From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 22:41:07

She'd been wandering for what seemed like forever, long since left the side of the strange man with fire hair. She'd gotten her on the right path, the air around them was simply mad now. But she had to leave the path.. because she smelled..

Tea.

Scones.

Tea!

Alice ran in the direction her nose lead her and ended up right outside..

Oh my. The fog in her head seemed to clear itself out, was she dreaming, was it really? The Mad Hatter's place? The little mail box said it was, the table was out in the yard! Laden with tea cups, tons of chairs, cups.. Alice quickly slipped through the gate and hurried to the table.

She looked around. No one. Hm.

Well they wouldn't mind if she helped herself, right? She was starving, and thirsty! She sat down in a small comfy blue armchair, picked up a cup, and a teapot and poured herself a steaming cup of tea.

Mmmm.. This was going to taste so good.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 22:49:56

Hatter had been stranded inside the house for a bit. Once getting in the door, he'd had to settle a score with maid Windowshade, who kept fluttering with breathless anticipation every time the back door opened or shut. No doubt waiting for her villainous lover to come and whisk her away. Using a wooden spoon, with a pot lid as a shield, he battled the tricky Windowshade. Then the shadow of the Coatrack had fallen upon him, forcing Hatter to fall back to a defensive position under the sofa.

There, he'd had to arrange the dust kitties into rows by size order. The dratted things were always out of sorts.

Thirty-two minutes had gone by while he hid under the sofa, safe behind his fortress of pillows, before Hatter decided he wanted a cup of tea. But between he and the tea... was the traitor's emcampment.

Pulling a white hanky from his pocket, Hatter waved it frantically as he sped by, rushing past the Coatrack and Windowshade, who were no doubt plotting their next assault. The door slammed shut behind him, and Hatter leaned against it a moment, fanning himself with the hanky and breathing heavily.

Then, he noticed a figure sitting at the table. "No!" he cried, hurring towards it, arms waving. "No room! No room! Party's full, no room!"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 22:53:22

"IT IS YOUR HOUSE!" Alice exclaimed in a joyful manner. Happy to see someone she recognized. But then she realized exactly what he'd just said.

"That's so rude! I just sat down! I've been walking for days trying to find my way to Wonderland! I want to sit and have a cup of tea!" Alice pouted there in her chair, big blue eyes staring him down. Her lower lip wibbled just a little for effect.

Well, it'd always worked on her parents.. And the staff at the asylum. Maybe it'd work on him too.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:04:48

SHE HAD TEA IN HER HANDS!!

No wibbling could deterr him from that fact. Hatter strode up, hat tilted forward to add to the angry face, and pulled the teacup right out of her hands. "Wouldn't you prefer the wine instead?" he asked, his voice charming in that moment.

The tea was taken back to his own saucer, his seat. Tea thief. Something was tapping at his memory, but it was getting nowhere just yet.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 23:07:23

Alice watched him take the cup out of her hands. She was so close to getting something to drink and now.. Wine? "But Wine is for adults and I'm nothing but a.."

Alice, you're an ADULT! You're old enough.

"Yes! Wine please." She smiled cheerfully. She wasn't an adult, but she certainly looked like a little girl, what with her dress, apron, stockings and mary jane shoes.

"You don't remember me do you?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:14:20

"There is no wine." A-HA! take THAT, you thief!

He blinked, leaning over the lip of his LEGITIMATELY OWNED teacup to take a drink, when the thing that had been trying to tap at his memory suddently poked it with a sharp stick.

Not one to waste, Hatter drank his tea before stating, "You. You... would be... Alice...?" The last syllable was stressed, giving it the impression of a quesion.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 23:16:17

Alice crossed her arms swiftly. How dare he lie to her? Who did he think he was!...well besides the owner of everything around here. Maybe Alice should have continued on and tried to find someone less possessive and more of a sharer.

She nodded her head once, leveling slightly angry eyes on the Hatter. "Yes, that's my name. You're just as rude as I remember."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:19:19

"Not so rude as the one who sat down without being invited. And the one who wouldn't leave my head even after I aske her to so many times."

But he did set down his teacup and stood. He walked over to her stared intently, then frowned. "You used to be shorter."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 23:22:54

"That's because I was 10 when you first met me. And now I've grown up. Which includes my height, growing." Alice perked her brows at him.

"Did you expect me to stay small?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:26:11

Hatter wrinkled his nose. "Come on," he said, taking her by the arm and moving towards the garden. "Mushroom, mushroom, got to find a mushroom. Just lick one side. Then you'll be back to proper height."

He started peering through the flowers and bushes, looking for the crop of mushrooms that tended to grow about here.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 23:28:00

...."I am not going to lick a mushroom just to satisfy your desire for me to be short!" Alice got up. This was absurd really! Who did he think he was?

Alice swiftly got around the chair and started for the gate.

"You're absolutely mad."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:33:54

Hatter stamped his feel. "No, no, no!" He turned to her, stepping up close so the difference would be clear. "My hat used to be perfectly hat-height over your head. Now, it is clearly sub-hat-height."

He crossed his arms. "The mushroom can clear up all this confusion, and it won't even be so much. How selfish must you be?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/26/2007 23:43:45

"I don't want to be short! I like being my height. Hear me? MY HEIGHT." Alice stomped her foot, crossed her arms and huffed.

"What I do with myself is up to me! If I wanted to dye my hair red I could. I just might! Red would suit me!"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/26/2007 23:55:09

She was moving around far too much. It was holding her in his attention. His demanding, immediate attention.

Hatter reached out, took her by her shoulders, and pulled close. Very close. There was hardly a breath they could not share at this range. He squinted at her hair. The yellow tresses. Then at the shade of her eyes. Blue. Like forget-me-nots. Buggered little plants had the same idea as she did.

Still. Hatter examined her eyes, and then looked back at her hair. And back again.

"Yellow suits your eyes better," he said. Still sharing his breath with hers. He could taste the scent of the tea on her breath.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/27/2007 00:08:30

Invasion of space alert! Red Alert! Blue Alert! PURPLE ALERT! Alice's breathing went from normal to heated, almost ragged as if in the middle of something they weren't actually in the middle of..

Almost panicked.

Alice peered up at him, awkwardly standing there, shoulders almost shaking.

"I..er..I...Um.. Thanks?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/27/2007 00:12:11

Hatter nodded. "Good. That's settled then."

It was another moment before he drew back. The scent of her still wafted through his nostrils. Well. There was a way to be rid of that.

He turned on his heel and strode toward the table. "You'll be having some tea, then?" It was a casual invitation, but still an invitation. She'd be allowed at the table now.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/27/2007 15:54:26

Alice stood there, rooted to the spot. She couldn't speak without it coming out as incoherant rambles that made no sense.

She wasn't used to people touching her.

Nor was she exactly used to butterflies in her gut around the hatter.

...Why were there butterflies inside her and what did they eat?

......It's all those flowers she ate....

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/27/2007 16:02:51

Hearing some incoherent nonsense that didn't seem to be emanating from his own mind, Hatter glanced around, looking for the source. If that damned squirrel was back...!

But, no. The faint sounds were coming from her. Alice. Was there something wrong with the offer of tea? Perhaps she had forgotten what the ambrosian drink was!

"Tea," he explained carefully. "It's hot, sweet, and in a cup. You come, you sit, you drink." He gestured dramatically towards the table and all it's high-backed, cushioned chairs. "Then we have pansy cakes. Hurry now, or you'll miss tea time. Most important time of all."

There was a glance to the clock. It had been stuck for the longest now, but sometimes it moved while Hatter wasn't watching. That cuckoo inside was a clever sort. Even after Time had abandoned poor Hatter, the cuckoo had done it's best. But right now, as he'd expected, the hands were trapped at 4:15. Exactly tea time.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/29/2007 14:19:48

Snapped from her nervous reality, Alice looked at the clock he was looking at himself. "How do you tell time with a broken clock?" The second hand didn't move. Neither did the minute hand.

How did he tell time? And it certainly couldn't have been four. It must have only been noon..

Maybe. She couldn't tell anymore.

Nervously she took a few steps toward the table.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 07/29/2007 21:14:48

Hatter frowned. "It's tea time, that's how. When it's not tea time, the clock will say so. But now, it's tea time, and you should have your tea."

That seemed simple enough, right? Obviously the girl knew nothing about Time.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 07/30/2007 15:31:05

"But the clock is broken, so doesn't that mean it'll always be tea time?" Alice sat down beside him, though she slowly moved the chair away from his. Just a few inches.

She really did need her space.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/02/2007 14:50:04

Hatter gave her an odd look. "Of course it's not always tea time. Life isn't that wonderful. Sometimes, it's nap time. Sometimes it's daytime. And sometimes, it's Too Late."

He poured out the tea and, after looking around for a moment, tapped on the sugar bowl. "Where are the pasty cakes?" he asked, tone loud and clear.

The lid of the sugar bowl lifted to reveal the Dormouse, standing and lifting the lid over his head to peek out. He squeaked a few times, and Hatter nodded, then poured in some tea. The Dormouse sank back into the sugarbowl, pulling it closed behind him.

Hatter swept off his hat to reveal a small tray of cakes on his head. He lifted the tray and set it on the table between himself and Alice.

"Tea and cakes. Perfect."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/03/2007 11:59:42

....Did that just come out from under his hat?

"How long have those cakes.. been under your hat?" Alice didn't think something that had been cooped between his hair and hat sounded edible.

No not in the least bit.

At least he hadn't started to sing.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/04/2007 13:41:36

Hatter glanced up, as though his eyes could see through the complication of his skull, brain, tissue, hair, and skin, looking at his hat.

"As long as I needed them to be. Doormouse just finished baking them." He waggled a butter knife at her, the flat metal tip dripping with the jam he was stirring into his tea. "And I'll not have you spreading such things about Doormouse. Everyone in Wonderland knows his pansy cakes are the best."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/06/2007 12:28:26

"I'm not saying anything mean about the doormouse! Don't keep cakes under your hat!" Alice bellowed. He infuriated her in so many ways. She didn't have time for tea!

She got up and took steps away from the table.

"I should go find the Cheshire Cat. At least then I'd have a good uncrazy conversation."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/06/2007 12:33:42

"Conversation is only as crazy as YOU make it." Hatter scowled, ignoring her comment and putting the tray of cakes back under his hat. "You're the one being rude."

Talking about the Dormouse, not drinking the tea he'd offered or even trying a pasty, getting up from the table without so much as a by-your-leave. It was downright disrespectful.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/09/2007 11:10:12

"I am NOT being RUDE!" Alice turned around, facing him now. "You want to see me bring rude?"

She picked up the cup she'd been given, it was filled to the brim with tea. pulled back from the table and dropped it onto thye ground. It shattered by her feet, spilling tea everywhere.

"How about that! Was THAT rude?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/09/2007 11:40:42

She... she... MURDERER!

Hatter's jaw fell as the teacup shattered on the stone, all that sweet, precious tea seeping into the ground. It splashed on her shoes, into the grass, even against the legs of the chair she'd been sitting at.

Tea murder! Hatter's eyes blinked wildly, staring as such a gruesome sight. Slowly, his hand reached up, drawing his hat off his head, and pressing it to his heart.

(Oddly, there was no trace of the cakes or their tray atop his head now.)

The expression of horrified shock hadn't left his eyes, but his lips drew into the saddest sad frown ever. The soft, somber humming of 'Taps' came from within the sugar bowl.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/10/2007 15:28:59

........

Alice swiftly came forward and grabbed his tea cup, she stepped back from the table, holding it over the ground and watched his reaction.

She cracked a smile.

Now it had become a -game-.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/11/2007 01:20:12

Hatter let out a shriek, grabbing at his cup but - alas! Too late! The murderess held it in her hands, smiling wickedly. Oh, fiend! Fiend!

"You... you're murdering innocent tea!" he gasped. "H-h-h.. how could you?" Tears spilled from his bright, round eyes, and he slid out of his chair, onto his knees. "Don't do it. Don't!"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/15/2007 15:54:09

"What will you do for me if I promise not to drop this tea cup.. Even though, it's so fun to hear them shatter.." She held it away from him, smiling down at him.

He didn't need to cry, he was so childish. He was OLDER than her! Why was he crying? She almost..almost felt bad.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/15/2007 20:25:14

Poor tea. Poor defenseless tea. "I'll... I'll..." What would he do? Hatter crept forward, still on his knees, heedless of the broken china or the spilled drink.

What to do, what to DO? Something to make her understand what cruelty this was! Something to... to make her just stop!

"P-p-pansy c-cakes?"

No, no! She hadn't liked the pansy cakes! Rude little murdering wretch! With the silky yellow have and cruelly narrowed blue eyes. Her smile would have been beautiful if it hadn't held such cruelty. Hatter felt no shame in groveling before her like this, just as he felt no shame in groveling before the Queen. Hatter was by no means a power in Wonderland. He survived by being someone no one concerned themselves with.

"What do you want?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/18/2007 18:23:11

"For you to be my slave, and do as I say. And follow me as i go to defeat the queen and save Ozland from her tyranny!" Alice beamed, her smile was not cruel now, it was noble and proud. Alice DID plan on saving Ozland!

but before she could, she needed an army. She let a drop of tea fall from the coup and to the ground.

"What say you, Mad Hatter?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/18/2007 21:19:44

Hatter was starting to cringe. He wasn't a fighter or a soldier! And he certainly wasn't a slave!

And, quite frankly, the queen scared him nearly half to death.

But then the drop of tea fell to the ground, and he gasped as through struck.

"Yes!" he said, his hands falling upon her waist, shaking her hips lightly, eyes on the lip of the teacup even as his hands discovered how slender her waist really was.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/21/2007 15:05:13

Alice froze under his hands, she almost dropped the tea cup because of him touching her. Alice wasn't used to people touching her. Not since she was a child had people touched her. The real world was so much different, not as friendly, not as feeling..

And now.. that she was an adult, her body reacted in such different ways to being touched. She was blushing, eyes wide, looking down at him.

She gently moved the cup in front of him, between them. "H-here."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/21/2007 20:05:45

One hand took the cup, the other stayed on her hip. Gently, he took it, holding it delicately, careful not to spill but a drop. And then, swiftly once it reached his lips, the amber liquid was swallowed down. Nary a drop lingered on his lips, but as he pulled Alice to him and pressed his lips hard to hers, he thought he could still taste a bit of that bitter and sweet ambrosia.

Then he let her go, leaping deftly to his feet, and oh so carefully set the teacup back on the table. Hatter brushed off his pants, set his hat firmly on his head, and bowed to Alice with a grand flourish.

"In defense of the sweet tea leaves everywhere, I am yours."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/27/2007 15:05:28

Alice didn't know what to do. She'd never been kissed before. She just stood there, still as stone and frightened. But even then, her stomach churned with butterflies and her heart pounded in her chest. Could he hear the butterflies or feel her heart through her chest?

How could he not?

He was gone before she could react to it, bit the slightly sweet bitter taste of the tea he loved so much was left there on her lips.

"...What'd you do that for?" She said as he bowed.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/27/2007 15:13:49

Hatter puzzled, eyes darting back and forth, held fast in the bow as he checked his stance, making sure that he was doing it properly.

Waist bent? Check. Legs planted firm, right in front, left behind? Check, check, check. Arms splayed, palms up? Check. Hat remov-- oops.

He swept off his hat into one hand, tilting it so it was brim up in his hand. That was better.

"Slaves... should bow. Right?" By now he was puzzling over his bow so much, that he had almost forgotten kissing her. Almost. The taste barely lingered on his lips.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 13:43:30

"...That's not what I was talking about." Alice felt so small. So childish really. it was just a kiss. Adults did this all the time, right?

Right?

In books they did...

But still.

"Why did you kiss me?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 13:49:17

Kiss.... oh.

Hatter straightened, hands turning the hat along the brim. He couldn't say why he'd kissed her. It was something about the pleasure of saving the tea, the feel of her hips under his hands, and the particular shade of blue in her eyes.

"It seemed like... a good idea at the time..?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 13:55:27

"Like a good idea at the time?!" Alice was furious. This wasn't like a book at all! Those kisses had reasons and he had none. She glared at him, huffing and putting both hands at her hips. She stormed forward grabbed up the teapot from the table and held it above her head.

She was eyeing the tree nearby. She could hit it from here.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 13:58:36

"NOOOO!" NOT THE TEAPOT!!

Moving faster than even he knew possible, Hatter crossed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Alice and holding tightly.

"You said you'd spare the tea! Mercy! Mercy!"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 13:59:00

Alice froze again, lowering the teapot a little bit, now at her height. She stared at him. "I said..I'd spare the cup.."

Now what was she gonna do?

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 13:59:45

"But not the innocent, sweet, teapot?" Oh, the sadness in his voice! The mourning already, for the innocent tea! "What do I have to do to save the teapot?"

As she started lowering the pot, he only clung tighter, worried that she would drop it.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:00:37

"I ah.." Alice didn't know. She didn't know ANYTHING right then. She just stood there, the teapot was now within his reach.

She didn't have anything she could ask for really, she already had him as a slave, sort of.. She supposed.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:01:44

Oh, so carefully, Hatter moved his arm. Slowly, slowly, sloooowwwwlllyyyyyy....

Then his hand darted out and snatched the teapot. Carefully keeping his other wrapped tightly about her shoulders, Hatter slid the precious teapot under his hat for safekeeping.

Maybe she just wanted a hug? It seemed odd, but he supposed he could do that. Now that the tea was safe, Hatter leaned against her, hugging tightly. "Please don't hurt the tea anymore. Please?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:03:02

"O-o-okay." Alice whispered, stammering nervously. She closed her eyes tight.

If she shut them everything would go away and his arms certainly wouldn't continue to be around her. No.

They'd all disappear. Yes.

She could hear her own heart thumping in her head. Why did she have to be so nervous about people touching her?

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:04:34

Okay! She said okay!

Hatter beamed with pride. He'd won! Actually WON! Giddy with success, he moved his arms a bit, sweeping Alice off her feet and dancing around in an impromptu jig.

"Saved the tea, I saved the tea, all hail Alice, fiddle dee-dee!"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:05:12

Alice stammered more, as he picked her up and twirled her around, dancing around in a jig. Alice didn't know what she was going to do. Personal space invaded! Red Alert! Blue Alert! Magenta!

Alice felt faint. She just might, light headed and dizzy all at once.

"Puh-please.."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:06:10

Hatter froze when she spoke, stuck in the act of dancing. One leg was still in the air, and he balanced expertly on the other, seemingly with no understanding that he was doing so.

He tilted his head at her, eyes lightly widened with worry. Was she going to take it back?

"Please, what?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:06:43

"Please.." Her voice was so soft. She tittered like a scared child. Alice's mentality was still ever so child like, though around him, around them she should say, it was more adult than anything. But the act of being touched, being held, so foreign to her. It caused chills down her spine and her heart to palpitate faster than it normally would.

Her mouth felt dry and she wanted to cry. "P-put me down."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:08:02

The softness in her voice made Hatter's arms tighten for a moment. Was she hurt? He started checking, to make sure, but then stopped when he didn't see any cracks or chips.

Odd how she was so large but small, and solid but frail... tough but soft... the contradictions went on and on in his mind, and Hatter was put off by his inability to ignore them. He furrowed his brow, frowned a bit, and set her down on her feet.

He thought for a moment about just dropping her, but if she wasn't chipped already, that certainly would crack something. And then her voice would have that whimpery edge to it still. It was a sound Hatter didn't like hearing, even if he couldn't figure out why. Not just the tone. It poked into his chest somewhere. Maybe that was just her elbow.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:09:42

Alice swiftly made distance between them, five good steps backwards. Color returned to her, she felt her strength coming back tenfold. "I'm going to go now." There was no need for good byes right? he was mad anyway. And not mad in that angry way, mad in the head.

Off his rocker!

Yes.

Alice started back further. "I'll leave you to your tea."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:30:37

Hatter watched her step back, and scratched his ear. "Err... right." He glanced toward the table, then looked back at her, one hand rising to touch his hat, almost protectively.

Then, the most unexpected words seemed to fall from his mouth. "You'll come back, won't you?"

Why had he asked that? Hatter couldn't be sure himself. But he went with it, offering a smile.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:31:51

"No." Alice stated very firmly. She had no intention of coming back. There were more important matters than tea parties. Alice had no real reason to come back here did she? She liked Coffee more than tea. She liked anyone else's company more than his.

He drove her insane! He was infuriating!

"Definitely not."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:33:06

The smile begame puzzled. Then slowly, it faded. Hatter looked for something to say - words rarely failed him, even at his most forgetful of moments - and he parted his lips.

".....oh."

Well, that wouldn't do! He opened his mouth again, to say more, but stopped. Opened. Closed. Again. But the breath seemed gone from his chest, and his brow furrowed. "Oh," he said again, his voice now soft and hard to make out.

With a definite droop to his shoulders, Hatter scratched at his head under his hat. He didn't know what else to do. On one hand, there was no WAY he was taking out the tea again with her there. But on the other... it was bitterly upsetting to think she wouldn't come back.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:33:56

There's no reason to say goodbye to crazy people. Especially this crazy person. Alice kept saying that over and over in her head. But her voice came anyway, her mouth moved on it's own accord. "Goodbye then."

Why had she said goodbye? Why wasn't she walking away? What was stopping her?

"Fizzles." Alice muttered in defeat.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:36:00

He shuffled his feet at the farewell, raising one white-gloved hand to flick his fingers in some semblance of a wave. But then...

Something caught in his belly at her dignified swear. Hatter lifted his eyes lightly from his feet, looking at her under the brim of his hat.

"Won't you stay for at least a--"

A sudden, screeching howl came from the vicinity of the clock. At some point in the unruly tea time, the cuckoo had nailed a sign to the face of it, which stated in large red letters, 'TOO LATE!' Then the bird had climbed back to his perch and set off the alarm.

The surprise was sudden enough to knock Hatter clear off his feet. He flew back a few paces, clinging to his hat, until he landed on his back, an "oof!" of escaping breath leaving his lips.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:36:15

Alice raised her head just a little as he asked her to stay for a.. for what? His speech was slow and measured, almost sane. But then a screech came from the clock and all hairs at the back of her neck stood on end, she leaped straight into the air and almost hung there a moment in surprise, kind of like a cartoon.. Her feet hit the ground again and now her heart was racing in fright rather than embarrassment. Her eyes leveled on the over turned Hatter and her heart leaped into her throat.

"No!" Alice ran forward, even though really, she should have ran back, ran away. But what if he was hurt? She'd never forgive herself if she left him there and he was hurt. She rushed to his side, slid down into the dirt and grass and grabbed onto his over sized coat. "Are you alright?!"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:37:42

Miraculously, that hat was still on his head. But pain had washed over his mercury-addled brain, and Hatter had pushed it to the side, rubbing at the lumb that was threatening to form on the back of his skull. He felt hands tug at him, helping him sit up, but his eyes were shut, stars flickering in the rose-tinted blackness behind his eyelids.

"Hen's teeth and toad whiskers, that--"

His eyes opened to stare into her blue ones, and his words stopped. Seconds ticked by, and his chest twitched here and there, but for the life of him, Hatter couldn't speak. He blinked and stared, looking into those blue orbs and feeling as though he were drowning.

A feeble sentence left his lips, sounding weak and strained. "Give it back..."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:38:11

Alice was confused, he seemed to be hurt, really hurt, but he hadn't fallen that hard had he? She was frightened for him. She was scared he really was injured. What would she tell everyone? Was it her fault he was hurt? Had she not told him she was leaving would he still be on his feet and they'd be arguing?

Her breath caught in her chest as he opened his eyes and stared at her. She was a completely different kind of frightened now. Her small hands still balled up in the fabric of his coat, afraid to let go, what if he fell back?

What was he? "Give what back?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:43:34

His lips worked out the response, perfectly and pathetically sincere.

"My breath."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:44:59

Alice the heat before she had time to process each of the two words he'd given in response to her question. The very tops of her cheeks plastered with pink until it cascaded down her face painting the rest of the cheeks the soft rose color. All the breath left her now, what was he saying? Why had he said that to her?

In all the books she'd ever read, and Alice had read a lot. No words ever hit her that hard, like a ton of bricks and made her feel both uneasy, and uncomfortably hot. It wasn't exactly embarrassment but it was akin to it. Heart pitter-patted in her chest and her stomach did a somersault.

She gulped, loudly. And without thinking let go of his jacket, and him.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:49:07

This time, Hatter wasn't prepared to fall. His hands were nowhere near his hat, still struck by the enchanting visage before him. When he fell back again, his head struck the hard ground, hat slipping off and rolling away.

His breath left his lungs in a gasp, but at least now, they had remembered how to function. Hatter left his eyes shut, watching the stars twinkle across the inky blackness.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat..." A dreamy tone had entered his voice now, and after that softly spoken line, his head rolled to the side as the blackness took over.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:49:57

"No!" Alice sank lower, grabbing him again. But now he was dead weight, so she could not lift him. "No, no Hatter. No please. I'm so sorry." Alice didn't know what to do. She looked around frantically. No water. No.. The cream! Alice got to her feet, jumped over Hatter, and grabbed the cream. The Doormouse peeked out, but then went back to bed.

Alice came back and doused the Hatter's face in cream, then set it aside and knelt there, She started to shake her shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up! I'm so very sorry! I didn't mean to let go of you! I didn't! I was just nervous! I was foolish! I'm so sorry!" Alice was near tears as she shook him.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:54:12

The taste of cream was on his lips. Hatter noticed this before anything else. It was good cream. Ow. His head needed to stop that hurty thing. Most unpleasant.

"Butterflies?" His voice sounded odd, to him. As though we her trying to speak through a mouthful of... oh!

Hatter spluttered, trying to keep as much of the cream in his mouth as he could, while liberating it from his airways. Then he licked his lips and swallowed what bit he could preserve. He coughed a bit, eyes squeezing shut, and muttered, "owww..." while trying to open his eyes. They did slowly, one at a time, seeing a blue and yellow blur directly in his line of sight. He blinked a few times, and there was Alice.

"I think..." he began, looking at her. Then he lost his train of thought as a drop of cream trickled down his nose. A quick tongue lapped at it once it reached his upper lip, and he wondered what he had been saying. Oh, yes! "I think... gravity shall be added to my list of enemies."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 14:54:36

Alice winced as he woke up, sputtering and coughing at the cream. She hadn't meant to get it into his open mouth, but he would have cried if it has been wasted, wouldn't he have? Alice didn't let go of him this time, no, she cradled his head in ehr hands and tried to keep him from bumping his head again.

Her fingers slowly slipped through hia hair, petting his head ever so gently, in an almost tender way. She had been so frightened that he'd really hurt himself, really badly hurt himself. Why had her gut wrenched so much over it? Why did her chest feel tight and heavy when it happened?

Alice didn't know. But what she did know was that what he'd just said was comical. She started to giggle about it. "Gravity will be with you no matter what, better to forgive and forget in this case at least, Hatter."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 14:59:11

Cream was cream. He might not have cried at spilled cream - spilled tea was so much worse an atrocity - but then again.... he might have.

"Thou wretch'd and fould villain, gravity!" he muttered. "Be thou glad the lady speaks for thee!"

Otherwise, he and ol' gravity might have had some words. In the least, Hatter might have thrown things at it. It was like the falling out Hater had had with Time some ways back. That was why the clock was broken, and why the cuckoo had started courting a woodpecker to learn the trade.

There were fingers running through his hair, and it was altogether a pleasant sensation. Hatter was quite content to stay as he was, sighing contentedly, if not for....

"...where's my hat?"

He glanced up to see Alice. "Er. Just... making sure it doesn't wander off. It may. If it thinks I don't need it any longer...."

Bugger. Now he wondered if he would get dropped again.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 15:00:22

Alice did not drop him this time, but she did move slowly. Setting his head on her leg ever so gently as she scootched over. Causing her to get dirt on her dress. It didn't matter, it'd wash off as it always did. Alice reached out and picked up the oversized hat and held it up for him to see.

"There we are, it's not going anywhere. Would you like to go back to the table? So you can wear it again?"

Alice was sincere. She had no intention of leaving him until he was feeling better..

But it was a lot easier for her now that she wasn't touching him, why had she been touching him?

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 15:01:39

Hatter tried to move, to sit up -- to catch his hat, at least! Did she know she had the teapot hostage again? -- but he grunted a bit when he tried.

Hmmph. That wouldn't do.

With a lurch, Hatter rolled onto his side, tucking his knees under him. Then he stayed there for a moment, curled like a frog, his pounding head resting on his hands, which were splayed out against the floor.

Maybe if he thought hard enough about it, he could jump like a frog. Just bound back over to the table. Frogs didn't have a neck, did they? Then he wouldn't have to worry about jostling his neck and hurting his head again.

Ribbit. Think, man, think. Ribbit. Ribbit. Something was chirping. A cricket? Hatter lifted his eyes, but saw only Alice. Drat. His wishing hadn't worked.

"Yes, Cricket."

Hands and knees, still. Hatter looked up, head rising slowly, and inched his neck forward, hoping that his hat could be placed there again. He didn't feel quite himself without it.

Ribbit.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 15:01:59

Alice quirked a slender brow over his current display. She put the hat over his head and as gently as possible set it back on his head. Right as rain. Was rain right? Maybe rain was right about more things than Sunshine?

..Who knew?

Maybe she'd ask someone.

For now, Alice slowly got up and dusted off the seat of her dress, and her skirts. When she was satisfied she held her hands out to him. "Go on, I'll help you up and over to the table. And then you can have more tea."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 15:02:44

A feeling of relief settled on him as soon as the hat was back on his head. Even if it hadn't fixed anything physical, it felt better now.

He realized, as she dusted off her dress, that his own knees were probably getting a fair share of dirt on them.

The thought was enough to make him reach for her hands. He took hold, and paused. The bones were so delicate! The skin, so soft! Oh dear. He'd have to be very careful now. Hatter gently gripped her hands, getting to his feet slowly. He didn't want to lean on her, not with those thin bones. Like a bird. Right? Birds had thin bones. That's how they flew.

Where had he heard that? Thin bones? Everyone knew that birds flew because they were Enemies of Gravity. Just like he wanted to be.

Hatter looked at the ground, scowling just a little. Bugger. He was about to rant at the ground, and it's vile Mistress Gravity, but a word from Alice returned his attention to her. He stumbled, just a bit, and his hands moved from hers, to her shoulders, as he sought balance without hurting those lovely hands. It made him lean in, just a bit, cutting down on the personal space between them.

Not that Hatter had ever minded a little thing like that.

"Tea?" He asked, then smiled, hoping she would accept the invitation this time.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 15:03:22

Alice blushed again, as he held onto her shoulders. She was trembling all over again. Why did he make her so nervous and jittery?

"Yes, I'd like that." Mostly, because she needed to calm down. And tea could be quite calming. It was better than singing almost, but it really wasn't the place to be singing, right there..with him.

Unless they were singing the unbirthday song!

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 15:04:12

"Good. Me too." Arm about her shoulders, Hatter spun on his heel, and led the way to the table in a fancy bit of a shuffle-step. Was his head feeling better? Or had he simply forgotten that it hurt?

With an uncharacteristic gentlemanly flair, Hatter tugged at a seat, and extended a hand toward it, indicating that Alice should sit there.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 15:04:32

Alice smiled a little bit more, seating herself in the chair he had pulled out and then indicated for her to sit in. Alice beamed, fixed her skirts and sat down ever so elegantly.

"What kind of tea will we be having?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 15:06:42

Tossing back the tails of his coat, Hatter took a seat and reached under his hat. A different teapot than the one Alice had been threatening emerged in his hand, but the tea enthusiast seemed not to notice. He sniffed delicately at the air, and let out a happy sigh.

"English breakfast," he said. "Something I found in that strangest of strange places. At least they had some good tea."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/28/2007 15:11:53

"From England?" Alice raised a brow. "That's where I'm from..." Alice settled down.. she didn't really want to go back to England. But she wasn't too sure how he got to where she'd been from.

"Did you fall out of the looking glass too?"

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/28/2007 15:24:45

"I climbed," he said, pouring out the tea. "Up a rabbit hole. What kind of rabbit makes a whole like that?"

He picked up his mug and looked at her. Some sliver of rationality entered his mind as he thought back and remembered the place, and for a little while, his eyes were clear and focused. "I didn't see you there. I was looking. But you weren't there. There were black rivers and carriages that smelled terrible and made noise, and there were nice people that gave me a white coat and fed me tea, but everyone was completely crazy."

He picked up a scone and the jam knife, and started to spread the jam onto the scone.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 08/29/2007 14:16:41

"Looking. For. Me?" Alice quirked a brow, leaning back in the seat. The whole time she'd been looking for wonderland, wonderland seemed to be looking for her. Silly..really..

"Why were you looking for me?" Alice couldn't help but wonder, the last time they'd met.. he hadn't exactly been happy with her, and the fact that the Hatter was quite a coward..and really crazy, didn't seem to mesh with him going to England and looking for her.

White coat.. White coat. She shivered at the thought of it.

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 08/30/2007 09:00:01

"You could have had the decency to leave my head alone. To stay out of it. To go when I wanted you to leave. But you didn't."

He scowled a bit, and took a sip of tea. "So you were there. In my head. All the time. So I tried to find you, but I walked all over Wonderland and you weren't here."

His voice was quieting. It was hard, to talk this way. A crease had developed between his eyebrows as he spoke, as he tried to make the right words come out. "I didn't... like it, ...Cricket. That world is... so scary. And they didn't understand unbirthdays."

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 09/04/2007 23:06:17

"I was trying to find wonderland but no one believed that it really existed and so they sent me to an Insane Asylum and I'm not insane at all!" Alice was still mad about it, still upset that she was shut out of everyone's lives. That no one believed her at all...

"I'm..sorry about my world, or what was my world. I suppose this is my world now. it makes more sense than the other world did that's for sure." Alice lowered her head a little, looking at the table.

"Thank.. for trying to find me. I thought everyone would forget me."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 09/05/2007 01:13:15

His nose wrinkled lightly. "I tried. Didn't work."

Wonderland made sense, in it's way. Things were simpler here, where nothing meant anything other than what it was. No one tried to trick you by calling something a 'butterfly' when there was no butter in sight. Or worse, a housefly.

Hatter pondered over her statement, that she wasn't insane, and after a moment, he had to shrug. "Sure you are. But you're getting better." Sometimes he could follow her thoughts, almost as if they were actually communicating.

Sometimes, anyway. When he wasn't caught breathless by her visage.

"You should stay," he said abruptly. Then blinked. "Here." Blinked again. "In... Wonderland." Another blink. Followed by two more in rapid succession. "Ozland? Why did you say that?"

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 09/05/2007 13:59:58

Alice picked up her tea cup and cradled it gently, like one might do to a porcelin doll. She took careful sips of the tea and then set it back down. "I still think it's sweet that you tried, at least you did that and that's what counts." She seemed quite pleased actually, though she really couldn't tell why...

But he made her feel all a flutter.. Until he opened his mouth again.

"I'm not insane at all! Wonderland does exist, did exist what have you. This is like wonderland but they've been calling it OZland... or at least that's what Piper said, and the signs. And that bird i talked to said Ozland and told me of the queen.. and.."

Alice paused. "I really haven't anywhere to stay. Though some of the trees do look nice."

	From: as_a_hatter	Date: 09/05/2007 16:12:13

Hatter wondered for a moment why she seemed pleased that he had tried to forget her. Maybe because it hadn't succeeded? But then she seemed angry again.

Hatter blinked a few times. Trees? No, no. That wouldn't do at all. That damned Cat stayed in the trees, and sudden possessive jealousy flowed into Hatter like a green-eyed monster. "No," he said. "There's extra rooms here. You should stay."

The aftershock of his words kicked in a moment later, and he paled. Stay?? He asked her to STAY??? Egads! She'd have to deal with the Coatrack! and Window Shade! HIS DUST KITTIES!

"So long... as you don't muss things up," he hesitantly added.

He wasn't even going to touch the whole Wonderland/Ozland thing today. It would probably be sticky.

	From: sea_of_tears	Date: 09/05/2007 19:23:57

It wasn't that Alice had been fluttering over him trying to forget her, it was trying to find her.. that he couldn't forget her.. That SHE mattered to someone.

Even if it was. Him. Of all people. It made her scowl, there should have been others that cared but no, only him.. Well.. still.. He wasn't so bad.

Alice you ARE going insane!

She stared into her tea. Hm. Well.. The trees didn't sound so pleasant.. really. She didn't fancy bugs. "Alright. I'll stay here. Until I find somewhere else."