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

[heartgatherer]

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.

Comments

[dolosa]

[ Well, then. Her heart's a clock now and she can't say she's surprised. Her heart is empty, anyway, so you might as well stick a clock in it, to be honest. It doesn't change much except for the annoying ticking that makes her ears ring every now and again, but she pays it no mind.

It isn't really all that important.

This urge to kill is unnerving, however. . . but, whatever. He won't see it. And it's not like the deaths are 'real' in a sense. ]

Forgive me, Hajime.

[ Of course, she is planning on not killing with her own two hands - she has people for that, as a queen - but she won't be stopping the killings anytime soon. ]

Is this okay?

[notsogreedy]

[He has been more or less avoiding people--he has a similar plan, waiting for everyone else to kill each other, and he can feel the murderous desires at a distance so it's fairly easy to avoid them--but this one seems as if she hasn't fully embraced the idea.

He's in a tree nearby, having found it to be a good vantage point, and obscured enough that he's difficult to notice up there, provided he's not drawing attention to himself. He only overhears the words by chance.]

Hajime. Who's that?

[He may as well learn something before everyone inevitably ends up dead.]

(ooc: Permission info for his desire sense would be much appreciated!)

100% fine with me!

[dolosa]

[ Rei isn't hiding her feelings in the slightest bit, so when she answers, it's with a rather cruel smile. ]

My boyfriend, I guess you could say.

[notsogreedy]

[He tilts his head, looking down at her curiously. With that information, he can understand a bit more of her desires, and it's... strange. Love is one of the easiest to pick out, and it's missing. As if the smile wasn't enough to say that. That much isn't too surprising in itself, but why ask for forgiveness from someone you don't really care about? He replies with a quiet "heh".]

What are you apologizing for, then?

[dolosa]

Hm. . . I wonder.

[ She shrugs her shoulders wide, sounding rather apathetic, even as she still smiles, her gaze shifting to look at the sky. ]

People will have to die in this world. Whether it's apologizing for killing people again, or being unable to stop it, or whatever. It's a thing that needs to be done. Right?

[notsogreedy]

It seems to be the only way to get out of here. [He shrugs slightly; he's not especially bothered by the concept, though clearly he isn't in a rush to do all the killing himself or he would have shot her while she still didn't know he was there.] Some people seem happy to play along.

[There's a slight pause and a curious look as he adds,] What did you mean, "again"?

[dolosa]

Sometimes there's no other choice.

[ This isn't her first rodeo, she implies as her smile drops. While she also isn't bothered by the whole thing -- as long as she can get out, it'll be fine. ]

Again means again. Or are you deaf? I don't really care about explaining it -- really, it's boring.

[mearry]

[ Urge to kill? Check. It basically radiates through C-ta's veins and, strangely enough, it feels familiar to him. Although he cannot place where this familiarity comes from, he definitely notices it, beneath the ticking of his new heart.

It's unsettling. He hates it. But he wants to go home, no? The cat said that he had something stolen from him-- and he has to find what that something is. No matter the cost.

A hand grips on the axe, as he rests against the trunk of a tree. Relax, C-ta. Relax. ]

Hm? Why are you apologizing? [ Might as well feign a relaxed tone of voice, green eyes hovering over the stranger's form. ]

[dolosa]

Mm... well, I doubt he'd find out about this, but I wanted to apologize to him anyway. I just felt like it, really.

[ Rei's voice, on the other hand, remains completely calm. ]

[mearry]

Oh? What's this that you're talking about? It sounds like you're going to do something bad.

[ It's a bit awkward, really, but C-ta has never been good with talking with girls. Nevertheless, there's something unsettling about this, goosebumps rising on his skin. ]

[dolosa]

Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I could watch the world burn if that's what I wanted.

[ She shrugs. ] I just wanted to apologize in advance. You know, just in case.

[mearry]

[ he shrugs in return ] If he cares for you, then he should be willing to forgive you, no matter what. Even if you do watch the world burn.

Although others might not be so forgiving.

[dolosa]

As long as I don't hurt him and his friends... perhaps. But perhaps I am being a bit pessimistic. I don't think he would betray me.

[ There's just a slight pause in her words as her smile brightens. ]

Nevertheless, I don't really care much about others. They're not important to me. So if they're the ones that are unforgiving -- then, well. Let them.

[zinit]

[Qilby has his own attachments, sure, but he can't help the amusement that rises in him hearing someone else's. Ah, mortals: their fleeting connections; their simple, yet strangely complicated loves. He'd have found it interesting, were this a different time and place.]

[Still, he approaches with the same gentle, ??wise?? smile he always wears. (It's an easy act to slip into, though he doesn't remember a time when he was... Shit, that's concerning, but less concerning than the ticking in his chest. It will hit him like a train later.) Gently, he starts:]

Someone from home? [He seems almost wistful when he says:] It's easy to miss special people in a place like this, isn't it.

[dolosa]

No, he's not someone from home.

[ Fingers run through her hair as she matches his smile with one of her own. It's so easy to pretend that she has any sort of emotion when she's dead inside. ]

And I can't say I miss him, either.

[zinit]

[A two-faced old man and a two-faced teenage girl walk into a garden... How's that joke supposed to end?]

Ah, so it's like that. [Someone she feels loyal to, perhaps, though not out of any sense of caring? How gross. What's more interesting is the implication...] You've had the fortune to visit another world before this, then?

[dolosa]

Hmmm.

[ Pressing her lips together, she hums inquisitively. It's true that she doesn't miss Hajime, but she isn't sure if that's just because she's missing the proper emotion to miss him or perhaps she just believes there's no reason to. It's difficult to tell, really, but she could honestly care less. ]

I had asked to be brought back to Hajime's world after that game was over -- so. It happened.

[zinit]

[Is she one of those types of women who denies their feelings, despite acting in a way that clearly indicates they have feelings? Does she just have some sort of loyalty? Huh.]

A game like this one, or another? [A little chuckle.] Forgive me; I'm just curious. Of all the worlds I've seen, I've never seen one quite like this.

[heartgatherer]

[By now Alice has run all over the Country of Clover looking for her companions. What she's found thus far has been unnerving, to say the least. It seems as though they've all been fit into the roles of people she knew-- when she sees the other girl, she's afraid the same has happened to her as well.

But there's only one role-holder she could be, so that makes things a little more simple.]

Excuse me, you're--

[Names... why didn't she get anyone's names...?!?]

Are you alright? I mean-- you weren't hurt, were you?

[She can't imagine what coming to this world was like for others. She just hopes she can help get them all out safely before it's too late.]

[dolosa]

Hazama Rei.

[ She opts to introduce herself with a bit of a bow from the waist -- she's Japanese, after all, a curtsy just wouldn't do. ]

I'm fine, however. This world isn't much of a problem for me. I've been through much, much worse.

[stolenface]

[ Some time after C-ta's death, the Cat will seek her out. ]

Yo, Alice.

[ He's as dressed up as the rest of them, with a big fluffy boa on. ]

Havin' fun?

[dolosa]

It's amusing at first, but after the second time, it grows rather dull -- like it's a waste of time. What about you? Are you bored yet?

[stolenface]

Nah, 'cause it's not the act of killin'. It's the whole thing leadin' up to it that's fun for me. Kinda like a cat and mouse squarin' off, not sure which one's gonna be dinner.

[ It's great, from his perspective. Watch them destroy each other, play with each other's trusts. ]

[dolosa]

[ Rei's been there, done that. So it isn't all that entertaining anymore. Forcing a childhood friend who loved him so much to kill him? That was fun -- at the time. But now? It's just old news. ]

I suppose. But the build up isn't that interesting when it's just a bunch of strangers doing it. Having strangers kill each other is a lot easier than say, having lovers kill each other. Or families. Or things like that.

[stolenface]

Not when you can hear all the little thoughts goin' on. It's funny, watchin' 'em all say one thing while hearin' 'em plot out what they're gonna do at the same time. But then, it's always funny to see just how two-faced people are.

[ He snickers into the back of his hand, the large paw-like glove no longer there. ]

Even if they're strangers here, you all have high stakes. Workin' together's in your best interest, right? Get everything done that much faster, get back what you lost... Maybe even go home to that Alice you have, right?