What had promised to be a relatively quiet trip quickly turned into a right riotous headache as the lobby of the Alpenhorn Inn became flooded with people who were trying to escape the sudden snowstorm that had entrapped the town, a place a small hybrid had found herself roiling and lost in.
The inn in question was locally owned by a couple that had recently inherited the place from their parents who were trying to establish more of an online presence for themselves which was when they had found Fuyuko. Liking her work enough, they had hired her to come by and have some professional shots of their place, with an extra perk of free room and board during her stay in the town (where she had also snagged a neat contract with the local tourism board). It wasn't the best location wise, being somewhat out of the way and a bit of a drive into the heart of the town itself, but it had that quaint lost-in-the-woods type charm that attracted her in the first place. The couple was also fairly nice and treated Fuyuko like an actual professional, which didn't hurt matters in the slightest.
Of course all of that wouldn't matter if she was unable to even get to the reception desk in order to get her room in the first place. Fuyuko had already been waiting patiently since before the sun rose, but it seemed as if she had barely moved an inch in line. She knew why of course, that being all the regular humans continually shoving their way past hybrids like Fuyuko and loudly demanding for lodgings, which in turn quickly overwhelmed the one, then two receptionists that manned the front desk, just like how she knew if she said anything at all about the situation, or about all the people pawing her feline ears and grubbing at her short bobtail, she'd have been labled a feral and then everything she had ever worked hard for in her life would have been for naught.
By the time Fuyuko had reached the front desk, the only people still milling about were hybrids and a few courteous humans who had queued up properly. The receptionist that greeted Fuyuko was a wolf of some sort, and her mood was clear as day if her drooping ears and sagging tail were of any indication. A braid that had once been carefully put together now seemed to be frayed and pulling itself apart.
"Welcome to the Alpenhorn Inn, how may I help you."
"Ah, I have a reservation under Fuyuko Wakana." A small amount of relief and thanks colored the receptionist's eyes as she dutifully nodded and went through her records, picking out Fuyuko's key. The receptionist had also given her polite directions to her room and Fuyuko thanked her in kind. They both nodded at each, and then Fuyuko left with a "by the way, your hair looks very cute today," which seemed to have at least perked up her fellow hybrid somewhat.
Hefting her bags and walking down the hallway, Fuyuko stretched out her muscles and walked with a bit more pep in her step in anticipation of finally having a place where she could just sit down and relax and not be touched for a moment. To her, the time in the lobby had felt like an eternity and as was usual for her whenever she ventured out anywhere that was too crowded, she had never felt as dirty as she was as of that moment, subconsciously straightening out the her hair and hiding her tailbone as best she could. The single room she was promised held for her the dual prospect of privacy and a warm shower, both being welcome luxuries.
Which then made it all the more disappointing for her when she opened her room, only to find a second bed (with amenities) haphazardly shoved inside. Unwelcome petting was one matter, a broken promise was another, and Fuyuko quickly found herself dropping everything and immediately rushing to the phone in the room and dialing the reception number listed next to it. A short while later a male voice crackled through with a "Hello?"
"Hi, yes, hello, this is Fuyuko Wakana from room 2B. I had a reservation and was told it would be a single occupant, so I'm wondering what a second bed is doing inside my room?
"Oh! Ms. Wakana. Uh. Oh, shit, um, I'm so sorry about that, it was just the morning rush happened and we were quickly running out of space and I told the boys to get the extra beds and move them into all the singles. I can have them move it right out if you'd like!" The voice sounded genuinely apologetic, and Fuyuko could practically feel the anxiety and stress that he seemed to be radiating through his words.
Fuyuko sighed, and said "No, no, it's fine I understand. Just... if you could just manage to somehow not have anyone weird room with me that'd be great. Thanks."
"Of course, I'll tell Percy and Gracie to be on the lookout, and again I'm sorry about the situation. I hope we can still count on you for those pictures?"
"Ah, um, yeah. Yeah, of course. I mean, we already have a contract and everything so it'll be fine. I'll do my best, um, Greg?."
Somehow Fuyuko knew Greg was nodding on the other side of the phone, probably by the way he had scrambled to say "Yes! Yep! That's me! And let us know if we can do anything else for you."
Fuyuko nodded to the air in return, which prompted another round of awkward farewells before she finally managed to hang up the phone. She sighed and went back to all her gear that she had unceremoniously dumped inside the doorway, the key still halfway stuck inside the lock before she pulled it out and added it onto her keychain. She had taken a moment to apologize to both her camera and guitar separately before storing away the rest of her belongings. She also took the time to also shed her thick anorak and scarf, leaving both inside the inside closet rack and her wearing only her jeans and wool sweater, toes wriggling free in the cold.
Now left with nothing else to do, she plopped down onto the bed furthest from the door, her acoustic guitar already in hand being absentmindedly strummed. She had nothing else planned today besides possibly exploring the surrounding area a bit, but seeing as how she was supposed to have a surprise roommate and how many people there probably still was in the lobby, she could afford to wait to see who she would possibly be spending the next few days sleeping next to.
