Welcome to the town of Weathersby! A relatively peaceful town with seldom a crime. That is to say...crimes committed here aren't usually found out. There is also something very odd about this town...something that not many people know of...not everyone inhabiting this town is, well normal. Weathersby seems to have folks from different lands, and I don't mean your normal lands. No, these people are from a different world, one people may not think of often. They are from a storybook. And they have come to life.

But these aren't your normal story book characters, something seems wrong with them. They are absolutely...mad. And some of them don't even know that they are not real. Well not in the normal sense of real. For they can talk and be touched, but they don't exactly belong here.

But they don't know that. After all, they are living...productive lives. Well as productive as the lives can be when you mix a group of people together that shouldn't be there. But they are adjusting, slowly but surely they are adjusting. Some of them even have jobs.

Like the two faced librarian, a pretty little thing that demands all eyes be on her. It doesn't matter if you want to or not. She really is such a pretty little thing, a beauty really, and one can't help but to look at her...but there is a side of her that she wants no one to see, and for the most part you won't...unless she is feeling crummy about herself, then her mask falls away.

Or how about the owner of the local tea shop? The one who wanders around town wearing such odd clothing, and uses a cane, though he is perfectly fine. He seems to carry a lot of pills on him, and tends to take to many in my opinion. His tea is good though, despite the fact that he sometimes has a mouse in his pocket. A mouse named Dory. He seems to go to the abandoned insane asylum, along with the new one, and meets with a therapist. Something is terribly wrong with him though. Sometimes he just sits in the corner of his shop, and laughs madly.

Speaking of mad, there is a little girl that works in the local bakery. A girl in red, who helps Granny out with the food, like bear claws, but they call them wolf claws. No one knows why though. When she gets mad...well it is like she shows another side to her.

And if there is a girl in red then we can't forget the wolf. Well his name means wolf, the local woodsman. An odd occupation for him really, but that is besides the point. He has a bit of a temper problem, tending growl at his problem. And when he is really angry...well he can be an animal.

If there is a wolf, then there must be a cat right? And this one is very catty, if you pardon the pun. Her name is Poppy, and she likes to claim things as hers. She seems to be trying to quench her thirst for something. Something that has no form but has a great impact on people, who knows if she will ever achieve this goal though.

Oh poppies, poppies are an amazing flower wouldn't you agree? They can cause people to go to sleep. Like that girl, the one named Dorothy. This girl works at the local post office, and it is almost like she has taken something that has altered her views. She seems to follow a path out of her house one that goes around the town. Sometimes she skips down it, but the path always ends at the same place...her home. Oh the poor thing, she doesn't know that there is a wicked being inside of her...

Where wicked is concerned you might want to go to the grave digger, a ghoulish man who smells funny, but no one questions it seeing what jobs he has. He may invite you to be dinner, I mean have dinner. Of course he wouldn't eat you...of course not. His story has been told many times, but his appearance seems to stay the same...well aside from the skin.

Skin seems cling to this man. It seems almost...to tight, like he is not used to the form he wears. He wears a grin on his face, a grin that can be full of malice...a grin that seems to hang in the air, even long after he is gone. He seems to vanish rather easily really, and likes riddles, sometimes even speaking in riddles or rhymes. He is like a stray cat who has wandered in. He seems to be looking for someone...someone named

Alice. Sweet Alice, she has yet to realize what will become of her. She is actually very interesting, some people may think she is on a drug from what she says when she tries to describe colors. It is almost like something got crossed in her brain. And she has been mocked for it. So much so that her parents decided it was best for her to go, so they bought her a house in the small town of Weathersby. She has a large bank account now and a lonely heart. Will she discover her potential? Or will she just remain a girl named Alice?

And these are the residents of Weathersby, at least the ones that are important...at the moment that is. Maybe more people will come and join the fun? But now is not the time. Let us pull back the red curtain and watch the show.

The sound of a cane tapped across the paved sidewalk as a pair of leather black and white spats thudded on the ground. The owner of the spats seemed to be stumbling a bit, for the sound of his cane was spastic to say the least. A huge grin was plastered on his face, and chuckles were bubbling inside his throat. Today was going to be absolutely fun! After all, how could it not be fun? The trees were purple and there was a blue caterpillar!

A blue caterpillar, how delightful! As the man got closer to the caterpillar he started to guffaw rather loudly. “Hello little caterpillar! You are the wrong color!” He said as he giggled gleefully. Upon closer inspection of the caterpillar he noticed that it had a rather human looking face, and that sent the man into a fit of giggles. It looked almost like someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place the face. But that didn't matter, the caterpillar was rather amusing. The bugs lips, for it did have lips, were wrapped around something. As giggling man leaned closer he saw what it was. “Is that a small hookah? How delightful! Can I join you?”

At the sound of the young mans voice the caterpillar turned its head to face the man. And blew out a ring of smoke into the mans face before it asked in a bellowing voice, a voice that didn't fit the blue creatures small body, “WHO ARE YOU?” The voice was so loud in the mans head that he stumbled back, his large top hat with the checkered ribbon falling off of his head.

The man bent down and picked up his hat, dusting it off before settling it on top of his black hair with white streaks, if he was honest he would admit that it was graying. “What do you mean who am I? If you want my name it is Dominic, though sometimes I do honestly feel more like a Fredrick...”

The blue caterpillar frowned and shook its little head. “NO! THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER ME? YOU ARE HATTER! REMEMBER US!”

The man looked at the caterpillar and shook his head, a frown on his face. Oh dear...maybe he shouldn't have taken his pills with a glass of wine. But the cup did say drink me...and he couldn't refuse that cup. Never mind he filled it with the wine himself. And his doctor did warn him against taking pills with alcohol...but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Most of his ideas did. “I am not Hatter. I am Dominic, my doctor told me so.”

The caterpillar snarled at him, its little face once so funny now scary. It almost seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Until it was taller then him! Or maybe he shrunk, Dominic wasn't quite sure which happened. “YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR NAME HATTER! YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHO YOU ARE! YOU LEFT US HATTER! LEFT US TO DIE! WE NEEDED YOU AND YOU WERE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!”

The twenty one year old started to tremble, he was terrified of the creature before him, tears started to run down his face. He hadn't run, he hadn't...he wasn't the Hatter! The nice man told him so! The one that given him the pills! The one that found him when he was wandering around in the streets. And he believed that man! “I AM NOT THE HATTER! I AM DOMINIC, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DOMINIC!” The man screamed back, people were now starting to look at him, he was talking to a nearby mushroom...he must have taken to many pills today or taken them with something he shouldn't. As he yelled at the the caterpillar sitting on a mushroom that was so much bigger then he was, he must have shrunk after all, he noticed that he started to get bigger, so he continued yelling.

“I don't like the tone you have taken with me Caterpillar! Asking me who I am and telling me I am not who I claim to be! I know myself better then you Caterpillar! You have no right to accuse me of something I did not commit!” He was getting bigger and bigger! It was working! “So Caterpillar, I have a question for you. WHO ARE YOU?!” And before the caterpillar could answer he squished him into the ground, smearing him on the bottom of his shoe.

But he felt so lonely now, like he had killed something important to him...but it was just a caterpillar...nothing more. But then why did the face look so familiar? Dominic shook his head trying to clear it before he wiped the tears from his eyes. He had done nothing wrong, Caterpillar was in the wrong, accusing him of things he didn't do. He took a deep breath and pulled out his pocket watch. The watch itself had stopped working long ago, but he could still tell the time, after all it was only jammed...nothing to serious, he just needed to butter the gears and it would work right like rain. But he would have to do that later. He was running late, he had to open his tea shop. Never mind that it was early morning. And thunder clouds were rolling. He must open his shop.

He dashed off, leaving a stomped mushroom behind, and a bunch of confused people.

Alice lay down in the bed at the asylum her arm wrapped around her stuffed rabbit. She did not wish to be here, in this world that let her family die in that horrid fire long ago. She wanted to be in her refuge, in Wonderland! She wanted to see the beauty of her world; she wondered how it was doing? Last time she had visited it seemed fine… everything perfect. But then she had another relapse… and Wonderland… Wonderland was broken. She remembered having to carve up former friends and use toys as weapons, the Cheshire her guide through it all. But her friends had died horribly, wretchedly even. But that was okay… they came back to life after she defeated the ruler and reclaimed Wonderland as her own. If Wonderland was in danger, she would fight again, and save it. She had done it many times, though it got worse and worse each time. For Wonderland kept on shattering further and she had to pick up the Vorpal Blade again and hack her way through. But, though she’d tell no one, she loved it, she loved the fight, the battles, the feel of the card guards being hacked beneath her blade, slicing through them as if they were paper. She loved using her weapons to kill her enemies, she remembered using the Jabberwock Eye staff to kill the wretched Jabberwock and the Queen of Hearts, she loved the feeling of her madness returning in Wonderland, it was positively Wonderful!

What she did not like was fighting her friends and watching them die horribly. She shuddered at the memory of the Hatter squashing the shrunken White rabbit, his body squishing horribly flat and bloody, almost like a bug. She brushed a long brunette strand of hair off of her face and let out a giggle as she remembered fighting the hatter and making his head and body explode, that had taught him. Of course he came back to life after she had regained control, as had the white rabbit. Oh how she wanted to go to Wonderland! She looked at the stuffed rabbit, almost willing it to bring her back there to Wonderland! To see if it had changed and to relax for a bit, and so she closed her eyes a mad smile on her face as she did so.

She suddenly got a huge headache, almost as if something was clawing at her head wanting to get out. “Are they going to give me a hole in my head? Why that would be most uncomfortable! Imagine! A hole where the wind could get into my brain, why that would be positively unpleasant!” she thought to herself as the pain got worse. She had to squeeze her bright green eyes shut as she let out a wispy scream of pain. She felt something emerge from her head, something ordinarily impossible, “am I in wonderland? Is the Queen coming out of my head? If so I shall beat her!” she thought angrily. She saw a long tan hand land on her stomach followed by another, both of them covered with markings she recognized yet did not at the same time. Something pushed out of her head and flipped to land on the other side of the room masked in shadow, almost invisible, but she did not recognize them.

Then the figure spoke in a voice she recognized, a deep and rich voice, one that should belong with the mangy cat that was her guide. “Hello there Alice…” he said as he grinned, and only the grin showed in the darkness nothing more, then his eyes. “Cheshire? Is that you? You grew much taller and different since last I saw you.” She stated. “And you haven’t changed at all.” He said his yellow eyes half closed. “Cheshire… am I in Wonderland?” she asked him. His grin grew bigger, “No Alice. I am in your world.” He told her. “Oh… well that is new, I didn’t think that was possible!” she exclaimed to him. He let out a deep throaty chuckle, “it usually is not.” He remarked as he stayed in the shadow.

“Oh do step out of the shadow! It is very rude!” she commanded him. With a sigh he did so, first a leg appeared, wearing a slightly curled and pointed shoe as well as long black pants, then another leg this one with a part of the pant leg missing, but it was held in place by string, his bony furless tail came next pierced with two gold rings with a thin gold chain held between them, dangling from the chain was a gold drop. Two big rings were also on his tail as well as two small studs with a half ring pierced on it. The familiar marking on his tail was where they were supposed to be.

The upper half of his body came next revealing he was wearing an odd sleeveless purple sleeveless shirt with two buckles on the bottom side undone, though it had straps on his chest and neck. The shirt was stitched on him. In fact from shoulder to shoulder he was stitched on; he also had a stitch on his bony hip! His face though was still masked in shadow, but she got a look of his face when a burst of lightening revealed it to her, Tattered long curling ears sprung from the top of his head both ears had multiple earrings on, the right ear seemed to have a small bite hole in it. He had a mangy disheveled black hair that reached the back of his neck and obviously had not been combed for a while. His eyes though held the same knowledge and cunning that he had when he was a cat though. Black where the white should be, and bright yellow irises, with cat slit pupils, his smile the same grin he had as a cat. “Why are you a human Cat?” she asked him. He frowned at her, “Why? Do you not like it?” he purred to her. “It is not that… but it is odd to see you as a human when you are a cat!” she explained, he crossed his tribal marked arms, “I am still a cat, just wearing human skin.” He commented. “Very well… well then why are you here? Are you going to take me to Wonderland?” she asked him with eagerness in her voice.

That caused the Cheshire to have a menacing look in his eyes, “No.” he replied. “…Well that is a shame. I do wanted to go there.” She said with a sigh casting her head down making the light brunette hair fall across her face covering her green eyes. “Well then why are you here?” she demanded him. “I am here to get rid of you.” He stated simply and calmly. “What? Why?!” she barked at him. “Why? WHY? Why do you think!” he roared at her. “I do not know, I have done nothing wrong!” she proclaimed shaking her head.

“Nothing wrong? You have shattered wonderland many times Alice! The first time was all right, indeed it was most invigorating, a change in the dullard life.” He told her firmly, “I forgave you for that one, after all you were quite delectably mad, the red in your eyes and when you went hysteric was a sight to behold, indeed it was riveting a true sight to behold!” he remarked. “The second time was wonderful as well. Seeing you collect the precious glass memories of yours and slicing through the pollution was delicious.” He commented, “and in all honesty it was not your fault that time. It was that doctors, the one who polluted your mind with his nonsense…” he commented with a shake of his head. “Then why are you going to get rid of me? I saved Wonderland time and time again!” she told him.

“After you destroyed it first Alice. After you decided that you liked it better destroyed and shattered, so you could kill the creatures again and again. Kill us again and again Alice.” He stated to her. “I have never killed you though.” She remarked to him a bit fearful. “Never killed me? NEVER KILLED ME?! I led you to the queen the first time you relapsed! Do you not remember what happened Alice?” he asked her. She started to shake remembering him about to tell her something when he got his head cut off by the red queen. She looked at the stitches on his body the one closest to his neck. “B-but that was not my fault! It was the Red Queen! She cut off your head!” she remarked to him. He sneered at her, “I was about to tell you that you and her are part of the same coin. So in fact you did kill me! You killed me Alice. No one else did. Oh yes I did indeed come back to life. Everything was fine and dandy, wonderfully fantastic even! But that only lasted nine months, not even a year. You relapsed again, and again I was your guide down the rabbit hole to fix the problem, and it worked yet again. I thought everything was going to be great! Wonderland was going to be wonderful again! But no that was not to be was it? No you decided to shatter the looking glass over and over! And no longer because of the past! Is that not right?” he asked her. She didn’t answer and just trembled. “W-who sent you? I thought you were my friend Cheshire…” she whispered. For a moment the Cat looked sad before his face hardened again. “The queen sent me, with the message ‘off with her head’. I am doing this for Wonderland as well, but also for myself.” He told her. “The queen but I killed her! Please don’t listen to her!” she begged him.

“Oh no you are thinking of the Red queen, while I am talking about the White. We all have had enough of your antics Alice.” He said as he started walking towards her. “So here is a riddle, one you should remember quite well. When is a croquet mallet like a billy club?” he asked her as he dragged something behind him, making a scraping sound behind him that followed his rhythmic steps. “When-whenever I want it to be.” She answered him. He let out a slight chuckle, “That was the answer then, here is the answer now.” He remarked as he raised a wicked flamingo croquet mallet and rested it on his shoulder. “It is whenever I Want it to be Alice.” He roared as he swung the croquet mallet at her head as she screamed in terror. Soon her screams where silenced as her head rolled to the ground like some wretched croquet ball. He stared at her head for a bit again a bit sorrowful, for all her faults she was the Alice he knew, “…Wonderland will need a new Alice… if only this one did not go faulty near the end… Ah well what was that cliché? Try, try again? We will need a new Alice for Wonderland to survive. It should not be too hard… after all, all that is required is her name be Alice… blue dress preferred, and maybe a tad… Mad.” He said with a wicked grin as walked down the asylums hall dragging his weapon behind him as he vanished outside. He looked at the Asylum obviously abandoned as he heard the laughter of teenagers in this foggy night. He saw a girl in an odd black dress with billowing sleeves pink flowers down the sleeves, a bald boy in a shirt with a black cloak, a girl in a red long tattered jacket with a hood, a blond haired girl with a blue corset top with a white billowing shirt and a long blue dress. A short girl with tan skin also wearing a corset top with a cream top. There were two others farther away but his cat eyes saw them as clear as day. Another girl wearing a burgundy dress as well as a black corset and spectacles on her face. The other wearing a shirt and jeans, his hair looked like that of a sheep but long, his skin like coal. The bald boy spotted him first, “Hey look there is someone here! Haha! I knew it!” he exclaimed absolutely eagerly as he ran up.

It was the last thing he would do as Cheshire raised his Croquet mallet once again and it was off with the lads head. The girl in the weird black dress whimpered and turned to run as the Cheshire vanished and appeared shortly behind her as he struck her head killing her instantly. The others fled to their vehicle. But the girl in the red was soon impaled by him through the gut before he went to the blond girl and snapped her neck. The other boy was soon killed by bludgeoning his face in. While the spectacled girl was killed by an impaled lung by the beak of the mallet. The last girl he got out a hedgehog ball from out of nowhere it seemed as he smacked it through her chest causing a gaping hole there.

Cheshire looked at his handy work and sighed, “…I forgot to ask them if any of their names were Alice…ah well…” he muttered as he walked away and headed to the town, his form soon shrinking to that of a mangy cats, the grin though was still plastered on his face.

Holding the knife she slowly made her way up to the bedroom on the second floor.
"Scarlet, is that you, dear?" A voice from inside.
"Yes, Grandmother. It is I." A dark chuckle as the door creaks open.
"Dear, what are you doing with that knife, you should really be careful. Don't want you hurting yourself."
"Oh. I wouldn't be the one getting hurt..." A laugh echos the room as she makes her way to the bed.
"Scar--"
Blood splatters.
The room darkens and a laugh spins around, slowly fading...

Scarlet shot into a sitting position, eyes wide and heavy breathing. She shook her head a few times, trying to rid of the laughter still spinning in her head.

"What... An odd dream." She rubs her eyes and stands, stretching a bit and makes her bed.

Before going to the bathroom, she kisses her two fingers and places them on a small picture of her and her grandmother, "I miss you Grandma."

She strips of her nightclothes and puts on her dress for the day and grabs her basket. She begins to bake some home goods for Granny to test taste. She waits, her house slowly starting to smell like fresh dough and sugar. She smiles as they finish baking, placing some baked goods in her basket, and wrapping them up in a red and white plaid cloth.

Pausing, she looks around for a moment, "Ah-ha." She giggles quietly, grabbing her red cape and tying it around her neck, putting her hood up.

She walks out of her hut and down the street. The sun was rising into the sky, and people walked among the streets, kids on bikes, riding to school.

"Another beautiful day." She smiles, joyfully looking around and skips merrily along to Granny's Kitchen where she works. She notices a man yelling at a mushroom and eventually stomping it down to size and running away.

"Oh dear." She says, worried. She runs after him, and when she catches up she realizes its the man who works at the tea shop across the street.

"Excuse me Mr. Dominic.... Sir..." She smiles, "I have noticed you seem stressed" -- she reaches into her basket and pulls out a fresh baked cookie, "I call them Wolfs Paw....They're quite delicious, if I do say so myself, Granny and I thought of them ourselves."

It was a normal day for Adolfius, a few piercing rays of sunlight managed to break through the green foliage of the trees. He looked around a small hatchet on his hip as he looked for the fallen tree from the storm a while back. He hadn’t had time to cut it until now. He knew the forest by heart, but today it seemed different… darker almost. He sniffed the air and frowned, it did not smell different… but something was amiss. With a growl of anger he bared his teeth as he stormed through the woods drawing his hatchet from the loop in his belt. He froze as he heard footsteps, not humans from the sound of them, but a large beasts. He let out a wolfish growl as he walked over it to find a black bear in his path that made the guttural roar of a challenge. Most people would be terrified and run.

Adolfius was not most people. He grinned an almost primal grin as he walked over to the bear. “So you are the lurker in my woods are you? Last chance. Get out.” He threatened the bear, as if it could understand the words of humans. The bear stares down at him and again makes a noise of challenge. Adolfius sighs as he changes the grip on his hatchet. “All right don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He growls out as the bear swept a mighty paw at him. Adolfius leapt out of the way as it hit one of the trees tearing the bark and wood with ease. Adolfius sliced the paw with his hatchet making it roar out in pain, as it yanked his paw back a pained look on its face. Adolfius shook his head, “Oh no I am not letting you go! You challenged me in my neck of the woods! You should have stayed in your part of the woods!” he growled at it as he sliced through the fur again. The bear swiped at him slashing his arm badly. He hissed in pain, but that seemed to make the boy angrier than anything else.
He jumped up and drew out his thin dagger as he stabbed it in the neck again and again. Trying to calm down, hearing the gurgles of the bear until finally the cries stop as blood oozed from the wound the bear stopped breathing as Adolfius cleaned his blade and hatchet on the fur. He looked at the dead bear a frown on his face as he contemplated what to do. He sighed and took out a gutting knife as he skinned the bears fur and hacked off the meat placing all he could in his large duffel bag. He’d dry the meat and cook some tonight. He tore out the fangs, knowing he could sell that and the fur. He then walked away the fallen tree forgotten as he left.

He reached an old log cabin and flung the fur and duffel bag on the floor as he prepared the pot for stew and in the fire pit that used to dry meat. He looked at the fur and got it prepared as he waited for the stew to cook. As he saw it bubble he threw in some wild potatoes, carrots and herbs a delicious smell wafted through the chimney and out to the air. He stirred it with a large wooden spoon and sighed, he had made too much again it seemed, he kept on forgetting his brother was dead. Though for the things he had done he knew he should have been killed, but still it was his brother damn it. Killed by a girl in a red cloak. He clenched his fists tightly before he released them and finished the stew putting out the fire as he ladled some of the stew into his bowl and hungrily ate it slurping up the remains in his bowl and getting more.

By his fourth bowl he stopped and looked at the left overs. He knew the stew would last a while and it would take a while so for now he needed to go to town and sell the fur and fangs. He looked at his reflection in a shattered mirror and frowned, he was caked in blood and wearing his skins. Unacceptable in the town.

He got his spare outfit, a short jacket, black pants and black boots as he walked to the lake nearby. He stripped revealing some markings on his hips as he also took out his piercing on his lip. He dove in and cleaned the blood off of him and washed his black hair his eyes closed. He looked handsome, but in a dangerous animal sort of way. He then got out and dressed as he went to his out wearing no shirt as he grabbed the bear skin and fangs making sure he concealed the hole in the neck with a strong needle and thread as he cleaned the fangs of their blood. He grabbed a leather necklace with a fang of a predator and walked out of his cabin stuffing the fur in another bag. He whistled a song as he left and put his hair up into a spiky ponytail. He made sure he was presentable before he entered the town gates. He mainly sold wood here, but he also sometimes sold his game. Other than that he remained in the woods, in a self-sufficient life style, though some thought he shouldn't live such a solitary life style this young. Obviously he ignored those idiots… where were they when his brother was murdered? They hadn’t take an interest in him until then after all, they are afraid all of them were afraid… after all who wouldn’t be afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. Or at least the younger brother of him. “I suppose I have his role to fill now… why can’t another in the family take his role?” he thought to himself with a sigh, he just wanted to live in his woods and hunt without having anyone bother him. He walked in the town almost sauntering in with a wolf confidence.

Swish - swish - swish -

The semi-striped tail swung itself back and forth and back and forth - a slow, repetitive motion that was almost hypnotizing in its regularity and timing.

The tail was attached to a sturdy tabby red body with semi-stocky legs, semi-short fur and rounded paws. On top of the body was a cat's head - also tabby in coloring - with the customary M on the forehead, a rounded face, large, circular eyes that glowed amber in the late afternoon light. Faint, white whiskers, almost invisible in the sunlight, twitched slightly whenever the cat was inclined to move her head to catch a scent.

Poppy - no last name - her previous owner had neglected to give her one - had been sitting on the welcome sign at the entrance to the town since lunch (which she had taken at around one in the afternoon, a tasty treat of raw rabbit). The sign was a bit thicker than normal - almost as if it had been made that way to accommodate her - and she had had no trouble either getting on the sign of staying up there once she had made it up - she was after all, a cat.

But, apparently, not a normal one, because on her hind feet, she was wearing two small, combat boots, pulled up to her knee, and tied in a tiny little knot around her neck was a pale cream sack, about two inches across. It was currently empty - a surprising phenomenal for this cat.

Normally, Poppy would have spent her afternoon hours hunting - looking for something tasteful and rare that she could turn into money - or in the madhouse, trying to convince the patients there that they didn't need any of the land they had - of course not, why would they? They were living in a madhouse after all, so it would be so much better not to put that land to waste and sign it off to Poppy - don't worry, she'd take good care of it for you - will you get it back? Of course, she'll add it into the contract after you sign. You won't have to worry about a thing.

But that wasn't for today.

No, today was different - today, Poppy had a weird feeling - a feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was a feeling that had started yesterday when she'd come back from her daily hunts. Something dangerous had been prowling the woods - not just yesterday, but she felt in her bones, also that day. Something very dangerous - something that she would prefer not to face deep in the woods - better to take it on here in town, where there were certain rules it had to abide by -

Because, of course, Poppy knew who the intruder in her territory was.

Adolfius.

A pathetic wolf who - contrary to what most of the townspeople believed - was not the actual Big Bad Wolf - no, he was his little brother - trying to fill in the role his brother had left conveniently vacant when he'd managed to get his head chopped off.

He had hunted in her territory before, but Poppy hadn't minded then - not today. Today was the day that she made her territory boundaries clear.

Oh - and here he comes.

As Adolfius approached, Poppy jumped lightly off the sign and landed gracefully back on the hard packed dirt. As she did so, she grew taller until she was a bit over five feet in the air, her fur condensing into strawberry-blond hair cut short around her ears. The cream sack dropped until it was tied in a belt around her waist, and her black boots shifted until they fit her new - human feet. Her skin warped and then turned tan, covered in a blue tank top and light blue shorts.

She stepped forward in the road - so that she was now in Adolfius' way and smiled at him.

"Hello, Adolfius. How have you been doing?"

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home."

Soft murmurs exited the red head's lips as she stood in the doorway of her small house, a dazed look in her blue orbs. Her small hands were gripping the porch railing tightly as her body swayed back in forth. The The large mastiff dog besides her looked bewildered, after a moment or so he gently nuzzled her side. The small action snapped Dorothy, or as she preferred to call herself Dorthea, out of her trance. "Oh Toto, how did I get out here?",she asked the canine, gently scratching his back. The dog could only let out a small bark in reply, only understanding his owner was disoriented. "I must have ate to many poppies before bed again",she said with a sigh. The fictional girl had the habit of eating poppy's, sniffing them, and drinking them before she went to sleep at night. They gave her pleasant dreams and differed her from her hellish nightmares of her past. Reaching down, she picked up her basket and hooked it in the crook of her arm before adjusting the AK 47 on her back, placing several cartridges of ammo in her basket. Opening a small box that rested beside the door, she lifted out a saddle like object with two large sacks on either side before placing it across Toto. Dorothy was the best Mail girl at the post office due to the fact that she passed every house in Weathersby whether she was told or not.

"Come on Toto, we have to go down the yellow brick road!"

Her voice was cheerful and her smile perk as she locked the door behind her. In her mind, a glossy golden rode lay right in front of her porch steps. The bricks smooth with not a blade of grass daring to grow between them. She gently tugged on the dog's spiked collar, gesturing for him to follow down the imaginary path. A soft tune reverberated in her throat as she walked down the road, Toto following faithfully beside her. She stopped first at the post office that rested only a little ways down from her house, picking up her assigned letters and packages before setting out on her journey. "Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds sing",she hummed as she skipped down the unseen path, avoiding apple trees and heading towards her first assigned destination.

Alice gritted her teeth slightly, annoyed by her brother Eric and his annoying voice. He had been talking for the whole freaking car ride to Weathersby. And all he sadly talked about was the murder of Alice's best friend, David. Not to mention the once and awhile running over of animals, but both really pissed her off. Alice was going to snap, and she knew it.

The blond bit her lip, keeping her from screaming and yelling. Finally, her brother switched and talked about the mangy cat he saw up ahead. It was going into town, and Alice began to worry about the poor creature. What had it ever done to deserve death? The poor thing even looked starving!

"Eric! No, don't!" Alice screamed to her brother, only believing it was t late.

"Too late!" He screamed back, going at full speed to hit the poor cat.

Finally, Alice snapped and yanked out a pen. Stabbing her brother in the eye hard enough for it to go into his brain and damage it. Screaming, her brother spun the car out of control, barely missing the car. Quickly though, Alice opened the door and threw herself out of the car. The car hit a building in the town of Weathersby,cursing her brother inside.

Alice was horrified, yet looked over to the mangy cat. "Hey there, you okay? That mean man didn't hurt you did he? I'm Alice... Come here kitty, I'll take you to my house so you can rest up. You much be hungry as hell." Alice said with a smile, stumbling as she got up and walked to the car, opening the truck and taking out the bags of clothing and pills.

Willians was humming lightly , a rather pleasant grin on his lips and his body bouncing slightly as he sang along , using the sounds of dirt being torn out of the earth by his sharpened shovel as the beat to a rather twisted version of 'london bridge is falling down'. "Build it up with flesh and bone , flesh and bone , flesh and bone , build it up with flesh and bone , my dear lady~." Normally Willian would not be singing such a odd toon , less the town folks find him odd and he find his disguise useless by being watched by the whole town.

Shoving his shovel in to the new six foot pit he leaned his chin on it and crossed his legs , inhaling the air with his nose and tilting his head back before quickly losing his grin. "Six humans , one bear....busy morning....and what is that?" Willians sniffed at the air again and hopped out of his pit , dusting off his hands on his leather work apron and putting his shovel on to his shoulder "A new cat? No...he smells....like....a book? Ink and words of death and rhyme...what a odd thing. Still , his actions will keep me fed for days to come , so I shall give him his time for now."

Giving a light sigh Willians looked at the wheel barrel full of dirt and his new grave before groaning. "I'll dig the other five tonight , less work when I can actually strech out of this 'suit'." dumping the wheel barrels load of cold earth outside the church walls quickly he then whent inside and too the basement. A steralized place now , new flooring and lights , tools and the stench of fermaldahide , a needed tool given this places function. He was always cold in the basement , be it from the restless spritis of Willians 'meals' or just the large corpse fridge keeping the dead fresh tell there funerals , graves or cremations.

While normally Willians would take a moment to breath in his new home (he had a actual bedroom in the church that the priest had given him before he was....the 'new' him) there would be no time. One of those six coming in was close to the church and the others would be coming in soon. Putting his leather digging apron on a rack he quickly when't to putting his dirty work clothes in a hamper , stripped bare as he made his way to the shower. A odd place for the shower to be but keeping it below ground in the basement was the only way to keep the water pipes away from the graveyard.

After a quick (and cold) shower Willian dried himself off and put in some new clothes. A white dress shirt with the arms rolled up , a vest and tie. Dress jeans and black leather loafers to make himself look professional. After the clothes came the disinfectant for his arms up to the elbow. He could smell it now , it would be chalked up to a freak car accident , the others? Animal attack. For what ever reason the people in this town never seemed to think the deaths were odd. Always a 'stray bear' where 'a big wolf' would be more apropriete. A 'car accident' when 'a mad man with a mallet' would have been accurate.

Willians made a mental note to welcome the new persons to town , both that cat and the girl that was near his sixth corpse , for now tho....work.

As another day rang true in the small town of Weathersby Beauty woke to the newly freshened scent of morning. The very air amidst her small home seemed to quake with anticipation of the awakening woman.

Long chestnut brown hair had been perfectly sprawled across the pillow which her head rested upon, not a strand out of place, not a piece frizzled. Golden hued eye lids slowly fluttered open to seek sight of her room, a room which had no much to it. As the blurred means of still sleepy sights vanished Beauty was the first to witness the glorious vision of herself.

This room of her was not made of normal materials, and it was small almost too small, it held a single bedroom with enough room for a bed, a dresser, a closet, and a vanity set – there was a restroom with a small toilet, sink, and soaker tub - her kitchen was smaller than the rest room with only a bar styled fridge, a single cabinet, and microwave – The living room held a single love seat, and large book shelf, no tv, no means of entertainment, nothing. The strangest thing you would find about this house was the walls – they were made of mirror. The ceiling, which was also mirrored. The floors, you guessed it – mirrored. In fact, any hard surface in this home was made of a mirrors material, even her tub.

As Beauty went about her morning routines – brushing her hair, each section with a hundred strokes, and her teeth – each tooth 50 swipes followed by whitening, flossing, and mouth wash, Her face outlined perfectly with the most flattering of makeup, her body adorned in the finest threads Earth had to offer, and of course – admiring herself for what seemed far too long.

Quickly Beauty threw on her pea-coat and made way for the Library.

The sound of very high heels clicking on the pavement as she walked – it wasn’t too far, and for some reason Beauty had never learned how to drive, although she could ride the shit out of a horse.

With each shop she passed Beauty couldn’t help but look at her reflection, she couldn’t help but spread those ruby red pouty lips into a smile – if only to witness the stunning picture she got back from it – but as she passed InsaniTEA her fragile little knuckles tapped on the glass, looking for Dominic, with the man seeming to be absent from his shop Beauty continued on her way.

She was so wrapped up in her never ending approval of her own image Beauty failed to notice the men staring at her in awe, and the women shamefully looking away from her in self-disgust.

--Time Lapse—

“Only a woman of Beauty can see true meaning in the word love, only a woman of true Beauty will find happiness with a man filled with hideous nature – both on the inside and out. Don’t you see? I am the creation, the meaning, and the hope behind my name… So many wish to be what I am both on the inside and out – I mean I don’t want to flatter myself – but I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I am the perfect woman – I can’t deny that statement.” Beauty took a breath of air, it seemed as if she was going to let one of the visitors speak – but no, not yet. “It’s much like the embalmer – what was his name again? Ah! It doesn’t matter – no one in this town will ever view him the way I do. That is what makes ME better than them.”

With those last words spoke Beauty waved her hand in the general direction of nowhere but the significance behind it meant the rest of the women in the world. “Please do have a good day!” She cheerfully spoke before leaning over the counter which she stood behind and pushed those lips to the man she was speaking with – his face instantly went beat red as he seemed to lose his track of thought.

Once the man stammered out of the Library Beauty went back to filing her nails “Moron.” She spoke softly under her breath while vicious eyes scanned the tabled and shelves before her.

Dominic should have been happy, after all the the sky was a bright yellow and the trees were purple, but yet it was sad. Or rather he was sad. Why did that caterpillar have to torment him so. He was going insane again, the world was starting to spin and there was a constant ringing in his ears. It was just loud enough to annoy him but to soft for him to pinpoint where it was coming from, why wouldn't it just leave him alone! Then there was the humming, it sounded like words. Wait. It was words. Words that were coming behind him.

The man slowly turned around, his cane dragging against the pavement, and his head was lulled to the side. Almost as if his neck was broken. “Why hello there Scarlet. It is good to see that you look normal today, your coat is such a cheery cheery red. At least you aren't a blue caterpillar. You are not the blue caterpillar are you? Of course not, he would have had a hard time to look like you. How are you on this fine day Miss Scarlet?” The tea shop owner asked in rather wispy voice, leaning on his cane to prevent himself from falling down.

His cloudy blue eyes scanned over the girl noticing the treat in her hand. With his white gloved hand he took the cookie and grinned as he brought it to his lips. He examined the treat, wondering if it said 'Eat Me' anywhere, it did not, which was fine. He took a big bite out of the cookie and smiled. “These are very good Miss Scarlet. I wish we sold them in my shop, I am sure the customers would love them. Do you like tea Miss Scarlet? I would love to repay this treat with one of my own. But you would have to tell me when you would be coming over. I have no idea when I should open the shop you see, so I open whenever I want. In fact I am on my way to open it right now Miss Scarlet. Would you like to join me? Or are you busy at the moment?”

Dominic seemed really out of it, and slightly menacing in his deranged state. But he was not a a threat, not yet. Things had not gotten bad enough for him to be a threat. He was honestly just confused and really out of it.

She watches Dominic for a moment, realizing that he was in one of his dazes again and it took him a good moment to realize she was there.

"How are you on this fine day, Miss Scarlet? He continues to ramble on about a blue caterpillar -- Dominic always had a strange way of talking, but Scarlet couldn't help but giggle, "I am doing great, and no... I'm afraid I'm not a blue caterpillar, Sir," She says, her voice light and airy, "I would love to join you for a cup of tea. I don't have to be at work quite so early." She smiles, Granny could wait and she normally opened the Bakery on her own time.

The town seemed to bustle as Beauty walked by to the Library, and she waved to Dorthea, the mail lady. She notices a man walking into town who she believed was Adolfius, he didn't seem to like Scarlet too much. She shrugs off the thought and looks back towards Dominic.

"Maybe I could teach you how to bake a few goods for your tea shop, I'm sure your costumers would gobble them up." She giggles, folding the cloth back over the baked goods, "And if you ever want any without charge you can always visit me."

She realizes that she is rambling and becomes very shy and blushes -- it's not that she was flirting, she just was always told by her Grandmother that rambling was considered rude and can bore a person, also the fact she became embarrassed very easily.

Adolfius glared at the cat as it slowly turned human, “Poppy… I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but I don’t like to lie.” He stated keeping his anger in check as he shifted the bag on his back. “What do you want now cat?” he asked her with a glare. He had bad blood between her and him, they both lived in the forest and both had territories that overlapped. “If it is nothing important then may I suggest you take yourself somewhere else? Like Dominic’s shop and get some cream? I am busy.” He remarked calmly as he shifted his weight on his feet, half closing his deep black eyes. He was used to these confrontations since his brother was killed, getting challenges to his family’s hunting ground left and right. He had driven most off and killed the intruders that did not, but he could not keep all his families land, he was only still a young man, a young wolf, who had the potential to be alpha one day soon, but not now. And so Poppy had claimed some wrongful, no contract had been signed nor had he given any land willingly. He was furious about all of that. His family had been there for generations!

“first that bitch in red and then this annoying feline…” he thought to himself angrily. His grip on his bag tightened before he relaxed his muscles, no need to get all worked up all over a feline. He moved to brush past her, deciding she was not worth his breath. He knew he would challenge her once in the woods, but here in the town he abided to the rules set in place, if he didn’t or if she didn’t then they would expose themselves as not human and none of them wanted that…

Cheshire had been walking all night, vanishing in the shadows and reappearing the moonlight. Only a few times did his grin fade away, he worried about Wonderland, some of the characters had gone missing, First the Hatter and then shortly before he left the Queen of White had informed him that Caterpillar had left, Wise Caterpillar, troubling news indeed. All their hope rested on finding a new Alice, finding a new catalyst for Wonderland. He let a human sigh, “A most disturbing situation this is…” he muttered, “Wonderland in need of a new Alice, that could cause permanent changes for all of us… it could either become a blessing or a curse…then again they are one and the same for Wonderland. Where nothing is what it is and everything is what it isn’t.” he stated to himself. He looked at the sky above his head and grinned, “I wonder what the changes shall be? Shall a new queen be born? Or will she make the Duchess a cannibal again?” he thought as he growled happily.

In the morning he reached the front gates of the town walking purposefully on the road, no need for him to be afraid no cars were nearby, or so he thought, he turned his head as he saw a car roaring at him, his eyes widened only slightly as it charged closer to him. He sat down almost challenging it as he saw a girl take out a pen and stabbed the boy driver in the eye with it making the Cat grin, “the saying is true after all… the pen is mightier than the sword.” he thought to himself growling happily as he stayed seated calmly his tail behind him as the girl darted out of the car and ran up to him asking him if he was all right. He nodded that he was indeed fine, after all being run over may have killed him but he doubted it would be as painful as his head chopped off.

He remembered one instance when he was a head without a body, but never until then was he a body without a head. When she offered to take him home he stared at the car and saw a disturbing sight, it seemed there had been another victim stuck to the wheels. Cheshire ignored the girl for a bit and walked over seeing white fur and the ears of a white rabbit. His tail wagged furiously as his claws showed. He hissed in anger, it may not be the white rabbit, but it bore a very strong resemblance to him. In fact he thought he saw a gear of a pocket watch stuck in the pulp. He leapt over to the hole in the building and stalked over to the injured boy; if he had fur it would be sticking out in anger. He walked in the shadow that seemed to cut his body in half.

He raised his paw his claws gleaming as he slashed the face of the boy deeply, more deeply than a regular cat should be able to do. He gave the fool one last glare as he leapt back out and went back to the girl, he sat down near her and stared at her the markings on his body seemed to fit him perfectly, though on any other cat they would look ridiculous or fake, he also still had on his hoop earring in this form the only jewelry on him in fact. He wanted to ask her if her name was Alice, but held his tongue. “it’d be most foolish to talk in this form to her. I would be hunted down and experimented on.” he thought to himself as he made up his mind. He was certain he would see this girl again. After all if she had a house here than she would be traveling in the town now and then. He nodded goodbye to her and nudged her hand as a thank you for saving his life. He was a polite cat after all. Then he sprinted away revealing the odd tuft of fur on the end of his tail.

Poppy listened quietly as Adolfius talked to her - his voice angry. Not that that was anything unusual. Adolfius was almost always angry in some way or another. It was one of his special little traits - almost everyone in the town had them. As he finished with an insulting insinuation that she was just an ordinary cat out looking for some tasty milk, Poppy wondered what the best way to proceed - and win - her little game would be. There were several options open to her.

She could let him past - he knew what she was there for - and wait for the day when they finally fought it out somewhere in the woods. One of the them would be ripped to shreds and left for the beasts to get fat on so that the other could later hunt them down and take them as their prize. Most likely - though she didn't like to admit it - it would be her in that case. Though she could fight, her skills were best suited for hunting, not for combat. Adolfius was much stronger than she was and probably had greater endurance as well, being a wolf.

She could slink away from the challenge - go for poison and stealth and eventually kill Adolfius when he was wasn't paying attention - but that meant she would have to tread carefully around him for some while to get him to let his guard down and it would reduce the amount of prey she could take from the forest, which would mean a loss in profit for some while - something that she absolutely could not stand for. Loss in profit would mean a loss in power - and that was unacceptable.

Or, she could play it coy and test the waters just a bit more.

"Adolfius wait!" She called as he brushed by her. She looked down at her boots and then up at Adolfius, putting on the most sympathetic, sincere mask she had - it was quite convincing. She as a class A actor after all. "I -" She hesitated and then went on, "I visited your brother's - grave -" She lowered her eyes. "I really am - I really am sorry." Poppy bent at the waist, bowing low to the wolf. "I take back my claims on your land. And I hope you'll forgive my intrusion."

Once again, Poppy paused and then said, "But - I hope - that you'll consider -" She stopped again, searched for a word, "- A truce? If we can share the forest - I need something to keep living, no matter how small - and I can help you with your business. I can cash your prey for you if you wish - I am more accepted in this town than you are. And I can help you buy items, find things - whatever it is you need!"

She paused and then lowered her golden eyes to the ground again, waiting patiently for Adolfius' answer.

As soon as the odd cat nodded that he was fine, Alice smiled. Her blond hair getting in the way of her red eye but not nothing her completely. Alice slowly began to notice the strange markings on the cat's body, finding it a bit strange he matched Cheshire the Cat from a game she had played not long ago. Slowly, Alice dismissed the thought as the cat went over to Eric, slashing her brother much deeper then a normal cat. Alice frowned a bit in displeasure, thoughts clouding her mind as she thought of this cat as Cheshire.

'How silly can one be?' Alice thought quietly to herself, knowing Cheshire the Cat was not real, even though she'd love for him to be reality. She was always a huge fan of Cheshire, swearing one day he'd be a human and she would marry him and have his children. Such an unrealistic goal that even her mother would say so. Alice was snapped out of the train of thought seeing the cat stare at her, markings looking perfect.

Alice smiled as the odd cat nudged her hand as a thank you and took off. Alice followed the cat, only half way into town before noticing she was about to pass her house. With a slight laugh, Alice noticed her two adorable kittens staring at her though the window. "Alright alright, I'll come in! Strewberry, you better not have peed anywhere else but your litter box. Same for you Blackberry!" Alice mumbled, opening the door to her house and going inside.

Not bothering to look at how her parents decorated the fairly large and elegent home, Alice left the door to her house open as she knew she would be walking back outside in a moment. Colors bursting in her sight, Alice grabbed the chalk and paint to paint her door and decorate her sidewalk with. The smells were amazing, and Alice didn't worry much about people asking what she was doing. Walking out with her kittens, who both looked the color of what they were named after (due to Eric dyed them).

Strewberry meowed loudly, laying on the black cat Blackberry, while of course Blackberry struggled to get the large Strewberry colored cat off. "Stop it you two, be nice." Alice warned, only to have her kittens stop fighting and start running after the odd cat who seemed to be faster. Both the kittens stopped though, within 2 yards of Alice. Turning around, they ran back to her, one trying to write with chalk in it's mouth. Alice struggled to take the chalk away from the kitten, deciding to help it so it would let go.

Alice guided the cat as it wrote Alice's name slowly and messy. As soon as Alice was done with guiding the small animal, she began to paint the door a meadow green at the bottom. Alice took in the rich smell of the green, her mind wondering to the beautiful scene this color would be in. Both her cats just sighed, walking over to the grassy lawn and staring impolitely at people.

Alice though, paid no mind to the provoking kittens as she painted a scene of a meadow by the beach. It looked wonderful, and it almost smelt the way Alice always smelt things without her pills. "Perfect!" Alice shouted happily, laying down on the lawn with her kittens cuddling with her, only after locking her door of course. It was important that no one went inside the house, due to her strange Wonderland obsession.

"Maybe I should go visit someone to take care of my brother... Nah, they can find him without my help. We crashed into a building, how hard is it to see that?" Alice thought aloud, amusing herself slightly. Her kittens just purred loudly while cuddling more into the young girl, making her giggle. "You cats are strange indeed." Alice whispered, finally drifting off into a sleep on her lawn.

Willian snapped upright , licking a small bit of blood from his lip as he spunned around , smiling and holding his bloodied gloves up to the old male priest who had come down from the church to his work area to visit. Blocking the view of one of the bodies that had a few tubes running in it , some pumping fluid in and others draining blood out.

Willian walked behind the nervouse priest who turned and sighed before talking. "Thank you Willian. I know what you do for these poor people is needed for their grave rights...but I simply haven't the stomach you possess." Willian laughed inside , maby the idea of his work was getting to him or perhaps it was the fact that he had just finished eating the heart of his current 'customer' not that anyone would find out , closed casket , small ceromony , one man grave for a small town person who was 'mauled by a bear'/

After chatting with the priest a bit and reluctantly eating some human food with him in the form of a peanut butter sandwitch he excused himself stating he was busy and when't back to work. It was awhile before he was done and more importantly full but the work was steady , one particular body he had put in the corpse freezer as that one was to be creamated , special draining required not to mention no one could tell if parts when't missing on those ones.

After cleaning up and making sure everything would be ready for the ceromony tomarrow WIllian finnaly let his dark little sanctuary as he when't outside and breathed in the air. His eyes shooting open before looking around and then sniffing again. "That is...drying paint...baked goods and...oh my , Dominic is opening his teahouse. What a treat."

Deciding that would be his first stop Willian fixed his tie , rolled his sleeves up and whistled lightly as he walked down the street towards the hatters shop , waving and greeting towns folk politely as he passed them. As well as trading a odd glance with a pair of odd colored kittens sleeping on a girl. Willian could only think that the cats wondered what he was while Willian wondered if Dominic had started spiking his tea to make Willian as mad as him.

Shaking it off Willian stopped infront of both Dominic and the small baker girl. Giving a polite nod to the two and a charming smile Willian put his hands behind his back. "Good evening you two , I hope you don't mind but I happen to come across the most delightfull smell and thought I should investigate. I see my nose has lead me to your wonderfull little shop of madness and fine teas mr.Dominic." Willian gave a light laugh , it was clear he had just finished work , if his clothes did not give him away then the stench of disinfectant on his pockets and arms would.

"Hmm, lesse, lesse",Dorothy, or as she preferred, Dorthea murmured as she walked down the imaginary rode, her sparkling red shoes clicking slightly against the marigold yellow bricks. A sound that only she heard. Currently she was rifling through her mailbag, trying to figure out which house she was coming across next. It was a bit hard for her to remember sometimes due to her disorder and constant use of poppies. Glancing up slightly, she couldn't help stopping in front of house that she had seen many times before but never delivered to. Her attention soon shifted to the sight of a young girl sleeping on the lawn, snuggled up with two cats. Toto let out a low growl, a slight amount of drool dripping from his large fangs. "Heel Toto",she said softly, causing the dog to pull back slightly, his ears and posture relaxing. After a minute or so more of going through her bag, she pulled out a letter concealed in a bright blue envelope. "Must be new" She found this exciting since she loved meeting new people, in fact she met them everyday. This was due to her constant bouts of amnesia that she was quite frankly unaware of.

Slowly, she stepped off of the familiar brick path, her feet hitting the cool grass of the yard. Instantly she felt woozy, the road calling her to get back on, to complete her never ending quest. She approached the girl, letter in hand and debating whether she should wake her or not. "

"Why don't you you wake her by shoving the letter down her throat and scalping her pretty little head?"

She turned her head quickly,looking for someone, anyone who could have possibly said that. It was a whisper, something that one would say quietly into a strangers ear before running off." Strange",she mumbled, tapping her chin lightly with the end of her finger."Oh well" With a shrug, she gently lay the letter on the girl's chest before walking back onto her path. She felt instantly relieved, like a great pressure was lifted off her shoulders. "C'mon Toto, lets continue! Yosh! " She pumped her fist in the air slightly before walking back down the path, the mastiff practically glued to her side and growling at everyone except her.

Dominic pouted when Scarlet giggled at him, how would she like to be harassed by a blue caterpillar. It wasn't much fun, especially when it didn't believe you were who you claimed to be. But he couldn't blame her, after all she hadn't seen the caterpillar, hadn't heard how rude it was to him. “It is good that you are doing well, even better that you aren't a blue caterpillar.” A wide grin spread slowly across Dominic's face when he heard that the young woman could join him for a spot of tea. “Marvelous! That is excellent news Miss Scarlet.” He started away, his cane tip tip tapping down the pavement.

The twenty one year old stumbled along the sidewalk, swaying from side to side. As they passed the library he paused for a moment, before he shrugged his shoulders and tapped on the window with the tip of his cane. He wanted to give the librarian inside a heads up that he was going to be at his shop if she was interested in coming. If not well it was no problem, no problem at all. He tipped his black top hat at her, he did hope she heard and saw her, but he must be going. He was running late, his clock had said so, but it was jammed after all. He must remember to butter the gears when he got back. As the two continued on their way he noticed a rugged looking young man headed to town, it must be the local woodsmen, he couldn't remember his name, nor could he remember the last time the man was in his shop. Dominic must remember to invite him sometime, tea was always better with company.

Dominic turned his attention back to Scarlet, giving her a toothy grin. “Teach me how to make those wolf paws? That would be marvelous, but I don't think Granny would be to pleased with Miss Scarlet if she found out. Why her face may turn scarlet in anger if you did that my dear. But maybe sometime I will take you up on the offer. After all people can get bored with my March Hares.” He said, slowing down his pace so the young lass could keep up with him.

The tea shop owner frowned a bit as the chatty girl suddenly stopped talking. He wished she wouldn't do that, it brought the crazy colors back, along with the loud voice of the caterpillar yelling at Dominic before the creature was squished. The lack sound caused the young man to stop, his body trembling as he turned toward the young miss. “Why Miss Scarlet, your face is quite scarlet. Is that why you stopped chirping? I wish you wouldn't do that...I feel like I may slip away if I don't anchor myself on something, and your words were enough for me to grab on.” The man said before looking at his shop, it wasn't too far away. “But if you wish to walk in silent, I suppose we can make it there. Dory will be there to chitter away the silence when we get inside.” The man said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple key, it was rather old fashioned looking, though the shop itself wasn't that old.

Dominic was turning the key inside the lock when he heard someone approach, a frown appeared on his face as he smelled the stench of disinfectant. It had to be Mister Willan then, he always had that smell clinging to him. “Good morning Mister Willian. And I am just about to open up is you don't mind. I don't know what you are smelling though...unless I left the March Hares in the oven too bake while I was away...very possible...very possible indeed. And my shop isn't mad...it is just different.” He sounded a little defensive, but honestly he wasn't offended. After all he did name his shop InsaniTEA for a reason. The young man turned the key in the lock and quickly opened the door, turning on the lights.

The lights reflected off the checkered floor, it was really the only fixture that remained constant. The way the black and white tiles was done gave it a bit of an illusion, like the floor was rising and falling even though it was completely flat. The tables today were shaped like the card suits, one was a bright red heart, one a red diamond, a black club, and last but not least a black spade. The backs of the chairs were shaped like playing card, and the teapots were decorated to match the theme.

“Here we are.” The oven in the back went off and Dominic let out a laugh. “I did leave my hares in the oven!” He clapped his hands in delight, it meant that he didn't have to do much more the frost them. “If you want one you will have to wait, I need to put the frosting on, but I can make you some tea if you two would like.”

Adolfius paused as he heard Poppy call out his name his black eyes still cold. When she mentioned his brothers grave he smirked, “My brother grave you say? Study up a bit more next time Poppy. My dear Brother doesn’t have a grave. Nice Acting though. Maybe you should try that on Dorthea or Belle. I am sure if you compliment Belle over and over she will give up her land.” He commented. “As for the truce… if you were sincere I’d take it, but seeing your track record with me, I highly doubt you are. Stay out of my land Poppy.” He told her as a warning. “Plus you seem to be living just fine, your coat proved that to me, you are well fed and can take care of yourself. As for helping me with my business… no, I like working solo.” He commented.

He turned to her a smirk on his face, “But thanks for saying you are sorry about my brothers’ death. Even if you’re insincere about it.” He told her as he shifted the weight of the bag again. “Now then I have to sell this.” He said as he patted the bag. “Same time tomorrow?” he asked her, wondering if she was gonna bother him tomorrow. He respected Poppy as an enemy, he did have honor like that. For example if she was about to be run over by a car in her cat form he’d help her…. Or laugh about it, he didn’t know which, it rightly depended on his mood. He frowned as he heard a car hit a building and saw a girl run out to another mangy cat. He turned to Poppy, “A friend of yours?” he asked her calmly, the cat was… strange it didn’t smell normal. He watched as the cat ran off a weird grin on its face.

Cheshire ran past a group of three people, a girl in a red cloak, a wretched smelling man who bore the scent of death and… He actually had to turn his head, “Hatter?” he thought to himself before he continued on into an abandoned alleyway, “was that really Hatter?” he thought to himself before he shook his head. “possibly but uncertain…in Wonderland it’d be easy to tell, if he said yes he wouldn’t be the Hatter.” he thought to himself as he stretched out. His body began to elongate slowly with cracking noises as his form shifted. He kept in a hiss off pain as he started to stand up, his body now changing into a humans’. His cat ears shrunk and moved until they were regular human ears, if a bit pointed near the end. His tail completely vanished as he took a few steps wobbly to get used to not using his tail as a balance.

He rolled his shoulders to get the kinks out as he took a tattered jacket someone had thrown away and put it on covering his markings and the fact that his clothes were stitched onto him. He walked to the end of the alleyway and jumped on top of the wall looking around to see if anyone was there. Seeing nobody he leapt down and walked around acting like he just entered the town from the side entrance. He walked around giving a wide berth to the girl with the mastiff, he wasn’t really that afraid of dogs… but it was an instinct thing. He heard a mew of another cat and walked over to see a normal sight, well in Wonderland it would be, a pink cat and a blue cat, they reminded him of himself a long time ago… well if they were one striped cat. He saw the girl who saved him sleeping on the grass and blinked, “Well she most certainly is carefree…” he muttered to himself with his eyes half closed.

Scarlet watched as Dominic stumbled to and fro as they made their way to the tea shop. Scarlet was much interested in his hat though, he seemed to wear the same one every day, she chewed on her lower lip, and she had never seen him take it off either. She shrugs and listens to him as he speaks to Willian.

"Good day, Mr. Willian." She smiles and does a small curtsy.

They continue on their way as Dominic opens the door to his small tea shop, the sight always amazed her. It seemed as if the floor was slowly moving up and down, and the chairs were oddly shaped, like spades and diamonds. She loved the originality of it though, it made her giggle with delight, as if she had entered a completely different world from her own. Sometimes she had wondered if Mr. Dominic was from a different world, for he did act strange... But then again, almost everyone acted strange in this town, it was something that was a perk. She smiles and takes off the hood of her cape and rests the basket of baked goods down on one of the tables.

"So what kind of tea will you be making today, Mr. Dominic?" She asks with a giggle and all of a sudden there is a ding heard from the kitchen and he exclaims the Hares are done as he prances back.

She follows him to the counter and leans against it, the counter was a smaller version of the floor, tiled, yet the tiles were black and red. She waits for Dominic to return, the smell of the baked goods making her smile.

Listening carefully as Adolfius' talked, Poppy made a mental note to try her compliments on Belle - Adolfius was right. Knowing Belle, she could probably get whatever possessions she had left in the world. "Yes, please," Poppy began to say at the comment about the same time tomorrow, but Adolfius was still talking.

As he finished, looking at something behind her, Poppy turned to stare at the cat, catching only a slight glimpse of it before it ran out of sight. It was skinny and had raggedly fur - she disapproved immensely, for two reasons - one, cats were supposed to be clean creatures, and whoever this - thing was - he was ruining the reputation of all cats. And two - another cat in town. It made her slightly nervous - more predators - she'd already had enough to deal with as it was. She didn't want to have to chase out someone else when she wasn't even done chasing out Adolfius.

Still, I can deal with him - her - whatever - later. Poppy turned back to Adolfius, looking up at him. "I - " She sighed and then said, gently, softly, "Everyone has a grave - everyone - even if it's only the place where they died." Poppy turned her head slightly, looking into the distance. "I visited it - " She shook her head. "I really - truly - am sorry for his death. And I am sincere about the truce." She looked up into Adolfius' eyes willing the seriousness to come out. "I don't want to fight with you. I'm not having any trouble at the moment but - I don't want to have trouble. I don't want to get into fights." She paused - she needed something to close this off, make it more convincing. "Also," She looked down, raising one hand to rub her arm, as if she was cold. Her short hair brushed against her face as she looked around, uneasy. "I feel like something is going on here - something bad is coming - or is going to come." She shook her head and she had almost convinced herself - the fine hairs on her arms were standing on end.

"Please," Poppy looked up, trying to convey the desperation. "Please. Make a truce with me. Work with me."

Of course, none of it was true - none of it. She hadn't felt anything wrong with the town. As far as she could see - except for that new cat - everything was just as it had been. Nothing felt wrong - nothing was wrong - except what was already there of course.

A chill ran down Poppy's back as she looked at Adolfius, as if her thoughts had summoned a cold breeze.

She didn't really feel an ominous wind - but wouldn't it be interesting if something bad actually did happen?

Don't tempt fate...

Alice yawned and she rolled over, only to knock the two kittens right off of her with a letter. Both, Blueberry and Strewberry hissed loudly as there tails were under the blonde girl. Alice's eyes opened wided at the familer sound of hissing. "Oh goodness. I'm sorry you tw-..." Alice went quiet as she noticed a strange looking man.

He almost had the same strange colors Alice had seen the cat before have. "Sir? I know this sounds... crazy. But, have you seen a cat with odd markings?" Alice asked quietly, her eyes looking down to the floor. Strewberry and Blueberry hissed slightly at the man who was walking ahead. He, to the cats, had smelt like danger to the two of the odd kittens.

Blueberry was the first to stop and he began to look up at the man who seemed to have a tattered jacket on. It's fur sticking up as it felt the man would take the kittne's beloved owner away. "Don't mind Blueberry. He's a bit protective since... Well, since I first got them." Alice confessed as she looked at the blue letter. Not bothering to open it, Alice stood up and smiled a the man.

"Oh where are my manners? I'm Alice by the way..." The odd eyed girl said with a smile as she purposely man her blonde hair cover the right side of her face where her red eye was. Picking up her two kittens, she put them on the porch quickly as she then grabbed the man's hand and almost yanked him over. Strangely enough though, Alice's blue eye showed a tingle of anger, hate, betrayel and distrust.

Those emotions all that kept Alice together at certain times. "Perhaps you can come in and chat with me? I'm quite lonely now adays. So, will you?" Alice begged sweetly, hoping the man would come in.