Night Stalking [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

((OOC: Okay so. This is primarily for Vyn since she wants the Hatter to meet Peaches. If you step in we may not pay attention to posting order. Just fair warning. I can get ahead of myself))

Peaches hummed as she walked down the streets in the dead of night. She liked being completely alone on the road, what was better than having no one around to see you stalk people? That and Peaches wanted a bit of fresh air. Something new to watch or contemplate.

And maybe a bit of random socializing with the other people who walked the streets in the dead of night would do her good. It couldn't hurt after all. At least she had her fan to prevent her from being raped by some random bum on the street. She was a respectable woman after all. She only had sex with people she wanted to, the others could cut their hands off for all she cared.

The woman brushed a bit of hair out of her face to take a brief look down the street. What was that faint shadow anyway? Peaches clutched her fan, making sure she could easily remove it from her belt. Being paranoid was sometimes a good thing.

[Vyn]

It was midnight in the City and Peaches was not alone in her decision to go for a midnight stroll.

For the majority of his walk, Hatter had been in a quiet and contemplative mood. He was still awaiting news from Loreta and was anxious to venture out into the regions once more. To keep from going stir crazy he had decided to take a walk in the City and, to his pleasure, that seemed to be the best decision.

A soft humming had reached his ears, somewhere out in the dark, and Hatter's attention perked immediately to it. A shadow was quick to follow that humming and upon seeing it, Hatter broke into a wide grin. The shadow was most definitely human and, from afar, it appeared to be a lady...or perhaps an exceptionally androgynous male. Either way the meeting would prove to be at least somewhat interesting.

So, in response to the humming that had originally piqued his interest, Hatter hummed a few clear notes before settling into a smug grin and a wave. Nothing more. He wanted to see how his fellow shadow in the night might respond first.

[Kari Muffin]

Peaches tilted her head curiously. Did he just...? She couldn't help but snort with surprise as she let go of her fan. Letting her guard down was dangerous, she had to admit, but she was too curious to pass up investigating such a strange individual.

Her usual smirk graced her face as she moved closer to the figure. It was obviously a rather interesting man dressed in confusingly patterned clothing. And he had a top hat and everything. Peaches closed the distance between them, standing less than three feet away from the man.

"Hello, what's someone as well dressed as you out here for a midnight stroll?" Peaches tilted her head with curiosity as she spoke. He didn't seem like a mass murder or anything like that. What would the man do if she poked him? Invading personal space was a sensitive issue. She did it anyway.

Completely closing the gap between them in a catlike way she poked him in the shoulder slowly and lightly. "It's nice to know I'm not hallucinating you or anything. I never could think up loud patterns like the ones you wear."

[Vyn]

Hatter watched as the felinistic woman strolled right up to him and poked him in the shoulder. The unusual Corvistownien blinked slightly before breaking out an even wider smile.

He liked this lady already.

Smoothly he reached out and instead of grabbing her finger as most might, Hatter hooked his fingers with Peaches's own before laughing warmly. Unusual didn't even begin to describe him, it never did.

"I could ask the same of you, miss." His grin widened cheerfully although his following comment was just as breaching of 'personal boundaries' as Peaches's poke had been. "My patterns might be bold but I'm not the one who appears to have escaped the Asylum." Hatter winked teasingly but his smile remained on his lips and in his eyes. "Or, perhaps, it was something else you escaped?"

She was a Torque, he could tell just by looking at that long purple hair and dark skin. So full of interesting secrets and interesting stories, those Torques were, and Hatter loved to hear them all.

[Kari Muffin]

"Flattery will get you absolutely everywhere. Though a name would get you places most men could only dream of," she gave the eccentric man a wink. She was going to play this up as much as she could. It was rare to meet someone so interesting on the street.

"I haven't escaped from one place in particular. It would be more of an escape if I didn't go back there so very often." She shrugged. It was interesting there after all. A lot more interesting than where see was born. She mentally rolled her eyes before returning to the thoughts at hand. "But anyway, my name is Peaches. It's a pleasure to meet someone as interesting as you on such a lovely night. Maybe we could continue our conversation somewhere else? Since... I'm getting a rather horrible breeze up my skirt."

She raised an eyebrow as she brushed her skirt down. Thankfully her fan and belt did a good job holding the back down. She didn't want to give anyone pantie shots.

[Vyn]

Hatter's cheery grin quirked a little, though not in any sort of unpleasant way. No, instead his expression could be taken as nothing but flirtatious. Somewhere between 'places most men could only dream of' and 'up my skirt' his head must've stumbled into the gutter. Ah, perhaps not so soon? His smile returned to its previous state; as odd as always but at least more...well-behaved.

"My now, most women would tell me I'm getting too ahead of myself." He chuckled again, beaming at her. "But of course, a name for the lovely lady: I am The Mad Hatter, though Hatter is what most call me."

At last he released her hand and instead he looped his arm around hers. Something about this unusual woman just made it so easy to forget boundaries. Within seconds of meeting Peaches all of Her attempts to teach him the importance of 'personal boundaries' had flown clear from the window.

Yet, despite that small failing there was one thing that Peaches had definitely surpassed most of his usual company in: she had kept him still. Usually he couldn't help but shift and move, whether he be talking with his hands or something shifting his weight about... Instead he stood still with his fingers tangled with hers, simply enraptured by the unusual female's intrigue.

There was just something about her.

"That's a very interesting jacket you've got." He stated quite bluntly before motioning down the night-darkened street. "Shall we walk and talk, my new friend?"

[Kari Muffin]

Peaches was always unphased by lack of personal space. She never really understood the point of it anyway. This was quite a strange man she had picked up. And he was the oh-so-fabled Mad Hatter then? The one that she heard rumors about and all that?

That was absolutely fantastic!

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hatter," Peaches edged a bit closer (if that was even possible) to him, a smirk as wide as a Cheshire's on her face. "Walking and talking sounds like a marvelous idea! But where will we be walking to, herm? I doubt there's a single place open this time of night, and silly me forgot to get an inn reservation. But... I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself."

Like she ever planned a head. It was entirely overrated. She would rather spend the whole night wide a wake and take a nap in an inn during the day. Take that normal sleeping habits.

"My jacket is simply a jacket. Well. You know. It's a binding and all that jazz but I think of it more as a rather comfy thing that I like to wear on a regular basis." She refrained from shrugging. "You have a very interesting chose in clothing period. I'm jealous of your Hat, but I'd probably look quite silly in one."

[Vyn]

Were Hatter anyone but who he was, his grin might've been considered foolish. Like the sort of grin a boy got when he formed a crush on an older woman, only Hatter's infatuation was of a different breed. She was interesting in so many and intrigued him like few others could and she knew his name.

Praise truly went a long way.

"And it's a great pleasure to meet you, Peaches. It's been a long time since I've encountered such engaging company." And that was saying a lot, considering the sorts he kept company with. Loreta, even, was quite exciting but even she paled in comparison to the eccentric Peaches. "Well, I lack an inn reservation myself...but y'know, I've got a charming little apartment that might satisfy such a need I would think."

Planning was most definitely overrated but her question now had him craving a warm cup of tea. Somewhere in this spontaneous night, he would have to acquire himself a cup. "Would you perhaps like tea?" He chimed out before leading her down the road toward his apartment. The thought of tea now had a firm hold on his thoughts.

Well, it tried to. It would seem even his beloved Tea could not compare to the charming fun of the Torque that was keeping him company tonight.

"Binding as it should be, it seems more a cozy thing that you enjoy to wear... and I must say I disagree. I think you'd look quite cute in one of my Hats."

With that said he abruptly released her arm and spun suddenly to face her. This might cause her to bump into him, lord knew most would, but even then he didn't dissuade from his sudden thought. Instead he plucked his hat from his head and instead tucked it atop her own. Hatter had to admit, nothing brought a smile to his face like a lovely lady in a top hat. Especially one of his Hats.

"Now I shall have to take you home! I've got dozens of Hats, I insist you find one that suits your appeal!"

[Kari Muffin]

"Tea is always a lovely thing to have," Peaches half purred. She had no problem with drinking a cup or two in the company of a stranger. Then again she had never refused a cup of tea in her life. What was better than a steaming cup of Valentine's tea? She honestly didn't know.

Thanks to Peaches reflexes she stopped herself before walking into the Hatter. She may have fallen flat on her face, but she was damn good at stopping herself from running into people are stationary objects. She didn't expect him to put the hat on her head. She looked up at the brim, and reached up to touch it on both sides. Did she really look cute? She always thought looking cute was fun.

"Well..." The woman put a gloved finger to her mouth for a moment before continuing her sentence. "I can't refuse such an invitation can I now? You'll just have to take me home and I'll have to try on each and every one of your hats on over tea then!" She grinned, and leaned forward a bit before, quite randomly, licking Hatter's cheek.

She like the man quite a bit. Enough that she could lick him. Well. That was her logic at least.

[Vyn]

Hatter agreed wholeheartedly. Tea was always a lovely thing. In fact, he was quite sure there was a possibility that he could not live without it...but he'd never really thought to deprive himself of it either. He watched her toy with the brim of he hat as she stood before him, admiring her bemusement. What a strange sight an onlooker would get, to find two strangers in the night that had fit together so well it was all but unearthly.

The moonlight struck her glove as she brought a finger to her lips, causing it to shine just right and to, inadvertently, capture the bird's attention. Oh? Come to think of it, he had felt them when he'd first grabbed her hand but he'd been so consumed with the overwhelming fascination he felt for her that he'd simply forgotten to acknowledge them.

And then, of course, she licked him.

Instantly his attention teetered off into a grin and he let out a roll of laughter. For a Torquehelmer, Peaches was far more free than any he had met before. Even that delightful one-legged heron.

"Do you often make a habit of licking people you've just met?" The Hatter grinned warmly, tempted to return the friendly lick. "But, I'll take that to suppose I or my suggestion met with your approval." He laughed once more and slid his arm about hers once more, drawing her close though not intimately so. "What is your favorite tea then? I'm sure to have it."

So many questions that he had for her! If only his mind wouldn't stop stumbling over itself. His mind just couldn't focus on one piece of her at a time, there was so much to take in and something new to poke at with each delightful little shift.