Jervis would toast her words; raising his tea cup upwards, head slumped slightly lower than his shoulders- as if the weight too much to bear. ”-It seems we will get along famously.” Attraction was for breaking kind souls; lengthier, meaningful arrangements came to those who could match the madness. Or the darkness lurking in heart and soul. He was a multi dimensional being; cards always up his sleeve, if one will. Never an end to where he began. It was a simple fact- he was his own Wonderland.
When the slender woman mentioned she had once been blonde, Jervis' brows rose up along the brim of his top hat. ”Really?” he cooed curious, voice mildly met as a slightly higher pitch, delightfully mad ”-I would have never guessed, you don’t strike me as the blonde type” It wasn’t meant as an insult- yet with the way the thin lunatic spoke, it was hard to tell.
Interjecting amid her own words, she smiled. "You wouldn't take me for the innocent type either. Yet both were once true- we all start innocent. Make of that as you will." Leaning back, she smirked at his raised eyebrow.
As she continued, he listened whether it was his business or not- occasionally sipping at his cup, nodding to her words as she continued ”—I vastly agree, good things come to those who wait…” or at least, he saw it that way. While his ward had been so good as to leave them, they were far from alone. In the darkness, eyes loomed watching them. He’d almost all but forgotten.
”-Oh… dear me, poor Chesh… do come out and join us…” A creature whose manners were sufficient enough to accompany them for Tea, slipped from the darkness. Lumbering but powerfully built, sleek, coloured in deep pink and purple striping, mimicking the Cheshire Cat perfectly. If one could see from the feline's face and build, a large female White Tiger. Curiously lifting her head towards the woman, she would flick her tail once, and collapse against Jervis’ seat. Her weight pushed him back slightly. While he reached to stroke her head, she nuzzled against his open palm.
”—Strange, what arrives in due time…” A casual glance to his pocket watch, referring to the events that had come his way. Time was strange in his domain, most failed to comprehend. He liked to think he was closer to Wonderland than most; perhaps that was why he and Time didn't agree with one another, ever since that fight...
None of it mattered. Suddenly she held golden blonde hair, pristine as she said. How had the Lady done it? Jervis never took his eyes off her, yet the change came- pure magick. It hinted to an innocent nature, a past perhaps once hers: bright, carefree... To gaze into those melancholic, crim- no, azure- eyes... Trick of the light perhaps? Or something more? Even the Mad Hatter could not discern what transpired in that heartbeat- if anything at all.
Jervis could still see the darkness within, heart and soul. This aesthetic meant he could read echoes of her past. It carried tones of his own, back to Alice, when they were one... Rendering him only more curious, perhaps evermore intrigued. His fingers tingled, yearning to reach out and stroke the silken strands. Gulping hard, he wet his thin lips and settled back, drawing in much needed breath, still once again even before he could hope to comment- this woman fascinated him. What was he dealing with here?
”—Chock full of surprises, aren’t we?” Enigmatic smile, the Lady's only reply. Reaching for one of the treats lingering on his delicate little plate; gingerly twisting a biscotti around in his cup, snapping the slightly softer end off into his mouth. In case of inquiry, he would have answered regardless of her external stance, as if somehow he read her mind.
”-Cheshire, she doesn’t know… after all, how could she? She’s an animal… doesn’t speak our language.” He began, lids drooping slightly- weighed down by the thickness of his lashes, ”-But she too is controlled… we share a like mind, her and I. The beauty of the thing, even if the node was removed… I imagine her loyalty would be second nature. She'd defend me to the death, though I'd not allow it.”
Vendetta nodded, admiring the Cat in his lap. She could sense the yearning he held, to reach out, touch upon the past. No words emanated from this strange woman- silence would shatter if she spoke. Gently, her hand found his- and drew it to her hair. Soft as silk, as he hoped... Somehow, the room turned misty. Through the murkiness, upon her body lay a white version of the black attire she earlier wore. The entire effect gave her an eerie luminescence, haunting echo of the deceased…
Comfort and fear twisted nicely; the table, shop- everything vanished. They seemed to be in the night sky. She made this happen; but how? Clearly nothing science could at present explain. Did she steal into his mind, drawing forth imagery and memories- or was it mere happenstance, his mind shattering evermore? Above, the crescent moon shone, frozen argent sliver the origin of her glow. From sources indiscernible, Gothic violin music began. Without a doubt, Vendetta- despite the seeming impossibility- played it. Leading him farther into the sky… The words he spoke safely tucked into her mind- she would address them later on.
Lust… Melancholy… Remembrance… Dangerous feelings, ones Jervis did well enough to keep at bay. Experiments kept him busy, always working to make the proper guest… Oh, he had such plans- he needed to expand his knowledge! Could he create a woman, a being out of mere mechanical parts? He had time… much time, endless… time moved seven different ways in Wonderland, but all his guests only seemed to make it go forward and back, perhaps he would try sideways? Or Vertical? Horizontal? The Lady, like himself, moved in multiple ways… as if time didn’t affect her either… Somehow, the entire Hatterdasherie transformed- reminiscent of the evening sky, atop the endless clouds covering the city below.
Jervis was curious, daring to fall to his death if this went beyond illusion. Stepping into the night sky, he felt strangely free… and while a tingling fear gripped him gently- a lover’s embrace in her, he couldn’t help but enjoy. The only one to dislike this was Cheshire, and the beast pulled back in terror, heart racing… Another coaxing stroke, Jervis' gloved hand moving over the great Cat's back, to calm her nerves. Turning to glance towards the woman, he smirked… Casually sipping down his Tea, while the Cat relaxed onto the floor appearing like a fluffy wisp of cloud.
Music beginning to play beautifully, subtle lacings into the illusion. A violin, slightly discordant, yet beautiful- song unfamiliar to him. Stepping in, leading in a dance, he began to sing under his breath ”—Will you? Won’t you? Will you? Won’t you? Will you? Won't you join the dance…” Distant memories passing, as he spun her about, dainty figure perched expertly in his hands and arms.
”—Who are you really, dear mademosielle? You are quite an exquisite sight…” he uttered, lips pulling back into a wry smile. The question was not who, but what? For the powers she held grand… like-minded; both crafting illusions that did not exist; she arcanic, he scientific. "-Is it weak of me to fall as such easy prey to your art? Or perhaps do I not fight because I wish to be taken?" Speaking quite rhetorically, he spun her around the evening sky. Still he would continue, gloved fingers whisking gently through sunlight-golden hair, delicate as moths wings.