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

[notsogreedy]

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.

[heartgatherer]

"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."

[notsogreedy]

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?"

[heartgatherer]

"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.

[notsogreedy]

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.