You got a new horizon, it's ephemeral style.

[sixsciencecredits]

The sharp edge of shock and white static thrum of continuous fear upon arriving at the Nexus hotel had begun to fade, mostly because Darcy was five shots of Patrón into her demise and moving fast. It had been a conscious choice when she realized that she was a long, long way from home with no way back to just get so drunk she didn't give a shit, and it was an official success. Darcy had long moved past complacency and, thanks to the Patrón, was now inching towards the level of boisterous that would have her table dancing, if she thought this place was of the sort of calibre that could handle a bitchin', interpretive rendition of "Disco Stick." Since it probably wasn't that sort of place and Darcy didn't care to be escorted out of the hotel and onto some planet she had no working concept of, she was keeping her ass still and settling for occasionally humming.

She'd tried a door for the first time ever that day in search retail therapy and had actually found some boots to pair with her jeans that looked like they could fend off an alien invasion or whatever the fuck had been the catalyst behind landing her in the Nexus, though she assumed, as always, it was on either Jane or her boyfriend. Since she'd mustered the nerve to go shopping mostly because it was too abysmally pleasantly warm on the Nexus grounds for the clothes she'd been wearing in Norway, she'd felt she'd done enough for her day and could reward herself by basting in checked worry and booze. The hotel had given her a phone that worked as long as she wasn't trying to call anyone she needed to call, and the sheer level of frustration involved in being defeated by technology had been enough motivation to skip dinner and head straight for the drinking. She felt a little light-headed, but the blissful fog of approaching ignorance was definitely worth it.

She waved one of the waitresses over to order a sixth shot, and upon recognizing she had yet to truly speak to anyone she hadn't stopped to ask for help, Darcy turned sideways in her chair, fluffed her hair, and gave the room in general a slow look. She thought about smiling to make herself look welcoming, but since she'd be smiling at no one in particular and was no doubt drunk enough that all the muscles in her face wouldn't cooperate at the same time, she held off.

Comments

[sixsciencecredits]

"Right?" Darcy said, seeing the immediate brilliance of this idea. "I mean, is there someone we can talk to about that? A king of the castle or wizard behind the curtain sort of person?" Darcy hadn't exactly been around long enough to figure out if there was actually someone overseeing the nexus, or if it was like some possessed entity like the hotel in The Shining. At Alex's question about the doors, Darcy's brows wrinkled a bit. "Uhm, I'm not sure. I came through one to get here. And I got some cute clothes through a door that some stranger pointed me through, but I'm not sure how the whole system works."

[bonetown]

"I think there's a hotel desk," Alex says, which is as far as her investigations have gotten, which is actually kind of sad considering she used to think of herself as a super awesome detective when it comes to those things. "Maybe we can fold up a letter or something?"

"Ooh, I want cute clothes," she says, train of thought derailed. "Can we get some more of those, you think?"

[sixsciencecredits]

"Oooh, good idea," Darcy said. "But when I'm sober, I think. I mean, if we want them to take us seriously, anyway." She gave Alex a nod. "I mean, if the person in charge likes to party he might take a note written on the back of a bar napkin seriously, but I don't know how people roll around here. Are there lots of parties? And we should totally get new clothes. And soon. I don't know how long I have until the bosses tap my card out. and I'd like a cute, workable wardrobe."

[bonetown]

"There was a nice Valentine's dinner," Alex supplies. "I went." And she totally ate enough for her and for a date, even though she'd had girl-time instead of actual romance. "There was a cool party, too, thrown by some weird absent dude, but it was 1920's themed," she enthuses. "We should definitely request some new clothes, and new drinks. Oh! And new ribs," she says, because if they're getting free stuff, she could do a full slab.

[sixsciencecredits]

"Holy shit, I love dinner," Darcy said with due earnestness, assured then on some basic, primal level that this place couldn't be all bad if they threw dinner parties. "Should we have some? I mean, I think I was going to just drink my dinner, but that only sounds cool in practice. Ribs sound amazing. Where do they have ribs?"

[bonetown]

"I think you should be my new best friend," Alex says, pretty much already half in love with Darcy. True, there could be some hidden agenda thing going on here where she was a serial killer or something, but hey, she doesn't care that much because dinner and ribs and hot guys are all traits a good friend should have. "The main restaurant has an awesome full slab," Alex enthuses. "Totally worth the money."

[sixsciencecredits]

"Done," Darcy exclaimed, wiggling happily in her seat at the thought of ribs and how easily she was making friends. Jane was always telling her she had an abrasive personality, but seriously, look how far it had gotten her already!

"Take me there," Darcy said as she stood up, wobbling on her heels for only a second before she tugged Alex up along with her. "All the ribs. All the french fries. Maybe some ice cream after, if we have time."

[bonetown]

"Favorite," Alex insists again emphatically, because she feels like she can't say it enough. She's on her feet eagerly, offering out her arm. "Come on! Food awaits and I haven't eaten in like, an hour. I'm starved," she says, completely serious about food because it is sometimes the most important thing in the world.

[sixsciencecredits]

"Alright!" Darcy said brightly, hooking her arm through Alex's and leaning in both a drunken and fond manner on her new friend. "Are there cute waiters or something? I want something pretty to look at. In addition to you, of course." Of course, if Darcy found no such thing in the restaurant that'd be okay. She had almost forgotten the words as soon as she'd said them.

[bonetown]

"Aw," Alex coos, because pretty much she's easy and getting called pretty is one of those things that will earn her loyalty any day of the week. "Seriously, I wish I had money so I could buy you as much dinner as you wanted. You're so good to me."

[sixsciencecredits]

Darcy looked up with a grin. "Well, you are a babe," she said. "And being bought dinner by babely people is one of my favorite things, so maybe someday. As for now, I'll do you the same service. What should I get to eat with my ribs? Is any one thing better than the other in this joint?" Darcy rubbed her tummy with the hand that wasn't currently caught up in hanging on Alex. "I want a million ribs, I swear to God."

She was fully invested in the idea of dinner now in the way that one promptly decided they were thirsty when being offered something to drink. How had she ever thought she could skip dinner?