Round 1: Return from Ankh's Heart to the Hub

[worldkeys]

Who: The Alices, and the White Rabbit.
What: Everyone is returned from Ankh's Heart. YOU CHEATERS, YOU.
Where: The World Hub.
Warnings: A lovely bunch of cheating cheaters that Rabbit is, frankly, not sure if he should applaud or be exasperated about.

When they return, the White Rabbit seems like he can't decide if he's annoyed or impressed.

"... Another one, is it? Well... that was at least marginally faster than I'd expected you to go, compared to last time. Maybe I'll get them all back in a decent amount of time. I'll unlock the next Door for you, then."

As always, of course, he fully expects they're going to pester him with random, stupid questions. At the very least, he seems in a better mood than last time.

Comments

[frozentear]

"Hmm..."

Yeah, that's fair. He was asking a lot, while... actually, if Ankh really could tell what other people wanted, Ankh knew a lot more about him than he did about Ankh. If it was something hurting Ankh, he didn't really want to pry, but still.

"That's not fair. You know more about me than I do about you. At least tell me as much as you're comfortable with."

[notsogreedy]

Well. That gets a slightly incredulous look. It's a true statement, he supposes. On the other hand, he's not sure why he owes Sebastian any sort of explanation about his past, and he's already said as much as he's comfortable with on that subject. So.

"...None of your business."

[frozentear]

Well. Well. If that's how he's going to be. That's really annoying, but there's something else to try.

"Give me something to go off of, or I won't help you next time. Not even to give you information. I don't care if you're a monster, but if I'm going to help you you'd better do the same. ...I'll even tell you something extra about me."

Which wasn't fair, really, but it might be the only way he could get anything at all out of Ankh.

[notsogreedy]

"Heh." There's briefly a small, wry smile at that ultimatum. "If you believe the cat, then you don't want my help, anyway." For a second, he just looks at him, expression flat. It's almost a challenge. Why does Sebastian want to know about him so badly, anyway?

But he supposes he doesn't mind, really.

He glances away. "It wasn't a coincidence that he mentioned someone stabbing me in the back. Does that satisfy your curiosity?" No, he's sure, but it's as much as Sebastian is going to get out of him on that topic. It's not much, since the cat already halfway said that, anyway. But it's something, and that's all he asked for.

[frozentear]

"He tore off the rabbit's ear, acted like he'd eat mine... toyed with me... I don't know that I do believe him."

And no. That does not really satisfy his curiosity. But it's a confirmation, which is more than he'd really expected to get. He's pretty sure that pushing further isn't going to get anything whatsoever.

"I guess you're going to follow up on that offer, then?"

[notsogreedy]

He's not surprised by that response. It's not as if the cat is trustworthy.

There are some things about Ankh's life that he might be willing to share more about, but if Sebastian wants to hear them, he'll have to change his line of questioning. As for questions in return... "What's so bad about where you came from that you want to leave it so much?"

[frozentear]

"Hmm..." He's surprised at first when Ankh asks that, but quickly realizes - that's probably part of Ankh's ability to sense what others want, right?

"I've always wanted to explore, to see more of the world... Instead I've lived my whole life in a town so small it doesn't even have a single school. The only connections to the outside world are through television, radio, and the internet. Nothing to do, and..."

And...

"...if there was even anyone important to me there, I can't remember at all."

[notsogreedy]

What he says makes sense, and none of it is really surprising. It fits well enough with what he's felt, and what was on the windows. Someone so bored with his life that a place like this seems entertaining. The only really interesting thing is that last bit.

"So that's what the cat took from you, huh?"

[frozentear]

"Yeah... probably. It's not typical to live your entire life in a house alone, even as a little kid. I think the mayor would've noticed." It's almost a joke, almost. But he turns pensive, then, thinking back on Ankh's heart.

"It had to be family in some of those windows... but if those aren't true, what are they really like?"

[notsogreedy]

"Who knows?" He certainly can't answer that question. Though from personal experience at this point...

"There's not much point trying to figure it out. You'll probably be wrong, anyway." There's a hint of frustration in that. He hasn't forgiven the cat for setting up those misconceptions.

[frozentear]

"...Is that what you lost?" It sounds that way, from saying he'll probably be wrong to the frustration in Ankh's voice.

[notsogreedy]

"Memories from a certain period of time." He thought he knew what had happened, but his best guess was almost the complete opposite of the truth.

"If you're missing people completely, then it's not quite the same, but wondering's just as pointless."

[frozentear]

"...I guess you're right."

He can't help wondering, especially after seeing the windows. But it's perfectly possible that's exactly why those windows were there. There was no way to tell without getting his memories back. Thinking about this, he falls silent.

[notsogreedy]

Ankh does as well. There isn't anything else to say, really. He's not going to volunteer anything else about his own missing memories, and whether Sebastian decides to take that advice or not is up to him.