Abel Cheshire's Story

Abel Cheshire

Abel was bored. He'd been consistently bored for well, some time now. Everybody was too concerned with running around, trying to repair their broken relationships and nobody had any time to play with him. Fancy that! People not having time for him... What was the world coming to?

He sat on the rocks, overlooking the pebble beach, slightly mesmerized by the waves as the gently kissed the shore. It was almost trance-like.. It was just that trancing out wasn't really Abel's 'thing'... It was all too slow paced and not nearly chaotic enough. He pulled a cigarette from the pocket of his waist-coat and lit it, inhaling it's calming effects gratefully. It's slow-burning embers made a pretty highlight to the otherwise all-too-dark backdrop.

He found himself in quite the predicament. Not only was it raining, leaving him and his cigarette a soaking mess, but the ground beneath where he sat was drenched by the waves and rain and he didn't want to get down, least he risk becoming damp and dirty. The very thought of all that dirt and sand sticking to him repulsed him. He hugged his knees to his chest, wondering how ever he might get out of this situation.

"Goddammit. Why does this always happen to me?" he whined, adding drama and theatrics to his tone, solely for the purpose of entertaining himself.

"Oh shut up. S'if a little water could muck up your pretty face, anyway. Your beauty is untouchable", he continued, rolling his eyes in response to his previous whining.

"You know, you're absolutely right. I'm simply wonderful. Besides, I'm already saturated", and with that, he leaped down from the rocks, agile as the feline blood which coursed through him and turned to leave the beach behind. He was feeling like tonight was the kind of night to grab his guitar, climb a tree and serenade himself with love songs under the moon... Wait, wait, wait... It was always a night for that.

And then something caught his attention, a crumpled form down by the water. "What the..." he muttered, bracing himself for the waves as he strolled towards the figure, his curiosity piked... His curiosity would surely be the death of him.

He knelt beside the unconscious female form and poked at it, his head cocked in intrigue. "Er... you're kind of getting wet there, you know?" he said. On closer inspection, he noticed that this girl was not native to Ever After. He knew everybody in this damned place, and she was not familiar to him. Well, this certainly was interesting. "Well, now. A new-comer. And how the hell did you get here?" he spoke, kicking the girl lightly to wake her up.


Abraham Lupus

"Checkmate" the servant said, looking into Abraham's eyes with a all-too-confident look. If only she'd known that she really shouldn't have done that. In one ferocious swipe, Abraham swept the chess board off of the table, the pieces scattering to the ground as his eyes glinted silver.

Abraham took a deep breath, trying his best to control the change. He really, really couldn't stand losing... and to a servant of all things. A female servant at that. "Well, Lydia, you've pissed me off now. I hope you're pleased with yourself. And put that cigarette out. How many times do I have to tell you not to smoke inside?"

The smell of smoke made his head hurt. Lydia stood, dropping her head and apologizing meekly as she stubbed out the cigarette on the mahogany table, which elicited a scowl from Abraham. Lydia couldn't hide the faint smirk from her face.

"It really isn't amusing, Lydia. Go make yourself useful for God's sake" Abraham said, standing up and brushing off his coat, looking not at all pleased. How was it even possible for him to be bested by a servant girl? To make matters worse, Lydia was always pushing his buttons and he swore she did it intentionally, like she thought it was hilarious to piss him off or something. She wouldn't think it was funny when the day came that he couldn't control the shift and slashed her to bits, would she? No. He didn't think so.

He marched towards the front door of the lair, anger overly apparent in his stride, the scowl seemingly tattooed upon his features. He knew today would be a bad day for him as soon as he woke up and found his white roses wilted... that was a bad omen.

He strode out, heading towards the forest. He was hungry, on the hunt. He was searching for the one thing he knew would sate his ever-present appetite... Red.

Why was it that ever since he'd stolen the Love Stone, all of Ever After was so completely backwards, and still, Red did not desire him? Yeah, yeah, he killed her grandma... but so what? He didn't mean to, and hell, that was a long time ago. She should be over it by now, the whiny bitch.

Oh well. Eventually, she'd want him. He'd make her.

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling

The slight nudge made her jerk and gasp as she was jarred awake. For a moment she thought she fell asleep in the shower again, soaked and hung over from the night before, but the pebbles pressing against her cheek told her otherwise.

"Where am I?" She asked groggily as she slowly raised herself off from the ground in baby steps. First she wiped away the sand from her face, spitting up the water she had gulped down in her fight for life. Her body began to shiver to generate the heat her body was hungry for. Once sitting up she decided to make the move to stand. The motion was painstaking, finally on her feet and barely balancing with her black heeled booties, she finally looked upon her...guide?

He was a handsome and well dressed with shaggy hair that strategically straddled the line of just got out of bed and kept. Though at the moment, it was increasingly being weighed down by the flood being reigned down on them from angry skies.

"Please, I...I really can't...I just want to go home." She stuttered through chattering teeth, arms wrapped tightly around her frame.

Abel Cheshire

Abel scowled at the bedraggled form which stood before him. Well, she really wasn't much to look at, was she? At least not in this sate, all wet from the sea, looking like a lost kitten. He might have offered her a jacket, had he had one... and if it would have done much good, considering the rain still poured upon the two of them as they stood.

"Tut tut, why is it always me that's left to guiding lost maidens? I don't really think I'm cut out for it", he muttered, his mind drifting to the days of Alice, the girl who fell down a rabbit hole. Speaking of Alice, he hadn't seen much of her as of late... Hmm...

"Well, woman, you're in Ever After, the land of rainbows and butterflies or some shit like that... Well, at least it was until... Never mind that, what the hell am I going to do with you?" he said, folding his arms across his chest as he pondered whether the woman was even capable of standing up on her own. He pulled another cigarette and lit it, using his bowling hat to shield it from the rain, though it wasn't entirely successful... With a look of frustration, he threw the damp cigarette to the ground, watching the wavers overcome it and sweep it away.

"I suppose you'd better come with me, then" he grumbled, not looking entirely happy about having a tag along but it seemed cruel, and even too selfish for him, to leave the confused girl here to drown alone in this crumbling world. He sighed and offered an arm to her, refusing to look her in the eye as he did so. He was he, you see, and it was in his most self-righteous opinion that he had far, far better things to be doing then baby-sitting girls. Like preening, for instance.

"Woman, I don't think you're going to be leaving here all too soon. There isn't exactly a road which will lead you back to your world or anything... Sorry to disappoint. I'll er... Just come with me, out of the rain and stuff" he said, feeling the need to get out of the rain himself. Saturation really wasn't all that becoming of a werecat.

Abraham Lupus

The forest had it's calming effects on the werewolf. He enjoyed being alone. For one, there wasn't anybody else around to annoy him. Also the fact that nobody could upset his ego... well, that kind of helped a lot to. He couldn't stand being mocked, having his delicate ego bruised... Lydia had sure better hope he was in a better mood when he came back or she'd be sorely wishing she was a terrible chess player.

Abraham decided the best way for him to find his prey was by shifting into wolf form. His senses were far better that way, smells becoming overwhelming and the softest sound becoming clear to his ears. Of course, that was easier said than done. The shift was never painless and the search for clothing afterwards could oftentimes be... well, humiliating.

Regardless, if there was one thing that would make him feel satisfied, it was Red, so shift he would... and find her, he would. He let out a horrific groan which would have scared off any creatures in a two mile radius, for sure, as his bones began to dislocate and reset, as a human form became that of a canine. Claws shot from his hand and feet as they molded into paws, his organs shifting and squishing within him (certainly NOT a pleasant experience, perhaps somewhat like corseting only worse, he had wondered), jaw elongating in a feeling so excruciating that the first few times Abraham had shifted, he had passed out. New teeth jutted out of his gums, pointed and dog-like. His tail bone stretched to form a tail, the tension at his neck and skull in this part sheer torture, and his ears grew up wards, sliding up his skull and stretching the skin.

Finally, when all bones and organs had shifted to form a wolf, the dark fur sprouted all across his body as man became wolf. The growing of fur was certainly the easiest part of the metamorphosis. Now, all of this happened in under a minute. The transformation certainly didn't take long and all of that unbelievable agony was felt in such a packed moment of time. It was a fact that the biggest cause of death for werewolves was their first few shifts... Many could not withstand the agony.

Now in the body of a strong, large, black wolf, Abraham's senses were going off like crazy. He could hear the ants carrying food across the bark of trees and he could smell the fish in the streams kilometers away. The whole forest was alive and Abraham could sense every tiny part of it. Being in wolf form was the greatest experience a man could have, or so Abraham firmly believed.

And there it was. Red's scent, her intoxicating scent, the scent which drove him mad. It was fresh, too. She'd walked these paths just recently. He let out a powerful howl as he set on her trail, racing through the woods, moving through the bushes and brambles smoother than he would have had he been in human form.

Eventually, he found himself outside of Feather Brooke Kingdom. His claws sank into the dirt, kneading it as he growled in frustration. He wouldn't step foot in there, in this form or any other. You might say Abraham was not on good terms with the people of this land... for several reasons. He lay down outside of the kingdom, waiting in the bushes, his silver eyes ever watchful. He would wait and she would come... and then she would be his.

Peter Pan

Peter let go of Wendy so she could tend to Alice's wounds, as he had to hold himself back from running to her aid. Besides, he never really bothered to know where the first aid stuff was kept. It was generally Wendy's job to tend to his wounds, or it used to be.

His mind was racing, how the hell does he get himself out of this awkward situation? Having tea with a dying flame and an ignited one. was less than ideal. And the horrible lie that spilled out of Alli didn't leave much room for an excusable exit, not while the storm raged on. His only option was to excuse himself, but how? And did he really want to leave these two to their own devices? Not that Alli would delibrately sabatoge them, but an accidental slip?

"So what's the plan ladies? Wendy, you know I'm not into this whole playing host stuff." He said almost frantically. He wasn't lying, he really did hate the whole playing house thing, he found it incredibly boring. The room was shrinking, but he had to hold his ground, for now. His tactic, leave the ball in their court.

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling

Great, of course this is her luck. She's either been drugged and his having one hell of a trip or, well, there is no or. Now she's in god knows where with a funny talking lunatic, here's to hoping he's just a LARPER. She accepted his assistance and stood shakily on her feet, the heels of her black booties sinking into the gaps of the rocks beneath her feet. Mackenzie wearily used the gentleman for balance. She followed him to where ever he may lead her, at least until she reaches something recognizable. She hoped for asphalt and headlights, signs to the nearest hospital, but nothing of such familiararity crossed her path.

"So, Ever After, huh? What's close to Ever After, any bigger more recognizable counties?" Come to think of it, she can't think of a forest of this caliber so close to Los Angeles. Not that hiking was on her top ten activities of enjoyment. She pulled her brown leather jacket tighter around herself. "Do you have a phone I can borrow?" She asked meekly, so as not to upset the man. The last thing she wanted was to upset this guy, as he did seem a little off. Please don't let him hack me up into a million little pieces and bury me all over the forest.

Gaston LeGume

"Tell me more about my eyes." Gaston seemingly joked to the red head swooning over him on his lap. She giggled as her hands haphazardly groped the muscles in his arms and chest. However, Gaston was not joking, and truly wanted to hear more about himself. His self loving bliss was interrupted when Diablo's call rang in Gaston's ears. Icy blue eyes glared at the bird resting on the sill of an open window, satisfied that the wretched bird unhappy in the rain. Oh, how I will have you on a dinner plate one day. His Maleficent was summoning him, and her timing couldn't have been more perfect. This red head, as eager as she was to please him, would hold ill will against him for mixing pain with his pleasure.

"Off bar wench." The red head frowned before doing as she was told. "Good girl." Gaston then stood on his chair. "Ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to say, that I must take my leave for the night. Lefou will, as always, run the tavern in my absence." He could hear the boos and awes as was just about to jump from his makeshift soap box and it was music to his ears. "Oh, and a round of ale for everyone on me." He decided to award his pets for their proper responses.

He landed with a thud, though it was barely audible through the cheers and laughter. He then made his way to his room on the second floor. He locked the door behind him, no one would dare to bother him anyway, and then approached seemingly normal mirror.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, take me to her grand hall." The metallic surface moved ever so slightly, like a disturbed glass of water. Sadly, it no longer reflected sinful features of Gaston, but Maleficent's room. He stepped through its liquid surface, slightly disoriented by the darkness that Maleficent kept her castle in.

"I have a most important job for you."

"I'm not your work horse, Mal." Gaston didn't even bother to turn and face her. He listened as the click clock of her heels drew nearer. He felt her hands forcably breach his shirt from behind him, the heat of her skin pressed against his back. Dagger like nails then tore into his skin slowly, the blood slowly seeped through his white shirt. Damn this woman, she knew how to push all the right buttons.

"Oh, but I promise it will be repaid upon your return. Just a small little favor." The mocking innocence in her voice clued him into the treat he was in for. He turned to face her, his hand wasting no time in finding her silky black hair. Mal gasped as he roughly filled his fist with those resentful strands and pulled her head back, exposing a vulnerable part of her body, her neck. It wasn't often she allowed him to have her in all his glory. The pain she inflicted on him was blissful, but to be the abuser, to her of all women, was truly magical. He pressed his lips to hers harshly, excited about all the horrible things he would do to her.

"Use the hand mirror, its on the table." He angrily let go of her as she doled out her directions, pissed at her for ruining the moment. "I need you to pay a visit to Cadwell, the queen of lunacy, and I need you to enlist her services. Its time for me to exact my revenge on the happy couple of Feather Brooke. I need Cadwell to have them lift the protection spell on Feather Brooke. As payment, I'll let her have some fun with Prince Phillip, but his life is mine, along with Aurora's. She can then do whatever it is a mad former queen does about the castle."

Gaston didn't ask any questions. He simply pocketed the mirror and took his leave. "Mirror mirror on the wall, take me to the maddest of them all."

((OOC: I don't care how Gaston appears with Ember, whether he's forced to knock on the door or automatically gains entrance within her lair/castle))

Abel Cheshire

Abel quirked a brow at the girl’s questions. “Phone? Is this some sort of contraption of your world? I do not have one, I apologize”. A smirk crossed his features. “I don’t think you fully understand, woman. You aren’t in your world anymore. You are in Ever After, it’s a completely different place. I suppose you could say it runs parallel to your world”.
He laughed, leading the girl away from the beach and towards the trees, wondering how he could better explain the predicament to the girl. “I’m sure you have fairytales in your world. Absurd as it might be, they are not just tales after all. You know the story of Alice in Wonderland, right? Well, it’s a true story. Something like what happened to Alice has now happened to you. It doesn’t happen very often, and I sure don’t know why it ever does but for some reason, sometimes silly girls like you find your way into our world” he paused in speech, awaiting the response he would get from her.
Of course, she wouldn’t believe him but she would soon enough.
“Perhaps I could take you to Alice, since the two of you have so much in common… No, no, maybe Cinderella, she’d want to know of this… Oh, hell, I surely do not know” he said, mostly to himself as he stroked his chin in pondering.
He stopped walking a moment and turned to the girl. “What is your name, anyway?” he asked. Irrelevant as her name might be, his curiosity always forced him to gather as much information as possible.
He surely must figure out where to take this girl. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he got rid of the poor, drenched thing, the better. Now under the cover of the trees, he lit another cigarette. He believed they helped him concentrate.

Peter Pan
Peter didn't know to breath a sigh of relief or hold his breath as the knock on the door echoed into the aparment. The interruption, however, was very welcomed and Peter eagerly made his way to answer the door. His muscles tensed as the queen stared back at him from the doorway, a surprise he did not see coming his way.

"Your Madjesty." He nodded and shuffled out of the way so the Queen could step out of the pouring rain. She smiled warmly at the trio, but when her eyes fell on Peter once again, they were full of urgency and sterness. He felt his chest swell up with excitement and pride as the Queen's quest fell upon his ears and wrested on his shoulders. This high was temporarily stunted when Alice was addressed. He was snappped back to the current situation in all its uncomfortable glory.

"It would be my pleasure, your Madjesty." Peter gently closed the door behind the Queen, a sudden realization sinking his soul ever so slightly. His ability to fly, to say it was hindered would be a great understatement. That ability would have been a blessing, making this scavenger hunt so much more effective. Beside that, the inability made him feel less adequate, a piece of him still missing. What more, Wendy's demeanor suddenly changed, she became cool and calculated. Her laughter snipping at what few strings he had left at happiness.

'Awesome.' He thought to himself as he wordlessly brushed by the two women and walked up the stairs to dress and pack for the adventure before him. Once upon a time, the word held meaning of spledor and wonderful times. Now, its seems almost a burden. 'What else go do wrong.'

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling

Oh yea, this guy was completely off his rocker. Figures, this was Mac's luck, always succumbing to the strangest forms of Murphy's Law. She listened to his obviously malfunctioning mind while still concentrating on not falling over, heels and nature do not mesh quite well. She would have to ditch them if she had to make a run from the potential serial killer.

"Fairy Tale Land, yea, right. So who does that make you? The Mad Hatter?" She mumbled in a cynical tone. But when he started his own mumbling of who he should take her to, Mac couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Okay Mac, he obviously believes all this crap. So there's only one way out of this, speak his language.'

"My name is Mackenzie." She darted under the brush for cover from the rain. It was the most relaxing thing to happen to her since last night, to have a break from the constant assault of water. Her dark eyes watched him as he contemplated. "How about we stay clear from any villains or bandits, and you take me to the closest, nicest, person in power who can help me get home." An innocent shrug. "I hope that narrows it down."

Abel Cheshire

Abel chuckled at the girl’s response as she gazed upon him like he were a madman. Okay, well he was a madman but he wasn’t that mad. Of course, this was how she was expected to react.
“Me? The Mad Hatter? Don’t be daft. No, no, not at all. Not that he isn’t a rather pleasant chap but… Well, I’m Abel and I suppose you could say I was the Cheshire Cat”. He paused to admire his reflection in a puddle that had formed on the ground beneath him, straightening his hair. “Oh, it never does sit quite how I want it to… Well, I guess you’ll need more to go on to believe me so…”
So Abel promptly shifted before her, appearing as a rather large black and silver striped cat, only somewhat to convince her of his story but mostly to shock her as he was just that kind of guy. The shift was never painful for him. A witch friend had brewed him a potion, and if he ingested a small dose of it each morning the shift would be rendered painless, only remaining slightly uncomfortable. The brew itself was rather bitter but it definitely beat the agony of the transformation. Now, if that doggie Abraham wasn’t such an evil bastard, he might’ve shared his secret with him… then again, he might not have because he was selfish like that.
Moments later, he shifted back into human form, bowing naked before the girl. “Thank you, thank you”, he said as if expecting applause. “Now, if you’ll excuse me” he said as he hurriedly redressed. Once that was over, he looked upon Mackenzie with curiosity. “Right, right, so I suppose Snow White is rather nice. Perhaps we could pay her a visit. Shall we?” he said, pointing in the direction of the Red Rose kingdom.

Abraham Lupus

Abraham had been waiting in the rain for some time now, his fur soaked. Of course, the odor of wet dog was not a pleasant one. Getting fed up with waiting for Red to leave the village again, he racked his brains for some plan as how to get to her.
His ears pricked as footsteps approached. As the sound drew nearer, a merchant appeared, traveling along the path. Perfect. Abraham launched himself upon the man, intending to only knock the guy down and ended up, well, killing him.
After shifting into human form and recovering from the pain, Abraham’s palm collided with his face. “Great. Killed another one”. It was now clear to him he would not be able to stay in this area for very long. All he’d wanted was the man’s cloak, not his blood for God’s sake.
He picked up the cloak, thankful that the material was black and that it still rained so he wouldn’t automatically appear like the murderer he was. He dressed himself in the item, pulling the hood over his head in his best attempt to disguise his features and entered the village.
Tracking down Red by scent alone wasn’t an option now, but he didn’t need to. He’d stalked the woman enough to know where she would be. Whatever she saw in a pup like Christopher Robin, he was blind to.
The house drew closer and so far, nobody had shouted ‘Big Bad Wolf!’ so it would seem luck was in his favor today.
He didn’t bother to knock on the door, letting himself in and there was that stupid boy who just made himself even more stupid by running at Abraham unarmed. Well, apparently his disguise didn’t fool everyone. As per usual, Abraham’s anger would again get the better of him. His rage over the fact that Red would choose this idiot over himself meant that… well, he lunged at Christopher, dropped him to the floor, beat that fool’s stupid face to a pulp and kept going, despite the fact his own face was being covered in the boy’s blood.
Once satisfied Christopher could no longer make attacks at him, he stood up, taking in the amount of damage he had done. Dead? Unconscious? Dying? He didn’t care. He had far more important matters to attend to. He didn’t have time to feel guilty, the moment he’d been waiting for had come. She would now be his.
He turned to face Red, a wicked grin on his blood-spattered face. “Oops. Might have killed your plaything. Now, are you going to run? Please do, it will make this far more exciting”.

Peter Pan
Peter had all the essentials packs: sleeping hammoks, flint, rope, change of clothes and of course his most prized posession, his sword. He dashed down the stairs, the back pack slung over his shoulder. It was evident he was in a foul disposition as she began to wrap some bread and non perishable food for the trip.

"Alice, go upstairs and grab one of my other jackets from the closet in the bedroom." He didn't dare look at Wendy, what reason was there to? It was obvious she was on to them, and her seeming denial had rather been a tactic to calm herself. There was an elephant in the room, one of enormous potential. Though he despised Wendy for his current life, for growing up, he couldn't deny the feeling he had once felt for her.

Once the food was wrapped he packed it up and walked over to Wendy, his green eyes staring into hers sorrowfully. He kissed her gently on the forehead, a subtle sorry for his betrayal.

He tossed up the hood of his jacket and waited for Alice to be ready before making his way on his reluctant adventure.

"Okay, Alice, any ideas on where the newcomer will have surfaced? Tink has always stressed the power of reflection."

He made haste in his steps, though he had packed for a possible over nighter, he did not intend for it.

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling
Mackenzie simply watched the peculiar man fussed with his hair, with a slight shake of her head. The Cheshire Cat was who he claimed to be and Mackenzie just smirked lightly to herself. For a moment, she felt sorry for the man, a man who obviously can't stand the world the way it was or couldn't stand himself. His narcissistic behavior, although convincing, probably just a front and a pathetic attempt to love himself. Still he exuded confidence and in mere moments, Mackenzie discovered why.

She simply stared at the large black and silver stripes, almost Bengal like in its regalness. Mackenzie's eyes were almost as wide as cat's naturally wide set, her breath caught in her throat. A small squeak that resembled that of a rusty wheel escaped her motionless lips. It was safe to say that her concept of the reality she knows imploded on itself. The world was over as she knew it. The girl remained a statue, unmoving and unchanging as Abel bowed and dressed himself. The thoughts flooding her mind were too fast to keep track of and it took her a moment to jar herself back to thinking logically, well as logically as she could possibly be. It was clear she needed to adapt.

"I'm sorry I doubted you." She mumbled in a weak voice, surprised that she could form words so quickly. Almost zombie like she continued in the direction Abel guided her to. This wasn't a fairy tale, she was truly on her way to see Snow White.