Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was nighttime in the four towns on this corner of Gaia - clear weather, temperatures typical for summer nights, no breeze. In Durem and the Isle de Gambino, the starlight was drowned out by the city lights.

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In one of the more luxurious hotels in Durem, Maerua sat behind the counter at the Lost and Found office. The nearby lights were dimmed for reasons like 'ambiance' and 'comfort', but to her they were just buzzwords. She had a miniature lamp sitting on the desk space below the counter, to turn on whenever it was time to fill out paperwork. For now, though, she was just trying to stay awake and fight off the boredom.

She heard the jingle of a loaded keyring, and the door to her left opened and shut. Sabe had just come back from an errand.

"Sent in that report?" she asked without budging.
"Yeah...I'm going back in a few days to fetch our files" he replied. He set his bag on the desk and pulled out a can of caffeinated soda. "And this is for you," he said, opening the can before setting it in front of her. She picked it up immediately and took a sip from it. It was warmer than she would have liked, but lemon-lime was always good to her.

"Why am I even out here?" Maerua whined. "Wasting my time. Nobody comes here this late."
Sabe didn't answer her question. Instead, he was rummaging through some of the bins, hoping to get first pick of any goodies that nobody would miss... or dare to reclaim.

"Yes, that was today.." Cassian, in an exasperated tone, sighed into his cellphone. "No, I told you last week that you only have a week left, hence it being due today." His free hand reached up to massage his temples as he tried to avoid getting a headache over the irritation. "Look, the new exhibit doesn't open until the end of the week so I can give you a few more days and just tell them that the oil-paints needed a few extra days to dry fully." Cas groaned and rolled his eyes over-dramatically hoping that it would somehow be conveyed over the phone. "I know you're not using oil, but it's that excuse or you're cut from the exhibit, and once you're cut from something like this, getting your work out there is going to be damn near impossible. And since I'm the one who suggested you for the last spot that will reflect badly on me, so I suggest you spend as much time as possible getting that piece done. Lose sleep, don't eat, I don't care!" Some groans and minor protests came from the other end of the line. "Get it done, or I'll make sure your work never reaches gallery space anywhere in Gaia." He jabbed his thumb down onto the end call button on the screen as violently as possible without risking damage to it and let out a frustrated sigh. "I need coffee." He said, sounding exhausted by the conversation, then grabbed his wallet and headed down to the lobby.

Evron head back into the lobby on another useless patrol of the first floor of the hotel. The security positions were mostly for looks so the guests would feel secure. With the amount of Kuro operatives living in the building there was no need for actual security guards. He mostly dealt with breaking up disturbances at the lounge bar or contacting rooms that received noise complaints, both of which never resulted in anything other than simple intimidation tactics. Without any sort of action he got antsy, and pacing around the hotel lobby was starting to drive him crazy. At least Kate was working tonight, he didn't mind getting this patrol route so much when she was working the front desk. He had just found a good spot near one of the elevators to stop and catch a quick glance at her when someone came up from behind him and put an arm over his shoulder.
"You know, you could get written up for sexual harassment if you keep this up." Cas said with a broad teasing smile on his face. Evron scoffed and turned his head as if he hadn't been staring at all.
"What brings you down to the lobby so late? Finally get that guy to deliver the painting?" Cassian's expression dropped and he pulled his fingers back through his hair with another sigh.
"Was I this bad at deadlines before I got this job? How do people deal with other artists?" Evron smirked. "I'm getting coffee, want me to bring you back something for your shift?"
"Yeah, the usual."
"Alright, I'll be back in a few." Cassian said, heading towards the front desk, "And fix your hair or you'll get written up for "unkempt appearance" complaints again." Evron rolled his eyes and reluctantly pulled out his ponytail to fix it as his brother walked away.
The front desk was pretty desolate at this hour, hardly anyone came to check in or out, and most of the traffic through the lobby was from groups in formal wear returning from dinner or going out to business parties.
"Hey Kate, I was heading out for a coffee run, did you want anything?" Cassian said, leaning up against the counter.

Cas held in a small laugh as Kate snapped out of her daze to answer his question. "Ugh," He responded, making a small shuddering gesture. "I don't know how people can drink black coffee. I need at least two spoonfuls of sugar and enough cream to make it caramel-colored before I can even think about drinking it. The influence of my sweet tooth is just too strong."

What an a*****e, Evron thought, watching his brother go over and chat up Kate while leaning up against the counter. The logical part of his brain kept trying to tell him 'they're coworkers and friends' and 'it isn't anything to be angry about,' but the rest of his mind kept saying how his brother was over there flirting with someone he was interested in just for the sake of messing with him. Eventually he turned around and went down a hallway to walk around the rest of the first floor.

'I mean who does he think he is?' The illogical thought processes continued, 'He always does s**t like this.' Evron was barely paying attention to his surroundings until someone called his name. It took a few seconds before he registered what he heard and he just let out a brain dead sounding "Uhh.." until he realized who was standing there. Normally he was too thick-headed, well that's what Cassian would call him, Evron liked to think of it as courageous and fearless, to be intimidated by someone's presence. There were a few exceptions, however, and Layla was one of them. For some reason her professional, and sometimes sort of cold, demeanor made him lock-up. He laughed uncomfortably, not sure by her tone if she was joking or criticizing. "Well, it's a quiet night, so I guess a bit of both," he responded, hoping she had been joking.

"OH! I don't keep it black... I just don't trust the coffee place to get it right." Kate leaned over, intentionally showing some cleavage, under the desk to her bag. She pulled out chocolate syrup and packets of raw sugar. "See?" She smiled, "I like it sweet too." she said in her normal flirty way.

"What are you up to tonight? And where is that brother of yours? I'm soooo ready to get out of here."

Layla watched Evron go stiff curiously. He must have had his head in the clouds when she spoke up. Being on patrol in a safe place like this probably did that. She didn't particularly blame him. "Oh, I'm sure quiet nights are a regular thing for you," she said, still smiling. She didn't hear of many disturbances in the hotel. And when there were, they were quickly handled. Quiet nights meant more people would want to stay at the hotel, which was a generally good thing.

She covered her mouth and yawned, her eyes watering slightly. "Excuse me," she said and rubbed the corners of her eyes. She could definitely use a quiet night in her bed. "I'll let you continue on your way. It was nice seeing you," she said and began walking past him toward the elevators.

As Maerua was listening to the chatter on this floor, Sabe was wrapping up phone chargers and setting them on the floor. He was careful to pick out the brand-name ones, as those attracted less scrutiny when selling 'refurbished' devices. "Are any of those gPhones expired yet?"

"I checked on them a few hours ago. The ones in D7 are. I think there's three of them... older models," Maerua said, only turning to look at the pile of chargers on the floor. "I don't remember if those will work with them. Go put them in the back."

Sabe got up and took the chargers to a room in the back, set them on a desk, then went back out. "I didn't find much else. I'll see you later."

He picked up his bag and left the Lost and Found. He wasn't assigned to any hotel work this night, so it wouldn't have gotten in the way of his actual job as a courier. Right now, his priority was getting back to his room so he wouldn't be lugging a knapsack around. Maybe afterward he'd come back down and chat with the others.

Twi was able to make it to Barton relatively quickly. he still had a few hours to wait before the shops started to open. curses! he though, irritated at the fact that it would be nearly dawn before anyone opened shop. he head over to the fountain and waited in one of the bars.

it was his favourite pool hall. the bar closed at 1:45 am every night, but the establishment remained open 24/7. it was a known watering hole for Vampires. he could strike up some conversations, and stave off boredom.