Honeymoon [Iris/Open]

[Iris|Kairi]

Faye whirled and stared at Luther with wide, fearful and slightly shocked eyes. He wanted to go TO the Queen? Th eone that lopped the heads of innocents off? The one who had millions of card slaves, whom she subjected to the same types of humiliations she imagined she herself had been subjected to while a slave...Well, maybe minus one particular humiliation, but still! Slaves were slaves and she treated them poorly and killed innocent beings and was mean and nasty and down right awful!

"WHY?!" she asked in alarm, her voice trembling, but loud with surprise. Her hands were clasped to the point of white knuckles, brought up under her chin. As intriguing as this world was, she was starting to really dislike it. Things made no sense and everything happened so fast and it was dangerous and actually pretty shadowy and dark in the forest areas which made up of MOST of their traveling areas.

"Why do...why do we want to go see her, Luther? She'll..." she swallowed hard, scampering closer to his side and peering up at him. "She'll lop off our heads.." she whispered, like the Queen was listening in somehow. Her bottom lip quivered slightly, and tears brimmed her bottom lids. Before Luther could even blink, her small, soft hands were resting on his free arm, as if physical contact would sooth her.

[High's .Valentine.]

”But why, honey bunches? Why?” She stared at him with large sparkling eyes on the verge of tears. Faye’s hair fluttered against invisible winds, and behind her bubbles and roses began to shimmer and sparkle. Her usual pale skin gained a fleshy, blushed tone, and her lips were smeared with the most delicious lip balm that dazzled, lush and full and smell faintly of succulent summer grapes. A slow violin music, dramatic and grave began to play in the suddenly too bright background of lemon yellow. “Why…?”

Luther stared at the girl, slightly baffled by his peculiar chain of thoughts and images. Just what went through his head there? [At this point, the author was shot at point blank.]

Glancing at her lips and finding no summer grape lip balm, Luther shook the rabbit out of frustration. The longer he stays in this world, the more his mind scatters and rearrange itself in vile, maddening images. [Either that, or someone was deliberately messing with his brain]. Luther, of course, blamed his misfortune on the world and its bizarre, mind boggling inhabitants and environment. For once, the elf was kept out of the situation.

At first unwilling to explain himself, Luther dropped the bunny on the ground, but not before stamping down on the loose chain of the furry rodent’s pocket watch. “Take me to your Queen. Do not mislead me, rat,” hissing, it was apparent that Luther was at the end of his wits, crouching down to the animal’s level in order to gain eye contact. It did not seem apparent to the Vampire that if he had been in the right state of mind, he probably would have never even spoken to a rabbit. Oh but Wonderland does miracles to even stubborn males like Luther. The rabbit sputtered and nodded, struggling against the chain. Grabbing the rabbit at the cuff again, he turned the animal so he could stare straight into its tearful twitchy eyes.

“Do you understand me?” he stated, making sure the rabbit was looking nowhere but at him.

“Y-y-y-yes sir!” The poor rabbit stuttered, finally calming down enough to save its own poor neck.

Dropping the rabbit, Luther stood back up and was forced to face another set of tearful eyes. Does his misery never end? Glaring at Faye, he stopped when he saw the tears welling up. Clearing his throat, the Black Mantis removed the Night Elf’s hand from his arm and avoided looking at her. Letting go of the chain holding down the rabbit, Luther was surprised by the animal’s sudden leap, almost taking it out of sight of the lost couple.

Mentally cursing the jumpy twit, Luther picked up the elf bridal style with surprising strength he had been lacking all day and bounded after the dashing rabbit. Making sure to keep the fluffy cotton tail of the rabbit within sight, Luther again glanced at the Night elf, who was no doubt even more teary eye now that they were actually going to meet the Queen.

“Foolish elf, what are you afraid of?” He muttered at the girl in a coarse voice. “You think I am too weak to fend a simple woman off?”

The Vampire gave a haughty little grunt that was supposed to either laugh at the girl's stupidity or reassure her that there was nothing she needed to cry about.

"Keep your empty head together. We have not even reached the Queen yet."

In the distance, the hark cry of the Queen of Hearts was merely an echo.

[Iris|Kairi]

"You aren't t-t-too weak...to f-fend off one woman...b-but an army...of weapon wielding cards?" she asked, sniffling and wiping at her cheeks that were now wet. She was very obviously afraid, not to the degree of their first meeting, but fearful just the same. Her small body trembled slightly in his grasp as she tried to stifle a sob. She couldn't help it. Fear was a thing Faye knew very well, and could not control in the least. She lost herself in it. The echo of the queen's big mouth yowling only made her.

Faye coughed on one of her own sobs and closed her eyes, hiding her face against him. In the darkness behind her own lids, she flashbacked to a place in stark contrast to this world and it's semi-light hearted nonsense. Back to where she hailed from, back to the sharp orders and loud commands from those around her, all the terrible things she went through from day to day, over and over again. What triggered this flare-up of memories from the not so distant past she didn't know, but it was highly unpleasant. There was a reason she was afraid of lightless-ness and people like the queen.

There was also a reason she SHOULD'VE been afraid of Luther, but her brain had seen it fit to look over that specific aspect.

Her little elf heart of light was nearly pounding out of her chest. For a moment, the little blue-haired elf thought she might pass out, which was slightly unusual. Maybe this was all just a nasty side-effect from her slight injury from the fall. Certainly, a concussion could throw off her reactions and make everything seem and feel worse than it was.

[High's .Valentine.]

Luther attempted to snarl at the girl’s silliness. Instead, something like a shaming chuckle erupted from his throat. A group of cards? Surely, the silly elf underestimates the strength of Luther Shiang?

“Cease your pathetic sniffling,” Luther commanded, jumping over a large knot of wood that seemed to rose right out of the ground just to trip him and expertly ducked another flying branch. The white rabbit continued to increase its dash. “Hmph…” Luther grunted, dodging a tree that wasn’t there seconds ago. Apparently, this forest can move around with ease, slowing him down while the white rabbit seemed to have gained some kind of ethereal speed. Or was it just because the entire forest was trying to restrain him from meeting the Queen? “You have not seen real power yet...” Growling, the man realized that he had been led into a trap as a tree branch whacked him across his side, where his wound was still stinging. Stumbling slightly, Luther held himself together, blinking away sweat and pain. Seconds later, he was back on the rabbit’s trail, who seemingly was just a moderate red and white dot in the distance.

Increasing his speed, he ignored the agony racking his side. Another branch grabbed at him. Turning his head to the side, the tree branch scrapped him across the cheeks, cutting a red welt against the black tattoo under his right eye. Suddenly, the Vampire held the trembling Faye close to his chest, wrapping his arms firmly across her small body. He barreled through a net of scathing branches, scattering twigs and splinters, avoiding any major scratching to the young elf. In front of him, the rabbit turned his head, and seemingly surprised that Luther was still chasing after him, turned back and worked his stubby little legs even harder.

Like an unstoppable locomotive, Luther charged after the rabbit, relentless of letting his target go out of sight. Most importantly, he wanted out, but a small part of him, partly motivated by Faye’s crying, wanted to show the little elf that he could handle more than one grumpy woman and a deck of paper weak cards. Of course, the Vampire wasn’t in the happiest mood at the moment, especially with the fact that his ‘traveling partner’ had no faith in him whatsoever when it comes to fighting a woman and some playing cards . His grimace deepened at the thought as he easily side stepped a swinging branch. The insult had stabbed him deep, and of course, Luther’s ego would not allow such offense. He would show Faye and her silly little sobbing, he would…

Creeeeak…

Luther looked around, never ceasing his run. The trees were groaning, something they had not done just seconds ago. However, Luther’s ego did not allow his steps to slow, and he continued to plow through the attacking branches and roots with little halter or hesitation. That might have been his downfall.

If Luther had slowed down…just a little bit, he might have noticed a skinny tree a little bit in front of him, its trunk just a bit wider than Luther’s own waist. Just as he was about to pass the three, the entire tree seemed to fall over. But instead of crashing into the ground, the wood gained rubber quality and bent at a ninety degree angle, just at Luther’s waist. The Vampire rammed into the bent trunk, like a ball smacking into a baseball bat. Faye flying out of him from his arms from the force but he remained where he was, stopped by the unsuspecting tree trunk.

He slumped against the trunk, limp and lifeless. Faye’s wishes to avoid the Queen of Hearts seemed to have come true, as the white rabbit bounded away, free of his dangerous follower. The dangerous follower on the other hand, seemed to have literally had the life knocked out of him.

Above the two mismatched duo, a grinning cat chuckled at their antics.

[Iris|Kairi]

Faye missed most of what was happening. She'd hid her face against him and closed her eyes, even though that made it feel more dark. She just wasn't feeling good, and nothing about this settled right with her. So the little blue elf tried to block it all out except for a couple peeks, enough to reach up and gently touch the welp below his eye. Checking to make sure he was alright was a must!

She really wasn't aware she'd insulted him at all. She was just on edge and fearful in the darkening forest, aware of every little danger and movement that was out there. If only she'd known that her words were mean..she never meant to be! Faye quite possibly could be incapable of mean. The elf had four modes: nice, klutzy, sad, and afraid.

So that effectively meant that when the tree set the trap and caught Luther by the middle she was completely oblivious to even flying out of his arms and through the air. Well, until her body shifted and abruptly smacked her head into to ground. She rolled a few more feet into a tree.

"Ughn.." she mumbled after an honest two or three minutes. She'd blacked out most certainly. When her eyes opened, she was met with intense pain this time, unlike when they'd arrived in Wonderland. With a small groan, she sat up. Her blue hair was disheveled, and matted on the side with the smallest amount of blood turning it purple at her temple.

"Luther?"

Her voice was quiet and raspy, blaring in her own head. "Guh.."

Going that fast only to be let go of was not healthy.. the small night elf made her way slowly over to the lifeless body, weaving unsteadily as she went. "Luther?" she whispered again, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Not yet noticed was that mischievous riddler of a cat.

[High's .Valentine.]

Luther, was of course, not in a position to answer the girl. It seems his whole life was flashing before his eyes. Or maybe it was just some strange little white spots. He couldn’t quite distinguish one from another. One of the white speckles looked like his daughter…another looked like the little twerp she was always running around with…hmm…is that his father right there…?

It’s obvious that the Black Mantis was a bit…disoriented.

The Vampire remained deathly still [hah the irony of it], however, he twitched when the little Night Elf touched him on the shoulder. Luther let out a loud groan of agony, quite out of his character. Of course, it was quite out of his usual characteristic to go around running into trees. This whole world was turning him upside down. Another moan escaped his crushed lungs. One could not be sure whether he was moaning out of misery, pain, or just because he was dizzy and nauseous.

Well, he wasn’t dead, that’s for sure. Luther sure felt like it though. The tree suddenly began to shift and the Vampire slipped off of the trunk and back onto the soft blanket of grass. His eyes were shut tight and he had on a grim look of despair. Suddenly his eyes fluttered open, ever so softly like butterflies [ugh], and amber eyes fixated themselves on Faye. A bizarre yet stiff smile slipped onto his face.

“Faye…” The Black Mantis muttered the Night Elf’s name in a disturbingly soft tone. Grabbing the girl’s arm with his free hand—the other clutched to his stomach like a mental band-aid—he gently pulled Faye closer. Closer…closer…his lips were merely centimeters away from hers. Again, the dazed Vampire stared intently into her eyes and sighed contently.

“You have beautiful eyes…” Luther muttered, then pulled her in for a kiss. Immediately afterwards, he fainted.

“Unexpected indn’t it?” A voice chuckled behind Faye. The cat grinned at the two. “He’s got himself into a bind, oh yes he did~” Standing on his head, the Cheshire Cat peered at the girl. “The Queen of Hearts knows you’re here. The White Rabbit told her.”

Rolling around Faye on his head, the Cheshire continued. “She’s coming here to greet you~ What will you do, Little Night Elf?”

[Iris|Kairi]

Faye was in awe for a couple moments. So many things happened at once under the shadow of the dense tree canopy. Luther seemed to be in a lot of pain since he was showing it for once, so naturally that concerned her to no end, especially when he slid off the tree and onto the ground. She figured he'd just gripe at her like usual when she neared him one again, intent on reassessing his wounds though her own vision was starting to blur and double things. But him first! His health first...

Before she could even get a good look, he was pulling her close. Of course, this made her think that he wanted to feed so he could recover, but he didn't do that at all. Instead he did something that made her gasp out loud in surprise. Pleasant surprise, depsite the circumstances and the fact that he was probably not in his right senses.

He said her name. Her actual name. Faye and not Night Elf or some other general variation to her gender or species. And he said it softly, and with a smile...

While she was naive to the fact that originally he hadn't liked her at all, or that the "kiss" that "bonded" them was neither of those things, this was like the final happening to confirm what she'd hoped. Sure, it was small, but that's all she ever wanted or needed. The first soft mentioning of her name...the first warm comment...the things she'd longed for nearly since her birth. The very thing she'd dreamed about and wondered if it even existed for her for hundreds of years. Finally...she knew what it felt like..and it was forever engraved in her soul. How cruel that he had to have the life knocked out of him to do it, but at least it was there somewhere.

And then another surprise...a kiss! A kiss to go with the words! Their lips met, her soft ones to his slightly chilled ones. She touched his face gently. Her head swam. He wasn't yelling at her this time OR making her bleed! If only he hadn't passed out afterwards..

Aaand...end scene! That's a wrap!

Before she could even utter his name again in concern, there was an unfamiliar voice behind her.

"Kyah...?!"

She turned to see two grinning cats standing on their heads, their voices echoing in double as well. The elf didn't even realize that her own body was weaving unsteadily. The pain and fear that had previously vanished came flooding back. Her pretty face contorted into several negative emotions, none of which touched the intense horror that took over once the Queen was mentioned.

S-she?! Coming here?! To greet.... oh no... Oh no! She knew...she knew they were here!

Nausea took over and for a moment she really thought she would lose her lunch. Her blood had run cold. Her fear paralyzed her. "L-Luther?" she squeaked pathetically, her hand still gripping his shirt from some point previously in time. He wasn't waking up to fight off the evil queen like he said he could. She could barely see straight. This was bad!

So what was she going to do?

...Pass out.

Faye had sat there nearly hyperventilating long enough. Finally it was just too much for her and her sympathetic nervous system put her out of her misery. A sharp pain stabbed through her head, and only moments after she grimaced and reached up to grab it, everything went black and she fell forward, laying against Luther's still body.

[High's .Valentine.]

“Lovers? I do not care for Lovers! Fool! Can’t you see they’re here to cause chaos? I say off with their heads!”

“B-b-but dear, they’re hurt…”

“OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!”

Luther frowned as the whole room rocked at the sound of an ominous roar. It was enough to wake anyone up from their little knocked out slumber. The Black Mantis’ ears rang from the ridiculous bellow and the ringing continued to pummel his mind, a hammer striking and chipping off bits and pieces of his brain. His torso was aflame, synchronizing with the pangs in his head. He found it impossible to move, not a single finger…not even the action of opening his eyes seemed within his capability at the moment. The Vampire suddenly felt a wave of panic rush through his head. Was he strapped down? Tied so that he could not move? He could not escape? Trying to think back on what he had done before he had regained consciousness again, he had the strange reminiscence of warmth and a tingling feeling of…happiness? Whatever had happened, it was as satisfying as a full stomach. However, his current predicament spoke nothing of what he had felt before he completely blacked out.

Try as he might, he could not remember just why he was so content. And he would probe further, but the voices screaming to his left leave him no choice by to force his sore and battered energy on at least opening his eyes.

Just as his eyelids started to flutter and respond to his will, he was suddenly picked up from whatever he was laid on. Picked up was not a way to put it. More like dragged. Yes, Luther Shiang was being dragged from his spot, and frankly, there was nothing he could do about it. All the strain, the wound that had not quite healed yet, the fall into the abyss, and the ridiculous run in with the tree, had left the Vampire far weaker than ever. Luther’s suffer was bitterly similar to when Ari had nearly killed him, leaving only enough blood in his body to allow some minor movements. Luther never thought he could be reduced to such…mortality. The thought cracked a whip on the Black Mantis fragile ego. He slumped into the drag, defeated.

“Is he the one, Rabbit?” Luther was suddenly tossed in front of the burly voice, landing awkwardly on his arm. Laying his head where it had landed, the Vampire said nothing as the Queen questioned the White Rabbit. Did he not promise the Night Elf that he would take care of the Queen? Speaking of which…she was in the room with him, he could smell her, but there was no reaction from the young female.

His attention returned to the two before him as they spoke. The White Rabbit stuttered and accused the Vampire of threatening her most royal highness. Luther managed a small grunt of contempt.

“OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!” Frowning, the Vampire was suddenly picked up again and was dragged off to an unknown destination. He did not fight back.

“Your friend made the Queen angry,” the wide grin of the Cheshire Cat whispered next to Faye’s ear, whether she was conscious or not seemed not to be her concern. “Little Elf, do you know how to play Damsel in Distress? Or in this case, it’s more like Mansel in Distress. It’s quite entertaining, I promise you. Even more fun than angering the Queen. These mushrooms might help you get started…”

[Iris|Kairi]

A small groan sounded from the elf's lips, while her face was certainly showing the effects of physical pain. The blood at her brow was now dried and crusty, but she could feel it pull at her skin as her facial muscles moved. Her eyes parted just enough to see the cat who was in mid sentence. She'd missed all the hub-bub about Luther.

"You...you again..." she muttered in a hoarse daze, eying the mushrooms the cat held to her. Had she been in her right mind, she may have started shrieking merely because this cat terrified her now. But thankfully for everyone in the area Faye was only about half conscious, but some how decently functional. "...Mushrooms?" she asked, sitting up. She didn't know where she was. Well, she didn't know where she was since passing out. Looking around slowly, alarm settled on her face, making her look older than she was. Well, older than she appeared to be. Where was Luther?

What was that cat saying about Mansel in distress? Had they taken him off?

...So she was alone?

They had left her off against the tall shrubs, a good distance away from the court area. She could see it, but they weren't paying attention to her. Perhaps it was good they couldn't see her body raise up with a completely different type of aura about it. She was tired. She was in pain. She was terrified. She was alone.

And she had HAD it with this world and all of its quirks. No one took off her Luther!!

Popping her neck, she angled her head downward and in a stiff movement, she drew her sword and staff from her back, slicing the air in front of her with them. "Bring him back!" She roared, her whole countenance shifting to a darker, desperate feeling. Faye was trembling. Was it from fear, or from being utterly pushed to the end of her wits. The stress was too much! the little elf had snapped.

"Bring him back or I'll tear all of you to shreds and scatter you to the winds!" her little body shook with the force of her threat. Her pinky irises were starting to pale and fade. It was strange to hear such an angry voice reverberating back to her own ears.

Taking both the staff and sword in one hand, she held out the other and it was engulfed in burning white light that almost resembled fire. It was hot and intensely hot..and aimed at the Queen. "No heads are going to be offed other than yours today, if you don't return Luther.." she hissed.

Ah, so she had heard that after all. How nice.

[High's .Valentine.]

So this was the wraith of a woman. Strangely enough, it was quite different from what Luther had experienced with Arianne. The malevolence was there, but his daughter had not burn with such…fury and desperation. Arianne had not killed him out of desperation; she had murdered him simply because it was something that came natural to her. But Faye’s wraith, her shouts, it was like a man at his last resort. Luther heard her heated roar bouncing across several meters to him, in the process of being dragged away by paper thin cards. She sounded different, of course, but the anger gripping her threat was unnerving. What she said was unnerving.

Cranking his stiff neck up, Luther peeked at the girl. What he saw forced the other eye open, even if it was just by a little crack. His night elf had transformed, enough to garner some attention from the Vampire. Doubtless, the people around her were scared stiff. Luther could smell the deep red anger, scorching her like red hot coals. Then she began to glow, and Luther hissed from the sudden burst of light and the intense heat, as if she had managed to manifest her fury into her weapons, allowing the room to get a savor of her state. No one was going to deny her. Especially not the queen, when faced with such a destructive force. His eyes squinted shut from the burn. Perhaps he had underestimated the girl and her fierce loyalty to him. What is there to doubt though, her blood had been intoxicating enough to knock him out within several sips, and she had well trained assassins on her tail. This was the reason why they were after her. The Night Elf’s emotion was a stimulus to her power.

“Bring him back!” The monarch wailed, trying to hide behind her itty bit of a husband, who was equally trying to duck under the Queen’s skirt. “Bring. Him. BACK!” The giant ball of energy was tossed at the two. Luckily for the monarchs of Wonderland, they would be spared another day, though the merciless flames of the energy ball licked and engulfed the podium they were sitting in.

Scrambling, her card soldiers dragged the half conscious man back, all the while trying to put out the fire and avoid becoming a pile of ashes at the same time. The place was in utter chaos, with the white rabbit shouting and panicking, the King and Queen of Hearts bedazzled, and the card soldiers in a frantic rush. Luther was dumped unceremoniously at the foot of the Night Elf, struggling to get a hold over his limp and wobbly muscles. He must pull it together, he is the Black Mantis, he must not show weakness in front of the girl. But it was undeniable. In a sense, she was stronger than him, able to conjure magics with energy he did not have. And while combat-wise, he was far stronger than her meek and meager figure, the Black Mantis could not compare magic with her in his current state.

“Elf,” he muttered, pushing himself up with trembling limbs. He was at the end of his limits, much like hers, and though he had just drank her blood, much of it had gone to replenish the wound and the fatigue he had received from the fight that night in Latharai. There was not much energy left in his body, and he doubted that there was much left in her’s either. “Little Night Elf…” One might wonder if the generic tag was going to receive the attention Luther wanted from the elf. “We must leave.”

Besides them, the strange striped cat chuckled at the scene.

[Iris|Kairi]

She'd been about to go completely crazy on everything with either her blade or more non-fire when Luther was thrown at her.

Once Luther was near, it became clear that her little body had been far too drained to actually pull off this attack for much time. Though her eyes were faded to complete glowing white, her power was draining faster than she could use it. No doubt the head injury had effected this more than anything. The time this had happened before, she'd kept it up for about an hour, but her condition severely crippled that time. But, she was desperate and scared and angry, making her unable to control herself and producing this berserkermode of hers. The telltale white marks were already licking up her fingers and draining her skin of it's peachy pigment. She was in more danger than anyone might know.

However, instead of ignoring that her demands had been met and carrying on with her devastation like honestly it seemed she'd do, her trembling body swayed to the side and she had to use her katana to hold herself up. The night elf's body, upon closer examination, was trembling so hard that to compensate she had to breath harder, as if she'd run a few miles with a sack of rocks on her back. It was a sort of intense stifled wheeze. Tilting her head down to look at him as he spoke to her, it finally sunk in that he was there. He was back. Everything would be ok...

Except...

"How do we get off of this world?" Faye demanded now, starting to calm, but still eying everyone threateningly. She wanted an answer, and she wanted it right now. Her little self couldn't take this place anymore.

[High's .Valentine.]

Curiously enough, Luther made a move to grab her by the arm to steady her when she started swaying. Her frail limb trembled under his grip, and the Vampire stepped in to pick her up. It was then that he realize his own limbs were trembling too. Not as hard as the elf’s, but the Great Mantis was feeling disgustingly like a weakened mortal. Nevertheless, Luther pulled her close to him, one supporting the other. Deep down, he felt a strange sense of relief. Relief that he would live to see another day of misery, but nonetheless, he was among the living. He would not die of such indignity as having his head chopped off and dumped in an unknown spot of this dreadfully insane piece of world. His grip tightened on Faye. It was because of her, he was alive.

Of course, that did not mean life was going to be any easier for the Night Elf. But Luther now knew of her power.

The Queen and the King of Hearts peeked out from under the rubble of their podium, staring at the two, who seemed united and of course, threatening. However, as scared as they are, they have no way of providing an answer for the two. Around them, the cards cowered, unsure of whether to run or defend their queen when clearly, if they should try and attack, they would be of no use next to Faye. Or so it seems. But before Faye could blow their brains out, a figure appeared on the Queen’s crown, balancing on tip toe and looking quite amid among all the tension of the court.

It was the Cheshire Cat.

“Fantabulous performance!” The cat chuckled throatily, clapping his hands and twirling before staring at the girl. “You’ve completed the game and saved the man in distress! Guess what you earned!” Disappearing, the stripes fluttered towards the two. Luther stared calmly at it, though inside, the sight confounded him. He backed away as suddenly, the stripes, as if whipped by a strong wind, wrapped itself around the male’s throat. Draped across his shoulder, the feline’s form began to materialize once again. The Black Mantis growled like an angry dog.

“Anything!” Arching its back, the Cheshire made the motion of patting Faye on the head. A purple paw appear opposite of it and proceeded to rustle her hair. “You can have anything~ Unless of course, you don’t want ‘anything’, or maybe you want ‘something’, or it’s a ‘nothing’. Oh I do quite enjoy those. But then they wouldn’t be anything anymore, would it?”

Luther’s mind stumbled forwards and backwards, trying to comprehend the animal’s strange tongue twister. Of course, in the end, it was merely the words of a twisted mind.

“You heard what the Elf wants,” Luther growled. “Get us out.”

[Iris|Kairi]

"Yes! Out...out!" the elf mumbled, mind starting to lull into oblivion. Her shaking worsened and she really tried not to lean into Luther too much. It seemed the poor thing may hyperventilate. She's used too much energy...and her wits had had it with this place! At least she'd stopped glowing before all her color left. It'd be pitiful to die in a place like this. But now she was left in a very sorry state. Fresh blood from the previous wound again leaked down her temple.

Waiting only a moment, she twisted her head to glare at the cat. Faye had no patience for this. Time to leave! Leave this confusing dangerous place behind! Go somewhere and heal! She had the urge to strangle the cat.

"NOW, CAT!" she demanded, followed by clenching her teeth. She may not be a night elf, but it was clear to see how formidable she could be when desperate enough. So THIS is how she escaped her prison of a home. Perhaps this was the reason the elves chased her like they did.

Faye tried to send her mind to a happy place. A bright, happy place where her head wasn't hurting and there was no shadows and no danger. Somewhere wonderful...her mind made it seem so real to her to keep her from cracking that for a moment she thought she'd passed out and was dreaming. The only thing that her mind forgot to do away with to complete the little getaway was the musky scent of both old and fresh blood, the scent of iron and life.

[High's .Valentine.]

Well, there was nothing better to do. The Black Mantis didn’t want a night elf leaning all over him for support, not when she was about to fall flat on her face. His tag-a-long had got to have some kind of dignity left for both her and her companion. Luther picked up the elf bridal style. His knees almost buckled despite the fact that Faye probably weighted as much as a small sack of flour. Does this elf ever eat? Regardless, the male turned his waning attention [and consciousness] on the cat. “Lead us out of here, feline,” Luther uttered, the bravado behind his commanding tone never faltering though the male himself was about to collapse.

“However, lead us down the wrong path, and I will not hesitate to permanently severe that head of yours.” Luther glanced suspiciously at the loose head the cat was rolling around on. If he did managed to chop of the Cheshire’s head, would it remain severed? It really wasn’t the moment for the Vampire to ponder over such whimsical and illogical ‘ifs’. The Cheshire grinned his silly, toothy smile, and then unraveled.

Luther bit back a growl of surprise, thinking the mad creature had betrayed the two—really, what was he thinking, trusting something that disappear and appears in bits and pieces. Suddenly, something tickled his ear. It was the cat, silky smooth like a pink ribbon. Its yellow eyes swiveled around, as unstable as marbles on a smooth slanted table. The strict old Vampire frowned at the Cheshire’s antics.

“Down, down the rabbit hole Alice went,” the Cheshire sang, a paw forming and pointing towards the archway that lead out of the Queen’s ruined court. “Up, up the rabbit hole Luther and Faye will go~”

His mind in a jumble thanks to the riddle like words of the cat and his own fatigue, Luther walked towards the archway. As he passed by the stunned royalties of Wonderland, Luther glanced at their bewildered stares. Slowly, a smirk crossed his lips. “It was a pleasure meeting you, your majesty.”

And with that, he was out of the court.

Immediately, Luther’s location took a giant change. Again, the Vampire was left with the feeling of extreme nausea. The room had a strange modernity Luther was not use to. Latharai was a medieval world, and Luther had lived in the primeval roots of a tribe. Metal chair? Fireplace? Book shelves? There were no such things in the tribes of the Black Mantis. Not to mention they were all huge. For once, it seems Luther was not the ‘biggest’ thing around.

“You are bleeding,” Luther stated nonchalantly, choosing to look down on the young elf he was holding onto instead of his dizzying surroundings. The smell and the sight was arousing…the vampire was near fainting, and feral instinct told him to just tackle the female and drain her dry. Every last bit would be honey on his tongue and his tired limbs would be revitalized. Yet at the same time, Luther knew it would be impossible. At least not right now. It wasn’t because he had feelings for the girl, dear Latharai, no…

However, his perspective of her had changed…she was still the annoying tag-a-long he could not rid himself of. Yet there was a certain sense of…respect? He now knew just what the elf was capable of. Terrible things that maybe Luther himself could not rival against due to his current weak form. In a sense, the elf might just be stronger than him. Of course, Luther should feel aggravated and frustrated by this, and he does, but at the same time, there was a level of recognition for the girl that he must now address. Luther stared intently at the night elf, who was either out cold by now, or unnerved by the elder’s scrutinizing. There was very little annoyance in his eyes.

“Let’s leave this place…”

Luther looked back up, his amber eyes once again apathetic. Spotting a door, he headed towards it and the rabbit hole behind it that would eventually lead the two to a sunny field, leaving behind no regrets. Well, maybe he wouldn’t mind another good lick of that grape jam.