Kita In Wonderland

Chapter 8 - The Carrot Cottage

Cheat Sheet:

Echo: Leiytning's "old friend" or pet, a large beast called a Black Oculus

*********************

As Kita rushed through the Duchess's underground alcazar, down the hallway leading away from the throne and kitchen, she tried to keep her hopes up. However, that failed miserably when she found a dead end.

"Dammit!" Kita cried. "Seyber, where did you..."

She trailed off when spotting sunlight on the ground; a tiny ray. It was coming through a small hole near the top of the wall.

Kita quickly jumped up and hit the space around the hole. Sure enough, other particles crumbled to the ground, and the hole increased in size. She did it again, but harder. An even larger portion came crumbling down.

Finally, there was a hole similar to the one that brought her into Wonderland. Kita jumped up and grabbed onto the edge, struggling to pull herself up by using the roots. She barely made her way into the hole, needing to stay low on her elbows and knees. She crawled along a steep upward slope, hoping the light on the other side would be somewhere promising. While she would be happy to see her home, at this point, part of her was still curious about the strange world she was in.

I guess I need to find Seyber before heading home, anyway. If need be, I'll also have to go back for the others. I don't care about these sylphs anymore, but Jem, Scorch, and Zin are must-haves, and I'd like to at least try and help the others. Even though the demons only see them as informants, I consider them friends. Except for Druitt, he's a jerk.

Finally, Kita felt her hand hit solid, flat land. She pulled herself out and looked around. Instead of anywhere familiar, she could only see more of the same forest she was wandering through, before.

Kita sighed, "Here again?"

"Move, move, I'm late!"

Suddenly, Kita was bumped aside harshly, falling to the ground. When she looked up, she could see the familiar White Rabbit dashing away.

"Hey!" Kita snapped. "Seyber, get back here!"

Kita scrambled to her feet and chased the Rabbit, but it was harder than before; either the Rabbit got faster, or she got slower. Kita eventually lost her as she disappeared in the foliage ahead, but she kept going. It led much deeper into the woods, but Kita didn't care. She just wanted to find Seyber and figure out what was going on.

Soon enough, though, the forest opened into a small glade, and Kita was surprised by the sight.

There was a small cottage with a straw roof, heart-shaped windows, and sloped white walls. A cobblestone trail led across its neat lawn, and a white picket fence enclosed it. Beside the gate was a little mailbox, and there seemed to be a large carrot garden on either side of the house.

Kita searched for a sign. "Whose is this?"

Soon enough, she was able to hear whistling. Along the path, there appeared a shifting figure that slowly came to light. It was an unfamiliar girl that looked just a little younger than herself. She was wearing a soot black dress, and tugging along a creaky wooden ladder. Her fiery, vibrant orange hair looked like one big fluffy mess, dangling in twin tails behind her.

Kita tilted her head. Oh my gosh, is that...

Sure enough, as she looked past the Wonderland guise, she realized the passerby was a Zyrean. The grayish skin, fangs, animalian ears, and slit-pupil eyes made it unmistakable. Although now, she had very unusual Wonderland traits. Little green spines protruded from her head, her hands and feet were reptilian, a lizard's tail protruded from her lower back, and green scales were speckled in patches about her skin.