[hr]ATTN: [@PaulHaynek] (Revuel), [@Rezod92] (Kerry), & [@The Irish Tree] (Eula)[hr][hider=Can Hornets Make Mushroom Honey? (Collab ft. Kerry) {SPICY WARNING}]As Takeshi departed, Alice was already making herself comfortable, as she rolled her shoulders, and flexed her muscles; shedding her clothing from the neck down into the form of grass that fell into a pile behind her, leaving her naked as a jaybird. Sighing, the Mad Hatter would spread the grass into a bed with her feet, and then sink them into the temperate waters, before fluffing her hat into a pillow, and lying back with a moan of pleasure.

[color=fff79a]”Got room for one room?”[/color]

Alice would turn her head to see Kerry, as nude as the day she was hatched, settling into the hot spring as well, a shuddering sigh of ecstasy escaping from her lips as the waters rejuvenated her.

[color=fff79a]”Would it kill Sorae to chill out for one minute? I get it, given her circumstance, but it must be exhausting to be on edge all day, every day.”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]Water is free. Space is free. I do not own these things,[/i][/color]" Alice says. "[color=976f29][i]At least, not yet.[/i][/color]" A single eye opened to peek at Kerry. "[color=976f29][i]Not a bad figure for a Hornet,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=976f29][i]Avoided domestic life, I see. No honey for you. Not a strip of fat on you.[/i][/color]"

"[color=976f29][i]As for the Human, she’ll burn out, like they all do,[/i][/color]" Alice shrugged.

[color=fff79a]”Tch. In that case, can she burn out quicker? It’d save us some headaches.”[/color], the hornet replied, her chitin hands resting behind her head as she relaxed in the warm water.

A moment of silence passed between the former ruler and the spearwoman, which is to say…..odd, given past interactions, ESPECIALLY given what happened yesterday. Fully aware of this and just coming off of having a heart-to-mechanical heart with Eula, Kerry decided that there would be no better time to bury this particular hatchet than right now.

[color=fff79a]”So…….wanna talk about it?”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]Talk about...[/i][/color]" Alice asks, opening her eye again, "[color=976f29][i]Honey, perhaps? Can you make it? A Hornet’s no natural talent in, but you reek of Echidna blood. So, perhaps, you’ve the talent to garner the talent?[/i][/color]"

The hornet actually flinched at Alice’s response. The out-of-left-field response was not what she was expecting.

 [color=fff79a]”How the hell did honey get into this? And you’d be right, I have an Echidna mother, therefore I wasn’t born in a hive. I…..I-I mean, I never really made the stuff, but if it’s an instinctual thing- wait, no, that’s beside the point!”[/color], she stuttered before shaking her head to get the conversation back on track. [color=fff79a]”I’m talking about what happened yesterday. During the siege?”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]I have the suspicion that you’re seek resolution of something that is but a vague memory to me,[/i][/color]" Alice says, "[color=976f29][i]I would like to say, I forgive you, but that would be a lie, because I don’t know what I would be forgiving you for, so I suppose, I can ask,[/i][/color]" she sat up, "[color=976f29][i]will you forgive yourself, in my stead?[/i][/color]"

Turning her head fully toward the mad hatter, Kerry gazed at Alice as if she just committed the most audacious offense ever.

[color=fff79a]”Forgive myse- You should be asking for MY forgiveness! You’re the one who sucker punched me while I was fighting off an Elite! All from me genuinely asking where you, Shizuka and Lili had been! I could’ve died if Shizuka or Gringor weren’t nearby! You tellin’ me you have ‘vague memory’ of that? As I said, it happened yesterday!”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]For you, yes,[/i][/color]" Alice says. "[color=976f29][i]For me, yesterday, I was leading an army of three nations to war against The Queen of Heart, Lilim-born Tyrantress of Wonderland. For me, yesterday, I was stabbed through the stomach, and tossed into a March Hare’s hole. For me, today, I am here. My stomach baring a scar of a wound long healed, and my mind empty of...[/i][/color]" she sighed, "[color=976f29][i]I think, two-hundred-years are gone, judging from my internal generations of mushrooms, once I take off three-hundred-years I can recall.[/i][/color]"

"[color=976f29][i]But, here, we can settle this,[/i][/color]" Alice says, walking over to the railing, and snapping off a jagged chunk, and tossing it into the water by Kerry. "[color=976f29][i]Take that, and stab me,[/i][/color]" she says, standing still with her arms behind her back, "[color=976f29][i]That is the natural talent of Hornets. So, vent your frustrations, and take my apology from my flesh that remembers.[/i][/color]"

Alice closed her eyes, relaxing, "[color=976f29][i]Once. Twice. Thrice. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Until your hands bleed or I collapse. It’s the best I can do.[/i][/color]"

[color=fff79a]”You…….C-Come on, Alice. You’re fuckin’ with me.”[/color], Kerry tried to laugh it off as she tossed the piece of railing off to the side, but her chuckle was less jovial and more concerned. Wonderland was one of two places Kerry has never traveled to and has no intention to, the other being Pandemonium for obvious reasons. If there was one thing the hornet knew about Wonderland was that EVERYTHING operated differently there……[i]including time.[/i] A day here in the mortal realm could very well be years, decades, even CENTURIES in Wonderland.  

Wars are time consuming affairs, after all. Leading a war campaign that big had to have taken a considerable amount of time to pull off….

…..[i]two hundred years, as a matter of fact.[/i]

[color=fff79a]”I-I mean, you were here the other day and now………..Alice, you remember me, right? Liliana, Shizuka, Gringor, Io, the others, Takeshi, Lady Kyouko. Y-You remember them, right?”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]I could lie, and say I do, but I've never had to before,[/i][/color]" Alice says, "[color=976f29][i]Upon the day that you hold countless lives in your hands and understand that the lives of nations, Human, Mamono, and Hybrids, alike have chosen to lean on you to end tyranny...[/i][/color]" Alice clenched her fists, "[color=976f29][i]Lies do not salve fear nor unbind prejudice. Instilling falsities is the trade of tyrants. I did not lead by lies.[/i][/color]"

"[color=976f29][i]I'm sad to say, but of all the names I know, those are not among them,[/i][/color]" Alice says.

Alice would bow her head and lift her hands in a curtsy, "[color=976f29][i]Mine given name is Alice, and mine epithets are: The Queen of Diamonds, The Matriarch of Nomads, and The Empress of Barbarians. To mine people, I am Human and Mamono, equal and opposite, of what they are and art, and demand no quarter of them. I ask, follow me, if thou doth seek that what I seek: freedom.

I levy upon thee no grudge or harbor of thee no hate, if thine trust in mine path doth waver and break. I permit thee freedom to rebuke me, if mine actions or word shouldst do thee a disservice of body, mind, or belief, and allow thee thine pound of flesh, shouldst that be what thou needst to be absolved of mine slight against.

I wouldst tell thee no falsehood, but impart mine own beliefs as held, and grant thee this: Mine own life is of no more import than thine own in all things, unless matters of battle and war arise, and thusly, thine life is of more import than mine own, therefore to no end, shall I defend it.[/i][/color]"

[center]"[color=976f29][i]Now, pray, wouldst thou announce thyself before me, as I have done for thee?[/i][/color]"[/center]
[color=fff79a][i].....Oh….[/i][/color]

[color=fff79a]”My……My name is Kerry Maros. World-trotting merc. We’ve……met before.”[/color], Kerry muttered, caught completely flat-footed at the revelation that was just dumped on her. Simply put, Alice had lost her memories. Two centuries worth of growth and experience were just simply not there anymore. The people she had met, the places she had seen, the things she had learned…..

…..Gone.

[color=fff79a]”Do you…..know where you are? And why you’re here?”[/color], the hornet asked, already knowing the answer.

"[color=976f29][i]Bring an end to the tyranny of the Varjans, and afford this island stability,[/i][/color]" Alice says, "[color=976f29][i]Once that is accomplished, I suppose I will move on, if nothing is tying me down.[/i][/color]"

Alice would look up, beaming brightly, "[color=976f29][i]That said, a pleasure to meet you, Lady Maros.[/i][/color]"

Somehow, despite the memory loss, Alice knew the taskforce mission statement without [b]really[/b] knowing the specifics of said mission.

[color=fff79a][i]All things considered, she’s close enough. I’d be wise on my part to fill her in on what has happened so far. Spare us some of the awkwardness and, in Lili’s case, potential heartache.[/i][/color]

[color=fff79a]”It’s an honor to meet you as well, Alice.”[/color], Kerry replied with a smile of her own, fully aware of the strangeness that is reintroducing yourself to a person who is the same as before yet different at the same time. [color=fff79a]”Well, since you apparently just got here today, allow me to get you caught up in current events. Much has happened and you were involved in it, past life though it may be.”[/color]

And so, Kerry did just that. The hornet regaled to the mad hatter all that had happened, from the very beginning to right now. She also told Alice a little about the other taskforce members. The wanderer/leader Shizuka, the intelligent Lunatea, the uncanny duo of Atsuha and Hinami, the cunning Skarsneek, the unyielding Gringor, the enigmatic Io, the adorable Liliana, the odd Eula and the quirky Yuki. She also filled the former ruler in on Takeshi and his inner circle of friends/retainers.

[color=fff79a]”Oh, I should inform you that you and Takeshi have had……..relations.”[/color], the hornet spoke with a knowing smirk. [color=fff79a]”Of the intimate kind.”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]Must have needed energy,[/i][/color]" Alice says, as she had resumed relaxing, as Kerry brought her up to speed. "[color=976f29][i]As a hermaphroditic species of Mamono, I'm far more into giving than taking, so to speak,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=976f29][i]Though, my tastes limit my options. Undead, Plants, and Insects.[/i][/color]"

Alice shrugged, as she looked into the sky, and drew in the sun. "[color=976f29][i]A Human is nice, now and again, but I ride a thin line between Human and Mamono,[/i][/color]" she smirked, "[color=976f29][i]Besides, Humans break too easily beneath me.[/i][/color]"

[color=fff79a]”Well, that’s why you gotta be gentle with them. They’re built differently, you know.”[/color], Kerry commented as she took in this new Alice, really seeing her for the first time. So unlike how the old version of her was. Less abrasive, seemingly less unstable. More…..approachable and open. Wait, what was that she just said?

[color=fff79a]”Oh…..you like bugs?”[/color] asked the hornet, suddenly looking away as the barest hint of a blush colored her cheeks. And no, it wasn’t from the steam.

"[color=976f29][i]Oh, I've had many a glorious night with your kith,[/i][/color]" Alice says, "[color=976f29][i]A long march to burn muscles, the clash of swords to boil blood, and the glow of a moonlit night to ignite passion like a bonfire,[/i][/color]" she grinned, "[color=976f29][i]I've brokered peace on the battlefield with my Queen's Blade many times, but it's far more enjoyable to break tension with my personal sword in the bedroom,[/i][/color]" Alice added, "[color=976f29]Even if said, 'bedroom' is nothing more than a grassy field or a riverbank - or, an enemy camp.[/color]"

Alice chuckled, as Kerry's face turned away. "[color=976f29][i]I've found making honey to be an enjoyable pastime,[/i][/color]" she says, before stretching out, "[color=976f29][i]I must have been quite jaded in my old self, if you're embarrassed by such a thought from me.[/i][/color]"

There was now a certain kind of tension filling the steamy air after Alice said that statement. Honestly, Kerry wondered when this would happen. Ever since she came to Shizuyama, she had not found time to…..enjoy herself. With everything that was going on, her libido had been at an all time low. Now, though….

[color=fff79a]”W-Well, it wasn’t that it was embarrassing. It’s just that the old you was a lot less….inviting. Compared to you…..n-n-now.”[/color], Kerry muttered in response, the last part of her statement stuttering as she peeked at Alice stretching before looking away again, face more red than it was a minute ago. [color=fff79a]”And like I said, I don’t know how to make the stuff. Is it…..r-really that good?”[/color]

Alice smirked, "[color=976f29][i]I've never had complaints,[/i][/color]" she twirled her hat, "[color=976f29][i]Then again, they've usually devolved into a gibbering, moaning mess by time they've had enough time to form an opinion....[/i][/color]"

"[color=976f29][i]I must have been very boring before,[/i][/color]" Alice says, standing up, "[color=976f29][i]I'll need to amend for such a terrible showing of me...[/i][/color]" she says, striding over to Kerry, "[color=976f29][i]and, perhaps, teach you how to make some honey, eh?[/i][/color]"

There was a charge of magic that ran through Alice and reshaped her lower half to a state that could better stir Kerry up.

[color=fff79a]”Heh, I wouldn’t say you were boooooooookay, what are you doing!?”[/color], Kerry sputtered, her attention now fully on Alice as she stood up and waltzed over to the now alarmed hornet. She tried to scoot back, but remembered she was in a spring so she already had her back to the edge. Before the poor insectoid could do anything, the mad hatter was already on her and…..

[color=fff79a][i]OHMYGODSOHMYGODSMHMYGODSOHMYGODSOHMYGODS…[/i][/color]

Clearly, Alice can back up her claim of leaving her lovers a blissful puddle. Kerry’s mind grinded to a halt in shock and awe at the regal woman’s member. Face bright scarlet and her form trembling, the hornet’s shaky hand slowly rose from the water and reached out, but stopped mid way. Without a word, Kerry looked at Alice, her hazel eyes requesting.

Her father drilled it in her head that consent is important, after all.

"[color=976f29][i]Such wanting eyes,[/i][/color]" Alice cooed, lifting Kerry’s chin with her right pointer and middle finger, "[color=976f29][i]Tell me, what are they wanting for...[/i][/color]"

It wasn’t as if she didn’t know. However, she loved to hear it, all the same.

[color=fff79a][i]Oh, fuck off! She would be like that![/i][/color]

[color=fff79a]”C-C-Come on, Alice. You’re really g-gonna make me say it?”[/color], Kerry whimpered, her voice now lined with wanting desire. Beneath the water, her lower body was getting wetter than the water itself. [color=fff79a]”I…….I-I……..I w-want you. I want t-to…..f-feel you. And…..”[/color]

Despite what was happening and what was going to happen, Kerry couldn’t giggle about it.

[color=fff79a]”.....s-see if making honey is as good as you say it is.”[/color]

Alice smirked, as she knelt down. "[color=976f29][i]Not here,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=976f29][i]I’ve no issue with an outdoor scenery, nor an audience, but...[/i][/color]" Alice traces her fingers along Kerry’s jawling, down the side of her neck, and along her approximation of a clavicle, before settling between her breasts, "[color=976f29][i]...I’m feeling particularly selfish since you’re giving me such a look. I don’t want anyone to see you in such a state...[/i][/color]"

[center]"[color=976f29][i][b]Except me.[/b][/i][/color]"[/center]
Alice stood with a sudden flourish. "[color=976f29][i]Have you a room, Lady Maros?[/i][/color]"

[color=fff79a][i]By Lilith’s tits, Alice! You could kill a man with this level of teasing![/i][/color]

[color=fff79a]”Y-Yeah, yeah I got a room.”[/color], Kerry answered, releasing a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding as she tried(and failed) to get her temperature and heart rate down. Didn’t help that they were in a hot spring. [color=fff79a]”A-Ayu reserved some rooms just for the taskforce members within the temple. Seeing what we are, almost all of the locals don’t go near our little corner of a community.”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]Well, then, lead the way,[/i][/color]" Alice says, grass swirling around her, as her clothes simply grew back in place. "[color=976f29][i]There,[/i][/color]" she purred, capturing Kerry’s chin between her fingers, once more, "[color=976f29][i]now, you can consider me all wrapped up like a present. A little bonus for bringing me up to speed.[/i][/color]"

Alice brought her lips all too close - danger close, really - and moved to Kerry’s ear, "[color=976f29][i]Now, show me how quickly you wanna unwrap your present.[/i][/color]"

Despite being an offshoot of the commonplace Matango, Alice smells of more insidious, floral notes, as opposed to the expected earthy scent that normally came from the mushroom women - most likely, part of the Queen of Hearts overall corruption of their nature. However, it wasn’t just a random assortment of floral scents, like a bouquet cobbled together haphazardly, but specific flowers.

...specific flowers that only bloomed upon Alarune.

It was a scent that targeted Honey Bees and Hornets in equal measure to their instinctual core.

In both mind and body, Kerry just [b]froze[/b] as she inhaled the floral scent coming off of Alice.

A scent that unearthed the deepest, most primal part of her very being. A part of her that was thousands-no, MILLIONS of years old. Didn’t even matter how she knew that. She just did.

And what that part, older than she, Alice and the island of Shizuyama itself, told her was…

[center][i][b]Pollinate.[/b][/i][/center]
[color=fff79a]”Hold on tight, my Queen.”[/color]

Next thing the mad hatter knew, Kerry wrapped her arms around her and blasted off into the sky, water from the spring spraying everywhere as she flew the both of them back toward the temple. They would reach their destination in record time, since the hornet was also using wind magic to go faster. Any refugee or civilian nearby would only see a blur pass by before being blown to the ground by the strong gusts of air she left in her wake.

They’ll be fine.

Alice giggled, as Kerry cavehornet scooped her off the ground, and beelined for her personal room, "[color=976f29][i]Queen, eh? Well, then, I'll have to make sure I live up to that.[/i][/color]"

[color=fff79a]”If what you’ve told me is anything to go by, then you’ve earned that title several lifetimes over.”[/color], commented Kerry as she set Alice down on the bed before rushing over to close and lock the door.

Alice smirked, as she was sat by Kerry, before the Hornet hustled to batten down the hatches. As Kerry took all precautions, Alice would admire her room, her things, and her style of existence - everyone had their own, and it showed best in their personal spaces. Though, her study was cursory, as she doubted Kerry was going to be patient enough for any thorough examination.

She might have teased the poor dear into a frenzy.

But, there was something about her that made her body yearn for a taste, so to speak. A form of carnal hunger that itched at her unyielding memories. Though she might have forgotten, her body did not.

After all, she didn't let just anyone take a bite out of her…

"[color=976f29][i]Hopefully, I hold up in this lifetime, too,[/i][/color]" she winked. "[color=976f29][i]After all, you'll be my first since I re-arrived.[/i][/color]"

Kerry had just locked the door when Alice said those words.

[color=fff79a]”Huh……Technically, you would be right about that.”[/color], she replied leaning back on the door and taking a deep breath. It was at this point that Kerry noticed that she was still naked as, in her instinctually-driven rush, she had forgotten her own clothes. She blushed but shrugged. She can always get them later. For now, though….

[color=fff79a]”Before we go any further…”[/color]

Despite the deep primal part of her demanding she get on with it, Kerry walked to the center of the room and stood before Alice, red in the face and shyly looking at the floor.

[color=fff79a]”I…..I n-need to know if y-you’re okay with this.”[/color]

Her instincts raged in hellish protest at these words, but she ignored them.

Her father’s teachings were iron-clad in her mind.

[color=fff79a]”You can s-say no at any point and I’ll stop. It’s….only right that you want it as much as I d-do.”[/color]

"[color=976f29][i]I wouldn't be here if I thought I didn't, or I would regret something in the future,[/i][/color]" Alice says, reclining back onto her palms, "[color=976f29][i]You're welcome to your present whenever you find the courage.[/i][/color]"

[color=fff79a]”Oh, you don’t have to worry about my courage….”[/color], Kerry said in a low and husky tone as she closed in on Alice, putting her hands on the mad hatter’s shoulders and gently pushing her back onto the bed while the hornet straddled her. [color=fff79a]”I only asked because once I get started, I’m gonna go the distance, Alice. You can count on that.”[/color]

As Kerry touched Alice, her clothing changed from the woven texture of grass blades to the sewn texture of flower petals, and erupted with a gentle mist of pollen spores; staining the room with the same smell from the onsen. As the flourish settled, Alice would take Kerry's hands into her own, and lift her forward with her hips - causing her to fall forward, face-to-face with the Mad Hatter.

"[color=976f29][i]Let's see how long your stamina holds, then,[/i][/color]" she says, as something hit Kerry's rear, "[color=976f29][i]Mercenary versus Barbarian. I won't go easy on you, either…[/i][/color]"

Before Kerry could muster up a response, Alice would capture her lips - making the first strike in their carnal combat.

What Kerry would counter with would be a mystery that could only be solved by multiple drinks loosening her tongue, as she likely wouldn't repeat the events without it…[/hider][hr][hider=When Carroll Met Eula (Collab ft. Eula and Revuel)]As Revuel spoke, Carroll was paying him half-attention. She'd been more curious about the Hornet that took off after Alice, until Eula had made her presence known. After that, she found herself more interested in her fellow autonomous being of metal and energy. She had kept half an ear on Revuel, but the mechanic could easily tell her attention was gifted to the Automaton. However, before he could excuse himself, she would address him.

"[color=808080][i]I have questions, though, of what importance, I've yet to determine completely,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]It is clear we've been here, lived here for some time, and yet I remember nothing of this place,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=808080][i]Part of me is fine with that. Relieved, you could say. As if, I've been freed of a grand weight and returned to my original mission....[/i][/color]" Carroll lifted a tart, drawing the fruit out, and leaving the rest, "[color=808080][i]Yet, like this tart, part of me is empty without these memories. I feel I've lost a purpose I gave myself, and now, I have to find something new to fill a void that's simply... there.[/i][/color]"

As if completely missing the metaphor, or perhaps just a fan of good table manners, Eula would say: [color=C48BD3][b]"You should make sure to eat the entire tart. The jam’s appeal is best savored alongside the subtle crunch of the crust."[/b][/color]

Carroll would wave her hand, "[color=808080][i]I find it more appealing to savour the main attraction, as opposed to the packaging.[/i][/color]"

Eula frowned. [color=C48BD3][b]"I see…I believe I saw something similar in the countryside, of children not eating the crusts off their bread. There are important nutrients though, and you’re missing out on that. But, I suppose if you don’t want them…"[/b][/color] The automaton drooled slightly, looking at the small pile of tart crust leftover from Carroll’s tyrannical jam binge. [color=C48BD3][b]"...May I?"[/b][/color]

"[color=808080][i]Important...[/i][/color]" Carroll narrowed her eyes, and looked up, "[color=808080][i]Food bares little import to me. I am a sword. I eat for nothing. I gain nothing. Neither joy not pleasure...[/i][/color]" she lifted a tart, "[color=808080][i]I never had a need to question why I eat, not why I eat what I eat.[/i][/color]"

Carroll flexed her right hand fingers; the supple digits turning into triple-jointed blades. Taking the leftover, she rotated her fingers fast enough to turn the crust into dust, and took a cup of tea, and set the dust within, and carved out the center of the tart she'd picked up, and spooned the jam into the mixture.

"[color=808080][i]It's almost... superfluous, in a sense, to ask metal why it eats,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, as she placed her fingers in the cup and blending the crust, tea, and jam into a paste. "[color=808080][i]There's nothing to gain. Nothing to lose. Time, I guess, if that is precious to you...[/i][/color]" she concedes, as she raised her left arm; morphing it into a large section of her blade. "[color=808080][i]What I can never gain or lose is nutrition, however. So, your plea falls dead on me to eat what I've no interest in.[/i][/color]"

Returning her right hand fingers to from the pointer to the ring back to normal, Carroll would spread the newly minted dough across her left arm, and heat up her blade with her magic. Slowly, the dough would bake, however, into the process, she would interrupt the solid form with 1/8"-thin, 5"-inch cuts that provided fifty strips that would break apart once baked in full into thin sticks with her pinky.
"[color=808080][i]So, I suppose, if I wanted to entertain your plea, I'd need something like this...[/i][/color]" Carroll says, as she curled her left arm slowly to break up the magically baked pastry. Unfurling her arm, she changed it back to normal, and held the fifty sticks; placing the bundle into the empty tea cup. "[color=808080][i]To answer your question, sure. But, after you answer mine,[/i][/color]" Carroll lifted one of her homemade pocky sticks like a cigarette, "[color=808080][i]You don't need nutrients, so why do you eat?[/i][/color]"

Carroll’s argument was certainly one rooted in logic, plain and simple. Automatons, cursed blades, weapons made form…neither of them needed an ounce of nutrition, even if their body could technically use it as fuel, albeit at an efficient metabolic conversion rate. Eula would consider her question, the Automaton’s free hand perching her chin up. [color=C48BD3][b]"I suppose…because those around me do,"[/b][/color] she said, smiling softly as she accepted a tart stick from Carroll, looking at the slightly translucent jelly atop it.

[color=C48BD3][b]"When I first activated, I didn’t know where I was. A farmland out in the middle of Order territory, unearthed by a farmer’s son. It was strange but…his family took me in for a time. I helped them with work on their farm, and…as repayment, without money, they would break bread with me,"[/b][/color] Eula said, closing her eyes, feeling nostalgia wash over her sensors. She could still feel it on the breeze some days…the sound of wheat rustling. Of morning mist across irrigated plains, and of the yapping of a small dog at her metal heels. 

[color=C48BD3][b]"Food isn’t anything to me, nutritionally. But, I learned that what is served to you isn’t the only thing being given. Gratitude. Peace. A little piece of someone’s life, in a tangible form,"[/b][/color] she finished saying, before sticking the tart stick into her mouth and crunching down on it. 

To her, it wasn’t meaningless at all to eat. It was to know.

"[color=808080][i]How curious...[/i][/color]" Carroll says, before she looked to Revuel, "[color=808080][i]Weigh in, sir. Though yours is a mortal existence, and, therefore, your reason is clear, still I'm curious...[/i][/color]" she crunched her baked treat, "[color=808080][i]Why do you eat?[/i][/color]"

Revuel was busying himself wondering what kind of monster Carroll was while the latter and Eula conversed. Being able to morph her body into different shapes, the spellcaster guessed she might be a Shoggoth. But Carroll did not appear nor act like one. He had skimmed through the tome published by that Wandering Scholar, but he supposed that even that vast encyclopedia was incomplete.

The question aimed at him brought him back to the conversation. “[color=cyan]Why I eat?[/color]” Revuel thought for a moment. “[color=cyan]I suppose I never thought about it. I like good-tasting food, as much as any other human does. They do taste better after a long campaign, where me and my fellow legionnaires could only eat rations and whatever we find out in the wild.[/color]”

“[color=cyan]Forgive me if I cannot offer counsel to what ails you, madam.[/color]” Revuel suddenly apologized. “[color=cyan]For I, too, wander aimlessly. I, too and many others, have a void within ourselves that we do not know how to fill. While I am here to bring justice to the Scarce Legion, I have not a single clue on what happens next after that.[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]What happens next,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]That’s a simple thing to answer,[/i][/color]" she smirked, as she cast a stick in his direction, "[color=808080][i][/i]You rest and eat. Ready for the next battle.[/color]"

Eula would continue to snack on the tart-sticks, chewing two at a time now as she savored the combinations of jam inside each. Silently, she appreciated the work put into this feast, even if it was conjured by magic.

Revuel already had his hand raised before Carroll tossed the pastry at him, and so he caught it easily. “[color=cyan]That’s what I’ve been telling myself all these years, but the battles will end someday. Perhaps I might die before then, and then I would not worry anymore.[/color]” The caster then took a bite of the stick. “[color=cyan]How… Wonderlandian.[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]Such is what I am,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]I noticed your scent on the Automaton. You’re more curious a person that I thought.[/i][/color]"

“[color=cyan]Really? I merely performed some rudimentary repairs on her, as much as one who has no idea how she works could.[/color]” Revuel replied. “[color=cyan]I wish I could do more but… I have only ever been taught on how to fight her kind.[/color]” The caster then cast Eula an apologetic look. “[color=cyan]No offense.[/color]”

Eula would give a silent thumbs up, a sign of no offense taken as she looked like a dessert chain smoker with a new stick of tart pocky in her mouth roughly every thirty seconds.

"[color=808080][i]Repairing them isn’t difficult,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]Just need the proper pieces, or someone that can shape them.[/i][/color]"

“[color=cyan]I believe it’s… more complicated than that. But perhaps you know this better than I ever will.[/color]” Revuel finished his pastry. “[color=cyan]The small mechanical workshop set up in this temple helps, though.[/color]” The spellcaster then poured himself a cup of tea and, instead of sipping it, simply downed it all in one gulp. “[color=cyan]Huh. Very Wonderlandian too.[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]Complication is a matter of opinion, and my opinion that, only love is complicated,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, before standing up, "[color=808080][i]Hey, you, catch,[/i][/color]" she says, looking at Eula, before flipping into the air, and spinning; her body glowing, thinning, and reshaping from Human to Sword Devil.

With a deft opening of her hand, Eula would barely move before catching Carroll’s sword body, blinking at it in confusion. 

As soon as her hand closed, Carroll would act her [Possession Slime] upon Eula; her parasitic form surging from between the bandage of her handle, and up Eula’s arm. For a moment, Eula could feel Carroll inside her - not physically, or even metaphysically, but conceptually. However, her progress halted almost as soon as it began, and she shook in Eula’s hand to be released.

At the moment that Carroll vibrated in her hand to be released, Eula would comply, freeing her. She wondered what the goal in all this was, to begin with. [color=C48BD3][b]"Did I grasp too tightly?"[/b][/color]

Revuel was genuinely surprised at the scene. So Carroll was some sort of Cursed Sword, he thought. Certainly not any kind he has encountered before.

"[color=808080][i]No. I just got what I needed for my talent,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, before looking at Eula’s slung arm, and flexing her arm; turning it into an exact replica of it from the shoulder socket down. "[color=808080][i]Think you can install this one, rudimentary machinist?[/i][/color]"

The spellcaster was genuinely surprised, again, at the Cursed Sword’s abilities. She was more Shoggoth than Cursed Sword. Some sort of hybrid, perhaps? Or was she simply a mutation brought by the Wonderland ruler’s whimsical machinations. Regardless, there was a question to answer. “[color=cyan]I… suppose I can. I wager you can do this all the time?[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]If life afforded such luxuries,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]This is a part of me -- no, it is better to say, this is of me. This is of my body, and what I am; malleable, moulded.[/i][/color]" Carroll nodded, moving the robotic limb, "[color=808080][i]It is a recreation of her, of body, cast and created. It is not easy feat, and the more complex an item is, the more of me I must leave behind.[/i][/color]"

Carroll sighed, a battle-weary sigh, "[color=808080][i]Such is the fate of a sword, no? To be the extension of those that wield us.[/i][/color]"

“[color=cyan]Last I checked, swords do not talk. They do not eat and especially do not willingly give pieces of themselves for others.[/color]” Revuel retorted. “[color=cyan]Perhaps you may be called a Cursed Sword but I assure you, madam, that you are so much more than a weapon.[/color]” He said. “[color=cyan]Take it from me, many of my former peers thought themselves weapons of our masters. ‘Twas a mistake most grave.[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]Perhaps, I’ll come to believe that one day, when I am not needed as a sword, but as a woman named Carroll,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, "[color=808080][i]Until then, I am a sword, and extension of my user. A Queen’s Blade, servant to the Queen of Diamonds, and none else.[/i][/color]"

A whirlwind of goodwill and generosity, followed by reassurances and denials…all the while, Eula looked at the replicated arm in disbelief, and…a hint of sadness that she herself couldn’t understand. [color=C48BD3][b]"I…I really don’t mean to be rude but…I can’t accept that arm. My own will resume normal functions in a few days if I don’t use it…please, don’t trouble yourself for my sake."[/b][/color]

"[color=808080][i]If it troubled me, I would have never done it,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]That would just be foolish, knowing myself and my boundaries.[/i][/color]"

[color=C48BD3][b]"Its not just that,"[/b][/color] Eula said, looking at her arm, still in its sling. [color=C48BD3][b]"...I…am unsure of how I feel about replacing my parts, is all. Even if it is identical."[/b][/color]

Carroll shrugged, turning her arm back to normal.. "[color=808080][i]There is still the matter of your eye, however,[/i][/color]" she says.

“[color=cyan]If I may, I like to think I am intelligent and open-minded enough to learn how the workshop works.[/color]” Revuel spoke up with an offer. “[color=cyan]In time, I may be able to restore the lady Automaton fully. No need for… sacrificial parts.[/color]”

"[color=808080][i]To call it a sacrifice is to devalue its purpose,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, standing up. "[color=808080][i]Even a sword has a sense of pride, y'know,[/i][/color]" she says, before taking her leave with a dismissive raise of her hand, "[color=808080][i]Enjoy the party, eh?[/i][/color]"

Not wanting to just leave things at that, Eula would stand. [color=C48BD3][b]"Excuse me, Revuel. It was lovely having some tea with you,"[/b][/color] she said, bowing respectfully before trying to catch up to Carroll.

“[color=cyan]Wait, I didn’t–[/color]” Revuel wanted to speak up, but Eula went after Carroll after bidding farewell to him. “[color=cyan]Of course, madam. Apologize for me too, will you?[/color]”

Eula would give a thumbs-up as she turned her head, a silent acknowledgement that she would.

As she pursued, Eula would see Carroll entering a building at random...[/hider][hr]