What a Wonder in Wonderland~ [Inv]

It was another quaint day in the mad world. The neko had been punted from her home by none other than her husband, and had been told to do something purroductive with herself. Laying on her stomach across a large leaf in the purrplexing forest, a tail swayed from side to side behind her. Humming lightly to herself, Faith wondered just what she could do that Damien would have seen as ‘productive’.

Wonderland was always her go-to location when the neko mewsed over various things. It was, after all, the place that she was born and raised. It was sad, though, to see where the mysteriously missing king and his so-called advisors were taking the world.

…

That was it!~ That’s how she’d be purroductive today! Now, how to go about it… Rolling off the leaf, Faith freefell for a moment before she plunged herself into a corridor and walked out of a second closer to the ground as though she had been walking the whole time. She looked around the forest as she strolled to her destination, purring lightly with a mischievous grin on her lips. Of course, she had an end goal for herself, Faith did have all day to do it. And so, the neko would take her sweet, purrecious time in doing so. Now, if only she could find something with which to occupy herself for the time being...

As per usual, Clarisse’s cat-like surrogate mother failed to return home after being so rudely punted from their home. It was over such a small thing as wanting to relax. Sure, the neko relaxed a lot, but that didn’t make her any of those mean words that Damien had called her. The summoner had grown worried after a time, and had told the werewolf, who she now referred to as Papa, that she wanted him to go find her. When he seemed reluctant, she had told him that she was going to go find Faith all by herself, then. Of course, Clarisse had told him all this through signing. The young lady was a mute, after all, unable to speak.

Instead, her constant companion Cambria often interpreted the summoner’s hand signs to those who didn’t understand it. The small bear summon was held close and safe in Clarisse’s arms, looking about the topsy-turvy forest. To the both of them, it was a place of awe and wonder that never seemed to grow uninteresting. One was more willing to admit it than the other, however. It was here, in Wonderland, that the trio of Clarisse, Cambria, and Damien had met the mischievous neko. She was a lot more… suggestive back then. Cambria thanked the Great Drake that little Clarisse was too young to understand much of what spewed from Faith’s lewd mouth. True, the neko still had one, but it had gotten better over the years. And by better, it was only that she was more able to control the volume of her voice to a whisper. And to speak directly into Damien’s ear.

Every once in awhile, the muscular man that walked beside them would grumble something under his breath, sniffing at the air for the missing mother’s scent. Thankfully, they didn’t have to look on their own for Faith. Damien’s presence made the whole task that much easier. And apparently safer.

Two sets of eyes turned to Damien when he spoke up. He started out once more with complaining about his missing wife - something that the summoner found cute, as he always ended up coming to look for her. It showed that he really did care. “Oh quit your gripin’. You an’ that ‘damned cat’-” Cambria was about to make a comment suggesting their romantic relationship when the werewolf cut her off, calling out to Clarisse. Nodding her head to his warning, the summoner turned her one visible eye out and began scanning the immediate area. Nothing to note. But if Papa smelled them, then they had to be close by… But even then, Damien seemed a little more on edge.

Is it a strong heartless, Papa? She signed to him with fingers that moved with elegance and familiarity. There was a worried, concerned expression that played her face. If there was a strong Heartless, she definitely didn’t want Momma to be out and alone. Faith was strong, but there was strength in numbers.

Wondering. Wandering. ...Meowndering. Faith, even after having walked the confusing paths that were in Wonderland, still knew exactly where she was. And that was in the forest. Walking from the ground, to the large, leafy canopy, to mushrooms below, Faith made delightful use of her ability to create portals. Casual strolls were purrfect for gathering and organizing one’s thoughts. To have a clear thought while in such a place as Wonderland was quite the gift. Or at least, that’s how it should have been. The world was infamous for it’s madness. That was part of its charm.

Wandering down yet another path, with the signs nailed to the many trees that pointed to nowhere in purrticular, Faith caught a most interesting whiff. It was like other whiffs she’d whiffed before, but unlike those same whiffs, too. This was something that was most curious. Grinning wide, the neko ascended to the trees, clawing her way up one and hopping gracefully from one treetop to the other, Faith soon came upon what she assumed to be the clawse of the scent. She was a purretty young lady, sporting large wings and a pair of horns. She smelled most delicious… With a light chuckle, and a small bit of pawndering later, the feline had come up with a plan that was most amewsing.

She whispered something that carried along the wind, echoing against the dense forest. Then teleporting to a diffurrent tree, Faith whispered yet another something, and allowed that to be carried on towards the winged lady. She did this several times, making sure to rattle some branches as she went and let loose some smaller leaves that fluttered to the ground. Most of what Faith would whisper would be the unsettling and confusing little rhyme known there in wonderland, the Jabberwocky Poem. Faith on occasion would hum the tune to herself, grinning all the while.

Clarisse was now more on guard, getting a confirmation on the strength of the heartless they were working with. Her expression hardened, and her single eye scanned the forest for any signs of recent activity. Not long after, both she and Cambria could hear the nonsensical ramblings of her mother’s favorite poem. If she was feeling confident enough to go about teasing the heartless, then it couldn’t have been that much of a problem. Right?

Wrong. He warned them to get ready for a fight, and Clarisse’s body tensed. She nodded in understanding, growing mildly uncomfortable as Damien transformed. It was a marvel to behold, watching it, but it looked less than pleasant, causing the summoner to turn her gaze away whenever it happened. Cambria had scolded the werewolf on the matter, but it didn’t make much of a difference. In some cases, it just wasn’t possible to teach old dogs new tricks.

When her Papa took off, Clarisse was following close behind. The poem stopped when Damien howled, so the young lady couldn’t tell if Faith was still already. A small bit of worry took hold of her, thinking maybe the heartless had gotten her. Breaking through the treeline, she and the Ursa in her arms were greeted by the sight of a winged woman. Clarisse’s one bright blue eye blinked in surprise. Never before had she seen a humanoid Heartless, and so assumed that the woman was just that. A woman. Just one with… wings? Maybe she was a demon of some sort?

Setting Cambria on the ground, Clarisse moved to defend her, as she had yet to do any wrong just yet. If Momma was playing with her, then she couldn’t have been that dangerous. Trying to get Damien’s attention, she had a near miss with the branch that was hurled, ducking just in time to dodge it. Puffing out her cheek, the summoner flailed her arms desperately. If there was one thing she disliked about being mute, it was that it was difficult to get someone’s attention.

Cambria didn’t like the situation, however. Damien was overreacting, Faith was playing games, and there was a questionable, supposedly heartless woman fore them. Granted, the woman did carry the strong scent of darkness with her. “Surrender, and we’ll call ‘im off,” the Ursa tried to bargain, hoping that Damien, in his fury, would have enough sense to at least recognise a willing surrender.

Successfully nabbing the bird lady’s attention, Faith was all smiles, enjoying her subtle teasing. When the woman started to talk to herself, the Chesire Cat felt most fulfilled. She’d follow her, masked by the foliage of the trees. The mad whispers would continue, up until Faith had heard a howl off in the distance, which was actually closer than it appurred. It would seem that her fun was coming to a close. Faith’s grin with lessen as her golden orbs scanned the forest’s floor. She was most pleased to see not only her husband, but her eldest daughter had come to find her. The Cat’s elation deflated a bit as she seen that Damien was quite not himself. Little Clair-bear was trying to desperately to gain his attention. What had him so purrserked in the first place? It couldn’t have been Miss Birdy.

With a click of her tongue, she dissapurred from the trees. Her body would seem to fade into existence at Damien’s backside, where her arms wrapped around his neck and nuzzled into the side of his face. “Now, love. Is that any way to treat a lady, nyah?~” She asked, speaking with a giggle into his little wolfie ear and nipping at it. It probably wasn’t a good idea, but at least it’d draw the attention away from Miss Birdy long enough for her to at least take asylum with Clarisse. She was a heartless, sure, but she was bad at being one. That earned her enough doubt with the Chesire Cat to give her a moment to explain herself.

Clarisse, who was less than pleased when the tree toss had injured the winged woman, showed as much by puffing out a cheek and furrowing her brows. With an airy huff, she turned her one blue eye towards her Papa and crossed her arms. The only people that the young lady didn’t tremble before, was her Papa, her Momma, and her siblings. Trying to appear as cross as possible, which she maintained due to the fact that she hadn’t witnessed the woman’s scare tactic, it would seem that her attempt didn’t make it through to Damien. That’s when Faith made her well-timed appearance and distracted the werewolf.

Cambria turned unimpressed eyes towards the injured creature from where she stood on the ground. “I would really suggest keeping your trap shut until he’s been calmed, least you reignite his rage.” She said, after Damien’s little spat. “Then we’d just let ‘im at you. Try to run, though, and I’ll cheer ‘im on. We saved you, but that doesn’t let you off the hook.” The Ursa’s tone was nonchalant as she turned her attention back to the couple. How those two managed to hook up, let alone reproduce, was still a mystery to her. Then again, she’d seen weirder things.

Clarisse looked around bashfully when Damien asked why they defended the woman. Honestly, it was a natural reaction. She appeared human enough, and frightened. And if her Momma was toying with her, then the Summoner was of the opinion that she couldn’t have been all that dangerous. Fidgeting with her fingers, the Ursa stepped up beside her and spoke. “There’s no point in just quelling the lady before you know the motives as to why she’s here. Who knows? Might be scouting er something, and we could take ‘er in for an interrogation. I’m sure Morgan would appreciate that, yeah?” She’d say and turn her beady eyes towards the woman in question.

There was a purring in Damien’s ear when he mentioned being bitten in the ass. “I’d like you too that, nyah~” She whispered into his ear and even attempted to nibble on it. Being yelled at in such a fashion was one of the werewolf’s cute little purrks, and Faith saw right through to the true meaning behind the words. “But I’m thankful to see that you were worried, love.”

As he reverted to his more human form, Faith was slowly lowered to the ground, though she still clung to his back, her tail swaying from side to side. As always, the ever-present smile was on her lips. “But I wasn’t being lazy, love. I was actually being purroductive with myself.” Faith purred out, purressed her body up against his and waited for the man to ask what she was up to. With a momentary distraction, she turned him by the chin so that the werewolf would focus on her. “I want Wonderland, love. Assist me in making me its leader, nyah~” She stated easily, grinning wide.