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

[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.

[friend_i_hope]

Hatter watches her as she takes it all in, using it as a measure of what sort of person she is. Anyone might risk their life to save someone they love. A boyfriend. This...Jack person. It's a different story all together to feel sympathy for someone you don't know.

"Wisdom's her biggest threat," he says quietly, wanting her to understand this, to understand the kind of world Wonderland is and what she's getting herself into. "She controls people with a quick fix."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She sighs softly, still trying to convince herself that all she wants to do is get Jack, and go home. But it's getting hard to do that. Hard to forget these people needing help too. She knows what it's like, needing help when no one seems to be around to stand up for you. She wonders, idly, if she can kill two birds with one stone, or if it's going to end up killing her instead.

She looks over at him, the hurt for the people on the books and slight bit of confusion as to what she can do, shining in her eyes. "Who are we here to see?"

[friend_i_hope]

He nods at the expression on her face. He'd hoped she was that sort of person.

"Dodo. He's in charge here. If the Resistance can help you, he'll know for sure."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She nods back at him, still trying to pin down completely what kind of person she thinks he is.

Her eyes finally peel away from him and from the people on the books as she takes a cautious step back from the railing. "Let's go meet him, then."

[friend_i_hope]

Hatter nods, stepping back from the railing. He touches the small of her back again as he says, "Right this way," leading her down the corridor after owl and Duck.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She moves with him, easily, and again, doesn't seem to mind that he's touching her. She takes it with ease.

"Lot different than the tea shop," she says, but not popping the P as they enter the room Owl and Duck went in.

[friend_i_hope]

"That's management for you," he answers, tossing her a quick, easy smile, keeping things light as long as possible, knowing Dodo will change that as soon as he can.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

She smiles at that, trying to...let go of the images of the refugees from her head. "I'm sure that's all it has to do with," she answers as she looks around the room. And that guy...

Well, if he's not vaguely creepy at all...

[friend_i_hope]

It's pretty much as Hatter thought it would be. Dodo is suspicious and vaguely antagonistic. He doesn't trust Hatter, that much is clear. And that distrust extends to Alice since Hatter brought her here.

It certainly isn't the easiest conversation Hatter's ever had.

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

And not being able to speak up for fear of what would happen with that scary guy keeps her silent for now. Silent and edging closer to Hatter.

She takes a deep breath. "Please, you have to understand."

[friend_i_hope]

"She's looking for her boyfriend," Hatter says, getting down to the crux of the matter. "A Jack Chance."

[oyster-alice.livejournal.com]

"Chase," she corrects automatically, glancing between the two men. "His name's Jack Chase."

She doesn't like this at all. She fidgets a little, not quite knowing what to do with herself.

[friend_i_hope]

"She needs help," Hatter says, distinctly aware of how tenuous their position here is. "I thought of you, Dodo."

"Really," Dodo answers, finally stepping out of the shadows. "And why would I want to help your Oyster, when you know that bringing her here puts us all at risk?"

Now that's just...insulting, really. "Oh, please," Hatter says dismissively. "I've spent years smuggling more dangerous things than this down here."