Chain Wars: Battle for Alice

[AMimsyBorogove]

The Hatter grinned cheerfully toward all of the others around him, seeming quite pleased at the crowd that had suddenly arrived. Yes, yes, this was perfect! Everyone had finally come! There was Cheshire, who he had already met in the hallway upstairs, and of course dear Alice, who he had come so quickly to find, and the clumsy Knight who had gone and hurt himself and made their good friend worry for him, and the enigmatic Caterpillar, who the Hatter knew little of, yet greatly respected. But, in addition to these, yet another group had now come forth, prompting Asterus to quickly produce a table of tea and refreshments, deciding that with so many people around, it was best to be prepared.

Amongst the newcomers, he could see a tall, burly shape with dark hair and a confident look, a boy he recognized as a rather well-known brawler amongst the student population. From what the Hatter knew, this somewhat oafish lad was a decent enough fellow, if very antisocial and aloof, but had a tremendous temper. Apparently, once you got him angry, you were in for quite the thrashing. It was well known enough among the students that if you saw an uncommonly tall young man who dressed, oddly enough - although the Hatter didn't care to be hypocritical on this point - like a bartender, then it was best to steer clear of him. Well, to be honest, Asterus' information was a little better than just mere rumors. He'd made some personal observations of his own, trying to determine if the "strongest student" was, in fact, his old friend the Hare. By "personal observations," of course, he meant "accidentally" sicking a few neighborhood punks on the boy as part of a convoluted prank to see what he would do. One uprooted and casually thrown vending machine and several terrified delinquents later, and the Hatter had his answer. Although he had never been entirely sure of the boy's nature, he'd been certain enough that seeing him here now did not come as too much of a surprise.

The second member of the group was another familiar face: the even more anti-social and obsessive classmate who Asterus had last seen in morning physics class. Although the boy was never surprised by any of the supernatural things the Hatter had done, his lack of shock or discomposure at the entire school being largely demolished by otherworldly entities still made it fairly likely that he probably had some connection to the Underworld. The question was... what? Was he a Contractor? If so, what being was his partner? The Hatter was no fool, and had a few ideas, given the boring boy's personality, but he had no way to prove his theories... yet. He decided to offhandedly chuck a carrot at the boy's face anyway, on the off chance that he was right. Finding this activity to be rather amusing, he decided to keep it up, and so quickly produced the first other orange-colored, green stemmed food object he could think of, and threw it at the tall boy he'd observed first. The orange sailed gracefully through the air at tremendous speeds, aimed straight at Daniel's face for no good reason. Well, actually, there was a reason. The Hatter had always liked throwing things at people. Seeing how the boy reacted would give him the last confirmation he needed of the tall boy's identity.

Well, and there was the simple fact that it would probably be hilarious.

At any rate, there was one more newcomer whose presence the Hatter couldn't readily explain: a demure, stoic girl he had seen a few times, but never really interacted with - aside from asking to borrow her lunch, as was his custom, and replacing it with an inexplicably tie-dyed rubber chicken wearing a tophat and a monocle when she refused. The girl, too, did not seem surprised or unnerved by the presence of the other Underworlders, or by the situation. So, was she a Contractor as well? But with whom, then, was she partnered? All of his own comrades were accounted for, weren't they? And yet, she seemed to be an ally, at least, which brought up the question... who exactly was she?

Oh well, he supposed. He would know soon enough. Whipping a tablecloth out of his sleeve, he somehow managed to perfectly reverse the well-known trick of sweeping a cloth from underneath a set of dishes without disturbing them, instead inexplicably slipping the cloth beneath the dishes at the table he'd just set without so much as a sound, all with a single, casual sweep of his hand.

"Good day, good day!" He cried raucously, giving a jovial laugh. "I must say, it is a pleasure to see all of you again. It's been too long, much, much too long. Would anyone care for some tea? I promise it won't turn you all into clamshells. Well, that is, if you drink it. If you snort it, I can't say for sure. Is that a problem for anyone?"

[Qara-Xuan Zenith]

No sooner had Daniel silently written off the Crazy Hat-dude than the dude threw an orange straight at his face, for no apparent reason unless he could read minds, which was highly unlikely. The Crazy Hat-dude said something aloud as the orange bounced harmlessly off Daniel's face, rolling on the ground, but Daniel didn't hear.

His left arm shot out, grabbing Crazy Hat-dude by the collar. The nerve of this guy, throwing fruit at people! Why, I'll...

"No!"

Yes.

"No! He's our friend!"

Your friend, maybe. Far as I'm concerned, he's a crazy dude who just chucked a fruit at me.

"He-- look, he's offering us tea."

Oh, great. What could possibly make my day more wonderful than yet another reminder that I haven't got any goddamn coffee to drink? Daniel balled his right hand into a fist, pulling back to punch the Crazy Hat-dude.

"NO!"

YES!

"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTRO--"

Oh, no, you don't. Daniel let go of the Crazy Hat-dude with his left hand, as his right hand swung around, connecting with a loud crack! against his face.

"You idiot. You just punched yourself in the face."

It was worth it, to hit you.

"Are you serious?"

Daniel noticed that everyone gathered was staring at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "Uh... I meant to do that."

They were still staring. "I... wanted to see if I could take it."

"God damn, you are stubborn."

"Turns out I could?" Daniel offered, trying to minimize the current levels of awkwardness.

The Hare laughed in spite of itself at the situation. By my name, that hurt. Do me a favour, don't go punching yourself again any time soon?

[Sicon112]

Lawrence's brooding was interrupted by the annoyance glancing his way. He let out a quiet sigh as he noticed this, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to continue in peace.

Sure enough, half a second later, something came flying at his head. He didn't really bother looking to see what it was, but only smoothly brought his arm up from his side, across the incoming object's trajectory, and up to his head, where he began absently twisting the lock of hair that hung between his eyes once more. However, as his hand crossed the projectile's path, an extremely careful observer might have caught the slightest glimpse of a glint of metal, flashing in the light.

The carrot, for that was what it seemed to be, hit the tree Lawrence was leaning on and fell into numerous, thinly cut pieces. Within him, he could feel the Rabbit's anger growing as the white creature's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. His own eyebrow arched upwards as he glanced over at the source of all this bother...

...only to find him being hoisted off of the ground by the tall student that had followed him from the burning building. The Rabbit's anger suddenly turned to happiness as cackling ran through Lawrence's mind. "You know, for a guy the Hare picked, he isn't half bad!"

Would you kindly stop cheering? You are giving me a headache. Lawrence, of course, was perfectly content with the current situation, but all the noise was getting on his nerves.

"Hmph. Why don-" It was at this moment that the tall boy promptly punched himself in the face. Lawrence's mind fell totally silent as his eyebrow rose even further. "...Wait... did he just try to punch th-" Suddenly understanding what was going on, the Rabbit devolved into hysterical laughter, leaving Lawrence to take his turn silently twitching his eyebrow in annoyance.

Shut up, you idiotic rabbit! The laughter only continued, until Lawrence slammed the door to the clocktower and bolted it behind him.

[Guyshane]

Shane had gotten up during the arrivals of the other students a was watching as introductions (if you could call them that) were made. He had also heard when the physics teacher had said that Alice could fix everything. Is that really possible? Alice just fixes everything?....Oh right I closed off the Knight. Oh hell if I let him loose now he's gonna be pissed. Still... With a sigh Shane reopened the doors and let the Knight out. YOU FOOL BOY! I should court-martial you for that you piss-ant! Shane patiently waited several minutes as the Knight went on ranting and swearing. Eventually Shane just sort of tuned him out and watched as the others interacted. And for another thing!....Are you even listening to me? I don't know. Kinda? Maybe? I lost track somewhere around the insults to my family. I swear you must be the hardest to deal with out of all the ones we Underlanders have chosen.

I really doubt that.
Oh?
I'm extremely easygoing, imagine what its like to be paired with one of the OCD ones
I would probably get along better with them
You give me no cred- what?

The large student who had recently arrived (Shane thought his name started with a "D" or something) had just punched himself in the face instead of his intended target. That must of been painful. Probably. Then the boy spoke: "I wanted to see if I could take it..turns out I could?" He doesn't honestly expect us to believe that? I certainly hope not There was a brief moment before both of them burst out laughing, Shane out-loud and the Knight inside Shane's head.

"Okay well that happened, I would have looked for you guys sooner if I knew I would get comedy gold like this" Shane said as he walked closer to the table. "But maybe now we could get on with whatever we're planning to do so that I can get some rest? Seriously its only noon but I've done more than I usually do in two days today, plus I need to take a shower to get this stuff off me." Gesturing to the dried blood as he said it. Take some tea my boy. Why? It would be rude not to. Deciding that it didn't really matter Shane grabbed a tea cup at random and drank from it. "Oh I suppose I should ask your names, I have a horrible memory." He took another sip and then glared suspiciously at the drink.

"Why is this Dr.Pepper?"

[IslaKariese]

Lori blinked at her self-appointed carriage horse. Did... Did he just punch himself?

"Indeed he did, little Willow."

Lori's face shifted into a more unimpressed look. How much you wanna bet it was the Hare's fault?

"Well, I'm not a betting man," said Chess, grinning like a loon. "I'm not a man at all, in fact. But I would say that the boy's just as mad as the Hare. Would have to be, to manage living in the same thought-space as that insane lout."

The girl cracked the smallest of smiles. Yes, I suppose you have a point there, Chess. She looked at the boy Daniel had very nearly hit, frowning in recognition. Ugh, him. Why couldn't Daniel just finish punching him? That would've made me laugh.

"Beggars can't be choosers, my dear," said the Cat with a chuckle.

Yes, but it hardly seems fair when I'm neither begging nor choosing. I simply remember losing my lunch thanks to him. Who, I ask, replaces someone's lunch with a rubber chicken?

"The Mad Hatter, of course. You certainly don't need me to tell you that."

Apparently I do, since you didn't tell me when it happened. Lori folded her arms, radiating displeasure towards her partner. I have no reason to despise your brothers-in-arms, but that doesn't mean I can't hold a grudge.

"Oh, feel free, lovely. I still have one, since the Hatter has never invited me to one of his tea parties. Always something about it being tea time and not having time to find me, but I know better."

Unable to tell whether the Cat was being serious, Lori rolled her eyes. Then she caught sight of one of the other girls, nearly hidden in the crowd. Very unassuming, yet she shone like a very familiar beacon.

"Ah, that would be the other me I warned you about," said Chess, purring. "Split in half when we all came to Overland, but still enough of each that we couldn't fit in one person. I managed to hide her just as well as I hid you, and it's only now that I can see my reflection clearly enough to greet it. Just as happy a reunion as it is to see Alice again, don't you think?"

Lori could only nod with a wide grin splitting her face.

[agoraoptera]

Calarine nodded back with an equally wide grin at the not unfamiliar girl. Who was she anyway?

A friend, my dear, a very dear friend, the Cat purred with delight.

She opened her mouth to reply, then closed her eyes, fists clenched. The grin faded away, prowling in the background, not quite gone; the grin was never gone.

"What the hell happened back there, Cat?" she growled.

Like I said, dearest, no need for all that anger. It's simple: you fainted and I took over for a while.

"I didn't faint, you-"

-had a reunion with a colleague of mine.

"Very pleasant, I'm sure," she snarled angrily, clutching her pounding head tightly. "Who are all these people anyway?"

Very Important People, and Calarine might have interpreted its tone as unnervingly serious, but for the constant impression of its grin. And I might add, Very Important People Who Have Great Business With You. But that's alright, my dear, just think of them as, say, tea-party companions. More cats lapping from the bowl, as it were.

Calarine swallowed. As angry as she was, and as intrigued as she was by the Cat's words, there was something frightening about the voice in her head. She felt far out of her depth, a proverbial fish out of water. With a jolt, she realised just what that metaphor might mean, considering the Cat..

Perhaps she ought to step out and speak to those people. But something held her back, a vague reluctance tinged with fear. Something was about to happen.

[Scarab]

So this was what being Alice was really like.

It was like knocking down lego towers. Of course Akahana hadn’t knocked towers down as a child. she had built them up carefully piece by piece, thinking of things like the empire state building, and then feeling frustrated when she couldn’t get it exactly right. This was a great deal easier than playing with lego bricks. Alice just seemed to know where everything went, and she did everything with barely a flourish, a small, skinny child with the world in her hands and the Underland on her shoulders. Akahana watched bricks lift, an explosion in reverse, a backwards end of days. Flames curling back into themselves
Behind her, somebody had punched somebody else and a part of her felt she should be concerned of that but the power was... well, powerful. Distracting.

The vines were a bit of a surprise, athough they probably shouldn’t have been. as the flames flickered away and the rebuilt and the bricks replaced themselves precisely where they had been that very morning, the vines came too, crawling up between the roots of the building, cementing themselves into he walls – pure while blooms, most of them, but a few were tinged with red around the tips of their petals. Akahana could see them quite clearly, eyes as sharp as an eagles even from this distance. Ears sharper still, listening to the carphoney of chaos behind her. The madness of the gathering.

Alice giggled. ‘Well, what do you think, Eager Eyes? Alice’s voice was... hopeful. As if wishing for approval. ‘Do you like our new friends?’

‘...I... don’t know.’

‘But aren’t they fun?’

‘...The whole school just burned to the ground with almost everyone in it, Alice.’

‘True... And we are putting the school back together again, and all the flesh and bone within it. Nothing broken which can’t be fixed.’

‘Still... it happened... you can fix everything?’

'Maybe likely probably? Luck says yes, the wrong side of the coin says no. Shall we toss for it, Miss?'

'...No, that's alright, just do your best, Alice,' Akahana thought, then paused. 'Feel free to leave out the swimming pool if you must. I don't think I ever want to go swimming again for as long as I live.'

'Ah... Okay!'

It had happened. There was no denying that. her physics teacher stood there smiling, actually smiling at all of this chaos. As if this were all some incredible joke Akahana hadn’t understood yet. She felt she would be angrier if it weren’t for the cushion of excitement Alice had wrapped around her brain.

Anyway whatever was going on here was clearly a lot more interesting than the school house slowly being rebuilt from the ground up. Like people punching themselves sin the face, and tea appearing from nowhere and... hey, what happened to her tea cup anyway?

Some people were so easily distracted, Akahana thought. She turned to face the crowd, smiling Alice’s smile, the building still slowly rebuilding piece by piece behind her. Her eyes fell on the boy she had, apparently, saved before, wondering f he could see the right red rose blossoming at his shoulder. He –they, it was they, there were two people in that body and that wasn’t nearly as weird as it should have been – didn’t seem to be.

‘Um... Do we ever have to meet eyes with him ever again for as long as we live?’

‘I suspect so.’

‘...Damn.’

[Lordxana0]

Loric watched as the school began to rebuild itself with a soft smile. Something like this was close to a miracle, something almost indescribable. But it was not all that the Alice could do, and there would be other facts and figures that would come into play that would make this act appear to be child's play in the future. "Wonderful, now then" he turned toward the students and smiled. "You must all be terribly confused about what is happening... heck some of you might even think you are crazy, hearing voices and seeing men with guns trying to kill you." he gave them an apologetic smile before continuing. "Well happy news, none of you are crazy, not so happy news all of your lives are in danger and will continue to be in danger for many days. Now if I am right each and every one of you must be wondering why you were chosen... well if I had to guess it was just the luck of the draw, so there is that. But I think the bigger question on your minds is 'what is happening and why?' and to answer this I have to give a bit of a history lesson"

The man raised his hand and from under his sleeve burst forth thousands of butterflies of different sizes and shapes, each with a vibrant and beautiful color. "I will start this story at the very beginning, at the birth of all of reality" the butterflies made a massive dome around the teacher and each of those possessed by a spirit, even those in hiding. The sound of beating wings stopped for a moment and the creatures seemed to simply hover in the air. The entire dome was nothing but silence and darkness. "Before there was anything there was Nothing, no stars, no darkness, pure emptiness. And Nothing was fine with this. But one day something happened, a great and wonderful Something tore Nothing asunder and created Everything!" the darkness of the dome light up a pure white for a moment before changing into a picture of a night sky, filled with stars.

"Everything, unlike Nothing, was not content to simply allow things to stay stagnant, and from Everything arose the ten Giants. Creatures tasked with creating things. The Giants however argued over what exactly they should create within Everything. Five of the Giants wished to create a world of Order, where laws and constants controlled everything. They wanted a universe that would ever expand." One side of the dome became an image of multiple galaxy's.

"The other five wished to create a world that ran on madness and anarchy, where everything would be on one planet that would grow and evolve, but there would only be it." one side of the dome was filled with a massive planet in constant rotation, surrounded by utter blackness with a sun and moon in rotation around it. "They argued and quarreled until one of the giants became so angered that he struck out at Everything and created a hole in it. When the Giants looked through the hole they saw a copy of Everything, and after much debate the ten Giants came to an agreement. Five would go to the other Everything and create their world of madness and anarchy, and the other Five would stay in this Everything and create their universe of Order and peace" the dome light up with the image of two pairs of five creatures turning away from each other and walking away.

"And so they did, the five Giants of Order forged the universe as you know it, creating every last thing and the rules that would run the reality as you know it. But that is not the side we are interested in is it?" the dome went dark again before the image of the massive planet played across it once more, slowly spinning around the dome. "The planet you see is the one which your spirits come from. It has no name for no one has ever agreed on what exactly to call it. The difference between this planet and say... yours... is that there was only one planet to create, so the five Giants focused mainly on the life they would create there. So they filled the world with creatures the likes of which are unimaginable to anyone who hasn't seen them. For a time the creatures simply existed, forming their tribes and doing as all living creatures do. Time passed and the creatures formed bonds, made kingdoms, and as is the natural progression of all creatures, went to war against each other for their own silly reasons, now we reach the important part"

Loric waved his hand and scenes of a massive war began playing out over the dome. All of the soldiers and creatures were shown in shadows, but they were things of madness and chaos. "The two greatest kingdoms of the planet were known as Fable and Wonderland. Both had allies from other kingdoms but they were the grandest and most powerful. Wonderland's forces were lead by two Queens. Red of Slaughter and White of Domination. Their powers were beyond all imagination, and together they were a force the likes of which none could stop." the image of two women going onto the battlefield and destroying all in their paths appeared. "But Fable had a secret weapon, a warrior of unstoppable power. His power made those of the Queen's look like children" the dome added another figure, and this one confronted the figures of the Queens and did battle with them, forcing them back. "All appeared lost for Wonderland, until one day a girl arrived on the battlefield" another figure added, this one smaller then the Queen's. The figure stood between the man and the Queen's. "The Alice, she held dominion over all. And with the two Queens they locked away the man in a prison built of their power, for the man could not be slain." the images showed the three figures battling against the man and then a massive structure being created around him.

"And so it was that Wonderland became the most powerful kingdom on the planet. But there were still things that needed to be done. First being the Queen's needed to make sure this new girl did not interrupt their plans. In order to do this they placed a series of spells around her known as Chains. Thus by the title Alice in Chains. They would have thrown her in the prison they made for the man and the rest of Fable's greatest warriors. But a group of people who had become loyal to the Alice stood in her defense, as did the Caterpillar, the wisest creature on the planet. They took her away to train and protect, until one day she fell into a great sleep"

"As the girls training was happening the two Queens began to become wary of one another, and as so often happens they went to war against one another so they could control all of the power. Eventually it was decided that one of them would claim Alice and take her power for their own. So they lead their armies to were she lay in rest and her guardians opened a portal to come here. But in this realm they can only exist as phantoms, and need a physically body to be in, less they fade away into nothingness. And so we find ourselves here. The Queens have forced open the rift to a small degree, but with each thing they send through the rift will slowly grow larger and larger until they themselves can pass through to this world" the dome collapsed and the butterflies all flew up in a single unit and crashed against the barrier, destroying it.

The school had finished being rebuilt and all appeared normal. The bell rang and Loric turned toward them. "Now then I do believe you all have class to get to, run along or else I might have to start handing out detention notices. Also, after school please meet me in my class, I believe we have a few things to discuss" the teacher put on a smile and made his way into the school

[Guyshane]

Shane couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. All of this: the Fables, the Wonderland, the Giants. It was all just so...huge. He was beginning to feel that he was out of his depth like he never had been before. Remembering the teacher's admonishment he decided to start walking to school, to get back to something that was normal. Shane managed to get out:“Well it was nice to meet you all! Goodbye! See you some other time!” Before hurrying towards the school by a different route than the one taken by the teacher. He didnt slow down until he was well away from everyone.

What are you doing panicking like this? The Knight demanded. Shane shook his head. “This is way different man. I don't believe half the stuff I was just told and I have an Underlander living inside my head. For that matter why did you omit so damn much? That was not the first time I should have been hearing that.”
It wasn’t important to the mission at that point and now that it is the Caterpillar has already explained it, in a simple, easy to understand way. Shane had calmed down somewhat and went back to mindspeak. In the future, unless we are immediately under attack don't leave out shit like that.
Oh fine you ninny. Now get the class! You have to keep up with your school work. For once Shane just nodded and went on to class.
------------------------------------------------------------------
About halfway back Shane had decided to question the Knight about what he would be facing from now on. And had continued doing so throughout the day.
Bandersnatch
Once again, different name but yes the best exists.
The paranoid, hyper-prepared White Knight?
A close relative
Jabberwocky?
I really don’t want to talk about THAT[/i]

The teacher was droning on but Shane didn’t care. School suddenly seemed less important than usual in the face of mad queens from another dimension sending their bloodthirsty minions after you. That bad huh? [b]I worked with it for a while during the war against the Fables, later I had to kill it So what's the problem? The queens brought it back, not that I'm sure it would have stayed dead anyway. After all the time I've been gone we might have an impossible fight on our hands if it shows up. Shane looked around at all the other students just scribbling away in their notebooks.

Not an hour ago they were all running and screaming for their lives. The ones that were still alive anyway. And now it was like nothing had ever happened. Human lives are cheap, now thats just depressing. Is the fact that they are cheap more important? Or the fact that they get to keep on living. It doesn’t seem so bad when you put it like that. The bell rang and Shane left the classroom. A short walk afterwards he found himself at the door to Mr. Masters' room. Looks like we're early. We can wait for everyone else.

[Sicon112]

As the barrier caved in with a glittering waterfall of crimson sparks, Lawrence straighten from where he leaned against the tree, to all appearances not paying the slightest bit of attention to the events around him. As the bell rang in its high tower on the far side of the school, the supposed teacher finished his monologue.

"Now then, I do believe you all have class to get to. Run along or else I might have to start handing out detention notices. Also, after school please meet me in my class. I believe we have a few things to discuss."

At this last comment, Lawrence snorted to himself. Watching the teacher walk away, he addressed the others around him coldly, not bothering to turn his head to face them. "I have nothing whatsoever to discuss with you people. Neither I nor my partner owe you anything. That includes my time." Stepping forward towards the building, he slipped his hands once more into his pockets, and glanced down at his clothing, the blue of his blazer dirtied by ash and charred in places by hungry tongues of flame.

"We will have to make a stop at our room. Showing up to class like this is absolutely ridiculous." Lawrence inclined his head infinitesimally in agreement with the mental voice. Then, he returned to addressing the other human vessels.

"The Queens are both after you, and since my partner no longer works for them, I couldn't care less, as long as you don't get in my way. If anyone does feel like interfering in my business, or if you prove too incompetent to stop the attacks from upsetting my schedule, then I will deal with things myself." As if to punctuate this statement, An enormous flow of power suddenly filled the air, and Lawrence turned his head, left eye once again gleaming crimson from underneath his bangs. The Underland energy washed over the area, not exploding outward to fill it, or rushing invisibly across the ground like water flowing through rapids, but purposefully and meticulously engulfing each inch, and saturating the surroundings with its otherworldly force.

However, as suddenly as it had come, the power faded away, and behind his dark hair, Lawrence's eye returned to normal. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have Functions in..." Like the calm that had replaced the wave of power, the bored, and above all perfectly normal sounding tone that replaced the ice cold voice from a moment before appeared without warning. Casually withdrawing a cell phone from his pocket, Lawrence flipped it open and glanced at the clock on its screen. "...Thirty-eight seconds. Tch." Making a sound of supreme annoyance, he pocketed his phone quickly and straightened. "Rabbit! We are leaving. Now." Snapping out one last comment, the boy's immense power once more swallowed up the surroundings, bearing down on the others with an invisible weight. In the space of a moment, Lawrence's outline began to shift, as though his clothes were changing form while still on his body.

Then the air around him blurred, and he was gone as though he had never been there in the first place.

[Qara-Xuan Zenith]

Daniel's nose wrinkled. All right, the thing with the butterflies had looked pretty neat, but he could definitely do without the voice that came with it. He despised people talking down to him.

The sixteen-year-old felt his hands ball into fists; in his head, the Hare merely chuckled.

Doesn't it bother you, he asked the contracted spirit, frustratedly, the dismissive way he's treating us?

"My dear friend, try to see the humour in the situation, please. You feel he's talking down to you--"

He is.

"--and yet, in order to meet your eyes, he has to look up. Why, the man looks positively ridiculous, patronizing someone almost twice his side. Why be bothered when it's so much less trouble to be amused?"

Daniel deflated a little; he had to admit that, put in those terms, it made a fairly funny picture. He chuckled a little, himself, then tried to focus on what was happening, now that he was no longer seeing red.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have Functions in... Thirty-eight seconds." It was... that guy. Helpful enough before. In his Functions cla-- oh, dammit. And that guy was already gone now, presumably on his way to class.

Daniel began to sprint for the doors, clearing the distance fairly quickly on his long legs. As he reached the entrance to the building, he thought again.

I'm going to be late no matter what. No point in getting out of breath, really.

"Haven't you been in enough trouble with administration already?" The Hare didn't think that was a laughing matter, apparently.

Daniel did, though, laughing this off easily. Oh, please. They'll be so relieved I wasn't in a fight that they won't be bothered about why I was late. He set off at a more leisurely pace for the class. And hey, maybe if I'm lucky, that guy will make my excuses. ...Though I have no bloody clue what he'd say.