I'm just doing what comes naturally

[jolting]

Who: Dr. Whale and whoever wants to stop him from doing science experiments on innocent wildlife
Where: around Truffula Valley
When: the 12th
Rating: PG-13 for crimes against nature
Summary: Fish do not hum. Trees do not smell like butterfly milk
The Story: Being transported from Storybrooke to Wonderland really should have been enough. But no, he was taken to yet another world. Luckily Evelyn already told him a little about this, or he would've been very off-footed. Of course Whale still was off-footed. Just less so.

After getting over the bright colors, Whale started really taking a look around. The trees weren't like any he ever saw before. He reached out and felt a tuft between his fingers. Odd, but it was soft as silk. Whale plucked it to examine it closer. He caught the faintest whiff of something. He couldn't place the scent. Whale tucked it into his pocket so he could take it back to his lab.

He continued on his walk and saw three... fish? On land? Whale gaped at them in surprise. The surprise grew to outright shock when they actually waved to him and started humming. Humming. He needed to get his hands on one of those things.

Comments

[geneticallyscrewed]

Henry's walking around enjoying the sunshine and just about everything that's nice about the place. So unlike Storybrooke he can even overlook that the all the creatures don't behave the same.

Seeing Whale, he waves but doesn't run over. He's tired from playing but does wander in that direction to see what's he's doing.

[jolting]

Whale was trying to make a grab for one of the hummingfish, thus not even noticing Henry's approach at first. The strange creature just laughed and stuck its tonuge out at him. It and its two friends hummed a taunting little tune before diving into the water.

The doctor stroked his chin, debating on how to proceed from here. It was then that Henry's presence was finally noticed.

"Ah. Hello, Henry," he greeted the boy. He always felt a bit awkward around this child. Being Regina's son did that, as well as the whole Daniel incident that Whale was involved in.

[geneticallyscrewed]

"Hello Doctor. Are you playing with the fish too?" Despite his maturity, he's still quite naive. If he knew Whale's involvement in the whole Daniel incident, he might be more worried but to him, this man isn't too bad. He's just got a bad reputation because of his Enchanted Forest character.

"It's great, isn't it? So different to Storybrooke."

[jolting]

He frowned at where the fish disappeared. He'd figure out some other way to catch them when Henry was gone.

"Very different," Whale agreed, turning to the boy. "You're not out here by yourself, are you?" He wasn't exactly the best kind of adult to watch after a child, but neither did he want Henry getting into trouble and have Regina or Emma get upset about it.

[geneticallyscrewed]

"Well yeah. Mom's not here." A pause as he realised he wasn't very specific. "Either of them." It was still a strange subject to think about. Two moms etc but that was for another time.

"What's the point in being in a great place if you can't wander around on your own?" He didn't need to be side-lined like back home.

[jolting]

"It's no business of mine, I suppose," Whale shrugged, failing at childcare in record time. "Just don't drown."

[geneticallyscrewed]

Henry thought that was very cold hearted even after his childhood with Regina. But Whale wasn't his father and had never even been a father figure when growing up so it didn't bother him.

"I don't plan on it. Thanks."

ACTION time

[nascensibility]

Evelyn is out and about, enjoying the bracing fresh air, the wind in her hair, the...something else that rhymes with 'air.' Regardless, the weather is lovely and this narration will not attempt to Seuss-ify its tags, because that would be utterly ridiculoussiccal.

"First taste of someplace new?"

It's an innocent-enough question in reference to their previous conversation regarding Whale's lack of travel as she steps into a clearing, pleased to see someone she recognises.

that was beautiful xDD

[jolting]

He turned at the sound of Evelyn's voice, his intense curiosity shifting to a more pleasant expression. The hummingfish were safe for now.

"In many years, yes. I didn't expect it to be so... whimsical."

I try, I try

[nascensibility]

The hummingfish will remain perfectly unscathed as long as Evelyn has any say in the matter. She strides over to him, leaning against one of the long, tall trees with the fluffy foliage (it's not greenery like any she's seen, but who is she to judge?).

"It's not always this pleasant," she shrugs, recalling past events with office buildings and carnivals, fanciful gardens with sinister talking plants. Darkness, blood-spattered rooms. It changes too often to say that it's a perfectly benevolent place.

"But this is a nice change of pace."

[jolting]

Whale gave the place another cursory glance. Something about the place was just too unusual. The wildlife, the trees... It's even stranger than the Enchanted Forest. At least the trees there were normal.

He held out the tuft he picked from a truffula tree. "What does that smell like to you?" he asked her. "I can't place the scent."

[nascensibility]

Oh, he'll get used to it. Or go mad trying.

Evelyn holds his hand steady with hers, leaning in to sniff the bit of fuzz delicately. She wrinkles her nose. It's familiar and new all at the same time.

"...Cream?"

A hazardous guess at best, but it reminds her strongly of what she had in her tea this morning.

"Cream and honey?"

[jolting]

...Oh. She was touching his hand. He liked how that turned out. Of course he still cared about Ruby more, but attention from beautiful women was never turned down.

"A bit odd, isn't it, for a tree to smell like that?"

[speaksforthetrees]

The Lorax was busy communing with the forest, the trees, the animals. He felt...better. Not as good as he could, knowing this was temporary and not entirely real, as far as he could tell, but it was better than being purposeless. Better than trees that whispered sharp words and a ground he couldn't quite sink into.

He made his way among the trees silently, listening and feeling. The instant something happened to one of the creatures, he would feel it.

[jolting]

The hummingfish were irritating Whale, but for now he would leave them be. He was now turning his attention on the truffula trees. He happened to have a scalpel on his person, and was cutting into the bark.

Unaware that the spirit of the forest was close by. Watching him.

[speaksforthetrees]

Not watching, exactly-- but he felt that cut, almost like it was into his own skin, and it immediately made him whirl to face whatever was causing it. The pain had been too sharp, too clean. Nothing like the scrape of Barbaloot claws or the knock of a Swommee Swan's beak. It was dangerous.

So the Lorax threw his hands up and shouted, "Stop!"

[jolting]

He paused with the tree shaving in his hand. Oh, it was that strange furry creature again. Whale's eyebrows went up.

"Is there a problem?"

[speaksforthetrees]

"You can't do that! Those trees didn't do anything to you, after all!"

[jolting]

Whale stared at the creature. Was he being serious? "Taking off the bark from a tree won't hurt it," he stated simply.

[childofthemoon]

It would be such a good idea to follow those fish, too, but maybe not exactly for the intended reason. Still, this is relevant to Whale's interests in a different way. Ruby's hanging out by the bank of the river, jeans rolled up, shoes tossed aside, bare feet dangling in the surprisingly warm water. She's half-lying down on her back, slightly propped up on her elbows so she can keep a lazy lookout.

Much as she's... honestly weirded out and kinda annoyed by this turn of events, this is nice.

Weird. But nice enough, for now. It's rare she gets to have a moment of peace, after all.

[jolting]

He was really starting to think the fish were taunting him on purpose. He followed after them, determined at least to study them in their natural habitat. And that was when he saw Ruby. He spoke with her earlier, but seeing her in person was a different experience.

The fish were completely forgotten in favor of approaching her. "Hello, Ruby," he greeted. "How does this world suit you so far?

[childofthemoon]

"Hey, Whale."

Ruby propped herself up a little more, small wave of her hand in greeting coming easy with a friendly smile.

"You mean in general or... well, this cotton candy open air asylum?"

Because yeah, she wasn't too impressed with the latter, even though she did appreciate that it was peaceful - unlike what she'd been led to expect.

[jolting]

"A bit of both, I suppose." He cast a casual glance around. Cotton candy was the perfect way to describe these strange trees, and he had to smile. "It's just, we haven't spoken in person since Storybrooke and I wanted to be sure you were all right."

[childofthemoon]

Ruby looks just a little taken aback. Not in a bad way, mind you. But the fact that Whale seeks her out and is genuinely nice without even a hint of lech is... unexpected for her, obviously.

Talking in person... did they ever do that unless he was hitting on her? Not in Ruby's experience, apparently.

Pleasant surprises, they don't seem to end.

"That's sweet of you, thanks. You holding up okay, too?"

She's surprised by his much warmer attitude, but that's a good thing as far as Ruby's concerned. Her smile turns a bit less wide, but a lot more genuine for it.

[jolting]

His own smile grew a bit at her calling him sweet. That meant he was making progress, didn't it? That he really was taking this chance and making something new of himself. Whale situated himself so he was sitting close to her, watching the hummingfish play together in silence for a moment.

"Being bounced around to different worlds is not something I'd like to make a habit of," he said, "but it isn't completely terrible. Each new world opens the possibility of something to be discovered. New mysteries to unfold... It's exciting."

He was more Victor than Whale as he spoke, the eagerness sparking his eyes in a way that was never seen before the curse broke.