entranceway | First* Video/Action

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First* Video/Action

Video
[Bela is standing in front of the camera, dressed in pants and shirt and a brown leather jacket-rather common clothing considering the eclectic pile of clothes behind her. If anyone cares for those kind of details they'll see a wide arrangement of clothing, from suits to cocktail dresses to waitress uniforms and even a maid costume.]

So. The closet? It's a very nice touch, I have to admit. I certainly wouldn't mind having one back home. Though seemingly free food, board, and clothing just means there's a hidden cost. So what is our benevolent caretaker charging us?

And what becomes valuable in a place like this? Is there a currency in particular items? Favors? Souls? [And there's a wry smile there to indicate that might possibly be a joke.]

Or does everyone here work on altruism?

Action A: Wandering Wonderland
[Not one to idly sit when her surroundings are so undiscovered, and therefore a little bit threatening, Bela takes to exploring the grounds with a casual step that belies just how uncomfortable she really feels. She can be found idly touching decor along the walls of the mansion, or grabbing something to eat in the dining room, or eyeing the titles of books in the library even if she doesn’t actually reach for any right now.

[ooc: This is your find her wandering anywhere you want to option.]

Action B: An unlocked room is an invitation.
[After exploring the more open grounds, Bela can be found roaming the hallways. It’s a seemingly innocent gesture by itself, except for the subtle jiggle of a handle here and there as she moves about. Just her way of...well, casing the place. Not that she’s planning on stealing anything quite yet, but she’ll feel more comfortable once she’s got a good map of the surroundings and people around her since it doesn’t seem like she’ll be leaving very soon.

Occasionally, when she finds an unlocked door, she casually opens it just to get a good idea of the room-and on the occasion that someone is actually in their room without bothering to lock the door, well, she smiles sheepishly and offers an embarrassed apology.]

Oh, I’m sorry. I have the wrong room. [Ignore the subtle sweep around the room before she tries to retreat.]

Action C: A locked one is just a challenge.
[She’s good. For a while. But after finding so many empty and unlocked rooms, she’s a little curious to see what’s inside a locked one. And just as curious to see how easy it is to pick a lock on these particular doors.

So she chooses a random one in a rather quiet hallway, listens near the door for any tell-tale sign of shuffling, and when she thinks she’s in the clear, she kneels down and jimmies the lock, before pushing the door open. If there’s no immediate reaction, she’ll take a step inside. Just a quick scouting mission, don’t worry, she’s not here to steal anything.]

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[Well. That's actually good to know. Thanks, Jo. Just, don't expect to hear that aloud.]

You're a hunter then? [Someone that happy about their gun collection, it's actually a fairly quick line to draw. ]

I think I'll manage. [Guns, absolutely. But other weapons, well, she prefers to focus her time on more useful things, like picking locks and pockets.]

He does have that particular charm. [Is this the beginning of the bash on Dean club? That could be fun.]

Yup. Not a lot of hunting going on here, but it still comes in handy on the regular. I run the bar up on the fifth floor the rest of the time.

[For all that she'd wanted to get away from home and working in the roadhouse the rest of her life, she's fallen into what she knows here-- but it's different, she thinks. She likes taking care of the bar; it's like a lifeline, something to make this place feel a little more sane.]

He's as good as family, but yeah, you're not wrong. Like he's got a damn gift for it. [So not quite the bash on Dean club, because it's complicated, but Jo certainly isn't blind to his flaws.] I'm hoping he'll turn up again. But Sam's still here-- been here almost as long as I have.

Ah. So, you're possibly one of the few sane ones. [She doesn't know many hunters that don't live and breath the lifestyle, after all. Near psychopaths that they are.]

[A pause.] And a bar? Do you man it for free?

[Family is a twisted word in Bela's experiences, but she's aware enough to know it actually means something good to a lot of people. Better to not get too carried away then. Not that she hates him, she's just not a fan of people would are likely to kill her.] How long have you been here?

I do, but I like the work. I like keeping busy.

[She's always been that way, as long as she can remember. Idleness never suited her well.]

Besides, it means I get to know just about everyone in Wonderland, and that's pretty damn valuable. Sometimes they end up being friends, sometimes not so much, but it comes in handy, being able to put all those names and faces together.

[She pauses, smiling wryly.]

It'll be three years in April.

[While working for free goes against pretty much every fiber of her being...she has to admit that Jo has a point there. Learning people is certainly a valuable thing. And right now, she's not seeing much value in anything else.]

Perhaps I'll stop in for a drink then.

[A brow arches. Not that she's honestly got a reason to complain when all she has waiting for her is Hell.]

Is that common, to be here that long?

Door's always open. Occasionally, you'll find it's self-serve, but there's usually someone there.

[She's kind of amassed a small army of bartenders over the last couple of years, though the roster has changed a few times.]

I wouldn't say it's common? There are a handful of people who have been here longer than that, even, but not everyone is here for the long haul. Some people come and go so quickly it was like they were never here at all, then you've got veterans who've been here for five or six years themselves.

Well, I am capable of pouring my own alcohol if I have to. [Not that she actually plans on drinking much until she's got this place canvased properly.] I don't suppose you have any good ports?

It's rather random then? [Well. Here's hoping.] Do you want to go back?

Nice thing about Wonderland is I can get my hands on pretty much whatever you want.

[Sometimes the quality of the booze leaves a little something to be desired, but for the most part, she's been lucky-- it just takes a little bit of persistence to get the closets to cough up the really good stuff.]

Me personally? [She gives a sort of lopsided smile, shaking her head.] No. I respect anyone who wants to go back, but I don't have a whole lot to go back to. Here, on the other hand, I've got it pretty good. My husband's here, and I've met all kinds of people I never would have otherwise.

It's different for everyone, but I'm definitely on the pro-Wonderland side of the argument, even if it's not perfect.

I can imagine [She's seen how hunters live. It's barely a life.

And she certainly can't argue preferring to be here, when the alternative is hell. But then, she hasn't been here long enough to form much of an opinion either way.]

You're married? Someone you met here or followed you from home? [Because, seriously how young are you girl?]

Here.

[She's used to getting flack about it; the wedding itself was pretty recent, but anyone who knew either one of them well had been good enough to reserve judgement-- most of them knew that Jo wasn't exaggerating when she said she had nothing to go back to, even if she wasn't prepared to talk about that at length with just anyone.]

His situation -- Simon's -- is kind of similar. Nothing to go back to, so nothing to lose. If you come by the bar, you'll probably see him. Hard to miss him, with all the neon.

Is he from...our world? [That's still a strange concept. But, a life understanding the supernatural makes it a little easier to swallow.]

Neon? As in clothing?

It's close enough to ours, but no. [For awhile, she might have considered that their worlds were one in the same, except that Simon's fell to pieces in 2012 while Sam and Dean had both confirmed that theirs kept going.] Not much of a world left. Overrun with zombies.

[Not fun.]

And yeah, as in clothing. Usually just when he's running the fitness center-- something about bright colors being more 'energetic?'

[She tends to lean towards 'eye-searing.']

Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to hear me talk about myself. I know it takes some adjusting when you first turn up here.

Nice to know everyone's world is going to hell. [Yeah, she has no idea how much of a future their own has, but she's definitely not betting in it's favor.]

That's certainly something. [Well...she knows there's a sexuality that can come from certain clothing, so she supposes she can't entirely knock the idea of energetic neons. But she really wants to.

But she shrugs casually.] It's certainly more helpful than discussing myself, if that's what you mean.

It does seem to be going around.

[Simon and Sam, Rick and Michonne, Ellie-- she's heard similar stories with different twists from so many people. It's good to know that their world didn't end, even when it was apparently supposed to, though she'll never have the opportunity to see how things turned out.]

Well, I do aim to be helpful if nothing else. [Largely, anyway.] Guess three years here makes me a veteran now, so I can fill in all kinds of blanks you might turn up with.

[You and her both, sister.]

If you're offering a Q and A, I suppose it'd be silly to turn down. Perhaps somewhere a bit more private than a video chat?

Sure thing. I'm up in the bar now, but I'd be happy to relocate if you want to go somewhere else. There's a coffee joint down on the first floor that's pretty quiet, and every floor has at least one tea room-- those are good for privacy if you don't want to take personal rooms into account.

[And as much as she wants to help, she's wary about inviting anyone back to her and Simon's place.]

[None of those sound like the best place for a conversation, but she can't say she doesn't understand the risk of inviting someone like her into a more personal space. Or vice-versa.]

I suppose I might as well see what passes for tea around here. Is there a particular floor you'd prefer to meet at?

[The tea room, at least, will offer them complete privacy so long as they lock the door and throw something over any mirrors to keep anyone from the other side from looking in-- the same as any personal rooms would give them.]

Fifth? It's just across the hall from where I'm at now, I can head over and make sure it's in decent shape to be used. Sometimes Wonderland gets a little funny and changes things around on us. The library is on a different floor every day, seems like.

Fine. [She certainly doesn't have anything else to really do at the moment.] I'll see you in ten.

See you then.

[Jo is good to her word, and gets to the tearoom in question a few minutes early to make sure it's fit for use-- thankfully, Wonderland doesn't seem to have left any surprises in there for them this time around, and if anyone used it recently, they did a good job of cleaning up after themselves. Though tea is apparently the order of the day, she might also have brought a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of Jack over from the bar-- just in case.

Wonderland tends to make people want to drink.]

[She has every intention of arriving in ten minutes, but as new as she is, her timing to trek from one area to the other is still a little off and she arrives a few minutes late. While she doesn't mind standing people up under the right situations, she is annoyed with her own tardiness.

Not that she makes a show of it as she arrives and pauses by the entrance before greeting Jo with an easy enough smile and nod. It's habit to eye the place thoroughly before stepping too deep into the room.

It looks safe enough, however, and she moves in easily and takes a seat at the table. The booze does not go unmissed and this time the smile is a little more genuine.]

Well. I certainly appreciate the way you think.

[Jo smirks in reply-- if she'd noticed at all that Bela was running late, it doesn't show, and she simply offers the other woman an easy shrug as she gestures dismissively towards the bottle.]

I remember being new well enough to figure you might appreciate it.

[Most adults who come through Wonderland do.]

So, as first days go, what do you think?

[As much as she could appreciate a stiff drink, might be inclined to partake, she won't do so until she's sure she's relatively safe here. She won't be at the mercy of a drunken mistake.

She might have a bit of a control issue.]

Considering where I'd probably be otherwise, I don't suppose I can complain much.

[That 'otherwise' is something they have in common, even if Jo herself doesn't realize it-- but she still gets the sentiment regardless, and offers a wry smile as a show of sympathy.]

If it helps any, you're not the only one who feels that way. You'll hear a lot of people desperate to get back home, but there are some who have decided they're better off here, at least for awhile.

[Or, in her case, for as long as she can make it stick.]

[Commonality isn't something she seeks out, so the words she knows are trying to be comforting are just a simple fact to settle away. It's not exactly a trait she expects to find in hunters, though.]

How old are you?

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