Follow Me Down, Alice

Chapter 2: Some Questions and Some Answers

We leave the city gates and enter a plains kind of area. Dry grass and dirt paths all around, we stop to take a break and catch our breath. It's so dusty that I start coughing.

"What's going on Rabbit?" The boy teases. Really? Isn't she still mad?

"Made a mistake. Need Caterpillar's help." She turns to glare at him. "You could've gotten me killed!"

"Aw, come on. Mistakes happen in Wonderland." He shrugs. "I mean, we're all mad here. What's one little mistake got to do with your head?"

"Cheshire Cat, you can make as many mistakes as you want with your abilities. I work for the Queen. Any mistake could be my last." She growls.

"Uh, mind if I ask at least one question?" I interrupt them. "Excluding the one I just asked."

"Oh, don't take her so literally. When she's mad, she-" The boy is interrupted mid-sentence.

"Shut up Cat. Didn't I tell you to shut up?" She glares. "And only one question, Alice."

Alice? When did I tell her my name? Whatever. Another question to be answered later I suppose.

"Who are you? Like, what are your names?" I ask.

"You didn't introduce yourself, Rabbit? Shame on you." The boy grins.

The girl just sighs. "I am Toroko Rabbit. Call me Toroko though. This idiot calls me Rabbit because he has a death wish." She glares at the boy.

"Wow. You're really mad today." He teases. "But I am Cheshire Cat, milady. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He winks and kisses my hand. O-kay? Not really charming or to my taste. We just met.

"Anyway, are you ready to go?" Toroko asks. I nod and we follow her down one of the many paths. We walk for a long time. So long, that by nightfall, we haven't reached the place where Caterpillar is.

Cheshire yawns. "Rabbit, do we still have to keep walking?"

She doesn't reply, but she has been limping for a while. I can't ask questions and Cheshire hasn't noticed yet. When we stopped for breaks, only Cheshire and I ate. Thankfully, Cheshire brought food, even if I don't know what's in it. I don't really care right now.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Cheshire grabs her shoulder. She finally collapses from probably exhaustion. He carries her in his arms.

"I guess that answers my question. Silly Rabbit." He chuckles. "Alice, right? Let's keep going. You can ask all your questions now. I'll answer what I can for you."

"Uh, okay." I nod. We keep walking down the path as the plains turn into a forest. "Should I just ask them all at once or?"

"Use some sense, girl." He rolls his eyes. "My brain can only process so much."

"But you were the one who said you were all mad?" I remind him. He goes in thought.

"Well, yes. We're all mad down here in the sense we're not exactly Human. Our sense of reality and common sense is not the same as a Human's. Humans, like you miss, are... Predictable. Readable. Uniform in such a way we aren't capable of comprehending. We're all so diverse and unique and different that we can't be united under any force than authority and terror. It's actually kinda sad how much potential we have that we can't use versus you Humans and your limited yet skilled power." Cheshire explains. "It's hard to explain, but when we're in your side of the world, it's different from here. It's less magic and scary and uncertainty and more safe. Comfortable. Happy."

I can't help but chuckle wryly at that. Cheshire glances at me confused but asks nothing. Toroko is still sleeping in his arms.

"What is this place? This world? You said you weren't Human the same way I am. What exactly are you?" I ask ever curious.

"This place? This is Wonderland, one of the many continents of the planet Bluebells. Yes, this planet is called Bluebells. I don't know which lunatic named it. It's just weird, even for our standards." He continues to answer my questions. "We sort of exist in a whole 'nother dimension called Razora that's connected to your own. Like Narnia and the Wardrobe? How their worlds were bridged by Aslan? It's like that."

"You said Razorians. What are Razorians?" I ask.

"Razorians are the name of the residents in this plane. Think of it as the humanity to humans. Like Humans, there are many races within our realm, each with their own set of abilities. The rules of our realm are very different to the ones you have back home. Some might akin it to magic or being high off of drugs. I just call it shenanigans." He shrugs. "If you want to know what me and Rabbit are specifically, we're both half Therians. Therians are these 'half-animal, half-human' race. Our natural ability as Therians by default is called Animal Familiarity. It lets us, if we use this skill often enough, gain the ability to talk with animals and change into whatever animal form we have. We can also gain the additional senses and skills our animal halves have."

"What are natural abilities? All of this new information is overwhelming! Your world is so in-depth!" I sigh exhausted. He chuckles.

"Welcome to Razora." He smirks. The leaves rustle as a cold wind blows. I look around. It feels like we're being watched...

"We're here. Chances are, Caterpillar won't be happy being woken up in the middle of the night, and Rabbit has basically exhausted herself." Cheshire stops. "Feel free to sleep first. I'll wake you up for second watch."

"Second watch? Why do we need to keep watch?" I ask nervously looking around. "Are we in danger?"

"Wow. Rabbit did not tell you anything at all." He stares at me confounded. "I guess I'll stay up all night this time."

"I can keep watch! Just, tell me what to do." I exclaim quickly. He rolls his eyes and sets Toroko down gently under a nearby tree.

"Look. You don't seem like the fighting type and Toroko is passed out. It'd be easier for me if I stayed watch all night than let you take second watch." He sighs. He sits nearby under another tree. "Just, go to sleep. I'll manage to have enough energy in the morning."

I pout. He says I'm not the fighting type? How rude! I just told him I'd take second watch! Whatever that means. Besides, he isn't going to stay up all by himself. He'd be too tired and it's lonely staying up all night by yourself. That's it.

"Nope." I sit across from him. "I don't wanna. I wanna learn more about your world and who you all are."

He just sighs. "I'm not a library. And all these questions have tired me out." He yawns. "If you wanna know more, feel free to find Caterpillar. She'd probably answer your questions."

Cheshire stretches before looking around. Toroko continues sleeping next to us. Her breathing is peaceful and rhythmic, which is probably a good thing because it means she isn't dying. At least, not obviously or quickly. I know this isn't the movies, but this world has some weird rules. So, I'm going to assume most movie rules apply like half animal people are normal and humans like me are not. I guess that makes me special.

I want answers and Cheshire doesn't seem to want to answer them. It's nightfall and without a fire, I can barely see more than a few feet from me. Finding someone in this near darkness, while not impossible, is highly improbable. Unless Caterpillar glows. Then, that makes finding her infinitely easier.

Fine. I guess I'll look for her. I want answers and Cheshire is annoyingly resisting. I get up. He watches me stumble around smirking. He really is a cat. Wait, he said Therians are half animal right? Does that mean he literally is half cat? And Toroko is literally half rabbit? Or do they just have the abilities and features of cats and rabbits? Or is it because they're half Therian that they have some of the abilities but not all of them? I know he just explained all this, but it was not explained in such a way I could understand. I still have questions. Like, what if you're half Therian like they are and half some other Razorian race? Do they get multiple natural abilities, or do they have to chose which one they'll use more often like picking between specializing between baking and cooking? Or can they only have one and it's chosen at birth and they can only improve upon their chosen natural ability, whether they like it or not?

None of this world makes sense.