FINAL CHAPTER: Cecilia: Room With A View

[Kadael]

Cecilia takes the envelope and looks it over. She also checks the calendar, to see what the date is - if it's marked, of course.

[Seon]

Jack looked over her shoulder. "Hey, what did you find?"

After noticing his position he almost instantly stepped back.

[Laraqua]

The calender is turned to the wrong month. Turning it back, she sees that it has something written on the 17th May, 2011: The Incident - Protect Versus Media Storm. That's, what, three days from now? Tomorrow? It's so hard to tell. On the 18th May, 2011, is written: Fucking lawyer (underlined thrice). Two days from then on the 20th May, 2011 is written: Consult Safety Rep. Install railing?

The envelope has her name on it, written in her ex-husband's penmanship, and the postmark matches. Unfortunately, it seems like it's already been opened. It's empty.

[Kadael]

Cecilia hands him the calendar. "No keys... but look at this."

She keeps the envelope. There's no reason to, and the most she can come up with is that it might help her to find the missing contents. Somehow.

She also goes back to the drawers, to get a look at the registries.

[Seon]

"Rook 105?" Jack said, eyeing the items. "We can break in there if things come tothat... I have a few lockpicks."

"Don't ask."

[Laraqua]

The registries have a list of names that she doesn't much recognise. Her ex-husband's name isn't listed there but that's not all that surprising. He wouldn't be the sort to sign a guest registry anyway, let alone send a letter and then arrive in person. The contractor registries point to a wide variety of people post The Incident, including a lawyer, but not much else that gives her any clues.

[Kadael]

"Ugh, fine." Cecilia closes the drawers and stuffs the envelope into one of her pockets. "Let's just head over there."

"Maybe later we can get some food from the kitchen." She's actually not sarcastic - she really is hungry, and there's evidently no one around to buy anything from.

[Laraqua]

They head back out through the double doors into a corridor where the faint strains of piano music can still be heard, past the stairs leading down, past a more narrow set of stairs heading up, past the men's and women's toilets and through another door into another corridor where golden numbers are bolted to each locked door. The walls are rather plain, almost intimidating, with its wooden half-panelling, but there's a soft glow to the wall sconces and a beauty to the landscape paintings that off-set the severity and old-fashioned nature of the rooms. This is surely no modern-styled building (though the ducting reveals ducted air conditioning).

[Seon]

Jack tried to pull out his lockpicking kit and accidentally pulled out his Tarot card deck instead, sending one of the card floating to the floor. The Fool.

"Oops," Jack said, quickly picking it back up. He took out a lockpick and fiddled with it nervously in his hand.

"Hey... Umm... Listen..." Jack said, his voice as tiny as a fly. "You aren't mad at me because of that... Right?"

[Kadael]

"No. I'm... confused, but I'm not mad." She leans against the wood paneling, looking at the pick in Jack's hand.

Cecilia's fingers pass over that tiny pocket in her purse. She opens it, just to feel the cold band of white gold, to trace the tiny inscription running around the inside. "I'm afraid," she whispers.

[Seon]

"I'm..." Jack muttered, turning slightly away. "I'm afraid too."

He didn't tell her what exactly he was so afraid of.

[Seon]

He twiddled with he pick a bit more as he walked past the doors. Easy enough locks. He should have no problem opening room 105 if they come across it.

[Laraqua]

Jack turns to look at door 105 and then crouches down to pick the lock. He has it sorted in no time at all and opens a door to reveal a Twin Share with two couches flanking a coffee table, a bar fridge, and a television set on a small cabinet beside the two couches. There's no other door in this room. The occupants must use the toilets just down the hall. Other than the furnishing, there's a few other obvious bits and pieces. Cecilia's baggage has been stowed around the room, including the handbag that she lost ages ago, which sits on the coffee table. There's no sign of Katie's belongings, or Katie herself.

The kitten meows piteously. It's obviously hungry.

[Seon]

Jack took of his heavily bloodied and wet trenchcoat and placed it next to the door, suddenly feeling hours of worth of fatigue rush to his head. The wound in his stomach, shoulders, and head all began to ache.

He looked down at his feet to notice that he had been dripping blood ever since the hospital.

"I..." Jack said. "I'm going to the bathroom," he said. "You could look to see if there's any food around here..."

He sauntered over to the bathroom, closed the door, and took off his shirt. How bad was his wounds anyways?

[Kadael]

"But I didn't unpack anything," Cecilia mumbles to herself, setting the kitten on the floor and flinging her coat over one of the beds.

She walks over to the coffee table and picks up the old handbag. It's been missing for how long now? And yet it's just here in front of her... curious, she opens it and sits down to go through anything that might be in there.

[Laraqua]

Everything is as she's left it, except for the tissues, that appear to have been used (ick) and left in her handbag.

Jack finds that all of the wounds he's managed to treat are largely healed, though the bandages pull stickily against his skin when he tries to check beneath him, so it's probably wisest to leave them be.

[Kadael]

Cecilia shakes her head, drops the handbag on the floor, and starts rummaging through her other bags.

Cats eat meat, right? Ugh, but why would she carry meat around in her luggage? Really, she's just looking for some fresh clothes. Food will be addressed later.

[Laraqua]

The clothes are a lot more crumpled than she remembers, like they've all just been tossed in the bags, and not all of them are in there. Amongst them are a few knick knacks, like the sort of thing you'd buy at a resort town.

[Seon]

Jack emerged from the bathroom, looking slightly confused. He wandered over to the fridge, ignoring Cecilia as of this moment, and began to dig through the contents.

[Laraqua]

There's a large number of expensive miniature drinks in the bar fridge of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic kind, but no health drinks.