welcome, new visitors

[modconcierge]

There isn't much fanfare for the new crop of visitors who have come in this month, but what they encounter is quite wondrous. Is it a cruise ship? Is it a hotel? Is it a tiny planet? No one can give them a straight answer, but all are encouraged to take part in the buffet, where visitors may find an assortment of foods both familiar and unfamiliar to them. There is an open mic night happening in one of the lounges on site, featuring staff and visitor performances. Or there are a handful of shops to browse if you're amenable to trading.

Visitors will find that the Hotel Multiverse at the Edge of the Cosmos between Canons (its official name) is very much alive beyond the bustling crowd. In fact, it might just be listening to you and anticipating your needs.

As for the rest? Well, that's up to you. You may as well socialize, right?

Comments

Gan Ainm | Original

[desfait]

[[ooc: navigation to all his information here!]]

[There's a towering thing wandering around the place. All dressed in pitch black, white as a ghost, dying apple branches twisting up out of his head like a pair of gnarled antlers. He takes up space, a lot of space, just past nine feet tall, and this place is a lot more crowded than the place he's used to.

Oh but he's fascinated though, inky eyes darting in every direction as he picks and plucks at everything he can get his hands on. Including people, watch out, it's been a while since he's seen anyone and he's very keen to reintroduce himself. There's absolutely zero effort made to move out of anyone's way, rather when things get a bit tight, the enormous black wings on the creature's back just lift up and away, not really caring too much if the feathers brush over some heads.

Ghoulish looking thing though, the pale skin is even more washed out by the near ankle length black hair, and the grotesque stitch-work on the entity's mouth is... less than attractive. He doesn't seem too bothered though.]

[stashboxes]

[ consider ari plucked.

normally, she might be down. but when something comes from behind and lifts her arm, and her food falls off the plate, and then her feet are in midair, yeah. yeah, she's gonna shriek about it. she's gonna shriek and kick and shriek some more. ]

What?! Hell, no! No! Put me down!

[ amidst all her flailing, she might think it's fun apart from the splattered dessert on the ground. that's honestly just really rude. ]

[desfait]

[Oh that was far more bombastic a response than he was prepared to get here, oopsie poopsie.

Whatever the hell had come over him to prompt him to just pick the poor girl right off the floor (the food perhaps) had quickly relinquished it's grip on him the very second she began to scream and flail.

With far less delicacy than he should have shown, he dropped her in surprise, immediately threading his fingers together as if to pretend he'd not done anything at all to begin with. What, him? Pick someone up? Perish the thought, it wasn't him!]

[stashboxes]

[ ari's dancer reflexes come in handy here, and she's almost feline when she hits the ground. dramatic, yes, crouching to all fours to steady herself, and she turns back and fixes her assailant with a glare. ]

Seriously? What was that even about?

[ bestie the innocent act is very cute but you are also not subtle!!! ]

[desfait]

[What was that even about? He unlaced his fingers to tap them together, blatantly unable to look her directly in the eye as he suddenly found himself just enthralled with the ceiling. Wow, look at that, all the way up there. It's a ceiling, haven't seen one of them before.

Naturally though, no answer wasn't going to suffice. With a silent motion that would suggest a deep and awkward sigh, he separated and raised his hands.]

Wanted to look closer.

[With his hands and not his eyes, much like how he was speaking presently. Though the gestures had no clear connection to any traditional sign language, the words were regardless as clear as day, though his stitched lips made no more motion outside of an embarrassed frown.]

[stashboxes]

[ ari follows his gaze up to the ceiling (really, she can't blame him - those shooting star lights are delightful), then takes a closer look at him, tilting her head as his hands move. ]

At me?

[ she takes a sliding step back, more out of surprise than anything - and yes, she's assuming a lot.

but then again. he did put her down. and, don't get her wrong, she's not entirely sure what the vibe is, but it doesn't seem like he wants to hurt her.

she steps back in, looks again at her fallen dessert, and then back at him. ]

Do you wanna check out the dessert bar, too?

[desfait]

[He doesn't immediately wave off the question, contrary to what he probably should have done immediately. Though the hesitation looks more as if he may have forgotten precisely what he wanted to look closer at.

He glances to the food on the floor, then back to her... And instantly latches on to the change in subject without a second thought.]

Yes.

[That sounded eager, and he visibly perked and brightened, both furry black ears snapping forwards.]

I would like to have dessert. That must have been what I was looking at.

[stashboxes]

[ ari very quickly decides that, if he's that interested in desserts, he can't be that intimidating. it really doesn't take much to win her over. she deposits her dropped plate in a bin before grabbing two more, passing one to him, and the thing is, she really doesn't understand the concept of a poker face. or tact. ]

So, what's all — [ she gestures around her own head in gestures that she assumes communicates branches. ] Can you not take that off? It might make things a little easier.

[desfait]

[He mimics her motions, tapping on the apple branches about his head, before returning his hands to the front of him.]

They do not come off. But I can make them vanish, should it please you.

[The fae gestures with both hands, motioning towards the antlers. In response, they shiver and creak. Just as he'd said they'd do, they seem to simply shrink away, leaving nothing but a few dried blossoms and a smattering of withered leaves still drifting towards the floor.]

Would you prefer a more mortal appearance?

[It was asked as an afterthought, something that sprang to mind now that he took the time to actually think about it. Well if the antlers were a bit much... stood to reason maybe the rest of the look was too.]

I have not gone out much in quite some time, forgive my impropriety.

[stashboxes]

[ excuse her, she is absolutely gawking.

ari's not exactly sure what to say about the magic, but who would she be to complain about flowers. she's a little clumsy as she scrambles to catch one of the dried ones before it hits the floor. she's trying to tuck it into her headband when he asks his question, and her eyes widen. one of her hands flails. ]

Oh! No! That's totally okay, I didn't mean anything like that!

[ ari laughs. she didn't mean to be rude, and besides. they're in the final frontier itself.

so, appropriately, she leans closer and whispers: ]

You can be real with me. Are you an alien?

[reborneve]

[Eve is far more colorful but naturally nowhere near nine foot. It's rare though to find anyone towering over her and she would be more intrigued by it if the landscape of stars outside the nearest window hadn't caught her attention first.

It's the brush of feathers against the back of her head that has Eve raises her hand to grasp at said feathers before she even gets a chance to recognize what they are. It's simply instinct that has her grabbing onto those feathers before they pass further by, then she turns her head up slightly to see just what she has a hold of.

She tilts her head some, examining the feathers in her hold and then the wings. She seems to ignore the bearer of said wings altogether for the moment.]

[desfait]

[He stops dead in his tracks the second he feels any kind of tug on the feathers. No matter how delicate it might be, it was better to stop and look than risk breaking anything or ripping a feather out after all.

She'd ignore him, and in turn he'd stare at her, distinctly refusing to move the wing out of her hands. It wasn't a problem after all, he had nowhere to be in particular and as far as he could see, there was no harm in letting her examine the wings themselves.

In fact, the one she grasped lowered just a little, putting itself more into her range and line of sight, the fairy watching otherwise motionless all the while.]

[reborneve]

[If she had more social etiquette sense she might thank him. The largest downside to keeping oneselves largely cooped up in a cabin deep in the woods was certainly never learning how to nicely ask for things and all.

Yet when he does lower them her grasp lessens quite a bit. One gets the feeling she could be brutally strong if she wished to but once he's paused and lowered said wing she's quite gentle. She eventually lays one hand out to rest under the feathers and her other hand brushes her fingertips along a few of them.

After a moment she finally looks to the man themself. Her expression wasn't precisely menacing but it still spoke of something not quite right. Maybe it's the slight glow her eyes had to them? Maybe it's the abnormal stillness of her facial features, neutral and impassive as a corpse.]

Can you fly with them?

[desfait]

[It wouldn't be the first time he'd conversed with someone with so still a face. After all, not every fae expressed themselves as openly as others did, more than a few of them had no features to speak of whatsoever. 'Not quite right' was nothing if not a comfortably familiar descriptor for many of them, himself included.

The hitch in this was the fact that he was fairly certain she was no fae, such stillness wasn't quite so familiar and common among humans, and as she made no effort to move, he took the opportunity to do so himself. The creature stooped a bit, slowly and smoothly shifting towards her and moving to place himself a little more at her level, his expression inquisitive.]

Yes, when I have the energy to. I fear there is not enough room here however for me to do so.

[reborneve]

[Her expression stays neutral though one can near feel the slight disappointment.]

These hallways are very cramped.

[Not that the ceilings of the hallways in this spaceship are too low given the pair of them can somewhat comfortably move around. She's used to the wide open wilderness when not indoors and she misses it now even if she's not quite sure if that's the emotion she feels.]

[desfait]

[Far more cramped than the sprawling glade he'd left, he'd have to agree about the cramped quarters. So, he nods, the motion decidedly emphatic.]

Should you find a place that could accommodate me here, I would be more than happy to show you how they work.

[reborneve]

[Oh, he would? Eve looks intrigued by the idea and slowly stops her petting at those feathers.]

I've studied quite a few birds. Do your wings work the same?

[desfait]

[Oh that's a shame, he was enjoying the feeling, it'd been so long since someone else with fingers had preened them. Sparrows and crows were professionals of course, but a hand upon them had been so dearly missed. He didn't remove the wing from her hands, perhaps hoping she'd start again.]

Of course. They are not as strong as they once were, but I can still take flight for a short time.

[reborneve]

[She tilts her head some as he mentions them not being as strong, a clearly curious gesture. Was it lack of use that made them weaker? She assumed as much and after a moment she tips her gaze back to the bit of his wing in her hand. It lays across her palm now rather than in her grasp and it's not long until she falls back into the gently brushing over them again. He's not moved after all and she's yet to think of whether he may or may not like the gesture at all.]

They're very nice.

[It evokes an emotion she doesn't understand but she doesn't hate either. All the other specimens she's touched have been deceased after all. Her attempts to befriend birds and woodland creatures have been wholly unsuccessful, no matter the food inducements.

This somehow makes her feel ... lighter? She's had such rare spurts of actual physical contact with anything alive that the sensation is unique to her.]

[everyspark]

[huh. that's one of the more... flamboyant body mods Cheris has seen in a while; people usually go for something simple, like gills or tiger-stripes. from behind, their wings remind her of the ravens she loved in her home city. they're moving fast for their bulk, though, not as coordinated as she'd like to see from someone very large moving very quickly through a crowd, and there's little space to get out of the way--

a chill spikes through her when the stranger turns, their sewn lips reminding her of some of the more lingering Vidona rituals she'd put a stop to back home. and they're old. she can't tell where the thought comes from, with no more senses to work with than the usual human, but the two immortals who defined her world for the past eleven years didn't leave her blind to the ephemeral weight of centuries, and memory paints her veins with ice.

she hasn't seen open hostility, doesn't reach for a weapon without cause, but the reflexes in her mind try to catch up with the reflexes no longer sharded through her body, and her twist to get out of the way has her stumbling over a potted plant and they've definitely noticed her noticing them by now.

so much for dignity.

she shakes herself off, a short woman in undistinguished black knits with hair cropped much shorter than the military bob she used to wear, and tilts her head to acknowledge the very tall very old mute winged person. maybe foxes fly here, and maybe ominous-looking strangers are friendly.]

[desfait]

[Oh he definitely noticed, it was hard not to when she went stumbling over the plant. In turn, he stops sharply, both ears swiveling forward like an alarmed animal as both wings snap tightly behind his back.

Did he do that? Oh dear. He'd been so caught up in his surroundings that he'd failed to notice the actual people here... Her diminutive size in comparison to himself was no excuse for the lapse in decorum on his part, as far as he was concerned. She looked up at him, and he took a half step back, the dainty click of cloven hooves sounding from under the flowing black robes.]

I apologize.

[The words came from nowhere. Or, rather, they seemed to come when he gestured, the motions he made not at all congruent with any manner of modern sign language.]

I was not paying attention. Are you alright?

[everyspark]

[the ear swivel's kind of cute though? like the deer-spirit from Spanning the Red Swan's Gate -- the original, not the calendrically sanitized remake. although that one had no wings, and was also entirely mythical.

she's not too surprised to understand him; nobody here speaks any of her realm's languages, and yet all have been understood, at least as far as she's wandered. the gestures are interesting, though. nothing like Kel or Shuos infantry-signs. she wonders if they're actually his language, or if it's somewhere else in his presentation, signaled so subtlely it can't yet be recognized.]

Thank you, yes. [she's a little breathless, truth be told. so far he hasn't shattered into thousands of moths or manifested hundreds of staring eyes, and she'd swear his concern is sincere; he's far ahead of the game as unexpected ancient beings go.] It's all right; I wasn't either. Have you also just arrived?

[desfait]

[He takes a few more seconds to look her over, apparently not totally convinced by the breathless tone of her voice. He'd find nothing of note though, and slowly, his posture relaxed again, the wings returning to their semi-slack position.]

If you are sure.

I have, though I know not how. I have never gotten this lost before, I believe.

[He seemed genuinely unsure of that though, the dark eyes flitting here and there as he seemed to almost physically rifle through his memory.]

Do you know how you came to be here? Perhaps that will remind me.

[everyspark]

[she's studying him as well, the remnants of Jedao's ability to read people -- faint as they are now, more memory-of-memory than anything else, limited to the times they had actively risen in her thoughts -- weighing in in favor of his sincerity. if he's acting, it's good enough that she'll never know. she might as well simply believe.]

I think... I walked through a door. By the time I turned around, the door just led to another part of this place.

If you're not going anywhere specific, would you like to find somewhere to sit down? [she glances around, hoping that one of the alcoves will have something that can accommodate his height and wings.] Maybe talking about it will help you remember.

[desfait]

[His brow furrows as she speaks of a door, combing his memory for what he was doing just prior to being here. Was it a door? Did he wake from a nap? Was he wandering the grounds again? The repetitive and meaningless actions of his days all blended together into a dull gray mass in his mind, it could have been any of those, they all had the same amount of weight.]

It could have been such with myself. Perhaps.

[The distraction from his muddy memories was welcome, his face smoothing out into a look of mild relief when she suggested sitting down.]

Of course. Where would you like to go? Do not worry if I cannot recall, I do not think it is of much importance ultimately. Even should I remember, I will soon forget regardless.