FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Alice Between the Untamed

Chapter 3: Faux Pas

It was the lick of water underneath her that eventually woke Alice. The splash of cold swerved underneath her as she found herself lying face down, lips kissing the grains of white sand. Immediately she jumped up, smacking her lips while trying to get rid of the unappetizing taste of salt and sediment from her mouth. Her first attempt at standing, however, resulted in her body swaying off-balance. Her legs felt like planks of wood and her head and ribs still moaned in accusation of whatever trauma they had received following her plummet from The Wonder. Like a toddler taking its first steps, she went down on her hands and knees, hung her head, and took a moment to breathe, cough, and consider the state she was currently in. Still spitting and gagging at the unpalatable sensation of sand latched to her gums, Alice closed her eyes and felt the rush of blood go to her head as she stayed in that positions for a long time, allowing the tide to continue slapping her body as it pulsed rhythmically.

"Was that a dream?" She asked out loud, her eyes still closed and body still wavering. Had she been in a healthier state of mind, she might have remembered Tarrant's words regarding the parallel between imagination and reality. But the pre-occupation of her disorientated thoughts served only to entrap her like a statue of mental and physical stupefaction. Everything around her burned, from the tip of her head to her toes; she chalked that up as a side effect to the afternoon sun glazing the beach with its heat waves. By this time, Alice would have enough impossible things to think about before breakfast for many years to come.

Once more she attempted to stand - a motion that should've been second nature to anyone. But her legs still felt off-kilter, her waist feeling like it held extra weight to it. Alice groaned as she went back down to her knees, and this time stepped forward with one foot, like a runner's stance. After that step, she did her best to hoist her hips up, keeping note of the dizziness in her head and the pain in her side. Finally, after about two minutes of staying still, she was able to find enough balance. She straightened her spine, stretching her back and heard different sockets pop as she felt the soreness wash over her like rain.

Looking behind her, Alice saw the ocean. Whether it was the ocean she had been sailing on aboard The Wonder or an ocean of Underland, she could not tell. But she got her answer right away when she turned to inspect what laid beyond the coastline toward midland. Vibrant colors ranging from deep purples to neon oranges decorated the scenery in the shape of the oddest flora Alice had ever seen. As dense as the forest before her was, Alice could pick out individual plants with ease due to the plethora of variations in each and every root and vine. Yellow umbrella-like shrubs with green polka dots, silver flowers with stems the color of ink, and even a tree that Alice could only swear must've been carved to look that way - but on deeper inspection, she concluded that it was indeed shaped like a harp, and had no outside influence into its shape. Even the vines that hung down from it coiled like strings as if they were calling for a giant man to come and strum their shoots. The answer to her earlier question stood before her. She was in Underland.

"Welcome back curiouser and curiouser, my old friends," Alice whispered to herself, her lips spreading into a homecoming grin. Despite her flustered state, despite her aggravating inability to even compose herself in a balanced posture, a familiar warmth spread throughout her body like a hot bath in midwinter. Cautiously she took a step forward, her legs still feeling uneasy, and she began her trek toward the foliage. Though she had not a mind of what she was to do, the sheer feeling of movement made her limbs twinge with ecstasy and freedom.

As she walked, she felt something light hit her thigh, and that's when she remembered. "The paper!" She exclaimed aloud. But just as she was about to look down and reach into her pockets, a bark-like shout from the forest made her freeze.

"Oy! Who might you be?!" The voice interrupted Alice's composure. She didn't know why, but the unexpected sound made her muscles tight and her back arch. "Are you a friend or foe? Or perhaps you're a friend-foe, which I suppose would be better than a foe-friend. Or a faux friend. Take your pick!" The voice continued from the shadows of the forest. Alice did her best to crane her neck to see if she could spot the source of the words, but any possible shape was hidden within the forest's criss-crossing trunks and stems and leaves. ­

A flash of pink caught Alice's eye, and it was at that moment she had an idea what she was staring at. Her eyes were focused on a large shape hiding behind one of the bushes colored teal and gold, and she spotted the unmistakable shape of a top hat with pink fabric wrapped around its top and array of different feathers and pins protruding from its side like twigs on a tree. But as she gradually inched closer, getting a better view of who was watching her, she noted the frame of the individual currently wearing it and felt her heart skip. This wasn't Tarrant. This was someone who was either impersonating him or had stolen his belongings - of which both situations held troublesome circumstances behind them. Maybe it was Chess? But why would he not greet her immediately? Why the mystery?

She tried her best to stay calm, keeping her eyes on the figure who was mostly likely returning the favor. The muscles in her legs tensed up, and she felt her toes curling and upper body lowering.

In a second she began to sprint toward the bush that sheltered her watcher, and as soon as she moved, the shape she was focusing on ran ahead, bounding across the forest floor like a deer chased by a wolf. Alice tried her best to stay focused on her pursuit, never letting her eyes leave the image that she had now fully recognized as not her hatter, and by the way it acted, was definitely not Chess. This thing was... different.

Her feet scraped against the soil as she ran; every now and then she had to turn sharply as the figure zigzagged in front of her in an attempt to evade her chase. But she couldn't - wouldn't - stop running, and for the first time in her life she never felt so familiar with the wind. Running was a breeze. She ducked and jumped and climbed and slid under and over a variety of mossy stones, unearthed tree trunks, and other such decaying foliage, and it amazed her the amount of speed and energy she had as she continued her pursuit. Her breathing was steady. Her heartbeat was steady. And she couldn't believe it. Just moments ago, she was struggling to stand, yet here she was surfing through the woods like a hunting dog on a scent. And as she got closer and closer to the figure, the metaphor suddenly became whole; when she was close enough, she leaped in the air and stretched out her arms, grabbing at the figure and pulling it down with her. As soon as her hands clasped the body she was chasing, they both fell and tumbled against the ground like marbles tossed on cement.

Alice heard a groan next to her, but she didn't take any chances to let the figure run off yet again. Immediately she stood up, neglecting her body as it ached from the fall, and stood over whom she had fought so hard to capture. She braced herself to come face to face with a monster - anyone willing to steal one of the hatter's most prized possession had to be.

But when she looked down, a pair of soft eyes stared back, and for a second she could've sworn she felt the muscles in her heart twitch. This was no beast - or rather, it was not a monstrous beast, at least. Alice's assumptions were cast off like sails when the face and body of a red fox replaced her original vision.

"I take it this means foe?" He asked, his voice teasing but also etched with worry. Alice watched him stand up on his two back paws, his bushy tail sweeping underneath him. She was surprised to see that he stood taller than her, unlike the other animals of Underland she had met, who were scaled similar to their overland counterparts. She took a step back to analyze his sleek body, and was ready to breathe out a sigh of relief when she realized she still hadn't established whether this being was hostile or hospitable.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice tentative. The fox scrunched his nose and glared at her.

"'Should be asking you the same question, dear." His retort was followed by the sound of his nose boisterously taking in her scent, his ears curling back defensively. "You smell... much different than what I've become accustomed to." Alice didn't know what he meant by those words, but her soft demeanor she had initially worn at the sight of the fox was beginning to harden as she took a step back away from the animal inspecting her aroma.

"One could say that I'm a bit far away from home," Alice said, trying her best to keep the fox occupied with her banter. Every time his feet took another step, so did she take one behind. "I'll ask again. Who are you? And why do you have that hat?"

The fox paused, his eyes shifting upward along with one of his paws, which reached up and grabbed the top hat and brought it down in front of his muzzle. "Don't disrespect the hat!" He sounded like a child being teased on the playground. "This is my favorite one!"

"I don't care if it's your favorite. Where did you get it?" Alice insisted, beginning to grow tired of the conversation.

"Why, I made it, of course!" He assured her and delicately placed it back on his head, which caused his ears to flatten and stick out at either sides of his face.

"You lie!" She shouted. "That hat belongs to Tarrant Hightopp, my dearest friend in the world. And I can assure you he must not be pleased to be parted with it!" She was enraged by the animal's lack of self-awareness. She wanted to run up and swipe the hat out from his dirty claws. And she expected him to fight back against her continuing accusations. But he didn't. She watched the fox's ears and tail droop like a flag without wind. His eyes twitched and his mouth opened as he stared dumbfounded at her. She wasn't sure what she had said, but something about either her words or tone had acted as a paralyzing bullet and had shot the fox in between the eyes.

It was at that moment that Alice noticed the fur at the back of the fox's head. It was coiled and messy and protruded from either side of his face like wings. And his eyes... They were the most rambunctious eyes she'd ever seen. He looked rabid. Like he had been living off of twigs and dirt under the shelter of rain and wind. Disheveled and mangled, this fox looked like a refugee in a world of crisis. But most importantly, he looked mad.

"But that's impossib-" Alice caught herself saying what had become almost a curse in her social circles. But it couldn't be, she told herself. It just couldn't. "Hatter?" She took a step forward. "Is it really you, hatter?"

The fox looked as if he was growing limp, and his lips immediately curved into a toothy smile. There she saw it - a gap residing in his front teeth. "Alice?" His whisper caught her ears, and not a moment later did she find herself running at her red-furred friend, arms open, and embracing him. "Oh, my Alice!" He cried as she dug her face into his shoulder, and he wrapped himself around her like she was doing to him. "I'm so sorry, Alice. I'm me but I'm not. I'm not me anymore, I'm-"

"Hatter," Alice returned to face him, her hands sliding down into his. "Hatter, please, is it you? Is it really, truly, you?"

"Yes, yes, it's me! But I'm also not me, as you can see," he let go of her hands and showed her the front of his now-paws, as if they were the definite impression that proved his altered state. "Alice... I never would've dreamed you would come back. And even though you're not the right _proper_Alice, I know it's you, I just know it."

Alice frowned. "What do you mean? Am I not proper?"

"No! No! That's not - what I meant was you are not you just as I am not me!" Tarrant's smile returned, thinking he had solved the confusion. But as he was about to say something else, Alice looked down at her hands, and felt an overwhelming sensation collide with her head. It was like she was again sinking underneath the waves battering against The Wonder, only the fear of drowning was replaced by the apprehension she felt looking at the speckled paw that moved when her hands did - along with the claws retracting from them, itching like snake tongues slithering out of the mouths of serpents.