♦ 01 ♣ Video ♥ Action ♠

[riddlemehiss]

[Video]

[The feed opens late at night to the view of a forest clearing. Silver beams filtering through the canopy of vegetation to paint twisted shadows on the ground below. It's silent for a moment, almost eerie, if not for the vividly striped feline perching a short distance away towards the narrower end of a branch.

The Cheshire Cat had woken up exactly one week ago in a cocoon-like structure in some unfamiliar watery setting. The notion of plants and animals being unable to speak had taken some getting use to, but on the whole he was relatively unperturbed.

His pendant was currently swinging back and forth around one paw like a pendulum. Once. Twice. Before evaporating, very literally, into thin air.]

I never really understood the appeal of collars.


[Action - Your Place]

[The fluffy intruder stretches out across the sofa, one paw reaching for a nearby magazine while the other pulls a pair of reading glasses out of seemingly nowhere. A mug you may recognise as one of your own rests on the adjacent table, filled with freshly brewed tea.

Ears twitch and a trademark grin spreads across the cat's face at the sound of someone else entering the room, aureolin eyes flickering upwards to appraise the newcomer.]

You're out of milk.

[Totally casual. As if he hadn't wandered into someone else's home uninvited and made himself a cup of tea.]

Comments

[youfool]

[Ted's room happens to be his handy-dandy bag, or at least its interior. It's a walled off section a void, utterly dark but for the lamp on the table.

Ted is, in a word, surprised to have a visitor. How do people keep finding this place?]

I'll, ah, try and mind the expiration dates better. Who are you? Why are you here?

[riddlemehiss]

Keep in mind the inspiration dates too.

[The couch dips as Ches straightens his posture and tips his ears in greeting. Because manners are important - especially when crashing a stranger's room.]

The Cheshire Cat. I'm on an adventure.

[innocent_royal]

[Who did indeed just return home at the Heavens Court apartments was a young, blue eyed girl with long, blonde hair. She was carrying two bags of groceries, home from errand-running.

Seeing this chubby, talking cat... Well, it doesn't help her acquired gatophobia. And it was drinking tea? Using Satsuki's mug? Her guardian isn't going to be happy about that. Anastasia kept an unblinking, confused eye on the cat as she slowly walked around to the kitchen to put away the groceries, which included milk.

...and maybe include a call to Satsuki and Soma about an intruder if she can be sneaky enough with the phone.]

Action - Welcome Home

[anamnestik]

[Eliot doesn't eat. His fridge is stocked, but it's for others and not himself. So when he smells tea, he knows initially that someone has come over. Someone he wasn't expecting.

Then that someone turns out to be a strange cat. Eliot squeaks in alarm:]

WHA--- How did you--- Of course I'm out of milk, I-I mean... Heh?!

[youfool]

[Ted tilts his head like dog: slightly for the queer sentence, then more as he's greeted with a polite self-scalping from a cat. Yet once the name's given, a grin starts to sprout that makes him forget all about it.]

Truly!? Hah, goodness, what a pleasure! Acquainted with Alice, yes? Oh, let me shake your hand! Better yet, ah, could I have an autograph?

[From the darkness, a notepad appeared.]

...are your hands, er, paws fit for writing or shaking?

[riddlemehiss]

[An amused gaze tracked her movements through round-rimmed (entirely cosmetic) spectacles, never once breaking eye-contact.

The girl reminded him of Alice, at least in appearance. But he supposed the Alice he was familiar would have opened with a barrage of questions the moment she stepped through the door.]

Cat got your tongue?

[riddlemehiss]

[His grin curled upwards, prompting soft chuckles that seemed to ring from multiple locations throughout the room. Honestly speaking the reactions were his primary reason for slipping into stranger's homes; the tea was secondary.]

What nonsense. Hahaha! You'd fit right into Wonderland!

[riddlemehiss]

You know Alice! Are you also looking for a rabbit?

[So many questions in the space of less than a minute. He vaguely wondered whether all of Alice's acquaintances were so curious.]

My head is for shaking. [And standing on. Amongst other things] My paws are for drinking tea.

[Nethertheless, he still reaches for the notepad.]

[innocent_royal]

[Anastasia was able to quickly put the cold items away, being careful not to break eye contact for too long.

She jumped, startled when it spoke to her. It really does talk! She got her phone out and dialed...]

In a manner of speaking...

[...then she lowers it slightly.]

Who are you...? What are you? How did you get in here? What are you doing with Satsuki's mug?

[riddlemehiss]

The Cheshire Cat. Who are you?

[Nevermind. Maybe she's similar to Alice in more than just appearance afterall.]

Why don't you ask the spider in that corner how she got in?

[Answer 50% of questions and throw two back seems like a logical approach to this.]

[innocent_royal]

My name is Anastasia...

[Being frightened is no excuse not to be polite enough. When the cat mentioned the spider, she looked and backed off with a gasp.

Spiders are a huge flipping NO.
Glancing back to the Cheshire.]

...You found a way to slip in somehow... And you do so just to use our tea kettle?

[riddlemehiss]

It’s quite alright. She’s very harmless. You should close your windows if you don’t want visitors though.

[Not that a closed window would stop Ches from slipping through a wall or ceiling, but it was a start.]

I’m on an adventure.

[innocent_royal]

[Spiders are still scary.

That did remind her though. She does leave her window open just enough for her Ribombee to come and go as it pleases. She'll ask Satsuki about an alternative...]

An adventure...? What kind of adventure involves going into peoples' homes and consuming their food and drinks?

[If she has to make another errand run today, she will pout.]

[riddlemehiss]

[It's probably best if she doesn't. Otherwise Ches might start floating in through the cooker while the inhabitants are making dinner, and no one needs that kind of surprise.]

An adventure that starts with going to different worlds!

[Might as well continue the trend.]

[innocent_royal]

...By going into other people's homes and using their food and drinks?

[If there is any logic here, she's not seeing any.]

[riddlemehiss]

Oh frabjous! You understand!

[The last of the tea is drained up while they're conversing. Ches proceeds to balance the mug on his head and then leaps onto the counter with surprising feline grace given his squishy-looking physique. Somehow the mug remains perfectly balanced.]

[innocent_royal]

[Anastasia stood ready, hands up, ready to make a brve attempt to catch the mug if it fell, but somehow...it remains safe.]

I still don't understand. How does invading homes to drink their tea give you a sense of adventure and experience other worlds?

[riddlemehiss]

It's an excellent way to meet people.

[Anastasia may feel a brief brush of fur as Ches slinks past her to begin squeezing washing up liquid into the empty mug.]

And sampling tea is also a way of exploring.

[innocent_royal]

[The phobia begins to creep up on her as the Cheshire got close. She quietly whined and backed away, putting more distance between them.]

C-couldn't you have ask first? Satsuki and I would've prepared a tea party.

[youfool]

Ahaha, well I've read of her. You refer to the hare who had problems with punctuality? Alas, I haven't had the pleasure. There's only one rabbit in the world I know of.

[He'll furnish a pen while he's at it.]

And your tail too, no doubt. Much of you is made to shake. Make it out to "Ted", please.

[riddlemehiss]

[Ches doesn't seem to notice Ana's discomfort at all, temporarily occupied with cleaning out the mug. He surprisingly has very good manners save for the breaking and entering part.

But he snaps to attention immediately at the mention of "tea party".]

You would? Well why didn't you say so? We must invite everyone!

[innocent_royal]

What?

No, no, no! Not everyone!

[There are some people who should not ever be at parties.]

I meant just for us! You, me and Satsuki. That way we can tell you about this world and ours. There's no reason to invite people like Ted or Dracula over here!

[riddlemehiss]

[Oh dear. The hare and the rabbit would be most displeased to be mixed up like this.]

Not quite. The late one is the rabbit. The hare is a lot less fluffy and a little more mad.

[Unfortunately, Ches has never really been asked for an autograph and isn't entirely sure what Ted wants. Rather than signing his own name he traces "Ted" across the notepad, then whips an ink pad out of God-knows-where and presses a paw print to the page.

Perhaps Ted would have more luck simply asking for a selfie.]

[riddlemehiss]

Oh, but it's so much more fun with more people! The queen's tea parties always had many many guests!

[Even though most of the "guests" were servants and not really guests at all. And Ches himself wasn't so much a guest as a party crasher.]

[youfool]

Ah, of course. Forgive my confusion of lagomorphs.

[He chuckles at the autograph, but is no less pleased with it, delicately laying it out on the table. A selfie? Not a bad idea!]

Thank you very much! Oh, we should have a picture together too! If you don't mind more indulgence; I'll endeavor to treat likewise with a tea shop I know.

Oh, er...

[And now their dolorous surroundings assert themselves on Ted's mind.]

I'm sorry, my quarters are very...vain. No place for guests. May we step outside, please? Anywhere's better than here, which is rather like nowhere.