❝ Do you ever feel like your life and everything in it...❞

[unpreach]

Who: Kate Fuller & You (Yeah and maybe Richie Gecko okay. This could happen)
Where: Various Locations in Wonderland
When: Early to Mid January.
Rating: PG+ to NSFW.
Summary: Kate settles into Wonderland
The Story: ❝...is just slowly turning upside down, like a ship flipping over in the ocean?❞

ɴ.ʙ I welcome threadjacking from anyone (tagging into ongoing threads to have more than 2 characters in it). That said, if you'd prefer the thread to only be with Kate, just put [closed] in the subject line! Prose or Action is good with me, I'll match whatever I get.

[ Despite her appearance with Richie at the New Years Eve Ball, Kate's presence in the Mansion is not easily noticed as January rolls around. She keeps to her room on the tenth floor, getting out only when the walls feel like their closing in on her. If encountered during the day, you can be fairly certain that Kate will be alone but as the sun goes down, there's every chance you'll find any conversation you might have with her, interrupted by a tall man with glasses who if you think is sizing you up, undoubtedly is. ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴇʟ

[ The house of God had once been a place where Kate felt welcomed with open arms, a sanctuary that wrapped her in peace and warmth in a way that even her home could not. It was one of the few places where she had the certainty of belonging that so few ever found in life and she'd thought it would always be that for her, no matter where her life took her. Now? She wasn't so sure.

It had been many months since Kate had stepped foot in a Chapel and though Richie had shown her the one here in Wonderland as a way of putting her at ease, she already wondered if it existed to torment her more than comfort her. Kate had never wavered in her beliefs, despite all she'd seen and experienced this last year. She'd held firm to the knowledge that God loved her because as far as she was concerned, God was love but having time to stop and think about every choice she'd made, Kate could feel the weight of every one of those decisions whenever she stepped foot inside the chapel.

While she doesn't spend hours on end here, Kate can still be found in the Chapel at various times throughout the day, usually when there doesn't appear to be anyone else around. Always tucked into one of the pews at the back, as if she weren't sure she should really be here at all. ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴛᴄʜᴇɴ

[ While some people took to the magic of Wonderland; the ease and comfort it afforded those who lived here, Kate found it difficult to trust anything that could be achieved without effort. She'd tried eating in the dining room where most people took their meals but these attempts usually ended with her being more hungry than satisfied and she always ended up retreating to the kitchen where she could fix her own meal.

She was hardly what you'd call a gourmet cook, but Kate had always helped her mother in the kitchen and she'd in many ways taken on the role of caretaker in the time since her mother's death. It wasn't like her father had been in a state to do so and Scott? It was a miracle if Kate could get him to set the table.

Used to cooking for two or more, Kate will be prone to making too much and never one to see food go to waste, anyone who happens into the kitchen while she's here will be offered some of whatever she's making. Those who happen to frequent the kitchen might even realize that she's the one responsible for the plates of food that have handwritten notes beneath them, inviting anyone to take it for themselves. ]

ᴏᴜᴛsɪᴅᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sɴᴏᴡ

[ When you spend your whole life in the small town of Bethel, Texas, a place that despite the bitter cold that came during Winter, had never seen an inch of snow in the time Kate had lived there, the Winter Wonderland that existed beyond the Mansion walls had its own kind of appeal.

Some days, Kate would be content to sit by a window, a cup of hot chocolate warming her hands as she watched the flurries of snow, dance through the air. On days when the weather was mild enough to dare venture out, however, Kate would don multiple layers of clothing and would brave the biting cold just to experience what for her, was more magical than anything she'd seen inside the mansion.]

ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀs ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ

[ Set something up yourself! Kate will explore the various parts of the Mansion so it won't be inconceivable that you'd come across her almost anywhere. She will also be curious about the mirror side of Wonderland so Mirrors! are more than welcome to tag her as well. Alternatively, if you want to hash an idea out with me, you're welcome to PM her journal or hit me up on plurk: brooklyn2181]

Comments

sitting by a window

[catchacold]

You're doing it wrong.

[Probably not what one expects to be informed of when sitting by a window leisurely sipping hot chocolate, but here he comes anyway, drawling the statement with all the authority he has as he leans his shoulder against the wall, arms loosely folded.]

[unpreach]

[Recognition kicks in before Kate can give in to her rising chagrin, a curious, half amused smile touching her lips as her mind runs through every imaginable thing he might be referring to.

Okay. She'll bite.]

I guess that depends on what it is you think I'm doing.

[catchacold]

Drinking hot chocolate without the little marshmallows.

[He shakes his head, lips just a little pursed in mock-disapproval.]

Very wrong.

[unpreach]

[That earns the full force of her grin, Kate bobbing her head as if to concede his point.]

Caught me. [Meeting his gaze.] I've discovered I'm not very good at using the cupboards around here.

[Chuckling at her own ineptitude.]

[catchacold]

What, not wishing with all your heart?

[He would offer her marshmallows, but he's fresh out himself, so he just looks past her out the window instead.]

Other than that, you're doing fine. Very idyllic.

[unpreach]

Don't you ever worry about... where it all comes from?

[That very concern was part of the reason she was doing something that most people would not be okay with.]

I'm glad you approve. [A soft chuckle spilling over as Kate's gaze is drawn back to the window.]

I never really imagined I'd see snow. [Glancing back at Len.] There's not a whole lot of it in Texas.

[catchacold]

It's Wonderland. I worry more about whether it will make me shrink or grow.

[Seems reasonable to him. He nods and looks outside before catching her eyes again.]

I always liked the cold myself. Don't imagine Texas would be good for me.

[unpreach]

That kind of thing really happen here?

[Eyes a little wide, Kate almost too willing to believe him if he said yes.]

No, probably not. [The part of Texas she grew up in was Football and Church with very little in between.] Might want to avoid Mexico as well.

[seeingthings]

I have an aversion to sunlight and I managed there alright.

[Hi, Kate. He came down to see what you were up to but you already had company.

At least he doesn't look like he's about to jump down this guy's throat. Totally just a casual friendly dig. It's fine.]

It's cooler at night. You just have to be a night owl like me.

[catchacold]

With enough planning, most things work out.

[His eyes are mostly on Kate to judge her reaction to the newcomer, which makes it simple enough to deduce that he does know her. Leonard turns his head to look at him, still leaning against the wall.]

I'd still have to deal with the heat during the day.

[That said he returns to Kate's question, shrugging a shoulder.]

Never had a reaction to anything I've eaten, but I talked to someone who got turned into a cat for a while.

[unpreach]

[ Len would see Kate run through the Rolodex of reactions to their new arrival.

Her immediate surprise is quickly followed by uncertainty as Richie joins in the conversation, Kate fixing him with a look at what is seemingly a harmless comment about an aversion to the sun.

There's a nervous air about her now, one that wasn't there before but she doesn't appear displeased or uncomfortable, merely cautious. ]

Richie this is... [And all of that slips away in an instant, Kate doing a double-take as Len's words finally register.] Did you just say somebody turned into a cat?

[seeingthings]

[He shrugs his shoulders.]

That's fair. I mean, if you have the choice, why be uncomfortable, right?

[His eyebrows lift.]

For how long? If you talked to them, I assume it wasn't permanent.

[catchacold]

For a while. He was a talking cat. Very Sabrina?

[He raised a child in the Nineties, some exposure was unavoidable.]

Remarkably grumpy cat, but that wasn't because of being turned into one. It's just how he is.

[Looking at Kate, he takes note of the obvious tension. Interesting.]

[unpreach]

[That vacant stare, the raise of her eyebrows? Why yes, Kate is currently wondering who Sabrina is and what she has to do with somebody turning into a cat.

Not only would she have been a child when it went off the air, does anyone really believe her Preacher Father, would have let her watch a show about Witchcraft?

As Len talks, however, Kate continues to watch the two men interact, unaware of the fact that she's holding her breath as she looks for any signs of tension. She couldn't face a repeat of what had happened with Klaus, especially because Len was one of the few people here she felt a solid connection to.]

I'm guessin' this happened in one of those, events that people talk about? [Trying to keep the normal conversation going, like that will ensure things don't get out of control.]

[seeingthings]

Ah, right. I remember when Melissa Joan Hart still had a career.

[Richie that is...totally not the point here. Way to completely go over the conversation rails. Also showing the age discrepancy loud and clear.

To his credit, he seems pretty relaxed. Not that that always means anything in the long run.]

If it was, it sounds like a pretty tame one.

[catchacold]

Nah, that was outside of events. He just ate some candy. Usually the food's safe, but if you find it and it looks like it really wants to be eaten, I'd steer clear.

[Leonard's hand is loosely wrapped around his lower arm, far away from the cold gun, closer to the normal gun that he wears hidden under his jacket. But he doesn't intend to draw either, her behaviour just makes him wonder if he might have to.]

You're right. [To Richie, with a nod.] That'd have been tame. The "events" [The air quotes come halfhearted, simply lifting two fingers and wiggling them once.] have a grander scale.

[unpreach]

[The mention of unsafe food, once again has Kate sending a pointed look in Richie's direction.

Ya know. For Reasons.

She does, however, appear to relax a little, still mindful of Richie's tendency to be... Richie, but no longer half as tense as she had been until now.]

Grander scale, you mean it gets worse than those dreams we were all having?

[seeingthings]

[Richie's eyes flick over to Kate as she sends him that look, and he sort of shrugs his shoulders slightly. He's already doing what she wanted him to do, so it's not something they even have to worry about now.]

Those weren't normal dreams. They felt fucking real.

[catchacold]

They weren't normal dreams. [He can confirm that much, just based on the fact that they all had them, that they were this intense, shared the many similarities... But still.]

It depends what you mean by worse. So far during my six months here, I've been turned into a child twice, each time in a completely different setting, completely different memories. Pretty grating.

[unpreach]

That doesn't sound so dangerous at least?

[Not that she really liked the idea of her head being messed with or her body changing but after the last few months? Kate could use a break from running for her life.]

[seeingthings]

[Richie on the other hand...]

I'd rather have a problem I can just shoot.

[Or bite but...you know...]

[catchacold]

Same. [Not much of a revelation, that, considering that he's standing there with the cold gun at his side and another, regular gun, somewhat concealed by his jacket.] So far I couldn't ever use my weapons during these events.

Well.

[Now that he thinks about it.]

I did whack a demon over the head with my gun once.