The hallway opened to a balcony that overlooked the lobby area of what did appear to be a large hotel. A grand staircase lead into the center where rich red carpet was accented by touches of gold here and there and a generous amount of apple-themed decoration and unblinking eyes. Most of it red, of course.
A tall, blonde woman wearing a red suit gasped when she saw them descending the stairs, "Alastor, did you get us a new guest?!" she asked, voice radiating cheer.
"This is Princess Charlie Morningstar, the owner of the hotel and the main proponent of delusion thinking I mentioned earlier," Alastor gestured between them. "Charlie, this is Claire. She dropped in this morning."
Giving Alastor a sidelong look, Claire didn't have time for a comment of her own as Charlie immediately grabbed one of her gloved hands with both of her own, giving it a vigorous shake. "We are so delighted to have you here!" Charlie beamed, "Let me show you around and then we'll get you a key and show you your room…"
The Princess put her arm around Claire's shoulders to lead her away, chattering the whole time as she enthusiastically gestured around the room with her free hand.
Vaggie watched the whole display and impromptu tour with a particularly fond expression, giving Alastor an uncharacteristically approving look. "Been awhile since we had a new person. Where'd you find this one?"
"She just fell into my hands," Alastor replied, keeping his attention on Claire and Charlie as they made their way around the room.
"And this is where we have trust falls—" Charlie gestured excitedly to a makeshift platform on one side of the room before turning Claire abruptly towards an open double doorway to the right.
Beyond it was a more lavishly decorated room with red leather chairs and dark tables on one side and a long, polished bar stocked with a plethora of colorful bottles against a mirrored wall. At the far end it looked like there was some kind of stage set up for performances, framed by rich, velvet curtains.
"Through here is the bar with two of our longtime residents and fellow redemption seekers Husk and Angel!" Charlie exclaimed, somehow pronouncing every exclamation mark. "This is Claire!"
Claire gave a wave that seemed far too small considering the constant excitement that radiated off the Princess, "Nice to meet you." She managed politely, even though the two people she'd been introduced to seemed to…not quite be people.
"Ohh, fresh meat!" Angel leaned forward on the bar, propping himself up on one of his four arms to get a better look at Claire.
Still polishing a glass, Husk glared over the bar, "Angel, maybe wait until she has a room assigned before you start sexually harassing her. Fuck, man."
Claire opened her mouth to ask a question—one of the many she now had—but a small woman (?) wearing a poodle skirt skittered up in front of her and fixed her with an intense child-like gaze from her one, large eye.
"And this is Niffty," Charlie introduced proudly, "She cleans the hotel for us. Niffty, this is Claire, our newest resident!"
Niffty blinked rapidly, smile almost as wide as Alastor's though with less teeth. "You're so pretty!" she enthused with nearly as much excitement as Charlie lent to every sentence. Though there was an edge of something…unhinged to her tone. "Do you like bad boys?"
Thrown by both the compliment and the question, Claire hesitated, "Uh—"
As a tiny roach scampered by, Niffty's attention was nearly immediately drawn away as she pulled a giant knife out of her apron. It glinted even in the low light from the bar, "Be right back!" she exclaimed before racing after it with an alarming chuckle.
"We have a sort of an…eclectic bunch here but we're all mostly well meaning!" Charlie quickly stepped in to lead Claire back towards the front desk where Alastor was now standing, smile only a little strained.
"They seem nice," Claire replied politely, ignoring the 'stab stab stab!' shouts that echoed from the hallway Niffty had disappeared down.
The strain in Charlie's smile melted away to relief and she spun in a small circle, extending her arms theatrically, "And that's about it for the introduction and the tour! We're all just so excited to accompany you on your journey of redemption!"
"Is redemption a thing that can really happen in Hell?" Claire couldn't quite keep the skepticism from her expression, though she immediately regretted it when Charlie started talking with her hands, words coming far faster than they'd been a moment before.
"I mean, I started a whole hotel around it and if it can't be then Hell's numbers are going to continue to rise and Heaven is going to be all ahhhh-"
Reaching out to stall those wild hands, Claire clasped both of hers around Charlie's. "Just say yes," she said gently. "It's a much easier sell that way."
Once more Charlie immediately relaxed, all the tension that had built up in her shoulders evaporating, "Thanks. You're so nice! How did you hear about us? And how do you know Alastor?"
Claire glanced from Charlie to where Alastor leaned against the desk, making a show of how uninterested he was in their conversation. No reason to get specific, she supposed. "Alastor was the first person I met when I got here today. He mentioned the hotel and brought me to meet all of you."
Charlie brightened, clasping her hands together, "OH! Well, you came to the perfect, most safest place in Hell! We focus on the positive here! I didn't think brand new sinners might find their way in here. Do we need welcome baskets?" she wondered, glancing over to Vaggie as she put an arm around her waist.
"What would they say, sorry you died?" Vaggie asked skeptically
"They already sell bottles of lube called Wellcum to Hell we could just hand those out." Angel commented as he strolled across the lobby, sprawling out on the couch without spilling a drop of the martini he'd brought with him from the bar.
"Not exactly the image we're going for here, Angel." Was Vaggie's flat reply.
Feeling that the conversation was in danger of being derailed, Claire piped up, "I really didn't expect such a warm reception in Hell. One without flames I mean."
"That can be arranged," Alastor replied, looking at his nails.
Claire tactfully ignored him, saying instead to Charlie, "Some basic information would be better. Assuming capitalism is a thing here, since Hell and all-how much are rooms?"
"Oh, we don't charge for rooms!" Charlie shook her head and waved her hands for emphasis, "We don't want you having to worry about money or anything like that, blah, no, just good times here on your journey to redemption!"
Claire waited for the inevitable up sell but instead was met by only silence and Charlie's brilliant smile. "…that's an interesting business model," she ventured just before the silence stretched too long, "but I'd like be able to pay for things in general. Are there any current openings you need filled?""
"HA," Angel sat up and leaned over the back of the couch, leering at her, "if filling openings is what you're drawn to you can come to work with me! They would love you down at the studio."
"Angel!" Vaggie snapped with a glare.
Undeterred, Claire continued, "Okay, phrasing. Noted. But no, I was thinking more things like front desk or filing or kitchen work—"
"No, no!" Charlie interrupted, waving her hands once again, "We want you to be focused on working through your trauma and bettering yourself!"
Vaggie tilted her head thoughtfully, "Do we even have a kitchen?"
"All I've been eating here is popsicles and we haven't had those since the
lobby freezer disappeared in the upgrade." Angel sighed and dramatically flopped back down on the couch.
"Well, if there's regular food around here, I've worked as a cook before." Claire offered, glancing between them to gauge reactions.
Vaggie looked to Charlie with a shrug, "It would be nice to have some home cooked meals for a change."
Clearly waffling between wanting to offer a free room and not wanting to disappoint all the expectant faces turned towards her, Charlie looked briefly panicked before smiling once again, "Well, then I guess that settles it! You're hired! Let's get you settled in and we can get Niffty to tidy up the kitchen for you in the meantime! Alastor?" she asked, giving him an expectant look.
Alastor hadn't been standing beside Claire a second ago, but suddenly there he was, and while she didn't jump she did take a wary half step back. But Alastor simply extended his hand and in a burst of tiny green sparks a hotel key appeared in his palm. "Your key."
She hesitated before reaching out for it, still uncertain as to how she felt about magic in general. "Thanks."
"I'll show you to your room—" Charlie began, before Claire interrupted.
"I'd actually like some time to myself to…decompress. It's been a real day what with the whole dying earlier thing," Claire's tone was gracious, but she backed towards the stairs as she spoke. "I can find it myself. Thank you, though."
Charlie appeared to take it all in stride, "Oh of course! Please take your time and if you need anything just let us know! We'll be here!"
Very aware of everyone's eyes on her, Claire climbed the stairs quickly and rounded the corner before letting out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. It really had been a day. She checked the number on the key and made her way towards the elevator. At least she'd been put on a high floor. That might help her get the lay of the land.
The room itself was very ordinary, considering it was in Hell. Nothing was on fire and nothing seemed to be moving. Everything was, of course, varying shades of red. There were eyes in here too, dotting the walls and some of the furniture, which consisted of a bed, a dresser with a mirror, a desk, a chair by a reading lamp, and a single empty bookcase.
"First thing's first," she said to herself, moving over to root around in the desk drawer. She found what she was looking for immediately—a pad of Post-it notes. Carefully peeling off the first one, she turned towards the wall and slapped it over one of the eyes. Then another.
She meticulously made her way around the room covering up anything that might even resemble an eye and once that was done she turned her attention to the bookcase, which she pushed to the side to reveal a flat section of wall.
Scribbling some quick notes she pressed them up against the wallpaper—Heaven on one side, Hell on the other, another marked 'Me' with 'Powers?' in parenthesis. She wrote down the names of everyone she met, lining them up along with all the questions she had. And there were many.
When she was finally finished, Claire stepped back to survey the mess of notes stuck up on the wall, giving it a satisfied nod. It was as good a chaos board as she'd ever put together and she had to start somewhere.
"Okay," she said once more to the empty room. "Let's begin."
