Of cats, curiosity and other such matters (Open)

[Alice Liddell]

Curiosity is a very funny thing indeed. It has the strange ability to tempt people into doing things they would usually avoid, purely on the basis that they might learn something new from doing so. The idiom, ‘curiosity killed the cat’, was thankfully not a literal one, after Alice Liddell was both an incredibly curious person and incredibly found of her cat, so certainly wouldn’t wish there to be any negative connection between these things. ‘Curiosity killed the girl’ was probably a more apt saying, for time and again Alice’s curiosity had an incredible knack for getting her into trouble. On this particular day Alice’s curiosity had led her (and Dinah) to a dark and mysterious castle. Gargoyles leered down at her from the battlements, and out of the corner of her eyes Alice could swear that she saw furniture and other objects that ought to be inanimate moving around. She couldn’t prove this theory however, for whenever she whirled around to investigate everything was as still as ice.

“Now really,” muttered Alice in annoyance after the sixth of these false alarms, “how terribly impolite.” She frowned, continuing along towards the castle until the grand, wooden doors loomed above her. Dinah, who had been clutched in her arms this whole time, began to mew in alarm, clearly distressed by whatever was inside the castle.

“Why Dinah,” began Alice in concern, “whatever is the matter?” The cat simply mewed in response, and with a sigh Alice held her up so that she could look at her properly. Her expression was reminiscent of a kindly teacher, and she spoke to the feline as if she were human as well. “Now Dinah, you really shouldn’t be afraid,” explained Alice with a smile, “after all, if one was afraid then one would never do anything, and contrarywise, if one does anything then one cannot be afraid.” She nodded as if this made perfect sense, cuddling the cat close to her again as she stepped up to the door. She briefly considered knocking, however decided against it on the grounds that the castle seemed deserted. Besides, if there was anyone in here then the odds of them hearing the knock in a place this large was minimal.

“Hello?” called out the girl as she slowly pushed the door open, “is anyone here?”

[~Elisa Maza~]

It was rare for Elisa to feel pity for any of her enemies, particularly one who'd made a habit of making several attempts on her life and the lives of the gargoyles. But seeing the genuine pain in Macbeth's eyes after everything with Demona and Thailog had been settled, Elisa couldn't help but feel bad for him. He'd fallen in love with Demona's human persona, and the knowledge of who Dominique Destine really was had cut him deeply.

The Scotsman didn't want to stay in Paris, and so he'd made his departure within the hour. But he'd given Elisa and the gargoyles permission to stay and rest during the day. Elisa, who hadn't gotten much sleep in the two days they'd been in Paris, was glad for a chance to rest, particularly when it meant an actual bed would be available to her, rather than the skiff.

Elisa slept soundly for the better part of the day, and when she woke up, she was greeted by a sky blanketed with dark clouds.

"Great..." She said. "Nothing better than traveling by skiff during a rainstorm."

Elisa checked her watch. The sun would be setting in just a few moments. Hopefully they'd be able to beat the storm.

Elisa walked out onto the deck, sticking her hands in her pockets as a chilly breeze blew past her.

"Definitely gonna start raining soon..." Elisa said to herself.

Just as she spoke, the gargoyles started to stir, the stone slates falling off their bodies as they stretched, roaring as their eyes glowed briefly before dimming.

"Right on time guys." Elisa greeted. "Let's try and beat this storm."

"I'd rather go to Notre Dame once more." Goliath said. "I want to be sure Demona and Thailog are gone before we depart."

"But-" Before Elisa or Angela could protest, the gargoyle leapt off the balcony, flying toward the cathedral.

"Well, guess we're stuck here." Elisa sighed.

"Guess so." Angela said quietly as she went back inside, Bronx at her heels.

Elisa felt bad for the young gargoyle. It wasn't wrong for her to want to address Goliath as her birth father, because that's exactly what he was. She wasn't raised with an entire clan like he was. Though Elisa had a hunch that Goliath's excuse that Angela was meant to look on all of her elder clan members as her parents had less to do with tradition, and more to do with the fact that for a time, he had truly loved Demona, a fact that he tried his best to forget.

The small group walked through the halls, all three suddenly stopping in their tracks, surprised to hear a voice sounding off from the main entrance.

"I thought Macbeth said he'd dismissed all of the servants." Angela said softly.

"That voice is too young to be a servant." Elisa replied. "Stay here... I'll check it out."

Elisa stepped out, her thoughts confirmed. The young girl couldn't be older than twelve. Letting her guard down slightly, Elisa smiled at the child.

"Hello there." Elisa greeted. "What brings you here?"

[Alice Liddell]

As Alice slowly slipped through the open door and into the foyer beyond, the cat in her arms began to protest again, however this time there was no mystery as to what was upsetting her. Several loud roars rang out through the halls of the castle, one after another, the sound of which caused Alice to freeze in alarm, almost contemplating turning tail right now without further ado. She squeezed Dinah tightly in an attempt to calm the panicking feline, barely managing to prevent her from bolting.

“Oh do calm down Dinah,” implored Alice desperately, wincing in pain every few seconds as the cat’s flailing claws jabbed into her, “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you!” Whether Dinah actually understood her words, or if it was simply the soothing tone of her voice, her reassurance seemed to calm the cat down enough to stop struggling to escape (the fact that no further roars had rang out probably helped as well). Still, Alice didn’t yet move from her position beside the door, cautious eyes carefully scanning the room inch by inch for some sign of the source of the noise.

“Now then,” murmured Alice as she finally assured herself that no wild animals were about to leap from the shadows and devour her, “I suppose it would really be the most sensible course of action if I were to leave immediately.” She took a careful step forward into the castle. “After all, one can never be too careful when one knows there’s danger around.” She took another step, and another, still glancing around in case something was about to attack her. “Then again, I suppose I don’t actually know that I’m in danger; and I am terribly curious to know what that noise was.” Sighing, she finally picked up the pace and began to walk as usual, silently lamenting her chronic inability to ever follow her own good advice. She’d only moved a few metres however when she suddenly became aware of another presence in the room and, thinking that it was the creature that had roared, froze on the spot.

“Oh!” exclaimed Alice as the woman addressed her, feeling slightly relieved that it wasn’t a beast that stood before her, “I am sorry; am I not allowed to be here?” The last thing that she wanted (well, maybe not the absolute last thing; that spot still went to being attacked by the roaring monster) was to get in trouble for trespassing, especially as her mother had chided her in the past for allowing her insatiable curiosity to lead her into a prohibited area. It was encouraging to see that the woman did not seem to be angry at her presence, although she supposed that this could be more because of her age (or lack thereof) rather than because she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I can leave now if you like,” she stated uncertainly, unconsciously squeezing Dinah even tighter to her chest, “I really didn’t mean to intrude.” She half turned to leave, a little disappointed that the mystery would remain unsolved, but not wanting to anger anyone.

[~Elisa Maza~]

Elisa was momentarily silent as the girl apologized for intruding. It was clear that the girl meant no harm, and had just been exploring the area. She got the feeling that she might have heard the gargoyles waking up, and the terrified looking kitten in her arms added to that theory.

Elisa was about to speak when a crack of lightning lit up the entire house. Outside the window, she could see that the sky had released a downpour of rain. Even though Angela and Bronx were still here, Elisa wasn't about to send a little girl out in a storm like that.

"No, please, stay." Elisa said. "This isn't actually my home anyway... a friend is letting me stay here for a bit. But you're welcome to stay here and wait out the storm."

Around the corner, Angela remained hidden, hearing the words easily. She trusted Elisa's judgment, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder how the girl would react if they were discovered.

Bronx sniffed the air, curious about the new scent he was picking up. He stepped out, ignoring Angela as she frantically tried to grab at him.

Bronx did seem to pick up on the fact that his presence might startle the new ones, so he sat by Elisa, who reached over and gave him an affectionate pat. Seeing little point in hiding herself now, Angela stepped out as well, wrapping her wings around her shoulders.

"These are my friends. They won't hurt you." Elisa said. "This is Bronx, and Angela. And my name is Elisa."

"Hello." Angela greeted in her traditional friendly manner. She wondered again how their presence would be taken. Most humans she'd met thus far outside of Avalon had regarded them with fear. It was disheartening to the young gargoyle, after spending her entire life being raised by humans.

[Alice Liddell]

All of Alice’s efforts to soothe the cat in her arms were completely undone as a peal of thunder shook the room, signalling that a fierce storm had just begun outside. Dinah (who wasn’t overly fond of loud noises at the best of times) began to meow loudly, and squirmed so much in Alice’s arms that it was all she could do to keep hold of the animal.

“Thank you,” replied Alice politely, “it’s very kind of you to... oh Dinah will you please calm down!” For reasons she couldn’t imagine, her pet’s attempts to escape had suddenly become more and more frantic, to the point that Alice received a shallow if rather painful scratch on her arm. She was about to chide the cat for this, however at that moment the reason for Dinah’s increased agitation became apparent. A strange, almost dog-like creature had emerged from the shadows whilst she was speaking, followed seconds later by a humanoid who seemed to be of the same, or at least a very similar species. This second arrival proved too much for Dinah, who finally burst free of Alice’s grip and took off up the nearest staircase and out of sight.

“Dinah! Come back, please!” cried Alice in alarm as her pet vanished, “I’m sorry, but I have to go... that is, how do you do and, well... I don’t really have time to shake hands.” She said all this in the space of a few seconds, before shooting the curious trio and friendly smile and disappearing up the stairs after her cat. She only hoped Dinah hadn’t gotten too far. The last time the cat had hidden out of fear it had taken them all day to find her again, and that was only within their own house! She couldn’t even begin to fathom how long it would take to locate Dinah if she’d managed to hide properly in a castle this size.

“Dinah! Where are you?!”

[~Elisa Maza~]

Elisa couldn't get another word in as the cat, apparently named Dinah, panicked at the site of Bronx and Angela, despite the child's attempts to calm her. Without warning, the kitten burst free and ran as fast as her paws could take her up the stairs.

Distressed, the girl uttered a quick apology to Elisa and her friends as she hurried after her feline companion.

"She's never gonna find that cat in this big place." Angela said, concern coloring her tone.

"No." Elisa agreed. "But luckily, we've got the best tracker around."

Bronx seemed to understand his role in causing the cat to run away, and a soft whine escaped his throat.

"It's okay boy." Elisa said. "We know you were just curious. But c'mon... you can help find the cat."

Bronx put his nose to the ground and sniffed , following the scent up the stairs and down the halls. Elisa and Angela trailed behind the gargoyle beast as he led them through the castle, occasionally pausing to get the scent back.

Finally, he walked into the library, and paused at one of the bookshelves. Bronx laid down, staring at the kitten huddled under the furniture, not daring to move, less he frighten the cat into running off again.

"Good boy, Bronx." Angela praised.

Elisa moved back to the door, shutting it enough to where the girl would be able to hear their voices, but not wide enough for the cat to escape the room.

"Down here!" Elisa called, hoping she was close enough to hear them. "Your cat's in the library."

[Alice Liddell]

After a few minutes of frantic, fruitless searching, during which time Alice became more and more concerned for her cat’s safety, she was quite at the end of her rope. Fortunately at that moment she heard the voice of the woman who had introduced herself as Elisa announcing that Dinah had been located down in the library. Sighing in relief, Alice practically skipped back the way she had come, following the source of the voice as best she could until she’d located the library.

“Oh, thank goodness!” exclaimed Alice as she knelt down and confirmed for herself that Elisa had spoken the truth, “Dinah, please come here.” After a little coaxing during which she was forced to surrender the biscuit she’d smuggled out of the house with her that morning, Alice finally got the cat to emerge, bundling her up tightly in her arms to prevent her from fleeing once again. Fortunately it seemed that the Gargoyles had taken Dinah by surprise the first time, for the feline did not fight to escape again.

“Thank you, everyone,” said Alice gratefully, turning to face the strangers, “I do hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.” Now that the urgency of the situation was gone, Alice was eager to get a good look at Elisa’s curious companions. They were like no creatures that she’d ever seen before, both on Earth and in Wonderland, in fact they seemed to resemble the fantastical statues that graced the battlements of castles in her picture-books more than anything else.

“I hope you don’t think me rude for asking,” she began uncertainly, “but what exactly are you?”

[~Elisa Maza~]

"You're welcome." Elisa said. "We're just glad to be able to help you find her."

Elisa smiled, a tinge of sadness in her expression. Seeing the child with her cat was a reminder of Cagney, and how homesick she was feeling. When would Avalon end their quest? Bronx sat next to her once more, nudging her hand. Elisa scratched his head, relieved to see that the kitten didn't seem so afraid of him anymore.

"We're gargoyles." Angela said, still adjusting to the idea that not all humans knew of and welcomed their kind. At least this one didn't seem to fear them. She was being perfectly friendly, in fact. It was a refreshing change as opposed to how the majority of their journey had been going.

"What's your name?" Elisa asked, realizing in all the confusion, they never did catch her name.

Angela walked closer, slowly offering a talon for the kitten to catch her scent.

"And who's this cute little one?" Angela asked.