hotel: harrow

[shaft]

Comments

[outsidebones]

[she pokes in, too. nothing is happening, so she presses a button and a countdown starts.]

...Fuck! What's it counting down to?

[shaft]

Shit, keep an eye out—

[ Claude immediately, goes on the defensive, looking for anything in the box that looks like it might open wide and unleash an eldrich horror on them, but the timer is only like three seconds so.

A flash goes off, and then the counter starts again. ]

... Was that meant to be blinding?

[outsidebones]

Clearly! Don't become distracted.

[looking around left and right for an enemy, only to see it counting again. she will cover her eyes with her hood and attempt to draw her knife on the machine.]

[shaft]

Damn it.

[ The curtains are obscuring their view of any attackers from outside the booth, so he makes quick work of ripping it off tossing it toward where he saw the flash to stop the assault but he's not quite quick enough to act before the next one.

And then a voice suddenly echoes throughout the booth, high pitched and perky in a language they can't understand. ]

[outsidebones]

What do you want?

[she’ll gather the curtain and hold it in place, in hopes that it prevents further attempts on their life.]

[shaft]

[ There's no answer, just another countdown and flash from behind the curtain, before the voice sounds again.

Claude strains his ears for signs of anything else that might be prowling, peering out of the booth.

And then... silence. ]

Something doesn't seem right.

[outsidebones]

Maybe it isn't working right?

[cautiously, she'll try lifting up the curtain, ready to slam it shut...]

There's something on the screen.

[shaft]

[ He looks back at her. ]

Please tell me it's not images of our loved in terrible pain. Once was enough for me.

[ ... ]

[outsidebones]

...No. It's images of us. Look.

[lifting the curtain higher.]

[shaft]

[ Claude blinks slowly, pieces starting to click. ]

... This is a photo booth. It prints pictures of people.

[outsidebones]

Oh.

[well. this feels very silly now. just quietly - ]

Yes, I see now. You can select little stickers and put them on.

[shaft]

[ He stares at the pictures on the screen, of them deadly serious and on edge.

Despite his best efforts, a quiet snort escapes him, followed by muffled laughter that he hides behind his fist. ]

We do look... pretty cool.

[outsidebones]

This is very embarrassing...

[she's not laughing but she seems resigned to the situation. she will select a sticker that says COOL and place it next to the one where they're trying to attack the camera.]

[shaft]

Given how much around here tends to be deadly, you can't blame us.

[ He picks up a pen and draws a sun around a picture of them looking particularly glum. ]

[outsidebones]

[adding a sticker of a cat that looks like it's the thing they're hiding from.]

Indeed, including the most innocuous things. A spaghetti meal, even. Let us simply never mention this.

[shaft]

[ There's only so many pictures to work with given that they threw the curtain over the camera but...

They're all pretty funny. ]

Worried about your reputation?

[outsidebones]

You aren't?

[you ought to be is implied.]

[shaft]

After the last place I was at, I've learned it's better to gracefully laugh at mishaps.

[outsidebones]

...I have never had much skill at that.

[shaft]

You do strike me as someone who treats most things with a certain... severity.

[outsidebones]

It doesn't save me from becoming a subject of mockery, believe me.

[shaft]

I'm mostly surprised anyone manages to stop feeling intimidated long enough to mock you.

[outsidebones]

So am I. It is against my best efforts.

[a small smile.]

But I have heard you are rather formidable, and will steal my secrets.

[shaft]

[ He blinks, looking amused. ]

Seems like you've been issued a warning...? I hope you're not too wary.

[outsidebones]

A gentle one. But my House is known for our tight lips, so I don't feel too troubled by it.