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 Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:53 pm
He was right, if Emerwyn was understanding him correctly. Cheshire had not taken control of him entirely, as seemed his intention from the beginning.
He was still the Black Cat. "He is still Julian."
But, how much longer would that last?
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:56 pm
"He is." Quietly.
"But Wonderland is devouring him. He's getting so lost in the Tulgey Wood, I'm having trouble leading him back out of it. He hasn't been outside...has only eaten when I have taken control to do so." He glanced off to where the Mock Turtle was chewing on his lettuce.
"They won't leave him alone."
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:57 pm
"Wh-what can I- we do?"
Emerwyn was helpless again. Where was the hope that filled her as she ran home that day?
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:08 pm
"...We need to pull him up for some air. Simple as that. The boy will kill himself going on this way...and I do not trust the White Rabbit or the Queen of Hearts to care one bit."
He glanced to the door, then back to her.
"I'm not giving up, or going away, you must realize. I do intend to stay, and I do not intend to leave Julian be. But...." A little chuckle. "I must protect my own world as well. I can't let it die with Julian's - OUR flesh and blood."
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:12 pm
So, somewhere, he was still the same Cheshire. Something in Emerwyn hardened at this.
She knew that the Cat, and all the others' presence, were the reason for Julian's suffering. A single soul does not have the capacity for many people.
But, she also knew that to fight Cheshire on this would only make things worse. So, she had to think about Julian first. And that meant working with Cheshire to help Julian.
She followed his gaze to the door. What was he thinking? Was he expecting her to leave?
"I am not leaving, either."
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:20 pm
"I'm not telling you to."
Cheshire looked back at her, his grin broadening. "...I'm just making it clear that I will not be going away. Getting rid of me will not solve his problems...that's not what he needs."
It was beginning to appear that as Julian was falling further into Wonderland, so was Cheshire. He was beginning to speak in more and more riddles....
"...The Cat alone cannot guide him through the forest. But if he believes himself to be surrounded by beasts, he is only going to hide...."
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:25 pm
It was hard to follow him. She was getting easily lost. It had been a long time since she had visited Wonderland.
"We must show him that he is not... but... how...?"
She chose to disregard his prior comment, though it was hard to ignore that grin, that shadowed the one of old.
"I am not even certain that he hears me any longer." It was so hard to speak to him before.
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:35 pm
"...Ah, but if you aren't certain one way...then you aren't certain the other. Follow what path you think you are being guided down...I'm sure any way you go, you'll figure things out...."
He was starting to tire - Julian was ebbing back out. It was visible in the drooping of his limbs...the look in his eyes.
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:41 pm
That was the most supportive and ... kind thing that she had ever heard him say.
"Thank you," she whispered as he faded away.
She held her arms ready to take the boy when he returned. No, she didn't know if he'd hear her. But, she knew that she had to try. That was where she was being guided, by her own heart, not Cheshire, nor the shadows that filled this dark place. And Julian would learn to do that, too.
Somewhere, he did know how.
... That's how he fell in love with her.
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:43 pm
And with that, Cheshire was gone, and he collapsed against Emerwyn with a soft grunt.
...
Julian whimpered, blinking up at Emerwyn.
"...You're still...here...."
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:54 pm
Emerwyn looked at him lovingly, and held him close to her for a while.
"I shall always be here."
She raised herself up, and pulled Julian gently across the bed, scattering papers, which drifted to the floor. She kept her cowl close around his shoulders. Her smell was deeply inbedded in the fabric. Then, she pulled up his own tattered covers, and tucked him in.
"Now, sleep. I shall be right here... Right here."
She leaned in, and kissed him on the forehead.
Then, she pulled the little chair across the room, right up to the bed. There she sat. She sat there all night, watching over Julian.
It was going to be a long night. They were not alone, and Emerwyn was starting to become more and more aware of this.
But, if she made this night, and Julian awoke to find her, still there, then maybe they could make it longer still.
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:28 pm
With all of Julian's self-inflicted injuries, the small injection mark easily goes unnoticed... until the fever-flashes of heat and maddening itching settles upon him. His heart races, and his blood seems to boil as the serum activates in his system, going from cell to cell and ... changing you. Fur begins to sprout, thick and grey, all over you body where it wasn't previously: your chest, your legs, even your face, washing over you and robbing you of the human skin that kept your face looking mostly human despite the slight muzzle you possessed. Sensitive whiskers grow above your lips, tingling with newness and sensation. And ever so slightly, your small muzzle pushes out a little further. While your changes are mostly superficial at this stage, your overall appearance to an onlooker makes you look much more feline now that you are fully furred. 
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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:02 pm
Julian in Wonderland - Part 3
"...Please, I beg you - let me up, I don't want to be here!"
Trembling paws jerked feebly upward, attempting to free themselves from their rusted metal bindings...but they were unforgiving, doing nothing more than offering a faint click and a sharp bite.
He was sitting at the head of a long table, strewn about with teapots of every description imaginable...most of them smashed, their remains staining the tablecloth a deep, deep black.
The sky above - or what could be seen of it through the tall, looming trees - was patterned like a chessboard...and had opened up into a torrential, burning rain. It scalded Julian through his fur and upon his skin, but he appeared to be the only one bothered.
In fact, he was the only one, except for the screeching of Bandersnatch high above...and a tall, deathly skinny creature on the opposite end of the table. The other denizens of the Tea Party sat in their mismatched chairs, yes...gazing forward with empty sockets, some of their limbs on the table or the scorched earth.
Julian himself was in a chair of his own - an old, rotted one, with metal bindings at his wrists and ankles, and a leather strap around his forehead. The lightning struck, lighting the sky a vibrant green.
This wasn't how the Tea Party was meant to be.
"...But the watch has stopped. You can't leave yet." The other figure tilted his hat upward, the torn, crumpled, ink-and-blood stained pages that comprised it rustling faintly.
"PLEASE...please, I...I want to leave. I don't want to be in Wonderland anymore...not now that it can hurt me...please-"
His plea was met with a sharp, cruel laugh.
"Don't you get it, Julian? The things you love...the things you cannot abandon...."
The man stood, beginning to walk around the table. The chains and gears on his patchwork waistcoat clinked together like a warning, the carved bone he was using as a cane leaving grooves in the earth. He leaned very close to Julian, black porcelain mask obscuring his entire face....
"...Things you love hurt you if you can't let them go. And if I am trapped here by Father Time, Julian...I might choose not to let you go, either."
With a stinging snap, the bone cane struck Julian across the chest, the point pressing deep into the flesh of his arm. The boy screamed in agony, ears pinning back against his head.
"No - please - PLEASE, NO...I have to get back...I have to...." His voice was fading - he felt something wrong with his throat. "...I...have to...get...out...you'll hurt...you'll...hurt...." He coughed, unable to say another word.
"I'll hurt whom?" The figure began to walk away. "If you can't say, then surely there is no one...." He spun on his polished heel, the painted eyes on his mask glittering. "Except you, of course."
It was then that Julian saw it - a glistening green creature, hissing and slobbering an acrid black substance. It landed on the table in front of him, long, twisting body writhing in his direction with erratic strides.
He tried to move - but his binds wouldn't move, and his captor was certainly not going to help him. He tried to scream, but there was only a catlike yowl.
The Hatter leaned on his cane with both spindly, immaculately white-gloved hands.
"Where is your Cat now?"
The Bandersnatch moved right up to Julian, head turning completely upside down and craning on it's long neck....
It lunged, and he only saw the creature's teeth flash as they snapped towards his bare neck.
_____
In the waking world, Julian's breath started to heave...and his eyes snapped open with a feeble yowl.
NO.
"...Emer...Emer...wyn...EMER...WYN....!" His voice was a hiss - he could feel sweat breaking on his burning skin.
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:40 pm
Slowly, slowly, the shadows swam over her face and body, carrying her into a dazed, slumber. She slept sitting up, unhearing, unseeing. But somewhere inside her was still thinking hard of him, trying to wake her up, so that she could watch over Julian, watch over him, like she'd promised to.
She woke to failure, hearing him screech in an inhuman voice. Calling her name. Emerwyn rushed to his side, stroking his sweaty hair out of his face.
"Julian, Julian, it is all right," she whispered. "I am here. I am always here."
She continued to stoke his hair gently.
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:48 pm
"Emerwyn...." His voice was a pitiful moan - his eyes full of fear. He thrashed slightly, his sheets going askew.
"...It's...it's happening...I...AAH...."
His back arched as fur began to grow, his heart beating hard against his chest.
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