Cue sax of the yackety variety.

[foolishwren]

Who: Anyone in the Goldenrod Hotel
Where: The Goldenrod City Hotel
When: Starting at 5:00 PM on December 19th and ending at 4:00 AM on December 20th.
Summary: POWER OUTAGE IN THE GOLDENROD CITY HOTEL. See here for details!
Rating: Probably PG to PG-13.
Log:
A pair of deep, enormous red eyes sat in front of the receptionist and stared, intensely.

The receptionist pursed her lips and frowned, staring back through a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.

Claudy's enormously fluffy feet were reflected neatly on the glossy countertop, as were the wickedly-sharp talons that stuck out of them.

Those were the main things keeping the unfortunate receptionist on duty from shooing the owl Pokemon, although the beak wasn't much of an incentive, either.

"Um... young lady," she said hesitantly, trying to lean around the large bird, her chair creaking. "The lobby is intended to be a space for EVERYBODY..."

"And it still IS a space for everybody," Heather said, unloading a shoulderful of soft, folded blankets onto one of the lobby's sofas and dusting her hands off. Several other blankets had already been partially tied up over the back of the couch and stretched out to attach at the corners to rows of chairs that were painstakingly arranged in aesthetically-pleasing, tunnel-wall-like patterns. There were also the beginnings of several pillow-built barricades, and even some large cardboard boxes standing by on reserve, should the pillows run out before construction was complete. "It's just a COOLER space for everybody."

The receptionist's frown grew and she sighed, rubbing her temples and trying to ignore the Noctowl's unblinking stare. She was fairly certain that it had been placed there SOLELY to distract her from stopping the construction of 'New Lobby'-- and it was doing a fairly good job.

Why did the difficult visitors ALWAYS come downstairs while SHE was on desk duty?

Meanwhile, the wind howled outside, piling snow against the glass doors to the outside and plastering against the windows-- not that there was much to see out there, besides flying snow. It blotted out even the rest of the city's lights, which normally lit up the plaza outside like daylight even after dusk.

"Miss, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to take all that down," she said for the fifth time in the past half-hour, and as usual, she was completely ignored as the scruffy blond girl tied a few more blankets up (with some difficulty due to her bandaged hands).

Biting her lip, she started to stand up.

Maybe if she just went over and started... taking all the blankets down herself--







And then suddenly, there was a low mooooooan of electricity deciding spontaneously that life wasn't worth it anymore and turning itself off.

The lights went out.

Silence reigned in the lobby.




.... for about five seconds.


"Oh my goodness..."

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED--"

"/OLD WOMAN OWL SCREAM"




<sub>[Feel free to make your own threads! They can be down in the lobby, they can be up in the rooms, they can be anywhere! Is your character in the bathroom plucking their eyebrows when the lights go out? WE WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT, SO GO FOR IT. Are they falling down the stairs? POST THAT SHIT.]

[Threadhopping/jacking is totally encouraged, so TAG AROUND TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT, MY DUDES. If your own thread isn't getting replies right away, go ahead and jump in somewhere else! Look out for other characters in the same areas as yours-- lobby, hallways, staircases, etc! Have fun!]</sub>

Comments

[bakaitoukid]

... Kaito cracked one eye open to stare at the creature who was threatening to steal his couch away. Had it been any other person, he miiight have snapped back irritably (he was in one of those moods, after all). But the Evil Blanket Overlord's true identity did nothing but wash away any annoyance he might have had and replaced it with faint amusement (thought the details of his intrigued expression were probably lost in the dark).

"No," he stated bluntly as he turned away from the bearer of the blanket fungus and curled into the back of the couch. Biz let out a yelp as he was nearly squished, but with a few wriggles, he managed to find a new comfortable position in Kaito's scarf that prevented him from being sandwiched between his trainer and the couch cushions.

"Dun wanna," Kaito continued, "I don't believe in blankets. They're bad for the environment. Are you gonna kill the ozone layer, Heather" A few clicks of his tongue as he shut both eyes again, "The environment is disappointed in you."

[foolishwren]

The Evil Blanket Overlord blinked.

D8< HOW DARE THIS WORTHLESS PEON SPEAK TO HER THAT WA-- .... oh snaaaaappp!

The malevolent snarl disappeared. If metaphors could actually be literal in physical reality, the expression that replaced it could have lit up the entire darkened lobby. Heather beamed.

"YOU!"

And then, whether he liked it or not, she went right ahead and leaned over the back of the couch to give him an ENORMOUS HUG. Yes, even though he was lying on his side and facing away from her. WHO CARED? NOT HER, THAT'S WHO. Enjoy your glomp, Kaito.

"You're alive!"

[bakaitoukid]

Not just any glomp, either. A glomp from behind. An all encompassing, tight, and very friendly glomp from behind. Kaito let out a surprised yelp as both eyes snapped open and his cheek lit up from embarrassment. Of all the things he expected Heather to do to greet him, this was not one of them.

He had stiffened slightly at the initial contact, but after the surprise faded, he relaxed a bit and let out an amused laugh.

"Oi oi, how am I supposed to greet you properly if I can't even turn around to say 'hi'?"

[foolishwren]

GET USED TO IT, KAITO. Because you just might start getting these more often, now.

Heather griiiins, sliding forward until she's just hooked over the back of the couch at her waist. The blanket's just sorta forgotten.

"WELL. You had that chance, but then you went and rolled over like a sulking teenager. Not my fault! You coulda said hi before that. ... Of course, I probably would've smothered you with the blanket in a fit of power-hungry rage, but-- ... still."

She gives him a last ribcage-hurting squeeze (accompanied by a mock-snarly GRHGHGRGHH noise) before finally letting go and withdrawing a bit, still grinning broadly.

"I thought you guys must've DIED out there in that storm!"

[bakaitoukid]

Somehow, while she was hugging him, he managed to turn around so he was laying on his back again, staring up at her while she hugged him from an awkward angle. His blush hadn't quite dissipated yet, but thankfully it was easy to miss in the lack of lighting. This was the closest he had ever been to Heather, and (for all of the bragging he did when it came to women), it admittedly flustered him juuust a bit. Then again, Kaito wasn't quite used to such blatant displays of physical affection, although Johan and Kay were quickly changing that.

"You threatened to steal my couch!" he said indignantly as she pulled away, and once he had the space to move again he pushed himself upward and gave Heather a faux indignant look, "After I worked so hard to survive the blistering cold to make it back to Goldenrod for you."

He sighed and leaned back again, shaking his head at her second proclamation. "'M kinda surprised we didn't."

[foolishwren]

It's okay, Kaito. I promise you won't get any cooties. .... Well, maybe AWESOME cooties. But really, why would you complain about those?

Heather just grins down at him. If she could see his blush, she'd probably poke fun at it, but luckily for him, she can't. So she just scoots backwards off of the couch wall and stands up straight again, dusting off her hands.

"Well, it's actually MY couch, see. I claimed this whole sitting area as my empire. You were trespassing. But it's okay, 'cause I missed you. So you just get a warning instead of the death penalty."

... HOW PRIMITIVE.

[bakaitoukid]

HOW PRIMITIVE INDEED.

Kaito lets out an amused snort as he sprawls out over the couch again. "Too late! I've claimed your territory, Great Awesome-san." He linked his hands behind his head and shut his eyes, as if he were about to fall asleep. "And I rename this couch The Great And Much More Awesome than Awesome-san's Empire, Smileytopia."

It was on now.

"And I can't trespass on my own territories~"

[foolishwren]

.....

Oh no you di-in't.

"... You do realize that making that statement is an act of war, right?"

[bakaitoukid]

Faster than Heather could blink, Kaito shot up from his seemingly relaxed position, snatched a pillow, and held it out in front of him like a shield. His grin was wicked and playful; he knew very well what he had just gotten himself into.

"You're puny empire will never defeat mine."

[foolishwren]

GOOD. Because what he'd just gotten himself into was DOOOOOM.

Heather's grin was equally so on both counts.

"You're one to talk, Mr. MY EMPIRE CONSISTS OF A COUCH."

And without further ado, she snatches up that blanket she had earlier and just-- CHUCKS IT OVER HIM. Like a net. LET'S SEE IF HIS PILLOW-SHIELD CAN DEFLECT THAT!

[bakaitoukid]

"My empire beats your empire any day!"

With his pillow in hand, he swipes at the blanket in an attempt to deflect it... and, of course, this plan doesn't exactly work since now the blanket is draped over his hands, arms, and shoulders. Even so, he quickly pulls it away and tosses it back at Heather in retaliation.

"You took the first strike!" he pointed out as he grabbed another pillow and tossed it at her after the blanket, "This means I can't be held accountable for anything I do from here on out!"

[foolishwren]

"Nuh UH!"

This was going to be the most mature fight ever.

Heather lets out a little shriek as the pillow bounces off her, hiking her lobsterhands up like a velociraptor in the process.

"You're already a war criminal!"

She snatches up a nearby pillow and swings it with vigor, making one of those THIS IS SPARTA faces, which looks even sillier in the dim light. ... And also because she's dressed in a winter coat and not in digitally-enhanced awesome armor, which is the only costume in which expressions like that do not look hilarious (and even then, there are exceptions).

"THE COUCH WILL BE MINE."

[bakaitoukid]

"Over my dead body!"

Kaito lifted his shield pillow to block her incoming attack, before adding cheekily, "Which will never happen, so you might as well give up while you can!"

... what was that about being tired after his long trek through the snow? Ah well. Sleep could wait. He was catching up with a close friend he hadn't seen in quite some time.

of course 'catching up' would equate to 'EPIC WAR' with these two

[foolishwren]

"Of course it'll never happen! I wouldn't kill you, you need to be alive to experience the pain of watching your pitiful conquered-by-technicality kingdom crumble!"

HEATHER CAN BE MELODRAMATIC TOO, SEE!

The attacking pillow bounces off of the 'shield'-- and out of Heather's hands. They've been on the mend, but it's still hard to hang onto things too tightly (she's doing it with her palms more than her fingers). But nevertheless, she dips down, undeterred, and re-appears with a BIG cushion that had clearly been tugged off of another one of the couches, earlier.

"YAAAAARRR--!"

She heaves it at him in hopes of knocking him off the couch. It's too soft to hurt-- but it's pretty heavy!

But of couse, why would it ever mean anything different? XD

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito was about to respond when Heather attacks again-- this time with the cushion of his couch.

Talk about friendly fire.

The magician lets out a yelp as the soft-but-heavy cushion collides with his 'shield' and pushes him off of the couch and onto the floor. It's in the process of his fall that he finally seems to notice, through the darkness, that Heather is not wearing gloves; rather, her hands are bandaged heavily.

"What--" thunk as he lands on the ground and quickly scrambles upright, peering up at Heather as he rests his elbows on the couch, "-- happened to your hands?"

[foolishwren]

Heather lets out a BARK OF TRIUMPH, vaulting-- or-- well, not faulting, that would require a little more use of the hands than would generally be comfortable-- but hopping over the back of the couch to land on the still-cushioned part with socked feet, grinning triumphantly and all set to RAIN DOWN DOOM upon her fallen opponent with another pillow.

Buuut then he asked that question.

... Oh yeah. Whoops. She kinda forgot to mention that.

"... Uhhh..."

She looks down at the white guaze 'mittens' on her hands.

Kaito was one of the specific people she'd been planning on telling the story to straight-- because, well, honestly, he was without a doubt one of the people here she trusted most. One of her best friends! But... did she reeaaaally want to open this can of worms right when he'd just gotten back? .... In the middle of a power outage, no less?

"Er."

She grins down at him a little sheepishly, folding her arms.

"It's kind of a long story." And you're one of the people I trust enough that I wanna tell you about the real thing and not the 'SO I WAS WALKING TO WORK, AND THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, DINOSAURS' version. "Do you wanna hear it now or later?"

... The implication of course was that since she was asking him when he wanted to hear it, there was something in it that might not be easy to talk about. If it was just a goofy shenanigan that happened to end in a heaping dose of 'ow', she'd have launched into the tale whether he'd asked what happened or not.

[bakaitoukid]

He blinked at her a few times, gaze wandering over her bandaged hands while a concern frown tugged down the corners of his lips. Now or later, huh... With a shake of his head and an implicit understanding of what Heather's question meant, he pulled himself into a cheerful grin again and pushed away from the couch, climbing to his feet and dusting his shoulders off.

"Later," he said. He would be in Goldenrod for a while, after all. He could easily ask her for the story later, when they weren't surrounded by people. "I have an empire to save right now."

And with that, he reached out to snatch the remaining cushion off the couch while Heather was still seated on it, aiming to pull her off of his 'empire' in the process.

[foolishwren]

Good answer, Kaito!

Her eyes narrowED immediately.

"Not if I can help i-- WHOA-oah!"

She was knocked off balance as he yanked the cushion out from under her-- but scrambling quickly, she managed to hang onto the armrest so that she wasn't completely dislodged. Thinking quickly, she lashed out with one leg in an attempt to kick the newly-acquired weapon out of his hands.

"YAUGH!"

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito was a master of picking the correct answer when he really needed to.

Heather's counter-attack was effective, and the cushion went flying from Kaito's hands and skidded across the floor a few meters away. But the cushion Heather used earlier, along with the pillows, were sitting within arm's reach. In a flash, he had grabbed the two pillows, keeping one of them in his hand as he tossed the other one at Heather.

Barrage, incoming!

[foolishwren]

Letting out a small shriek, she hiked her arms up to deflect the barrage-- knocking the first to the side and catching the other two.

"Never let go of your weapon on the battlefield! Poor form, Smiley. POOR. FORM."

Scrambling to her feet once more, she held both the pillows up in a shieldly fashion and proceeded to try and bull Kaito backwards away from the couch with him.

"TAKE THAT."

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito let out an indignant yelp as Heather countered with the pillows he had used as ammunition earlier. To escape her advances, he quickly darted around her and dived behind the couch, using it as both a shield and a hiding place while he attempted to think up a new strategy.

"It's not over yet, Awesome-san!"

[foolishwren]

"It was over when you decided to challenge my power at all!"

She ducked, herself-- anticipating him to strike over the back of the couch with a blanket-flail or something. She snatched up the pillows he'd chucked at her previously in the process, readying them as shields like he had, earlier.

[bakaitoukid]

Instead of attacking with the anticipated blanket-flail, Kaito did something a little different.

In fact, Heather might notice that the couch she is currently defending? Is tipping over eeeever so slightly now...

[foolishwren]

<sub>[.... was the couch tilting?]

[... yes. Yes it was.]</sub>

Hey! What're you doing--?!

_{[Abandoning caution, she straightens up to lean over the back of the couch and see just what Kaito was up to.]}

[bakaitoukid]

[he is SKILLFULLY TIPPING THE COUCH, trying to knock Heather off]