Monster Wrangler

Normally, she wasn't awake this early in the day- ever- and normally she wouldn't have dreamed of coming into a place like the Oceanside Hotel.

She was pretty sure the welcome mat was worth more than everything she had put together.

The desk clerk glanced at her, put on a plastic smile, and was clearly gearing up for a canned "can I help you (find your way outside)?"

Calico tried not to enjoy the way the clerk's expression curdled when she handed over her voucher.

"Calico Carter. Here for the tournament?"

"Of... course, Miss Carter. Let's see, we have you on the third floor. And the deposit for your... monster is on file."

Orlok crawled up Calico's back to glare at the clerk.

"Don't worry, Orlok's mostly gonna be flying in and out of the window.during our downtime."

"Yes, I got the reservation. That was a reason for signing up." Antony leads in a humming robot-thing along as he heads up the counter. "Hey, there are rooms for competitors, right?"

The clerk's long-suffering expression grew milder as someone not hazily linked to a disastrous fire showed up.

"That is correct young man.And you are?"

For her part, Calico (who traveled light as only the truly poor can) was still waiting for her room key.

I see how it is. Note to self, eat like a starving panchin at breakfast.

On the other side of the lobby, a robotic Steamosaurus dressed in a black vest with a matching hat stomps toward the elevator, a small pull-cart of luggage trailing behind it. A half-dozen guests follow warily behind it, clearly second-guessing their decision to use the hotel's bellhop.

"Oooh" Antony can't help but look at the incoming Steamosaurus.

"Interesting build there Rocky"

The clerk's nascent good humor was being tested.

"Ahem. Sir? Your name?"

Calico quietly directed Orlok to fly up to the ceiling.

Since it fit his instinctive hunting strategy, he agreed with gusto.

"Oh yeah. Antony Acierno, fixer of the inexplicable, at your service" He tips an imaginary cap to the clerk as he looks over to see the other woman there.

"You look familiar? Do I know you from somewhere?"

Oh crap.

Calico donned a smile.

"The purple hair does tend to be distinctive. I'm-"

"Calico Carter." The clerk cut in. "She's here for the tournament too." By the tone, this wasn't a development that was welcomed.

"Just waiting for my room key." Calico's tone was all sweetness and light. "Otherwise, I'm afraid my saturnadus might get into a bit of a fix. He doesn't take boredom well, the poor dear." She pointed up to the ceiling, where the blood-drinking psychic ambush predator was crawling along.

"Oh, I must have seen one of your matches. And I know. Rocky is a handful"

The alien looking robot chimes.

"Oh hush you, you ate the nice man's microphone"

"Yeah, well, Orlok mostly behaves himself. Mostly."

He chose that moment to drop down, the patterns on his wings stunning the clerk momentarily as Calico reached and plucked the room key from suddenly-nerveless hands.

"Bad Orlok. No. Stop. Very bad bug."

The saturnadus took an extra second, then reluctantly fluttered around to perch on Calico's back and furl his wings. She put on her most sincere-seeming smile, and spoke quite convincingly.

"Sorry about that. Been a long trip getting here. And waiting in the lobby got him a bit bored. You know how it is."

She turned her attention away from the clerk and fully to Antony.

"Couldn't have been a match. Tomorrow's gonna be my first. How about you?"

"Huh, I wonder where from then. If I can slander my environment, I don't see you hanging around a mining town. Fancy gals would stand out, ya know?"

Antony shrugs. "And the bug isn't local I think."

"Your a rookie too?"

"I think it's better for me in the short term if I keep the mystery alive."

She winked.

"And yeah, total rookie. Think that's what they were going for with this tournament. Unless there's some ringer in the list who's being set up to clean house on all of us, but... that's kinda more of a RoMBA move."