all_inclusive | Gathering: Summer Party

Outside of the Nexus Hotel, waiters and hotel staff had begun to set up the umbrellas and the tables in the middle of the day. Soon, it became clear that something was happening in the shadow of the Nexus. White tablecloths were draped on the tables and drinks and food were brought out with the help of several waiters and servers, staffing tables with hot and cold foods beside bartending stations. Summery drinks in bright, neon colors are laid out one by one and soon, the afternoon light casts a radiant look on the scene.

Music plays faintly in the background and a note at the front desk invites all the Nexus guests to head outside and join in on the summer party, which promises to continue going as long as there are people to stay and continue keeping the warm atmosphere rolling.

On the lawn, social games had been set out -- lawn bowling, croquet, and tables were set up with chairs for anyone who didn't quite have the will or the spirit to get into such games. Soon, a small number of people had begun to mill around, but as with all parties, there's always room for more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Crowley gave her a look. Being a demon (who ran Hell, at that) he could tell she didn't have the sort of soul he could snag. Most people in the hotel didn't, to be fair; they were of no use to him unless they were made in his particular realm and he seemed to be alone in that. But that, plus her somewhat unorthodox appearance, made him inspect her curiously.

That, and she was talking about Hell like he'd been referring to Omaha (which was sort of close...). "Not originally," he said. "You have to die in order to get there, usually - and also have done some naughty things first. But it's home. What about you?"

That sounded like the kind of place she was in no hurry to visit (because of the dying) - or, mostly, like a myth designed to keep people away. Maybe it was a metaphorical death he meant. Whatever the case, she sips her blue drink before answering, "Not anywhere I'd recommend visiting." If he had to ask, then he didn't know Nebari Prime, given how clearly Nebari she looked; probably another human. They seemed not to have gone very far beyond their own planet, these humans. "Not unless you enjoy living a very bored, obedient life, anyway."

The word Hell might have been particular to a certain few cultures, which was why he had, technically, described a sort of afterlife - one where you are punished for wrongdoings, naturally. Hell existed in more than one place, often with a different name, but it was still the same. That she didn't seem to pick up on that made him curious as to whether she had a faith structure, where she came from. Maybe her people had done without the wretched habit.

"Can't say that I do," he said. "Clearly, neither of our homes is worth visiting. So I suppose that explains our presence at this party."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm just making the most of this place until I can get back to where I came from," Chiana answered with a roll of her head for emphasis, body shifting where she was standing. She wasn't saying 'get back home', because she didn't really have a home, but being in the same world as Nerri again? Now that would be welcome. Make sure he wasn't dead, because she didn't know how to deal with that.

"Well, then you needn't worry. In my experience everyone manages to make their way back sooner or later." Then he paused, quirked his head to the side, and gave her a bit of a grin. "Unless, of course, the hotel wants to keep you around? I don't know about you, but it strikes me as a pretty personable building."

"No offense, but it's a bit too full of humans for that," Chiana told him with an amused little grimace. She really meant no offense; she had nothing against them as individuals (not any of the ones she'd met so far, anyway), but that many of them in one place were more than enough to put anybody from the Uncharted Territories on their guard. Maybe they were distant cousins to the Sebaceans. Distant, poorer cousins. "But you might be on to something," she allows with a quick, sharp grin. "Maybe it wants a bit of blue blood around for a change." She figured theirs ran as red as Sebacean blood.

"Oh, no offense taken," Crowley replied, amused. "I'm not really human. Well, the body is; but I'm just borrowing it." Actually, he'd taken it, and certainly wasn't giving it back; the previous occupant was long dead after the first few bullet holes. "They are troublesome, I'll give you that."

A parasite. Huh. Chiana had nothing against those, as long as they didn't want to parasite her, so she obviously went on her guard in a way she hadn't been before. Not that it showed, really; what showed was curiosity, and it wasn't faked. She tilted her head this way and that as she shifted her balance slightly, watching the human body closely. "What kind of parasite are you, then?" There was no apparent insult behind the word 'parasite'; the creature was what it was, and that was that.

"Oh, I wouldn't call myself a parasite," Crowley replied, easily. He wasn't offended; he disagreed with the term not out of any pride but, rather, he didn't think it was entirely suitable. "A parasite siphons something off its host, depends on it for survival, and its host needs to be alive. I'm wearing this body. I don't need it; mostly, it's convenient."

It was clear she wasn't from any place that used the same jargon he did, so he tipped his head to the side, considering the other part of the question. "Do you believe in souls, where you come from?" he asked. "Spirits. Living essence. Things like that."

Chiana frowned, shifting on the spot as she mulled his words over. "Consciousness," Chiana went on. She knew the words he was speaking; she just didn't believe in them, so she was replacing them with this. The Establishment didn't push for that kind of religion (and even if they did, that would've been a good enough reason to turn her back on it). "What happened to his? The original owner's," she clarified, with a nod towards the body he was wearing.

She also had to wonder what he was like without it. Did he just not have a body? That was tragic.

Gathering: Summer Party

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