Round 1 Introduction Hub Log

[worldkeys]

Who: The Alices and the White Rabbit.
What: What: Everybody wakes up on the first day of the first round inside the World's Hub, greeted by the White Rabbit, who seems largely unimpressed.
Where: The World's Hub.
Warnings: Rabbit is gloomy and has a bad temper and tends to complain a lot. Otherwise, not much.

You entered a closet. You knew that much. You woke up from... somewhere, and you entered a cupboard or a closet and you followed a strange cat with golden eyes. You blink. You feel assailed by the feeling of your body falling somewhere, the sound of heavy machinery--

And then darkness, before... a wooden pathway, and another cupboard, and a boy in a hood. A cat-boy, with golden eyes, much like the one you followed. He cackles gleefully at everyone before disappearing with a meow. The cupboard behind him is locked. Past this area, you find yourself in a strange room of ruined, cracked cobblestone and oddly-shaped lamps. Dead trees line the path. There are old tombstones scattered about. A gloomy boy with black twigs for hair and strange eyes, dressed in fancy, Victorian-looking garb stands in the middle of the room. There are others like you about, you notice. Not TOO many more, but a fair few.

Something about the boy's eyes carry a dreadful feeling. They're red on black. No whites to them at all. He has two white rabbit ears on his head, but one is distinctly torn off, like something had just taken a bite out of it. He looks at those assembled, cocks his head to the side, as if... curious for a moment, before shaking it and then sighing.

"... Ah. Welcome, Alice." There's a pause, as if he's assessing what he's doing. He particularly stares deeply at Clock. "... Oh? No, not at all... well, you're still ▒▒▒▒▒ to me."

A nod to himself, as if to confirm it.

"More pressing... I have a task for all of you. If you could help me with it, that would be most appreciated."

[ OOC: Feel free to respond in either prose or bracketspam. Also, Cheshire will probably have a thread later you can reply to as well. For now, this is the opening log to badger the NPC with questions. ]

Comments

[dolosa]

If it's a part of the game, I'll play along. It might be entertaining.

[ What a little shit. ]

It's the only emotion of mine that matters. Besides, pretending to have it is just the same as lying. And I'm not a fan of lies.

[apatheticguide]

... Well, whatever you choose to do is up to you. I hardly care so long as my Keys can be returned to me.

[ Which is true. ]

One door should be unlocked already... that's all that's in my power.

[stolenface]

Good question. Too bad I don't have the answer to that. Maybe you can find out one day. But more than once... Yeah. We've done this lots of times. It's always a treat to see how you Alices react. Everything's always so different. Don't think we've quite had an Alice like you before.

[heartgatherer]

Like... bubbles?

[That... doesn't sound good.]

Well, if we hurry, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

[She is not failing a fetch quest in her dream, no matter how weird it is.]

[apatheticguide]

Oh, yes. Quite like them. That's the nicest thing I can say about the state, really. I have seen it before. That is why I try to hurry people out of here and why I prefer they not intrude; they would perish.

[ If you die here, you die for real. ... Probably, anyway. ]

I cannot say how much time you have, of course. Such things are relative in a place like this. But I would not dally. And do not think you can do it alone, either; you will need the other's help, since it will be all of your Hearts that, like as not, might contain the Keys.

[heartgatherer]

Then you shouldn't drag people here in the first place.

[But what's done is done and now they'll have to finish things.]

Games aren't meant to be dangerous- they're supposed to be fun. No one will want to play with you if you play dirty.

[It's a little bit like lecturing the twins...]

[stolenface]

Not like it matters to me, Lorina. I have to get my kicks somehow. Watchin' others suffer... That's what I find fun.

[ ...And there it goes. You get a warning. No one else does. ]

[mearry]

[ C-ta quirks an eyebrow, unsure of how simple rabbit man was making it out to be. Irritation does seem to be welling up in his heart, though-- isn't this basically some sort of hostage situation? ]

Of course I do. [ he crosses his arms, pressing them against his chest ] Guess I would have preferred to be asked before being dragged to....wherever this is, though.

[ C-ta chuckles, though it's not from amusement. ] Anyways, do you have any idea where they could be?

[apatheticguide]

In the Hearts of those gathered here, of course. Yours. The other Alices. That one girl... Clock? I don't know. But she's here too, and her as well.

He probably hid them there.

[ He glances around over behind him, then back at C-ta. ]

... Yes, it's likely there. ... You'll of course go retrieve them. Leaving here is in both our best interests, I think. I don't want noisy guests, and you don't want to be here, surely.

[mearry]

Oh. [ C-ta stares at the hooded cat, a sense of unease and anger bubbling in his heart again; this situation is quickly wasting his patience. C-ta's never been a cat person and boy he sure ain't now. ]

It's not Alice, you know. [ besides, how do they differentiate between all of them? ] I have a name.

[mearry]

[ he looks over his own shoulder, trying to follow the Rabbit's line of sight, but he can't really make heads or tails about anything.

It's troublesome, and maybe he's unconsciously clenching his jaw, but C-ta's doing his best to stay calm. ]

Yeah. Guess we don't have any other option. [ Ugh. ] But what's preventing you from going in there yourself??

[apatheticguide]

I cannot. It's against the Rules, besides. I cannot go into the other Doors, and I cannot leave this spot. ... Besides, it's too troublesome. I hate bothersome tasks.

[ Is he just lazy, or is he really incapable? WHO KNOWS. But he really hasn't moved his feet from that spot, at all, standing much like his hair looks and resembles: a rooted tree. ]

[mearry]

Right. [ He is giving the Rabbit a suspicious look, masked behind a defeated smile. This all seems too strange, and honestly C-ta just wants to leave now. ]

And the keys-- why are there multiple ones? What do they open?

[stolenface]

Don't care. Everyone here's Alice, 'cause I say so. Well, everyone except that one girl.

[ You're Alice not, C-ta. ]

[mearry]

[ He would say something back, but the unsettlingly wide grin on the cat boy's lips is enough to get him to think otherwise. It's a shame. Part of him just wants to wipe it right off his face. ]

You're the one that stole those keys, right? Is it your fault we're here?

[stolenface]

You're the one who followed me, so I'd think it's more your fault. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

[ Isn't he just so clever? ]

[mearry]

You're the one that tricked us into coming-- it's not every day we see a cat going into a closet and not coming out. So it's still your fault. Did someone bully you too much in school?

[ Look, he doesn't wanna be That Guy that punches a boy with kitty ears but he's just running out of his patience soooo quickly. So he'll just be sassy right back at you. ]

[stolenface]

Didn't go to school. And it's still your fault for following. How'd you know you weren't hallucinatin'? But hey, ow I get to have fun!

[ Go on, punch him. See what happens. ]

[mearry]

[ No way he has a reputation to hold. ]

Don't you think that this is a little too bizarre for a hallucination? Either way, your idea of fun is warped-- maybe you should have gone to school.

[stolenface]

Sorry, didn't get a choice. And I've heard of way more bizarre hallucinations. At least the walls weren't bleeding with hundreds of eyes lookin' at'cha.

[ IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. Instead you got a creepy cat. ]

[mearry]

[ okay that's pretty bad. bad enough to leave him looking vaguely unsettled. ] .....Right. It sounds like you've...met some strange people. Did they follow you here, too?

[ Is he going to start hallucinating, too? C-ta doesn't want this???? ]

[stolenface]

This place doesn't have hallucinations. It's call real 'cause it's all from your Hearts.

[ Yup, just blatantly read your thoughts. Sorry. ]

[mearry]

[ CAN HE STOP DISTURBING C-TA. ]

How did you just-- how did you know that? What do you mean by our hearts?

[stolenface]

It's pretty obvious, isn't it? And I mean what I mean. Those doors are the way into your Hearts. Every little secret you never wanted seen, every little negative thought or doubt... Gonna have to let everyone see those to get the Keys back.

[ The whole mouth full of sharp teeth and a way-too-big smile are probably even more disturbing now. ]

[mearry]

[ What? Forget about the shark tooth smile, it's the explanation of what they have to do that ends up being the most disturbing for C-ta. There's a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach and his heart is racing at a hundred miles per hour.

Negative feelings? Secrets? No, no, no, these strangers around him.... seeing all the secrets he's hidden-- wait, but...what secrets? He's just a high-schooler, there's nothing that he should have to hide, right? Why would he have something to hide?

He clenches his fists, to the point that his knuckles are bone white.]

What the hell are you talking about?! What the hell do you find so funny about this?!