Strangely Normal [Vyn]

[Lucca]

Eldy smirked slightly, feeling more awake now that she had such... interesting company. "Then I'll tell you," she said lightly, tail flicking as she kept her even pace behind him. "...over tea once we get to your place." She was, truth be told, a little worried about her storytelling ability. After all, before her travels, she'd never had too much socialization...so how did she know she wasn't one of those people who could make even an exciting story sound like a passage from one of those dry books of Court history she'd read a bit of growing up? Holding him in suspense was a rather risky gambit, on her part, but since his place wasn't far he'd be willing to wait for the story. She hoped.

At the change in his demeanor, the hair along the back of her neck stood up a bit. And at his words, her eyes widened, her expression frozen in something between disbelief and amusement. She said nothing for a moment, studying him. "Rabbits?" she finally murmured, as if speaking in a louder voice would bring the phantom legends hopping into their path. "You're...serious." It wasn't a question, and her ear tilted back in thought.

She'd never believed in Rabbits, thought they were a silly myth, and had never really met or conversed with anyone who seriously believed in them...until now, apparently. Hatter's expression was...unnerving,to say the least, but he didn't seem to be completely insane...but part of her refused to believe it. If Rabbits were real, someone would know by now...her mother, certainly! She knew just about everything there was to know about secrets, and if Rabbits were real it was the biggest secret, the biggest joke of all.

And whether this man with his large, unnatural grin was telling the truth or not, the joke was on her either way. That wasn't such a pleasant thought. "What do you know of Rabbits?" she asked, though it came out more meek and defensive than the challenging way she'd intended it.

[Vyn]

"Ah, a wonderful idea - everything is better over tea." Hatter was amused by the way her expression changed. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope of emotional range. Essentially, though, Hatter decided she wasn't too enthused by the question. Maybe a little defensive? Not a believer then, was she? Hatter wasn't sure if he wanted to fully divulge all of his little secrets...

"A little of this and that from here and there... It's surprising what you can find when you look in the odd corners of the world." The Hatter's voice was sing-song and playful, though some may have also argued it was a tad bit 'off'. The grin while he danced around the subject didn't help a thing. "...Perhaps I'll share a little more over tea, hmm?"

Now he abruptly turned on his heel and to face the walkway of a rather large, well-tended house in the midst of the Corvistowne slum. It was one of the few buildings in decent repair and definitely among the biggest (though the vast majority of the building was downstairs, not up). Producing a silver key from his pocket, Hatter unlocked the door and pushed it open for Eldy. "Doorie," he called ahead, "we've got a guest!" In all actuality, his call was less a greeting to Doorie and more a warning for Marchie and, by the hurried sound of a door shutting deeper inside the house, Hatter found that his worry was for good reason. At least the silly Rabbit hadn't gone wandering again...

Moments later, as Hatter and Eldy were stepping inside, Hatter was greeted by a ball of fluff and silver that scampered down the short hall and instantly attacked Hatter with an affectionate chatter of mechanical chirps and whirring.

[Lucca]

Despite her complete disbelief about the existence of Rabbits, there was one thing Eldryia never failed to be curious about, and that was secrets of all types. So when Hatter put it -that- way, as if it were some secret that he'd picked up, something he'd discovered that others didn't know, the Feline was intrigued in spite of herself. Her ear perked fully forward, and though she still looked skeptical and wary, there was a definite light of curiosity in those purple eyes.

"Stories over tea always do go down well, especially odd ones," she said, half to herself, echoing Hatter's earlier words. And suddenly...they were at the house. And what a house!...it was nothing like most of those around it, all dilapidated and darkened, and Eldy nodded slightly in appreciation, rather impressed. The Hatter certainly did well for himself, despite his...oddities.

She entered the house, ear flicking as she thought she heard a distant sound, like the slam of a door...did he live alone? He hadn't said...though he called out to someone called "Doorie"...An odd shiver went up her spine, but then the thought was forgotten in favor of the strange little creature that rushed the man as soon as they were in the door. -This-, then, was Doorie.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, getting a good look at the metal that protruded from under the slightly ratty fur. "Did you make him, then?" Every curious, Eldy put her nose down next to the mechanical Mome to peer at him.

[Vyn]

Hatter enjoyed the skepticism and the curiosity that persisted despite that. It made him wonder how much he was willing to share. Of course, as soon as the little wonder that was Doorie broke onto the scene all thoughts of rabbits were quick to cease. Doorie was just that sort of show stopper (and Hatter loved it).

Doorie, after gleefully bumping against Hatter in greeting, immediately turned its attention to Eldy. It's eyes lit up and it let loose a mechanical symphony of chirps and whirring sounds in greeting. "Oh yes, he was my very first. He's a little rough around the mechanical edges, but the basics are the same." He reached down and gave the mome a cheerful pat. "If you'd like, I'll start the tea while you get acquainted to Doorie here. Anything in particular you'd like?"

As Eldy sank down to Doorie's level the little mome hopped closer and curiously touched its nose to Eldy's own.

[Lucca]

Eldy's ear perked forward towards the little Mome at all the sounds it was making. Wow, that was quite something! She'd always sort of wanted a pet. Not an Ace, like Fluffy; that would just be too much work. But a little Tove or Mome? Now that would be cool! And it could easily travel with her, and possibly even have an ability, like Heilyn's did! She'd never considered herself one of those sentimental Cards that tended to go all silly the moment something looked 'cute'...but Doorie was pretty cute, and unique, too!

So Eldy thought it was forgivable that a very silly cooing sound somehow made its way out of her mouth, and a paw came up to brush over the little Mome in a petting motion. She blinked up at Hatter, almost having forgotten he was there for a second. "So there's more like him, then?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her again. "Oh, and, uh, that sounds fine! I'm afraid I don't know my teas very well! There's this one Mom really likes...used to have the kitchen staff always bring it up with dessert..." She looked hopefully up at Hatter; surely, since he knew Peaches so well, he'd know what she liked? If her Mom liked it, Eldy thought she probably would too...she'd never considered herself a picky eater at all.

[Vyn]

Doorie had a wonderful talent for immediately becoming the limelight of every situation, Hatter positively loved it. The little mechanical wonder turned heads everywhere and soon, he'd be his own person too. Hatter just needed to fine tune his skills a bit more...

"Of course! Alas, I don't have any of them on hand to show off - I make them as gifts, usually, so they're off with their owners." This was a small number so far, but he was justifiably busy with Doorie's upgrades most of the time. The mention of Peaches brought a wide grin to the Joker's face and he nodded cheerfully. Tea and Peaches were among his favorite things in the world, of course he knew her blends. "Ah, yes! I'll bet you're talking about Valentines - chocolate and strawberry - we share a strong love for it." He motioned to the surrounding rooms cheerfully. "Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll go tend to the tea."

With that Hatter disappeared into the other room, living her with the chittering Mome.

[Lucca]

Eldy couldn't hide a momentary pout of disappointment that she couldn't -see- these other living mechanical wonders, but it was quickly buried under more curiosity. He had a wonderful talent...and he used it to make gifts? There was something...novel in that, almost, and the Feline had to admit it was a rather good way to be. Surrounded by power-hungry nobles most of her life, she didn't see a lot of that attitude. "Well, that's very nice of you, then," she said thoughtfully, running a claw lightly down Doorie's pelt and watching the way the slightly ratty fur parted with the motion.

Her ear perked up as he said that name. "Yes, that was it! It's very good." Chocolate was always something she could get behind, and fruit was good...in moderation of course. She nodded, turning back to Doorie for the moment. "Wanna give me a tour?" she joked, and started to move toward another room, looking to see if the curious creature would follow.

Never let it be said that Eldryia would ever pass on a chance to explore.

[Vyn]

Hatter's perpetual smile widened noticeably at her compliment. "Why thank you!" With a bounce in his step he vanished around the corner. Maybe he'd put something together for her? She was a sweet girl and the daughter of Peaches. That stood for a lot.


Eldy would find that the house was just as large and grand as it appeared to be from the outside. The mansion had obviously been decorated by someone other than Hatter and sported a very 'well-loved and homey' sort of feel... aside from the unusual black boxes nestled on the ceiling corner of each room. Cameras, though a primitive little one. As the feline wandered she would glimpse a staircase at the end of the entry, a dinette on the left (which seemed to lead to the kitchen, judging on the direction Hatter departed in) and, on the right, Eldy would find a sitting room.

It was elegantly furnished and comfortably warm, even sporting a great hearth and many bookshelves. These shelves were lined to the brim with books, mostly myths and mechanics - an odd study - but there were a few random works of fiction and non-fiction scattered here and there on the shelf as well. They seemed to be in some sort of order, but what exactly it was would be hard to tell. Immediately connected to this room was a small study with little more than a desk (cluttered with the makings of Hatter's latest project: schematics, an open book with notes stuffed in almost every other page, and an array of tools and parts) with a bland view of the decaying city outside. Three doors in this room, leading back to the main hall, down a new hall, and a locked door without a visible handle just a small knob with numbers on it. Anyone without hands would have trouble accurately turning the unusual key.

The final hall branched off into an array of bedrooms and a master bathroom (which would also appear to connect back to the center of the house). The bedrooms, on first glance, would seem utterly uninteresting - the basic guest bedroom set up with portraits of landscapes along the walls. One bedroom was lived in and loudly stated across the front that it was KADENS ROOM and it even had a useful handle installed for someone without hands but it was currently locked.

For more, Eldy would have to backtrack and venture up the stairs.


Throughout her little exploration, Doorie scampered along beside her or just ahead though if she were actually attempting to show Eldy around she'd be doing a fairly poor and easily distracted job of it. Ah well.


(Enjoy the House of Hatter!)

[Lucca]

After a brief glance after Hatter, Eldy moved to explore, not really feeling bad about it. He had, after all, invited her in and he had not told her not to explore! It was rather childish logic, but she was happy enough with it. Her ear was perked up and her whiskers perked forward in interest as she walked silently down the hall, glancing into any open room. She'd never been in a house this big before...there was the palace, of course, but that hardly counted.

She briefly pawed through the papers on Hatter's desk, careful not to let anything fall to the floor, but moved on quickly to something else. She wasn't able to really make heads or tails of the diagrams. She only skimmed over the bookshelf, as reading was never her main interest.

The locked door, though...now that caught her interest. She sneaked up to it, peering intently at the odd lock. It did look a bit tricky to work without hands, but as someone who was used to fumbling about with paws in a Palace that catered mostly to higher forms, Eldy thought it was worth a try. She reached for it, balancing on her back legs so she could stretch up, but paused. Perhaps it would be rude of her to attempt to get into a locked door?

...in the end, being a Feline through and through, the girl's curiosity won out and she carefully worked at the odd handle.

[Vyn]

Doorie peered up at Eldy as she tried to fidget with the lock, whirring in what could certainly be considered disapproving though she didn't actively move to force the cat to stop.

On closer inspection of the door, Eldy would see a small slot for a key but no other discerning features aside from the numbers lining the dial. As she toyed with it, the knob would only spin round and round without seeming to make any changes. If she pressed her ear to the door she might hear a very faint click as she spun past a specific number, but that was all. Anticlimactically, it would still do nothing even if she turned it the other way and tried to find the next number in the set.

Apparently it needed a key and a code.


In the kitchen, Hatter cheerfully went about the preparation of tea and, as a bit of a surprise, a small meal for his traveling guest. After all, she had seemed a little worn out and he was certain the intricate array of rooms would keep her nice and busy until he was done prepping.

He'd explored them all in his youth and knew, from experience, just how long it took to uncover everything.