[Hotel Atlantica] The Day He Was Human Again, Part 1

[Aix]

Based on the hit RP Hotel Atlantica, by RP&D&shit Skype Chat, this is a heartwarming tale about Caleb, who was cursed to become a dog.

Comments and criticism very much welcome.


[spoiler=Part 1]“Just one day, please! Just turn me back for one day. That’s all I ask for now, madam.”

Tiamat stopped, and looked at the dog with interest. Caleb had asked his employers on countless occasions why it was necessary for him to be a dog, but he had never once approached her with such an earnest and heartfelt request. She never took him for the emotional sort, but people change, of course, and for various reasons. Curious, as well as suspicious, the eons-old primordial serpent crouched down to the dog, and met the infernal depths of her amber eyes to his.

“Why?”

It was spoken plainly, softly, and coldly, but the straightforwardness of Tiamat’s gesture brought Caleb a jolt of hope. He felt the hairs all over his body stand up on edge at the primordial serpent’s stare, but he quickly shook himself out of it. Dog and dragon looked upon each other for a few moments longer, until Caleb finally gathered the courage to speak.

“...”

And Tiamat broke into a smile, standing up with a sudden bounce in her step. She gave a hearty laugh, unlike someone of her grand age, and upon regathering her composure, clapped her hands together for emphasis.

“Very well, your wish shall be granted.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A tall, suave, brown-haired young man exited the Leviathan Manor, and looked upon the world, for the first time in forever, from the eyeview of a human. Marvelling at the faculty of hands, he brushed them through that luscious mane of hair of his, and neatly tucked his bangs to the side. He fixed the collar of the fancy clothes Tiamat gave him, and then adjusted his vest so that everything was just perfect.

Standing at the edge of a cliff, he gazed off into the horizon and felt the urge to raise his arms and proclaim his elation to the world. Refreshing. Uplifting. Extraordinary. There was no word to describe what he was feeling right now. It was a feeling of immeasurable greatness, beyond joy, beyond happiness, it was--

Caleb’s sharp eyes caught something from his vantage point high on the cliff. He saw a certain maid standing there alone, at a corner of the resort, and he remembered himself. He shook himself again, and a dissident mixture of nervousness and calm came upon him, combining with those feelings of refreshment and hope. Caleb made his way down to the main resort. He had little time to spare, Tiamat gave him until midnight before the spell wore off. Perhaps he should have bargained for more time, but his pride as a man refused him the option of going back. He walked on.

“Hello, Caleb.”

Caleb was shocked to hear that voice behind him say his name. It was Artemisia, standing there with a polite smile on her face. Perhaps not so polite, after all, he realized as she then closed in on him.

“You remember me? My appearance?” he asked.

She smiled wider. “Of course, how could I forget a beauty like you?” Her face came dangerously close to his, and he caught note of her rosy lips, those deep emerald eyes, and her voluptuous figure which was frighteningly obvious through her dress. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he failed to respond. She then slowly began moving it up his neck as she made him return her stare. Caleb felt cornered and yet allured, this body felt ready to embrace her. However, he pushed her away. This wasn’t the girl for him, he had already decided. And she laughed.

Quite simply there, he felt insulted. He had just been made a sport of, how did he not realize? All those years of being treated as a mere dog rushed back to him in an instant, curtailing the joy of the moments earlier. Even in this form, he felt affronted. Perhaps turning him into a dog was just a cruel joke, and they were still laughing at him even now. But, Artemisia patted him on the back and smiled kindly. “I actually heard about it from Mom. I’ll be cheering you on, buddy. Good luck!” she said, and she gave him a light wave and walked away.

However, he was still recoiling from the train of negative thoughts that had hit him. Taking a few deep breaths, in and out, he managed to regulate his heartbeat before proceeding, considerably slower, down the rest of the hill. He fell into a rhythm, like the trot of a dog. But he stopped before he got too close.

There she was.

A petite, delicate-looking girl, with soft, exquisite features. Her back was to him now, so he could not see her face, but the image of it was already ingrained in his mind. She was not the kind that really stood out, but that suited Caleb just fine. The maid uniform seemed like naturally a part of her, he felt there was nothing in the world that suited one other more than that maid, and her costume. Then, he hit himself once he started imagining what she would be like with it off.

Even as he hid around the corner watching her, he realized this was probably the closest he ever got to her. Unfortunately, she always panicked and freaked out when she saw his dog form. He filled himself with new confidence. He wasn’t a dog now, she had no reason to be afraid of him.

Camille turned, although she didn’t really notice him there. She just went about sweeping, with her eyes to the ground. There were always penguins to do these kind of chores, but she seemed to prefer to do them herself. Besides, the penguins often made things worse than they were.

Then, Caleb noticed it again. The expression on Camille’s face was one of pain and revulsion. She had seemed deeply troubled over the last few days, but he could not approach her to find out why. This was reason he had gone to Tiamat with the desperate plea to turn him human. He decided, on his values of virtue and honour, that he would help the girl he loved. However, for he could only continue to just stare, bewitched at her beauty, and she continued to sweep while muttering something under her breath that Caleb could not hear.


Alas, he stepped out. The ordinary human reaction would be to look up at who was coming, but Camille ignored him, focused on her work, all the while muttering things under her breath. She didn’t recognize him, after all, and would have thought he was just another guest. However, when Caleb got close enough, he caught some of Camille’s words.

“...that filthy dog...”

And it was like he was hit by boulder and he jolted to a stop. She’s not talking about me. She’s not talking about me, he thought to himself, as he brought reason back to his state of mind. She can’t be. He decided to just walk past her, and he heard more of her muttering, which started to turn into sobs.

“... such a rude and terrible person... that son of a bitch... I wish he would just...”

Despite Camille’s obviously terrible mental state, Caleb felt a sense of relief. She’s probably thinking about some rude guest, we get those a lot, he concluded, and his feelings turned to anger at whatever bastard made Camille so upset. Walking on, he realized that he had lost the courage to approach her, and she probably wouldn’t receive him kindly at this time anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caleb found himself in the restaurant, a place he usually dreaded due to Lexi’s assaults. However, he was too caught up in his own thoughts to think about that right now. Gol came by, and Caleb offhandedly ordered a drink so that the centaur warlord wouldn’t send him packing with a hoof.

He felt kind of helpless as he sat there, sipping a cocktail. Here he was, finally in a human form, and he couldn’t even approach her. How many times had he watched her from afar, dreaming that if only he could get close to her? His feelings were mashed and destroyed countless times realizing that Camille was deathly afraid of dogs, and animals in general. Here, finally was his chance, the one time he could be human. His fingers squeezed on the glass, and then he slammed the drink on the table, startling the other guests.

“DOOOOOOGGGGGYYYYY!!!!!”

There came the usual cry. He assumed now that all of the Leviathans knew who he was, as Lexi came flying in with her usual hug.

“How’s it going, doggy?!” It was fortunate that she did not seem inclined to pet him and stroke him now that he was in a human form. That would have been embarrassing and Caleb was not in the mood to deal with that right now.

“My name is Caleb,” he said, irritably, but Lexi made no sign of acknowledging that he had spoken. Sighing, he decided to answer her question. “I’m...” And he paused.

Lexi tilted her head, prompting him to continue.

“I’m having a problem,” he admitted, as he realized even Lexi couldn’t be fooled with that troubled look on his face. Lexi smiled happily, and pulled over a chair, where she plopped down, put her hands on her lap, and proceeded to look at him expectantly.

“You want me to tell you?”

Lexi made no response, and simply continued to stare at him with those bright aquamarine eyes that conveyed her everyday cheer better than any smile could. Seeing as he needed further prompting, she grinned at him, and he sighed.

Sometimes, he forgot that she was, in fact, over a thousand years older than him, and that made her into some strange combination of a child and an adult. Sighing again, and realizing that Lexi actually managed to bring up his spirits, he spoke. “Actually, it’s not me who has the problem. It’s Camille.”

Lexi giggled and smiled at him, and Caleb stopped to look at her strangely. “What’s so funny?”

“Somebody's in LOVE!” she exclaimed, putting her hands out in front of her a heart shape as if he didn’t understand the word.

Nevermind, she was definitely a child. “Yes... I may be in love,” he admitted nonetheless. He surprised himself, that was the first time he actually said that.

“And you want to solve Camille’s problem for her so that Camille will fall in love, too, right?!” exclaimed Lexi, ready to leap off her chair. “You’ll be the Prince Charming to Camille’s...”

At that, Caleb froze. “No,” he said, determinedly. “No. I am doing it for her, and for her sake only.”

“Sorry,” said Lexi.

Caleb continued. “Though, I have no clue about the details of her problem. I’m assuming it’s some rude hotel guest, but... I actually have no clue, I... actually didn’t get to ask her.”

After a pause, Lexi stood up. She flashed Caleb a smile, and ran out of the restaurant, much to the dismay of Gol, who began shouting after her.

“I’ll be right back!” she called.

“A sweet girl, isn’t she?” A familiar voice greeted Caleb again, and he turned to once more face the beautiful Artemisia vi Leviathan.

“Maybe, if she didn’t always have to hug and pet me all the time,” said Caleb drily.

“You have to forgive her for that,” said Artemisia, looking in the direction where Lexi ran off in. Her love for her sister was evident, and Caleb began to feel jealous. He hadn’t seen his own family in a long time now, he had only been sending them whatever bit of his salary he could spare.

But, he had Camille here at Hotel Atlantica. Yes, Camille was enough for him, even if she didn’t return his love. He was never a particularly fortunate guy, and he knew not to be too greedy.

Though, even he has a right to happiness, right?


“It’s a guy named Joseph von Tarrasque!” Lexi had returned before he even realized it. Hearing the name, Caleb stood up.

“Thank you, Lexi, now where is this guy, and where can I beat the shit out of him,” he said.

“Slow down there...” began Artemisia. “No, wait, if anyone is harassing our staff, they’re going to have to deal with me as well.”

“And me!” said Lexi, holding up a particularly brutal looking enchanted kitchen knife usually used to shear through diamond scales. Seeing that, no one could really argue.[/spoiler]

[Andx]

We chatted about the things on skype when you posted but good job and stuff. You wrote the characters well, except maybe Artemisia but idk.

 

Your writing was nice and stuff.

 

Blah blah blah, more nice things here.

 

In short: part 2 when?

[Aix]

Probably like next week probably.