A Mansion's Meeting [Alice]

[Fumiya Ouma]

There really wasn’t much for Fumiya to do for fun around this place; Twilight Town, he’d heard it called. He hadn’t managed to make any friends as of yet, or really meet anyone of note at all. Only a few people who’d been giving him various small jobs to do, but those aren’t what you’d call friends. That aside, Fuu had mostly adjusted to the new lifestyle he’d had thrust upon him by whatever those creatures were back home. Heart-something-or-other. Not that he particularly cared, he just wanted to be back to where he came from, but for the time being all he was capable of doing was helping the people here however he could.

A moonlit traipse through Market Street’s Tram Common began while an aimless gaze glanced around the now somewhat familiar locale. Buildings, in various degrees of ruins, all painted purple by the perpetual night. Various people, all going about their business, likely just getting by in dark times. There was no real destination for Fuu, only a small hope for an interesting diversion from his usual activities. Nothing was expected, of course, as nothing major had happened in however long it’d been since he woke up here. He wasn’t quite sure how long it had been. A few days (nights?) probably. The seemingly forever darkened sky made it hard to keep track. Fuu had some hope nonetheless, giving up isn’t exactly in his nature.

Tramlines subconsciously guided the boy on his wander, and daydreams took over. Now was as good of a time as any to actually put some thought into recent happenings, after all. Thoughts drifted back to the day this all began. Fumiya didn’t remember much of what happened. Only that those Heartfessed creatures, or whatever they are, appeared from nowhere and started terrorising everything in sight. There was a flash of light and the next thing he saw was this town. He’d been unable to do anything. He couldn’t protect everyone. He wasn’t strong enough. 'Next time though. Next time I will be.’

Fuu’s train of thought continued on with question after question, for none of which he had answers. Why was he here? Was he the only one? Had anyone else from his home arrived here too? How would he get home? Could he even get home? Where exactly was here?

These thoughts didn’t last too long, pointless wondering would get him nowhere. Fuu returned his attention to his surroundings, at what appeared to be just the right time. Brown eyes lit up as the boy’s peripheral caught glimpse of a hole in the wall to his left. The wall, and the forest on the other side, were nothing new to Fuu though. He’d never been in there, but he was aware part of the forest was considered a fairly safe place to be. This had, however, sparked a memory of earlier that day for him, though. One in which he heard tell of a mansion in the forest.

Jacket now on, previously draped over his shoulder, Fuu took off running through the hole, through the forest, and towards the mansion. Perhaps foolish to leave the safer areas, but the thought never crossed Fumiya’s mind. This was just the kind of interesting diversion he’d been hoping for!

[Alice Kingsleigh]

// I'm so sorry for taking this long ;; //

Not many dared venturing beyond the makeshift sanctuary at Market Street, much less out into the town’s outskirts. While the number of Heartless attacks had decreased since the incident a few days prior, residents understandably remained on edge. Alice didn’t blame them; it was a natural response. She didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the assailant back then, opting to organize and lead civilians away from the immediate danger, but word eventually got around. Apparently, a massive Heartless had flattened the Sandlot area and blocks surrounding it with a single stomp. Its multiple heads had lacerated and wounded some of the people fighting it, shredding and even eating one of them alive. It was difficult to tell which parts were true and which were mere exaggerations. After all, the captain had gone to see the structural damage for herself the very next day. Needless to say, they’d been fortunate to subdue it quickly.

But one couldn’t dwell on the past too long, at least not in Twilight Town. For the last couple of days, people had been focusing on rebuilding what was lost in the attack. There wasn’t much they could do for the Sandlot on short-term, but nearby areas had also been affected. For instance, a considerable part of what people called ‘Tram Common’ had been rendered inhabitable. Most civilians weren’t strangers to scavenging and reusing resources, of course, but with new refugees arriving every two days or so, space for living quarters was running short.

Captain Kingsleigh decided to help by doing what she did best: exploring.

Though perhaps, this time around, her chosen target area had been a tad too reckless… even for her.

Alice squinted, hardly being able to see anything beyond the tree trunk before her. It was easy to wander off the path if one wasn’t careful enough; the trail was hardly distinguishable, weather conditions aside. She guessed not many people had cared to follow it during the past months. Still, the woman advanced with a rather steady pace, sword and shield gripped by each of her hands. Heartless could be lurking in the shadows within the woods and she wasn’t about to take her chances.

Speaking of lurking, the area sure seemed to be quiet… almost too quiet.

The princess of heart closed her eyes for a brief moment, allowing the currents of light within her flow through her right arm. A glimmer emerged from the Vorpal Sword’s hilt, gently traveling up its blade in a soft warm caress. Upon reaching the weapon’s tip, the energy would materialize in a single orb of light nearly the size of an orange. It probably wouldn’t do much offensively, but it would help shed some light through the fog.

Alice was able to press her advance with the light’s help, and it wasn’t long before she found herself in front of a gated entryway. She still struggled to see much beyond this point, but she assumed this had to be the place: the old manor. Black broken chains laid wrapped around the rusted entrance, remnants of an attempt to secure the place and of a possible break-in sometime after. The captain had heard mention of another group exploring parts of the area, but for some reason they didn’t seem to have retrieved much from it. The walls had clearly seen better days, but they still looked sturdy enough to remain in one piece.

Snap!

A twig.

Startled, Alice turned on her heel, Vorpal Sword raised as her eyes scanned the area before her. The light orb’s intensity grew as it hovered back into the woods, bright enough to cause discomfort without inflicting blindness.

"H-Hello?"

[Fumiya Ouma]

Any sense of caution was missing from Fumiya, being subdued with brimming anticipation for what he might find in the mansion, as he rushed through the woods. The boy’s momentum soon came to a skidding halt, almost tripping in the process, barely keeping his balance. There was a bright light seemingly moving towards him which, oddly enough, seemed to be emanating from thin air. As the light drew closer, Fuu had to turn away and raise an arm to block his eyes from the rather uncomfortable brightness.

It was then he heard a voice.

"H-Hello?"

Another person? Surely not out here, away from where was deemed safe. There wasn’t a person in sight, not that he was really in a position to scan his surroundings effectively. But if not a person, then what? The light? The voice did come from the same direction as the orb, though a talking orb of light would be silly, wouldn’t it?

Fuu really had no idea what he was expecting when he came out to these woods, having come this way without so much as a second thought. He had no real plan for if anything came up. However, something had just come up. The boy first contemplated turning around and going back to where he was familiar, but no, that would be too easy! Plus he really wanted to see this mansion! The next idea was to fight whatever this was, he had heard of the dangers of being out here, perhaps this was something aggressive. But how would one go about attacking something they couldn’t see, without even having so much as a weapon.

That left only one other option Fumiya could think of. Maybe the owner of the voice he heard was friendly! There was only one way to find out, so Fuu called out towards the light in his usual lighthearted tone.

"Hello? Would you mind turning down your brightness a little?" Unsure if he’d accomplish anything with this, but there wasn’t much else in the cards for him at that moment in time. "It is nice having some light around to see with, but it would probably help if I could actually look up to see anything."

[Alice Kingsleigh]

As her eyes grew accustomed to the change of light, Alice noticed a tall figure in the distance. The familiarity of its shape subconsciously led her to lower her weapon. It looked… humanoid, though she wasn’t certain of it. Details were hard to come by from her position. The woman’s mind immediately went back to those tales she’d heard about particular kinds of Heartless, ones that looked less like monsters and more like kin. Still, it seemed like the stranger had ceased their advance. One of them wouldn’t have done that… right?

The captain opened her mouth to inquire further, but she was beaten to it by another’s voice. It sounded… male, and young. Perhaps a tad too laidback, though such traits weren’t unwelcome given the situation. It relieved her to know this was a person and not something else, but that itself posed another question: what was he doing there, so far from the safety of Market Street? There had to be a good reason for it… unless, of course, he was an adventurer at heart like herself.

Alice wondered if such a motive would seem sound to the Red Queen. Probably not.

"Ah, of course!" Realizing her orb remained active, the princess raised the Vorpal Sword and prepared to channel her light through it. The floating sphere would be drawn back toward the mansion, its glow gradually dimming until it reached what she believed to be a comfortable level of brightness. It would stop halfway between both humans. After a few moments, she was able to see more than just a shape. A boy stood before her. A rather tall boy. His arm was raised in front of his face; Alice assumed her light was to blame for that. At first glance, he didn’t seem to carry any weapons – odd.

"I should probably apologize. I didn’t think I would see anyone else out here and… well, one can never be too cautious, given the circumstances." Alice offered the boy an apologetic smile as a gust of wind briefly tossed her hair. For a moment, she regretted not braiding it earlier as she’d intended to. Mother wouldn’t have approved, but it simply wasn’t as troublesome when worn that way.

"Still, if I may be so bold," she continued, turning back to the gate. "Not many people travel so far from the shelters without the company of others. Did you come here to see the mansion, perhaps? I heard it is quite lovely."

[Fumiya Ouma]

With the dimming of the sphere, Fuu’s arm eased to his side, while what appeared to be a person took shape a little beyond the light source. The long, blonde hair gave reason to believe this person was a woman, which was yet backed up by the feminine voice Fuu had just now heard comply with his request. He was very glad to find out the voice did, in fact, belong to someone and not the orb of light. That would definitely have been silly and not at all cool.

Crossing paths with another certainly was unexpected, albeit not unwelcome; even more so when said person appears well prepared for such a potentially dangerous endeavour, a stark contrast to Fumiya’s more casual approach. He oft found himself wondering if he was too loose when it came to his own well-being but, as of yet, nothing had managed to knock any form of sense into the fool. Perhaps it would do some good if he were to take a page from her book and, in time, develop a much needed sense of caution.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it! It's understandable, I wasn't expecting to find anyone out here either." As he spoke, Fuu steadily made his way over to the woman, coming to a halt at her side. Now being side by side, he was actually able to gather a piece of much needed information. Necessary for him. Probably not for her. Or anyone else, for that matter. The two appeared to be around the same height, much to his dismay. At least he wasn't shorter than her. That's always a positive, isn't it? Always the short one, he was. Maybe one day he'll find someone that makes him feel tall.

Shaking the mild disappointment from his mind and letting curiosity fill its place once more, Fuu's gaze turned to the gate ahead and mansion beyond. He'd never really had the opportunity to explore something quite like an abandoned mansion before, and especially not one looming with the threat of monsters.

"That's exactly why I'm here!" He answered, notable excitement in his tone. "I imagine that's why you're here too? There's not exactly much else here to see.

"If you don't mind, do you wanna look around together? It'll be more fun with company, and I can protect you, of course!" The boy gestured to himself confidently, with an air of cockiness. "Oh, my name's Fumiya, by the way. You can call me Fuu!"

[Alice Kingsleigh]

An amused expression spread across Alice’s face as she cocked an eyebrow at the boy. His enthusiasm, his stance, his words: they all reminded her of a younger Alice. An inquisitive Alice, an Alice whose unquenchable thirst for knowledge and novelty often led her to ridiculous yet dangerous situations. Parts of that Alice remained, of course. Three years prior, during her quest to vanquish the Jabberwocky and free Wonderland from the Red Queen’s tyranny, the Hatter and Absolem helped her rediscover and accept her curious and daring nature. Even back in her homeworld, as she commandeered the Wonder and sailed the eastern seas, those qualities often proved to be advantageous.

But time and experience had tempered the princess. She was still bold and headstrong Alice, but a wiser and far less reckless one.

"Fuu," she echoed, nodding pleasantries at the boy. His words did carry a certain truth to them. Information about what lied within the mansion was scarce and given recent events she wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss strength in numbers. And Fumiya seemed to be a kindred spirit; that itself was enough for her to feel an urge to protect the younger hume.

"It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Alice. And you’re correct… in a way. I’m here to explore the mansion and bring back whatever’s still salvageable in there back to the shelters." The woman paused for a moment, eyes glancing back to the gate. Though the mansion showed clear signs of age and deterioration, it wasn’t that far gone compared to buildings on Market Street. Perhaps, if it turned out to be safer than it looked…

"I certainly wouldn’t mind some company, if you wish to tag along." Alice offered Fuu a warm smile, readjusting the grip on her weaponry. The orb of light continued its course, hovering past the pair and through the rusted gates. The princess leaned against one of the doors and used her shield arm to try and push it open. It didn’t seem to offer much resistance.

"Just try to keep up!" Kingsleigh quipped, letting out a small chuckle as she ventured into the front courtyard.