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  "Yes, definitely," He nodded and took the book gratefully, looking over the cover before cracking it open. Tavros walked and tried to keep track of where Gamzee was while simultaneously trying to read about this mysterious Alice.

  He wasn't able to watch where he was going and gather any information, evidenced by his couple of trips and wandering some to one side or the other. Glancing up to gauge that he was still following diligently behind Gamzee, he looked down and flipped through the book. As he expected, Alice wore dresses similar to his own, stockings and adorable shoes included. His browning eyes looked over the illustrations for now, noting the Jabberwock and the Bandersnatch and hoping to high heaven that he would not have to follow in the previous Alice's footsteps. His hopes were diminished some as he noted that another illustration was of Alice and four gold coins that she was handing out to happy, grinning citizens of Wonderland.

  2014-04-26 22:13:37
• 🌀

  Gamzee kept an eye out for both of them, touching Tavros's elbow lightly whenever there was some larger obstacle to be aware of. They were making good time even with the distraction, and didn't have far to go when the light started to fade, and a dull bio-luminescence started from the mushrooms in the darkest patches. As the sun set, the sounds of the forest started to shift to familiar sounds of frogs and crickets and the occasional owl.

  When the sun was nearly gone, the path ended in and open glen, and continued further on toward their right. A clear stream passed through on the opposite side, and there was a slightly raised wooden platform close to that, with a leather tarp suspended over it. The forest floor in this little opening was covered by a natural carpet of soft grass and mosses. There was a small fire-ring in-between them and the platform and stream.

  "This is where we'll camp out, Tavros. Won't take long to get there tomorrow morning. How's the book?" Gamzee asks, heading into the glade and setting the bags down near the platform.

  2014-04-26 22:53:41
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  Even though he was a lover of nature and most things in it, Tavros was much too engrossed in the book and the information stored inside than the world around him. At Gamzee's words, he looked up at him, brows furrowing, "It is unsettling," He replied with a purse of his lips, "And I have only looked at the, illustrations."

  He looked about, finding it difficult to fully enjoy the sounds of nightfall and the cooling temperature on his warm skin. The bullhorned troll fiddled with the sleeves of his button down, then mumbled, "I do not think that I will be allowed to leave, very soon."

  2014-04-30 19:57:37
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  Gamzee chuckled lightly, "Yea, I don't think I'd wanna be that bitchtits sister either. Scary stuff," Gamzee said, setting up the sleeping bag and blankets on the platform. He really wasn't sure what to say to Tavros's second statement. Maybe it was because he didn't see many people, or maybe because Tavros talked to him like they were equals, but he really liked Tavros; it was nice to have a friend.

  "Well, you can stay with me if you want, until you figure all that shit out," Gamzee decided on, lamely. He didn't really have a lot of hope for this option, as his house was something of a hovel compared to what someone of Tavros's level could have in the city, and certainly someone there would be hospitable to his new friend, too, and more able to do so. Gamzee was actually kind of dreading the visit.

  "I'm going to get some motherfuckin' firewood," he said, getting up and entering the edge of the forest around them, somewhat hard to see in the dark, but the fungal luminescence reflected of his lighter clothing well enough to show his silhouette moving around the camp.

  2014-04-30 21:25:33
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  "We will figure something out," Tavros muttered absently, providing just a nod when Gamzee stated that he was off to gather wood. He sat down someplace, not paying much mind as to where he was, and pulled his knees to his chest as he started from the beginning and began to read.

  As far as he could tell, there was no mention of any reincarnations of an Alice, as he had previously thought. Tavros bit his lower lip and shivered a tiny bit; it was starting to get cold again, colder than before. He huddled closer to himself for body heat and kept reading on. Alice had done more than enough in her time in Wonderland, it seemed, and Tavros figured that he had plenty to live up to when it came to fulfilling his new journey. He should have known from the beginning that he would not be allowed to go back to Alternia so easily; on top of that, he still had this jabbing thought that he should find the white rabbit, whoever that was or whatever the importance of the white rabbit was to begin with.

  2014-04-30 21:29:48
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  Gamzee returned shortly, carrying probably more than he should have been, but set it down without incident. Seeing Tavros's huddling, he figured he was cold. Gamzee had to get fire starters out of the bag anyway, so got out the coat for Tavros, draping it over his shoulders. "It'll be a little while before the fire's all up and warm," was all he said in explanation, setting up the structure of the fire quickly, and getting it burning soon after. He stayed by it for a while, until it could burn on it's own and there were a few larger logs catching.

  Noting Tavros deep in his reading, he moved about quietly, first to the stream to remove his face paint, digging in his pockets for the special sort of soap it took. Finishing that, he got out some of the vegetables he'd packed, and started roasting them over the fire, using a few good skewering sticks he had found.

  2014-04-30 22:29:16
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  He did not actually notice Gamzee's coming back, but he did tense some when he felt the coat over his shoulders. Tavros glanced up, then relaxed some and thanked Gamzee sweetly for his consideration before delving right back into his reading. It was definitely a lot of information to take in, especially when it came to the different jargon and cultural references that he was not aware of. He hadn't any idea who The Knave of Hearts was, but he figured he had something to do with the Queen of Hearts? There was a mildly political element to the folk tale, and Tavros huffed. This was a lot to digest.

  He plucked a wildflower from nearby and used it as a makeshift bookmark before looking over at Gamzee at the first. He stood and moved over to the fire, noting that the other looked more natural and, in his opinion, much more handsome sans facepaint, though he didn't want to voice that necessarily. "How much do you know about, your current society? Um..if you could, perhaps, give to me a basic rundown of the way things work around here..." He glanced at the book in his lap, then tugged the coat closer to himself, "It is difficult to pick apart the text due to the cultural rift between Alternia and Wonderland. I suppose I thought that it would, ah...be much easier to read and understand both Alice and Wonderland, but I feel more puzzled than ever, it seems."

  2014-04-30 23:17:08
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  Gamzee shifted to a more comfortable sitting position and smiled gently, turning the vegetables as he talked. "Well, now a days, there's only one royal family, the red queen and king, and their children. But in the book when Alice first came, there were four, one for each queendom: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. There was a lot of fighting back then. The queens always ruled, and had the most control, then the king, and then what they used to call knaves, who were like princes and princesses," he paused to glance at Tavros, to see if he was doing a good enough job.

  "After Alice came and did all those crazy fuckin quests, she stopped all the fuckin wars and united the four, and the Hearts royal family got to be on top because they were strongest and had the most people. Spades and Clubs got the bottom 'cause they were the weakest, and then Diamonds was in the middle. They thought it would be a fuckin good idea to rename stuff, I guess, so they call it all the Red Queendom now instead; formally, at least." Gamzee paused in his explanation, wondering if that was what Tavros had been interested in, or if he was making any sense. He hadn't had to explain things before, so thought his account might be a little garbled.

  2014-05-01 00:10:20
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  As far as Tavros was concerned, things made perfect sense coming from Gamzee. His knowledge about Wonderland's politics and things of that nature was meager, so this quick spout of information was helpful. Recognition flickered across his face, and he nodded, looking down at the book and cracking it open again. "Ah...alright, that makes things easier," He flipped through to where he had stopped, his brown eyes scanning the last couple of paragraphs that he had trouble with before shutting the book once more and letting out a slightly gloomy sigh.

  He had this foreboding feeling that there was something he would have to do before he would be able to leave; he doubted that he would go through all the trials and tribulations Alice willingly experienced, but he figured that it would not be an easy transition from one place to another. And, there was also the possibility that he would not be leaving at all.

  2014-05-01 00:22:58
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  "Is a brother alright?" Gamzee asked at Tavros's sigh, "Must be hard being all up and away from where you know what's what." He turned the vegetables again, and went back to the bag, pulling out the smoked salmon and some spices he'd brought and brought them back to the fire, handing one of the two pieces of salmon to Tavros.

  "Sorry it isn't as nice as lunch, but it's motherfuckin' camping food, which is always nice, right?" he half-smiled. He put some more wood on the fire. The vegetables were almost done; there was a largish carrot, zucchini, and potato for each of them. He spiced all of them, not really sure what to talk about or if Tavros, who had been relatively reserved so far, would even want to talk. He didn't really mind either way; there was always the forest to look at, with all the luminescent mushrooms, and the fireflies had started coming out, too, lighting up around them every so often in the deepening darkness.

  2014-05-01 00:52:28
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  "What? Oh, yes, um," He realized then that he was probably dampening the mood with his own gloom, and Tavros gave a strained smile, "I am fine, really. I suppose I could also stop being so secretive to the person that has probably kept me rather safe in the last few hours." Gamzee was much nicer than many of the people he encountered in Alternia; the other troll hardly knew him, and yet, he was clothing him, feeding him, and leading him to someone that could potentially get him home. Without Gamzee, he would have still been by the hill, grieving over his position with nary a clue on how to leave.

  Now that he gave it some thought, he was never much of a talker; out of all forms of communication, writing was his preferred method. Oftentimes, he faltered in his speech or scrambled up his words, and he it sometimes took some real thought to get over not only mild nervousness, but to form what he wanted to say. "To be honest with you, I, uh. Am not entirely sure what to share about myself. I do not usually encounter kind people."

  2014-05-01 01:02:11
• 🌀

  "Aw, you don't gotta share nothin

  2014-05-01 01:22:21
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  "You don't gotta share nothin' if you don't want; I'm not gonna get up in your business." Gamzee said, waving a hand in dismissal. He looked at Tavros, resting his arms on upraised knees and his chin on top of that, a curious look on his face, "Why don't people treat you kind? Seems like you're a pretty nice bro to me, 'specially bein' all polite and stuff, considering you just got dumped here this morning. I'd think a lot of people would be pretty fuckin upset! But you're all level headed and tryin to figure shit out." Gamzee realized he'd been rambling on a bit and blushed a deep purple-blue, much more evident now without his face paint. He buried his face in his arms, glancing over them at Tavros. "Sorry," he muttered, not exactly sure what for, maybe talking too much; mostly it just seemed like the right thing to say.

  2014-05-01 01:52:41
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  He wasn't entirely sure what Gamzee should be apologizing for, but he didn't press the issue. Pursing his black lips together, Tavros shrugged a tiny bit and watched the fire absently, "It is just different where I come from, I suppose." He answered, wondering if he truly wanted to return or not; did he honestly want to go back to a place where he was cruelly discriminated against? He figured that the current world he was inhabiting was not much better, even if he was in a newly elevated seat. He sighed quietly, "But, thank you." Directly a soft smile Gamzee's way, Tavros flicked his tapered ears upwards, "I guess I could start with what I used to do, uh, before I got here. I worked as a gardener, which was alright, I suppose. I enjoyed being outside and caring for the plants and such..." Now that he thought about it, he loved caring for others, whether they truly need his help or not.

  2014-05-09 19:13:54
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  Gamzee liked listening to Tavros talk about Alternia. It was like something from a story book. Gamzee nodded at Tavros' enjoyment of gardening; something he also enjoyed, and luckily could make some money out of with the mushrooms. Though it sounded like Tav did more horticultural than agricultural work. He checked the cooking vegetables and determined they were done. Handing one of each of the skewers to his companion, Gamzee stuck his in the ground before him, away from the fire to cool before starting eating. He took a bite of salmon while he waited, listening to Tavros with interest. He figured the caste system in Alternia must have been quite different from Wonderland's if Tavros wasn't treated all that well. He thought it wasn't nice that the other had to deal with that, but was relieved at the same time, because he could understand.

  2014-05-09 22:16:46
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  The caste system in Alternia wasn't exactly drastically different, but the actions brought forth by enforcing it so enthusiastically by higherblooded members was felt no matter what. Discrimination went further than just namecalling or general discomfort. He couldn't hold certain jobs and had difficulty in others, he was strictly forbidden from attending higherblooded events and some things regarding his health were even restricted or denied. In Wonderland, he could receive all those things, most likely, but at the cost that others would be treated the same way he knew all too well. Tavros grimaced.

  Taking the skewers from him, he thanked Gamzee and took tentative bites out of one after setting the other two skewers into the ground, just as his friend had done. He hummed quietly, looking thoughtfully at the fire before he chewed and swallowed, "Do you have a job, at all? Or do you stay in the woods all the time, Gamzee?"

  2014-05-14 21:44:00
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  Gamzee thought for a minute; he wasn't really sure how much he wanted to tell Tavros about how his life was. Eventually he decided Tavros would find out anyways, so just told him what he was comfortable with for now. "Well, I stay in the forest most times. Whenever I need something from the motherfucking city I take these magic fungi all up into town and sell 'em for some coin. But I can get by without that for a long time. I've got a vegetable garden in the back of the singing flowers, and there's a lot of fruit trees no one bothers with out there." He paused and took a thoughtful bite of zucchini.

  "The city isn't really...my sort of jam," he said frowning. "Kind of expensive any old ways. Cheaper to live out here. Lot more peaceful, too," he said, expression lightening as he watched the fireflies around the water and listened to the owls and frogs. "Not a lot of nice outdoor places there; maybe some motherfucking parks, a couple flower gardens, but nothing like this shit out here," Gamzee said fondly.

  2014-05-14 22:21:53
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  He assumed that singing flowers were just as normal to the people of Wonderland as tulips and daffodils were to Alternians, and that things like magic fungi were even easier to obtain, though it did seem rather strange that any kind of fungus could change someone's body so drastically. Thoughtfully, Tavros took a bite of salmon and chewed, listening to Gamzee intently.

  He could relate to the talk about the city; while some may have preferred it to the ruggedness of outdoors, Tavros detested how detached city life was from the rest of the natural world. It was like its own ecosystem unto itself, and not one that he had any desire to partake in whatsoever. "That is very true," He hummed, "Urban areas may attempt to replicate nature, but it is never quite the same unless you are actually there."

  2014-05-16 23:06:55
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  Gamzee put more logs on the fire as it burned down to keep them warm. As it got darker the bioluminescent mushrooms became brighter, and the canopy over head glowed with dots of smaller specimens which made it look almost like the night sky. The light was really only good enough to walk by, but each of the different shaped ground mushrooms glowed in a different color, and were aligned on the path in spectrum order.

  Gamzee ate more readily now that their food had cooled enough. "Do you live in the city in Alternia, Tavros?" he asked between bites. He remembered how reluctant Tavros had been to go into the forest, which was how most city people were that he knew, which was why the woods were so empty. Besides for random royal guards patrolling occasionally, no one tended to come into the woods often.

  2014-05-17 01:45:24
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  With a quiet yawn, he ate silently and kept his eyes trained on the fire, falling into a brief, though comfortable silence. He didn't mind the lack of conversation, as he did enjoy the rustling of leaves in the trees when a wind blew by. When Gamzee spoke to him, Tavros looked over at him with his head tilted to the side.

  Shaking his head, he chewed and swallowed the bite of food in his mouth so that he could answer, "If I had a choice, I would not live in that vile city," He stuck his tongue out in disgust, "It is horrendous, truly. So full of people! And if that was not bad enough, they are all so rude and crass, sometimes in such subtle ways that it drives me up a wall. I only live in the city to be closer to work, but, honestly, if I could find a way around it, I would not, uh, live in my cramped apartment."

  2014-05-17 17:29:20
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  "Not much different than here, then. At least the more outward places are all cramped. The inside is more open, but I don't go there," Gamzee responded. He was also content with their silence; it was nice to just sit by the fire with his new friend and listen to the crickets and other animal sounds.

  He finished eating and uncurled himself to lay back on the grass, arms crossed behind his head. Gazing up lazily at the canopy, he listened to the night sounds and picked out random pictures among the glowing dots, smiling contentedly. He didn't want to spoil the comfortable silence, so didn't ask anything else. He figured there would be plenty of time to talk on the road tomorrow morning.

  2014-05-17 18:13:08
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  Tavros, truly, enjoyed the silence of discussion. He was, naturally, an introverted individual, and this quiet time was preferred to talking too much. Once he finished up his food, he yawned softly, mouth opened and displaying sharp teeth. Despite Tavros being, generally, a docile young man that was agreeable on most terms, there were still components to the troll species that made him dangerous.

  On the grass, he laid on his back, the coat fanning out behind him. Tavros tugged it close and snuggled into it, letting out a content sigh as he stared at the night sky. Slowly but surely, his lids grew heavy, warmth from his meal settling throughout his body as he finally fell asleep.

  2014-05-26 03:11:52
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  Gamzee got up after a while when he felt himself nodding off to go sleep on the platform under the tarp. "I'm going to turn in, Tavbro," he said, then looked over at Tavros, discovering he was already asleep. He shifted from foot to foot, trying to decide if he shouldn't bother him and move some blankets over, or if he should wake him up so he could use the sleeping bag under the tarp and not get wet from the morning dew.

  Gamzee knelt and shook Tavros's shoulder gently to wake him. "Tavros? Uh, you should really move over here, don't wanna get all cold and wet out here, I shouldn't think," he said as he attempted to wake him. Gamzee would have just carried him so Tavros could stay asleep, but didn't want to freak him out or intrude on his space. He figured his new friend wouldn't want to get wet and be cold all tomorrow though, either.

  2014-05-26 18:19:04
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  It seemed the exhaustion finally caught up to him. All the stress of the day, between being transported to a new world and running for his life from a gigantic bird, to even just settling with a stranger out in the middle of an environment he knew little to nothing about, Tavros was fatigued. He groaned softly on the ground, showing no movements to get up or wake any time soon.

  "Nmmg...dun' make me.." He muttered, tilting his head slightly but never moving much after that. Tavros breathed gently, his chest rising slowly as he drifted throughout happy dreams. So immersed was he in his dreaming that he even muttered, "Heheh, no...that is salt..."

  2014-05-28 00:37:41
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  Well, there was nothing for it then, Gamzee figured, he'd just have to move him and hope Tavros didn't mind. He went over to open the sleeping bag first, straightening it out so he wouldn't have to struggle with it, then returned to Tavros where he was lying in the grass. He picked the shorter troll up easily, supporting his head on his shoulder and hooking his arms around Tavros's shoulders and under his knees.

  Gamzee carried him over, gently setting him down, making sure his friend looked comfortable before folding the other half over him and zipping it up suitably. He crawled into the makeshift blanket bed next to Tavros, covering most of himself and curling up on his side, drifting off quickly once he got settled.

  2014-05-28 01:46:40

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