person--if you felt so inclined to be helpful, not everyone did--it was usually best to check on them and see how they were doing. Unmoored from their reality, kin, friends, even if the shock didn't hit all at once, it was not an adjustment that was easy to make. It wasn't an adjustment most of them really had made successfully.

"You must be new," Sunny commented as she approached, mostly because she didn't want to surprise an armed man. The ones who came from situations where they needed weapons tended to be particularly jumpy.

OTA

[st_x5_494]

Alec was keeping a vague eye on the lobby, but unless it was Max who came through the door, or maybe Joshua, he didn't really care. Instead, he took to the pool, clad in swim trunks this time, and did laps. He barely came up for air and his strokes were long and powerful. The pool in comparison seemed small.

Once he had enough of that, he pulled himself up onto the ledge, legs still in the pool, and reached for the beer beside him - so what if it was only 10 in the morning. It was the afternoon somewhere, right?

Alec & Mildmay

[st_onecoldfox]

Steph's massages hurt like a fucker, but it was the kind of hurt you could tell was helping deep down. Mildmay hadn't been sure about letting some woman he barely knew – who wasn't no whore, 'cause that was different somehow, even if he wouldn'ta let one of them see him hurting like he was – see his mess of a leg or touch it, but Steph didn't seem bothered by the scars. And when he realized she knew what she was doing, okay, maybe that made some sense.

So yeah, the massage would do him some good, didn't mean he wasn't limping worse coming out of the spa than he had going in. She'd told him something about soaking in the outdoor hot tub or going for a swim, but he'd be fucked if he was gonna do either of those. Drinking lotsa water, her other piece of advice, more an order than advice really, that he could do. Leaning heavily on Jashuki, he stopped by the poolside bar for a bottle of water, then lowered himself carefully onto one of the long chairs by the pool. Only reason he didn't wince was 'cause the scar on his face meant it mostly didn't move. Powers and saints but the bees in his thigh were busy. Sitting for awhile, letting the sun warm him, yeah, that was a good idea before he tried to go the rest of the way inside.

He saw as Alec pulled himself up outta the pool. You didn't stay alive in Mildmay's old life, if you didn't have an eye on everything around you. But he didn't say nothing.

Clarice/Alec

[st_rongernow]

Clarice had been on her way to steal borrow food from the kitchen, the backpack that she'd found in the gift shop, god awful pink with a crystal M on it that looked like something a teenage girl would love, was slung on her back. She paused when she noticed someone swimming. It wasn't the form that had caught Clarice's eye though to be honest, it was nice, it was the length of time under the water. That was definitely freak material.

When he pulled himself up to sit on the ledge she gave him an upnod of greeting. "Hey."



[Note: Clarice no longer has her mutant collar on.]

OTA

[st_unaligned]

Bo was... .trying not to stare at Sunny. She couldn't help it, but man did that girl have moves. It was a nice distraction, really. Like Sunny, Bo had the fainest of hopes that maybe Kenzi would be walking through that door today. Even Lauren despite how messy that would be. Or Trick or Hale - she told herself to stop that and go back to pouring drinks. Most people who showed up here needed a good stiff drink and she'd provide during her shift if they wanted one.

Bo & Sunny

[st_igmatized]

When Sunny approached the bar after her waltz she probably could have used a stiff drink--or maybe just some palm wine--that wasn't what she was after. Saving booze for evening was one of the rules she set for herself that kept her from feeling completely like a trash person. "Can I get some water?"

Assigned Threads

[st_ripetail]

Gotham had a lot of issues, starting with the fact that it was universal flypaper disguised as a city on a backwards mudball gravity well. But apart from that, it actually wasn't the worst place ever. Sure, thinking it was an okay place to live was probably just psychological self-defense or whatever, but when Rocket woke up and rolled out of his bed in Sanctuary, the prospect of a day in Gotham like any other didn't necessarily mean it was gonna be a bad day.

And it probably wouldn't have been, if exiting his room after grabbing his stuff hadn't landed him on a road in what looked kinda like a desert instead of in a hallway in we're-not-labs-we-swear. Because it had happened before, Rocket's immediate reaction was a spate of high-volume profanity in several galactic languages. (No, he didn't speak a lot of other languages, that was what translation implants were for, but it was good to learn swearing for the options.) And then he kicked a rock.

It was probably personal growth or some shit that he didn't pull out his cannon and shoot up a random patch of ground just for existing. He blamed Jemma. Or possibly Sissy.

After the slight soothing that was screaming detailed threats at the universe, he let his brain go into gear. Roads went somewhere, and this road went somewhere that put a little whiff of 'human' into the air. (When 'human' got up your nose, rest assured you were gonna remember it forever. They had unique stank.) Deserts or near-deserts were bad places to wander without supplies, so heading for alleged civilization was the best bet for supplies, targets, or whatever.

The road, once Rocket started walking, eventually ended in a complex of buildings that looked like they'd been built or decorated by a pink-obsessed maniac. Which was weird, but Rocket ignored that for now in favor of taking out his irritating on a target: a bland-looking bald body at the front desk. "So here's the thing. You're gonna tell me what's happening, or in about thirty seconds I'ma start shootin' stuff. And believe me, givin' you thirty seconds is me bein' nice."

It was personal growth. He never used to warn people.

Re: Assigned Threads

[st_arkintern]

Just when Peter thought that the day couldn't get more boring, he finally found something interesting. A raccoon (or something like it) talking to (threatening?) the guy at the front desk.

Peter didn't remember ever seeing someone like him before -- and Peter definitely would have remembered him. It's only when he puzzles over the sudden appearance of the raccoon (?) then that he realizes it's the 15th -- one of the two dates when people arrive from wherever-they-come.

"Hey," Peter says, jogging up to the newcomer. He smiles, trying to seem unthreatening. "He's not really good at answering questions. Why not try me instead?"

Re: Assigned Threads

[st_ackeddeck]

Leaving people to eat Kahni's all chicken all the time felt especially unfair on check-in days, in Emma's opinion. For any new arrivals and those hoping to see someone they'd been missing. So she tried to handle as much of the cooking on those days as possible, not as easy now as when she shared the load with Ignis, but at least it kept her too busy to focus on the disappointment of no one from home showing up.

Vex had called earlier from the boutique and asked for a couple of salads for her and Percy, leaving the details up to Emma, but suggesting if there was any salmon lying around for Trinket, that would be appreciated too. Thinking about the bear – a bear, living in the inn – was inspiration enough to start with, and after baking a whole salmon and flaking half of it, she went to the walk-in for greens and the other things she needed for the salad. Hearing someone come in, she called out, "I'll be right there. Unless you want chicken, then talk to Kahni."

Hurley - OTA

[st_illkindalost]

This place was better than the island. But even after a month of being here, it didn't feel like home. Not like the way the island did.

Hurley knew the thought was absolutely dysfunctional. He probably had a better chance of being rescued from the island than he did here. The island shouldn't have felt like home, but it did.

Hurley scratched one of his palms as he lumbered into the lobby. He'd heard that new arrivals happened on the 1st and the 15th, just like he had. A small part of him was still holding out hope that someone would show up through those doors from the island. Charlie, Desmond, Jin, Sawyer... maybe even Libby if the things he heard were true.

He wasn't just going to sit around doing nothing, though. As he settled down in the lobby, he pulled out a deck of cards he found inside his nightstand drawer and started shuffling. Unless someone showed up wanting to play a game, he'd start setting up a game of solitaire.

Hurley/Scanlan

[st_illsinging]

"We playing strip poker? Three-Dragon Ante? Gambit of Ord?" Scanlan sauntered up and climbed up on the chair across from Hurley. As per usual, his lute was strung across his back. Today he had a beret on.

OTA

[st_hotflashes]

Liz felt lately like her life was getting a little out of control. It wasn't anything overt, but first there was the Max and Tess thing and then the misunderstanding in the desert with Xavin and Peter. She told herself she needed to calm down and refocus. She wanted to feel like she had some sort of control over things.

One thing she had control over, at least to some degree, was her homework. So Liz St at the cafe with an uneaten slice of vainla cake and was trying her hardest to figure out this chemistry formula, but she was having a hard time.

She sighed, her elbow resting on the counter and her chin on her hand, looking down frustratingly at her paper.

Re: OTA

[st_ealthless]

Pike was about the head back into the bakery when she saw a piece of her perfect cake that hadn't even been tasted. That had to mean that something was wrong. Making a detour over to Liz's table, she hopped up onto a chair and put her chin in her hands. "You look like you could use some company."

OTA

[st_arkintern]

Peter Parker was restless.

He had already finished his schoolwork for the day; he was tired of watching the same VHS tapes over and over again; he was pretty sure Ms. Rasputin was working the library today (though he couldn't be sure), which eliminated any possibility of him finding something new to read. It felt like everyone he knew had vacated the area, leaving Peter Parker to meander the inn without much to do or anyone to bother.

Finally, he gave up and sunk into one of the lobby's many plush couches. He pulled out a grid-lined notebook he'd mostly been using for math and started to draw.

One of these days he was going to learn how to draw a good spider.

Re: OTA

[st_arlord]

After settling in and realizing this wasn't some messed up trick by Thanos, Quill was all about exploring the mysterious and captivating Madonna Inn.

As he walked through the lobby he found someone he actually knew.Well I'll be damned

"Hey! Spider-dude!" He said as he approached Peter.

Closed to Peter

[st_x5_494]

After a jog, a swim, and several drinks at the pool bar, Alec's bladder needed a release. So he headed into the lobby restroom. This place always made his eyeroll. Why anyone needed to pee in a waterfall was beyond him, but whatever.

He unzipped his pants and began to do his thing.

Re: Closed to Peter

[st_arkintern]

Peter had been looking for Alec for twenty minutes when he finally finds him slipping into the bathroom. If the logic neurons in his brain were actually properly functioning, he might have stayed outside and waited for Alec to come out.

But those weren't working today. He was so overwhelmed with excitement that it was impossible for him to do anything but act on his impulses. And his impulses carry him over to the pee-waterfall, where is roommate is taking a piss.

And it pushes him to start talking.

"You won't believe what happened today!"

And before Alec can get in a single word, Peter continues, words quickly slipping out one after the other.

"I met this raccoon man -- his name is Rocket -- and he's living next door to us and he had a big gun and he almost shot the guy at the front desk, but then I talked him down and everything was okay. He's from outer space and he wouldn't tell me where because he doesn't think I'd know it anyway, but he knows Earth, but he won't go there because he thinks that people wouldn't accept him, which he's probably right about. I called him 'mister' and he didn't like it, and he told me to get lost and I really hope the two of you get along because he seems really nice minus the whole gun thing."

Peter takes a breath, which gives Alec a moment to get a word in edgewise.

OTA

[st_ripetail]

Rocket had never really been much for hiding, outside of stealth as an occasional tactical choice. Being loud and obvious was usually way more fun! Which was why, after his kitchen-excursion, Rocket arrayed his food-prizes on a well-lit table in the cafe instead of a more secure corner table. It was also why he didn't bother being 'clever' when he climbed up shelves in the bar area to grab an entire bottle of something high-proof from the 'this is the good stuff' level. Not being inclined to hide wasn't why his cannon was still with him instead of left in his room; that was because Rocket wasn't stupid.

Food, check. Booze, check. Decent view, check. Time to evaluate his fellow prisoners, let them evaluate him, and mangle anybody who needed to understand the food chain.

Rocket/Liz

[st_hotflashes]

Liz was feeling better, she really was. Somehow, the fever and the dizziness had all but disappeared after a while. It was only after she re-assured Peter like a hundred times she was okay did she manage to finally convince him it was okay for her to go do her shift at the cafe.

It was hard to miss the humanoid raccoon.

She walked up to Rocket with a sheepish smile. "Um.. do you. Would you like a glass for your drink?"

Jag - Closed to Sunny

[st_artandstoke]

Jag stood in the door of the bar for a few seconds, watching Sunny with an amused smile. Yeah, he wasn't joining her for this one. After a moment, he walked in and over to a table on the edge of the dance floor, sitting up on it and not about to interrupt her. She could decide when she was done. Or put something better on for him to join.

Re: Jag - Closed to Sunny

[st_igmatized]

Sunny liked the waltz. It wasn't the kind of energy she usually had in her dancing, but it required long, graceful movements as a balance. She continued to glide across the floor without a partner, following the lead of a person who was not there. When finally she flowed to a stop along with the ending of the song, she saw Jag and actually blushed. Her skin was too white to hide the faint pink. "How long were you watching me do that?"