Ｃｈｅｓｓｉｅ

The tree is more than it seems

He walked closer, and I saw that his hair was mainly purple with some pink streaks. As said before, his yellow eyes were still gleaming, and his grin wasn't as playful as before. "Is this shocking enough?"

"Dear lord, Chessie," I sputtered,  "You are one decent-looking Human-cat being."

He tilted his head, and let out some rumbling laughter, which made my spine shiver, "I really am, aren't I?" And then he randomly sneezed- which after that a sudden *pop* noise came, and two cat ears and a tail appeared. "I really need to control that," He scowled. 

I laughed, "I find it to be quite funny!"

He prowled closer, and smiled, "Mm, you do, don't you?" His tail swished behind him, and his ears flicked. 

I nodded and took a step back. He combed his fingers through his hair, "Well, let's go, I don't think we should linger out in the open much longer..."

"Is there something dangerous?" I asked and immediately regretted it when he gave me a look. "Obviously! This is Wonderland. No one is safe."

"Fair enough," I muttered.

He quickly shifted back into his cat form and motioned for me to follow him with his tail. 

We got to a tree. 

"What's this place?" I asked, stopping underneath one of its many oddly colored branches. 

"My home," Chessie answered, hovering up into the branches. "there's more to my tree than it seems, Allegra," His voice somehow echoed.

I sighed and started climbing up until I found myself entering a large tree-house-looking place. "Wonderland never ceases to amaze me," I breathed, taking everything in.

"Liddel's never cease to amaze me," Chessie snickered, "Especially you, I find it to be quite curious that you haven't figured it out yet."

"Figured what out?"

"Hmm, perhaps I'll explain later," and he shifted back into human form to lounge on his small couch. 

"You seem to be quite the lazy person, yet, your home is spotless!" I commented.

"I get that a lot."

"Seriously, Chessie. Tell me what I need to figure out," I whined. 

"Righto, perhaps it is a good idea to tell you now before you freak out," He sighed, getting up. "How old are you again?" 

"16."

"Hm, I'm 17."

My eyes widened, "There's no way. You've been around for so long!" 

"You forgot that everyone has a family, Allegra. Your grandmother met my grandfather, and your mother met my father. Very simple."

"Simple doesn't quite- you know what, never mind. Just tell me what you need to tell me," I sighed.

"You Liddels have power, sort of like mine," He said matter-of-factly.