ᴇʏᴇs ᴜɴᴄʟᴏᴜᴅᴇᴅ

“ballerina’s wear the pointe shoes and they work hard to wear them. i think i’ll wear the flat ones and a tutu as to not insult a ballerina’s talent.” pandora smiled at both thoughts and the thought of the snakes she was going to make later. “i think that has to be true..”’

“so thoughtful,” he mused. “insults only hurt with intention,” he added, writing down another note in the margin of his journal. a thought for later and not for the story now. “what do you suppose a dog turned human would be like?” nonsensical questions were common with armani but he had a surprising amount of reason as he glanced over at his sister, waiting for her answer.

zero: at least you're used to having thumbs. That's what gets me with the whole texting thing.

zero: but yeah i feel like i'm more in person as well. but i thought if i was going to text anyone, it would probably be you.

armani: yes but it's a gamble to see if any work

armani: right, former ghost dog. you'll learn to appreciate thumbs eventually

zero: and since you gave me your number, i think, i thought maybe i could text you?

zero: am i even doing this right?

armani: you're asking the wrong person. i barely use my phone right

armani: which often gets me in trouble with my editor but i've always been an in person kind of communicator

“oh to be a be ballerina. i could have been a ballerina, perhaps I still can. I can twirl and leap and dance on my toes.” she giggled at the idea. nodding the blonde shrugged. “Quite needy but that’s what make yellow so lovely, it’ll never leave you.”

“be whatever you like, sister. our imagination is our only limitation and well, that would mean we have none.” he chuckled. “that must be why golden retrievers all have a shiny yellow glow to their golden fur coats,” he mused.

kris busied his hands while armani pulled his thoughts back together, not wanting him to feel rushed or watched in any way. he shook his head at the apology, finding it unnecessary. “don’t be, it’s fine.” the male shrugged, knowing armani was probably a bit embarrassed even though he shouldn’t be. “i know, it’s alright. it happens armani, don’t worry about it.” he assured the other.

“Do you need them to see? It’s my fault they’re broken!” Thea couldn’t help but feel terrible for playing a part in breaking the man’s glasses. “How much did they cost?”

“I need them, not to see, but I do need them.” Armani raised a brow at her question. “Is that a thing I should know? I don’t usually know the price of something I found long ago in a distance land.” Wonderland to be exact. All sorts of stuff got left lying around and if you called for the owner and received no answer, finders keepers. “Don’t know, don’t care. A smart man always has a spare.” He pulled out another pair from his bag, putting away the broken pair.

since armani didn’t show this side of himself often, kris wasn’t all that sure what to do for his friend. he felt like talking to him would only make matters worse, too many words coming into his clouded mind wouldn’t help at all. shaking his head slightly at the words, kris waited to say anything until armani was visibly calming down a bit. “nothing will fall down if you rest just a little bit. you’ll stress yourself out if you don’t take a break once in a while.” he informed the other.

Thea was always a little clumsy. She was walking, trying to avoid the person in the path, but she tripped and ran right into him. When she rolled over, she heard him talking about his glasses. “Oh no! I’m so sorry!” She stood up and bit her bottom lip, until he smiled. “Oh… Are you sure?”

“I’m fine. My glasses are not,” he repeated as he continued to inspect the broken pair. It wasn’t actually a great loss since he didn’t need them but Armani tended to take his games of pretend too seriously.

“what kind of dancing do they do, twirls and leaps and bounds and such, to a be word that dances in your head.” She did her own twirl and landed with a curtsy. “yellow sounds like sunshine on your skin after it rains, warm and low, it hums, its sand as you walk on the beach, the sound of water, pulling sand, beckoning. yellow sounds like beckoning.”

“some like ballet and others like more of a hip hop style. it depends on their mood.” he paused in his writing to give a small applause to his sister. “yellow must be very needy,” he mused with a teasing grin. comments like that were likely why he could never come to an agreement with the color.

pandora knew her brother like to write and occasionally she followed him and simply talked or sat in silence. eventually he answered her. “exactly!” she agreed. the blonde flipped off the bed and landed upright in smooth movement. “dancing words, what a thought. when i’ve enough tea i begin to hear colours. does it look like that, they dance before your eyes.” in wonderland it was very likely that words could dance and colours could be heard. but her brother was of the more logical variety. in a his own mad way.

he smiled at his sister’s fluid display of acrobatics. climbing was more his type of preferred athleticism but they learned from each other occasionally. it was inevitable with the amount of type they spent together. “they dance in my head mostly but if they feel so inclined they will put on a visible show for me. only me,” he added with a proud smirk. “what does yellow sound like? it doesn’t like me much so i’ve never known.”

looking over at his friend kris frowned slightly. it wasn’t very often that he saw this side of armani, the hatter was usually quite good at holding his thoughts together. but it was easy to tell that he was stressed, and the fact that his thoughts were jumbled up surely only made it worse. pouring the other a glass of water he set it down in front of him. “hey, maybe you should take a break, armani. let your mind rest a bit.” he suggested gently. 

“I don’t think I really necessarily know what normal is, so I’ll take that statement as true,” Zero said with a smile. He laughed a little bit as the other spouted off the town’s song and he nodded. “You know, I was never able to actually sing that song. I always barked along to it, but it’s nice to be able to hear those words and say them back.” Zero said and smiled a little. He nodded and turned around and started leading them out and to his apartment. “So, you don’t think it’s weird that I’m actually a dead ghost dog with a pumpkin for a nose?” he asked. “I mean, I guess my eyes are now the pumpkins but when I was a dog it was my nose.”

“Normal is relative. Perception based. Normal in the Hatter family is considered absolutely mad in others.” He took another sip of his coffee, glancing over when he mentioned again that he had once been a dog. “You have all your memories as a dog?” Armani’s curiosity was peaked. He wondered if the transition to human was hard or if being around humanoid beings had been enough preparation for the male. “Pumpkin eyes,” he repeated with a shrug. “You become accustomed to things that are considered strange growing up in Wonderland. I’ve learned to keep an open mind. Not too open or I get lost but no, you’re not weird to me. Fascinating, maybe.”

“Is normal even normal here?” he asked and chuckled and shrugged. “I guess it’s a good thing to know you’re not normal, because I’m far from it too. It’s comforting in a way.” Zero said with a smile. He turned to the door and then looked back at the male. “Oh uh yeah…kindof?” Zero said and laughed a little. “I’m from Halloweentown and there I’m a ghost dog. Fairy godmother brought me here and turned me into a human. So I guess i’m reincarnated because I’m not dead anymore?” He said and laughed a little. “Let’s go then.”

“Normal is as normal is,” he stated, giving no real answer. Armani sipped at his drink, used to the burning sensation of hot liquid thanks to being an avid tea drinker. Hot tea was the best except for when it wasn’t. “Halloween Town,” he repeated with a thoughtful look. “Wouldn’t you like to see something strange,” he half sang the words, chuckling to himself before taking another sip. “Lead the way ghost dog!” He announced, gesturing for the other male to do so.