(E) Wonderland: Lotus Forest

[Aryn007]

They say that there’s a maze, where once you enter, there you stay

Wonderland had been around for a long, long time. Long enough, for the hedges of imagination to grow wild and wicked and free. In time, they formed a great maze, so high that very little light entered, throwing shadows here and there for dark creatures to hide and take refuge in. Jewel-colored flowers grew in monstrous proportions, demanding potions and ethers from the passerby. Cheerful, bright mushrooms also grew here, providing stools for toads and lazy insects.

There was no map to this place, but if one traveled long enough, one was sure to find the end...or the beginning. Never mind the newly imagined monster that lived there, surviving on the tea and biscuits people left behind...what was that rumbling in the distance? A terrible sound! Merely thunder preparing for a storm? Or a beast on the prowl?

[Deleted]

It felt like it had only been a few hours since Cerci had last spoken to Erik and Rebecca, but she knew better than that. Looking at the digital log on her dashboard she assumed that it had probably been almost a day since her adventure in Twilight Town and her stomach lurched. Swallowing hard, she recalled the dark creatures from the underground and felt her stomach do another flip. They had only just managed to escape the tunnels and those things before Cerci decided that it wasn't the right place to be. It was a nice little town, yes, but it was also infested with nightmares; dark shadows from her deepest dreams that had invaded her own reality. Closing her eyes for a moment, she recalled how they had torn into her companion, Erik's, leg and would have taken little Rebecca down too if the brave child hadn't fought back.

"Shite," she breathed, opening her eyes again and focusing on the vastness of space before her. She didn't need to think about that right then, it was making her heart pound just from the memory and she knew better then to scare herself with things that were out of her control. Putting Causeway on auto-pilot, she moved from the cabin to the hold and made her way to the sink in the bathroom where she leaned over the rim, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water onto her already frigid face. She looked up into the mirror as the water slid down the side of her cheek and dripped from her chin, a pale vision stared back at her and she lowered her gaze, not wanting to see the fear that those monsters had inspired in her. Wiping her face, she made her way back into the hold and stood staring out the window with her arms wrapped around herself in a pointless attempt at self comfort.

Cerci wasn't someone to scare easily, she prided herself on understanding the misunderstood and making sense of the nonsensical, but this...these things that she had fought to escape from, they were almost beyond her imagination or her ability to comprehend. They weren't real, they couldn't be and yet they were. They stormed her makeshift party and destroyed them within moments, injuring Erik and putting Rebecca in the most dangerous of positions. And where was she? Playing hero and acting like she wasn't scared out of her mind. When in reality she was scared witless and she wanted no more of it. That's why she left when she did, saying farewell to her temporary companions and leaving them to their own devices.

She used her uncle as an excuse for her departing, but what she was really doing was running away. Running away from the terrors that had spawned beneath such a quite town. Dropping her arms back to her sides, she took a deep breath and went to move towards her bunk to try and get a little shut eye when she heard the terminal beeping. Changing direction, she hot-footed it into the main cabin and leaned over the controls, examining the source of the noise.

"Another world," she slowly slid back into the drivers seat and stared ahead, taking Causeway off auto-pilot and steering them into a slight crawl and eventually a floating hault. It was a little too far out to make any exact judgments, but from where she was she could see that it wasn't just another floating piece of space rock, it was indeed another planet like Twilight Town had been. The big question was whether or not it was the place she was looking for, but smaller questions also begged to be answered.

Is this world as infested as Twilight Town had been? Did she want to risk finding out? Was she going to find anything useful here? Any answers? So many thoughts entered her mind at once that she hardly noticed that they had slowly started moving again and were advancing towards the mysterious planet. When she finally realized what was happening she groaned in defeat and pressed herself more firmly into the driver's seat.

"Looks like my mind was made up for me," she pat the steering wheel and shifted the throttle allowing her ship to advance more quickly on the planet, "Curiosity killed the cat, Causeway, remember that when you get me into more trouble than I've asked for."

Her ship hummed softly as they approached the planet and made to land within the mystery of it's atmosphere only to be rocked and pivoted away with a shuttering jolt that forced the power from the ship and threw Cerci into inky blackness. Gasping aloud, she jerked forward from her seat and braced herself against the steering wheel, her head coming in contact with the hard material and knocking her dizzy. Dazedly, she looked around as the warning lights lit up her surroundings in a flashing red glow; faintly she heard the sound of an alarm going off before the ringing in her ears drowned it out and she let her body succumb to the drowsiness that had began to envelope her. Before losing consciousness, she had the strangest sensation of falling, like she was tumbling down through the air. Her tired mind assumed that it was just a dream, but she could have also sworn that when she tried to open her eyes at one point she saw clocks and furniture floating around her instead of falling with her. The last thing she recalled was the gradual slow of the fall and the eventual landing on something hard before she let the sleep take her and she passed out.

[Bluebird]

Nyika was a mite annoyed.

After being dragged around throughout the snow-dusted streets of that strange cold world, nearly getting themselves caught breaking and entering into a shop and then stealing some of their wares, then coming to this giant blue crystal that Kali thought would be a great idea to use so long as the little white bear creature didn't know about it, Nyika was about ready to throw a hissy fit and really let Kali know that she was growing tired of the kitteh's antics and that she just wanted some peace and quiet for a while.

And now she found herself in a room full of ticking clocks, alone, or at least, Kali wasn't there. Probably saw some shiny trinket that caught her eye and ended up going on a wild adventure to find it, per usual. Nyika heaved a heavy sigh, sitting on the ground and wrapping her arms about her legs. What to do now? Wait for her to return? How long would she be gone?

"Are you waiting for your friend?" The moogle said, sipping her cup of tea.

Nyika turned around, cocking her head at the strange creature she had not realized was there. "Yes, did you see her?"

"She went that way," the moogle said, indicating some random direction that told Nyika nothing.

The terran sighed a heavy sigh. Kali was always running off without her.

"Come, have a cup of tea," the moogle said, pouring her a glass.

"Oh, thank you," Nyika said. "That is very kind of you."

They chatted for a time, talking of moogles and terrans and breaching the subject of the entirety of Kingdom Hearts. Nyika looked deep into her porcelain cup, feeling the weight of her world gone from her, recognizing the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders, of the extreme sense of distance that accosted her to know that most everyone she had ever cared for and known was dead to her. But then, Kali was here, and that boy, he was a terran, too. And she was sure she had seen an aeristocrat.

"It's possible," Mocchi had said. "Those who have the strength of heart can survive a world's collapse."

Nyika nodded her head, sipping at her tea, her nose crinkling at the temperature. Mocchi poured her some more.

The lifestream's voice was much more active here than it was in Traverse Town, Nyika learned, although it was just as busy. Though while Traverse Town had hundreds of voices talking over each other, this place only had one that seemed to be in a constant argument with itself. It was interesting to listen to, and Nyika's ears perked as she sipped her tea. Then she heard a soft thud. The terran turned around, seeking out the noise.

"Seems like another arrival," Mocchi said in a cryptic manner.

Nyika cocked her head, watching the moogle, but she only sipped her tea and made a motion for Nyika to investigate. Drinking the rest of the liquid in one gulp, Nyika made her way to where the thud had occurred, slinking around in case there were unwanted eyes watching her. The room she found herself in wasn't very bright, but her eyes had accustomed to the darkness, and it was clear to her the shapeless mass that lay in the middle of the floor, clocks ticking all around her.

It was a girl, she saw, unconscious on the floor, wearing an odd manner of dress that was filly and bulky and didn't seem very comfortable at all. Nyika cocked her head, settling in a cross-legged fashion before her. Was she still alive? Her paw came out, touching her face, her claws leaving her sheaths as she poked at her. No response. Stooping down, Nyika sniffed at her face, her ears perked in curiousity and her tail twitching. She continued to bat at her face with a paw, until the girl stirred.

[Deleted]

Her nose tickled, that was the first thing she realized upon returning to consciousness. The second thing was that whatever she was laying on wasn't very soft. The thought crossed her mind that maybe she had fallen out of her bunk and was now lying in a heap on the floor of the bridge, that would explain why the ground was so tough, but not why her nose was tickling. A tuft of something soft brushed against her cheek causing her to stir, her eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again in a failed attempt to focus on her surroundings.

"Nnngh," she groaned softly and attempted to move her body, instantly finding that her head was too heavy to move, "Oh, shite all..."

She mumbled this before attempting to open her eyes again, only to find that to be a bit of a challenge as well. The soft something from earlier touched her cheek again and tickled her nose once more, making her wrinkle it in an attempt to keep from sneezing. She honestly would have been just as content to lay there until her head stopped hurting, but she felt that there was something off about her predicament. She barely remembered crawling into her bunk last night, so how was she able to fall out of it and end up on the floor? Bits and pieces came back to her as she lay there, she remembered finding the new world, Causeway's jerking stop when they tried to enter it's atmosphere- her head pounded from the memory of her own collision with the hard steering wheel and then-

The thought hit her as soon as she felt the tender scrape of something hard and pointed on the tip of her nose, causing her eyes to shoot open and stare reality in the face; which, surprisingly, reality's face was a little more beastly than what she was expecting. When her eyes focused, she saw that there was some sort of humanoid creature staring down at her, humanoid save the fact that it had twitching feline features and paws for hands. Adrenaline pulsed through Cerci's veins and forced her to sit up, her hand moving instinctively to the pommel of Midas, her blade, as she sat there staring at what ever it was that had been previously looming over her.

"...." her eyes silently examined the creature for any weapon it could have been using against her, but when she saw none, her mouth softened and she spoke, "Well...where is it? The dagger...yer shank- the thing you were jabbin' me with when I was snoozin'- where'd you pocket it, eh? Don't play no funny games with me, matey, I'm not one to play nice."

She was trying to be intimidating, not wanting to start trouble unless trouble wanted to be started, but also trying to scare the thing that had been poking around her face with a powder puff and something sharp. It wasn't like she had never seen a creature like the one before her now, there were plenty of other odd crowds that skulked around the harbor back home that she had had the pleasure of trading stories with so this was pretty normal to her, that didn't mean she didn't feel threatened. Especially since she had just felt something sharp nipping at the tip of her nose moments before.

[Deleted]

Looking around, Copper sighed. Had been so confusing. He'd made it out of the odd room and into the green, but he couldn't figure out which direction to take so, instead of getting lost, he went back into the room and then sat cross-legged on the floor. The whole teleporting thing was beginning to make him sick. How could he help people if he was busy retching? Copper would need to find a better form of transportation.

By this time, some weird creature had shown up and was messing with some girl on the ground. Standing, he walked over. The girl was acting all scary, but Copper was already sick so instead of acting defensive like he probably should have, he instead stumbled over to them and said, "Calm down, Miss. This creature was merely trying to wake you. I saw it, so please don't hurt anyone."

OOC: Athy said I could just jump in, hope that's fine.

[Bluebird]

The girl's jumpiness and sharp tone startled Nyika, though there was no panic or fear telling her to shy away. The terran considered her words, wondering just what she was talking about, until she remembered her claws and the way she had scratched ever so slightly at her nose.

The kitteh girl raised a paw and flexed, unsheathing her claws, long and sharp and rather intimidating if one wasn't familiar with the disposition of their owner. Then she retracted them, taking a moment to gnaw between her digits as she studied the girl in front of her.

She was jumpy, that was for certain, distrustful and a little frightened of her surroundings. Nyika couldn't blame her, remembering the manner of her awwakening in a strange land built in stones with snow all around. Was she a refugee like Mocchi was talking about? One with a strong heart that had survived their world collapse? Or was she just passing through as Nyika was, already familiar with the layout of the lands and the worlds that held them.

Nyika's ears turned before her head did at a new voice, frowning even as he came to her aid. Who was he to call her some creature? Wasn't he familiar with terrans? Her tail twitched in annoyance. 

Removing the paw from her mouth, she spoke. 

"I am a terran, if you please; not some common creature. My name is Nyika of the Kymau tribe." She cocked her head, gazing with inquisitive eyes at the girl. "Who are you?"

[Deleted]

Cerci looked up at the new addition to the situation and scowled, who did he think he was talking to? She wasn't some deranged damsel, was she? No, she was defending herself from whatever attacker had stumbled upon her and started jabbing at her with whatever they had been jabbing at her with.

"Pardon me for being a little jumpy 'round sharp objects that've been messin' 'bout with my face while I'm out cold," she snapped, "I'll remember to mind my manners next time someone threatens me with a shank-"

She flinched when the being sitting before her unsheathed her claws and she pointed over to them, her hand tightening over the wood of the pommel's grip that she had reached for.

"See! Them! Those'r the ones! She's been jabbin' me in the face with them...them claws..." her voice trailed off as she watched the feline eared damsel nibble between her large fuzzy digits. She wondered vaguely just how threatening her half awake mind had made this-this lap cat of a creature before opening her mouth to speak again, "Uh...wha- wait...wake me up?"

She seemed to calm down long enough to glance around and get a better look at her surroundings, not that it told her much.

"So I landed then..." slowly she removed her hand from the pommel of her blade and let it drop to her side, "That means this place-"

She paused in her own mumbling to look at the feline eared girl who had been staring at her as she nibbled on her paw, now that her mitt had been removed from her maw, she was speaking, introducing herself and naming her species. When she cocked her head to the side and let her eyes bore into Cerci's face with a question of her own, she felt herself frown.

"Cerci," she was going to have to get used to introducing herself to strangers without immediately shying against it, a quick glance up to the male who had joined them moments before and she felt a teasing smile take the place of the reflexive frown, "What about you, provost? Don't want to be rude in front of these 'missus', do ya?"

[Deleted]

"Those would be her fingers, the claws seem to be a negative side effect of being one of her race. I apologize, Ma'am," Copper said in his formal, military-like speech to the Terran. "I'm not familiar with all of the wonderful things amongst the worlds. Please don't think too poorly of me; it's a pleasure to meet you." Turning to the human woman, he spoke again, a little frightened by the woman's manner. A bit bipolar, maybe? She went from being upset to confused to cocky. Then again, it could just be because she's a woman.

"I'm Copper, of Radiant Garden. What are you two doing here, anyway?" He was curious. He hadn't expected to see two strange people so quickly. Clearing his throat," he glanced around. "This place is a bit odd, isn't it? I've never been out of Radiant Garden.