+ Chalk it to me! - Mingle Log +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE!
Where: Anywhere outside on Real Side, but mostly in the gardens!
When: 3/14-3/20
Rating: PG, warn if going higher than PG-13
Summary: Alice has invited everyone, Reals and Mirrors alike, to come color outside in the nice spring weather with magic chalk. Surely nothing could go wrong with that plan, right?
The Story:

Outside, the weather is absolutely beautiful. It's not too hot, but not too cold either, and no one would have ever realized there was snow on the ground yesterday if they hadn't been here to see it. The grass is green and everything is dry - no sign of melted snow anywhere at all. Flowers have begun to bloom and it truly looks as though it's been spring for some time already. The season has changed abruptly and now Wonderland's decided it's time for it to be nice out.

There are many paths through the gardens, the vendors, and the hedge maze that can be drawn on, but as Alice demonstrated in her post, there's no need at all to stick to pavement only. Even the air can be decorated with living drawings!

This is a log for people who want to come color outside or people who want to check out what others are doing out here. It isn't strictly to interact with Alice, but she'll be around and will have a top level.

Comments

[teamfun]

The first thing Louis drew was a bunch of dicks, because he's a teenage boy and there's a credo all teenage boys have to follow if they're given drawing implements and a free reign to draw graffiti with them. He has no regrets, even if there are a bunch of dicks flopping somewhere around Wonderland- free as birds.

He doesn't bring any dicks to this conversation, though. He's honestly happy to see Alice in a cheery mood, and heads over with some magic chalk to crouch on the pavement beside her. He hasn't forgotten his promise to the Sisters, and he intends to keep it- but he can stall for a little while.

"Wow, you're going all out with the chalk, huh? I'm impressed."

[curiousher]

By now Alice has three blue chalk kittens gently nuzzling her and competing for her attention, and she's working on a fourth as they gently pester her. She's laying on her stomach on the ground and letting the kittens walk all over her, getting blue chalk all over her blonde hair.

"Thank you very much!" she says. Then, conspiratorially she adds, "I'm making myself a kitten caboodle."

That isn't at all what that phrase is supposed to be, but she looks awfully proud of herself for it anyway.

[teamfun]

The kittens are adorable and he almost feels bad for squandering his first hours of magic chalk time by making a bunch of dicks. Only almost, though.

"You sure are," he is never going to correct her- never. "I wonder what the requisite number of kittens you need before you can make a bid to take over the world. Probably more than this, but you're on a good start."

He'll doodle a crude ball of yarn. You know, for the kittens to play with. He smiles at it bounces off towards them.

"This was a nice idea, Alice. People could use a break after the last few events."

[curiousher]

"I think with especially determined kittens you would only need about ten or so," she says.

The kittens immediately look up from their perches on Alice and rush the ball of yarn, rolling around and gently wrestling each other for it, leaving chalk marks on the ground as they go. Now that she's free, Alice sits up and wipes chalk off the front of her dress.

"Mm. I thought so...we've had some difficult ones lately, and the entire world nearly broke," she says. "I thought it would be nice to just do something fun with everyone while we have a chance, while nothing else is happening."

[teamfun]

"That's true. You wouldn't want too many, or suddenly you'll find yourself living under their kitten-y regime. Head scritches and tasty fish treats would be a part of your daily ritual."

He smiles, watching the kittens. It's a nice sentiment. He likes some downtime, he's pretty sure they won't get much of this here. He's been here all of six months and he worked that much out pretty damn quickly.

"Yeah, it's nice to have a break, from all the crazy stuff," and that seems a nice segue, he glances up at the sky. "Sooooo. I was talking to the sisters."

[curiousher]

"I don't think I'd mind a life like that," she says. "It sounds nice to me."

Her smile falters when Louis mentions the sisters out of seemingly nowhere, but she tries her best to keep her calm.

"Oh?" she says, very curtly. "I'm sure they had quite a lot to say."

Or specifically, a lot to say about her. They seem like the type to be gossipy like that.

[teamfun]

"There's worse lives. I, for one, would welcome our Kitten Overlords."

He keeps his smile on, trying to reassure. He doesn't want to spook her, or worse- make her feel like he's accusing her of anything.

"They sure did," he waggles a finger at a kitten, to try and break some tension. "Something about you not believing them about being stuck in a well? And then...one of them hit you? Or...all of them? It's kinda hard to get around the whole treble-speak thing they got going on."

[curiousher]

"Tillie did," she clarifies. "She's the eldest, though she doesn't act like it."

The other two just watched, and Alice doesn't mind that so much since it gave her the chance to fight back instead of just taking that sort of treatment.

"And no, I don't believe them," she says. "Have you ever even seen a well in Wonderland? Because I haven't, and I've been here a very long time. I haven't even seen a normal well, much less one full of treacle."

[teamfun]

"Yeaaaaah, picked that much up speaking to them."

Louis is used to difficult kids, though- hell he was a difficult kid. Ericson was filled with them.

"I honestly can't say I have, no treacle wells, nope," he cants his head, trying his best mediator tone. "And Tillie sure as hell shouldn't have hit you for saying it- but maybe something happened to make them believe it was true- even if it might not be. This is Wonderland, after all. The Land of the Batshit."

[curiousher]

It's an interesting point, and probably a valid one. It's enough to make her pause.

"Maybe," she says. "Or maybe they're just like the Cheshire Cat and the Tweedle Twins, and the rest of the people of Wonderland. I don't think they've ever been outside of it, and I certainly don't think they've been around as long as they say they have. The people of Wonderland, the ones who say they're from here, tend to show up very suddenly - like they did. I just don't appreciate that they're trying to make everyone think they've always been around."

Especially when she knows perfectly well that they haven't. She sighs though, and rests her chin in her chalk-covered hand.

"Though, I suppose there are people here who would think that of me..." she says.

[teamfun]

"Maybe to them, they have been here for that long. Could be that Wonderland is messing with their memories- maybe wherever they go when they're not here runs on a different time than here," he shrugs. "Or maybe they're just making it up to feel more important. Who knows. It's almost impossible to know for sure one way or the other."

He offers her a gentle smile, encouraging.

"Maybe, not me, but maybe some people would, and I'm sure you wouldn't like it if people got angry at you for it," his tone remains even. "Basically what I'm trying to get at is that is Wonderland's already doing everything in its power to screw us over. Being at each other's throats isn't gonna help that."

[curiousher]

"...I still think if they'd really been here that long, I would've heard about it. I would have met them," she says. "I've been here so such longer than anyone else, so I would have noticed if someone else had been here that long too. I...I would have had company."

But she didn't. They just turned up all of a sudden, and the whole thing was suspicious.

"...Wonderland could be ruining their minds though, I suppose," she concedes. She'll give him that much. "It does tend to be cruel that way."

[teamfun]

"...Guess there is that much. You probably could have used that too, huh? The company, I mean."

It sucks that she was left alone. He wishes she hadn't been. No one deserves that.

"It's always a possibility. It could be that they're just fucking with us all...but there's also a chance that they're...not. It only seems fair we'd look down every avenue, right?"

[curiousher]

Alice nods.

"There were always people around, but...everyone comes and goes," she says. "No one's been here as long as I have. It's rather lonely..."

She still makes friends and still gets close to people because she would really go mad otherwise, but...it's not the same as having someone who's been with her through everything.

"They still shouldn't go around gossiping about me," she points out, with a pout. Even if they can't definitively say whether or not the girls are telling the truth, Alice will still insist on this point.

[teamfun]

"I'm sorry. It has to suck to get close to people and watch them go home."

Sometimes even come back with no memory of this place- or her. That, he imagines, must be the hardest part. Being a stranger to someone you know well. It'd drive him crazy, he'd hate it. He nods understandingly.

"I agree, they shouldn't. That sort of shit doesn't help anyone out. Not when we're supposed to be in this together."

[curiousher]

"It...really does."

She's quiet for a moment, thinking about that. Then, she concedes.

"I suppose I could try a little harder with them," she says. "As long as they try a little harder with me."

[teamfun]

He offers her a smile, a little thumbs up.

"That's all you need to do. Meet in the middle, y'know? Life's too short to be at each other's throats," he arches an eyebrow. "I think Wonderland does enough of that for all of us, huh?"