THE GRIFFIN'S STOLEN COURAGE: CHAPTER 1
It was in the early morning that the March Hare was making his way through the foliage, bundled in a striped green and purple scarf with his hands grasping at his matching green coat; his breath visible in the crisp October air. Thackery wasn't much for the cold weather. Being the March Hare, he much preferred the spring: warm with subtle breezes, flowers blooming from a winter's long slumber, and the cloudless, blue skies that spread for who knows long. But it wasn't the awaiting spring that was on the young rabbit's mind; more it was the events that occurred the previous night.
It was considered the last night of summer before the people had to return to another year of school or day jobs, and the band wanted to end this great season of performances with a bang. Though it sounded exciting, it was just like all the other shows. The Mad Hatter sung amazing chords, accompanied by The Dormouse on guitar and The Hare himself on bass. The beating drums kept rhythm with the talents of Cheshire which intertwined with The Caterpillar's melodies on the keyboard. Of course, it wouldn't be a party without the headstrong, delightful lead female singer, Alice. Her sweet voice serenaded the young rabbit, but his futile attempts to catch her eye have left the jilted bass player to give up all hope of fulfilling any chance of a romantic relationship. After the final set, instead of celebrating with the rest of the band for the strong performance, The Hare retired to his house for the night of a broken heart.
His green boots crunched on the dry, fallen leaves as he continued to walk through the backwoods to the band's performance stage. This was the only way from where The Hare lived to get to performances and rehearsals, but he didn't mind the long walk. It gave him time to think.
As he reached the edge of the forest, Thackery could see the bleach blonde hair of his dear friend, Mallymkun, across the open space on stage. The Dormouse had his legs swing off the edge, looking impatient. Observing his unusual behavior, the rabbit curiously made his way across the dry patch of dead grass, burying his face into his scarf as bitter cold winds swirled through the field. The mouse wasn't as caught up in the weather as Thackery, wearing a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt covered by his leather jacket. The Hare cursed as a gust of air brushed through his body.
The mouse's eyes spotted the frigid rabbit walk towards him, and tried to keep from laughing as Thackery fought against the chilling winds.
"Someone's been having a rough morning." Mallymkun teased, releasing a puff of smoke.
The Hare's purple and green eyes, which peeked above his scarf, showed annoyance as he made his way up the stage's steps. Why they couldn't move rehearsals indoors was a mystery to the rabbit.
"Oh come on Thack," the guitar player rolled his eyes, "I'm only messing with you."
"Really, I couldn't tell." Thackery stated flatly which caught the mouse off guard. It was unusual to hear such a tone from a goofy yet timid character such as the Hare.
"Dude, you okay?" The guitarist asked suspiciously as Thackery sat next to him.
The rabbit let out a sigh as he pulled down his scarf. Instead of letting his feet dangle, he kept them cross, along with his arms. Sitting Indian style, Thackery looked back to the other band member and managed to smile weakly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I guess I didn't get enough sleep." he apologized, and turned his gaze back to the open field.
The mouse shrugged and settled back, propping himself up on his elbows.
"Where is everyone else?" Thackery asked, realizing they were the only two there.
"Don't know, all I know-"The Dormouse quickly shut his mouth.
Thackery noticed his friend's sudden quietness and turned to him quizzically.
"Know what Mally?" he asked.
Mallymkun was hesitant as he looked up to his friend with concern.
"What?" Thackery questioned as Mallymkun continued to stare doubtfully.
Thackery raised an eyebrow which triggered The Dormouse to finally speak.
"LastnightAlicewenthomewithTa rrent." He squeaked quickly.
This left The Hare dumbfounded. He tried to form what he just heard into words in his head but he couldn't come up with anything. He only stared back at the mouse completely loss.
"What now?" Thackery enquired?
Mallymkun sighed and sat himself up to the rabbit's level.
"Last night after the show," the mouse began slowly," Alice went home with Tarrant." He finished, looking apologetic to the rabbit.
Mallymkun was always aware of his friend's affection towards Alice, it was probably why he would tease him when flirting with Alice himself, but it hurt the mouse to be the one to tell him of the unfortunate events that occurred between The Hatter and Alice. What he expected was just what he feared.
The bass player's face dropped and showed defeat. In one movement, The Hare groaned, fell flat on his back, his arms outstretched from his sides, ignoring the cold that suddenly began to surround and fill inside of him.
"You guys are early." A female voice declared.
The two friends looked to the stairs leading up to the stage that the young Alice was climbing with an arm linked with The Mad Hatter himself. Thackery frowned and turned his face; looking for something to distract him.
When he looked back up to the sky, he was face to face with the girl who stole his heart. She had hands on her black tights as she bent over the lounging hare. Her cheeks were red from the freezing air that contrasted with her pale skin. Her blue eyes stared down into his, leaving Thackery in an awkward situation.
"Daydreaming?" She smiled, melting the rabbit's aching heart.
"Nah," he lied quickly, "I didn't get much sleep."
Alice giggled and placed a hand on his cheek, "Well, you need to be awake for this."
Her touch made him swoon, but what she said caught his attention. Snapping his gaze from her angelic beauty, his curiosity got the better of him.
"For what?" Thackery asked.
Suddenly Tarrant came into the rabbit's view, arm draping across Alice's shoulder.
"Get up sleepy head and we'll tell you." The Hatter chuckled down at him.
Thackery sat up then got to his feet. The Dormouse did the same, his eyes still weary on his love-struck friend.
"So what's up?" Mallymkun finally asked.
"We've got awesome news." Tarrant began, his eyes drifted to Alice, who smiled back.
Thackery's stomach dropped. He couldn't take much more of it. He felt as if the broken pieces of his heart were now dissolving into dust. He caught himself holding his breath and told his brain to suck in.
After what seemed like forever, the silence was broken.
"We have a new member of the band!" Alice squealed and then once again things were mute.
The Dormouse glanced back to Thackery whose expression showed signs of relief; then after moments of realization of the situation at hand, the curiosity jumped back into play.
"A new member?" Mallymkun restated in question.
The Hatter nodded back and the two guitarists looked to each other. Without either getting any answers from the other, Thackery turned back to the couple.
"Who?"
To be continued…