[ WEEK ONE – ARRIVAL ]

[sheriffexe]

ARRIVAL

It's a surprisingly quiet ride. The passenger cart is nothing more than wood and a bit of cotton to cushion the seats but for some reason, even as the train hurtles along down the track, the cart remains silent. It only starts filling with noise when the passengers begin to stir. There isn't any indication on how you got here. No grogginess, no injuries -- in fact, those who arrive with injuries might find them healed up completely (of course there are others who won't be so lucky) -- but in one blink and the next, you are here, on this train. Maybe you're even sitting next to a friend. Maybe a stranger. Won't be any time to talk either, the train suddenly slowing down with enough of a jerk to throw its passengers back into their seats. A few seconds later, it comes to a complete stop and with a whistle, the doors open and a voice calls from outside. It's male, with a slight mechanical twang behind it and anyone who looks out the window towards the station can just about spot the portly man out on the platform. "You might as well come on out, folks. You won't be getting any answers on the train." Once everyone is out on the platform, the man stands before them taking an assessing look at each person. There is something very off about him, though he looks human enough -- but his eyes are too white, his skin too dry, and his hair is doesn't shine quite right. He is dressed in a flannel shirt, suspenders, and jeans, a cowboy hat atop his head and a badge pinned to his shirt that reads "Sheriff". After a moment, he gives a gruff nod and speaks again. "Howdy. Real happy to see all of you. Explanations will come... Sunday morning, yeah. Give y'all a bit of time to meet each other. Settle in. Keys are on the table over there, hat and pistol in your room. Don't, er... Don't shoot each other right away but if you do, my office is over there. Go get some dinner, sun's about to set. Wouldn't want any coyote trouble." And that seems to be... it. The Sheriff tips his hat and turns to head to the building with the large "Sheriff" sign on the front. There is a table nearby, keys neatly laid out for everyone with nametags attached to each one. An owl hoots in the distance and a breeze passes through the group. It's quiet again. Welcome to game start! Characters will find their items in their hotel rooms and anyone who goes to visit the Sheriff after he leaves will find the station empty. On top of that, rulebooks will not be available to find until later. The Sheriff might be forcing it a little but it seems like the intent here really is to get everyone to interact with each other. If there are any questions, PM or hit up the plurk at robowest!

QUICK NAV PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | STATUSES | PROFILES | LOCATIONS | GRAVEYARD | MAIN NAVIGATION

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

[The first thing anyone might notice is that Percy is pretty much dead asleep for most of the quiet train ride. The second thing anyone might notice is that he sort of looks like he was run over by the train prior to boarding it. He wasn't exactly one of the lucky ones and though several of his injuries have healed up, he's still littered in minor cuts and bruises, t-shirt and jeans ripped to shreds in various places.

The train comes to a stop and he gasps awake, almost startled by the fact he can breathe so clearly. Once they're off the train though and once he listens to the Sheriff his mouth draws into a thin line.

What the heck is this? Coyote trouble? Keys? …keys. Right. He moves then, surprised that most of the soreness in his muscles has disappeared, too, as he approaches the table with the keys and snatches the one with his name on it.]

Don't really have time to stay until Sunday, dude. [This is mostly mumbled to himself and more than anything it's clear he's very, very confused.]

closed to Annabeth

[It's not hard for anyone paying attention to see that he's immediately scouring the crowd of people for a familiar head of blonde hair, but the moment he sees Annabeth he moves closer. He doesn't do anything just yet, trying not to make it too obvious that they're together just in case this is a trap, but he does lower his head to murmur to her.]

What…just happened?

open, arrival

[For the most part, other characters can find Percy examining the ticket booth, opening the door and exploring for anything useful. Otherwise he's busy staring at the map with his eyebrows furrowed together, on occasion subtly patting his pocket like he's searching for something. If anyone comes in to join him, he'll turn and muster up a semi-friendly grin.]

He could've left us with some more information, huh? Where do you think we are?

[Later, he can be found exploring the hotel, walking the halls and checking things out. Are you a neighbor? You might even find him staring at his room door with distain. Someone's not happy he's been separated, but he'll have to play along. Other times he can be found poking around the kitchen. Feel free to interrupt his scavenging.]

Saturday morning

[This isn't the first time Percy's woken up in a strange place. Perhaps that's why he's so calm. It could also be the fact that when he arrived in his room he found a friend he hasn't seen in a while even if she's not quite what he remembers.

This morning, people can find Percy still wearing the clothes he arrived in and sitting in front of the hotel, the dog in front of him. The two appear to be people-watching. On occasion, he'll scratch her ears thoughtfully. Anyone stepping out of the hotel will hear him comment:]

What do you think, Mrs. O'Leary? Anything?

[Later, with Mrs. O'Leary following along behind him, he can be found snooping through the general store. The pair wander through the shop, Mrs. O'Leary sniffing around and Percy squinting at the text on some of the packaging. Are you in the store as well? He'll turn and greet you with a slight nod of his head.]

I don't even want to think about how long this has been sitting here.

wildcard

[Gimme anything! I'm fine with whatever if the above options don't tickle your fancy ♥]

the special prompt ALL FOR ME

[athenite]

[ annabeth shifts a little in her stance - arms crossed, eyes narrowed as she looks around - so that her weight is more anchored in percy's direction and speaks just as quietly. ]

I'm not sure. I know we don't know everything about Tartarus, but I've never heard about anything remotely like...this. [ some kind of western attraction? ] Nothing has tried to kill us for a whole, what, ten minutes? Something's wrong.

[hydrokinetics]

[It's enough. Her presence is enough to keep him calm but Annabeth can probably tell from the tenseness in his jaw and the way he's balanced like he's ready to move that he's in battle-mode already.]

Really, really wrong. [He shakes his head slightly, looking over the others on the platform with them.] I don't recognize any of these people either. Think something happened with the elevator?

[They had been warned about what would happen if they couldn't keep the doors closed, but that doesn't seem right either.]

[athenite]

[ she recognizes the stance. it matches her own preparation to move if anything jumps at them - though so far nothing has, which is really weird because they are not usually lucky even to that tiny degree? ]

I don't know if this is what we were suppose to be worried about... [ a frown. she hates not knowing things, and this entire situation is full of "why the fuck". there isn't a myth or legend that springs to mind as explanation. ] We'll have to do recon on our own. This situation? Really not in any myth I know.

[ the admittance is reluctant, but she isn't about to pretend she does know what's going on when their lives are on the line. ]

Someone here may have the information we need, though.

arrival - hotel, kitchen

[feminitis]

[It's important to become familiar with one's surroundings as soon as possible - which is why Sei's taken to exploring the hotel. Eventually, she comes to the kitchen, and it's almost immediately apparent that the setup is entirely different from what she's used to. It's larger, the appliances don't look right to her at all, and there's a person-

Wait a minute.]

...oh! Hello, there!

[She smiles and brings up a hand to rub at the back of her head, embarrassed.]

Looks like we had the same idea... Do you do much cooking?

[hydrokinetics]

[At least he doesn't jump or anything, but he does look over his shoulder at Sei and for a moment looks surprised before his expression melts into something a little more relaxed. His body language is enough to show that he's still tense and not sure what's going on, but the best way to get answers is to talk to people.]

If you count "set the microwave for three minutes" as cooking, yeah, totally. [There's a small grin though.] I've never really needed to learn besides the basics but…figured it wouldn't hurt to look around here.

[feminitis]

...a what?

[She can't say she's ever heard of a microwave before, so that definitely throws her for a loop, and it takes her a moment to recover from it.]

There's a lot of stuff in here I've never seen before, so I guess it's going to take some trial and error to figure it all out. [Here's hoping they don't burn the hotel down.] But if I manage to make anything that doesn't look too awful, do you want to try it?

saturday morning.

[healstaff]

[ walking out of the hotel with her staff in hand, lissa gives the guy sitting outside a wide berth at first. stranger danger, ok. while a lot of them are dressed strangely, they could be from plegia or elsewhere. but then: wow he has a puppy? clearly, this random dude is the Most Trustworthy Person Here. ]

Is that your dog's name, Mrs O'Leary? [ leans down to be closer to the dog, but she hesitates. ] Is she friendly?

[ read: "can I pet your dog, random person" ]

[hydrokinetics]

[The first thing he does is analyze her staff. Please don't suddenly try to start a beat-down, Lissa. But he tilts his head back and looks at her, and Mrs. O'Leary follows the gesture with a tilt of her puppy-head. She's not used to this size, but she seems interested in Lissa anyway even if her staff gets her to woof gently. Since she doesn't seem to want to attack Percy, it's fine.]

She's pretty sweet to people, yeah. [A pause.] People that don't attack, I mean.

[So yes, you can pet the doge but please put your weapon somewhere that they can avoid a scuffle.]

[healstaff]

[ lissa doesn't miss the staff-analyzing. it takes a second for her to equate it with the word attack. ]

Oh, this is just a heal staff. [ which she will drop casually to the ground, out of the way, before approaching mrs. o'leary. dogs are more important than being in danger, ok. she holds out a tentative hand for the doggo to sniff and clearly smell how undangerous she is. ] Hi there, Mrs. O'Leary. What a cutie you are! I'm just a cleric, I can't attack anybody!

[ being ready to hit people in self-defense is not the same, clearly, since that's not it's intended purpose. ]

saturday

[sating]

[ It's not very long after Percy and Mrs. O'Leary head to check out the general store when someone else joins them. Hannibal has certainly done his best to spit in the face of Western wear, since the cowboy look was definitely not his favorite, but the suits weren't quite the sorts of cuts he like either. Alas. Life is hard when you're a fussy cannibal, and so he has to settle for a look that's a bit more "banker" than anything, though it's likely still a touch more formal than what most people have taken to wearing.

His eyebrows raise lightly when he realizes he's not alone, but his attention turns to the dog when Percy turns. Hannibal's lips quirk to a little smile, but when he's spoken to, he returns his attention to Percy. ]

Not long enough for any food to expire, I hope.

[ He says, but in truth, no. He knows none of it has expired because he's a fucking cheater and can smell it why are my characters freaks ]

Is there anything interesting? I imagined there may be, considering the antiquated decor.

[hydrokinetics]

[This guy...is a little much. It's not even anything about Hannibal in particular since he just announced his presence, but already Percy's a tiny bit on-guard solely by the way he's dressed. Formalwear tends to mean authority figures or monsters that want to kill him, and while that'd be on par for just about everything else he's really not looking forward to a fight.

But. There's nothing in what Hannibal says that's very suspicious either. Mrs. O'Leary even wanders away from Percy's side to trot right up to him, infinitely curious and probably too friendly to be effective just yet.]

Yeah, sure, if you find eggs, cornbread and poptarts interesting. [One of these things is not like the other. One of these things is also tucked under Percy's arm and it's not the eggs or the cornbread.] They really went out of their way here to make it look like the west. [He doesn't know what this place is, but he also doesn't know shit about the wild west so his opinion is moot for now.]

[sating]

[ When Mrs. O'Leary approaches, Hannibal smiles a bit more as he crouches to be closer to her level. Before reaching out to pet her, he does look up at Percy to first ask. ]

May I?

[ Though regardless of his answer, Hannibal will continue with the rest. ]

Well, the third is at least amusing, since it's anachronistic for what we've been given. For the rest, mildly. I was imagining more than food, but if we're to stay here for a few days, then the idea of being able to indulge in a personal hobby at least satisfies the question of what I might do in the meantime.

arrival sorta wildcard, fite me

[expelliarmed]

[ Whenever Percy enters his hotel room, he'll find another boy his age in there, having something of a staring contest with Mrs. O'Leary. Whatever Harry had been expecting to find inside that room, it wasn't a dog.

...He's also holding a stick, but it's not to play fetch. ]

Er... [ Harry straightens. ] Do you know this dog?

fites u except I can't because I was writing almost the same thing in a top-level to you

[hydrokinetics]

[That. Is not Annabeth. That is definitely not Annabeth and Percy's already very confused and unsettled about this place but he's not letting that on. He looks like he was in a fight with a shredder and lost, sure, but at the same time the look of surprise on his face makes him pretty harmless.

At first glance though, he doesn't recognize the dog.]

No? [But Mrs. O'Leary breaks her gaze from Harry when she hears Percy's voice, giving a bark that's probably louder than a dog her size should be making before jumping from where she is and rushing toward him. It's the bark that does it and Percy stares...]

...Mrs. O'Leary? [There's a confirmation bark as the dog wags her tail, happily sitting at Percy's feet before turning her head back to Harry and barking again. Great. Now this guy probably thinks he's a liar.] Uh. Was she in here when you opened the door?

[That's fine. Better than asking, like, who he is or introducing himself. Good job, Percy.]

[expelliarmed]

[ Yes, well-spotted, Percy. Harry is not Annabeth, though he doesn't look too shocked by Percy's state of being - he's been there before. Percy's answer and Mrs. O'Leary's subsequent bark, however, earns the pair a skeptical look and a raised brow. ]

She seems to know you. [ JUST POINTING THAT OUT, but he doesn't sound accusatory. ] I found her just...waiting. The door was locked before that.

[ So either a: the dog can apparate or b: the non-existent hotel staff let her in. Neither seems tremendously likely, but he doesn't get the impression that the other boy had been to the room before.

So, apparating dog it is. ]

saturday morning

[moraled]

[Because it's doggo time.

Constantine is basically a magnet for dogs; as soon as he sniffs out another, he goes bounding towards it, excited and wagging his tail. Barnham follows at a more sedate pace, though with a furrowed brow.

Constantine, pls.]

Ah.

Another dog, I see. That would explain it.

[hydrokinetics]

[Why is there a fluffy little dog?? Percy starts at the appearance of another four-legged friend, but Mrs. O'Leary seems to perk up, getting up from her place guarding Percy to sniff Constantine out. She'll get to Barnham in a second, it's doggo time.

Percy, meanwhile, watches the two animals for a moment before looking up from his place on the ground to face the older man.]

Was yours waiting for you here, too? [He's not sure he's going to like the answer, but it would be helpful all the same.]

[moraled]

Yes, that is correct.

[Another kid, huh... he doesn't like this at all. He doesn't like that Constantine was here, suddenly. He doesn't like that there are so many kids here.

He doesn't really like any of this.]

Though why our pets? It does not make sense.

arrival

[ceded]

[ Xion's curious about the map, too, though she isn't really sure how to react around all these people. Everything about this violates protocols--

Jeez. That doesn't matter anymore, does it? It's such a hard habit to shake...

Percy startles her out of her thoughts when he asks that question, and she actually jumps a little. After a moment she settles at him, blinking a few times. ]

... I dunno. None of this makes any sense. ... right? Is there... any way we can all be here like this?

[ What a vague way to phrase that question. ]

[hydrokinetics]

[Whoops sorry small child. It's vague, sure, but Percy doesn't seem to mind. He's apparently used to people being vague.]

All of the ways I'm thinking probably wouldn't apply here. [Gaea couldn't possibly be behind all of this, could she?] But none of it makes sense. We all got off the same train didn't we? Is there anyone you recognize?

[ceded]

[ For one reason or another, that question makes her look a little nervous. Xion shifts, glancing off to one side, and then says: ]

That train... that's one of the weirdest parts. How did we all get there without realizing it...?

[ nice dodge xion that wasn't obvious at all

She sighs quietly, lifting a hand to gesture at the map. ]

This place... it doesn't seem that big, either. Have you seen anyone besides the people from the train?

arrival

[elemancy]

[they're not exactly neighbords, but it's not really stopping noct from checking out things and just seeing what's around within the hotel.

but a question like what percy is asking is a pretty loaded one.]

The hell if I know. [he's mildly exasperated, stressed out, and feeling pretty tired from... well, everything. this hotel situtation isn't exactly compelling when there's so much else he's got on his mind.

but this earn a bit of a sigh; he knows that percy (and pretty much everyone else on that train) is in the same boat as him.] Doesn't even look like anywhere I've ever seen outside of movies and TV.

[hydrokinetics]

I've been thinking the same thing, but that's what doesn't make sense. Movies sets have lights and stuff don't they? [There's a small, not entirely amused smile.] I don't remember signing away my likeness to appear on camera.

Do you remember getting on that train at all?

[elemancy]

Me neither, but it's not like there are even lights or cameras—or anything else normal here.

[no cars, no tvs, no radios...

it's kind of like the most modern thing they have is the train itself, which gets them nowhere.]

Remember getting on a train. Can't say it was that one, though.