Special shoutout to the anonymous person who reviewed the first chapter, thank you so much! Anyway, onto chapter 2!
It was a nice change of pace to the two travelers-but-sometimes-fugitives when they saw that there was no tight security around the hotel. No having to make up fake names or sneak around, anyone - including 'enemies' of Lord Hater - were welcomed.
Camera at the ready, Wander's eyes widened as he walked through the doors and into the huge hotel lobby. To match the tone of the planet, the opening room to the building was painted a beautiful violet with blue trimming. The furniture - which looked like the softest chairs and couches Wander had ever seen! - were made of dark blue fabric and sturdy, purple wood, most likely taken from the planet's own trees. As for the coffee tables and front desk, the tops were made of glass while the bases and legs were made of silver. Also made of silver were small vases that housed some of Purlet's most beautiful flowers. Finally, to tie the whole room together, was a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, with small sapphires dangling down from it.
And, out of all these magnificent things in the room, what had caught Wander's attention?
"My my, Sylvia! Have you ever seen a floor this shiny?" Crouching down, Wander found himself staring at the shiny floor. Being able to actually see himself in it, he quickly fixed a few strands of fur that were out of place, and then grinned at his reflection. Of course, Sylvia was busy looking at all the other attributes of the room to care about the floor.
"Ahem, uh Sir?" Both of them looked across the room at the front desk. There stood a tall man, looking a bit curious but mostly annoyed.
"Why of course you can!" Wander replied suddenly as he quickly walked up to the desk. Closer now, he was able to actually look at the man. Since he hadn't visited Purlet before - and therefore had never seen the planet's people - he took in every detail of the alien as if he were the most interesting thing in the world.
The man was similar to Wander - two arms, two legs, two eyes, no nose, etc - but his body was at least three feet taller. His body, while definitely lean, also took on a sort of hourglass shape, with big broad shoulders that would be great to have if he played football. There was a small tuff of neatly combed black hair sitting on top of his oval-shaped head. His skin was purple colored, and he did have a thin mustache. As for his uniform, it was a simple (at least for him) black suit with a sapphire-blue bowtie.
After only a couple seconds (thankfully), Wander realized that he was staring and quickly extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, friend!" he greeted.
The man blinked in surprise before extending his own hand. "Good afternoon," he said simply, "now, would you two like to stay here tonight?"
"Yessiree!" "You got it!" The man - most likely the hotel's manager or at least someone high up in staff - looked over his two 'guests'. They certainly seemed strange, but at least they were friendly.
"Very well." The manager took out a book, able to see which rooms were free and which weren't. "Would you like to see our prices?"
"Nah, it's fine." Wander quickly took off his hat and produced a small bag. Dumping part of it out on the desk, Wander presented the manager with several gold, silver, bronze, and even a few coins that could only be found on specific planets but easily exchangeable for universe-wide currency. To say the Purlet was shocked would be a definite understatement.
"I don't really have much use for it myself," Wander shrugged, "but my mama always says:" He raised his voice in a higher pitch, and stood like a mother would, pointing his finger at his imaginary son. "'Wander, only a fool travels around without money'." He quickly reverted back to his normal voice and stance. "Uh, will this be enough for a couple nights?"
"More than enough!" the manager exclaimed before calming himself down. He still couldn't believe a star nomad of all people would have all this money! How long had he been saving it up exactly? Reminding himself he had a job to do, the manager looked away from the array of coins and back at the travelers.
"Now, I'm afraid your spornak will have to stay at the stables behind the hotel-"
"WHAT!" The manager shrunk down - although he still towered over them - as Sylvia banged her fist on the front desk. "What, you think just because I walk on four legs sometimes and have a saddle means I don't have the right to stay here like everyone else, you stuffed-shirt, stuck up little-!"
"Sylvia!" Wander quickly hopped up on the desk in front of the manager, thinking the blocking her view of the man would calm her down a bit. It didn't, but at least she wasn't willing to get violent with Wander in the way. Still standing between the two, Wander turned to face the manager.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but if my friend can't stay inside the hotel, then neither will I." He was about to pick up his coins and leave when he was stopped.
"A-are you sure you don't want to at least look at the stables, I assure you they're very nice," the manager added.
Wander turned around again. "Well, what do you think, Sylv?"
Sylvia blew a sigh through her nostrils. "Fine, we can go look," she said, "but don't expect me to sleep in some over cramped barn with hay stuck to my feet."
"Of course not!" Wander said with a smile as he hopped down from the desk. Feeling relieved, the manager walked out from behind the desk, making sure to stay a good distance away from the spornak. "F-follow me please."
Going down a hall and outside, the two travelers were led passed the outdoors pool and towards a relatively smaller but still nice looking building. "Well, it seems nice," Wander commented.
"Ha, I wouldn't hold my breath," Sylvia mumbled. Rushing ahead, the Purlet opened the doors, and gestured inside. "I hope we exceed your expectations, M-Ma'am," he added. As soon as she walked inside, Sylvia felt her jaw drop.
"This is what you people consider a stable?!"
'This' was a gymnasium sized blue painted room filled with plenty of four legged creatures (and some with six or eight legs) of varying size and species. There were some that Sylvia knew also had the ability to talk like she did, but most of the stable residents didn't. However that didn't mean they weren't treated like guests.
In the corner were a few workers who were grooming the animals and giving their hoofs/feet (depending on the animal) pedicures. Over on the far side of the room was a place for entertainment - various games, entertainment devices and a tv - and next to it was a table, which was already being filled with high quality food. A ramp led upstairs were there was plenty of space and tons of blankets and mattresses for every animal.
"Sooooooo?" Wander asked after waiting a few moments.
Sylvia hid her pleased smile. "It's okay," she answered, "I guess we can stay here for a night or two..." Just then, one of the workers finished up on her guest's pedicure, opening up a spot. Even she could appreciate a good foot rub and pedicure. "And I think that pedi's calling my name!" As she stormed through the room, wanting to make sure no one reached the empty spot before she did, she shouted over her shoulder, "Have fun, Wander!"
"You too!" Wander shouted back, happy to see that his friend was satisfied.
"Well, Mr. Wander." The orange creature looked up at the Purlet, who had a small, friendly smile on his face. "Shall we get you checked in?"
"Hold on a second!" Retrieving his camera, Wander lifted himself up using the manager's shoulder. He held the camera in front of them, getting the timer ready. "Say cheese!" Chuckling, the manager smiled a bit bigger and after a couple seconds, the camera snapped its picture.
Hopping down onto the ground, Wander looked at the photo. "That one's a keeper!" With that, Wander happily followed the tall manager back to the hotel.
So, there's chapter two! The next chapter is when Wander's hotel adventure really starts, plus we'll meet a few more faces. Anyway, please review and have a nice day!
