Down the Rabbit-Hole

Ariana woke up and moaned. She rubbed her head and looked around seeing that she wasn't home. Home? I'm not sure if this is my home or not...I can't even think of my name! Slowly standing up Ariana took deep breaths to prevent herself from getting light headed. Ariana started to bite her lip out of habit when she was thinking. She once more began to take in her surroundings and couldn't believe how bizarre this place looked, "I feel like I'm in wonderland...even if it's my favorite book it can't be real, can it?" Along with biting her lip she now began to play with the bracelet and she brought her wrist to her eye level. Hanging there was three charms, one was a heart, the other a skeleton key and the name Aria. "I guess my name is Aria." Sighing her sat back down and groaned, "I don't have a clue on what to do!"

Absolem sat broodingly in the woodlands of wonderland. His eyes were closed, something was going to begin soon. A storm was coming, and not the type caused from nature. He ran his pale fingers through his mint locks, with an irritated sigh of disgust. He needed a way out of this world, this upside down place. There had to be a place better than this, the one the humans came from. A world where his exsistance didn't depend on the Queen. A place where he could be free, no longer caged in this wretched place. Alas, the Queen was the only aware of how to escape Wonderland, to current knowledge. Knowledge, a dangerous thing. Absolem was quite knowledgable. He could do many things, go many places without being discovered. He was soundless when needed. However, there were those who he feared, in silence at best. He threw himself from his perch, literally floating down. Moving himself around freely with Telekinesis was easy, thoughtless like a breathing. Possibly why he got the name Caterpillar in his younger years, he was always striving for freedom, wanting to fly away..and even after obtaining such abilities..he was still caged, a caged butterfly. However, Caterpillar stuck, besides, he didn't literally have wings, and he'd kill someone if they called him Caterpillar, let alone Butterfly. That would be dumb..


Rhiannon woke up, her hand instantly reaching to her blue strands, a hissing sound emitting from the soft-voiced girl. She had one golden eye open as she awoke, looking around. This definately isn't home, I do not live here. Though.. I can't remember where I live, or even my name. What is my name.. she brushed her fingers through her hair, trying to calm herself. Stay calm. Don't lose yourself. No matter what this situation is, don't lose yourself any further than you're forced. I'll..call my self Rhia for the time being. That's what these tennis shoes read at least, so I guess that's a nickname of mine or someone I know at the absolute least, "Hello?" she called out, pushing herself to her feet. Her body hurt, everywhere practically, but that could wait. She needed answers, now. She needed comfort, eventually. This place, it didn't seem natural, "Excuse me, can anyone hear me? Where am I?" she asked. It was too bright for her eyes, at least, after waking up. She checked her pockets, ace bandages.. and a knife? She looked herself over, she had bandages on under her white button-down shirt, was it because she was hurt or just in case her shirt got wet? Possibly, but that didn't seem to be likely.

Something was definitely off, she thought as she stared at the floor. She had tried looking around but no matter how long she walked, nothing was visible. Not even the goddamned walls or the freaking ceiling!
Cocking her head to one side, she examined the possibilities, having at last grown tired of swinging the sword she had with herself around, absent mindedly cuddling the little shark plushie in her arms. Heh, it seemed she loved sharks ... and soft things ... and cuddling with soft things ...

Could she possibly be dead? That didn't seem to be the case, because this wasn't Hell - Hell was supposed to be a lot warmer, wasn't it - and there was no way she could have gone to Heaven, because ....

.... because of what? She frowned. There must have been a reason why she thought she could have gone to Heaven, but what was it? Was she a bad person? She stared at her reflection on the water on the floor. She didn't seem like a bad person, but not everyone looked like they were, right? So ....
Having concluded she was a bad person, and she wasn't dead yet, she set out to find out something more about this place - which might have seemed a less daunting task if she could remember something - anything - about her own self.

Fighting back the sudden panic that threatened to overwhelm her, she plopped down on the floor, noting to herself that she liked the feel of water. So, sharks and water.

"Well, if I can't remember my name, I'll just name myself something!" she declared, struck by a brainwave, "Its not like I liked my name anyway - why else would I have forgotten it? I wouldn't forget something I liked, would I? Just like the shark and the water...."

She tackled this new matter of names with gusto. What else did she like?

An image of a old bell flashed in her mind, and she smiled widely. "Bel ... I like that name..."

But it seemed too plain, somehow, so she decided to come up with variations on that. "Bella? ... Belna? ... Belma? ... Belka? Belca ...." she muttered aloud, testing the way the words felt. Belca had a certain ring to it.

"Belca it is then. I'm Belca from now on! Now that I have a name, to find out where I am." she leapt up, trying to pick a direction to walk along, figuring that if she walked along long enough, she would eventually stumble upon something or someone

Cheshire

He rested within his favourite tree, sprawled among the twisted branches and multi-coloured leaves. Long, ragged ears twitched upon his head, causing the thin chains and rings in them to chime softly in the new blowing breeze. Irritated by the sudden awakening, he opened one hazy-yellow eye and peered through his hide-away. The air carried something, the soft scent of change. He yawned and stretched, dragging his sharpened nails across the bark of his beloved tree, adding to the thousands of carvings his nails etched.

Now fully awake, he sniffs the air from his perch, taking in every smell, every bit of information the air carried with it. His tail curled as if excited by the news. Yes, change was happening. That much was certain. The ever-present grin on the man's face grew, warping his features. Whatever changed he decided he would welcome it. Afterall that was what he was, a creature of change.

[OOC: Sorry had to divide the original post into two... If anything confuses you in this post just refer to the one in the Palace of Hearts. Thank ye. :>)



He immediately started travelling on all fours, bounding along the path he knew would lead him into the forests of Wonderland. He darted in between the trees and bushes before noticing Caterpillar – Oops, Absolem – floating in mid-air. He twitched his nose up at him before once again, a mini-tornado came out of nowhere and embraced the small rabbit as he grew back into a human. Rabbit quietly stepped forward and cleared his throat loudly.
"Good day to you, Absolem," said Rabbit flatly, he frowned as he was forced to tilt his head up in order to look at man, "I have a message for you from the Queen."
He then paused, using the time to straighten his waistcoat and tie.
" She proposes a game of some sort," he continued a tad bit quieter, "I don't know the exact details of this game myself so I suggest you go to inquire the Queen herself."

One of Rabbit's ears twitched as he heard a familiar noise from nearby. The sound of feline nails against bark.
"The same goes for you, Cheshire," Said Rabbit sharply, slightly louder.

Why, look at the time!" He said, after peering at his pocket watch briefly, "I must be going, need to inform the others. To both of you, farewell."
And before either of them had time to reply, Rabbit was already scurrying away, the small furry mass still visible from a mile away.

Looking at the sky Ariana stood up and began walking down a path in the woods. "No point in just sitting around right? There has to be at least someone around here." Mumbling to herself was something that always occurred when she had to much on her mind. As she was lost in thought a sweet aroma invaded her nose and caused her to inhale deeply, "Is that tea?.." Stopping in her tracks Ariana took in another deep breath, "Sure smells like it...so there is someone!" She had the urge to run but Ariana knew better. If she tired she would just wear herself out and being in a place she doesn't know very well she needed all the energy she could save. So deciding it would be best to take her time and take everything in, I mean there's no rush. I don't have a clue about where I am, who I am or what is going on. So nope, I refuse to rush things. Chuckling at herself Ariana followed the scent hoping that she would find someone there who knew what this place was.

Eve rubbed the back of her head. Where is this? Who am I? she panicked. Looking around, she could see no one. She got up and wandered off, wondering what she would find.

He sat slumped against a tree, surround by a wasteland, his head cradled in his hands, above him the sky flowed like a river of broken chess boards, the black and white squares floating aimlessly in the non-existant current, this was the ruin of a place once beautiful.

"Where am I?" he thought to himself, but only for a moment before it was replaced with a much more frightening thought, "Who am I?"

Trying to remember anything caused his head to pound in pain, it was enough to make him give up. With a sigh he closed his eyes and began to hum a haunting tune, images began to slowly bloom from the darkness of his mind, a stone statue, a necklace, a stormy day. They all had one thing in common, was it meant to be a clue to his name?

"Grey," he whispered caustiously, as if afraid the word would bite, "My name is Grey."

Absolem looked down at the Rabbit. His eyes narrowed slightly, but hey, it wasn't his fault who he served. He sat up, floating down so he didn't reign so much taller than the small looking boy, although, they both were nearly the same age. Your cuteness is almost sickening, Rabbit. He sighed, eyes scanning him. What did that god forsaken Queen want from him now? Was she still trying to break the few chains who held their pride? Was she finally bored? She needed to remember the old riddle, You can see nothing else When you look in my face, I will look you in the eye And I will never lie. What am I?' Your reflection of course. The Queen of Hearts needs an honest to god mirror so she could see her reflection. No other would be so brutally honest. She's unhappy and all of Wonderland can see it, but all fear her far too vastly to call her out. Her sadism is just a form of quenching that loneliness and unhappiness. His pink eyes got a dark sparkle in them when he mentioned a game, "Well, well. She finally proposes something to my interest. A game, a game she says. Now this I must see." He brought himself into the air again, floating effortlessly, now if only he could do this with others so thoughtlessly... He shook off the thought. If, it's a poisonous word. You'd do best to forget it Absolem. He looked to see Cheshire, his eyebrows raising, for a second, he'd forgot he'd been in the cat's company. He thought little of this however, "Do you wish to travel at your own leisure, or would you rather we go together to discuss the commotion with that woman?" His tone was bored, his usual deep voice. He didn't care if the cat came with him or not, he just figured he would be courteous. He waited for the answer, his pink eyes closing as he began to hum a catchy tune. Though, where he'd heard it escaped him.

----



She ran, not from fear. It also was not from panic, Rhia ran for the sheer purpose of getting around faster. She had to find someone, anyone. Not being able to remember anything, that she could handle, but she could not handle however, being alone. She stopped when she got too tired, biting her bottom lip, "Just what the heck is this?" she hissed, "There is no way I'm here by myself, it's not plausible."[/b] she stated flatly, refusing to believe otherwise. She placed the tip of her thumb inside her mouth, chewing on it as she began trying to think, think of anything basically, "How old are you..?" she asked herself, that one came easy, "Eighteen.." she whispered to herself, smiling a bit. She could remember that much. She couldn't see the walls or the ceiling. Three days without water, fourteen without food.. give or take. She began calculating how long she could possibly survive here if she continued to find no one, and nothing.

"So, I'm in a hall thingy that never ends." the girl now self-christened Belca announced aloud. She had decided she liked to hear herself think, and it was awfully quiet with no one around anyway, though she would never admit the sound of her own voice soothed her a little.

"What do I do now? How long can I make it without food? There's plenty of water on the floor ... and I'm not above not drinking it just because I've been walking in it. Not if it betters my chances. I want to know where I am anyway. Is anyone even listening?" Belca muttered, a little tired from all the walking she was doing. "ANYONE HEEE-EERE?" she shouted, before falling abruptly silent.

You're only wasting your energy ... there's no one here, and you've been here long enough to know it.

"But I don't want to die." Belca reminded herself sternly. Speaking aloud had a wonderful effect on her nerves, apparently. "So I can't give up at any rate. And there must be some way to get out of here. There always is."

That ... feeling just now, it felt so nostalgic. As if it had been familiar to her ...

"Well, I'll worry about that after I get out of here. First things first."

Cheshire

The small whirlwind was what caught Cheshire's attention. The air, though alive and unpredictable in its own right wasn't so keen on control. Only one thing created such a contained surge of power, his grin shrunk slightly. What message did the Queen's Rabbit carry now? He stood, taking in the small conversation Rabbit was having with Absolem. He didn't want to be bothered by the White Rabbit, regardless of what the Queen said, but before he could fade away Rabbit's sharp reply caught him: "The same goes for you, Cheshire." He cursed the Rabbit on his quick delivery. The Queen would expect him now. He could always feign ignorance? A little, 'Oh I didn't get the message?' He growled. No. Nothing went unnoticed by her.

Frustrated, he blew at the leaves before him, creating a colourful blaze as they wisped and disintegrated into the air. He glared down at the Rabbit from his naked, heavily marked branches, sure to pass his message of unhappiness. Whatever the Queen was planning had something to do with the change occurring in his Wonderland. He wanted to discover it on his own, make some fun out of it. With the Queen involved, there usually wasn't any fun at all. All 'Do this or else' and there wasn't anything that made Cheshire cringe more than being controlled.

He kept his glare as the horrid thing bounded away. How could one keep happy under such dominance. He shrugged, knowing full well that everyone in his Wonderland was under the Queen's thumb. However, Cheshire chose to do things his own way; this little denial kept him content. To be completely in the Queen's jurisdiction was Rabbit's own Hell to deal with.

"Do you wish to travel at your own leisure, or would you rather we go together to discuss the commotion with that woman?" He raised his eyebrows. He was caught off-guard by the question. It wasn't often people asked for his company. He paused a bit before answering. He really didn't want to visit the Queen. He studied Absolem's face and his grin widened. Perhaps a change in scenery would do him some good. He hopped off his tree, which faded as soon as his touch had gone, and landed with a theatrical bow. And perhaps, if the Queen's anger became known, it would be a great thing to have someone else lose there head instead of his own. The little bit of dust which puffed from his landing grew severely into a miniature cloud, obscuring him. When the dust settled, which only took a matter of moments, the Cheshire's form had taken on more feminine qualities. She stood upright, her ear decor chiming and looked to the Caterpillar. "It would be my pleasure," she grinned.

Eve looked around, trying her best to remember her name. Selecting the first name that came to her mind, she said aloud, "I will call myself Moonlight." It sounded right.

While Ariana was following the smell of tea she came across a clearing that had a waterfall with flowers everywhere. Staring in awe Ariana stopped walking and took the time to take everything in. The smell of water reached her nose and Ariana smiled, "Smells nice." Looking at the flowers she noticed that some of them seemed to sparkle when the light hit them a certain way. Up until now Ariana didn't realize how thirty she was until she saw the water. Making her way over Ariana knelt down and cupped some water into her hands and drank the water. Sighing with relief she took a few more drinks and dried off her hands. "I guess I better get going..." Standing up Ariana continued on her way in hopes of finding someone.

Absolem's eyes scanned Cheshire, who, under his assumptions seemed to be going through inner turmoil. His eyes flickered with amusement. The cat seemed to spend most of it's time teasing and taunting others, and seeing it leashed into something it didn't wish to comply with, it was almost refreshing to Caterpillar. He was, somewhat sadistic in his humor preference. When he saw Cheshre's mouth curl upwards into a sort of, happier expression, if you could really call it that, he felt the amusement escape him once more. He wasn't even fully aware as to why he'd offered his company, maybe it was the old saying; " there is safety in numbers.." Wonderland was nt a pleasant place afterall, in spite of it's appearance.

Absolem nodded when Cheshire agreed to travel with him, taking no more than three seconds to scan the cat's physical changes, "So which are you really?" he asked simply, "Or can you just choose on a whim? Are you unsure, or is it..optional from birth?" Caterpillar always had so many questions, he always had questions because only the ignorant kept their questions to themselves. Only the Queen was smart to leave unquestioned, with that he lowered himself onto his feet as well. He was tall and skinny, despite his name. He'd give anything, anything to cast away his name, caterpillar. Unlike most in wonderland, he clung to his real name, it was the only sign of his freedoms. It was the only thing the Queen couod not take from him.. He begam his walk, begrudgingly towards the Palace of hearts.

(I'll post from Rhia again when it comes closer to contracting... Not good at only interacting with myself for extended periods.)

Grey walked out from under the tree, this place felt wrong, as if nobody was meant to be there. Having worked out his name he needed to identify where he was and the best way to do that would be by exploring.

It wasn't long before he came across a perculiar sight, a door stood in the middle of nowhere, held up by nothing. Humming the haunting tune once more he stepped towards it.

"How curious," he said to himself as it opened to reveal not more of the wasteland on the other side but instead what could only be describe as a hall.
"How do I know it's a hall?" he whispered, "There aren't any walls or a ceiling as far as I can see."

Still, the hall did appear to be a lot nicer than the wasteland, it didn't have the same forbidden feeling. Taking one last look around he stepped through the door.
Once inside he decided to check his pockets for anything useful, there was only a set of cards, each bearing a different picture to the last. Sitting down he began to look through them, mouthing the names of each card to himself, Fool, Magician, High Priestess...

For some reason he found the cards comforting. Grey held the cards close to his chest as he began to walk again, hopefully he'd run into someone soon, someone who'd know where this place was. A shiver ran down his spine, causing him to turn around with a gasp. The door he had just walked through had dissappeared.

Cheshire

Cheshire snickered at Absolem's barrage of questions. He reminded her of a child, always wanting to know 'why'. Without hesitation, she quickly slid before the Caterpillar, her nose nearly touching his own. Her pose, though somewhat threatening, endorsed her feminine qualities, "I'm assuming you mean my..gender?" She asked coyly, her eyes brimming with mischief. Within that same moment she disappeared into a whiff of purple smoke, only to appear where she last stood. She couldn't deny the quality of the question. It was, afterall, something she wondered herself at times. She gazed up into the canopy, seemingly lost in thought, her head tilting farther and farther back until it just fell off. Her body then disappears after it, leaving just her eyes and mouth to peer from ground level.

She briefly thought she had gone a bit far with the theatrics, once she realized Caterpillar had began walking without her, but quickly brushed the thought away. "I am what I am," the grin spoke, slowly rising to the Caterpillar's eye level, following his unhappy gait, "Whether I was born male or female is unknown even to me anymore. Being able to change so much for as long as I have..one tends to forget."

She phased back into existence with a yawn. Already she was getting tired and the Queen's palace was so far away.. She gazed yearningly upon the Caterpillar's nape. Although, hard as it was, she decided to not to immediately jump onto the man's shoulders, presuming the end result would probably be something regrettable. She sighed, unable to contain her soft purrs; nothing was more comfortable than napping against a warm neck.

Ivory it has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?

Ivory shot up with a gasp. It was..bright, and her head hurt, she touched the back of her head, the source of her pain, the hair was all icky feeling, she'd probably hurt herself somehow.. She slowly stood up, the pale monochrome female hugging herself tightly. She couldn't remember her name...so she went by the only thing she could come up with..Ivory. Her hair was white, she was pale, and her dress was white as well. The only color on the girl was her eyes, which were emerald green, scared, worried, and confused emarald orbs that shot around the room. She felt her eyes begin to sting, tears trying to seduce her eyes, wanting to fall freely down her face. You can't cry! Not until you at least try to escape! She ran, fast as her feet would carry her. She of course stumbled here and there, still not fully awake, but she refused to stop, refused to sit down and cry, until she gave it her best. There has to be a wall, somewhere..right? It wouldn't be a building without them. There is a floor, so there must be one somewhere.. she heard a whisper, the sound of someone else, or maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her.. she wasn't for sure, but she froze in place. What if her lack of memories was because someone was trying to hurt her? Maybe she got kidnapped by some creep on her way home from school? No, no, no! Anything but that!

"Is anyone there!?" she shouted, thrusting her hands down at her sides, she desparately wanted answers, even if it meant getting in a bad situation, so she repeated the question in the same tone, until her voice couldn't produce the sound anymore. She sat in the floor, holding her throat. I'll try again, when my throat stops hurting..

Moonlight wandered around. In her dizziness, she wandered right back to where she had started. A girl dressed all in white was sitting on the floor. Moonlight could see that the girl was trying hard not to cry. The girl's eyes were bright green. Moonlight walked up to the girl. "Hello," she said softly.

Ivory it has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?

Ivory's eyes shot up when she heard the voice closer, she tilted her head, did she hear someone? She didn't see anyone..maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her. For a moment she just stared at nothing, unsure if she should trust someone she didn't know, but someone was better than no one in Ivory's opinion, at least in this situation. "H-hi, I'm Ivory..what is your name?" The question came out forced, her voice was strained from all her screaming previously. She looked over the empty room, other than herself that is, taking in that she was losing her mind, trying to converse with nothing. She seemed to be pretty good at talking to nonexsistant people, almost expert. She was sure she got bullied before about it, why else would she hate herself so much when she was about to cry? She couldn't remember her past, but she assumed a few things, based on how she reacted towards others and situations, "Do..you have any idea where we are?" she asked curiously. She didn't hear the voice again.. Not even muffled like before.. She forced herself to her feet, offering her pale hand for a handshake, "Pardon my rudeness.. I can't remember much of anything, so excuse my manners.." she smiled nervously, unsure if she offended her new....imaginary friend? You're making a bad impression, shut up you idiot. She shook her head, looking up for the first time. No ceiling? This is quite a peculiar set up for a building. It's huge.. who lives here?

Moonlight smiled slightly. "I'm Moonlight. I don't know what happened either. I just woke up here. And I'm sure you'd rattle off questions, too, if you didn't know what happened. It's nice to meet you, Ivory."

Sinistra/Tweedle Dee


Sinistra leapt from behind the tree, his catapault armed, he knew his brother, Destra, was here somewhere. Narrowing his eyes he looked around while taking a cautious step forward. He had to be careful otherwise it would give Destra a chance to attack. He wondered why they always fought out in this garden, he supposed it was because it almost looked like an arena, rings of trees surrounding a flat clearing, almost like a magic circle keeping the bushes and plants of the forest at bay.

"Come out wherever you are, Tweedle Dum" he shouted, grimacing at the reference to that horrid rhyme.

There was a whistling sound as a knife flew past his face, crouching low, he whirled in the direction the knife had come from and shot a stone towards the tall figure that stood half hidden by a bush, missing by a centimeter.

It looked like the trick had worked, if there was one thing he knew about his brother, it was the things that would anger him.

"What are you playing at, Destra?" shouted Sinistra, "You almost took my head off, only the Queen's allowed to do that."


Destra/Tweedle Dum


"Wonderful," thought Destra to himself, "Another witty remark from Sinistra."

He slowly stepped out from behind the bush, his cover had been blown after throwing that knife.

"Contrarywise," shouted Destra, "The only one allowed to do it is the Queen."

He began to walk towards his brother, ready for a full on fight. He had forgotten how long ago they had started fighting but he would never forget why. The Rattle. Thoughts of the Rattle brought the rhyme into his head that he hated so much, try as he might, he couldn't get the words to stop bouncing around his head.

Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee agreed to have a battle,
For Tweedle Dum said Tweedle Dee had spoiled his nice new rattle,
Just then flew down a monstrous crow, as black as a tar barrel,
Which frightened both the heroes so they quite forgot their quarrel

"The stupid rhyme doesn't even explain what really happened," muttered Destra to himself.

As if by an unspoken command, the two began to run at each other, hate blazing within their eyes but then, before either of them could strike, a dark shadow flew past overhead causing them both to stop and look up. Fear gripped him as he realised what it was, the crow. Without think he grabbed his brothers hand and the two of them ran under the cover of a tree to collapse with their arms around each other as they shivered in fright.

Rabbit's whiskers trembled. His scarlet irises looked up at a crow as it cut through the sky above him, Rabbit followed the animals movement as it flew across a garden before disappearing into the distance. Rabbit bounded closer to the garden and slowed to a halt, realising that he was at his destination. He, once more, transformed back into his human self before striding confidently into the garden, deftly moving in between the trees and bushes. The garden was indeed a lovely place, Rabbit had previously thought it would've been a nice place to have a picnic. But then he noticed that it was used as some kind of battle arena by the two Tweedle brothers. He pursed his lips and shook his head, What a shame.

The albino boy walked into the centre of the clearing and scanned the area, he had expected the twins to be here but it seemed that they were nowhere in sight. He was about to give up and leave before he saw a glint of metal hidden in between the long blades of grass. Rabbit walked towards the knife and held it in his palm, he looked at it with regard. This was enough proof to convince him that Sinistra and Destra where still in the vicinity. It was just the problem of where exactly...
Rabbit quickly slid the knife into the backpocket of his shorts before walking the perimeter of the clearing, he sighed in relief as he found them huddled tightly together behind a tree out of the many in the garden.
"Tweedle Dum, do take more care of your knives." Said Rabbit, in a tone which he hoped was comforting. He handed the knife back to him before ushering them out into the open.
"I have a message from the Queen," Said Rabbit firmly, taking his time to look at both of them individually from behind his round spectacles, "She has invited all of the Chains to a game she is preparing. Since I have next to no information about it, I advise both of you to travel to the Palace in order to know more about it."

"Sinistra, Destra. I do hope to see you at the Palace later." He concluded," I must take leave."
A whirlwind wrapped around Rabbit's frail body as he bounded out of the garden, the pocket watch being dragged behind his fluffy white ball of a tail.

Cheshire

Her smirk had gone down quite a bit upon the realization she would be walking the rest of the way. She slumped her body like that of an unhappy child and sighed, "We'll aren't you a fun-sucker.." His talk of taunting and his almost unresponsiveness put a bad taste in her mouth. Was she taunting? She let the thought stew a bit. Maybe she was. She found her smile growing once more, thinking how people lost their composure around her. It was a lovely thing, getting reactions like that. She dared another yearnful glance upon the Caterpillar's neck. Seeing him fumble for those few short seconds was definitely fun. She sighed once more, fighting the temptation to settle upon his shoulders. She may be thought of as crazy, but she was at least polite..to a degree.

"Over halfway there." Absolem's remark jounced her from her thoughts. She gazed upon the Caterpillar and watched a slight transformation take place. His entire being seemed to brighten. Obviously, something awakened in him. Well, at least he has something of a spark in there. There was still hope for the creature yet. She looked away, bored, noting that was the end of his display. Her eyes grazed lazily about the fauna surrounding them.

How did he know where they were? There weren't any special landscapes to support his where-abouts. Everything moved and changed in her Wonderland, even the plantlife. A sudden thought struck her like a block of lead. Did he walk everywhere he went? She snickered at the thought, finding the action hilarious. Why walk when one could sneek rides or take short-cuts. She stopped suddenly, her body seizing. "Shortcuts." She whispered incredulously, "How could I forget?" She was horrified that she had actually forgotten about her secret networks of shortcuts throughout her Wonderland. Why were they walking?! They could've been at the Queen's palace by now!

The light purple hues which tinted her were growing darker and darker, complimenting the gloom she was now feeling. She continued after Absolem, her stature and gait now much slumpier and haggard. She stared hard at the back of man's neck, her yellow eyes narrow. She felt change stirring within her once more and let it ride. Her body twisted and morphed into something much smaller. The dark hues which surrounded her grew substantial, coating her in soft fur. "Screw it," she whispered and leap towards the Caterpillar's nape when he announced "Well, no time to prepare a riddle.. blast it all."

She paused in mid jump and looked before them. Her mood completely flip-flopped. "Hey, It's the palace!" She cheered, happily stating the obvious. "Wonder's never cease to amaze, Absolem. How you do this daily, I'll never understand."

Destra/Tweedle Dum


He watched as the whirlwind engulfed the boy before him, leaving behind a white rabbit which promptly ran off, leaving him alone once more with his brother.

"A handy trick to have that would be" he thought to himself, "But how rude of him to tell me to take better care of my knife when it was exactly where it wanted to be."

He soon became aware of of a pressure on his hand, looking down with disgust he realised that he was still holding hands with Sinistra. Furiously he wrenched his hand away.

"Did you hear that?" asked Destra, "An invitation from the Queen for the chains to play a game."

Adjusting the newsboy cap on his head, he turned away from his brother and began to head in the direction of Lake Lacie where the Palace of Hearts was to be found. As he walked, he soon lost himself in thought.

"Why was the Crow here of all places?" He wondered, "It only seems to follow me or Sinistra, could it be because of the Rattle?"

An interesting idea then popped into his mind, could it be that the Rattle was now the Crow? If so it would explain a lot but was that really possible? Pushing the depressing thought from his head with a shake he continued on his way.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee


Sinistra rubbed his hand on the ground, he couldn't bear to have it contaminated by his brother.

"Contrarywise," shouted Sinistra as Destra got further and further away, "It's an invitation to play a game for the chains from the Queen."

With a sigh he hurried to catch up, travelling together was not going to be an enjoyable experience, however, it was unavoidable as they were going to the same place. The two continued in silence for a while, Sinistra was determined not to talk to Destra any more than he had to. Instead he tried to remember a time where they hadn't hated each other, it would have been a long time ago but he was sure they had once been friends and enjoyed each others company. The idea was almost laughable now but he supposed it would be nice to go back to the way things were before the incident with the Rattle. Sadly, time was not something he could control.

With a giggle he began to recite one of his favorite rhymes.

"The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown,
The Lion beat the Unicorn all around the town,
Some gave them white bread, some gave them brown,
Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town."

He began to dance excitedly as he thought of the Lion, he had always loved imagining the strong and majestic Lion beating the Unicorn around the town.

"It serves the Unicorn right too," he giggled, "Trying to take the crown from the Lion."

He knew that Destra of course, would disagree. After a while his giggles subsided and the twins were soon standing infront of Lake Lacie. The sight of the Palace of Hearts on the lake was enough to take ones breath away. Without a word, the two started making their way towards the palace.

Absolem silently laughed at Cheshire's reactions. This is why I asked for that cat's company, she forgets the fact that she could have easily already been here at the palace ages ago.. for once, he tricked this cat. His eyes twinkled as he smirked, "Did we forget..?" he asked, taking a pale hand through Cheshire's hair teasingly. His lips curled up to match his eyes which were fixated in an amused stare, "That someone could take shortcuts?" he was taunting Cheshire now, instead of being the one taking all of the taunting actions and remarks.. He planned this from the beginning, seeing if he could get her mind off her shortcut attitude, letting her taunt him, only for this moment. Seeing Cheshire's reaction when he finally realized Absolem had cheated him, "Remember Cheshire, not everything in life has a shortcut." he placed his index finger in the air, as if warningly stating something quite important. You may want to remember that, dear Cheshire, otherwise, I'm afraid..you may get hurt in the events to come.. and that's no fun if I'm not the cause of it, now is it?

Caterpillar indeed walked a lot, but he didn't walk everywhere, how could he spy on the Queen if she could hear his every footstep? He'd done it many times, floating around the Palace. It was a wonder how Rabbit never discovered him. He looked to Cheshire, a dark warning in his eyes, "Had you went through with that unwise decision, you would find the Queen quite cuddly and managable compared to what I would do to you. Cutting off your head would be far too..quick and painless. Besides, everyone knows yours pops off.. " his glare was serious, not even a twinge of humor was poking out, but then he did something scarier. He smiled, it was almost suffocatingly sweet. Caterpillar never smiled, ever, "Shall we go inside now? I'm sure our loooovely Queen is getting quite tired and frustrated waiting for us to arrive.." His voice leaked sadistic amusement. Suddenly, Absolem bowed like a gentleman, then the sound of the door opening to the palace could be heard, he used his Telekinesis to be charming, hoping it would further irritate, possibly even anger the cat. He stood, his hand ushering towards the open Palace, allowing Cheshire first entrance, "After you~" He was smiling again, he had been toying with her like a piece on a chessboard the entire time, sneakily, letting her think she was in control, but the whole time keeping her mind off the easy way out of getting to the palace. He made her suffer the walk on purpose, so he could enjoy her whines, complaints, and that delicious distress. Despite his calm and careless nature, he was quite..cruel to those around him, tricking them into doing things they didn't want to do.