"Hatter, Alice and the Tweedles are up to something, and all the clues are in this catalogue!" Hare practically screamed in his doorway.

Hatter had been busy baking all the treats for the next day's party, so there was a pause as he squinted and set down his frosting squirter. Had he heard someone? After he was done batting away all the tissue-paper ghosts dangling in the kitchen threshold, he caught sight of his empty-handed partner and quickly furrowed his brow. "Where's all the stuff I asked you to buy?!"

Hare's shoulders sagged. "I'm on it," he claimed with a frown. Then he remembered how wound up he was. "I just thought you'd want to know about this as soon as possible!" As he danced circles around Hatter, waving the catalogue around, Hatter just stood there.

"Actually, later would have been fine. I'm kind of busy right now." He jutted his thumb towards all the crap strewn about his counter.

"But this is big, Hatter! This catalogue is about contacting the dead!"

"Oh shit. That's the other kind of spooky!"

Both their noses ended up in its pages, not ten seconds later. They hungrily absorbed the pages for clues as to what they could be doing. For sale were a number of provocative items: robes, hoods, talismans, crystal balls, ouija boards, slight-of-hand tip books…! Hare drew in his gaping mouth to share the most obvious conclusion.

"Looks like Alice is going to conduct a seance at the party, Hatter."

"HOLD UP. This is my party! If anybody should be conducting a seance, it's me!"

"I don't disagree!"

"But Hare, why do you think Alice is going to do it?"

"Because," Hare started, before he noticed some flour on Hatter's shirt. He gave it a good pat as he explained: "The Tweedles were looking through this, to pick out her costume for the party!"

"I can't believe this." Hatter said under his breath.

"You can't?"

"No, I mean I do, but I can't believe she'd try to steal the spotlight, here! At the very least, you coordinate this kind of thing with the host! Which is me!"

Hare had been circling his fingers 'round, trying to work out the sentences in his mind. "So wait… which part do you believe, again?" Hatter rolled his eyes and scooped up both his hands so he'd stop.

"All of it. And Hare? WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS."

The two of them definitely did something about it. Very shortly, they had arrived with haste at Wonderland's shadiest esoteric new-age scary bullshit shop. They wasted no time filling their basket.

"Oh, you'd look good in this," Hare told Hatter as he held up a deep purple cloak.

"I would," Hatter agreed.

"Hey, so what happened to all those cookies you were working on?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I told the Dormouse to finish it up… with a hearty cheese bribe." Hare stopped to look at him, as if he might have a doubt forming in his head… but then he just batted his hands and smiled. "Great, well then let's just keep shopping!

"YEAH!"

So the boys hooted their way about the store, totally engrossed in all its products, and grabbing anything that a passing whim would say was appropriate for a seance.

Only at check-out did they wonder if Hatter's overflowing basket was an issue. Hare gave Hatter's coat sleeve a gentle tug. "Hey, Hatter… what do you think all this stuff is going to cost?" He asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," Hatter answered, only half paying attention as he eyed a black mirror in a display case. "Maybe a hundred wobucks? I'm not concerned."

The cashier was singing a different tune:

"Three-hundred and ninety-nine, sir."

"Sorry, one more time?"

"399?"

Hatter paused, only to decide he needed further clarification. "Once more?"

"Hatter, I think she said 399 wobucks," Hare trailed into his ear. With a crinkled brow and extremely deflated lips, Hatter darted his focus around the store, noting all the flashy red signs and growing antsy.

"No, that can't be! A bunch of this stuff was on sale!"

"Yes, the sale prices are all in there," the cashier explained as she double-checked the computer screen.

"What was the most expensive thing?" Hare asked. She took a quick scan of the items.

"Ah, it looks like it was the cloak." Hatter was already frowning, but frowned even more upon hearing this.

"But I look so good in that."

"He really does!" Hare assured the cashier, as though this might convince her to give it to him on a discount. Instead, she had no clue what to do, and resorted to side-eying the snaking line of customers who were waiting behind the pair.

"Fine, whatever, I don't need the cloak. I'm sure I've got something in my attic," Hatter insisted, mostly to himself. Hare willed himself to nod emphatically.

"So… without the cloak, your total comes to 288 wobucks." Hatter snapped out of his own quiet pep-talking and was back to expressions of angst. Hare sighed.