Leisurely RP; The Winter Rose

Snow fell gently as the lights in the building flickered on, giving the place a warm and cozy look. A sign above the door swayed in the slight wind. It was a red rose with icicles hanging from the petals. If one were to step inside, they would see that the building was modeled to look like a ski lodge; stacked log walls, large fireplace, and framed photos of different places on the walls. 20 tables were set up, 4 chairs to each table. Each state was well cushioned, and outlets lined the walls next to the tables along the walls. There was a stage to the left, and a stock of every instrument you could imagine, from every world created. Against the far back was the bar, stocked with alcohol from every which dimension, and to the left and right, doors that led to the kitchen. On the far right, stairs that led up to the rooms. The Wi-Fi is secure and lag-less, the food is good, and the tension in the air is zero.

A Rainbow haired Siren Girl changed the 'closed' sign to 'open' then motioned you inside.

"Think of this place as a... Realm between realms. My name is Syreni, and I'm the owner of The Winter Rose. This is a place where anyone from any world or universe can meet, tell stories, and simply relax. Food and drink here is free as well as boarding. Before I invite you into my inn, I have a few rules I would like you to know about." 

She points to a billboard on the wall behind the bar.

Rules:

"If you need anything, feel free to come to the bar and talk to me. For now, please enjoy yourself here in the Winter Rose!"

Helios the Iguana:

(( Took some liberties and mimicked the really cool anime, Restaurant to Another World!  Thought it would make sense and be fun to play with that idea!  ^_^  Hope that's okay! ))

Helios felt lonely in the dusty, rust-colored mountains.  The green and blue iguana refused to have company due to his physical condition, but... he needed to interact with someone other than the rocks and geodes around him.

It was hot out today while he was scavenging for fruit and vegetation to eat.  The trees were easy enough to climb for the reptile, but he was exhausted after a few hours, nonetheless.  After collecting the tiny berries and he'd plucked from the branches, he looked at his bounty and sighed.  Not enough.  He was starving for attention AND food...

The reptile looked around the small mountain forest for more sustenance.  It was then that he lay eyes on a peculiar little hut.  Something was strange about it.  It was clearly made from the surrounding materials, and was rather well put together!  However, he never seemed to notice it during any previous treks up here...  He approached the building with great caution, sneaking up to the door and finally noticing the sign.

"Open?" he mused aloud, yet in whisper.  "What in the..."

He then snuck up to the door, his gloved hand wrapping around the handle.  He creaked it open, revealing a huge, completely different-looking place on the inside.  It was a fully furnished inn!  What was this sorcery?!

Confused beyond all reasoning, Helios stepped inside and made himself known.  "Hello?  Anyone there?"

There's one other person in the inn; a thin female with black pigtails, an eyepatch, and two dog-like creatures sitting on either side of her at their booth.

"Oh! Hello!" A voice called from the back room, a slight British accent could be heard. "Welcome to the Winter Rose, a safe place for everyone and anyone! Can I get you something to eat or drink?" 

The owner of the voice finally came into view; a plucky female with bright violet eyes and rainbow hair decorated with opalescent shells. Her cheeks were covered with white and pastel scales, as were her wrists and neck.

Helios moved slowly about the inn, his body hunched and his hands bent at the wrists, ready to duck or crouch if this indeed was a trap. His tail flicked about close to his body, and he peered around the support beam to find someone else here. She was a human girl with what appeared to be canine guards. Their appearances were alien to him, yet if she was here, there must be a reason as to why.

Helios suddenly jumped back when he heard the voice come from the back. Strange that the feminine accent referred to this location as ‘safe’ as if it needed such an introduction. He waited for her to come out before blinking a few times, amazed with her scaled beauty. He tried not to stare for too long, looking back at the other apparent ‘customer’ to this inn for validation, but she did not pay him any attention. Instead, he decided to answer her question with some of his own.

“Sorry, but, I’m afraid I don’t really understand,” he gasped, not quite over the shock of a place like this being in the middle of a jungle! “This place, this is an inn and you are the keeper of it?”

He felt around his torso for the sash wrapped around his arm. Hanging off the side was a small pocket of things he would normally collect on his foraging journey. He untied the knot that held the contents from falling out and took out some minerals he determined valuable from his mountainside cavern.

“I do not have currency, but can I use these small luminous stones to pay for something?”

“AAAAAH!!!”

A loud scream echoes out from outside within the mountains, a girl with short dusty blonde hair, green eyes and light brown fox ears and a fox tail; both with white fur on the tips of each appendage. She was also wearing a short white shirt, brown shorts and a jacket that matched the colors of her fur, ears and tail. She lets out a loud cough as she hits the ground after falling through many of the pine trees branches, rolling as she hits it to avoid taking any serious damage. But oddly enough, she was okay...?

The girl sits up onto her paws with a groan, holding her head. “Owww....Ugh....What happened?” She looks around at her surroundings, the snowy mountains throwing her off. Then she looks down and notices that where she had skin, she now had light brown fur and her face now had a snout like a hedgehog’s. “What on earth....?” She stands up and brushes herself off, feeling the crunch of the snow under her now bare paws. She still had feeling there that was for sure! She flexes her paw-like hand, noticing that it still seemed mostly human. That was good at least.

It is then that she spots the wooden building that was nearby in the trees. Maybe she could get some answers in there? With a shrug, she walks towards the inn, slowly looking herself over for any injuries. She was quite scratched up but she didn’t have any really serious injuries. Silently she thanked the gods that the trees, as painful as crashing through their branches was, broke her fall to such a degree. But how did she get here? The last thing she remembered was going to bed with Lance and then....Here she was. Was this a dream?

Shaking her head of the thought, she flicks her palms open, hoping that some flames would ignite there for her. With a flickering whoosh, some fire appears in both of her palms. She breathes another sigh of relief before shaking her hands to clear the flames away. At least her magic still worked!

She approaches the inn and takes a deep breath, brushing off the last remnants of the broken branches and pine needles from her outfit before pushing open the door to go inside. “H-Hello? Is anyone there?” She calls out, looking around.

Syreni smiled cheerfully, declining the payment. 

"There's no need for that. This place is designed to be a safe-haven for anyone and everyone! Food, drink, rest... whatever you need, it's here!" She pulls a glass off the rack and gives it a quick wipe down before sliding him a menu, filled with meals, both familiar and unfamiliar. "I did my best to try to bring in ingredients from as many realms as i could, so everyone could have a taste of home while here."

The door opened and the Siren girl turned her attention to the figure who entered; a Vixen-like being. She gave a cheerful wave and motioned for the girl to enter.

Catia could see the Scaled woman looking in her direction as she looked up from her conversation with the Iguana in front of her.

"Over here, little one! Come have a seat and rest! Have some food as well, and I'll tend to those scratches of yours."

A shiver goes up her spine as she spots the fishy woman. There were Scarclaws here too?? But wait....She looks herself over one last time and sighs. Perhaps she was something different here? She nods to her words and sits down quietly at a table, nervously looking around. “I’m about to be tended to by a fish walking on two legs. This is totally normal....Right? Right....” she mutters under her breath, grabbing her arm in comfort. Her natural instinct at this moment in time was to run away as if she were being targeted or hunted. And in her world this would absolutely be the case! But maybe this place was different? She would at least give it the benefit of the doubt!

Helios is taken aback by Syreni's kindness and graciously accepts the menu. He skims through the pages, but before finds a seat, he quickly looks up to see a lady fox with wet-tipped fur (from the snow outside) enter cautiously.

This must have been how he looked when he first came through the door. Suddenly, he felt awkward. Quickly, he took a seat, thinking about what the hostess had said. 'Realms?' So this place wasn't here before, as Helios suspected... or at least, it wasn't always here.

He called over to the newcomer with a peaceful wave of his gloved hand. "It's strange, isn't it? This place... its for real," he told her.

Syreni chuckled. as She tended to the Fox girl's wounds. 

"This place appears when people need a safe haven, a get away, or just somewhere to go. It's set in an inter-dimensional pocket; one thats easy to access from just about any world. All you gotta do, is think of something you need. For instance..." she turned to Helios, whose stomach let out a growl. "You were thinking about food; starvation. This place revealed itself to you in a time of need." She stepped back from Catia, finishing with her scratches. "And you... wanted a place to rest and heal up. perhaps information?"

Perception was one of Syreni's best skills, right behind Perform, but before Heal, Handle Animal, and Survival.

Catia watches Syreni with wary eyes as the siren woman tends to her wounds. She’d had her injuries tended to before by the camp medics back on Earth but they were usually members of the Resistance. People she could trust without a question. “I dunno about the information part. I just kind of....fell in here. I didn’t know where I was or how I got here. I remember going to sleep with my lover Lance and then....next thing I know, I was falling through the sky into some snowy place. And my appearance had changed too! Is this place cursed or something?” She inquires, her voice slowly quieting down to a mumble as she spoke. For the most part, she looked very wary and somewhat spooked by this new place. She knew she had her guns if she really needed them. She reaches down and fumbles for the latch to her plasma pistol holster, letting out a breath of relief on finding it. Still there....good.... She thought to herself.

Helios touched his stomach and blushes brightly, reacting to his its interruption. He skimmed the menu again and finally selected an item.

"I'm interested in eating this roasted fish and sauteed vegetable dinner! Would, ahm..." he clearing his throat and taking a stand. "Would you like me to help you prepare it in any way?

He looked at Catia again, noticing her check her belongings. It was as if she wasn't used to this body. Interesting.

Syreni sighed. "There will ne no  for those, miss...?" As she inclined the guns amd asked for the Fox's name at the same time. "As a designated safe space, i dont condone violence in my inn. Anywho, make yourself cozy! Its an open door policy, so if you meed to go, youre free to." She places a menu in front of her and smiles. "You must be starving, if you see anything you like, let me know!"

She turns to Helios and giggled. "Of course! Ill never turn down extra help in the kitchen! Follow me~"

The siren leads him through the double doors into the immaculate kitchen and begins the tour. "Stoves are here, ovens are back there, store room is through that door in the back. Fridges are on that wall, and theres a recipe book at every starion. Think the item, and its recipe will appear! Spice racks should be full, and the ice box has all the seafood. I usually handle desserts, so if youd like, i can make you something afterwards."

The bard made sure to be thorough with the tour, showing the iguana how things worked and where to find everything.

The black haired girl in the back moved to the bar and waved into the kitchen. "Oi, Syreni. Im gon' place an order for me and m' dogs. Two steaks an' yer best rack o' short ribs!"

"Coming right up, Loka!" She calls back, looking to Helios. "Wanna work the kitchen with me for a little bit? We can make your food first so you get the hang of things, if you'd like"

Naturally, she would let him eat before anything else.

The fox anthro girl almost chokes out her name from nerves, her hand that was fumbling with her gun holster stopping suddenly. “C-Catia! Catia Linefelt!” She then listens to Syreni’s explanation and the subsequent menu that slides in front of her face. “I-I....I guess I could use some breakfast....Thank you....” She looks around warily at everyone, from the shouting Loka to the lizard Helios as well as any other patrons that were around. Not being able to take her guns out made her anxious; especially in an unfamiliar place!

Nevertheless, she looks over the menu and finds several meaty breakfast items, her mouth watering a little from the thought of having proper food. In her world, food like this stuff was so scarce! With a sigh, she decides to eat what she can for now. “U-Um! Can I get a skewer of squirrel meat, sausage, green peppers and some steak? Maybe some scrambled eggs too?” She calls out to the kitchen, hoping her voice got heard.

Helios gawked at the set up, nearly tripping over his own feet as he entered. He'd never seen anything quite like this before! Then again, he'd never been in a real kitchen, either.

The reptilian hurried up next to Syreni as she began to explain how things worked here. He made sure to take mental note of where everything was, but he was bound to forget at least one of the locations! In the back of his mind, he was very curious about what kinds of desserts she would make!

"I will do what I can," he said with a sincere smile. He looked around and found a lone apron hanging from a hook on the wall. Using his long tail, he snatched it up and tied it around him. Tightening his gloves, he turned back to her and offered up a readied stance. "Tell me what I need to do first!"

He'd had jobs before, but this was a very unique and magical place to be! He wanted to learn as much as he could before he went back to his... reality? What that what it was?

"Both of the other guests want food, too. Can we really prepare all of them?"

Outside the Winter Rose, a portal resembling an entire cosmos suddenly pops open, a single figure stepping out.

He was a humanoid male of average height with shimmering, silver skin, long chrome hair tied back in a colonial-style ponytail with a black ribbon, and an average build stands before the Winter Rose. He was dressed in a long, shimmering, cyan colonial petticoat, a white blouse, and tight, black dress pants with matching, black leather dress shoes. He was fairly young in appearance, perhaps his early thirties, with a full beard and mustache of chrome hair covering his face in a neatly-cut fashion. Around his shoulder was what appeared to be a strange, black satchel with sparkling, fading lights covering the surface, as if a moving galaxy was imprinted on its surface. He was Cortez, the Magnificent Cortez, and he was a Void Trader, a person who specialized in inter-dimensional travel and trade. He also happened to be a friend and business partner of Syreni, as he helped provide her with foods, drinks, equipment, anything the Winter Rose needed. Now, he was here to bring her a brand new attraction...his latest invention! With a confident stride, he opens the doors and steps into the Winter rose, a smile on his face.

"Syreni?! Oh Syreni, darling!~ Tis I, the Magnificent Cortez, here to bring you more curios and oddities from the dimensions beyond!~" He was known for his flare for drama, and Cortez was feeling fiery today! After all, what he had for the owner of this fine establishment could be the start of a new craze that could net them quite the tidy profit and loyal customer base.

Syreni conjured up a couple of recipes, each one with a little gold star next to the ingredient listed. She handed them to Helios with a soft smile on her face. "These are the recipes for the dishes ordered," She starts, pointing at the ingredients. "If you place your finger to the golden star here..."

The siren demonstrates, a gold trail of dust flying off of the page and moving across the room before coming to a halt in front of a cabinet. "It will guide you to the ingredient's location here in the kitchen. This way, you'll be able to locate everything easily. The stove and the oven are your typical multi-universal gas ovens and stove tops. Dials here to turn on the flame, and these here to set the oven. Timer is right there;" she points to a classic egg-shaped kitchen timer. "I'll be back to help you in a jiffy!"

Syreni exits the kitchen, arms spread wide to greet Cortez. "Darling, Cortez!" She grins, pulling him into a hug. "What marvelous wonders do you bring me today?"

Helios blinked, shocked by all the mysterious 'magic' at work here in this unknown place of business.  With the recipes at his disposal, his confused expression became more serious, determined to help Syreni with her dishes!

Tapping the first star, selecting the roasted fish and sauteed vegetable dinner item he'd chosen for himself, the glowing lights trailed all the way to the cabinets that stored the pots and pans.  Helios used the tip of his tail to open the cabinet and withdrew the sparkling equipment from within.  This was... very useful indeed!

"I see, so this is how she's able to make so many recipes.  Memorization is not entirely necessary," he explains to himself, closing the cabinet behind him and putting the pans upon the stovetop.

He wasted no time in reading the first instructions and nabbing the first set of ingredients.