Collaboration between GuardianAngelHaruki and Ghost Shadow -- Heather sighed as she finished cleaning up the water with the rag and placing it into the bucket. "And now for his dinner," She said to herself. As she searched for the kitchen, she grumbled insults about the imp under her breath. But how hard could cooking be? Cooking was just another form of chemistry...right? She soon reached the kitchen and looked through the ingredients. When she saw what she had to work with, she decided out loud "Soup it is..." A noise that sounded like a person singing began off in the distance; quiet and almost incomprehensible. The voice began to grow in volume and clarity, with the nonsensical lyrics becoming clearer to hear: "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch." Heather blinked at the sound of the new voice and muttered "That voice-" As the song kept going on, the iconic grin of the Cheshire grin appeared floating in the air, followed closely by his eyes as he began to appear in front of the young doctor. The Cat continued his strange song as he continued to appear atop one of the counters of the kitchen. "He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!" The Cat tilted his head peculiarly at Dr. Jekyll as he finished the verse, "I thought you could use a bit of company." He told her in a friendly enough tone, though it still held the sharp edge of haughtiness as it always did. "How thoughtful, but that's not the only reason why you're here, is it, Mr. Cheshire?" As she had answered the Chesire Cat, she tried to recall what Poole had said about cooking soup. He mentioned something about making soup...what was it again? She chopped up the vegetables as she thought about it. "Well, look who's brain has returned from holiday." He complimented with a snarky tone to his voice as he disappeared from his original spot, appearing next to the cutting board and looking down at the vegetables. Heather retorted to his backhanded compliment with a roll of her eyes, "It was only on holiday because it had a hard time with the shock of talking to a huge cat with a wide grin on its face. Anyone from my world would be like that." "It seems you've neglected to follow my advice of watching your words, eh? I may not be the most polite of gentlemen - err....gentle[i]cats[/i]? I'll think more on it. But I digress, I am capable of giving useful advice when the whim strikes me." He explained casually, motioning with his paw as one might do with a human hand to help enunciate his points. "I am well aware that your advice was very good advice. Unfortunately, my desperation got the better of me," She then looked to the cat and asked, "Let me guess. That concoction [i]he[/i] gave you...it didn't work and you're here to talk to him again?" :Two for two, you're on a roll." The Cat complimented, looking directly at her as his tail swished about nonchalantly. Noticing the obvious bruises and marks on her face, his eyes narrowed. "Yes...your desperation is quite plain, it seems." He said, in a sincerely serious tone; his grin unfortunately making him look jovial, but the look of his [i]eyes[/i] was enough. "It was poor courtesy of me to leave you. By chance, I could have stopped him." The Cat said in an almost saddened tone. The thought of more people being hurt because of his direct involvement reminded him too much of that which he lost that was most dear. After he apologized, Heather patted the cat's head kindly and she said "It's alright. I could've ended up with worse than these cuts and bruises. And the fault lies with...well...the dark part of me." She rolled her eyes just thinking about it. "He just [i]had[/i] to see her." "Rumpelstiltskin is no fool. He seeks a foothold, of sorts; searches for possible weaknesses to use against those he makes deals with. For you, he knows how to...turn you." The Cat said, obviously in lack of a better word to describe the beast that he had only heard of and not yet *seen*. She recalled how Rumpelstiltskin was interested in finding out why Hyde wasn't affected by magic and figured he wanted to know so he could use magic against Hyde. "That's true...But she's proven to have a great and useful strength here, despite being beaten." "For me, the Imp knows my past. I owe him two or three favors now, and he tricked me for them. In the end, all I sought was my humanity, and my freedom. I received neither." He said, his paw moving up to the key around his neck again. As if the item brought him some semblance of solace for the lost. "My condolences," Heather said softly, trying to sympathize. "I think I shall stay around here for a few days. Rumpelstiltskin may be the most powerful creature in the Enchanted Forest, but I doubt even [i]he[/i] can keep cats out. We come and go as we please." He said in his usual sharp, prideful tone. "I suppose that is true. But still, if I were you, I'd be careful." Heather retorted, adding the beans and chicken to the soup. She started to stir, trying to get the flavor of the ingredients to meld within the broth. "My dear doctor, if I was ever careful there'd be no fun in this life." The Cat said in a humorous manner as he paced to and fro on the counter. "Besides, Rumpelstilskin won't kill me as long as I owe him a favor. I believe one of his few weaknesses, aside from his overconfidence is his penchant for deals, barters, and trades. I'll be fine." He reassured. "Speaking of which, I must speak to him on this trade. One misses the prospect of being able to use one's handssss." He said with a growl to his voice. Jekyll's worries weren't easily quelled by the cat's reassurances. "As much as I would love to point you in the right direction, I have no idea as to where he's gone off to. I only know that he should be back here, in this castle, to eat his dinner at sundown. So, I recommend staying instead of going off to find him." "Well then, I could make myself comfortable rather easy. Cats are adaptable creatures, you know." He informed pridefully. "But I prefer your company to that of rats and spiders." He said in a form that made Heather raisee an eyebrow, not sure if it was meant to be a compliment or an insult. "So then. Tell me of this [i]beast[/i] you have a habit of turning into?" The Cat asked her neutrally. "Evelyn Hyde...she's the result of an experiment of mine. I had tried to separate my own darker impulses from my conscious with a concoction of my own. It worked, but not in the way I thought it would. Now, Evelyn is my dark side that comes out when I'm either in danger, angry, or asleep. She holds no regard for human life, and finds killing to be nothing more than sport," The Cat listened patiently, one of his ears twitching reflexively as they picked up other strange sounds that were quite prevalent throughout the castle. Heather was looking at the floor as she stirred, and her hand moved quicker, stirring the soup faster, as she commented "I hate Hyde for what she's done and for having no regrets about it," "Hm...interesting." The Cat commented cryptically. "I'm sure I could charm this 'Hyde' persona of yours. I suppose I'll see soon enough. The Imp, udoubtedly will call on her once again." He said calmly, hopping down from the counter onto the floor. Heather groaned "I hope not. Because she may try to kill him again, or Rumpelstiltskin may have her kill someone instead of doing it himself," "He is as cruel as he is unpredictable. It's very rough justice all 'round. You, be on your guard." He warned her seriously, once more. Heather nodded at his warning seriously, and said "Will do." "But, take solace. You have the whole castle to yourself at the moment. Such an opportunity may not come again for some time." He said, his grin widening somewhat. "That's right..." She was definitely curious and she did want to look around. But she knew that the imp probably wouldn't be lenient with her if he had burnt soup or had any complaints about it. She didn't know whether the imp would be a picky eater or not considering his childish facade. "You're holding back." The Cat observed. "Afraid of your master?" He asked her in a somewhat taunting manner. "There's nothing he can do to you. You are worth too much to him at the moment. Have no fear. I'm going to go exploring for a bit, maybe find a nice spot for a nap. You may join me, if you wish." He offered her which earned him an offended look in return. Without waiting for a response, he slowly began to fade away once more; bit by bit, but not without continuing his song. "One, two! One, two! and through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" He chortled in his joy. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe." As he continued to sing the song, more and more of him kept disappearing until he was naught but a grin. His voice became a strange echo before fading away to nothingness at the last word. She could always say that she wanted to make sure that the cat didn't break anything, on the off chance that Rumpelstiltskin asked her why she went exploring. "Now I have an excuse to do so." She put out the fire, and put the lid on over the pot so the soup wouldn't get cold and she went off to go find The Cat, as well as explore the palace a bit.