Once Upon a Bayou

[ClockworkDaisy]

Odette hoisted her bag back up on her shoulder, rubbing at the spot where it was pulling her down for a long moment before starting the walk up the drive towards the old house. She was greatful for the simple flat shoes she wore and her light dress as she walked to the house proper. It seemed she had picked a good day to arrive, with all the cars and people milling about, it would be easy to make some acquaintances on a day like this. She'd learnt early off in her trip that this was how you found work - or at least the kind of work Odette was interested in - cash in hand. Visa's complicated things so much, it was best just to go about what you were doing then worry about that other stuff later she figured. Hell, she'd nearly married Jean Benquist to stay in Vienna..

She made her way to the counter to check in, eyes roaming the room about her and exhaled softly.

[Melodym]

June perched herself up on the armrest of the aged leather sofa, resting her cane across her lap. She listened as Sam approached the ladder, one step on a rung, then another, and another. Listening so closely was an instinct to her now that she didn't have use of her sight. It was that acute hearing that told her a few bits of information at this moment:

-Sam was at the top of the ladder, about to grab the book
-Someone was walking in an adjacent room
-And there was movement below their feet, which was strange because like most of New Orleans, this plantation didn't have a basement.

Writing it off as just another quirk of the home, she took a deep breath and relaxed.

"It's June. Did you get the book?" She closed her eyes and smiled for a moment, waiting for him to look at the cover. Etched into the hard surface was 'Property of Mr. Holt'

"Anelie always tells me the names in the guest book and I remembered a former guest with the same last name left that behind a couple years ago. It's of no use to me, for obvious reasons." June laughed lightly, waving a hand in front of her face to gesture she couldn't read it. "Figured you'd get a kick out of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I should go see how dinner is coming along. Oh! And... um... Mr. Holt. You and the other guests would be wise to lock your doors at night. See you in a bit."

Adele left Sam to his own devises. If he checked the book he'd notice it was a journal, but only the first page was filled out. It said 'Today I start a new journal along with a new adventure. I think someone here at the Rising Sun is going through my belongings while I'm out. They won't be able to read this one, see:'

The rest of the book was blank, but the pages seemed well worn, not like a new unused journal should be.

_______________________________

June started to walk down the hall when she noticed someone shuffling around the front desk.

"Hello? Someone there?" June ran her hand along the wall so she could find her way there without tripping over something. "Would you like a room? I believe room 202 is open."

She handed Odette the large skeleton key and smiled.

"There's something wrong with the flue in the fireplace, so I don't recommend you try to use it, unless you'd like your room filled with smoke. But in this weather I doubt anyone would want to start a fire. Dinner is served in an hour, and don't worry, I won't be making it. Not since that time I confused sugar with rat poisoning." June snickered. Blind jokes were her forte "Just kidding."

[Luned]

The appearance of a strange, bloodied man was punctuated by a shift in the house that sent things rattling inside, and Nicholas seemed not to take either of these events too seriously. As a matter of fact, they seemed to enthuse him even further.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Simon," he nodded to the other young man. "You're right, the rooms are cheap and apparently attract a colorful sort of folk," he referred to the Spanish-speaking oddball who'd interrupted their conversation, "But the lasses are rather cute. Eh? Am I right?" He nudged Simon with his elbow, perhaps a little too friendly for new acquaintances, but that was just the sort of chap he was.

"Something smells good, I'm gonna go find me a snack," he announced, then started off toward the stairs. "Want to come? Maybe there are more guests. Maybe there are more cute girls!" That prospect put a spring in his step and soon he was downstairs, cramming baked goods in his mouth and trying to look really, really cool at the same time. Somehow, he almost kind of managed it. Then he noticed the face in the ceiling and gaped a bit. "Huh."

Meanwhile, Anelie had to get dinner organized for their new crowd of guests, so she began assembling something. She hadn't expected so many people to actually book a room, it was a bit overwhelming! The young woman got too many things going on the stove at once and, as two pots started boiling over at once, she realized a bit of help was required (… and most definitely not June's).

Peeking out into the hall, Anelie summoned what minimal amount of outgoingness she had to call out to the first person she saw. "E-excuse me! Could you come help for a moment, s'il vous plaît?"

[InkedWolf]

Katherine had wandered about the halls for quite some time before her nose picked up on that sweet aroma.

Coffee!

She found the brew freshly made in a dining area, she quietly walked over to the brew. Quickly, she took a cup from the tray and poured herself a cup. As she drank some of the liquid she sighed happily as the liquid warmed her. As she looked about the quaint room she heard a strange sound above her. "What the?" Katherine looked above her head as she noticed the strange stain on the roof. It looked as if someone had pressed the shape of a face through the roof, she took another sip of the coffee as she stared at the strange shape in the roof.

She pulled out her sketchbook, she began to scribble the rough details of the face onto the paper. Not even sure why she would need such a sketch, but decided it was unique enough to maybe create a piece of art off it later...

As Katherine continued to sketch, she heard a woman call out for help. Slinging her sketchbook back into her pack, she carefully looked to see what was going on.

"Excuse me...can I help?" She nervously asked, art was one thing. The real world and people was a completely different story.

[Lukas Kelly]

Over taken by curiosity, Samuel examined the old book. The cover was made of some faded blue fabric over something harder and its only adornment was "Property of Mr. Holt" printed onto the cover in some sort of golden leafing. He opened the first page, and seeing what looked to be a simple starting entry, he went to thumb through the rest of the pages. Nothing. All of the pages past the first remained unmarked. Not even the occasional water stain dotted the aged pages that carried on until the end of the book. Well that's odd, he thought. He flipped back to the first page to actually read the text.

"Today I start a new journal along with a new adventure. I think someone here at the Rising Sun is going through my belongings while I'm out. They won't be able to read this one, see:"

Samuel felt as if there was something wrong about that. How would one know that and why would one write it down instead of checking it out. Perhaps he did. Samuel peered out of the library windows to see which rooms could be seen. He was about to criticize himself for stupidity (because after all, if you could see your room, wouldn't you be more sure that no one actually is going through your stuff?), but the first and only room he saw was Room 111: his room. He looked curiously down at the book. "Mr. Holt". It had been years since he had been called that. All throughout his service, he was addressed with his rank and not "Mr.". June calling him Mr. Holt reminded him yet again of the adjustment to civilian life he still had left.

...How had June know his name?. He had barely made a sound when he was in the foyer, and even if she could tell that he was a man, there was no way in hell that she could have known. His heart sank. He bolted out onto the patio, into the courtyard and crossed into the gallery in a few quick strides. He hurried over to his room and stood to the side of the door. He instinctively reached for the pistol grip of an M16 that was normally hanging somewhere mid-chest whenever he went to clear a room, but there was obviously nothing there. Samuel fumbled through his pockets and found a utility knife he kept on him. He pulled it out, flipped it open, and slid his key into the keyhole as silently as possible. He took a deep breath. In one practiced motion, he turned the key and opened the door. He strode inside, expertly rapid, with his knife at the ready...

[ClockworkDaisy]

Odette took the key, she ran her fingers over it, she'd ever been a tactile puss and she weighed it in her left hand, laughing freely at the 'blind' joke and hefting her bag up onto her shoulder once again. She canted her head in response to the fireplace's instructions nodding silently. Her eyes flashed with darker with understanding then realising her previous error she voiced her thoughts out loud.

"No fireplace.. yep, got it. Thanks." She shook her head at her own stupidity. "I'm glad there was a room left, this place seems so full of character and you are definitely right about the weather - though its not the worst I've encountered."

She smiled a goodbye, cursed inwardly and muttered the same platitude out loud before making her way up to her room.

[Luned]

When Katherine piped up, Anelie waved her over. "Yes, thank you!" She pulled the girl into the kitchen with her and handed her a wooden spoon, then pointed at the pots that were boiling over. "Stir, merci beaucoup!"

The French girl swirled in a flourish of chopping and washing and assembling as she got a jambalaya together, tossing even more into the pots that frothed on the stovetop. "I apologize for the trouble," she said as she ran about breathlessly, "We weren't expecting so many people! Oh, but it's a good thing," she added with a little smile, not wishing to offend their guest.

Soon everything was under control, thankfully, and Anelie allowed Katherine a break. It was quite hot inside the kitchen now, even in spite of the air conditioning, and the steam had created a sort of fog.

"Thank you," Anelie smiled, taking a deep breath. "I should be fine now. Dinner's on the house for the assistance, we will credit it to your room."

Katherine would see something behind Anelie as she spoke, an anomaly in the uniform clouds of steam, as if someone invisible was walking into the open pantry. The fog moved but no one was there, and the cook didn't seem to notice.

(Nicholas is still eating snacks and eyeballing the ceiling with the other open house guests, though people are filtering out at this point.)

[Korean242]

Simon laughed a bit at Nicholas's joke. "I guess you could say that..." He said in reply. As Nicholas turned around to go downstairs, Simon decided to follow him downstairs, he seemed like a nice enough guy. As Simon entered the downstairs he passed on any food. Any increase to the costs had to be avoided. Simon watched as Nicholas directed.his attention to the roof. Simon turned his gaze towards the ceiling and was slightly surprised. A weird face like stain looked like it was bleeding through the floor above them. Strange.