[center][h3][color=silver]Marcus D. Hatter[/color][/h3][/center] Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. Oh how the Hatter hated such tedious affairs. Sheets covered his desk, overflowing from around it in piles like a sea of white. To onlookers the area probably appeared to look as though a natural disaster recently struck, no order to be found in the mass. For Marcus D. Hatter, on the other hand, every slip was in its place, and every place had its slip. If one of the White Queen's men came in in this moment the Hatter could produce whatever they desired in moments. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Hatter groaned while leaning back in his seat simultaneously. Tossing the papers in the air with his free hand he couldn’t keep from complaining, [color=silver]“Had anyone of mentioned I would be drowning in papers for the rest of my life just to own a town I would have simply called them mad! I should have stuck with hats but NO I decided to work myself to death…” [/color] Rising from the massive chair he placed on his pea coat, grabbing hat from a peg and placing it on his head. [color=silver]“I must get away from this room, it’s stifling.” [/color] Gliding down the hall he muttered to himself, [color=silver]“If only I had been born a disappearing cat I wouldn’t have so little to do and so much time to do it in…”[/color] catching himself in the phrase he laughed, pondering, [color=silver]“No that’s not right. Flip it, reverse it. That’s what I am.”[/color] At last, he made it to the main hall, yelling to Ansel he was going on a stroll to patrol the town. There was no ned of the hare to file into his room attempting to straighten the disarray. It would end up in the same shape it started it. All the same today was going to be curious; he could tell. He waited for the massive mansion doors to open and made his way across the vast courtyard, his shoes clicking against the cobblestone as he stepped onto the street. He already decided to check each of the shops to make sure all was in order. More than likely a few store owners would talk to him and then his executive duties would be done for the day. He had nothing to check in with the Queen about and the King himself had not sent any scouts as of late, or rather the Hatter knew about that is. There was no need. There hadn't been an 'Alice' to appear in sometime now. Momentarily, he was thrown into a deep pit of despair, not something all that uncommon with the ever-varying Hatter. The original Alice. He could remember the first day she appeared here as if it just happened. She was one of the bravest girls he ever came into contact with, slaying the Jabberwock as if it were nothing but a balloon to pop. How many times had the two walked down this very road together laughing with one another over peculiarities. In the end, he was not enough for her and she returned to the real world, something he could never wrap his head around. Perhaps it was one of the many things to cause him to be such a mad fellow. As the memory passed, Hatter's mood once again changed to that of indifference then joy; similar to a pendulum he could never remain in one emotion for long. With this change of pace his mind wandered to what he would do with the little free time he had, deciding to himself that after he was done patrolling he would stop by the twin’s bistro. The two were likely to still be asleep, but who could tell. He could never be sure when it came to them. At the least they could give him the local news or something to do that wasn’t that unbearable PAPERWORK! Marcus’ mind flipped switches once more as he smiled. [color=silver][i] I do believe today is their unbirthday….as is it MY unbirthday. This calls for a celebration![/i][/color] His mind span in circles at all the possibilities, but first he must tend to his duties. Today would be curiouser and curiouser indeed. [@Hawlin][@Lady Selune][@EchoicChamber] [hr] [hr] [center][h3][color=tomato]Deeandra K. Cherney[/color][/h3][/center] [color=tomato]“Corner in!”[/color] The assertive voice bounded throughout the kitchen causing the new busboy to squish himself against the wall as Deeandra piled in the opening, arms full of dirty dishware. Skilled hands stacked plates and bowls onto the skyline while tossing the silverware into a prewash basin. Glancing up at the clock on the wall Dee released an irritating sigh. [i]11:50[/i] It was already well past closing time. Why this elderly couple decided to come in 15 minutes to closing, she had no idea. Bad luck led them to requesting to sit in her already closed section…so here she was cleaning after them nearly an hour later. Giving a venomous look at the busboy she washed her hands before heading back into hell. Today was sh**. When first arriving this morning Dee was in a relatively decent mood (though not one to be chipper). At the very least she wasn’t releasing the vibe of “[i]Don’t talk to me unless you want to die[/i]” like now. This all shifted due to the constant entitlement of people who stepped into this god forsaken establishment. (Honestly, if you are the type of person to request a booth you should stop breathing now.) Her double seating turned into a triple all filled with elderly women insulting the tightness of her pants and the coloring of her hair. Elderly men eyed her like they owned the vessel in which she was living. Tipping was poor for late food, as if she was the alone oversaw the rate the new staff cooked the meal. Needless to say, she was over it. With her section clean Dee grabbed her jacket and aimed for the back door. [i]”Hey, if you’re headed that way go ahead and toss that trash. You’re off tomorrow anyway.”[/i] The manager. Rather than attempt to argue, opening her mouth with the attitude she had now was an unemployment sentence, hands wrapped around the black plastic, knuckles white. Muttering to herself, a small frame pressed itself against the large metal door opening to the back. Goosebumps erupted over her skin followed by an involuntary shiver as cold air filled the once warm space, embracing every fiber of her being. Moving quickly now, Dee rushed over the grimy green bin before hurling the bag over the top. That should have been the end of a horrid day. Just as she was turning the flicker of refracted light only made her heart stop. [color=tomato][i]No…[/i][/color]. Eyes scanned a bare ivory hand, no sign of her sister’s ring ever inhabiting the slender finger. [color=tomato][i]NononoNoNONO![/i][/color] In moments Deeandra vaulted herself over the side of the dumpster, falling inside and…well then some. Rather than being met by a series of bags and loose trash Dees body crashed through what seemed to be ceiling landing hard against a wooden desk. A loud [i]oof[/i] escaped her lips along with the wind in her lungs. Sliding across the pile of papers there she swiftly fell to the floor, more papers flying. Unable to move for several seconds, a small rose gold ring fell from above bouncing off her head. Lifting herself of the floor she grabbed the object, sitting back to observe her surroundings. Vision adjusting to the darkness of the room, Dee found herself in what appeared to be an office of an exceedingly disorganized human. Papers piled into mountains, hats scattered about… she didn’t have a clue what was going on let alone where she was. [color=tomato] “What in the he..”[/color] [hr] [hr] [center][h3][color=red]Katrina Marie Kingston[/color][/h3][/center] The garden was behaving unusually lively today, many of the plants appearing to be agitated for reasons Katrina herself could not entirely understand. From her understanding there was not to be a storm coming in today and the King’s troops were not scheduled to be coming through for the next few days. She did her best to speak to each of the plants in the hopes of calming them down, but even they did not know what was coming. Worry washed over her for the moment, a natural reflex to the fear of anything that could happen to those closest to her. She stared at the town for a moment, eyes wandering the Wonderland until resting on the woods. She sighed knowing there could be nothing to prevent the unexpected, one can only go with it. Focusing on her work once more, she placed on a pot to boil for tea before going onwards to water the plants. She was always meticulous in her gardening her duties, her pride shown in the beauty of it. It was a nice day out, the weather warm, but not too hot. The trees were dancing, and horseflies ninnied, chasing one another round and round. There was so much life here, one of the reason Kat first fell in love with the location. After watering she grabbed a basket, starting to fill it with sweets for Chess to take back to his home with him. Taking glass bottles she filled them with the liquid from the waterfall; she never knew what he tasted when drinking the liquid, it could be different each time. That was the beauty of the water; it tasted like whatever one wished it to. Placing lids on the bottles she placed them in a line on the bottom of the basket. From there she collected candied roses, snazzleberries, peaches, plums, and variety of other fruit from her trees. She rearranged them again and again until she was pleased with the overall aesthetic appeal. Blushing to herself, Kat shook her head for worrying about such a thing. In the end she rationalized it to friendship, calling it square. While lost in thought Katrina suddenly remembered her teapot, which was now screaming at her from the stove. Running in, (in a rather spazzy gape one might add) she placed her basket on the table, turning off the fire. Wiping her forehead in relief, [color=red]“Kat, you have got to quit being so scatterbrained or you are going to end up burning your home down.”[/color] Sighing, she began to hum as she opened the cupboard while pulling out several unlabeled metal bins. Opening them, sweet scents of spices filled the air. Carefully crafting her tea Kat mixed hints of blackberry, lavender, and vanilla into an Earl Grey base. Pouring the mixture into the diffuser, she placed it in the kettle to diffuse. Continuing her humming, she proceeded to place the cups on a tray with sugar and cream. Adding finger sandwiches, she placed the assortment on the counter and grabbing a cup herself took a sip moving towards the kitchen window looking out towards the majesty of the Red Castle wondering once more what could be coming in Wonderland’s future. [@AngelofOctober]