seaofhearts | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject