After seeing Mally in the halls wide awake and walking around Absolem kept a close eye on him that night. He didn't want to see the Dormouse pass out on stage again. Fortunately his fears were unfounded. The night went smoothly and Mally didn't show any signs of fatigue until the usual post-show tea time.
While Mallymkun's unusual early waking was curious, Absolem already had other plans to put into motion today. And though he was curious to see if the Dormouse would rise early on his own, there was another friend who needed his attention more. So rather than waking and lounging around until Chesshur or someone else wandered in Absolem got dressed and set out on a mission.
He walked directly to his destination and knocked on the door. Absolem had judged that it was early enough to avoid the other band members, but not so early to be indecent in expecting his target to be awake. After a few moments the door cracked open and a park of pink eyes peered out at him. "Absolem?"
"Good morning, Nivens," Absolem greeted him with a nod of his head. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Cautious," Nivens said. "Alice caught me by surprise yesterday morning. How can I help you today?"
"I've come to invite you back to my room for a relaxing morning of male bonding."Nivens opened the door a little wider and looked at Absolem curiously. The White Rabbit appeared to be only in his sweats. "Male bonding, huh? Is that code for something?"
Absolem shook his head. "Its code for: you need to relax and get some perspective. Allow me to offer some outside observations."
Nivens seemed to consider Caterpillar's offer, then finally nodded. "Sure. Is this a casual occasion?"
"Yes. Just grab a shirt and some shoes. We'll to be going back to my quarters." Absolem put his hands in his pockets and waited at the door as Nivens complied.
When Nivens was decent the two strolled back to Absolem's room in companionable silence. Back at the room Absolem offered Nivens a seat in the circle of cushions that took up the center of his living space. As Nivens attempted to arrange himself comfortably on a pile of cushions Absolem went over to a small end table and withdrew a small plastic bag. He then settled onto his usual cushion seat and pulled the hookah over.
Nivens eyed the bag with no attempt to disguise his suspicion. "What is that?"
Absolem pinched some of the brightly colored dried plant out of the bag and started packing it into the bowl of the hookah. "Its from home," he said. "I've found the tobacco of this world does little to clear the mind and relax the body like anything in Underland. I'm going to ask you to partake with me this morning. Only a little if you like, but if we do it now you'll be fine before tonight's show. So, will you?"
Nivens furrowed his brow. "I don't know."
"Do you trust me?" Absolem finished and looked directly at Nivens. Slowly the White Rabbit nodded.
Caterpillar placed the hookah back in the center of the ring of pillows. Pulling a lighter he took the mouth piece and lit the bowl. He took a few puffs before passing the hose over to Nivens.
With a bit of trepidation Nivens accepted. He gazed at the mouth piece in his hand before taking an experimental puff. Right away his face turned a pale shade of green. Absolem wasn't concerned. He knew it would pass.
Casually Absolem blew out perfect smoke circles - each smaller than the previous and passing through the center of the one before. He felt pleased with himself. It had been incredibly hard to not pull out his Underland stash, but this was the perfect occasion for doing so. Nivens needed to clear his mind.
Nivens gasped for breath as he coughed all the smoke out. "I don't think I'm very good at this," he mumbled.
"Take another pull," Absolem instructed. "It'll be easier this time. Then pass it back." Nivens inhaled again and passed the mouth piece back. "Now," continued Absolem," do your recitation. Let's see if it is taking."
Nivens frowned. "How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail, and pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale," Nivens began. At first the smoke just floated out his mouth, but by the end a smoky crocodile was lingering in the air before his pink eyes.
Meanwhile Absolem was puffing on the hookah. He nodded his approval. "How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws." A school of smoke-blown fish swam up to Nivens' crocodile and disappeared between its giant teeth. Absolem smiled. "Now we're ready to get down to business." The last word formed a little fluttering smoke bee which buzzed over to Nivens before disappearing in a puff.
Nivens arched an eyebrow. "I thought this was relaxing male bonding time."
"Yes," Absolem replied. "Just that someone like you needs to work at relaxing."
The White Rabbit huffed. "So how does this work?"
"Allow me to guide the conversation." Absolem took a deep pull from the hookah and passed the mouth piece back to Nivens. "What's on your mind?" Absolem breathed. The smoke image of a brain formed and floated away.
"Nothing," Nivens replied. The smoke blew from his lips to form a giant empty ring, then a second ring blew through it. Yet, before the rings disappeared they both shifted into two hearts.
Absolem lifted a curious eyebrow. Nivens' smoke rings betrayed him. "Oh, really?" A question mark floated between the two men. "Not even Alice?" Absolem blew his own smoky heart.
Nivens reached out and swiped at the smoky symbol effectively destroying the image. "I'm not sure what you're implying." No smoke images formed.
Absolem motioned to take another pull of the hookah. As Nivens did, Absolem asked: "Why so defensive?"
"Am not," Nivens said. The letters 'L,' 'I,' and 'E' formed in the smoke. "Oh! I see why you wanted to do this!" Plumes of smoke shot out and scattered like little explosions.
"To help you," Absolem cajoled. A little red cross symbol emerged and even Absolem wandered at that. This world was having an effect on how his thoughts formed.
Nivens pouted and crossed his arms. "Help, indeed."
Absolem took another pull of the hookah and passed it back to Nivens. As Nivens reluctantly took another hit off the hookah Absolem spoke. "You're still all tangled up." Vines of smoke writhed and twisted together into knots. "You're letting other confuse you and are not focusing on how you truly feel."
"And you presume to know how I feel?" Nivens challenged.
"No. I'm asking you to know how you feel. I'm just trying to help."
Nivens sighed heavily. The smoke blew from his mouth like a string of ellipses.
Absolem sat in silence for a long while to allow Nivens to sort his thoughts in peace. "I care for Alice," Nivens finally said.
Absolem nodded. "Obviously, but are you allowing your feelings to be informed by others?" A smoky prowling cat pursued by a floating top hat emerged in the smoke Absolem exhaled as he spoke. Nivens watched the smoky images and nodded sadly. "Then do something about it," Absolem prompted.
After a moment's pause Nivens leaned into the smoky picture and exhaled his own smoke. The lines of smoke became claws swiping through the cat and hat dispersing their images to nothing but fog.
Absolem nodded in approval. "Now, tell me how you feel about Alice."
"She is wonderful," began Nivens. "Dear and special to us all. I want to protect her, but…" his voice trailed off.
"But?"
"But she doesn't need me to protect her," Nivens finally admitted. He sank back into the cushions and relaxed into their give. All of the tension flooded from his body. For the first time in all the time Absolem had known the White Rabbit he seemed relaxed. "Telling her I love her isn't a lie, but doing it to keep her from Tarrant is disingenuous. I'm just doing it to protect her feelings."
Absolem nodded. "Valiant, but misguided." He took the hookah hose back from Nivens. The White Rabbit had reached his epiphany. It was time to cut him off.
"Yeah," Nivens agreed. He laid his head back on the cushions and shut his eyes. "I allowed Chesshur to pull my strings."
"That is something to be wary of," Absolem conceded. "The Cheshire Cat can't play his usual games here. We must all watch ourselves around him."
Nivens responded by snoring lightly. Absolem grinned and shook his head. He smoked in peace as Nivens slept off his emotional revelation for the afternoon. However, Nivens' confused feelings were the easiest thing to fix. What do about Chesshur's boredom? That was the real challenge.
*"How doth the little crocodile" rhyme from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."