Welcome to Madness - [O//A]

[The Night Faery]

"I believe you mentioned that you lost it," Alice reminded Bai as politely as she could. "But if you found it just in time for tea then I suppose not everything can be wrong with the world, can it?" She cast a sidelong glance at the caterpillar, who was looking particularly morose. "Wouldn't you say so, Caterpillar, sir?" She felt a little guilty for having asked so many questions, and wondered whether the original incident or she herself had put him in this state. Either way, she was determined to brighten his mood. "Now then, if only we could find a place to stop for tea... Perhaps, if we end up somewhere favorable, you would like to join us, Miss Bai?"  

[Azure Caterpillar]

"No no, Miss Alice! Its my watch that lost the time, not Bai's... I'm sure her watches have stolen the time from mine!" The Professor protested and crossed her arms, looking rather serious... but she soon changed her tone. "Tea sounds like a good idea though."

Ignoring the Professor, Caterpillar replied to Alice; "I wouldn't say so." He sighed, now what is it with humans and tea anyway? He looked over to Bai.

"Would tea with these two," He motioned to Alice and the Professor, obviously not interested in tea himself. "be considered unloyalty to your Queen? Just a thought." His bad mood seemed to of subsided slightly with changing the subject, but he still was a little annoyed with the thought of being asked so many questions from either that person or Alice... or anyone for that matter.

"Where do you suppose we would find somewhere favourable in this city then?"  

[The Night Faery]

"Of course," Alice said, in response to both the Professor and Caterpillar, feeling thoroughly subdued. She frowned and pulled her lips into a little pout as she added, "I was only trying to help, you know."

The tables, it seemed, had turned, and she was hardly feeling like the spirited mood-lifter now that her suggestions had been entirely rejected by one party or another. "I don't much care for tea anymore," she mumbled, "and I doubt there's anywhere favorable in this city. It's all perfectly horrid. I just want my meadow back, without any dirty streets or bothersome people." She kicked the ground and started moodily down the street.

((lol, she's kind of a brat, isn't she? XD ))  

[Azure Caterpillar]

"Bothersome people?" Caterpillar looked at the Professor for a moment before turning back to Alice who had started walking off somewhere. "Alice, wait... you can't go off on your own in this place." He said after her; she obviously didn't understand not to go running off by oneself when you didn't know the way in which to take, it was a sure way to get lost.

"Infact..." Caterpillar started rather randomly, as he didn't continue for a while, maybe contemplating something. "What about me? I get up to suddenly find the entire world has changed, my senses are being thrown off... and a girl who doesn't know how to keep her temper is telling me to journey into an unknown city." He said all this rather calmly though.

"I also am quite missing smoking my hookah..."

The Professor nodded. "Maybe you both have the right to complain about your day, eh?" She said, and glanced over toward Alice. "But he's right, Miss Alice! You shouldn't wander off!" She almost shouted. Infact the Professor had decided she probably shouldn't start complaining too, otherwise this little party would get most depressing. For now; she'd have to take the role of the optimist.

"I'm sure we can figure something out!  

[Azure Caterpillar]

((Cheshire introductory post.))

The forest was dark, hardly any light got through the trees; which themselves where twisted and unfriendly. Even the smaller plants seemed sinister. Hadn't once these woods been a lighter and friendly place? Where the sunlight would stream through the trees and the inhabitants would host tea parties?

The thin layer of mist on the ground shifted; as though something had disturbed it, only there wasn't anything there. Or so most would think. The mist swirled as some invisible presence made its way through the forest.

Out of all the creatures left in the woods this one was the oddest. Or he at least liked to think that himself. Slowly something began to appear, floating amongst the trees; it took the form of... a grin with a row of sharp teeth. Eventualy the rest of the creature appeared revealing itself to be a cat.

It was rather a large cat, with very sharp claws and a long tail and ears. It floated through the trees, flying gracefully and whimiscally. Why it grinned all the time was quite unknown to all but the cat.

His name was Cheshire, or at least everyone called him that because he was indeed a Cheshire Cat.

Cheshire had been hiding in the forest for quite a while now, though he had recently paid a visit to the unusual city that had appeared. There he had watched some rather odd people who seemed to be confused at where the city had come from. The cat himself didn't concern himself with it... if the city wanted to appear, then fine. But what did interest him was the people, they seemed to every so often talk to someone who wasn't there and claiming they had gone somewhere else... yet they stayed where they were.

Cheshire had not experienced this yet, he wondered if he ever would? But now he was quite unsure whether to make himself known to that Alice girl and her... friends. Or maybe he should find this Queen person instead. Who knew what was going on anyway? Even that Caterpillar didn't seem to know completely, and that's strange for a Lepidoptera.

The cat came to a clearing, he sat upon the ground; watching some animals skitter off into the darkness. He was sure however that soon he wouldn't be alone any more.

((Couldn't think of another colour for his posts.))  

[Priestess of Sekhmet]

((Kaz and Jayla here! I'll try to keep it shorter and give room for interaction.))

The hole. It was large enough to fit herself through, but...Jayla and her brother? She had no idea how to get them out, and the second she was gone, they'd be dead for certain.

Kaz had kept the 4 foot wide hole under her bed a secret for months now, waiting for her execution, and after seeing Jayla's mother die, she just didn't have time to wait around anymore.

"Dammit!" She hissed, running her fingers through her hair in an old, familiar habit. Jayla was only a cell away, but she seemed so far. How could they escape? Her brother was in yet another cell, how would they rescue him?

A guard passed her cell and glared at her, but she refused to look up. The cool wall at her back felt strange and hard and she understood just what they were getting into.

Jayla said something and the guard shouted at her to be quiet. Kaz shivered and pulled the ratty blanket from her bed to cover herself. Something would have to give.

-----
-----

Jayla was dreaming. She knew it, because it wasn't dark, she wasn't in chains, her mother was alive and well, but the second she realized this, she jolted awake.

She rubbed her eyes, forgetting her surroundings for a blissful split-second. Her brother was sleeping as well, curled into a ball on his bed across the hall. His blonde hair covered his relaxed face and Jayla felt a surge of maternal affection. He was so very young.

She leaned against the wall, imagining her best friend on the other side. She heard the frustrated Kaz mutter something just as heavy footsteps rang out in the hall.

"It's okay." Jayla said to the universe. She was okay. It would be okay.

"Shaddup." The spat at her as he passed and waved his spear at her to illustrate his point. Jayla sunk into the wall and hung her head.

She was broken. Something would have to give.  

[The Night Faery]

((AAH! You guys, I'm so sorry for taking this long to respond!! Life has been crazy, but I'll try to keep up better.))

Alice stalked along, unhurriedly, positive that if the three she left behind decided to follow her, they would do so at a safe distance. She was surprised to find that she actually wanted to go back to that bright place, to speak to the man with the stern yet amused voice and demand a few answers from him. Ducking around a corner and sliding down the wall to the ground, she wrapped her arms around her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe, she thought, maybe I can wish myself there. If I can get there on accident, why shouldn't I be able to do it on purpose?

Whatever the reason, though, she could not, and after what seemed like ages of trying to transport herself she opened her eyes and sighed in defeat. She didn't get up, but leaned her head out around the corner to see if anyone had come after her-- she would be perfectly angry if they had, and utterly offended if they had not-- but it was too dark to see. She wondered if this city would ever grow brighter.  

[Azure Caterpillar]

((That's okay. ^_^ ))

Caterpillar had decided to follow Alice; the main reason he had been dragged on this venture was her anyway, and if it was all for naught... he'd be most annoyed. He didn't bother to check if the other two were following him, he wasn't really concerned either way.

Looking around the corner of where he had seen Alice go; he frowned when he saw her. "Didn't you hear me? I told you not to run off by yourself," Caterpillar straightened his sleeves. "Look at that; you've made me sound like a worried parent." He sighed; leaning against the wall he mumbled almost to himself; "This city isn't an aduquate place for a caterpillar."

He glanced at her. "Or you for that matter."

The Professor had followed Caterpillar for a while but eventually she just decided to wait for them. Instead she began looking through windows of the buildings; but most seem deserted.

"This place is so depressing... not enough clocks at all!" She said to herself and sat down; her mind wandering to other things. "I wonder if Caterpillar can spin silk... I wonder if he'd mind me asking..." She sighed; guessing he'd be angry about it.  

[Priestess of Sekhmet]

((Aw, that's okay!! biggrin ))

Kaz slithered through the hole beneath her bed as the guards slept. She was withing the castle itself. She flushed with the effort of running over pipes, until she came to what (she hoped) was the floor of Jayla's room.

"Please, please, please..." She whispered the mantra over and over, working away at the concrete around one block as she had been for weeks. Jayla's brother was already out, and stood behind her in silence. He knew better than to get in Kaz's way.

---
---

A scratching noise was coming from Jayla's floor, as it had been for weeks. She wasn't sure what it was, but she found it hard to care.

Until she saw a hand come through her brother's floor and her came through a hole in silence. Now she was pushing on the brick in an attempt to free ********!" Jayla smiled. Kaz was holding the brick in her arms, glaring at it for attempting to crush her face. Jayla swung down and took her brother's hand as well as Kaz's.

They ran.  

[The Night Faery]

Alice looked up at the caterpillar without moving her head so that she was glaring at him from under her brow. "Of course I heard you," she said sullenly. "I'm certainly not a deaf old lady. Of course I heard you-- I simply wasn't listening to you. Surely you of anyone can understand the difference."

She lowered her head and admitted sulkily, "I tried to go back... to that place with the bright lights? I couldn't do it. Why not? Haven't I as much a right to go there when I want to as when I don't want to? If you're so smart and wise, tell me why I couldn't do it."  

[Azure Caterpillar]

"Foolish..." Caterpillar muttered looking to one side. "You'll never get there if you try to go there; its when you're not trying to... that's when you'll get there." He stared at her. "You can't just order it; you have to learn that you won't always get what you want. But by all means... just stay 'here' and try to go 'there'."

Caterpillar turned away; he had no patience for childish questions. "Though personally I think I will try to find out what's going on here first before worrying about that other place." He sighed. "There was something watching us before; it was not loyal to the Queen." Caterpillar said solemnly; and rather randomly too. "It has since disappeared from this city."

He turned back to face Alice, looking rather sternly at her. "There is much hidden in this city; are you content staying here alone?"  

[The Night Faery]

"I'm not content staying here at all," Alice said, but the bite had faded from her voice, melting into curiosity and just a hint of worry as her mind registered the rest of what the caterpillar had said.

"What do you mean, there was something watching us before?" she asked, frowning as she spoke. "Like another person? Do you think it was dangerous? If you know it wasn't loyal to the Queen-- whoever she is-- then do you know who it was loyal to? And why didn't you say anything about it when you noticed it? That might have been a very useful bit of information, you know."

She realized she was asking an impossible amount of questions again. With a sigh, she stood up and dusted herself off, pausing for a moment to lean on the wall as blood rushed to her head. It was getting to be more than a little bothersome being so tall. "Well, I suppose that whatever it was, if it's gone now there isn't much use discussing it. You don't suppose we'll find any more helpful people here, do you?"  

[Azure Caterpillar]

"It would not, what is the use of knowing about an invisible creature; if the creature itself wished no interaction?" Caterpillar asked, but as a rhetorical question. "You knowing of it wouldn't change the situation. All it did was watch us for a while. Rather unusual creature." He added wishing Alice wouldn't ask so many questions all the time.

Caterpillar was beginning to wonder if he'd ever get to smoke his hookah again; that... and he was also quite hungry by now... so he wasn't in the best of moods. "And I do not believe we will find anyone else here; around this area anyway." He sighed; wondering where the Professor had got to, as she obviously hadn't followed him.

"What do you want to do?" He asked Alice directly.  

[The Night Faery]

"What do I want to do?" Alice repeated, once again beginning to feel rather cross herself. "Since when has it mattered at all what I want to do? I want to go back to my meadow and tear down the fence and let the grass grow all the way across this dreadful city and pull down these buildings and turn them into dust so that the flowers can grow again and get rid of that dreadful Queen of Hearts, whoever she is, and tear down her palace too so I can go sit under my tree and read and sing and dream without any interference from any surly caterpillars or creepy professors or little girls in silly hats who come bearing horrid packages!"

She took a deep breath, took a moment to collect herself, and wiped away the tears that were rolling down her hot cheeks. "But," she said, her voice even and calm, "that's not going to happen, so there's no point in asking me what I want to do."  

[Azure Caterpillar]

"If you recall," Caterpillar said in a stern voice. "You were the one who approached me. I was quite happy on my mushroom, smoking my hookah. And you dragged me on your little journey... and now I have to deal with your ridiculous temper." He hadn't been at all impressed with Alice's reply. "This place... it distorts my senses. You think I like it here?"

Caterpillar turned away from Alice; his antennae moving as if trying to pick up on something. "If you wish to be alone; then so be it." He added. "But even with the distortion I can tell there's something else beyond this city; I intend to find it." Going back to the main street he glanced at her for a moment; still quite sure she was the key to it all. "Perhaps I can find answers away from here." Caterpillar had decided to try and leave the city now and explore outside; even if Alice didn't follow him.