|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:51 pm
Alice's smile grew a little as Syth took her hand. Leading her toward the thicker air of smoke that was more pungent of woody aromas and a hint of possibly chocolate or coffee. As Alice pushed aside some blades of grass to reveal a smaller clearing strewn with large colorful mushrooms, a man laid across them smoking a sizable hookah, a leg bouncing lightly over his other knee.
"Hey, caterpillar... Did you see the cat go by here?" she called out to him.
The man looked over at her with piercing yellow eyes beneath purple and pink curly hair, then looked away as if to ignore her completely.
Alice growled a little but stayed her anger. "I know you saw him, where did he go... He took my mask and I need to get it back." she insisted.
"Silly girl, as if there is only one way to skin a cat." he responded with a slight chuckle and took another inhale of the hookah.
Alice blinked then narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying there is more than one way out of wonderland?"
The man snorted and sat up, but still didn't look at her. "You mean to say that you never thought there were other ways out? How naive can you be, Alice? Surely you know by now that your efforts against the red queen are fruitless, why do you continue to try..."
"Because I want out. Either tell me where the cat is, or tell me another way to get out of here." she demanded.
The man laughed and laid back down, ready to ignore her once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:01 pm
And here she was stuck listening to the exchange. Half heartedly listening to the conversation as she focused more on the breathing. Holding her breath until she could feel her body craving for more oxygen before letting up. A gasp escaping her as she flinched at the smell that hit her nostrils.
'Oh come on stop trying to play coy' She grumbled to herself, already forgetting she could shield her thought away from Alice as she continued to listen. By the time he was referencing skinning a cat she already needed to take another breath.
And with that another gasp as she stomped her foot. But yet as she continued to listen on she felt herself getting angrier about this. Why wasn't he just telling her! She wanted to get away from this place and breath some fresh air! Even if it been merely a minute her anger was boiling more and more.
And by the third time she had to take a breath she couldn't take it. Stepping up and giving his hookah a kick. Pointing a finger at him and launching a rather unspirited attack on the caterpillar.
'Just tell her already so we can begone from this disgusting place you loathesome bug!' She mentally screamed, forgetting that the only one that could even hear her thoughts was Alice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:12 pm
Before the man knew it, Syth had approached and kicking over his hookah. His once dark skin turning near bright red. "What an unruly child! Just as disrespectful as you..." he hissed at Alice.
"She said to tell me already before she gets angrier." Alice hissed back.
He stared Alice down but noticed the earring and the matching one to Syth then narrowed his eyes. "Fine." he huffed. "The cat goes where he pleases. Chasing him is a useless endeavor. But.... there is another way to leave wonderland, albeit not an easy task. Seek the White Queen, she has the sword that can easily slay the Red Queen. She would be no match for you any longer with such an item. The only difficult part is the White Queen is guarded by a dragon."
Alice tapped her foot impatiently. "And where is the White Queen."
"The Hatter knows." he answered and pointed toward another path.
Alice glared at him.
"I said. The. Hatter. Knows." he insisted as he narrowed his eyes. "Leave my sights, Alice, before I make wings to signal the queen herself and be done with your antics."
Alice rolled her eyes and took hold of Syth's hand again and began to move down the path the caterpillar had motioned down. "....well that was pointless..." she muttered under her breath then glanced back at her. "You're fairly brave for someone who's never been here..." she commented with an amused smirk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:22 pm
Well things were finally going somewhere thanks to her intervention. Though her outburst didn't exactly cause much damage to anything. Honestly the description of 'unruly child' was perfectly suited to what she had done. At the very least, they got the information they needed. Grab a sword from a queen who is guarded by a dragon to slay another queen to retrieve the mask(s) that would let her get out of this infernal place and go back to...
She dropped that train of thought as soon as it entered her head. No, she didn't want to exactly deal with the mess she had left behind. Especially after her attempt at babysitting,
'I just wanted to get out of there. That smell was wretched and I couldn't take it anymore,' She was quick to respond as she dropped her own hand away from her mouth with the smell finally clearing up. Though it'd be awhile before the remnants of it vanished from her sinuses. Now that she had moment to talk as they headed off to the Mad Hatter she'd be able to question exactly how Alice-ey this doppleganger was.
'Well how long have you been here?" She asked the dopple-Alice. Eager to poke and prod and figure out who exactly she was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:32 pm
Alice gave a soft snicker. "I see..." she responded, still moving along the path set out for them. It was honestly something she had never expected, everyone in this place was just so difficult to engage with and for her to just come in kicking stuff over and taking names was something she envied. A breath of fresh air from the usual lot she had to deal with. Someone who understood all this wasn't normal.
At her question, she blinked with curiosity. "...as long as I can remember... I fell down her when I was a kid I think... they've never let me leave no matter what I do... It took me years to even get ahold of one of those masks, stole it off one of the twins. But now that cat took it...ugh.." she sighed with annoyance. "...so...you come from up there..? I mean, the other place... What's it like out there?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:58 pm
And at that moment the monicker 'dopple-Alice' was sealed as her eyes squinted at her in response to her quick life story. Of course the Alice she knew didn't disappear when she was a kid. Frankly she never met Alice as a kid! She was just a teenager who had bat wings who looked really cool and she wanted to hang around and one thing led to another and 'Aaaaaaaaaa' She covered up her face as she began to blush.
'Its interesting!' She was quick to deflect as she began to calm herself down.Focusing on her breathing and taking the time to collect her thoughts before communicating to her.
Well the half decent things. Not the kind of things where your brother tries murdering both you and your girlfriend because of some Malice that's infested you deep inside and the fact that you and her were both terrible parents and couldn't take care of even one kid out of four and you swear up and down one's dead because you haven't seen them in forever and 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I'd rather not talk about it honestly!' she blurted out as she held her head in shame.
'It sucks and to be honest I met someone out there who reminds me of you and she's the only good thing about the other side.' she explained trying to shake off any other thoughts she had at the moment and not reveal the fact that dopple-Alice was basically the spitting image of her with the bonus of none of the memories and a dash it'd be really ******** creepy to admit you love someone so deeply you had kids with them and they know absolutely nothing about you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:28 am
Alice blinked and look back at the noise just in time to catch Syth covering up her face. "...a-are you okay?..." she asked with concern, looking back the way they came. Surely they were far enough away from the smoke it shouldn't be affecting her anymore but then again, what if she was sensitive? "...i might have something that could help maybe..." she tried to rifle into the pockets of her dress but the tattered holes indicated her pockets were empty. "...dammit..." she cursed softly. She paused when Syth continued. "....oh..." she responded then frowned. At the mention of someone like her that was the only thing good about the other side, she blinked again and blushed a bit. "...o-oh.... is that so..?" she looked away. "She must be someone you're very close to if you speak of her like that..." she responded, looking away.
"...there's hardly anything good about the other side..." a voice cooed softly, something brushing past Syth gently before it finally solidified and turned to look at them, the white haired man with a smiling mask stared them down.
"...cat..." Alice hissed and pulled Syth behind her defensively. "Give me back my mask..."
"Tsk. Tsk. Alice... You can't protect her from the truth." the cat tilted his head as he spoke.
Alice moved forward to try to grab him but he vanished just as quickly. But appearing right in front of Syth, very close and leaning in. "Nothing is what it seems here, Syth. Although you follow the rules, the rules can change after you have become comfortable with them." he spoke softly and very directly to Syth.
Alice growled and ran at the cat to grab him again. But once more, he vanished, letting Alice run straight into Syth at full speed, knocking her down.
Appearing beside them, he crouched down. "Be careful. The Red Queen is not who she seems. This game is fun, but only if you know all the players." he chuckled and vanished one last time and did not reappear again.
"UGH... damn cat..." Alice groaned. Looking down at Syth she gasped softly. "..s-sorry... let me help you up..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:53 am
'I am perfectly fine!' Was the only response she was willing to give back. Though it was the kind of response you might've expected from a teenager after they just got stood up but pretended like everything was fine. But thankfully before she could continue on with the conversation there was a distraction with a...
'Ah!' She shrieked as she jumped up from something brushing her. A disembodied voice revealing it as the cat Alice had been referring to. Though he wasn't an actual cat. Sill though once again Alice was left to handle the conversation.
Though when he mentioned she couldn't protect her from the Truth she immediately scowled at him. And just as Alice attempted to actually do something he up and vanished before reappearing in front of her. Giving her a tidbit of advice that was likely key to everything.
But all she could was swipe and to miss as he vanished away. Only to be met with the full weight of Alice's charge as she was knocked to the ground with the breath taken right out of her. Groaning as he dropped more hints about everything. Trying to collect herself as she went over her mental notes.
Mad Hatter to find location of the White Queen who was protected by a dragon but only she had a sword that could cut down the Red Queen.
But now she could add on the bullet points: Nothing is what it seems here, rules can change after you become comfortable with them, and be careful because the Red Queen is not who she seems and there are more players.
'Please She responded back as she took Alice's help. Getting brought back close within her. The doppleganger's smell immediately reminding her of the times were had spent close together. And with that she quickly stepped back, blushing again as she kept her mind empty of everything.
'Focus focus focus focus.' She muttered 'audiably', 'We need to go to the Mad Hatter and figure out exactly where we're going. And then we can figure out how we're not going to become dragon food and maybe just maybe end up closer to me going home.'
'But why go home?' She mused quietly to herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 5:52 am
Alice helped her up and made sure she truly was okay before she sighed heavily. "I feel like the only sane person here...." she muttered dejectedly as if she was sick and tired of dealing with these people for such a long time. Her own face wasn't absent of a flush of color with having been so close to this girl. She smelled of freedom of the true outdoors outside this wretched place. A place she longed to go. She heard Syth's thoughts to focus, her own mind wandering into curiosity of what had her so distracted.
A careful gaze scanned Syth for any problems but found none as Syth insisted they find the Mad Hatter. She nodded. "Certainly." she responded, giving one last glance over to be sure before continuing ahead.
As they continued along, noise became louder up ahead. One person was shouting as the other laughed before it died down a bit. Entering the next area, a man with mahaghony hair and thick glasses sat at a long table, a tail with a large bell on the end swayed as he looked up at them. "Guest?! Guests!" he called out.
It was mere seconds before another figure appeared, another man, this one had raspberry colored hair and a marking down the side of his face and a top hat atop his head. "Guests! Gue-..." he stopped suddenly and stared at Alice. "No no no no no no no you're back.... nooooooooooo bad bad bad this is bad... why are you back.... go now... go now..." he muttered.
Alice moved forward anyway. "I won't leave. Hatter, tell me where the white queen is."
"White queen... White queen?! No no no, you aren't supposed to come back. You left. No more no more."
"Hatter!" she snapped at him.
He stopped and stared at her. "............yes, Alice..." he answered suddenly calm.
"Let's talk over tea..." she suggested slowly. "You have a new guest, it's only hospitable that you offer her something to drink..." she spoke, motioning to Syth.
The man looked at Syth then blinked in surprise. "Oh yes.. Yes! Indeed! Tea it is! Hare, Tea! Tea, now!!" he suddenly became far more animated as he grabbed Syth by the hand and tried to usher to a chair at the long table.
"Oh yes, tea!!" The hare jumped up and began to quickly make tea.
Alice giggled a little at the antics as they courted Syth away, following just behind them as she watched a bit, obviously not finding these two the least bit threatening.fiye Please roll a D20 in your response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:04 am
'Please' She carefully thought to herself as they continued along. She was relatively sane, or at least put together with perhaps a glued piece here or there but she wasn't completely foregone, stuck in her own made up world where the characters were people she had known who were acting differently...
No, Alice might be right. Still, they continued on as noise entered her ears. It sounded like someone was holding a party with one person shouting as another laughing at a joke that was obviously such a riot. Yet, she paused as she looked ahead, the large bell at the end of the tail giving her brain a good rattle. Was that Sono? It looked like him! It probably was him. He probably didn't remember anything about her.
Yet as has been the case she let Alice do all of the talking. At least thankfully there wasn't a layer of regret and smoke as she was dragged right into the conversation. Alice hinting at the fact that there was a new guest (her) and manipulating the two strange men into having an impromptu tea party. Her hand getting grabbed, her body resisting the pull but ultimately giving in as she took a seat down in what was a rather comfortable seat. A pillow on the bottom for cushion, hard wood for back support. A little bit of rest should be nice.
But, she did offer a glare at Alice. Nevermind those two making Tea right this very moment. She got her out front and center in front of these two weirdos and god forbid she's about to drink whatever liquid they made and aaaaaagh.
'I swear if I get a chance I'll get you back' She thought aloud to Alice knowing full well the other two shouldn't be able to tap into her mind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:45 am
Alice snorted softly at Syth's threat, obviously very amused.
"Alice....isn't it...YOUR UNBIRT-..."
"Stop!" she commanded with a hiss as she sat down next to Syth.
Rasiel blinked and slimmed down a bit. ".....ooookay...." he whispered. "Why did you come back..... you weren't supposed to come back.... You also bring the......the......" he paused and leaned in close to Alice, covering part of his mouth. "....c-a-t...." he spelled out very quietly.
Alice sighed. He stole my mask.... So now we are looking for the white queen. Caterpillar said you knew where she was..."
Rasiel frowned.
"She's guarded by the Jabberwock!" Sono responded with dismay. "Stay and have tea instead. Its safer here."
"...its safe nowhere...." Rasiel corrected. "If the red queen finds you, she will kill you for sure this time. If she finds out I helped you, she will have my head.... Certainly you want to give up..."
Alice slammed her hands on the table. "Certainly i will not give up! Tell me, hatter. Or I say the word!"
Rasiel looked panicked. "Okay okay. She's down the path. That way that way. Just go away and never come back and keep the thing with you." he frowned, motioning along.
Alice relaxed. "Thank you..."
"You're not the nice one. You can go now. No tea for mean ones." Rasiel whined softly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiye rolled 1 20-sided dice:
17
Total: 17 (1-20)
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:11 am
'Unbirthday?' She did her best to finish what the Mad Hatter has spoken. Sitting rather while listening on the commotion remaining as quiet as she's had for her entire life. Questioning what in the world was a Jabberwock. Was it a nickname for the Dragon? Was it the kind of Dragon it was?
Still, the conversation kept apace. The same kind of mentions of how this place was unsafe and how if the red queen found Alice she would be killed for sure that time. Wait that time? She put a mental pin on that. Also on the phrase 'keep the thing with you'. Her face scowled just a bit, thinking he was referring to her.
No Tea even, thank the heavens above as she got up eagerly. Quick to push the chair in with a rather clumsy precision before leaving it crooked. Moving by Alice's side, ready to begin walking upon the path that supposedly led to the where the White Queen was. Questions at the ready for Alice.
'Sooooo.' She leaned in towards her, 'Now tell me. What exactly is a Jabberwock. And what did he mean by your Unbirthday?" They seemed like simple enough questions. And of course she'd be more than willing, or at least attempt to, to answer a few undesirable questions in response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:05 am
Alice shot Syth a look of annoyance when she finished the word, even if it was only between them. She was more than thrilled to walk away from this, from them. Good because she was slowly getting fed up with them as well. As they approached the path, she waved back at Rasiel. "Thanks for the information. And be sure to keep away from the cat."
"CAT!! CAT WHERES THE CAT OH NO THE CAT NOOOOO CAT CAT CAT NO NOT CAT NOOOO!!" the shrieking ensued of a tiny little boy with purple hair and dark sleepy rings around his yellow eyes that ran out from beneath the table, distraught and terrified of the very word of the predator that could ensue his death.
"Mean Alice is no longer welcome! The red queen will put an end to you one of these days!!" Radial yelled out in anger as he scooped up the small boy and shushed him. "shhh there's no cat. He's not here. You're fine. Its safe here. No cat. Noooooo." he assured.
Alice felt a little better now. As they continued, she frowned at the questions. "Jabberwock is the dragon that guards the white queen." she tackled the first question easily. But the second question caused her to cringe. "an unbirthday....is a day that isn't the day you were born. He likes to rub it in my face that I don't know my birthday and therefore every day is my unbirthday...... There's a whole...song and dance...and tea. And I hate it." she answered with a no amount of kindness about the topic.
They then approached a fork in the road. One path was white, and one path was red. A man sitting on the broken unreadable sign looked down at them with a smiling mask. "Are you playing by the rules? Or are you making your own?" he asked obviously to Syth alone, motioning to the white path then to the red path as he asked his questions respectively.
Alice hissed. "Damn cat. This is your fault, you know...."
"I am aware."he answered simply and continued to stare down at them, waiting Syth's response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:30 am
And Alice traumatized the small boy by making a references to the chesire cat. The boy shrieking and screaming and crying and honest to god it was a little bit crueler than she'd normally find tolerable. Leaving the two behind as the hatter soothed the other.
Nowhere but forward and it wasn't like there was anything useful back there either. Listening in on the bit of information Alice had. Her description of the Jabberwock being absolutely useless and the description of an unbirthday being relatively tame. I mean sure she could maybe try to sympathize with someone who's lost their memory but to make everyday into a reminder that you've lost your memory? That seemed a very cruel way to terrorize yourself.
'I mean, every day you draw breath is a good day' She responded with a soft smile, 'Plus, I'm glad I got to see you agai-' She caught herself on that description. Her face frozen in a bit of fear as she clenched her fist, only to be distracted by a rather familiar voice and face.
Oh boy he was back. And this time she found herself recognizing his face.
Hmmmmmph. Was everyone here a doppleganger?
'I'd like to imagine I've been playing by the rules' She huffed in addition to crossing her own arms, 'But at the same time no one's done a good job explaining them. I'm just a defenseless mute /girl/ after all' She thought aloud, hoping that the cat could just hear her own thoughts. After all a one sided conversation isn't fun at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Broken_Illumination Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 2:13 pm
Alice had smiled a little at Syth's comment but was confused by the next part, yet she was caught up with the cat again before she could even give herself time to consider what she meant by that statement.
"Mrr?" The white-haired man, tilted his head, the smile on his blank mask he wore appearing to grow a little. "No one has explained the rules? Well isn't this just an interesting turn of events." he cooed softly. "The rules are simple, you make your choices, choose who's words you trust. Pick right, you get to go home. Choose wrong and you die."
"Cat!" Alice growled angrily.
"Temper temper, Alice. You should have explained the rules better. If you keep people in the dark, they are bound to get hurt." there was a shriek from back the way they came, crashing and some yelling then everything went completely silent. "....looks like the red queen is getting closer. Tick tock, tick tock, you're.. running.. late.." he moved his finger to simulate a metronome.
Alice looked back in alarm then glared at the cat. "I don't have time for games, cat. Which way is the way to the white queen. Or give me my mask back!"
"You're being too bossy. You'll never get what you want with that attitude." the smile on his mask drooped into a frown. "Syth knows the answer. She makes the rules, after all." he chuckled. "So what will it be, Syth? The white path? or the red one? Will you follow the rules? Or will you make your own?" his tail swished behind him in curious delight as he waited.
"Dammit, cat! Tell us!"
"Alice doesn't get to speak." he muttered and looked away from her, focusing only on Syth now.
Alice gave a frustrated huff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
