OOM: Meeting Alice

[friend_i_hope]

He's never liked Ratty. And it's not just the smell. You live in Wonderland long enough you get a sense of who can and can't be trusted. And Ratty's got that stink about him too. That stink that says you should guard your teas and loved ones around him because it'd take about a drop of Happiness for him to turn you over to the Suits.

Fortunately, Hatter's got more than a drop, and Ratty's story about an Oyster named Alice...

Well, he may not have mastered basic hygiene, but he's smart enough not to offer something he can't deliver.

(Hatter's perfectly aware that it can't be the Alice of Legend, but the coincidence is too much to ignore all the same.)

He tells Ratty to bring her in and quietly sips his tea while he waits.

His chair is faced away from the door when they enter, but he can still smell Ratty.

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

Comments

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She doesn't like watching him look over the edge. It makes her angle closer to the building and tug him with her. She frowns at him for a long moment. Why would he want to look over? Why?

"I don't..ever get up this high. And...we don't have...sidewalks attached to our buildings. Because people are supposed to walk on the ground!" she says, like this is something obvious.

[friend_i_hope]

He arches an eyebrow as he's tugged back from the edge, amused.

"All your buildings are directly on the ground? How do you have room for everyone?"

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

Well, let him be amused. From a safe distance.

"Some of them are pretty tall, but nothing like this. Not...at least anything I willingly go into. I live on the second floor of my apartment building."

[friend_i_hope]

"Huh. Weird."

He's just going to keep leading her along the sidewalk toward their destination.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

And she'll keep walking with him slowly.

"So...what do you do, exactly, running the tea shop?"

[friend_i_hope]

There's a pause before he answers. "Oh, you know. Tea shop...things."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

"That doesn't help me much," she says with a frown. "What was that you gave Ratty?"

[friend_i_hope]

It's really difficult to do this whole...evasive thing without looking away from her, and if he does, he's fairly certain she'll freeze up again.

"Tea."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

"No," she says. "Tea isn't anything that could burst a person's heart. And where do Oysters come into it? What exactly are they doing to them at the casino?"

[friend_i_hope]

"This tea is."

Oh, look! They're at the door. Hatter holds up a hand to stop her talking and knocks. The slot on the door slides open, and Hatter says, "I'm returning a library book. It's a work of Edwin and Moorcock."

From the other side of the door comes a low, husky voice. "How does the little crocodile improve his shining tail?"

Hatter sounds a bit exasperated as he answers, like he thinks the whole procedure unnecessary. "He pours water of the Nile on every golden scale." He looks at Alice then, rolling his eyes as the slot is closed again and the door opens on what appears to be an old school bus with a very old man as its driver.

"Come in, be quick," the man says.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

That rhyme...makes Alice frown slightly. She remembers it from somewhere. There's...more to it, she's sure. She follows him into the...really weird old school bus, confused. She's...confused most of the time since she's been here.

She isn't in Jersey anymore, Toto.

When it starts moving down, she braces herself, and pants, nervous, before plopping down on a seat, looking up at Hatter.

[friend_i_hope]

Hatter greets the driver with a quick, "Hello, Duck."

He doesn't seem to mind the rickety movement, though he does apologize to Alice when she looks up at him. The bus stops nearly at the bottom, and Hatter holds up a warning hand to Alice. "Wait," he says, the bus giving one last jerk downward.

He nods then, and gestures for her to step out first.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She'd almost stood up too soon. As it was, she ends up in a slight mid-sitting position when the bus finally stops, that last jerk doing absolutely nothing to make her feel more secure about what's going on.

She finally stands, and steps out of the bus, to be greeted with a woman holding a sawed off shotgun. Her eyes flick to Hatter. Out of the frying pan...

[friend_i_hope]

Aaaaand Duck's got a pistol to Hatter's back as well.

Why can't anything ever just go to plan?

"Why don't we just...put these things away?" he asks as they're marched out of the bus like hostages. "C'mon, you know me well enough."

Which, he supposes, could be the problem really.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

This is just...well, it's fantastic, isn't it? Just what she needed. Her boyfriend's been kidnapped, she's lost, and with a lunatic with a very nice hat, and now has a gun in her face. Could this...day...get any worse?

She winces at thinking that. It always jinks it.

"I thought you said they'd help", she says tightly, fists clenched at her sides.

[friend_i_hope]

This really isn't the time to attempt addressing her concerns, not when Duck's marching him off the bus with a gruff, "We have our orders."

And Owl isn't helping matters as she gestures for them to move toward the railing and says, "Keep that right hand where we can see it."

Hatter turns slowly to face them, curling his fingers in what he hopes is an un-menacing manner. "It's just flesh and blood," he assures them.

"Right," Owl argues. "We've all seen what you can do with that sledgehammer.

And this really isn't the time to get into that with Alice either...

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

(zomgoodness, I'm sorry for the delay. Nano and then Christmas ate me.)

No, probably not the time, but Alice really isn't liking where this is going at all. "Sledgehammer?" she murmurs more to herself than either of them, as she walks slowly and tries to keep the fear out of her eyes. It doesn't do anyone any good to show just how damned scared you are with sawed off shotguns in your face.

"And these are people that are supposed to help?"

[friend_i_hope]

[ooc: No worries. :)]

Hatter still makes no attempt to answer her questions. There isn't really time between the being-taken-prisoner and the backed-against-the-railing business.

Besides, addressing the woman with the sawed-off shotgun is clearly more of a priority just now.

"Did you like the box of comfits I brought you guys last week?" Owl looks at Duck, obviously having second thoughts about the whole shotgun thing. "The cured meats," he reminds them. "And the cheese."

"There all gone," Duck points out, and Hatter nods, smiling in sympathy.

"Well, if you don't treat me with a little respect, you won't get another crumb."

"I'm sorry, Hatter," Owl answers in her thick brogue, putting up the gun and turning to head down the hallway. "Everyone's a little jumpy."

"Everyone's always a little jumpy," he returns, his hand moving to the small of Alice's back to guide her after Owl.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She really does not approve of this business. Both the being-a-prisoner, and the not getting answered thing. Even if she does see the benefits of having the person that may be the most lethal threat listened to first. But the hand raising thing, she feels...well, silly doing it.

Alice watches the exchange with a curious expression. She opens her mouth to ask a question, but closes it, thinking better of it. When Owl puts her gun away, she relaxes a little, and starts walking, not even fighting off the presumptuous hand at the small of her back.

She starts to look around as they move, finally lowering her hands, and takes in the place. "What is this place?" she finally asks, thinking she may finally get an answer.

[friend_i_hope]

He does answer this time. Now that he's neutralized the Owl threat, there's time for it.

"The Great Library," he says as they move down the hall between Owl and Duck. "There's five thousand years of history hidden here. Art...literature...lore. Rescued when the Queen of Hearts seized power. She'd like nothing more than to see this burnt to nothing."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is getting a little more ridiculous as time goes by. "Who's the Queen of Hearts?" she asks, trying to make sense of all that's going on around her.

And...um...sorry, Hatter for...deneutralizing the Owl threat?

[friend_i_hope]

"She doesn't know the Queen!?" Owl exclaims, rounding on them with that shotgun again. Hatter's hands immediately go up as they're backed down the hall the way they came. "Who the hell is she, Hatter?"

"Could you just...relax, Owl," he says, holding his hands out to placate the very angry, small woman. "Calm." He glances at Alice, quickly thinking of how to fix this. "She's led a sheltered life, that's all."

From behind him comes Duck's shaky voice. "B-back to the elevator. Both of you."

And there's only one thing for it. Hatter flicks back his jacket to get into his pockets.

"Watch that right hand," Owl warns him.

"Have you two not learned to trust me, yet?" Hatter asks, pulling out two identical wheels of cheese in each hand, one held out to Owl, the other to Duck.

"Is that a bribe?" Owl asks, all but licking her chops.

"Yes," Hatter freely admits. "Two bribes. Tasty, delicious, yummy ones," he adds, looking at Alice with a nod. "So hard to make a sensible decision on an empty stomach. Don't you think?"

There's a brief pause while the two of them decide how to handle this, and Hatter just keeps looking at Alice, every muscle in his face silently asking her to trust him.

"You better be on the level, Hatter," Duck says eventually, reaching for the cheese as Owl does the same. "Or you won't make it out of here alive this time."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

And she's walking backwards with him, eyes trained on the gun, as she watches again, silently. He may be watching her, and she spends the majority of the time watching him back, but her eyes do flick cautiously between the two bird-named individuals.

Who ever thought to trust a man that keeps cheese-bribes in his pants?

"And these are the people that are supposed to help me find Jack?" she asks when everyone starts moving the correct direction again, voice barely above a whisper. She doesn't want to set Owl off again. She's already tired of getting the gun pointed in her face.

She looks as they walk over the people and piles of books in the library. "Who are those poor people?" she asks, almost not realizing she's said it aloud.

[friend_i_hope]

"Don't worry," Hatter assures her, his eyes now firmly on Owl, watching for any signs she may turn again. "Their boss is a little more...savvy."

At Alice's next question, he stops, coming back to join her in looking out into the main room of the Library, where small groups are huddled amidst massive piles of books.

"Refugees," he says, sounding more sincere than he has since she met him, watching them move about their borrowed home with a sort of pained resignation as Owl and Duck move along to announce their presence. "Those who don't want to be a part of the Queen's world of instant gratification. We give them shelter and try to feed them the best we can, but it is dangerous. If the Queen found out, they wouldn't stand a chance."

He says 'we,' because in moments like these, he honestly feels like part of the Resistance. He does help them, after all. When he can.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

Alice steps slightly closer to the railing, taking in the different people, some sick, some tending the sick, some passing the time playing games. It makes her feel strange inside; a level of pity and hurt for these people kept away from the world like the dusty books they sleep on.

"Why would she want to destroy all this?" she asks, disbelieving that anyone could be so cruel and unthinking to try to destroy so much knowledge and thoughts. It reminds her of the scene from Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. She can almost hear Liz, furious about Caesar daring to destroy one single, human thought.