ENCHANTDLY

"Ask most of Wonderland, she's the one most of them are scared of. Fear is a good way to keep people down" it almost worked on him. Sure he spent most of his time completely terrified, but he still had to help his friends, had to stop them from loosing their heads. She would take it that far, he knew that too well. "Did he do something?" oh he didn't need that, trying to do damage control was exhausting on a good day. "My day? My day is the same as any other day. Woke up... realised I was late, ran here. Then the Queen was playing croquet... probably a good thing you arrived after that" he did know their opinion on the way the Queen played after all. He didn't disagree, he had almost been taken out by a hedgehog earlier.

“ well. maybe i should change that, ” cheshire muses with a frown. “ really, she's not that scary. just a human with a temper. ” it's not that simple, it never is, but the cheshire cat has quite the penchant for downplaying the severity of anything and everything. when they're not talking in circles, that is. “ just the usual. don't fret, the cards know to steer clear of the tea party. ” it's sweet that the rabbit cares so much about the many denizens of wonderland, no matter how chaotic or annoying they may be. at the mention of croquet the cat rolls his eyes. “ does she have nothing better to do with her time ? honestly, if she wants to torture the animals so badly, there are more efficient ways to do it. ” one of these days, they'll snap and deal with her once and for all. eventually.

“  oh,  i’m so very sorry to disturb you…  ”     she calls out to the person nearby,  shy smile upon her face,  her voice just as timid as her doe eyes make her look,     “  —but i don’t suppose you would mind helping me?   my dear legs seem to have gone to sleep on me, so i might be stuck here !  ”

they are drawn out of their reverie by the query of a young woman sitting on the grass, who they recognise by the german shepherd by her side. lavender, they recall, and her dog's name is rosie. robin nods with a smile as they respond. “ it's no trouble, ” they reassure, offering a hand out to her. “ do you need me to help you over to a bench or something, or will you be right once you're up ? ”

“ i know, it sounds ridiculous, but — he's gone missing three times in the last week, ” she says. “ and he usually doesn't like to go out at all. ” jasmine wrings her hands. she has her own suspicions ... but what can an ordinary citizen do against a serial thief ? “ and it's never when i'm home — which, if a cat wants out they don't exactly mind if anyone's around to witness, ” she adds as an afterthought. “ what do i do ? do you have any suggestions ? ”

"And yet she's the Queen" this world really was nonsensical. With what he had seen of others, sometimes he wondered if he struggled so much with it because he too often did make sense. If not for the damn portals, something he had never told anyone about. Alice had been too much of a risk as it was. "If that was true, I'd have lost my head, and I like it where it is... think it was Hatter anyway" or someone else, he couldn't remember now. "Fine, but if it goes wrong, I'll haunt you".

“ she's a queen, ” cheshire corrects the rabbit. “ not some invincible perpetual monarch. why none of her soldiers have staged a revolution yet, i really wonder. ” probably because none of them are creative enough for it — how denizens of wonderland turned out so dull is a mystery the cat has yet to solve. “ hm, you could be right. he does have a knack for that, ” they say with an eyeroll. “ now. tell me about your day, else i shall simply die of boredom. then you'd really be in a pickle. ”

“ not yet, i'll know it when i see it, ” yusuf says, scanning the flower shop for the particular kind of flower he wants. “ and none of those. it's a gift for a ... friend who got on my nerves yesterday. ” a very spiteful gift, specially selected to both mean ‘ fuck you ’ and give the unfortunate ‘ friend ’ a constant headache with all the pollen. he checks the label on one bucket of flowers, and frowns. “ i swear they had foxgloves last time i was here. can you see any ? ”

“ oh yes, it's wonderful, ” she says with a smile. “ as incredible as everything you do, mr. mackenzie. ”

" i don't think i've ever seen so much gold. " she admits, hands folding behind her as she glances across the ballroom. " i've read about the king and i've pictured this castle at least a hundred times - but i'm not sure how to feel. somehow it's all a bit lacking. "

a masquerade is such a delightful opportunity to sneak into the city and inflict chaos — and also to check on how the dear kids are going. after all that happened in the woods, they grew rather fond of them. though they didn't expect to strike up conversation with a different young person. “ it is very one note, ” puck says with a laugh. “ but i suppose it's true that a ruler's abode resembles the ruler themselves. ” which is why avalon is so beautiful yet dangerous, as changeable as the moods of its rulers. there's a reason puck spends so much time in the human world.

she dismisses their weak excuses and promises with a casual wave of their own hand,  eyes rolling in their sockets at just how well-behaved everybody in this little town was determined to be.     jinyu knew they were  ‘the problem child’  in many ways,  those exact words being the only constant they had ever had in their life.     but fuck,  they’re beginning to think this town was just a personal hell designed to torture her frequent boredom.     if only they would apply themselves somewhere.     “  you better !  ”     they point a sticky,  glaze-covered finger at robin,  followed by a playful glare as jinyu licked their hands clean.     “  —actually,  tell me how.   give me something juicy to think about when i’m all by myself later tonight,  either in bed or that stupid cell again.  ”

“ don't be like that, jin, you know i'd be down for shenanigans any other time, ” robin says. “ don't try to make me out as some boring goody-two-shoes, now. ” they huff at their companion. the audacity to roll their eyes at robin, as if they aren't always ready to cover for jinyu. honestly. “ haven't got anything going on tomorrow night, so we could hang out then ... or there's this cool spot i found the other week. but you can decide if you'd prefer the cinema or my new spot. ”

jeepers, this guy's got an attitude problem. robin sighs. “ just– you used to teach history and english, right ? i was wondering if you'd heard of this book ... ” they pull out a print-out of a book cover, handing it to him. “ i'll even buy your next drink. ” they hand the bartender a couple of notes of cash, giving the poor person an apologetic smile. “ and if you don't know, i'll be out of your hair right away. promise. ”

" unfortunately there aren't many magic fixes in this world, sorry, " she sighed. " believe me, if there was and i had it, i would be a lot wealthier than i am. " a little smirk crept across her lips. " come on, tell me some more about these dreams - just so i can really build a sense of why they may be happening. "

“ okay, but if this turns out to be a scam i'm siccing my partner on you, ” robin warns. “ mostly they're just — i dunno how to explain it. it's like — the feeling you get after you run a long way, where you feel like you're flying and your legs want to keep moving. there's glimpses of forests and oceans and all sorts of stuff, but nothing terribly specific ... oh, and a few people dressed in ancient greek attire. so tell me, oh mighty therapist, what does all that mean ? ”

"I promise you, there's nothing to feel bad about." a kind smile illuminates helen's face, her eyes brightening as her friend turns her sketchbook around to face her. "they look beautiful, as usual." jasmine's sketches have always stood out to helen: there's something special about the way her passion is etched into every detail, not to mention her raw talent. but if she were to linger on the thought, she might feel a little self-pity; she can barely remember a time where her work fulfilled her as much as jasmine's appears to. but she didn't linger, and she would never voice such a concern out loud; instead, she forces her soft smile to remain steadfast on her lips. "i've been alright. busy, mostly, but well. and you?"

“ thanks, ” she says with a smile, flushing red at the praise. jasmine is terrible at taking a compliment, though she does appreciate helen's kind words. “ i'm not surprised you're busy, being so good at what you do. ” she has no idea about legal stuff, but she does know that helen is very talented, practically a prodigy. “ thanks for finding the time to catch up, though. ” she takes a sip of her thickshake before continuing to talk. “ not nearly as busy as you, though i don't know whether to be grateful or frustrated ... truly, i have never been so bored. hence the drawings. ” she gestures at the sketchbook. “ y'know, since nobody round here actually wants interesting buildings. ”

“ yeah, you could be, ” yusuf retorts, perfectly willing to go tit for tat with nick. “ i'm not in the habit of giving in to dickheads, nor do i see the point of moving when the only person asking is someone with no reason to. ” he looks derisively at the bottle of wine. “ although if that's what you're drinking, maybe i should move, lest the stupidity rub off on me. ”

“ yeah, you could be, ” yusuf retorts, perfectly willing to go tit for tat with nick. “ i'm not in the habit of giving in to dickheads, nor do i see the point of moving when the only person asking is someone with no reason to. ” he looks derisively at the bottle of wine. “ although if that's what you're drinking, maybe i should move, lest the stupidity rub off on me. ”

"You're lucky" just once he'd like to sleep through the night with nothing strange happening in his dreams. Or at least be human in his dreams, what being a rabbit in all of them said about him, he really didn't know. "They do that? I mean the only reason I don't drink mine straight away is that it's too hot and I'd just be moaning about having a burnt tongue after which I doubt is better for anyone" and another issue he had, what was wrong with him. "Oh I wasn't going anywhere... well going to the coffee shop originally, but only because I was in desperate need of coffee and ran out at home".

yusuf needs a moment to process the info-dump that leo delivers. “ yeah, they do that. dunno why, exactly, but my guess would be it's cheaper and they can get more people through the shop. but in your case, it would work perfectly to prevent you getting distracted. ” he shrugs. “ just a thought, though. i know i'd prefer it over some stupid shit like mindfulness. ”

“ oh, there are so many wonderful choices, ” jasmine says, “ but what sorts of things do you like ? i don't want to suggest something you won't like. ” she looks at the menu carefully. “ my personal favourite is the custard tart, but if you're less keen on sweet things, the quiches are all very good. ” she feels a little stupid for even suggesting this — it's so obviously out of his comfort zone, and it's not particularly within hers either. “ how has your afternoon been ? any more runaway cats rescued ? ” she jokes.