(no subject)

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Time: July 11, 2000
Place: Lobby
Status: Public (Complete)
Summary: Shadow arrives, looking for a job.



Wandering had been good for Shadow.

For a while he’d been on a kind of serene high left over from stopping the battle and the events that had followed. Then he’d slumped into some kind of depression resulting from the events that had happened before the battle and the whole mess with Hinzlemann.

After that, though, he’d felt a little better and he’d wandered from Iceland to Ireland and through part of England, spent some time in the Netherlands and Denmark (he liked Denmark) and seen some of Sweden and Norway. Now he found himself back in England again, in a little town apparently called Lower Tadfield.

He’d been hitchhiking. Why he’d chosen to get off in that particular town was a mystery to him, but he didn’t think too much about it. That was the nice thing about wandering; you went wherever you felt like going and stayed until you felt like moving on. Shadow had mostly been traveling until the money ran out and then stopping and finding a job until he had enough again.

He’d taken a lot of jobs fitting for a big man- construction worker, bouncer, piano mover- but he’d also been a waiter, a bar tender, a janitor, a gas station attendant, and for three mortifyingly awkward and yet somehow quite enjoyable weeks he’d worked the front desk at a library. (It had been a very small town and he’d been very broke.) The woman who had given him the job had been about eighty years old and in desperate need of help running the big place, so he’d been glad to fill in until her regular co-worker, probably only five or ten years younger, came back from an unexpected bout with the flu.

His feet seemed to have their own idea of where to take him as he wandered down streets and up alleys until he found himself standing outside a large, impressive-looking building. Something, like instinct but less familiar, told him this was a good place to find a job, so he went to the front door, considered knocking, and instead pushed it open and found himself in a pleasant lobby. A hotel, then.

Comments

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

There had definitely been a lot of people arriving lately, Uriel noted as the door was opened and a very tall man walked in. Well, that was okay. If nobody had been arriving, she wouldn't have had anything to do.

"Good afternoon," she thus said, looking up at the man who was probably twice as tall as she was. Well, not really, but it sure felt like so. "Can I help you?"

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Shadow took a step backward so that the woman wouldn’t have to crane her neck too much to look up at him, an action that had at one time in his life been calculated but had long since become automatic. He smiled at the woman.

The question arose in his mind as to whether he ought to ask for a room first, then mention he needed a job or vice versa, but before he could decide he found himself asking;

“What is this place?”

It was a hotel, obviously, but Shadow thought that the woman would know what he meant. It had a strange feel about it, rather like a tiny and very diluted version of the vertigo he had experienced when Backstage. Something felt just a bit different about this place.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel was a bit surprised at the question. It should have been obvious that it was a hotel. Something in the man, however, stopped her from giving him the most obvious answer. There was a feeling about him that she found... familiar, in a way.

Something in him told her that he wasn't exactly unused to dealing with the supernatural.

"This is a place of safety," she thus said, trying to be clear enough for him to realize the truth if he truly knew something about these things. And if he didn't, well, the worst thing that could happen was that he'd think she was crazy. That woudln't be exactly new, so it was all right.

"Both sides can meet here without fearing confrontation. Or, rather, all sides can meet." She smiled at him, and her eyes flickered blue for a moment. The miracle was small enough to be mistaken for a trick of light if you didn't know what to look for. If you did know, it could tell much more.

"...And, yes, this is a hotel too, in case you were wondering."

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

“All sides?” Shadow echoed. “I see.”

He could turn around now. Just turn and walk out the door with no one any the wiser. Her words were enough to give him a pretty good idea of what he had just walked into, even without the flash of blue in her eyes, which Shadow had not missed. He could run.

He wanted to.

But he didn’t. Instead he nodded slowly and then chuckled as she pointed out that it was also a hotel.

“I can see that,” he said. “And I’m not sure I really fit a side, but I guess I would like a room. For a short time, anyway. Oh, and I’ll need a job if I’m going to pay for it,” he added with a wry smile. “Are you hiring here by any chance? Or could you recommend somewhere?”

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

"Well, having a side isn't exactly required," Uriel said, smiling a bit. "It's not forbidden to have several ones, either." She herself probably qualified for more than one, really. One day she'd even figure out what those were.

"Oh, we are always looking for more employees," she said as a response to his question. "You should look for the one who runs this place. His name is Adam Young. True to his name, he is quite young, blond, and -- oh, do wait a minute."

Reaching for her sketchpad, she once again started to draft a picture of Adam. It was much easier than describing him. Perhaps she should do a couple of sketches in advance, so that she could just hand them out to anyone seeking employment?

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Shadow watched the woman sketch out a picture of a handsome young man with curly hair, one eyebrow raised as he studied her work. She was a good artist.

“That’s very nice,” he said as she finished the drawing, although he wondered why she didn’t give him a number to call or a time and an office to visit instead. He blinked down at the picture.

“Should I just, um, go looking for him then?” he asked, imaging himself wandering down hallways comparing faces to the paper in his hands.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

"That might be the best way to find him, yes," Uriel replied with a smile. "He is usually around and never too hard to find. If you simply go looking for him, I'm sure you shall run across him in no time at all. It is what everybody else has done, anyway -- whenever he hasn't come here to see them."

She was by now quite used to Adam's tendency to show up whenever he was needed. She couldn't even imagine that somebody would fnid such a thing strange.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast poked her head up from under the desk where she had been sleeping, only to be tingled awake by Shadow's imposing presence.

//Is he gone yet?//She asked Uriel, then turned to see that he was indeed not. Her ears flicked back. //Oh, crrrrp. Hey handsome. You miss me?//

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Shadow was just about to give his name to the woman before he headed off in search of the hotel’s young owner when he heard the strange mind-speak and saw a cat peak its head up from beneath the desk to look first at the woman and then at Shadow himself.

“Oh,” he said as he realized it was in fact the cat which was speaking. And then he suddenly realized where he’d seen that very cat before and he said again; “Oh.”

He felt his cheeks flush and was rather aware that his face wasn’t the only area of his body that felt a bit warm.

“Hello Bast,” he said.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel was surprised to hear Bast addressing the man. She was even more surprised to hear the man talking back to the cat.

"You two know each other?" she asked -- rather unnecessarily, as it seemed obvious that they did. She couldn't help herself, however; the words had blurted out before she could stop them.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast did a spot of quick thinking, then decided to go on the offensive.

//Mrrr? Oh yeah, me and Shadow-boy go way back. We've had lots of fun together.// She grinned, a highly disconcerting thing, so that the angel would be left in no doubt about what sort of 'fun', that'd been. //And I've looked over him for a time or so.//

Then she turned back to Shadow, noting his blush and feeling oddly proud of it. //So, honey, how you been? Library get to dull?//

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Shadow gave the woman at the desk an embarrassed shrug before answering Bast’s question.

“I’ve been alright,” he said, giving her a smile. He didn’t ask how she knew about the library, the words my people have been keeping their eyes on you, for me a faint echo in his head, like the memory of memory. “Library was fine, but you can only sit at a desk for so long, you know?” He shrugged.

“How’ve you been? And Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis?”

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Now somewhat more relaxed, Bast stretched and rolled over, studying shadow from and upside down point of view, and narrowly avoiding falling off the desk.
//Fine, fine, for now. There was a movie and a couple of books last year based - pretty loosly, I'll grant, but it worked well enough - on egyptian stuff, and that'll keep me and dog-boy for a while. The bird's starting to fade, though - there are few besides scholars and archeologist that remember thoth anymore. Poor guy. At least he's not going cuckoo like Horus - who, by-the-by, must've made a tranatlantic flight on his own, just to get over here. It's a wonder he didn't fall in the wet.// She shivered at the thought of drowning. // Ugh. Anyway, I never thought you'd resort to being a book-pusher. I never figured you for the type. Books aren't my thing. Could never see the point.//

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

"Well, they pass on knowledge and information, like about Egypt." Shadow pointed out. "And I'm not really the type," he continued, "but it was a nice change from the usual."

He had been the type, once, but he would only admit privately that the library had rekindled his old love a bit.

He hated to hear that Mr. Ibis wasn't doing well. That was true of so many, but Ibis was a friend. He and Jacquel and Bast had taken Shadow in and looked after him when he had needed it, and Shadow wished he could do more to repay them besides simply believing. One man's belief only goes so far, and that isn't very.

"Horus is here too? That's great." Shadow couldn't help but smile. Horus had saved his life, or rather, had restored his life after he had died on the tree, by bringing Easter to revive him. He'd always hoped to see Horus again, maybe get a chance to talk to him.

Shadow wondered if anyone else he knew might be waiting here for the chance to meet again.

Suddenly feeling rude, he turned and offered a belated hand to the woman at the desk. "I'm Shadow, by the way," he said.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel grasped on the hand offered to her, knowing it was expected. As she did so, she simultaneously did some quick thinking.

Fact 1 was, she'd been using her false name to introduce herself to other guests. Fact 2 was, however, that Bast knew very well her name and was right next to them. If she decided to intervene...

What did it matter anyway? The more practice she'd get.

"I'm Brenda Green," she replied, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you, Brenda," Shadow answered. "So, do you have any rooms with a good view available?"

He'd found over the last few months that it made him feel more comfortable to be able to see something outside his window besides parking lots, the sides of other houses, or hotel pools, and had taken to asking for good views when he checked into places.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Shadow didn't have to worry about souch things. If there was a parking lot in the Manor, it managed to hide itself very well -- not that it was needed, what with the few vehicles owned by the guests all being in the garage. There weren't any other houses in sight even if you tried to look for them, and the hotel pool was safely situated in the basement.

"I should think so," Uriel replied happily. "The Manor garden is nice enough a sight -- if you don't care about the fighter jet there. Some of our guests apparently feel like they should make an impressive arrival."

She looked through her papers, trying to decide where in the Manor she should put the human. He seemed well enough informed about the supernatural, but it still might be best not to put him anywhere near, say, Duke Ligur. That would be just cruelty. Nobody deserved that.

"This room should have a good view," she said, trying to combine what she remembered from looking around from the roof with the Manor blueprints. "It's in the third floor; I can draw you a map if you'd like." She knew the numbers, really, she did, no matter what Loki might occasionally claim. She only had trouble with room numbers. As long as she'd stayed, she still hadn't managed to memorize the number of her own room.

"Here is the key to the room. If you could sign your name here..." The key would be the right one. After all, she had meant to take the right key, so it had to be that. Sometimes being an angel was truly useful.

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

Fighter jet? Shadow felt a smile creep around his mouth. This place certainly sounded interesting.

“That sounds great,” he said, stepping forward to take the key and sign the paper. “I don’t need a map, thanks, I’m sure I can find it.” The number was on the key, after all, how difficult could it be?

He hesitated a moment as he put the pen to the paper, unsure what to write. Most hotels wouldn’t accept Shadow as a legitimate name, so when he needed to he’d been going by Jeffery Taylor, which was also the name on his passport and other identifying documents. Still, this wasn’t any old ordinary place, so after a moment he signed Shadow on the line and handed the paper back to Brenda.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel looked at the name and simply nodded. Many of the Manor inhabitants didn't have family names, and of those who did, most had simply invented them for the sake of convenience. Herself included. "It's settled, then," she said. "If you do want that job, Adam isn't too hard to find." She smiled at the large man. "I hope you enjoy your stay at the Manor."

[classic-palm.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," Shadow answered. "I'm sure I will."

With a last smile to Brenda he turned to go, giving Bast a look as he passed. "I'm sure I'll see you around too," he added with an only slightly mischievous smirk.