seaofhearts | but as I told you... I didn't chase the white rabbit!

but as I told you... I didn't chase the white rabbit!

Who: The Alices and Clock
What: Open the first door and see what you find. Hopefully it's a key... maybe it's something more.
Where: World One - The Country of Clover
Warnings: General violence and disregard for life.

'▒▒▒▒▒, you fool... it was all just a dream'...

If she could have thought that to herself, then she might have believed it. Here were the high vaulted ceilings of Clover Tower that she'd grown so used to since the shift to the Country of Clover. And yet her name was still lost to her. She could not think it... could not say it... It was as though someone had stolen it entirely, as odd of a thing as that sounded. That was all she needed to know to prove she wasn't dreaming. Then that meant it was as the rabbit and cat said-- in order to retrieve the rabbit's keys, they needed to enter the doors and the door took them straight into peoples' hearts.

This one no doubt was supposed to be her own. How else could this place be replicated so accurately? None of the others should know a thing about Wonderland. After all... this was her dream. Her messed-up, embarrassing, dangerous... oh no.

Outside the window the forest, the castle and the Hatter Mansion were all as they should be. But what had happened to the others? If they had been split up, there was no telling what manner of characters they might have met. While they should be safe as Outsiders, Clover has never seen any other Outsiders. Like this, there's no way to be sure they're safe.

Whatever's happened - this is no time to be sleeping. She needs to verify what's going on in this world and the whereabouts of the people that entered with her. If this was a true and accurate reflection of the world that she knew, then she needed to warn them of a great many things.

Down the tower stairs she goes... to investigate the fate of herself and those who had gone with her.

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The desire for violence is a prevalent one around here. Ankh isn't surprised. He's seen that plenty of times before: humans who repress their desires and then get overtaken by them. In his experience, most people will easily give in to hurting and killing each other given the right incentive.

For Ankh, however, the effect seems to be a little backward. He lives on his desires to begin with, so what is there to repress? If anything, he might seem more peaceful than usual, lacking all his usual reasons for being prickly and reactive. He's probably going to die before the door can open, one way or the other, so why should he care, really? So is everyone else--and he isn't averse to being the person who takes their clocks from them, but for now he's just as content to let them all kill each other without getting involved.

So while some people actively hunt each other down, Ankh has taken to sitting in trees, keeping an eye on the situation while staying relatively hidden. He can sense those murderous desires, and he'll keep a distance from the stronger ones. For those who are less inclined to attack indiscriminately, he might let them approach. He might even strike up a conversation. He doesn't seem to have the same interest in violence that some of the others do, so maybe he's safe to be around.

Or maybe that's just a false sense of security, because in the end, that door needs to open, and that's as good a reason for killing as any.

In a sea of murderous desires - some evident, others hidden - there is one girl who bears neither. In fact, the girl running through the forest seems intent on something quite different. Very simply put, she seems to be looking for something, or in this case someone. But if she doesn't intend to kill... then what? What is it that Clock desires? That's very simple. She wants to put a stop to the fighting before someone gets hurt-- or worse.

But rather than the faces she's familiar with seeing in this setting, she's looking for new ones, still fresh in her memory. It's a rather large task, since they seem to have been split up. But thankfully she knows this world well enough that finding them may not be quite as impossible a task as it seems. The forest was closest to Clover Tower, and the first place she decided to check.

Still... she's just a normal girl. Clock probably won't find Ankh unless he decides he wants to be found. But one thing is for certain-- she has no intention of giving up easily.

Ankh, in general, doesn't want to be found. By the time she gets to him, he's already experienced enough of how death works in this world to know that stealing clocks from people isn't so easy as he first expected. Killing the others accomplishes nothing, and being attacked is painful, so at this point he's more or less avoiding people entirely.

There's one exception, though; one person he never intended to kill, or let anyone else kill, in the first place. Why such an exception would exist is a mystery, considering how hesitant he is to trust. Maybe it's something about this being her world, but whatever the reason, he can't shake off the pervasive sense that she's worthy. Someone who deserves his trust and his protection. Before this place, he was sure there wasn't anyone anywhere who fit that description.

And she's nearby. He can tell because she feels different from everyone else, unaffected by whatever is bringing out the worst of everyone's desires. This one person, he doesn't mind greeting; in fact, he's interested in talking to her, because even though he's somehow certain this sense of loyalty is warranted, he doesn't understand why.

He waits until she's nearby, then hops down from his hiding spot up in the tree. If she didn't happen to look up there beforehand, it might be a bit startling.

Indeed, Alice startles, gasping sharply before she recognizes the face and takes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness." Well that's one of her companions found. And it looks like he's been able to avoid the more dangerous citizens of Clover. "You're safe." It doesn't matter if they're strangers, friends, foes... all life was important in Alice's eyes, even in the case of those she just couldn't stomach.

"I woke up and suddenly everyone was gone... who knows where the others were thrown off to..." Going blindly through the territories was the last thing Alice wanted to do, but it almost seemed necessary at this point. Clearly she seems distressed about finding them. "Did you see anyone else since you arrived here? From our group or... from this place?"

He's surprised, hearing so much relief that he's safe. He briefly wonders whether he's ever heard that before, so untempered by any other wishes. It seems like there's always been a condition. He's safe, so he can keep helping with the king's conquest. He's safe, so the body he's borrowing is, too. He's safe, so he should be grateful and leave that body that isn't his alone. He tilts his head to the side, looking at her almost curiously. No condition, aside from the part where she wants to know everyone else is safe, too. And he can't help wondering why she cares so much about them, but maybe that's just the kind of person she is. Like someone else he knew, except that she won't turn on him in the end.

Or, as he remembers the clock in his chest, maybe she will, but only because it's necessary. He doesn't mind that so much.

"Everyone from before is here." He hasn't talked to all of them. In fact, there are several he's avoided. But there are enough signs that he's sure they're all there. Even the stupid rabbit.

"That's good... no, wait-- that's not good. I need to warn everyone." Suddenly it's back in full force-- the desire that drove her to move in the first place. "The Country of Clover is dangerous... the people here are-- honestly, they're pretty crazy. I don't think they'll hurt outsiders, but I don't want to wait and find out." She knows that in this case she's probably the one who sounds crazy, yet she doesn't have much choice. This weird tale is the truth.

Right... explanations... she probably owes him one, in all honesty.

"Um... this is the Country of Clover. It's the place I came from before we all met. Or at least it looks the same. The people I knew before I came here-- I haven't seen any of them. But everything else seems to be just like I remember it."

He believes her, of course. Why shouldn't he, when every fiber of his being currently says she's trustworthy? But he doubts that things are exactly the way she expects. He hasn't found anyone so far, talking doors excepted, that wasn't someone he'd met before coming here, and as far as he can tell, it's the outsiders who are all determined to hurt each other.

"The place you came from... did it take violent desires and make them stronger?"

"The Country of Clover is a naturally violent place. The people in it are almost always fighting over something. Or if they aren't they're playing some kind of dangerous game... People here don't care much about their own lives. Because they've always believed it's fine because they can just be replaced... It's a completely stupid way of thinking."

And she's not gentle in the slightest regarding her feelings for the matter. It's the one thing about this world that unnerves her more than the clocks do.

He's silent for a moment, pondering and piecing that together with everything he's seen. The way violent desires are always at the forefront, the way no one seems to care about their lives, and the clocks...

"We've replaced them, then." It's an obvious conclusion, and he says it that way.

If anything, the first noticeable thing might be that there's little desire for violence compared to most of the others. A little bit for revenge, but it's mostly been satisfied so far - he got a good shot in right before dying. What little there remains for violence is just for throwing things that shouldn't be thrown, and not much for hurting people.

The forest is comfortable. It's like home - mostly in that he knows his way around so well. He exits a door within range of the stranger, and turns to look in his general direction, or what he thinks might be that direction, even though he's not totally sure where the other is at right now. Despite being killed before, he doesn't seem terribly suspicious.

It's amazing how little there is coming from this one person. As far as he can tell, this place is amplifying everyone's violent urges, and it's a rare person who doesn't have any to begin with. He doesn't see any issue with letting him come closer, at least. For now, he doesn't say anything, just watches from his spot up in the tree.

He looks around. There doesn't seem to be anyone there, which is... a bit of a relief. Walking through the forest, he turns and... that flash of color doesn't look like part of the tree. Curious, he goes closer, trying to figure out what's up there.

"I guess you saw me." He looks down at him, meeting that curious gaze, though he seems a bit indifferent to having been spotted. It wasn't as if he expected to be completely hidden; he doesn't look like part of a tree, after all. Though if anything, his clothes here are actually less flashy than usual. Still, it's to his credit that he noticed; most people don't ever bother looking up.

He recognizes this man from back where the rabbit was. Another of those who followed the cat, then. Sebastian himself may be somewhat less recognizable, now that his hair is blonde.

One hand moves back a bit, towards his gun - after dying, and having realized his own tendencies for violence were increased beyond normal levels, it's a lot harder to just trust the others here. But he doesn't draw it, even though there's a small, barely cognizant thread inside him whispering that he should hurt this person before he's hurt - dying is fine, but the pain that comes with it is terrible, and he'd rather avoid that. Still, the fact that he wasn't immediately attacked is a good sign, right?

"I did." That much was obvious. "What are you doing up there?"

"Sitting." An obvious and unhelpful answer, but he can't be bothered to come up with anything more descriptive. It is the truth, though; that's about all he's doing right now. Ankh doesn't have much desire for violence, either.

It takes a moment, but he recognises the man's face as someone who was in the room with the rabbit. Something is very clearly different, though. "What happened to your hair?"

...No kidding. He never would have guessed. Anyway, his hand drops when he sees that the man is staying in the tree and not reaching for a weapon.

He shrugs, nonchalant about the fact that he died. "One of the others stabbed me. After I woke up, it had changed."

He notices the way the other's hand moves from his weapon. He wasn't concerned to begin with, since there hadn't been any real desire to use that weapon in the first place. Something about what he says is interesting, though.

He gives the man a curious look. He was stabbed, and the way he talked made it sound like he might have died. Did he revive from the dead, or just recover somehow? Either way, if someone stabbed him and they knew to take the clocks (or whatever that is inside everyone here--he never confirmed with the door--but that's what it sounds like), it's hard to imagine they wouldn't have. It's obvious that right now he's alive, though, and presumably that means the supposed key functioning as a poor excuse for a heart is still ticking away inside him. "You still have a clock?"

Edited 2016-07-15 04:20 (UTC)

[You still have a clock?

He narrows his eyes a bit. So this one presumably knows about the keys being within them, then. Yet he's not attacking. Interesting.]

"Yeah. I'm not sure why. Maybe he didn't talk to Hanna."

"Who?" Clearly this guy had also learned about the keys but who the hell is Hanna?

"The door."

Didn't you talk to her? is what he's thinking. But to be fair, Hanna only gave him her name after he asked.

Edited 2016-07-15 04:48 (UTC)

"That annoying thing has a name?" Not that he's really surprised, considering it was talking to him earlier.

"Don't you?" As if it's obvious that the talking door would have a name. It made sense now, anyway. Almost.

"I'm not a door." Though if he wants to go that path, he's also not any more alive than a door depending on your point of view. "People here seem to think everyone should be called Alice, anyway."

Well, that door was very alive, so what does that say about you?

"You mean the rabbit and the cat call everyone Alice. I'm Sebastian." Definitely not an Alice, no matter how much those two insisted on it.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." So maybe if anything, it's surprising that the door's name wasn't Alice, since it seems to be more natural to this place than any of them are. But whatever. "I'm Ankh." Very definitely not an Alice.

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