Mad heard a rustling sound and looked up to find that Cheshire had somehow managed to get fifteen feet up a tree in about two seconds. Chesh's mouth was parted slightly, showing growing canines and his pupils were blown out, startled. Mad knew he was about three seconds from morphing into the giant cat creature he turned into sometimes.

"It's okay, Chesh," Mad said softly. "It's okay. I'm okay." Chesh's skin twitched as fur started creeping over his arms. "You're okay, Cheshire. Deep breath."

Chesh's claws made score marks in the branch as his fingers tightened and his eyes locked on Mad's. He took a breath and the fur started to recede. When he was sure Chesh had calmed down, he grinned and teased, "Scaredy cat."

Chesh's hair ruffled up around his head. He hissed and dropped lightly from the tree, creeping toward Mad and the girl. The girl, Mad realized, he was still holding on to. He quickly let go and stepped back. Surprised by the sudden lack of support, she wobbled and fell over.

The girl just sat there, a bewildered look on her face. She was still staring up at Mad and jumped violently when Chesh sniffed lightly at her shoulder. She swatted at him, making him flip sideways.

 Chesh scrambled over to Mad, peering at the girl over his shoulder. His ears were pressed back and he was growling softly in the back of his throat.

He made a vaguely soothing sound before taking a step forward. Or trying to. Chesh grabbed his arm, yanking him backward. He squelched a flare of irritation and, his voice stern, said, "Cheshire."

He then looked at where Chesh had grabbed him to see claw marks tearing at his coat. Blood welled up where Cheshire's claws were embedded in his skin. When Chesh saw, his eyes widened and he let go slowly. Mad narrowed his eyes, trying to ignore the painful tugging sensation of the claws being pulled from his skin.

"Sorry," he whispered, flicking a long ear in Alice's direction, though he kept his eyes on Mad.

"It's okay, Chesh. I get it." He patted Chesh's shoulder so he would know Mad wasn't angry. Chesh pressed into the contact, then melted quietly into the shadows, licking at the blood around his claws, cleaning them.

When he had disappeared, Mad grimaced, flexing his wrist. Then he crouched down next to the girl. She stared at him mutely, her eyes traveling to the torn coat and bloody sleeve.

 "What was he?" she whispered.

"Who, Chesh? He's a cat," Mad said. He tugged at the sleeve of his coat, hiding the small punctures in his wrist. 

Her face twisted. "Biggest cat I've ever seen."

He laughed, amused. His smile faded when she asked, "Where am I?"

He pursed his lips lightly, considering how he should answer her question. Then he decided to just rip off the bandage. "Wonderland."

The girl looked puzzled, but not worried. 

That will change soon enough, Mad thought grimly.

"Wonderland? What's that?" The girl cocked her head to the side. "Who are you?"

Mad stood, extending a hand to help her up. She took it and when she was standing, he removed his hat. "Madison Hatter. But you can call me Mad." He winked as he replaced his hat. "As for what is Wonderland, well that's a bit more difficult."

"Then how about where is it?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't know," Mad said simply.

She blinked. "How do you not know?"

"Well do you know where you are?" Mad asked peevishly. She shook her head. "Then why should I be expected to know where you are?" He pressed his lips together, trying to maintain his patience. 

She's lucky, he reminded himself bleakly. She could have run into one of the Aces.

She blinked rapidly, like she was trying to clear dust from her eyes. "Because... because..." She was at a loss for words.

"Exactly!" said Mad, pointing a leather gloved finger at her. "Look," he said, sighing, "I don't know where Wonderland is because Wonderland is all there is. It's... next to our world, I think. Sometimes they bump into each other. That's how people like you and I get here."

"People like you and I?" she asked.

"Real Worlders. We weren't born in Wonderland. We were brought here. Stolen." Mad grimaced as he explained.

"Stolen!" she echoed. Then said, "Wait. How did you know I'm not a..."

"Wonderlander," he supplied.

"Yes, that." She looked up at him.

"Your hair and eyes, mostly," Mad said. She looked at him, waiting for more. He sighed.

 "The Cerdyn — they're the closest thing to humans here — have either red hair and red eyes, or black hair and black eyes. It depends on which Deck they're from. Then there are the Aunimalis. They're like..." Here Mad struggled for a way to describe this Wonderlandian species. "They're like if you put the essence of an animal into a human suit. They walk and talk and look human, mostly, but they aren't human."

"Is that what... that, um, what he was?" she asked, looking again at his torn sleeve.

"Cheshire? Yeah. He's part of a group of Aunimali called Ikati. They're kind of like cats. There are others like the Usagi. They're kinda like rabbits." Mad flexed his wrist again.

"You said we had been stolen," she said suddenly. "What did you mean by that?"

He scratched at his neck. "Every once in a blue moon, someone or something in Wonderland will see something they want in Real World. If they know how, they can pull something through into Wonderland. Sometimes Wonderland itself will do it, dragging someone it wants or needs through a portal."

"So how do we get back?" she asked.

Mad laughed. "You don't get back." He laughed again, though he couldn't mask the sound's bitter edge.

"What do you mean, Mr. Hatter? How can we not get back?"

Mad was still snickering when he answered, "You belong to Wonderland now. It won't let go. Trust me. I've been trying to escape for seven years now. There's no way out."

The girl blinked, then blinked again. She didn't cry though, which he had half been expecting. Instead she asked, "You said Wonderland brought us here because it wants us. Or needs us. Why does Wonderland want me? Why are you here?"

He bristled at that and was about to snap that it was none of her business when Cheshire faded into being. He looked agitated, his canines poking out again. He spotted Mad and, sounding worked up, said, "Mad! There's a Real World cat here! She's..." he stopped and hissed. "She's running around like a lunatic, scaring the hell out of people. She's going to start a riot!"

It was Mad's turn to blink. "That's a bit over-dramatic, don't you think, Chesh?"

Chesh hissed again, his cat eyes glowing. "Last I saw her, she was running into Mishka!"

"Oh," Mad said. "Yeah, that might cause a problem." A sudden thought came to him and he turned to the girl. "Girl. You didn't happen to do something as foolish as bring a Real World cat here with you, did you?"

Her eyes narrowed and she snapped, "It's Alice. Not girl."

He threw his hands up. "The hat doesn't mean I'm a magician, Alice. How could I have possibly known your name?" Chesh growled a little and Mad said, "Right. Back on target. A cat, Alice, did you bring a cat?"

Alice paused, frowning. "Well, I was chasing my cat Dinah through a forest when..."

"When you found yourself here?" Mad asked with dismay.

"Yes," she answered, sounding wary now.

"Chesh," Mad turned to the Wonderland cat. "Can you bring the Real World cat here?" Chesh grumbled, but nodded before fading out of existence, his eyes and teeth the last things to disappear.

Alice turned to him. "He's your cat?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Mm-hm, or I'm his human. It depends on who you ask." Mad tugged at the edge of his glove again.

Alice frowned and said, "I'm not sure that actually clears anything up."

He laughed, kind of entertained by her spunk. "Get used to it, kid." 

They waited in a vaguely uncomfortable silence. Alice turned her gaze to the ground every time Mad looked at her, so he stood quietly, fiddling with the cuff of his glove.

 The silence was shattered by an awful yowling sound and Chesh appeared then, trying to hold onto a beautiful girl with white hair and blue eyes. She clawed at Chesh, leaving bleeding lines down the side of his face.

Chesh hissed and flung the girl away from him, then scrambled to put himself in between Mad and the girl. 

"I thought you said she was a cat?" Mad inquired.

"She is!" Chesh growled. "Can't you see anything, Mad?"

Mad's eyelid fluttered with irritation. "All I see is a very angry girl."

 The girl hissed at him and he caught a glimpse of pure white ears pressing down into her snowy hair.

"Oh. Never mind," Mad said. The girl hunched her shoulders up, shifting in the way a tiger does before it springs. He backed up, bumping into a tree and Chesh growled in warning.

Before the girl could attack or Mad could pull a gun, Alice stepped between them. 

"Alice?" the white-haired girl said, eyes widening. "Alice!" she cried, flinging her arms around the now very surprised Alice.

"Who are you?" Alice asked, her forehead puckering in confusion.

The girl pulled back, a pout forming on her delicate lips. "Don't you recognize me? It's me! It's Dinah!"

"Dinah?" Alice said faintly. "But.. how.. you.. what?"

Mad felt sorry for Alice, remembering the first time he had met Cheshire. "She's probably your familiar. Or you're her human. Like I said, it depends on who you ask," Mad explained, still keeping a hand on a gun and an eye on Dinah.

"Definitely you're our humans," Chesh purred, rubbing his head against Mad's shoulder like some kind of over-grown house cat.

"Well," Mad began. "Miss..." He trailed off, not knowing her last name.

"It's just Alice," she said, lifting her chin stubbornly. Which looked difficult, considering that Dinah was still wrapped around her like a second skin.

"Miss Alice," he said easily, unoffended by the cagey response. "Until you know what you're going to do here in Wonderland, might I offer my hospitality? I'm afraid that you'll find other Wonderlanders to be much less friendly than I am."

"Friendly? That's a stretch, isn't it, Mad?" Chesh scoffed quietly. He dodged an elbow from Mad, who shot a glare at Cheshire before turning his attention back to Alice.

Alice hesitated, then seemed to come to the conclusion that she didn't really have any other option. He was glad she had realized this on her own. Spelling out the cruelty of Wonderland was not something he wanted to do since it would only reignite his desire to leave. That flame rarely brought good outcomes.

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Hatter. I do think..." she stopped as the unmistakable sound of a gunshot cracked through the air.

Mad felt his shoulders tighten. There were exactly three people in Wonderland who owned firearms, including him. The Queen had banned the inhabitants from owning them to prevent any kind of uprising. She had given Mad permission to carry firearms in an attempt to gain his favor.

Chesh glanced at him; his pupils were thin slits that betrayed his fear. "An Ace is hunting, Mad."

"Yeah." Mad inhaled. "Yeah. On second thought, Chesh, take Miss Alice and Dinah to Maris. I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

"But Mad!" Chesh started.

"Now, Cheshire!" Mad commanded, watching as Chesh flinched, unable to disobey a direct order.

He grimaced, hating to force Chesh, but if his suspicions were correct, then Alice needed to be far from him when an Ace showed up.

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Cerdyn is Welsh for Card

Ikati is Zulu for Cat

Usagi is Japanese for Rabbit

Mishka is Bulgarian for Mouse