The hotel is a strange place. That is describing it mildly. But in the handful of days that Vanessa has been here, she hasn't encountered any hostility. She still treats the place cautiously, but even she can't deny the intrigue. The people here are all wrapped in their own airs of mystery, indescribable to Vanessa.

In her last few weeks in London, she had thought she had delved into some of the greater mysteries of life -- demons and vampires, a whole range of supernatural entities. But she sees something new here with almost every corner she turns. She takes it in stride, quietly grateful that nothing seems interested in possessing her or tearing out her throat. A nominal change of pace.

She isn't looking for the bar, but finds it anyway -- and stays not because she's interested in a drink, but because she can sense something unique about the man parading as the bartender.

"What would you recommend?" she asks, the curve of her mouth not quite a smile but betraying her amusement all the same. She knows that she must look out of place here; she hasn't adopted to dress like many of the others here, and she knows that the fabric she wears are too heavy, stiff, and too long. But it's still what she knows.