Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. Oh how the Hatter hated such tedious affairs. Sheets covered his desk, overflowing from around it in piles like a sea of white. To onlookers the area probably appeared to look as though a natural disaster recently struck, no order to be found in the mass. For Marcus D. Hatter, on the other hand, every slip was in its place, and every place had its slip. If one of the White Queen's men came in in this moment the Hatter could produce whatever they desired in moments.

Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Hatter groaned while leaning back in his seat simultaneously. Tossing the papers in the air with his free hand he couldn’t keep from complaining, “Had anyone of mentioned I would be drowning in papers for the rest of my life just to own a town I would have simply called them mad! I should have stuck with hats but NO I decided to work myself to death…”

Rising from the massive chair he placed on his pea coat, grabbing hat from a peg and placing it on his head. “I must get away from this room, it’s stifling.” Gliding down the hall he muttered to himself, “If only I had been born a disappearing cat I wouldn’t have so little to do and so much time to do it in…” catching himself in the phrase he laughed, pondering, “No that’s not right. Flip it, reverse it. That’s what I am.” At last, he made it to the main hall, yelling to Ansel he was going on a stroll to patrol the town. There was no ned of the hare to file into his room attempting to straighten the disarray. It would end up in the same shape it started it. All the same today was going to be curious; he could tell.

He waited for the massive mansion doors to open and made his way across the vast courtyard, his shoes clicking against the cobblestone as he stepped onto the street. He already decided to check each of the shops to make sure all was in order. More than likely a few store owners would talk to him and then his executive duties would be done for the day. He had nothing to check in with the Queen about and the King himself had not sent any scouts as of late, or rather the Hatter knew about that is. There was no need. There hadn't been an 'Alice' to appear in sometime now.

Momentarily, he was thrown into a deep pit of despair, not something all that uncommon with the ever-varying Hatter. The original Alice. He could remember the first day she appeared here as if it just happened. She was one of the bravest girls he ever came into contact with, slaying the Jabberwock as if it were nothing but a balloon to pop. How many times had the two walked down this very road together laughing with one another over peculiarities. In the end, he was not enough for her and she returned to the real world, something he could never wrap his head around. Perhaps it was one of the many things to cause him to be such a mad fellow.

As the memory passed, Hatter's mood once again changed to that of indifference then joy; similar to a pendulum he could never remain in one emotion for long. With this change of pace his mind wandered to what he would do with the little free time he had, deciding to himself that after he was done patrolling he would stop by the twin’s bistro. The two were likely to still be asleep, but who could tell. He could never be sure when it came to them. At the least they could give him the local news or something to do that wasn’t that unbearable PAPERWORK! Marcus’ mind flipped switches once more as he smiled. I do believe today is their unbirthday….as is it MY unbirthday. This calls for a celebration! His mind span in circles at all the possibilities, but first he must tend to his duties. Today would be curiouser and curiouser indeed.
@Hawlin@Lady Selune@EchoicChamber

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“Corner in!” The assertive voice bounded throughout the kitchen causing the new busboy to squish himself against the wall as Deeandra piled in the opening, arms full of dirty dishware. Skilled hands stacked plates and bowls onto the skyline while tossing the silverware into a prewash basin. Glancing up at the clock on the wall Dee released an irritating sigh. 11:50 It was already well past closing time. Why this elderly couple decided to come in 15 minutes to closing, she had no idea. Bad luck led them to requesting to sit in her already closed section…so here she was cleaning after them nearly an hour later. Giving a venomous look at the busboy she washed her hands before heading back into hell.

Today was sh**.

When first arriving this morning Dee was in a relatively decent mood (though not one to be chipper). At the very least she wasn’t releasing the vibe of “Don’t talk to me unless you want to die” like now. This all shifted due to the constant entitlement of people who stepped into this god forsaken establishment. (Honestly, if you are the type of person to request a booth you should stop breathing now.) Her double seating turned into a triple all filled with elderly women insulting the tightness of her pants and the coloring of her hair. Elderly men eyed her like they owned the vessel in which she was living. Tipping was poor for late food, as if she was the alone oversaw the rate the new staff cooked the meal. Needless to say, she was over it.

With her section clean Dee grabbed her jacket and aimed for the back door. ”Hey, if you’re headed that way go ahead and toss that trash. You’re off tomorrow anyway.” The manager. Rather than attempt to argue, opening her mouth with the attitude she had now was an unemployment sentence, hands wrapped around the black plastic, knuckles white.

Muttering to herself, a small frame pressed itself against the large metal door opening to the back. Goosebumps erupted over her skin followed by an involuntary shiver as cold air filled the once warm space, embracing every fiber of her being. Moving quickly now, Dee rushed over the grimy green bin before hurling the bag over the top.

That should have been the end of a horrid day.

Just as she was turning the flicker of refracted light only made her heart stop. No…. Eyes scanned a bare ivory hand, no sign of her sister’s ring ever inhabiting the slender finger. NononoNoNONO! In moments Deeandra vaulted herself over the side of the dumpster, falling inside and…well then some. Rather than being met by a series of bags and loose trash Dees body crashed through what seemed to be ceiling landing hard against a wooden desk. A loud oof escaped her lips along with the wind in her lungs. Sliding across the pile of papers there she swiftly fell to the floor, more papers flying.

Unable to move for several seconds, a small rose gold ring fell from above bouncing off her head. Lifting herself of the floor she grabbed the object, sitting back to observe her surroundings. Vision adjusting to the darkness of the room, Dee found herself in what appeared to be an office of an exceedingly disorganized human. Papers piled into mountains, hats scattered about… she didn’t have a clue what was going on let alone where she was. “What in the he..”

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The garden was behaving unusually lively today, many of the plants appearing to be agitated for reasons Katrina herself could not entirely understand. From her understanding there was not to be a storm coming in today and the King’s troops were not scheduled to be coming through for the next few days. She did her best to speak to each of the plants in the hopes of calming them down, but even they did not know what was coming. Worry washed over her for the moment, a natural reflex to the fear of anything that could happen to those closest to her. She stared at the town for a moment, eyes wandering the Wonderland until resting on the woods. She sighed knowing there could be nothing to prevent the unexpected, one can only go with it.

Focusing on her work once more, she placed on a pot to boil for tea before going onwards to water the plants. She was always meticulous in her gardening her duties, her pride shown in the beauty of it. It was a nice day out, the weather warm, but not too hot. The trees were dancing, and horseflies ninnied, chasing one another round and round. There was so much life here, one of the reason Kat first fell in love with the location.

After watering she grabbed a basket, starting to fill it with sweets for Chess to take back to his home with him. Taking glass bottles she filled them with the liquid from the waterfall; she never knew what he tasted when drinking the liquid, it could be different each time. That was the beauty of the water; it tasted like whatever one wished it to. Placing lids on the bottles she placed them in a line on the bottom of the basket. From there she collected candied roses, snazzleberries, peaches, plums, and variety of other fruit from her trees. She rearranged them again and again until she was pleased with the overall aesthetic appeal. Blushing to herself, Kat shook her head for worrying about such a thing. In the end she rationalized it to friendship, calling it square.

While lost in thought Katrina suddenly remembered her teapot, which was now screaming at her from the stove. Running in, (in a rather spazzy gape one might add) she placed her basket on the table, turning off the fire. Wiping her forehead in relief, “Kat, you have got to quit being so scatterbrained or you are going to end up burning your home down.” Sighing, she began to hum as she opened the cupboard while pulling out several unlabeled metal bins. Opening them, sweet scents of spices filled the air. Carefully crafting her tea Kat mixed hints of blackberry, lavender, and vanilla into an Earl Grey base. Pouring the mixture into the diffuser, she placed it in the kettle to diffuse.

Continuing her humming, she proceeded to place the cups on a tray with sugar and cream. Adding finger sandwiches, she placed the assortment on the counter and grabbing a cup herself took a sip moving towards the kitchen window looking out towards the majesty of the Red Castle wondering once more what could be coming in Wonderland’s future.
@AngelofOctober

Alison~

All that could be heard from the cracked bedroom door was the shuffling of cardboard before the distinct sound of packing tape dispensing as a new box was created. A silence fell in the room once more as the wavy haired blonde inside sat unmoving in the middle of the glossy cherry wood floor with personal objects of her grandmother scattered around her in a circle. She didn't know how long she had sat in her knelt position but if the twinge of pain in her knees or the muscles in her legs that seemed to be begging for a position change was anything to go by then she probably didn't want to know. Alison was finally down to the last box and somehow she couldn't quite bring herself to pack it up. Every time she managed to pick up an object to start was the moment her hands began to shake and tears would build in those chocolate brown eyes. It was like she was losing her grandmother all over again and that Alison herself was the one throwing her grandmother's memory under the rug. Of course, that notion was ridiculous but she could not help but feel that way just a tiny bit.

She shook her head lightly, tossing the thoughts from her mind and brushing her hand under her eyes to rid herself of any stray tears. Grandmother Alice would want her to stay strong and happy, not to drown in grief so that is exactly what she would do. Alison steeled her resolve and actually looked at what she had left pack. Most of it was clothes but she still had a range of photos,nicknacks, and the small amount of jewelry that her grandma had treasured above others around her as well.

Alison went to pick up one of Alice's rings, wanting to have a look at some of the ones she had never seen before,only to clumsily have it spill from her finger tips and clink on to the floor. She groaned in frustration as she watched it happily sail under the bed which regrettably caused her have to slowly move from her seated position. Stretching out, she quickly bit back a wince as her legs complained loudly now about the previous torture. She carefully pushed herself up, waiting a few second to regain her footing and curling the toes on her bare feet to work the blood flow back in before maneuvering around everything. Once she made it to the side of the bed, she slid to the wooden floor and glanced around until she spotted the small item she was seeking. Alison slithered her way under the bed as much as she could and reached her arm out to brush and pat around in the area of the ring until suddenly a floor board gave way under one of her firmer pats.

Alison tilted her head,noticing the popped up board in confusion. She pulled her arm back, quickly shimming out from under the bed frame and snapping up right. She crawled over the bed to the other side before leaned down to grab the bed frame and giving it a firm yank. It was a slow process by herself, especially with the calls from downstairs about the noise but after reassuring her family that it was nothing to worry about she set to work eagerly. Once the bed was cleared of the area, she curiously moved to the lose board and gently pried it open to find many hidden objects. "Curiouser and curiouser, why did you go through such trouble to hide these?"

She pulled out some notebooks, one even having a dried flower as a book mark but it looked nothing Alison had ever seen before. There was a something wrapped up in a unnaturally glittery fabric that had bells attached the edges as well as other unlikely objects inside. Alison carefully started to pull out the items one by one so she could examen them closely as she did, treating each piece as if it were glass that would break at any moment.

The first item she took out was a key attached to a simple chain but the key itself was decorated with a fully bloomed white rose. At seeing how danity the first item was, she leaned over the hole in the floor to look for some of the smaller items so they weren't missed. The first tiny item that came to her attention were these two small hat pins but the pins tops were cute mint teapots with leaved flowers decorating the sides of each pot and the next item had almost been missed altogether since it was such a deep swirling purple in color that was blending in with the glittery fabric below. Upon first glance it almost looked like a guitar pick but that idea was instantly thrown out the second she touched it. It was almost a shell like quality to it and had a metal shaped spade dangling in front of it. Alison shifted the fabric softly, looking for more small items hidden in the folds and came cross a gold ring. In the center was a large red gemstone in a heart shape with two bands of white diamonds curved around the main focal point. She didn't even want to know what the individual had paid to give this ring as it was not something her grandma would have picked but maybe she was wrong.

She started to take out the larger items from the hidden cubby or at least they were larger than some of the others and ended up with a dagger in her hand. If she has thought the ring was out of place then this was out of this world. Why would her grandma need this? It was beautiful, gold with turquoise gems imbedded in certain places and worked in for the over all intricate design. The twists, turns, and colors made it almost seem festive instead of dangerous.
Alison set it aside with the other trinkets and gently pulled out the next trinket. It wasn't as extravagant as some of the others but the leather pouch was simplistically sweet with a pull string that had colorful beads at the ends. It wasn't empty from the weight she could feel resting on her palm and opened it for what was probably the first time in awhile. Inside the small pouch were a couple of coins, from who know where but she didn't touch them as it seemed like they were meant to be and with that she sealed it back up so it could be placed with the others.

She couldn't possibly see how anymore items could be inside but sure enough yet another item remained. It was near the bottom, a rose gold pocket watch. Alison clicked the button, letting the top layer spring open to reveal the inside which caused a sad frown to appear on her lips as the arms were moving in all kinds of directions and even the ticking noises seemed to be off. It was sad to see something so beautiful and precious broken with time, probably because it had been at the bottom or that was her assumption anyway. She closed the top gently, placing it with the rest.

Nothing else but the fabric seemed to be left so she carefully moved it out, trying her best not to snag anything. Only the tinkling of the bells around the edges could be heard, that is until something clanked out of the fabric. It hadn't been loud, it wasn't big but it still worried her and panic set in that something else might have broken. She placed the jingling material off to the side and gazed over the area to see what was out of place. There next to the hole was a lone collar with a silver bell. The collar itself was black with what she could only describe as an astronomer tracking view on the stars and night. She wondered if this use to be Dinah's when the cat had been a kitten. It was the only logical reason why it would be here and would keep the cat's memory alive.

"Wonder what these meant to you exactly...."Alison spoke softly, brushing her fingers over the hidden trinkets lovingly and feeling like she had learned a part of Alice's life that she had never shared. Alison couldn't even know if most of her guesses and thoughts had been close to correct. No, she couldn't pack these ones away. They were special.

Alison stood up, running over to the backpack she had left by her shoes and began to empty it out of all her papers and junk. She shoved the things she would need back in before moving back over to the hidden items. She took one of her grandmother's old pale blue dresses and wrapped the smaller items into it before setting it in the bag. She was gentle with all the books and larger trinkets, placing them in only after she placed whatever was wrapped in jingling fabric in. Once those were tucked away she looked to the other things she had yet to pack. Alison moved some of the jewelry into her bag more specifically a locket before zipping it up and setting aside.

She needed to get back to the task at hand after all. It killed her, a knife to the heart with each item she placed into that box but this has to be done and she would be strong.
The sound of the tape sliding over the last box was so final. It was hard to believe that she would never be in this house again after today. Alison slung the discarded bag carefully over her shoulder before picking up the box awkwardly as she tried to get a good grip on it. She should have known better than to try to carry two items at once since as she tried to adjust the box, the bag on her shoulder started to slip which she quickly grabbed which meant holding a heavy box with one hand. This caused the box to almost tumble which meant she tried to catch it and of course it lead to her clumsy self slipping.

Alison's eyes snapped shut, waiting for the sound of the crashing box, to feel the slam of her skull against the full length mirror leaning against the wall, and to smell the iron tang of her blood in the air once the glass fell around her but none of these things happened. She didn't hear a box crashing but instead heard the twittering of birds singing songs only they understood. She didn't feel the slam of her skull but instead almost a floating feeling before the a sensation of wet grass slowly seeping into her clothes. Alison surely didn't smell her own blood for it could not smell as wonderfully candied sweet as it did now.

Ali's eyes fluttered opened and she laid there for a moment, unmoving and slightly stunned as her toes and fingers curled into the grass below. She jolted up, glancing around with one though on her mind.
'Am I dreaming?Did I hit my head so hard that I passed out?'
She was no doubt confused but she was also in breathless awe at the garden around her. Everything so vibrantly beautiful and smelled like anything sweet you had ever craved or maybe never knew you had craved. If this was a dream, than it was one of the most amazing she had ever had.

She slowly pushed herself up to a standing position and turned in a circle, taking it all in until she noticed the bag next to her feet ad her ankle brushed against it.She picked it up, placing it over both her shoulders this time. Alison had planned to blindly pick a direction to go in when she spotted something familiar. She reached out her hand to touch one of the flowers since it look similar if not the exact to the dried one she has seen in the notebook when she was grabbed by a thorny vine.

She pulled her arm back as an instinctive reaction and gasped in pain. This garden suddenly didn't seem so peaceful and beautiful as even the flowers themselves look agitated and threatening.
"Let go of me!"Alison yelled bravely, wishing she had some shears right about now as she moved her free hand to try and pry the plant from her arm since the thorns were painfully digging at her skin, not even noticing anything else that could be a danger like say the other plants she wasn't focused on.

"Goodbye Mrs.Harris, I'll see you soon!" Sage said kindly to his final customer of the evening, seeing her out the door. With a content sigh, Sage turned the sign hanging on his door from "Open" to "Close" and locked it, then watched as the bouquet of pinks and oranges danced and flirted though the skies while the sun set. He stood there for a moment, smiling, before turning around to begin closing down his shop. Before he began his ritual, he walked over to the cashier counter a lifted one of the peppermint candies he kept stocked from the transparent fish bowl there were held in, and untwisted the wrapper, opening it. Lifting the Candy to light, he inspected it like one was looking for a counterfeit before placing it on his welcoming tongue. Then, with the sweet mint in his mouth, he got to work.

The first of his duties for the evening was to return all his flowers to the cold storage, a lane of fully transparent glass shelving units, each with an air condition built in the base, to avoid being seen, they kept the flowers at a cool 1.11 Celsius and maintained a humidity level of 90%. Walking through the store, he collected each type of flower and placed his newest stock far in the back, and the oldest in the front. He had seven cold units, each with three rows available for his flowers, allowing him to neatly organise and store each of his Twenty-One species together. After he had each of his bundles and bouquets stored neatly, he went through the store and wiped down each stand, surface, and counter, making sure they were all pristine. Next, he went into the back office and collected his broom and dustpan, and swept the shop from door to door. Returning to his office, he exchanged the broom and dustpan for a mop and bucket, he went to the private restroom to fill it, and mixed in an exact measurement of lavender scented floor cleaner, and mopped as one normally would.

After the mopping was finished, he took the cleaning supplies back to his office, and began to count out his cash-draw, comparing it with the store's copy of the day's receipts to make sure all the money was in order. As usual, he had the day's sales to the dime. Logging in to his computer, he recorded the day's sales and checked on the incoming shipments and his orders. Everything was as it should be, and he had already taken note of the store's stock, so he knew he didn't need to place any further orders. As he stood to leave, he did a final walk-through of the Store to make sure he hadn't forgotten to take care of anything. He checked the lock on the doors, the temperature of the coolers, as well as their humidity, and set the store's thermostat for a war, twenty-two degrees.

And with that, it was time to leave. Walking back to his office, he logged off his computer and shut off the stores interior and exterior lights. Turning off the lights to his office as well, he turned to collect his keyring before noticing something in the mirror. He felt a pull of familiarity as he saw what looked to be the face and smile of a brunette woman that shared his facial features.

"Mother?" He whispered softly, then shaking his head. Of course, it's only a smudge. he thought to himself, picking up a rag to wipe it away.

As soon as his finger touched the mirror, he felt an immediate change in temperature, and with a gasp, he looked around to find himself in a dark, and beautifully eerie forest. With confusion, he looked back to the mirror to find that he was instead facing a tree, and a rather large one at that. Stepping backwards, he felt the tile he was standing on just a moment before turn to grass, and then to pavement. Looking down onto his feet he saw cobblestone, old and damaged, but evidently well made regardless, moving his vision forward, he found himself on a long path, a path with a fork about 12 meters ahead of him, with two signs.

With a curious smile, he began to walk towards them.

They called it the “Whimsy Moth Eatery”.

It was hard to say what, exactly, a “whimsy moth” was. The twins swore up and down that it was an incredibly beautiful creature when anyone bothered to ask. That it only appears somewhere deep within the heart of the forest, under a blood moon, and if you feed it one of your sweetest dreams then you would be blessed with good luck and merry days for years to come. Regardless of whether whimsy moths existed or not, however, the bistro was anything but “incredibly beautiful” in its appearance. They had recently covered the walls of the place with an array of HELP WANTED posters, and, rather than dampen down the garishness of the decor some, it only made it worse.

It likely didn’t help that every flyer had its own unique coloration. Or that they were placed in such a way that it appeared like a storm had pinned them all against the wall, leaving them in bizarre and downright incomprehensible positions (one in particular was dangling feebly from the roof’s shingles, and turned completely upside-down, making it near impossible to tell what it was trying to convey).

Inside the chaotic mess of the building’s walls was a surprisingly well-decorated bistro, and inside the well-decorated bistro was the chaotic mess that made up the Tweedle twins. Percival sat at one of the tables, feet kicked up onto the chair beside his and hands filled with fourteen ounces of rich ebony violin. He was deftly rosining up the strings, occasionally taking a break to slip the bow over them before wincing and continuing his work. Indigo was just as preoccupied, bustling about with a thin layer of flour coating the front of her shirt. The scent of dough and soup was heavy in the air.

“Y’know,” Percival began, plucking out a few choice notes, “I think we should get a harp one of these days. Got enough cash for it.” His sister came out of the kitchen after a few moments, absently patting off the worst of the mess from herself as she joined him at the table.

“Didn’t know you were into classical all the sudden,” she said. Indigo paused, sweeping a patch of flour from her knee. “And where would we even keep the thing, anyway? Not really the smallest bit of work out there.”

Percival shrugged. “Just thought it might class up my act some. Add some flair and whatnot. ‘Sides, we could just keep it where we keep the piano.”

“Sure, sure, ‘cept that the spot we’re keeping the piano is being used by the piano.”

“Could just scootch it over a little.”

“How about you try scootching the piano over a little, then tell me how that works out for you, yeah?”

While the sign on the door read “closed” in large, bold font, warm light trickled from the windows and onto the streets beneath.

He ambled along trees. Fading in and out, sometimes purring, other times humming. It was very liberating going wherever you wanted to go. No boundaries to one’s existence, he liked long walks, and long walks that took him to new and exciting things. Except that Wonderland hasn’t provided anything new and exciting in a while.

Everything once new and exciting, was old and exciting. Or dull and new. He wondered then did this mean they lacked imagination or that imagination was somewhat stunned. Meandering through trees fading through the branches and then appearing on different ones Something new was dreaming and awakening.

It made him thrilled for the future. But already homesick to the past.



He sung to everyone. But no one, but himself. Hatter was working on some important paperwork. The twins seemed to be doing all right by themselves. Time had no place for him. Time had no place here. Morning and day were the same as saying awake and asleep, he floated away before anyone knew he was there to eventually float elsewhere.

He finally ended up where he wanted to end up. Curiously Kat’s garden was quite reactive today. Oh yes the sleepless had awaken and the dreamless had started to dream. He eventually appeared at Kat’s window.

Hanging upside down as a cat, with tail downward and his belly upward he looked through the window.

"Greetings to you Kat," he says waiting for her to open the window, despite knowing full well he could evaporate inside whenever he pleased.

Half unpacked groceries sat on the table as Joanna tiredly scoured the screen in front of her for the nth time that week. A list of courses at the local community university being almost the only thing displayed on the screen of her cheap second hand laptop. She gave a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. With the large portion of overnight shifts she was receiving the young woman felt like this 'little control over her life' was just getting smaller. She felt like a living zombie. She never wanted to be a zombie. With a groan she drew he eyes away from the screen once more and turned to the other half of the groceries sprawled along the table. She slowly slipped out of her chair to resort to the mundane task of placing the groceries in their rightful places when a glimmer caught her eye.

Joanna's head whipped to its direction, the bathroom. In most cases she would have ignored such a situation, assumed it was the sun bouncing off of the mirror but something seemed... different. As if Joanna was being drawn to the core of the basic display. She warily walked toward it but felt as if she needed to. Logical reasoning, which would have told her that it was nothing, halted as she made her way into the crammed bathroom. Although the mirror seemed completely normal Joanna still couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. She outstretched her hand to press it against the glass only for it to slip through the reflective glass that was meant to be solid. "What?" she clipped, pulling her hand out. She wasn't a mirror expert but she knew they were not meant to do that. Next thing she knew Joanna was puled into the mirror by an invisible force.

Colours danced in her eyes. Random flicking scenes, one she knew and ones she knew not. random visual of clocks and laughter floated around Joanna as she felt herself falling. Am I going mad? was all she could manage to think to herself as she fell to the ground with a thump. A light shined ahead of her as the young woman was empowered to move toward it. She complied with the unexplained motive in her mind and ran. The light bringing her to cobblestone streets of an unknown place. Unfortunately she didn't stop soon enough, o run well enough. Whether she tripped over a pebble or her own feet was unknown to Joanna, however, she did know that she tripped and lunged toward a man in a pea coat, bringing him to the ground also as she fell.
@Midnight Howl

"Said ta turn it? Reverse?"
"Nah, iz someszink about leavink. Inspectink zee town, no doubt"
"Ya aimin' t'rifle through it'all ah ye?"
"Shhhush! Iz not riflink if I help"

The edges of Ansel and Wyte's heads peeked out from the corner of a doorframe as they watched Marcus announce and take his leave. Behind the corner, Wyte reached behind his back to pour Ansel a cup of black tea which they held over their shoulder to catch. The two stepped back, Wyte on the tips of his toes and turning with a pirouette to retrieve a silver tray of other cups while Ansel took a sip and shuddered, flourishing a cube of sugar from the small bowl. Wyte, however, tried to remain in sync and paused with an annoyed expression, watching Ansel calmly stir the brew before lifting an eyebrow to look over at the impatient doppleganger.

"Wot? Y'made it strong an'it- ooh fine fine" Ansel groaned, setting the cup on the tray and holding his hands out to mimick Wyte who offered a genuine smile before stepping into the other. They fizzled and rippled as they occupied the other's space, perfectly synchronized to the point of pushing their spectacles up the bridge of their nose and flicking an ear until they were once more one.
He didn't miss a beat, hard soles clicking along the floor as they strolled down the hall in the direction of the entrance. While reaching the hatter's office required him to walk almost half way across the estate, Ansel Wyte figured it would be worth taking the route to greet Moxie under the assumption that they would live up to their namesake. Also, walking the opposite direction was hardly an efficient way to reach a destination.

"Hellooo~" They chirped, looking around the entryway and proceeding on after finding only faint disappointment which he quickly shrugged off.

'Blegh, paperwork' he internally and redundantly outwardly mused as he looked over the mess of papers and taking a sip of tea to calm his composure. "Egh! Blegh! Rodents" the paperwork snidely replied...well, The Hare replied for the pile, narrowing his eyes as if having taken slight offence. "Best sort yourself, insults are highly unbecoming...even from one with such a flat affect" the hare teased, setting the tray down and looking over the papers without a clue in the world where to start. "Puns? So much class, and that's the harshest you can sass?" the exchange continued as the hare began shifting mages around in the opposite way they were strewn across the desk, paying attention to detail. "It is all I am willing to invest..." he sighed, picking up and shifting a small stack of bank statements and groaning to himself.

He had been abandoned. God was not the end be all to every question in one's life, but he really needed to hear God's voice. When all the voices told him he was worthless, he needed the voice that told him he was not. Instead he was often met with silence. Why how he been rejected? The priest told him to pray. He had been praying for the last two years 'n half. They told him to have faith in God's plan. He had faith and this is why silence hurt so much.

Standing at the edge of the balcony railing he was trying to ignore the voice of the Devil that had replaced God's own words. Surely that's what this voice had to be. The voice that told him he was meaningless. He would respond to this voice and tell him he was not. The devil would laugh and ask him, why did God remain silent?

He would respond with hesitation, that this was some sort of test. Some sort of trial. Only to be laughed at once again. Is it a trial or is that God doesn't value your existence. That's not true. Holding onto a sense of false hope. Blind betrayal. God doesn't value you. Doesn't care. Why else would he have taken your job? Or the woman you loved? God doesn't care. No one cares. They never cared. You are a worthless piece of space. Why do you think God has gone silent?

To test you? Is that what you think? I think not. Because he finds you a worthless piece of shit.

Shut up! Stop! That's not true.

Just because you say it doesn't make it not true. Look down. Look at the city of London. You think those people care. You must be so tired of trying to find answers that no one will answer. Not God. Not them. Not even you. You must be so tired of living this existence without a single person willing to give you pity or sympathy. Why else would the priesthood turned you down? It would be better if you had never been given an existence.

And I know what you're thinking; if that were true then why did God make me in the first place? To make you suffer. To make you miserable. God always has the poorest jokes. Go on ahead. Go. Give up. Because the world would do better without you.









Awake. Pierced by a cacophony of chaos in D minor. The sound of sirens whir like dizzying melodies of vertigo. Oddly numb. A light shines in his eyes like the sun is readily at your grasp. Their mouths move, though words hardly escape. When the words are heard it seems to come from some other dimension. Existing elsewhere. Voices coming after.

"Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

Only to answer with nothingness. A gasp of air as you try to talk. Something had shielded him from this mistake. He knew somewhere greater that he was not going to die. Every person at some point battling something knows when they are to live or when they are to die. What had stopped him? Had he not been as abandoned as he thought? Did he deserve forgiveness?

"Can you tell me where it hurts?"

"Stay with us okay. We're going to get you to the hospital."









His nails dig into the sheets of the ambulance gurney. The sound of their equipment jostling around. As sirens continue to whir. Chaos number 2 in major A.

"We have a 29 year old white male en route. Possible head injury...."

For a moment he lost their voice. Instead the chirping of birds. The scent of grass. When he comes around, one of the individuals grabs his hand.

"You're going to be okay. Just stay with us,"

A human touch that felt like a promise. To be forgiven. To be saved. To be worth something. Worth an existence. Sheets. Nails digging into the fabric of the sheets. To be digging into soil and dirt that collected underneath his nails. Names from somewhere else calling his names. But sirens became whispering of leaves, the whirring in his mind began as birds chirping. When he opened his eyes again he looked around.

Was this heaven? He wondered to himself. White leaves like diamonds hung overhead, on a grass of crystal. Had he been forgiven? Except this was not the heaven he was use to seeing depicted in paintings and murals. A part of him knew he hadn't passed on, nut another part wondered why he had been spared. How did he then get here? How did any of this make sense? How did you make sense of this?

@Majoras End

Roxie woke up. What time was it? A quick check of her clock showed her that it was about the normal time that she woke up. Yawning, she stumbled out of bed and rubbed sleep out of her eyes, before sitting back down on the end of her bed. She was going to talk to Hatter today, was she not? Yes, she believed so. Stretching out her nightgown, she stumbled downstairs and into the kitchen, which, at this time of day, was practically empty. There had been water drawn from the well, excellent, and she poured it out into her teapot, firing up the stove as she kept half an eye on the metal.

She fumbled around and found some scones, stubbing her toe in the process, and just about managed to get them buttered without causing herself any grievous harm. The kettle was singing as she poured it out, and dropped leaves, then milk, and finally two neat little spoonfuls of sugar.

She ate standing up, tidied away the small mess she had made, and quickly got dressed in her normal attire. Now as lazily dressed as possible, she managed to dodge any Alices staying within the building, and made her way to the Hatter's abode. She arrived, all was well, and then she saw some interlopers.

And that was something that she just couldn't ignore.

Hot steam floated gently upwards, swirling into the air as if dancing to some unknown tune only mother nature herself could compose. Kat’s eyes stared into the distance though her mind never lingered in the present for long. What began as gathering order to morning duties (for surely, she needed to trim the Rose bushes, gather the morning news from the Daffodils, and be sure to perk up the sour bushes) led to thoughts on the war. The Red Kingdom had never been this silent since the last batch of guests who appeared here. How long had it been? 12 years? The last time war hit the town it became a desolate shade of grey splashed with red. Whether this was from melancholy and heart soldiers or bellowing smoke and blood…she could not remember. All the same she couldn’t forget the screams.

”Greetings to you Kat.”

A familiar voice. A warm voice. Pulled back to the present, Katrina found herself with delicate hands clasped tightly against the body of the mint teacup. She didn’t even realize her heart had been pounding. Taking in her surroundings once more, eyes readjusted to the sight of a black and white cat floating belly up. All worry dissipated melting away like snow on the first of spring; no remanence of the past could be found in the simple smile adorned by red lips. He always had that effect on her. Placing the cup on the windowsill Kat unlatched the hooks while pushing the panels outwards. Fresh morning air filtered in, lightly moving the lace curtains to either side. Always the gentleman. She couldn’t help but to smirk.

Opening her mouth to offer a greeting the blissful moment disappeared instantaneously to the sound of the garden attacking some unknown object in an effort to protect what has always been theirs. Leaves, rustled against one another, the sound of surprise and shock as a retort. Her eyes opened wide for a moment fear from her earlier thoughts flooding her mind and muffling her senses. It’s the King. Moving back in a dazed shock she couldn’t feel her hand hit the porcelain. Hot liquid splashed against her legs on the way down, burning her slightly. The sound of glass shattering seemed distant and easy to ignore.

Heart beating wildly like a caged bird, Katrina turned, disappearing from the Chess’ sight before bolting out the door in direction of the scene. What she found instead only left her bumfuzzled. Fear subsided as quickly as it came replaced by a bubbly laugh. Instead of finding a card soldier or a hired aid, Kat lighted upon a petite blonde girl, no doubt from the other world. Grabbing the girl’s hands, Kat pulled her away from the angry plants scolding them as she did. The vines withdrew into themselves at the lecture.

“This girl is not an enemy; she is a guest now. I will not tolerate you all hurting innocent ladies. I expect you all to treat her as such!” Hands on her hips she turned with a humpf before readdressing the figure before her, voice now laden with motherly undertones/ “My dear are you alright? You must be full of fright with popping in another dimension and being attacked like that.“ looking back at the now calm flowers she made a small gesture, “They usually aren’t so misbehaved. They thought you were a scout, that’s all.”

Listening to herself, Katrina wondered how this girl would handle such nonsense. ‘Alices’ came and went yet she was still no better at explaining herself. People didn’t always react well to the news. Emotions ranged from disbelief, to shock, to anger. Katrina preferred to give each person a moment to gather their thoughts before giving telling them the truth about this place….They would be here for a long time.

Remembering the moment, the woman blushed bright red with embarrassment before glancing back towards the cabin. I just made that scene in front of Cheeesssss! I ignored him and it ended up just being a girl!!

There would not be any living down of this emotional morning. Shaking her head to brush away negative thoughts Katrina held out a hand, offering another smile, “Let me help you up. I live in the small cabin over there. Let’s get you a cup of tea and let you gather your thoughts. Then I’ll answer any questions you have.”

It looks as though she will be having all sorts of visitors today.

@Akayaofthemoon@AngelofOctober

Alison~

She desperately yanked at the vine, the thorns more than a bit uncomfortable at this point in time as scratches were clear as day against the pale of her skin.Alison had to admit to herself that this was the most realistic dream she had ever had and now she was ready to wake up. Her mind made up, Alison let go of the thorny attacker and pinched her upper arm which only caused her to yelp loudly inside of doing the desired effect.

Why hadn't her parents found her yet? Had they not been able to wake her? A coma didn't sound as amazingly exciting as she would have first thought when the dream started. It was only when she heard a light tinkling laugh of another person, that Ali soon realized that the vine had loosened its hold ever so slightly. She had been prepared to take the chance at freedom but found it to not be necessary as a pair of hands gently took her own, the plant going limp as the new person pulled her away. Alison had heard that talking to your garden could help it grow but scolding them as if they could understand was a little beyond her. She wasn't going to complain though as her rescuer could have been a dancing monkey for all she cared since she was grateful for any help. It made her very aware though that the dagger in her bag might have been nice if she had remembered it and hadn't panicked. Why oh why couldn't she have just had a weapon just appear out of thin air when needed? This was her dream wasn't it? Where was the control?

The blonde was so lost in thought that she almost missed when the woman next to her spoke up again but this time directed at her with a soft mothering tone. "I'm fine, really, it is just a couple of scratches and they will disappear when I wake..." Alison paused in her reply, her brain catching up with what the woman actually said. "Another dimension? Wait, this isn't a dream.... she muttered more to herself than to the other woman as she tried to process the thought of not being on Earth as well as having no clue where she was. Alison felt like she couldn't breath and that she needed a good cup of tea right about now. If I am no longer on Earth than where am I? Why are the plants so hostile toward scouts? Who did the scouts work for that had the plants so scared that they would attack? Wait...did I just ask myself about a plants 'feelings'? This is complete madness She shook her head softly, completely oblivious that she had been sat down in the soft grass and being allowed to get her thoughts and questions in order.

She was startled out of her thoughts when a hand was offered to her and she couldn't help the warm smile that tugged at her lips. Alison reached her hand out, placing it in the other and giving a light nod as she slowly stood, trying to not put all her weight on the one helping her up. "Thank you, for saving me. If I am to be complete honest, that sounds wonderful. I already have a lot of questions seeing how I now know this is not a dream...."Alison replied calmly but hesitated at the end of her sentence for a moment to glance over her shoulder at the plants before her gaze slowly met with a scratched up red arm that looked none too pretty, keeping her brown eyes locked there and as she continued to speak,"or a nightmare." Ali had so many questions ringing in her head at this point. She didn't know where to begin. She was just letting the garden owner or who she assumed was the owner lead her since there wasn't much better options that she could see. She didn't even know if she could trust this stranger but at least they gave off a good vibe and she has always trusted her gut with that kind of thing. It suddenly occurred to Alison that she was being rather rude to her savior though since she realized that she hadn't even given her name and yet this woman was going to welcome her into her home. It didn't feel right to accept such hospitality and kindness without so much as an introduction."It seems that I have forgotten my manners with all this confusion. My name is Alison and it is a pleasure to meet you." she stated during their little stroll.

Perhaps it was the sudden shade despite there being a clear sunny day, or maybe it was being pushed to the ground with excessive force but intuition told the Hatter something was amiss. This most scrutinized hypothesis was proven true when the item/object/divine being or otherwise sudden increased surge of gravity did not remove itself immediately. Using one hand for balance and an elbow for extra leverage, Marcus managed to shift himself over causing whatever was on his back to now be relatively shifted awkwardly to his lap. Straightening himself the man’s head tilted slightly to the scene. “You clearly aren’t a scout and I’m fairly certain I’m not on that mad King’s hitlist as of late. When I was thinking of a lady dropping by this is not entirely what I envisioned. Oh! But where are my manners!”

Still sitting, Marcus lifted the felt hat from his head simultaneously removing a cup of tea from underneath. Placing in in the girl’s hand he offered a greeting, “The name is Marcus D. Hatter, though you may refer to me as Mad Hatter, or Hatter so long as you aren’t mad.” Tilting his hat the man finally made the move to stand, grabbing the girl by the hand and aiding her up on the way. An Alice? How long has it been?? The King…. Leaving the tea in her left hand he slid his arm through her right. ”Now we must be acquainted for it is quite quaint to do so but time is faint and to dally is to taint my schedule. To the twin’s we go but Oh, don’t worry so. They will give you quite the show I know.” Without allowing the young girl a word in edgewise he began leading the way in a perfectly gentleman manner.

In all of his oddities the Hatter always had a way of making people feel comfortable around him. Though curious, he never gave off a ”stranger danger” vibe. In short, his theatrics are so bizarre one cannot help but wonder where the adventure leads. All the same he led the girl straightly to the bistro while pointing out various buildings along the way, giving random historical information as if he was a tour guide who’d been expecting her.

---

Whimsy Moth Eatery. Whether or not such a creature existed mattered little to the Hatter. Over the years, he’d had several complaints on the decorum of the establishment but something about the upside-down bistro felt like home. Nonetheless, he couldn’t deny the disarray of colored papers along the outside of the business gave his office a run for its money, let alone when he let the twins help decorate for events.

Giving the young lady at his a warm smirk he reassured, ”Looks are often deceiving, even when one follows their heart. The stomach is far better to listen to.” Gliding up the stairs the man cocked his head at the bold CLOSED sign, removing the keys from his side he opened it. Tunes that could be questionably defined as music poured onto the street. ”Wakey Wakey you two! We are having an unbirthday party with a most interesting guest!” Bowing at the door he released the girls arm and gestured inside, ”After you m’lady.”

@SouffleGirl123 @EchoicChamber

The autumn wind sent a refreshing chill to her skin.

Morgan had walked out of the Evergreen Asylum, briefcase in hand, and made her way to the nearest village. After so many years of being couped up in a building, she was finally free and deemed cure. But her madness never went away. She took in the colorful trees and the night sky, looking back to when she was young. Guilt had tormented her, not only for being a coward, but for resorting to murder.

Emitting a shudder, she continued to find a place for her to stay in till suddenly, a little grey rabbit hopped into view. "Arent you a curious one.." Morgan said, slowly following said rabbit. She picked up the pace when it started to hop out of sight to a well. She could only stop for a quick breath when the rabbit hopped inside the well. "Oh, wait! Stop!" she said, running over to the waterhole and looking inside.

Suddenly, Morgan lost her grip on the side, and fell in the well herself.

Darkness was the only thing she could see. Am...Am I dead..? she thought. Then color returned, as playing cards, clockwork, and steampipes surounded Morgan. She turned upright as her dress had shifted to one more vibrant, blue puffs of smoke emitting out of it and fading away.

All of that passed her as she landed into a garden, one that belonged to a painting. Morgan observed her suroundings till she spotted two other people nearby.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I've arrived to? This place seems familiar but I can't seem to recall what it is.." She asked Katrina as she aproached the two.

@Akayaofthemoon@Midnight Howl

---

"Status report."

The White Queen and the head knight of the guard were walking in the busy corridors of the white castle. It had been a full week since she heard of any events happening in Wonderland. "No sign of the red king or his troupe, no casualties, but new Alices have been appearing." The knight read from a paper in their hand. "More visitors, hm? Oh my, that can be a problem.." Mirana said before one of the maids barged into the room.

"Your Majesty!! Someone got into the garden, come quick!!"

The maid yelled and went ahead, the queen and knight having to catch up. Once the three made it to the entrace to the garden, Mira stepped infront to see an alice taking in the sights. "Are you...?" she said, taking a few steps closer, then one step back.

"No, I must be thinking of someone else.."

She held a hand out for the man to help him up to his feet.

"I am Mirana Blanc, The White Queen."

@AngelofOctober

---

Music wasn’t the only thing that bled into the empty streets from the bistro. There was the faint echoes of an argument from within, along with the occasional odd whistle and yelp of laughter. It wouldn’t be overly surprising to someone who had known the twins for long enough- the closeness they shared went hand in hand with the same petty squabbles as any other set of siblings- but all sound went to a complete halt as soon as the cheerful tinkling of the door’s sudden opening.

“Sign says ‘closed’ for a reason, love,” Indigo called over her shoulder. Upon fully turning to see who had wandered into the shop, however, she visibly brightened and- quite literally- sprang out from her seat, sending the chair tottering before she caught it offhandedly. “Well, look who it is!”

Percival took little time in jumping after his sister from the boot, vaulting over the table with the ease of an acrobat and leaving the violin abandoned on the table. “If it isn’t the Hatter!” He chirped. “Good seein’ you again, pal. Had almost forgotten about our unbirthdays, you know. Slipped the old noggin.” He knocked a fist against his own forehead, leaning against the wall with a certain laziness. Indigo, who had matched the pose perfectly against the opposing pillar, had grinned warmly at the Hat before looking elsewhere.

Namely, upon the woman standing beside him.

It seemed like the dry spell of Alices was at an end. It wasn’t a surprise that more had arrived- in fact, what had been surprising was just how long they had taken in showing up this time around. Indigo gave the woman an idle once-over, drew a penny from her coat pocket, and corked it in between her teeth.

“Who’s the dame?” She asked.

“Ten bucks says it’s another Alice,” Percival drawled. Indigo rolled her eyes, to which he gave a wry smile and settled more comfortably against the wall.

“Course she’s an Alice. She’s not, I’ll eat my boot.” She clicked one of her shoes against the floor for emphasis. “Was just looking for the name of our guest, is all.”

“So if she is, you pay me ten bucks. She isn’t, you eat your shoe. Seems fair.”

“Oi, I didn’t sign up for no bet. ‘Specially since it’s not something even worth a bet.”

“Too late. It’s the rules and whatnot.”

“How about you take those rules, and go ahead and shove them up your-” Indigo abruptly cut herself off, muttering. “Company, company.” Pushing herself off from the pillar, Indigo strolled over, extending a hand towards the stranger. “Indigo. Tweedle Dee. At your service.”

Percival brushed off his coat, then sauntered over to join the little gathering, thrusting his own arm out with a grin. “Percival. Tweedle D. At your service.”

The both of them spoke rapidly, as if they were saying whatever they had to say on one breath. It could have been quite impressive, really, if not for the fact that it made them damnably hard to understand at some points.

@Midnight Howl@SouffleGirl123

”Oh goodness! I’m so sorry- I didn’t mean-“ At the collision with the unknown man, Jo attempted to form an apology, stumbling over her words. Truth be told she was frazzled. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t? It’s not every day you walk through a mirror to fall into a tunnel to soon find yourself… somewhere. This had to be a dream, wasn’t it? Between the disaster that were her thoughts the figure turned himself, resulting in Jo shifting to an awkward position on his lap. Before Jo could even muster the thought of a proper apology the an opened his mouth, and Jo was soon to find that was something that never shut. He mentioned scouts and mad Kings and Jo’s head was running at a thousand miles an hour to even try to understand what he was on about. This was definitely not near home.

Lifting his odd hat, the man then produced a cup of tea from under it. Now, Jo wasn’t one to deny a cup of tea but how had it stayed under his hat without splashing out of the cup? Hell, how did it stay on when she knocked him over? This had to be a dream, perhaps she walked right into the mirror and had knocked herself unconscious or was concussed. Either way, Jo took the mug with a gracious nod before taking a sip. Mad Hatter. She was pretty sure she was going mad at this stage too. At his movement to do so, Jo also stood up. Hatter took her hand to help her up as she grasped her mug in the other. He was ever-so-gentlemanly. A million questions and comments raced through the young woman’s head, yet, she could not express one of them between Hatter’s rapid fire of words.

In most cases Jo would be wary of this man, this situation. However, she could not bring herself to do so. Somehow, he seemed to give off a comforting and safe vibe, as if she could trust him no matter what. Besides that, the (rather cute) zany man had caught her attention. She couldn’t help but be interested on what he would do. With the normal stranger danger warnings stripped from her mind she allowed the young man to lead her through the eclectic buildings as he told her random facts she was only half listening to due to her attention being continually drawn to the new sights before her.

Eventually the pair came across the oddly decorated establishment. This whole place seemed to be mad; the buildings, the people, the transportation to the world. Hatter then said to her, ”Looks are often deceiving, even when one follows their heart. The stomach is far better to listen to.”. Jo gave slight snort in agreeance before replying with a muttered, ”Ain’t that the truth,” that first part, in particular, she knew all too well.

”Unbirthday?” Jo questioned as the wonderland tradition fell from the Hatters lips but her thoughts were quickly washed away at the Hatter holding the door with a bow. What a gentleman indeed. ”Oh? Thank you,” she replies gently, entering the restaurant. At her entrance, she remained awkward next to the Hatter as he talked to the pair inside. The pair must have been siblings at least- probably. Questions still ran through her mind. Unbirthdays? Mad Kings? Jo said none though. The siblings then started their quarrel over Jo. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the pair, they most definitely suited the zaniness of this place. Eventually, though, she spoke up, ”Alice? No, I‘m not an Alice. You must have me mistaken for someone else. I’m Jo. Joanna Briggs,”