The Land of Wonder discussion

The Mad Hatter's birthplace, which is a western land. The Outlands are located beyond it.

Castra darted around the many little cottages that were situated in Witzend. She smiled to herself and realise that she wasn't on the Red Queen's territory.
No need to sneak around.
She backed out of the alley and onto the cobbled street.

Whitnee made her way down the cobbled.street, checking a large pocket watch constantly. Can't be late, can't be late.

((Sorry, lunch))

Castra turned aroun the side of a cottage and came face to face with Whitnee. Her face broke into a smile. "Hello."

Whitnee looked back at Castra and returned the smile. "Why, hello to you, too," she greeted.

Castra smiled. "Fretting about being late?"

"Actually, yes. I want to get home before five."

Castra nodded. "Understandable."

"Do you have somewhere to be," Whitnee asked.

Castra shook her head. "Nope... I never do. I'm generally getting myself into trouble, though."

"What did you do," Whitnee inquired.

Castra shook her head. "A whole lot."

Whitnee quirked a brow. "What?"

Castra looked at her. "A whole lot?"

Whitnee sighed. "Come on, follow me."

Castra shrugged and wandered after Whitnee. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Home."

Castra stopped in her tracks. "Home...?"

Checkers left Crims with a grin, but as smoke appeared and he stepped through it, his pink hair turned quickly to gray as he transformed, and he arrived with a sharp wary glare. Chess stepped forward onto the chimney of a clothing store and dropped down into a crouch on the edge as the smoke around him thinned and vanished, slouching forward as his clawed hands hung in front of him. Chess glanced around with a bored yet hard look, his dark hair falling slightly over his eyes.

Alice kept one hand on her gun- fondly named Lola after a small girl she'd once known- as she walked towards a ramshackle town. Her expression was cool although inside she was still freaking out slightly. Why did I even come here? Surely anywhere would be better than a childhood dream... She sighed and shrugged, gathering her courage and stepping into the village.

((The gun is called Lola O.O))

Castra glared at the ground as she wandered through the streets. "Bloody Big Head," she kept mumbling over and over, "No good for anything." She said these things as she was walking and almost ran straight ito Alice.

Chess tensed as he caught the scent of someone familiar. It had to be her... he wouldn't doubt she was back. He hung his head between his shoulders and brought his arms up to snatch the edge of the chimney with his claws. His eyes narrowed and he pushed forward and landed on the roof, skidding down it just a foot before dashing across the roof and jumping to the next, continuing on in the direction he sensed Alice was now.

((Kehehehehe....))

Alice jumped near to a foot in the air as Castra accidentally tapped her shoulder. She was on edge, and her nerves weren't helped by a faint clattering sound- claws on a hard surface, maybe? She allowed herself to take a deep breath before turning to smile at Castra, though it was a little forced. "Ah, hello again," she said, still listening for the sound that was getting ominously louder.

Castra looked Alice up and down, "Why hello there... Again," she muttered, a little annoyed she hadn't watched her back. Her ears pricked as she picked up the noise of claws on a hard surface. Most definitely. She looked around and rested her gaze of the rooves of the houses, "I think Chess is coming," she murmured, eyes and ears alert.

Alice blinked as her eyes glazed over for a split second. "Uh... The Cheshire cat?" she asked curiously. "Purple, right? And striped? With a big smile?" she tried. Although it went against all her instincts, she made herself stay put and keep Lola safely in her holster. "Friendly or not?" So much of her memory had faded since last time. Names, personalities, what they'd said. All gone- like it was a dream.

Castra thought for a moment, "I suppose he's trustworthy, but beware, he can be a little obsessive," she warned, looking closely at Alice. Castra turned her gaze back to the rooves, "Yo Chess! Over here! Your buddy has returned," she yelled, grinning cheekily. "He loved you last time. Beware," she said back to Alice, "Keep that in mind. Okay?"

Chess' ears perked up and he paused when he heard Castra call to him. A second later he pinned his ears down against his head and looked down, seeing Castra and the girl. "Alice..." He softly hissed with a gentleness in his tone. He pounced off of the roof and once he was in the air he disappeared into smoke, appearing nine feet away from Castra and Alice in a crouch, his gaze already fixed on Alice as his tail curled around him, and he kept silent.

Alice nearly jumped again, but managed to hold still. This was just getting stranger. Not only did Cheshire look different to how she remembered, he had apparently loved her. And was possessive. This would be... interesting? "Hello there, um, Mr Cheshire cat," she said politely. Her hand still rested on Lola but her body had relaxed slightly at the sight of a vaguely familiar face. "You... Do you remember me?"

Chess was hurt that she would think otherwise. "Yes." He said, standing up, with a slight arch to his back as his large, clawed arms hung down in front of him. "Dear Alice." His voice was smooth and slow, yet sharp at the same time around a few letters as he pronounced everything carefully and warily. "Does Dear Alice remember her Chess?" He asked this question as a follow up question to her own, he didn't expect her to not remember.

Alice paused for a second, choosing her words carefully. "I remember a different Cheshire cat but to an extent, yes, I remember you." She paused to look him over. He was strange in human terms, but not overly weird for Wonderland. His accent was unique too, but clear enough to understand. He held no visible weapons, but you never knew with these people. "'Dear Alice' does remember your riddles, though. And your tail, although it seems to have changed."

Castra sighed and rolled her eyes. "Chess, give Alice some space... Seriously," she said, staring at him. Her eyes darted around the surroundings and she tapped her feet impatiently. "Come on guys, I have a bad feeling about this place... Something's going to happen, but I have no idea what..."

Chess had a mix of emotion in his eyes, sadness and joy at Alice's response. He shot Castra a glare. "Mousey can't run to shelter Mousey can't sit in shadow, Mousey can't carry the lion's hide." He chanted darkly.

Castra cocked her head to the side, her eyes boring into Chess' face, "Chess, I never can understand you... Seriously, even though this place is generally safe, it doesn't feel right," she said, keeping her eyes alert. "I don't know what's going on, but something is out of place."

((Do you understand what he said?))

Chess said nothing this time. His ears perked up at her last comment and swirled around. He looked around, then dropped to all fours - his long(longlonglong) arms bent back towards his body to keep him level - and backed up to Alice as though protecting her, closing his eyes and lowering his head a little, still facing outwards to the town.

((No...))

Castra stepped backwards, unsheathing the sword from her belt. "Who's there!?" she growled. Her eyes darted around the town and she looked over at Alice. "You can defend yourself, can't you, Alice?"

Alice smirked and loosened her gun in its holster, stepping forward next to Ches. "I'm very capable of defending myself thank you, probably even more so than yourselves. I've been through much worse than a little disturbance." She added thoughtfully.

Castra nodded, but said nothing, even though she wanted to argue. "Come on, let's investigate. Chess, let Alice defend herself. She's quite capable," she said, stepping forward, her sword still grasped in her hand. Castra let her eyes wander as she searched for a disturbance.

Chess bristled. "Dear Alice has more to defend than she believes, her Chess protect what she cannot see." Despite what he said, he backed off a little, but only moved to Alice's side, far away from Castra.

((So what's the.... disturbance anyway?
And I ain't twalkin 'bout it now! Tis a swekwet! :D:D:D:D))

Castra glanced over at Chess and glared at him, "You're so incredibly clingy... Give Alice some space," she growled, sword clutched tightly in her hand, knuckles turning white. Castra knew that Chess didn't like her, but frankly, Castra despised him.

Chess slowly dug his claws into the ground, bring them into a sort of fist and opened his eyes. "Enough nightmares to fill a red void..." He cut off and started running away, vanishing in smoke.

Castra stared after him, not really bothered, "Stupid cat," she muttered, turning back around to face the darkening streets and alleys. She stared into a the alley closest to her, and to her horror, two red eyes stared back. "Okay, that's definitely not normal."

But he was cute... I've always wanted a pet cat... Alice thought regretfully, glancing at the spot where Ches had been last. A lot more fun than fighting more weird Wonderland creatures, anyway. "Mousey, I don't believe you can classify anything in Wonderland as 'normal'. This 'normal' just happens to have red eyes and lurks in dark alleys. Sounds like a drunk pervert to me," she added under her breath.

Castra looked over at Alice, "A drunk pervert my arse," she muttered. "We should really move, maybe you should go after your pet kitty. I really don't care what you do," she said, sighing. As she looked back at the spot, the eyes were gone. "That ain't good..."

Alice thought for a second, her mind ticking away furiously. To go or not go go? That was the question. She shrugged and raised a hand in the air. "Whatever's about to happen, I vote we got out of here sharpish. Do you know which direction kitty went, Cas?" It might be a good idea to follow him after all. She preferred both friends and enemies where she could see them.