[closed] I've Got Sunshine in a Bag [Kari]

[Vyn]

(This would probably be young adult Kaden, presently free of mutations. ^^)

Kaden plucked at his vest, frustrated with the usefulness of it.

It was bad enough that he had to leave Quicksand at home but he'd also had to cover himself up. Bah! He was a sneaky teen, mischievous... but otherwise he liked to be seen and heard and... he liked to be himself. Then again, he also wanted to go with Hatter to the Court of Hearts badly enough that a little costume wasn't going to kill him.

Especially not when he considered that Dad, however little that actually spent time together, had to go out in disguise every day, 24/7. Even if he was just 'himself'. It had to bite majorly.

Whatever, it'd be nice to see Miss Peaches at her own home.

The little muttbird looked up, watching The Hatter chat his way past the guards. "We're going to go see Peaches first," he chimed cheerfully, "and then maybe she'll show us around, or we can find someone to give you a grand tour."

"Kay! It's just awesome getting to see this place first hand." The muttbird hopped a little, catching up with the long-legged stride of the human man.

It only took a bit of wandering through some boring halls before Hatter finally stopped at one of the many doors and knocked cheerfully.

[Kari Muffin]

Peaches had been crying in her room, alone. This had lasted for a good two hours, and no one had bothered to try and knock on her door yet. They probably suspected that she was hiding in some god forsaken corner, it was actually very odd that she would be in her room.

But she was miserable and humiliated.

She curled up a bit tighter as she sobbed. Everything came to a halt when there was a rapping on her door. She paused for a moment, debating if Xiven had really found her or.... it was entirely too early. She slowly stood and walked to the door. She hesitated for a moment before opening it.

A squeal escaped her when she saw Hatter, and promptly tackled him with all the force she could possibly muster. It was still clear that she had been crying as she buried her face into his shirt. "Hatter!" she said rather muffled.

[Vyn]

Hatter was typically pretty good at catching Flying Peaches. This time he didn't have the proper time to react. By the time he realized she'd launched herself at him, they had collided and he'd lost balance. In the end he wound up in a heap of tangled limbs and laughter, hugging his Peaches with one hand as he steadied himself with the other.

"Peaches!" He dipped his head to kiss the top of her head and hugged her tight. Was it just him, or had her face been terribly tear-stained? ...In fact, he was starting to think his shirt was even a little damp. Huuh... "Is everything alright, Peaches?"


Kaden nearly squawked when Peaches came flying out of the room. That... actually wasn't something he was used to seeing. Peaches was usually settled in before he arrived on the scene.

Was that a common greeting between the two of them?

The bird held in a snicker, edging a little closer as he watched them. He wouldn't interrupt the moment, not for the time being.

[Kari Muffin]

Peaches took a moment to respond. She shook her head in a clear indication of no. Pulling away she didn't look up at him. "I did something stupid, and that bastard who hurt my daughters.... I just... he made an ass out of me. I just wanted to teach him a less and it all fell apart." She sniffed. This really sucked. She didn't want to break down in front of Hatter. And... oh dear Kaden was here.

She briefly glanced in the boy's direction before burying her face in Hatter's shirt again. She mumbled something incoherent as she hugged him. This was utterly miserable and she couldn't fix it. She was weak, and pitiful. She would never make that man know humility no matter what she did.

There was a light tapping of healed shoes that made Peaches jump. She yanked at Hatter's sleeve pulling him in so she could whisper in his ear. "My daughter is coming and I don't want here to see me like this. I didn't think she would find me so soon."

[Vyn]

Hatter felt a flutter of concern with every breath of silence between her. Obviously not everything was alright if she had to think about the answer so hard and then the little headshake finally topped the cake of his concern. The joker shifted, sitting up fully and wrapping his arms around her.

Peaches was too wonderful to ever be this sad, and it seemed people kept getting her there over and over again.

Gently he stroked his hand through her hair, sighing deeply. "Oh love..."


Kaden twitched a little as the moment degraded into misery. Oh, uhm... Not what he'd expected... not at all. Peaches looked awfully upset and, oh man. And then there was a light tapping and Peaches jumped, suddenly much tenser than she'd been before.

What in the name of the suits was going on?

The muttbird tilted his head, making a hesitant noise of uncertainty before he was suddenly fixed in Hatter's two-toned stare. He recognized that scheming look, Kaden wore it a lot himself.

"I gotta be a distraction, don't I?"

"That'd be terribly helpful," Hatter beamed. "Just buy us an hour or so, kay?" As he was speaking, he stood and brought Peaches with him. It was easy enough to duck into the bedroom with her, closing the door with a foot before traveling the rest of the way to the bed. If he could rely on Kaden to do anything it was to be a distraction.


Outside, Kaden heaved a small sigh before fixing a wide smile on his beak and striding off in the direction of the approaching footsteps.

[Kari Muffin]

She was more than a little thankful when Hatter picked her up. A small mew escaped her as they went into her room. Hopefully Xiven wouldn't be too upset. Peaches just couldn't find the strength to face her.

And Hatter was here. She could feel the tears start up again. Meh. She really didn't want to cry. Wrapping her arms around him she gave a rather pitiful purr. Hopefully he would understand. He always did before. She needed a distraction of some sort.

--

Xiven came down the hallway shortly after the door was closed. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the brightly colored bird. Who the hell was that?

The woman frowned as she came closer. That wasn't anyone who worked here. Was someone trying to visit Mom? That made her worry a bit. Why now of all times?

"Excuse me," she said looking at the bird. What... kind of bird was he? "You aren't visiting Peaches are you?"

[Vyn]

Hatter held Peaches tight as they sunk down onto her bed. He kissed her cheeks lightly, wiped away some of the freshly building tears. By the time she uttered that little purr, Hatter had found her lips with his own.

Distractions were good, they were something he understood well.


O! Kaden nearly hesitated when he caught The Queen's eyes. She didn't look happy, what with that frown and all.

And, damn... with those shoes on she was nearly as tall as he was! That was damned impressive. He gave her a brief once over, filing away how impressively she outranked him to marvel at later.

"Peaches? Not at the moment... Actually, I believe its you I'm looking for." He beamed cheerfully, closing the remaining distance before offering her a polite little bow. It'd be a bit awkward remembering all these formalities, but he was upholding some belief that he was a red suit and not some vagabond Club. If nothing else he'd uphold it for his Mother's sake, if she ever did come here. "It's a pleasure to meet you firsthand, Your Majesty... I'm Kaden, Hatter's Son. Dad is always rambling about the Garden here, and Miss Peaches and how I should meet her Daughter, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to see it all first hand." The muttbird shrugged his wings and grinned invitingly.

This could go in so many different directions, but he'd just improvise as he went along.

[Kari Muffin]

She raised an eyebrow at the bird as he spoke. Looking for her eh? This sounded like one of her mother's brilliant plans to take her off the path. Of course if Hatter was here she might want to stay off the path. Heaven only knew what those two were up to behind closed doors. Actually, she didn't want to think about that at all.

So she'd just deal with this Kaden... person. Hatter's son? That was more than a little surprising. He seemed less of a type to have children than her mother. That said a lot.

"I can't say I'm not surprised, normally people give me some sort of warning when they come to visit." She shifted to cross her arms. Was that a sound she heard from her mother's room? And if it was was it... oh they so needed to walk away. "But since your father speaks of the Garden so often, perhaps we should relocate there? I think... your father and my mother might be having a bit more than a conversation behind closed doors."

[Vyn]

Kaden caught that look. It was the look mom usually gave him when she was keen to him and the best answer was usually to keep smiling and looking unaware. If he seemed genuinely ignorant of any wrong-doing he might be doing then people typically assumed he was.

Guilt always got you in trouble.

Kaden was halfway through beginning to utter an explanation when he caught the sound Xiven did. The bird's feathers ruffled and he grinned oddly. Well, it would seem they didn't need him to do the distracting.

"Well! You can see why it's you I'm looking for on such short notice, yeah?" Kaden laughed, shaking his head in despondence over the mental images he was being assaulted with. "The Garden sounds like a good place to relocate... Thanks, by the way, for takin' time out to show me. You must be busy." The Queen, that had to be a huge responsibility.

[Kari Muffin]

"Yeah, busy preventing my family from tearing each other apart," She muttered under her breath before she started to walk in the direction of one of the many gardens. Hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone else on the way there, she didn't want to explain things anymore.

"Yes," she said in her normal voice, "I'm fairly busy. But there's no point in overworking myself. After all I would much rather take things slowly and thoroughly than slapping my signature on the wrong document. So a few breaks are in order. I suppose this counts as one. Anyway. It's nice to meet you Kaden. I'd properly introduce myself, but you seem to already know exactly who I am."

She couldn't help but wonder what her mother had told Hatter and his son. The woman kept secrets, but who knew what she said of her personal life to others. It was slightly uncomfortable to think about. "So is there any particular reason why you've tagged along with your father? I know he's been here before...."