The Stumble Inn

Mel looked up at her with her usual emotionless face. "나의 세계는 불행이다. What do you think?"

"Listen, I'm sorry you had to go through what you did, but... You've never had to live through communist rule. You've never seen what I've seen." She gulped. "Oh, God... What am I saying... Listen, I'm sorry what happened to you in South Korea happened."

Mel continued staring blankly at her. "I'm from North Korean, 성난 어린 소녀. Different from yours, perhaps. But so full of misery. . . "

Molodi started to bawl. "North Korea? Oh God, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." Tears were streaming down her face. "B-but we're both safe now, right?" She snorted, and paused for a few moments. "D... do you ever wake up late at night... After you've heard a noise... Terrified someone is going to drag you back? I-I've heard of it happening..." She gulped, and she put out her cigarette. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Mel shrugged. "I stopped feeling much of anything a long time ago. Were you wanting a room, or were you going to try to find your way back?" Her voice was mostly an emotionless drawl, but it could be questioned whether she felt nothing at all or simply too much.

Molodi stopped, and sighed. "...I told you I couldn't be lost, right? Well... I... I've been lost for a very long time." She sighed. "I guess I do want that room..." She sniffled, and looked like she could crack at any moment.

Kasei-La hurried into the inn, looking around. "Who's that, Mel?" Suddenly, she caught something in Mel's eye. "...Are you okay? Why is she crying?"

"She's not crying, Kasei-La. She was being rude, so I threw salt at her to ward off demons." Mel shrugged, acting as if this was the sort of thing she did all the time. "And you're welcome to have any room you desire, Molodi. Just don't yell at me again. It doesn't hurt my feelings or anything, but it is annoying."

Molodi sniffled. "...I'm Molodi... But you can call me Molly." She sighed, and lugged her luggage to her room.

Kasei-La blinked. "It seemed to me that she was crying." She looked up at Mel. "But I asked if YOU were okay."

Throughout the whole conversation Kiya just stood there and listened. After a while she moved to a chair in the corner to put her feet up. She planned on waiting for Elena to get to the Inn before going to a room.

"I'm perfectly fine, Kasei-La." Melanie sighed, and went back to filing paperwork. It wasn't entirely necessary, sure, but everyone appreciated having records.

Kasei-La nodded, and hugged Wesa. "Alright, I'm going to bed! Goodnight, Wesa!" She ran up and smiled at Mel. "Goodnight, Mel. Don't stay up too late on that paperwork, okay?" She smiled, and trotted down to the room she had chosen.

Dent rolled her eyes, and got up. "Suppose I should get to bed too. Goodnight, everyone. Anyone tries to wake me up before 12 and they get bullets up their ass." She sighed, and walked into a random room of her choosing.

Elena had been standing in a shadowy corner of the room, listening quietly to the conversation and becoming rather confused. When Kiya went to another corner to put her feet up, she moved toward her, quietly and unnoticed, until she stood right behind her.

"I'm surprised you didn't see me, my old friend."

Melanie watched as one by one her guests went to bed, until no one but the two pirates and herself were left. Figuring that they couldn't really do that much damage by themselves, she decided to head back to her own room. It had certainly been a long day. She didn't think anyone would really care if she tucked in early.

Molodi sighed, looking at her type-writer and portable desk, still whiping her eyes. Sighing, she pulled out a photograph of her first day in America. She was smiling then, the boat she stowed away on in the background. She had paid the photographer her first American dollar, earned through singing on the ship and doing a few strip-teases. It made her feel a little dirty, but it got her free from the Soviets, right?

She stared at the type writer, and bit her lip, before getting up. She was wearing her reading glasses -- coke bottle in design, though the lens was thin. She had somehow forgotten she was wearing them, or maybe it was just because she didn't want anyone to see her teary eyes. She got up, and walked down to the door she had heard closing, knocking with her right hand. She winced, the carpal tunnel paining her. "Здрастуйте? Melanie? Можна говорити вам?" She blinked, and repeated herself in English "Hello? Miss? May I talk to you? It is you in here, isn't it?" She adjusted her glasses, before realising how ridiculous she must have looked in them. Oh, if only she cared more about her appearance rather than how cheap things were.

Kiya slowly turned around and with a smirk replied, "I did not see you come in mon coeur." She stood up and moved around the chair before turning to say goodnight to Melanie. She then turned back to Elena and grabbing her hand pulled her towards one of the unoccupied rooms.

Sighing at the lack of a response, Molodi walked back to her room, and sat down on her bed. "Well... I suppose I should just go to bed, then." Lying down, she looked up at the cieling for a little while, before closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep, still having forgotten to take off her glasses.

Kiyanna awoke the next morning to find herself tightly wrapped in Elena's arms. She glanced toward the window to try and determine the time of day and seeing no amount of light sighed and snuggled deeper into her sleeping companion's embrace.

The next morning, Molodi woke up with a cold sweat, pushing back the memories that always seemed to find her at night. She blinked at the glasses on her face, which had gone in a strange direction and left a red line on her face, and whipped them off, whiping the moisture from her eyes. She thought about breakfast, but only for a moment, because the idea of her eating at the moment was enough to make her sick right now. Sighing, she trudged out of bed, and pulled on her sweater, not caring about her pants. She walked downstairs, wondering who was awake.

Denton rose from his sleep, and his hands slowly slid to his crotch. When he felt what he had lost yesterday, he shot up, with a large smile on his face. "I'M A MAN AGAIN! I'M A MAAAAAN!"

Kasei-La grumbled as loud shouting woke her up. She had actually managed to sleep for five hours, leaving her well-rested, but a little sleepy. She pulled on her sari, and walked downstairs herself, not wanting to wake Hal. She was hoping that she could sneak a peek at what Wesa looked like, even though she would only be a year older than her.

Hal groaned, and pulled the pillow over his head. "Three more hours, for the love of God, three more hours..."

Wesa, having been awake all night, was sleeping at a bar table, with a pile of cards in front of her. A cheerful, but tired looking Taban was trying to nudge her awake in order to put her in bed where she ought to be. "Wesa'ada? Mino, ealn-boro, ire lĭmos braska. . . " he mumured, nudging her gently.
"Kaaavvvvv. . . " she grumbled, and pulled away from him.

Melanie stretched and yawned as she walked down the stairs and headed towards the bathroom, her hair a tangled mess and a new set of clothes draped over her arms. She raised a hand in greeting at Wesa and Taban as she passed, but said nothing.

Molodi blinked as she walked into Melanie, and stopped, looking at her awkwardly for a moment or two. Biting her lip, she forced a smile. "Good morning, Melanie... How did you sleep?" She bared her teeth in a rather uncomfortable grin.

Kasei-La hurried down the stairs, and leapt at Wesa when she found her. "Wow, Wesa! You look kinda different already!" She smiled brightly. "Come on! Stand up! I wanna see how tall you are, now!" She giggled, her antenna's light glowing an odd shade of green.

"Oh, ah, good morning. . . " Melanie mumbled, still rubbing at her eyes. "Sorry, I was just on my way to the shower."

Wesa swatted and Kasei-la, growling in an almost feral fashion. "Lemme sleep!"

Taban caught Wesa's hand and scooped her up. "Sorry, Kasei. She is a moon, you know. And it's morning."

Kasei-La shrugged, and pouted at Wesa. "Sorry, I didn't know... But..." She looked at the green glow of her antenna. "...Oh boy. Umm... Guys, if I'm grumpy at all today, and seem to have a habit of consuming anything I see... don't mind me." She gulped. "...This may sound icky, but during Venusian's... Time, we actually add to our body mass rather than lose some, since we're egg layers..."

"Oh, that's, erm... Nice. I actually couldn't afford a shower for a while... Heh..." She played with her hair. "So, how about that capitalism, huh?"

Kiyanna heard the stirrings of the other occupants of the Inn and decided to get up and join them. She slipped out from under Elena's arm and pulled her shirt on. Without bothering to put on her boots she crept from the room and headed for the downstairs. She past Molodi and Melanie, nodded a greeting to them both and continued on her way toward the corner where she had been sitting the night before. When the outside door opened she turned to see who had come in; it was her first mate.

The newcomer looked around the room and spotted Kiya, "Ah, good morning Captain Sparrow", the handsome young man said with a grin.

She nodded and beckoned for him to come over, "Mornin' Hawk. I trust all is well on The Diamond and with the crew?"

He grinned, "of course. I was just coming to check on you and to let you know that Captain Blackraven is here, incase you did not already know". He took in her rumpled look and grinned.

"What?"

"I take you already knew?", he smirked.

"But of course." She pointed at the chair across from her, indicating for him to sit down; whence they became engrossed in conversation.

Taban shrugged and draped Wesa over his shoulder. "I've seen weirder."
"Ffshhh. . . kinol. . . sahsh. . . " Wesa mumbled, snoozing on Taban's back.

Melanie shrugged. "Yeah, it's nice. So I try not to miss one. . . the water is nice and hot. You should take one too."

Kasei-La nodded, and blinked, her eyes getting bigger. "Oh, gosh... I don't feel so good." As they got bigger, the purples of her irises deepened to a royal purple colour, like fine wine. She bit her lip, and looked around. "Urgh... Getting hungry already." She didn't realize she was biting deeply enough into her lip to draw blood, which was an odd green colour.

Molodi nodded, smiling softly. "But, um... Thank you for being so kind to me, despite how I acted last night..." Her stomach gurgled, and she shuddered at the thought of eating. She couldn't right now. Too volatile. "I suppose I will... How many showers are there... And where are they?" She looked around, a bit embarassed.