Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

[sharp_as_knives]

After the party was over on Monday, Hannibal went home, did a bit of research, threw a lot of money around, and booked them a portal for the morning. Then he slept.

The next day, he smiled at Jono as they stepped through the portal. It was bright and cold and very, very far from Fandom. "I hope this will do."


[OOC: For the partner! NFB for distance unless the squirrels followed them.]

Comments

[furnaceface]

//Here's not bad,// Jono agreed, looking around. The effort it would take to do anything resembling inhaling still wasn't on the docket today. Low-effort was right about his speed. //Gonna have to work extra hard to keep me entertained, though.//

This wasn't strictly true. Jono was just as happy to sit around and people watch here as anywhere else.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Should I convince them to let me join them in the kitchens?" Hannibal asked, grinning.

[furnaceface]

//You'd show up the lot of them, and then they'd spend the rest of our vacation trying to hire you on,// Jono teased. //Which I suppose would mean I'd have all the more time to myself, but I'm actually rather fond of your company.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Glad to hear it." Hannibal nodded at the maitre d', then asked to see the menu. He read it over and raised his eyebrows in appreciation. "I don't anticipate any problems in eating here."

[furnaceface]

//Artists at work in more than just the rooms, then?// Jono leaned over to get a better look at what Hannibal was reading over. //Still big fans of the ice, though. I suppose when you've got a theme to work with...//

[sharp_as_knives]

"A theme and some very good ice," Hannibal said. "Do you know, I've never eaten moose before. Or reindeer. I'm looking forward to it." He didn't often get new culinary experiences.

[furnaceface]

//I imagine both aren't all that different from venison,// Jono mused, pondering the menu. //Though they've both got a lot more bulk to them. It'll be interesting to see how it compares. Lean, probably.//

Jono was picking up on the food talk, anyway. Was that a good sign? Who knew?

//Been a while since I've had game meat, though I suppose these would've been farmed, so they're probably somewhat different still.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Likely," Hannibal agreed. "But I suppose we'll see, won't we?" He smiled and handed the menu back with a bow. "Later. Should we take a look at the warm hotel next, or tour the ice hotel itself?"

[furnaceface]

//Warm hotel,// Jono decided, more or less immediately. //I'm curious as to how the rooms that aren't made of ice compare, I'll admit. And if nothing else, I'd like a chance to look around a bit more before we head back to the icy one.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded and led the way around to the lobby, where the concierge was more than happy to find them someone to take them to one of the more standard hotel rooms to look around. Hannibal checked it out keenly; it seemed to him to be pleasant but uninspired.

[furnaceface]

//Not bad for coming inside to warm up, at least,// Jono observed, looking around, and then giving his shoulders a shrug. //All the better for showering, I suppose.//

And there was wifi! Not that Jono could tell that just by looking around, but all the same…

[sharp_as_knives]

"Possibly," Hannibal conceded. "And perhaps for keeping a few things out of the cold." He shrugged; he preferred the artistry of the cold room.

[furnaceface]

Well, there was really no arguing that wolves and an owl weren't more artistic than wood-panel walls.

//Good to have in case sleeping in a frozen room isn't comfortable, but not really the trip's highlight, then?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"No," Hannibal agreed. "But an acceptable alternative, I suppose, should we need one." He nodded at their guide and thanked the man, then headed back out.

[furnaceface]

Jono followed along, and then, on a whim, he reached for Hannibal's hand.

//Doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan,// he noted. //As it stands... for the time being I'd be happy to just find a place to take it easy for a while. I'm still digesting just how blissfully silent it is, here.//

He would have stayed on top of the hotel just drinking in the quiet for hours more, if Hannibal hadn't started moving along. It probably would have ended in a Jonosicle, but at least he would be a somewhat relaxed Jonosicle.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled and squeezed Jono's hand. "Would you like to return and explore our sauna? Or we could lie in bed and stay warm that way. Or simply find a corner of the lobby here, if you'd rather." His own preference was for the former or the latter, rather than lying about, but then this was a vacation.

[furnaceface]

Jono considered his options as they walked, and then shrugged his shoulders.

//Let's see that sauna,// he decided. //If we've got it, we might as well put it through its paces, hm? And it's a perfectly lovely lobby, but the longer we stay indoors here, the more layers I'm going to want to shuck all the same. Might as well do that someplace more relaxing than a hotel lobby.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"The sauna it is," Hannibal agreed. He pulled his balaclava back on and his hood up, then hooked his arm through Jono's. "We can sit and enjoy the quiet."