Chapter Text
Jupiter glared at the door to the smoking parlour like it had just insulted him.
'Lavender' it read 'for relieving a stressed mind.'
'I am not stressed!' He yelled at the hotel's ceiling. A lizardwun frowned at him as they entered.
Despite 'not being stressed', Jupiter followed the lizardwun in. As soon as he'd closed the door, the hotel began pumping out light purple clouds as if it was trying to drown them in calmness.
'Stop it,' Jupiter told the hotel with a scowl, 'You'll disturb the patrons.' The lizardwun was looking sideways at him and he offered them an embarrassed smile. 'Wunderous design,' was all he could offer. The lizardwun smiled though concern kept their brows furrowed and quickly moved away from Jupiter.
Jupiter slumped against the wall, his head in his hands, and was hidden completely by the rolling waves of purple.
Jupiter had never actually been one for floral smells. He didn't know what the appeal was with them all but he had to admit, the sweetness the hotel added to its scent made it quite palatable. After a few minutes of letting that smoke wash over him, filling his lungs and turning his exhales that same purple colour as covered his vision, his hands fell to rest easily on his knees, one leg stretching out in front of him. He wasn't any calmer, of course, because he definitely hadn't been stressed in the first place, but this was nice.
-
He wasn't entirely certain how long he'd spent in the smoking parlour before he'd fallen asleep, nor was he sure how long he'd been asleep. He realised he'd fallen asleep because, when he opened his eyes again, he could see daylight creeping into the room through a thin cloud of dark, dusty green. He jumped up quickly, muscles resisting the use and making him fall onto the wall to stay up. Following a groan of equal parts dread of what kind of a mess he'd find on his desk and relief at the popping of his joints as he stretched. He set off to his study at a jog, letting the door to the smoking parlour close on its own. Green trickled out of the room before the hotel took initiative and slammed the door shut, increasing the amount of stairs to Jupiter's floor in protest.
'Stop it,' Jupiter chided, 'I have work to do, alright.'
Upon opening the door to his study, he had to stop himself from cursing as the figure sitting in front of his desk was. She was a birdwun with slicked back feathers and a disapproving expression that didn't waver even as Jupiter fumbled together an apology, blaming his work with the league and laughing as he sat down, doing his best to neaten his hair with his fingers. He spared a second to glare at the hotel's roof as the woman joined the laughter politely before pulling a small stack of papers out of her bag, held together in a deep purple binder.
'Does the league need anything else before we get started?' She asked coolly.
'Ah, no, ma'am, please, begin.'
'Thank you,' she said, glaring at him as she pulled out the first sheet.