A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE TO READ FIRST
Please understand that this is but a very small sampling. I have and can write in a variety of styles. These are just some which I happened to have on had when I put my site together, and since I sometimes refer people from PG sites here, I did not include anything overly violent, sexual, or filled with swearing. If you like grittier or flufflier, more description or less, etc., just let me know. I'm very adaptable and can easily take my cue from my partner's style. I prefer third person, but I can write in other perspectives.
These are also just a small set of characters, and each character will have their own feel to them. Since more RP partners tend to like descriptive, fluffier things, more of my writing samples and characters on my site are descriptive and fluffy. I've been writing for about fifteen years, and over that time, I have done a huge range of characters and styles. I have characters with impeccable grammar, and I have characters who can hardly string two sentences together correctly. I have characters who talk up a storm, and characters who only say what is absolutely necessary and convey everything else through body language or even assumption. Challenge me. Ask me to write in a different style, perspective, character type. I love trying new things! I adore further developing my skills as a writer!
These are also just a small set of characters, and each character will have their own feel to them. Since more RP partners tend to like descriptive, fluffier things, more of my writing samples and characters on my site are descriptive and fluffy. I've been writing for about fifteen years, and over that time, I have done a huge range of characters and styles. I have characters with impeccable grammar, and I have characters who can hardly string two sentences together correctly. I have characters who talk up a storm, and characters who only say what is absolutely necessary and convey everything else through body language or even assumption. Challenge me. Ask me to write in a different style, perspective, character type. I love trying new things! I adore further developing my skills as a writer!
Example Intro
It was a peaceful summer day. Birds were singing, people were going about their business, and it seemed everyone was in an unusually good mood. Nothing could go wrong. At least, that is what the eye witnesses claimed when they were asked later.
That day was the fateful day when creatures long relegated to myth showed they were not only real but also to be feared. Dragons. The very word conjured up thoughts of ancient knights, battles to the death, and magic. How could such a thing exist in a modern world?
The first thing the beasts did was destroy the infrastructure. Power grids were out for months, police and fire houses were destroyed, and military bases were pulverized by the magic of the giant creatures. They wanted no threat to their power as they had encountered long ago. The dragons had waited for the time when the ancient magics had been lost. Technology could be destroyed, but the magics had trapped them in a void before.
Now the magics had weakened, and the dragons were back. Worst of all, Carnath had returned. The one remaining lore about this dragon spoke of a creature so ancient he had once helped neolithic mankind develop societies and culture. Something had happened between then and medieval times to change him from a dragon who admired humans to one who wished death upon their entire kind.
As with all dragons, Carnath continued to grow the older he got. Being so ancient, he was monstrous in size unless he shifted to a smaller form. Since he rather enjoyed instilling terror into the hearts of humans, it was rare for him to shift into anything but his full draconic form. Hardened scales glistened with ruby and russet hues, lightening to sunset orange and finally gold on the spines along his back and tail. His wings faded into the colour of a ripe peach, and he prided himself in his good looks. Of course, it was rare to find a dragon that was not entirely too full of him or herself.
In fact, it was exactly that type of thinking that had gotten Carnath into the predicament he was in at the moment. He had been dozing, daydreaming about what a wonderful dragon he was. Then what should appear but one of those annoying humans? At first he had thought to just bat the creature aside, but then the idiot had the audacity to try flinging a spell at him! He spat fire, not even really bothering to aim at the man. This so called wizard was an infant of the magical arts. The mages he had come across when the dragons had been sealed away would not have even considered this man to be worthy of being an apprentice.
Still, it was a bit troublesome. If humans were experimenting with magic again, that meant the skill still ran in their blood. He had rather hoped it had died out entirely. If they still possessed it, they could once again build it up to the point of being able to rise against the dragons. Carnath turned an iridescent eye toward the bothersome human and spoke, "Get out of here if you value your life. I'm sunbathing, so it is too much of a pain to eat you right now."
Unfortunately for both parties, the man turned out to be a bit hard headed. One human snack later, Carnath had returned to his dozing, but now his dreams were troubled. Where there was one, there would be more. Humans bred like rats, and they always had numbers on their side.
That day was the fateful day when creatures long relegated to myth showed they were not only real but also to be feared. Dragons. The very word conjured up thoughts of ancient knights, battles to the death, and magic. How could such a thing exist in a modern world?
The first thing the beasts did was destroy the infrastructure. Power grids were out for months, police and fire houses were destroyed, and military bases were pulverized by the magic of the giant creatures. They wanted no threat to their power as they had encountered long ago. The dragons had waited for the time when the ancient magics had been lost. Technology could be destroyed, but the magics had trapped them in a void before.
Now the magics had weakened, and the dragons were back. Worst of all, Carnath had returned. The one remaining lore about this dragon spoke of a creature so ancient he had once helped neolithic mankind develop societies and culture. Something had happened between then and medieval times to change him from a dragon who admired humans to one who wished death upon their entire kind.
As with all dragons, Carnath continued to grow the older he got. Being so ancient, he was monstrous in size unless he shifted to a smaller form. Since he rather enjoyed instilling terror into the hearts of humans, it was rare for him to shift into anything but his full draconic form. Hardened scales glistened with ruby and russet hues, lightening to sunset orange and finally gold on the spines along his back and tail. His wings faded into the colour of a ripe peach, and he prided himself in his good looks. Of course, it was rare to find a dragon that was not entirely too full of him or herself.
In fact, it was exactly that type of thinking that had gotten Carnath into the predicament he was in at the moment. He had been dozing, daydreaming about what a wonderful dragon he was. Then what should appear but one of those annoying humans? At first he had thought to just bat the creature aside, but then the idiot had the audacity to try flinging a spell at him! He spat fire, not even really bothering to aim at the man. This so called wizard was an infant of the magical arts. The mages he had come across when the dragons had been sealed away would not have even considered this man to be worthy of being an apprentice.
Still, it was a bit troublesome. If humans were experimenting with magic again, that meant the skill still ran in their blood. He had rather hoped it had died out entirely. If they still possessed it, they could once again build it up to the point of being able to rise against the dragons. Carnath turned an iridescent eye toward the bothersome human and spoke, "Get out of here if you value your life. I'm sunbathing, so it is too much of a pain to eat you right now."
Unfortunately for both parties, the man turned out to be a bit hard headed. One human snack later, Carnath had returned to his dozing, but now his dreams were troubled. Where there was one, there would be more. Humans bred like rats, and they always had numbers on their side.
Long Reply Example
It had been longer than Carnath could remember since a human had actually spoken to him. He could not count screaming in fear or mumbling an obedient reply to his command as a conversation. While it was clear that the girl (for he had never been very good at estimating human ages) was scared of him, she retained the ability to communicate. Whether her blather was real or a defensive strategy, however, he could not be sure. It seemed real. She certainly did not appear to be a warrior or a knight of any sort. More importantly, she did not appear to be a magician. While the Church had done a very fine job of eliminating most of them, he still held suspicions that some remained in the world. It was unlikely that the gene would have died out completely, and surely it would pop up from time to time in the human population. It was a simple matter of selection. While the Church did knock them down and even kill them at a young age, those that did survive would be especially cunning and likely powerful. They were the ones to be watchful of. Fledgling magicians and hedge witches were merely irritating flies, but full blown magicians... Those were dangerous.
Half distracted by his own musings, he let her ramble on without comment. He vaguely heard something about her not sacrificing animals, which made him want to scoff. All animals, including the human kind, ate other living things. Cows ate grass, which was alive. Dragons and humans ate cows. It was simple and straightforward. The only beings he purposely terrorized were humans, and that was simply because he had a grudge against them. He ate cattle and other beasts to survive, just as they ate plants to survive.
Only when she answered his question about what was in the basket did his attention focus solely on her again. His nose approached the basket to sniff at it, as though he was expecting it to be hiding something under the pile of foliage. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared to any of his senses, however, and he relaxed, spines flattening along his spine once more. "That is ridiculous," he stated in response to her dietary choice. "Do you human creatures not need to eat meat? Are you more akin to the livestock your brethren raise, then? You do not appear to be different from the rest of your kind." He peered closely at her, but he kept going slightly cross-eyed as he did so. She was so small in comparison.
With a huffy sounding snort, he sat back on his haunches, and his form began to waver. He had been told that it was nauseating for a human to watch, but he was not particularly concerned about her welfare. In a few short moments, his massive bulk had been shifted Off. Dragons had two natural forms of magic. One assisted in flight, for nothing so large and solid could stay aloft for long without some sort of aid. The second allowed them to shift their shape into a mostly human form. Their mass was shifted out to the very Void that had held them contained for so long. In fact, it was that very trait that had allowed the magicians of before to trap them in the first place. Since they were so closely tied to the Void via their magic, the magicians had found a way to tap into it to exile the great beasts entirely.
In place of the enormous dragon now stood a tall, youthful-looking man. Useable muscle covered his form, topped by bronzed skin. In fact, his red and gold colouration seemed to have simply shifted right along into his human form. Straight auburn hair with distinctive fiery highlights fell to slightly past his shoulders. It was swept to one side, causing his right eye to be partially veiled behind it. The left eye, however, was the clearest evidence that he was not human. The fire orange eyes of his dragon form had retained their same colour, including the lack of whites. Slitted black pupils completed the draconic look. Arched brows followed the sharp lines of his face. A human could be excused for thinking him handsome. A human would be equally likely to be disturbed by the fact that he looked so human yet so distinctly draconic at the same time.
The man shook himself off, as though the transition took a moment to get used to. In truth, it did. To suddenly lose a good portion of one's mass and change one's entire physiology was no mean feat. Oddly enough, his human form had arrived fully clothed. To Carnath, it was no surprise, since the last time he had used this form, he had been clothed in the very garments he now wore. Had he shifted back to his draconic form while nude, he would have similarly appeared in front of her completely bare. Dragons were able to invest small portions of their magic into items, allowing them to be transformed along with their mass. The Void stored the items while they were in their normal form just as neatly as it stored their mass while they were in their human form. Nothing large could be stored, but simple items such as clothing were not difficult.
He wore brown leggings, covered by what appeared to be an elaborate version of an emerald green loincloth. Around his waist and raising up across the lower portion of his abdomen were three black belts with silver buckles. Similar belts were on each leg, on his mid thighs and just below his knees. Dark brown, leather boots started shortly after the lowest set of belts. The vest he wore was in matching shades of brown and green, and it laced together in the middle with dyed leather lacings. While they technically kept the vest closed, they did little to cover his chest. If there was one common vice among dragons, it was their pride. Carnath considered himself to be quite the most handsome thing, whether in dragon or human form, and he had not qualms about showing himself off. Whether or not anyone else agreed with his opinion of himself mattered little, though he did certainly approve of being flattered.
Now that he was at a more suitable size to look at the girl, he stared openly at her. A twinge of pain ran through him as he finally took in her appearance. Her eyes were wrong, and she had no draconic features, but the rest reminded him all too much of his lost mate. She had been a pale dragon, coloured like a spring day. Soft peach scales had been accented by the greens and browns of new foliage upon a branch. Her human form had reflected that with it's pallid skin, spring green eyes, and brown hair. Her hair had been wavy, rather than curly, but it was still enough of a shock to Carnath to make him transpose her onto Jadeline for a moment. His knees nearly buckled. As it was, he took a slight step backward, his mouth gaping as though to hiss, though his mouth was not shaped right in his current form to make the sound properly without extraneous movements. For the second time that day, he shook himself. This time, he cleared the image of his mate, letting the true one take shape. As it melted away, he was relieved to find more and more differences in the two. Jadeline's skin, while pale, was not the near silver-white that hers had been, her hair was not quite the right shade, and her body was built differently.
Folding his arms over his chest, he finally spoke again, "Fine then, healer it is. I believe you. You hardly look to be a threat. However, you can be of use to me. Presumably you speak with the rest of your herd." To him, anything that was not a dragon and formed groups lived in a herd. "Therefore," he continued, "you can tell those idiots that are late with their offering, and if they send any more screaming maidens my way, I just might start eating the villagers, no matter how upset it may make my stomach. What they think I am going to do with virginal maidens is completely beyond me, but I hate listening to them scream. I had to hurry and smash the last two they sent, just to end that awful noise!"
Half distracted by his own musings, he let her ramble on without comment. He vaguely heard something about her not sacrificing animals, which made him want to scoff. All animals, including the human kind, ate other living things. Cows ate grass, which was alive. Dragons and humans ate cows. It was simple and straightforward. The only beings he purposely terrorized were humans, and that was simply because he had a grudge against them. He ate cattle and other beasts to survive, just as they ate plants to survive.
Only when she answered his question about what was in the basket did his attention focus solely on her again. His nose approached the basket to sniff at it, as though he was expecting it to be hiding something under the pile of foliage. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared to any of his senses, however, and he relaxed, spines flattening along his spine once more. "That is ridiculous," he stated in response to her dietary choice. "Do you human creatures not need to eat meat? Are you more akin to the livestock your brethren raise, then? You do not appear to be different from the rest of your kind." He peered closely at her, but he kept going slightly cross-eyed as he did so. She was so small in comparison.
With a huffy sounding snort, he sat back on his haunches, and his form began to waver. He had been told that it was nauseating for a human to watch, but he was not particularly concerned about her welfare. In a few short moments, his massive bulk had been shifted Off. Dragons had two natural forms of magic. One assisted in flight, for nothing so large and solid could stay aloft for long without some sort of aid. The second allowed them to shift their shape into a mostly human form. Their mass was shifted out to the very Void that had held them contained for so long. In fact, it was that very trait that had allowed the magicians of before to trap them in the first place. Since they were so closely tied to the Void via their magic, the magicians had found a way to tap into it to exile the great beasts entirely.
In place of the enormous dragon now stood a tall, youthful-looking man. Useable muscle covered his form, topped by bronzed skin. In fact, his red and gold colouration seemed to have simply shifted right along into his human form. Straight auburn hair with distinctive fiery highlights fell to slightly past his shoulders. It was swept to one side, causing his right eye to be partially veiled behind it. The left eye, however, was the clearest evidence that he was not human. The fire orange eyes of his dragon form had retained their same colour, including the lack of whites. Slitted black pupils completed the draconic look. Arched brows followed the sharp lines of his face. A human could be excused for thinking him handsome. A human would be equally likely to be disturbed by the fact that he looked so human yet so distinctly draconic at the same time.
The man shook himself off, as though the transition took a moment to get used to. In truth, it did. To suddenly lose a good portion of one's mass and change one's entire physiology was no mean feat. Oddly enough, his human form had arrived fully clothed. To Carnath, it was no surprise, since the last time he had used this form, he had been clothed in the very garments he now wore. Had he shifted back to his draconic form while nude, he would have similarly appeared in front of her completely bare. Dragons were able to invest small portions of their magic into items, allowing them to be transformed along with their mass. The Void stored the items while they were in their normal form just as neatly as it stored their mass while they were in their human form. Nothing large could be stored, but simple items such as clothing were not difficult.
He wore brown leggings, covered by what appeared to be an elaborate version of an emerald green loincloth. Around his waist and raising up across the lower portion of his abdomen were three black belts with silver buckles. Similar belts were on each leg, on his mid thighs and just below his knees. Dark brown, leather boots started shortly after the lowest set of belts. The vest he wore was in matching shades of brown and green, and it laced together in the middle with dyed leather lacings. While they technically kept the vest closed, they did little to cover his chest. If there was one common vice among dragons, it was their pride. Carnath considered himself to be quite the most handsome thing, whether in dragon or human form, and he had not qualms about showing himself off. Whether or not anyone else agreed with his opinion of himself mattered little, though he did certainly approve of being flattered.
Now that he was at a more suitable size to look at the girl, he stared openly at her. A twinge of pain ran through him as he finally took in her appearance. Her eyes were wrong, and she had no draconic features, but the rest reminded him all too much of his lost mate. She had been a pale dragon, coloured like a spring day. Soft peach scales had been accented by the greens and browns of new foliage upon a branch. Her human form had reflected that with it's pallid skin, spring green eyes, and brown hair. Her hair had been wavy, rather than curly, but it was still enough of a shock to Carnath to make him transpose her onto Jadeline for a moment. His knees nearly buckled. As it was, he took a slight step backward, his mouth gaping as though to hiss, though his mouth was not shaped right in his current form to make the sound properly without extraneous movements. For the second time that day, he shook himself. This time, he cleared the image of his mate, letting the true one take shape. As it melted away, he was relieved to find more and more differences in the two. Jadeline's skin, while pale, was not the near silver-white that hers had been, her hair was not quite the right shade, and her body was built differently.
Folding his arms over his chest, he finally spoke again, "Fine then, healer it is. I believe you. You hardly look to be a threat. However, you can be of use to me. Presumably you speak with the rest of your herd." To him, anything that was not a dragon and formed groups lived in a herd. "Therefore," he continued, "you can tell those idiots that are late with their offering, and if they send any more screaming maidens my way, I just might start eating the villagers, no matter how upset it may make my stomach. What they think I am going to do with virginal maidens is completely beyond me, but I hate listening to them scream. I had to hurry and smash the last two they sent, just to end that awful noise!"
Shorter Reply Example
Oh, good. Corvi definitely had hoped that her captor would be a smug bastard. She stifled an annoyed groan, unable to do anything more than be dragged along like a dog on a leash. Her wrist was starting to ache from the tight grip he had on her, but that was likely the least of her worries. She was taken aback when she found herself in a bar, seated, and with a mug of something in her hands. She looked down at it and raised a brow. This was definitely not what she had been expecting. Well, if he wanted to play a game of questions, she could play along. Whatever kept her alive long enough to get away was worth it. "Five days," she stated simply, not bothering to add anything else. If he wanted the information, he would have to ask it. It would be stupid to volunteer any more than she had to. It would also be worthless to try to add anything like, 'and I was only stealing because I was starving!' Technically, she was not starving. She had eaten the day before. Furthermore, even if she had not gotten the sense that he would not react well to that, she was not going to belittle herself that way. She was stealing because he had looked like a good opportunity, and she had gotten caught. Now she would deal with the consequences as they came.
Shorter Reply Example 2
Aquila let out a breath of air in scoff, "You are not going to scare me. I am well aware of the potential dangers of my job. There is a reason that the Church employs holy mages instead of relying on peaceful monks to get what must be done finished. There will always be resistance, no matter how well-intentioned something may or may not be. Human nature is that of violence, and the Church learned long ago that being too passive will only end in slaughter of our lambs."
She stepped forward, hands spread to show she was unarmed. The priestess doubted that would do much good, since it was pretty obvious that a mage did not need a weapon to be dangerous. Still, the gesture was meant to show she did not intend to harm the other woman unless she was attacked first. She stopped while still at a comfortable distance from Cecile, not wanting to spook the woman into fleeing or fighting, yet close enough to react if necessary. "Since you are alone and appear unharmed, I can only assume that you left of your accord. That also means that you are the one who had the magical item that I have been following. I believe it to be a charm, though I am not as good at tracking and identifying magical implements by the trace they leave as are some. Either way, it is holy magic that I have followed here to you, so I am wondering a few things. Firstly, where did you get the magical item? Secondly, why have you run and left your family in a worse position than they were before? If you were having troubles, you should have come to the Church for assistance."
Aquila truly believed what she was saying. Unlike those she worked for, she was actually a rather gentle soul, and she believed that the Church was there to help those who needed assistance. Yes, sometimes the Church had to resort to violence to ensure the safety of the entire community over that of a single individual, but it was for the better good. She could not understand why someone would willingly flee the protection of the Church to chance their survival in the wilderness.
She stepped forward, hands spread to show she was unarmed. The priestess doubted that would do much good, since it was pretty obvious that a mage did not need a weapon to be dangerous. Still, the gesture was meant to show she did not intend to harm the other woman unless she was attacked first. She stopped while still at a comfortable distance from Cecile, not wanting to spook the woman into fleeing or fighting, yet close enough to react if necessary. "Since you are alone and appear unharmed, I can only assume that you left of your accord. That also means that you are the one who had the magical item that I have been following. I believe it to be a charm, though I am not as good at tracking and identifying magical implements by the trace they leave as are some. Either way, it is holy magic that I have followed here to you, so I am wondering a few things. Firstly, where did you get the magical item? Secondly, why have you run and left your family in a worse position than they were before? If you were having troubles, you should have come to the Church for assistance."
Aquila truly believed what she was saying. Unlike those she worked for, she was actually a rather gentle soul, and she believed that the Church was there to help those who needed assistance. Yes, sometimes the Church had to resort to violence to ensure the safety of the entire community over that of a single individual, but it was for the better good. She could not understand why someone would willingly flee the protection of the Church to chance their survival in the wilderness.
Example Reply (Doubling Characters)
Tho bowed at the waist and nodded, "As you wish, my queen." Dutiful to a fault was Tho, and he had very strong loyalties to Vera. Nothing, he was certain, would ever shake his faith in her. It was a man's duty to serve his ruler, even to the point of death. If he died in battle at her service, he would feel honoured. Not, of course, that such a thing was likely, since he was not well suited to fight. He made a much better courier and gatherer of information. Tho preferred to avoid the use of the word 'spy.' It just sounded so very distasteful.
Having already been dismissed, he took off at a run. Tho hardly ever did anything in less than high speed, and today was no exception. The moment his feet hit a surface other than the smooth tiles, however, he stopped just long enough to shift back to his rabbit form and took off again. Twisting and turning, dodging and ducking, his paws carried him swiftly over the terrain toward where he had left the newcomer.
He came across a ditch and flung himself over it, body stretched to its maximum. What landed on the other side of the ditch, however, was not a round little rabbit. During his near flight over the gap, his features had lengthened, and his coat had rapidly changed to a mottled brown hue. Hare's paws touched the ground safely, and he continued his sprint, not quite sure why he was in such a hurry. Whatever it was, it must be urgent for him to be traveling so swiftly!
As fast as Tho was, Hare was even faster. Lean and built for speed, he tore through the trees. He took another leap, just because it was fun to do so, and suddenly he found himself hurdling headlong into a woman.
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Aliki's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, resembling nothing so much as a fish gasping for air. "My eyes are perfectly normal, I will have you know! Besides that, it is not my fault that you happened to move right as I was checking to see if you were solid. I was aiming for your shoulder. Your being solid in no way means you are real, however. Dreams can feel quite real, and yet they are not. I merely was testing to see if you were a wisp of smoke, blowing about in unusual patterns. You certainly behave like one!"
She was about to continue on when the visage before her changed yet again. She rather wished he would stop doing that. It was dizzying. At least now he was wearing slightly better clothing, though the brilliant aqua was painful on the eyes. "You do like bright colours, don't you?" she said rhetorically as she eyed the watch cautiously. "I was not wearing a purple dress to Wonderland," she countered, "I was wearing it to the garden. It is there that I fell asleep and entered this quite insane dream."
Her eyes followed the strange movements of the watch, if it could truly be called such a thing. "How can you even tell the time with that? There are no proper hands or face." Just as suddenly as it had appeared in her hand, the watch was grabbed up, and she let out a startled squeak, "Oh! You are a dreadfully rude fellow! Isn't there anyone more normal about these parts that I can talk to?" However, the day was wearing on, and a bit of tea did sound nice. It would likely be proper time for tea by the time they got to wherever they were going, unless it was close.
She frowned at Chess, trying to figure out what in the world he was getting at. "Which way to go?" she said at last, electing to just ignore his previous comment lest she find herself even more confused than before. "I haven't the slightest idea which way is which or what way will lead me to a direction I would even care to go in. I have never been here before. Besides, I thought the decision was already made to hurry along to make it in time for tea. Surely you know which direction to go for that."
Before she could say anything else snippish, something hit her back. "Ooof!" she said with a rush of exhaled air.
"My apologies!" Hare said after landing on the ground, "I was running for some reason--I know not what--and there you were, a little petunia right in my path!"
"A petunia?" Aliki said with narrowed eyes, "What is it with you rabbits and calling me a little petunia! I am a human woman, not a flower!"
Hare snorted inelegantly, "Well, she's not a very bright one, is she! I'm clearly not a rabbit! Can't you see these lean legs, my lovely ears, and this fine brown pelt? No, no, it's as obvious as the whiskers on my face that I'm an owl. Haven't you any sense?" As if in an afterthought, he said, "Hello, Chess. Fancy your being here when I ran into this silly thing."
Aliki stamped her foot again, "What ARE you all raving about! Is everyone here mad?"
"No, no," interrupted Hare, "Just our hatter. Chess and I are quite sane, you know. You must be the one who is mad."
He looked Aliki up and down, down and up. "What a strange flower you are. Flowers ought not wear purple to Wonderland," he said in a near echo of Chess's earlier comment, "The rest of the garden will be jealous of your petals." He looked at Chess, "Speaking of which, is it time for tea? I'm most hungry, you see, and you're the only one with a watch." It was true. Somewhere in the transition from rabbit to hare, the pocketwatch Tho had worn had disappeared. Even the little red vest was gone, leaving Hare with nothing but his own fur.
Having already been dismissed, he took off at a run. Tho hardly ever did anything in less than high speed, and today was no exception. The moment his feet hit a surface other than the smooth tiles, however, he stopped just long enough to shift back to his rabbit form and took off again. Twisting and turning, dodging and ducking, his paws carried him swiftly over the terrain toward where he had left the newcomer.
He came across a ditch and flung himself over it, body stretched to its maximum. What landed on the other side of the ditch, however, was not a round little rabbit. During his near flight over the gap, his features had lengthened, and his coat had rapidly changed to a mottled brown hue. Hare's paws touched the ground safely, and he continued his sprint, not quite sure why he was in such a hurry. Whatever it was, it must be urgent for him to be traveling so swiftly!
As fast as Tho was, Hare was even faster. Lean and built for speed, he tore through the trees. He took another leap, just because it was fun to do so, and suddenly he found himself hurdling headlong into a woman.
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Aliki's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, resembling nothing so much as a fish gasping for air. "My eyes are perfectly normal, I will have you know! Besides that, it is not my fault that you happened to move right as I was checking to see if you were solid. I was aiming for your shoulder. Your being solid in no way means you are real, however. Dreams can feel quite real, and yet they are not. I merely was testing to see if you were a wisp of smoke, blowing about in unusual patterns. You certainly behave like one!"
She was about to continue on when the visage before her changed yet again. She rather wished he would stop doing that. It was dizzying. At least now he was wearing slightly better clothing, though the brilliant aqua was painful on the eyes. "You do like bright colours, don't you?" she said rhetorically as she eyed the watch cautiously. "I was not wearing a purple dress to Wonderland," she countered, "I was wearing it to the garden. It is there that I fell asleep and entered this quite insane dream."
Her eyes followed the strange movements of the watch, if it could truly be called such a thing. "How can you even tell the time with that? There are no proper hands or face." Just as suddenly as it had appeared in her hand, the watch was grabbed up, and she let out a startled squeak, "Oh! You are a dreadfully rude fellow! Isn't there anyone more normal about these parts that I can talk to?" However, the day was wearing on, and a bit of tea did sound nice. It would likely be proper time for tea by the time they got to wherever they were going, unless it was close.
She frowned at Chess, trying to figure out what in the world he was getting at. "Which way to go?" she said at last, electing to just ignore his previous comment lest she find herself even more confused than before. "I haven't the slightest idea which way is which or what way will lead me to a direction I would even care to go in. I have never been here before. Besides, I thought the decision was already made to hurry along to make it in time for tea. Surely you know which direction to go for that."
Before she could say anything else snippish, something hit her back. "Ooof!" she said with a rush of exhaled air.
"My apologies!" Hare said after landing on the ground, "I was running for some reason--I know not what--and there you were, a little petunia right in my path!"
"A petunia?" Aliki said with narrowed eyes, "What is it with you rabbits and calling me a little petunia! I am a human woman, not a flower!"
Hare snorted inelegantly, "Well, she's not a very bright one, is she! I'm clearly not a rabbit! Can't you see these lean legs, my lovely ears, and this fine brown pelt? No, no, it's as obvious as the whiskers on my face that I'm an owl. Haven't you any sense?" As if in an afterthought, he said, "Hello, Chess. Fancy your being here when I ran into this silly thing."
Aliki stamped her foot again, "What ARE you all raving about! Is everyone here mad?"
"No, no," interrupted Hare, "Just our hatter. Chess and I are quite sane, you know. You must be the one who is mad."
He looked Aliki up and down, down and up. "What a strange flower you are. Flowers ought not wear purple to Wonderland," he said in a near echo of Chess's earlier comment, "The rest of the garden will be jealous of your petals." He looked at Chess, "Speaking of which, is it time for tea? I'm most hungry, you see, and you're the only one with a watch." It was true. Somewhere in the transition from rabbit to hare, the pocketwatch Tho had worn had disappeared. Even the little red vest was gone, leaving Hare with nothing but his own fur.