I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners. I make no profit from this and do it for fun and entertainment.
Warnings: None.
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"Danny! Get down from that tree! You're going to hurt yourself sleeping there!"
A raven haired boy of about sixteen blinked open tired blue eyes and looked down a the orange haired woman frowning up at him, arms folded over her chest reproachfully.
"I'm not gonna hurt myself Jazz, don't worry," the boy called Danny replied, stretching his arms above his head as he tried to sit up on the branch...only to lose his balance and tumble out of the tree face first with a yelp.
"You were saying?" Jazz said, looking down her nose at him, "why do you keep coming out to the woods like this?"
Danny rubbed his head as he sat up, "because I like it here? It's quiet and I don't have to deal with Finks harping at me over every little thing?" He stood up and crossed his arms, looking away from the older girl with a scowl.
Jazz rolled her eyes, "well, unfortunately you can't stay out here anymore; you need to come back before they send out a man hunt for you," she smirked at him, "you're lucky I know all your favorite hiding spots."
"Oh yeah, really lucky," Danny said drily as he gave her an unimpressed look. Jazz ignored it however and turned around.
"Come on, we're gonna be late."
Danny huffed, dropping his arms and slouching in defeat, "fine, I'm coming."
The two teenagers began walking out of the forest quietly and Danny looked around, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked leisurely. Sure they could send out a search party, but he knew these woods like the back of his hand by now; they wouldn't catch him if he didn't want to be found. With that thought in his head along with the fact that he wasn't ready to go back home quite yet, Danny grinned devilishly and altered his path slightly, silently distancing himself from the fink he called Sister and heading deep into the foliage. He heard Jazz call out his name exasperatedly but kept his camouflage in check, knowing that running would only give away his location.
However, a flash of white caught his attention and caused him to come to a halt, looking around for whatever it was that darted across his path. He heard leaves rustling right behind him and assuming it was Jazz, took off, his assumption proving correct when he heard her squawk and call for him to wait. He ducked under low branches and ran through thick bushes, trying to throw the orange hair girl off his trail when he seen the flash of white in front of him, a rabbit he realized, and felt the urge to follow it. Trusting his instincts, Danny chased after the rabbit, Jazz's voice getting farther and farther away.
He lost site of the rabbit and with his lungs screaming and his legs aching, came to a stop. He put his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath, cerulean eyes darting around to catch a glimpse of the rabbit again, when he spotted something under the base of a tree. Feeling drawn to it, Danny approached the tree and pushed the grass aside, coming upon a rabbit burrow.
'Is this where he went?' Danny thought, carefully leaning closer to try to see into the darkness.
The ground under his hands crumbled and Danny had only enough time to gasp as he fell forward into the darkness with a yelp. When he stopped tumbling, Danny found himself in a surprisingly roomy, but dark tunnel. Blinking to try and get his vision to adjust, Danny got on his hands and knees and began creeping forward again, only for the ground to give way under him once more.
This time, Danny found the voice to yell as he plunged into the void.
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When Danny came to, he found himself waking up in a room of whites and greens, laying on a bed that was covered in black and white sheets. He sat up and looked around, finding a table and cooking stove, a plush chair and table by what looked like a window, and what looked like a grandfather clock painted on the wall by the foot of the bed. He got up and walked around, only to blink in surprise when the clock became three dimensional, ticking solemnly against the wall. But when he stepped closer and touched it, he just felt the wall again. What was-
"I see you're finally awake."
Danny yelped and whipped around, eyes finding another boy with his back turned to him who was dressed in a pair of black pants and pulling a suit jacket onto his shoulders at a wardrobe that Danny knew wasn't there before, "where did you-?"
The man turned and Danny felt the words catch in his throat at green eyes and a pair of white rabbit ears sticking up in messy hair of the same color. Danny had no idea how he didn't see the ears before, but oddly enough, where they would look silly on someone else, this guy could pull them off. In fact, the guy was quite handsome if Danny was being honest, the boy gazing dumbly at the other male in the room.
The boy raised a brow at him, "it's impolite to stare you know," Danny closed his mouth and turned red at that, "and I'm afraid I don't have any time to answer questions."
He finished buttoning his jacket and pulled a silver pocket watch out of one of the pockets, green eyes widening drastically, "shit! I'm late! Sorry but I gotta go!" He turned and grabbed his white gloves off the table, rushing out the door.
"Wait!" Danny called out, compelled to run after him. But when he stepped out of the door, the white haired man was no where to be seen. Danny huffed before looking around, jaw dropping when he found himself surrounded by beautiful plants and trees, leaves and grass growing in a multitude of colors. He started walking again, simply admiring the scenery before shaking his head and getting back on track. He needed to find the green eyed man. Of course, possibly finding the rabbit wouldn't hurt either.
"Hey there handsome."
Danny paused and looked around, "excuse me?"
"Up here," the voice, female from the sound of it, called out.
Danny looked up and around before he spotted a girl with short black hair and purple eyes, chin resting on her hands as she laid contently on her stomach in the tree like she was born for it. She wore a purple striped off the shoulder shirt that stopped at her mid drift and striped leggings of the same color, a black and green plaid skirt separating the two, and what looked like heavy combat boots. What really drew Danny's attention however were the pair of purple cat ears on her head and the fluffy purple striped tail swaying leisurely in the air behind her.
"Uh, who are you?" He asked, off-put.
"Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" She replied, a smirk on her lips as she swung around to sit up right on the branch.
Danny raised one of his eyebrows, "well, nice talking to you, but I'm in a rush so..." He started walking again.
"What's you're hurry Murry?" The girl asked, causing Danny to pause again and huff in annoyance.
"If you aren't going to answer my question, why should I answer any of yours?" He countered.
Unperturbed, the purple eyed girl snickered, "fine, you can call me the Cheshire Cat since you wanna know so bad. Now how about answering my question?" She swung her feet casually.
Danny sighed and fully turned back to the cat girl, crossing his arms, "I'm trying to find a guy with white hair, a little taller than me...not counting the rabbit ears, and wearing white and black. Have you seen anyone like that?"
Cheshire hummed, grin never leaving her face, "maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I've seen lots of things."
Danny gave her a deadpan look, "if you aren't gonna answer my question-"
"I did answer your question," Cheshire interrupted, "you asked if I seen anyone like what you described, and I told you, you just haven't asked it the right way."
Danny groaned, "fine, then how about a white rabbit?"
The cat tilted her head, one ear straightening, "still not the right question."
Danny pursed his lips, "what's the right question then smart ass?"
The Cheshire Cat snickered again, enjoying herself a bit too much from Danny's stand point, "you should ask if I seen THE White Rabbit run by here, the two you're looking for are one and the same. And for that question, as I said before, I see a lot of people come by."
Danny growled, but decided it would be a waste of time to comment on it, "did you see which way he went?"
The cat girl jumped down and landed softly on the ground. Danny however was too aggravated to question it, "he's been in every direction, but last I seen..." She looked up, appearing to think, "he was heading towards the King of Hearts' castle."
"And where would that be?" Danny asked irritably.
Cheshire's smile dropped, "you're seriously thinking about going there?" She tsked and shook her head, "you aren't ready to go there yet."
Danny gave her an incredulous expression, "says who?!"
The cat just shook her head again, "it's better if you don't go," she gave him a secretive smile, "why don't you just wait around and enjoy yourself first? The White Rabbit will come back later to answer your questions, though," she frowned again, "sometimes it's better not to ask certain things if you aren't ready to know the truth."
Danny knitted his brow, "uh, you aren't really helping with that you know, you're just making me want to ask more questions here."
The cat just smiled at him again, a secret smile that set him on edge. He looked around at the forest, taking the Cheshire Cat's words into consideration, but...
"Where's the castle?" He asked again.
Purple lips turned down again and her expression became almost worried, "why are you so determined to go there?" She grinned again and jumped back up on the branch, hanging upside down from it, "why not stay here? Where it's pretty and colorful and nice?"
Danny looked around again. Why did he want to leave this place? "I want to find the White Rabbit," he said, sounding unsure.
"Why though?" Cheshire asked again, "all you'd have to do is wait here and he'd come back."
Danny shook his head, "I just know I have to, I can't wait anymore. Now either show me where to go or I'll find it myself."
The cat sighed, but seemed to relent, "there is no straight way to get there." Or so he thought.
Danny resisted the urge to stomp his foot childishly as he said with a bite to his tone, "then how do I get there?"
Cheshire grinned wide, "if you're so determined to find it, you'll find it. I can't tell you anymore than that because there's nothing more to tell. But," she turned upright and gave him a serious look, "be aware, the closer you come the more the truth will come out; nothing here is as it appears, not even the place you started. You're best interest would be to ignore the truth, or else it could destroy you."
Danny blinked and raised a brow, "I'm sure I can handle it, how bad can it be?"
Cheshire shook her head and gave Danny a look. Something pinged in the back of his mind, an alarm that told him that the look was familiar, that this girl was familiar, but before he could really figure it out Cheshire was smiling again, a smile that was a bit too wide.
"If that's what you think," was all she said.
Getting fed up with the Cat's vague words and answers, Danny just turned and walked away, paying no attention as the girl flickered and became translucent, her form becoming off before she disappeared entirely.