☂ oo1 - A rather mad tea party.

[semantating]

[ He wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up back in this place after dreaming about it, but... well, he'd figure that out later. There was quite obviously a lot going on here he had yet to grasp. (Wherever 'here' was; he'd have to study up on this place a bit more in the meantime.) There is a pause as he looks about the Plane, a tap from his cane to

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[alien_catcher]

[Gwen's just back from a long overdue visit home, considering how long she had been stuck on the Plane before. And my, my, do the new arrivals continuously amuse her.

She approaches him, examining both he and the talking doll and giggling.]

Can't say the Twins are the best hosts, but you can probably find decent tea if you know where to look.

[semantating]

[ He sips his tea annnd takes a cake from a plate nearby. The fork? It stays in his mouth. He talks perfectly clear around it, even. ]

Only decent? What a shame! I had expected more; perhaps my expectations were too high for a place such as this.

[ ... Wherever 'this' was. ]

[alien_catcher]

[Gwen tilts her head and smiles.]

The Plane has a way of meetin' expectations, and they aren't always good ones. Believe me, if you'd come a few weeks earlier, you wouldn't be as amused.

[semantating]

Oh? And what is it you presume would surprise me so, Miss?

[ For he is quite curious, you see. ]

[alien_catcher]

Ghosts? Disembodied hands? All kinds of monsters, not to mention the big bloody black hole in the sky.

[semantating]

[ ... There is a pause, and then. He laughs, like you've just said the most HILARIOUS THING EVER, Gwen. Like the troll he is, he flops a sleeve at you. ]

... My, you ARE amusing! Why would I ever be frightened of such a thing as a ghost or a monster, or holes that are in the sky? They are hardly things one should be afraid of!

[ Not that he knows what, exactly, a black hole is, but he assumes she means a big hole that is black in the sky, like the tears in reality the Abyss can cause. Regardless, he is amused. ]

[alien_catcher]

[Gwen giggles, nodding in agreement.]

Fine, you got me there. It's just that a lot of people get a bit put off by all that, unless it's sort of the usual in whatever world they come from.

[She pauses a moment.]

Which, to be fair, is quite a lot of the people here. But it even took me a little time to get used to!

[semantating]

Even you? You must be quite accustomed to monsters and the like then! What a truly exciting life you must lead... [ And he leans closer to Gwen, smiling. ]

If I were you, I would be far more concerned about myself. Should you let that excitement carry you too far in... you may find yourself quite unable to escape it.

[alien_catcher]

[Gwen's smile fades, and she leans away from him, scowling.]

Think I already know plenty about that. Once you know certain things about the world, there's no goin' back. But I've been okay so far.

[semantating]

All in control, are you? And if it all spirals out of your reach? Rather like a rope, I would say...

[ He trains his gaze back to Gwen, quite pleased with his confirmation. Too easy, too easy. ]

Ropes tend to coil up and weigh quite a bit~! Carrying all that rope around your shoulders is a heavy price to pay, don't you think? Quite heavy indeed. If you're not careful, that rope...

[ A pause as the fork is used to stab a piece of cake, and it is unceremoniously put into his mouth, before he looks back to her, the fork still there. ]

Shall strangle you.

[alien_catcher]

[Gwen's scowl is growing bigger, and she gives him a glare just to add to it. He's clearly hit a nerve.]

Oi, you don't know anythin' about me. Much less about what I've been through. You're just spoutin' rubbish.

[semantating]

[ ... Break just gives her grin. Something about this is really getting to her, and he can tell. Oh, he's going to dig those secrets up no matter what it takes. ]

Oh? If I truly am spouting rubbish, then why is it you seem to be so very angry over nonsense? Could it be my 'nonsense' makes a great deal more sense than it should? Or perhaps... I've simply pulled that rope a bit tighter?

[ And he is closer still, creeping like the creeper he is, practically at a whisper now. ] Or could it be the noose has already tightened without my need and I have simply found the taught rope already there? You seem to be straying ever so close to the edge of the gallows... and to see you hang yourself would truly be QUITE a waste, you know.

[alien_catcher]

[She takes a few big steps back, trying to put some distance between herself and him.]

If you're tryin' to help me, you've a bloody creepy way goin' about it, yeah? You aren't tellin' me anything I don't already know. I've watched my friends die, so it's not exactly a surprise to me that my life's a bit dangerous.

[semantating]

[ And he remains where he is, smiling. Always smiling. That red eye remains trained directly on Gwen, as if looking... past her, instead of AT her. ]

Tell me, Miss...

[ Tap, thunk. That is his cane gently hitting the 'floor' as he leans on it ever so slightly, tilting his head a bit. ]

... Where are you? The edge? You seem to have this idea that just because you have been through something quite precarious--many things, even!--that it cannot get all that much 'worse' than it already seems to have been.

But there is an abyss under the gallows if the rope should fail to hang you, you realize.

[alien_catcher]

[His eye unsettles Gwen, but it's hypnotizing to her, as hypnotizing as his words. She knows she should walk away but she can't.]

Where are you from? Did someone put you up this? I'm not on any bloody edge. You don't know anything about me.

[semantating]

[ Crinkle, crinkle... he opens a piece of candy, procured from the small pouch attached to his jacket, popping it into his mouth, and smiling away. Despite this, his words are perfectly easy to comprehend. ]

Why, I do believe YOU are the one who knows nothing. In fact, I would venture to say you believe yourself to know quite a bit, yet at the same time, you seem to truly know nothing at all! And believing oneself to know something is quite different than actually knowing that something, is it not?