[M]issing [I]n [A]ction {march&kirsten}

[Kirsten Greenhart]

"Duke! Oh, you're in trouble this time. DUKE!" Kirsten called out as she wandered, frustrated, through the hadge maze. "I hate mazes. DUKE!" Once again the dog had run off, leaving her to try and catch up. The first time had been when she fell down the rabbit hole, and now this!

She'd simply been wandering through the forest, looking around, when the blasted dog had taken off. Now, Kirsten had never been very athletic, and so she couldn't nearly keep up with the lab. The last the tiny woman had seen, was of him disappearing into the hedge maze, and now here she was. Of course, being as short as she was, she couldn't very well look over the top, and climbing was out of the option. Kirsten didn't want to know what kind of spiders might be hiding in there.

And now, the girl was lost. "I hate mazes! I always got lost in the corn mazes back home. They'd have to people in looking for me! And now, here I am, wandering around one, looking for that damn dog. I'm gonna throttle him! DUKE!" She cried out one last time, before dropping to the ground, not caring if her jeans got dirty.

"I'm just gonna sit here. Duke will come back eventually, and if he doesn't, somebody else from this odd place is sure to wander by eventually." With that decided, and trying not to wonder how often anyone came into this maze, Kirsten pulled her hair back into a pony tail at the nape of her neck and waited, for something, anything, to happen.

[marchhare]

Marchy had been set off to go visit his friend the Knave of Hearts, who-- despite being a wanted criminal in the palace-- still lurked around the grounds of the palace, planning his tart-stealing adventures.

As much as Marchy enjoyed visiting his friend-- who always entertained him with some sort of song or story-- it was damn hard to find the man since the only way to the grounds was to go through the hedge maze. Marchy was not very good at finding his way through the maze, and had once spent over a week trying to find his way through it. In the end, he had found his way back to the entrance and had skipped his visit with the Knave, instead just opting to go home.

But he had gotten himself rather lost again. He had been wandering for only an hour so far, so he was not completely disheartened. It usually took much longer for the Joker to get bored and finally let you get through the maze. He wandered for a little, then heard shouting from a few turns away. He followed the sound of the voice, and found a young lady sitting slumped in the middle of the maze. A grin appeared across his face. A plaything! Oh such luck was unusual on the grounds of the palace.

He approached her, quickly fixing his own hair, and smiling as he neared her. "You look a little lost my darling. It seems we're in the same boat, you and I. But some company is always nice, no?"

[Kirsten Greenhart]

Kirsten sighed, already bored with waiting. A sudden voice startled her, causing her to leap to her feet, though she almost fell flat on her face. "Oh, you startled me!" She looked the man over, happy to see that he was relatively normal looking. It had been her misfortune to pass a man with a tail and purple hair on her way here. "Yes, I am lost. My dog ran in here, and I can't seem to find him. You wouldn't happen to have seen him, have you? He's a chocolate lab, about this tall." She gestured to show how tall the dog was, his head coming just above her waist.

Looking up at the man again, Kirsten was more than a little annoyed to see that he was much taller than she, which wasn't rare, but just once she'd like to meet someone who it didn't hurt her neck to look at. "Yes, company is always nice, especially in a situation such as this." She flashed him a smile, tightening her pony tail. "I'm Kirsten." The tiny woman said, dusting off her pants before holding out her hand for him to shake.

[marchhare]

"Yes, you do look a bit lost, my dear. Do you know where you are?" The Hare asked, a smile creeping onto his face. This was always a fun part, seeing what the humans thought was actually happening to them. Eventually, they all couldn't deal with the fact that they were in some story-book land or whatever they thought this place was, and they broke down.

Then they turned into playthings. Actually, she would make a perfect plaything for his party later. "And I know how hard it is, feeling lost. But if you'd like some company in our strange messed up world, look no further." He said, opening his arms wide as if to embrace her. "I'm March. You could call me Marchy, March, Mad March--- whatever floats your boat, to be honest."

"And Kristen." He said with a small smile, as if savoring just saying the name. "A beautiful name fit for a beautiful girl, my dear. You and I will be good friends, I can tell. Oh! But your dog. I haven't seen the wee thing, though I'm not a huge fan of dogs, to be quite honest. But we could always look for him. If that's the most important thing to you at the moment."

[Kirsten Greenhart]

Kirsten looked up at him thoughtfully. "I know exactly where I am. Or, well, vaguely. I know I'm in Wonderland, just not what part." She looked around, as if she could determine her position any better than she could before. "A kind girl named Mary-Ann explained it to me. Do you know her?"

A sigh slipped out as she checked the violin case strapped to her back once more. "Anyways, company sounds wonderful. I'm sick of stumbling around lost. And it's wonderful to meet you March. Wait." She stopped, remembering something, and looked up at the man, green eyes wide. "March? as in March Hare?" Her feet slowly took her backwards as she remembered her converstion with the girl from earlier.

Kirsten's face grew angry, her eyes sparking. "Nuh uh. You just stay away from me. I don't want your help finding my dog, and I don't want your company either. Mary-Ann warned me about you, and I don't care to become anyone's plaything." She spit the word out with disgust, still slowly backing away from the man. "I don't care to meet you, The Mad Hatter, or the Joker, so just leave me be. I won't be kidnapped, you hear me?" With that she, bumped into a hedge, startling herself so bad she yelped.

[marchhare]

March laughed loudly at her reaction to his name, though he felt a little guilty. He was only looking to have some fun, but obviously Mary-Ann was out to spoil it for him. "Oh please, miss, don't be so frightened. And certainly don't listen to anything that little saboteur has to say about anything. She's playing both sides, you see? I mean to say, she's a spy for that crazy-ass Joker--- the maddest one of us in Wonderland."

He took a step closer holding out a hand. "I'm not that bad a guy, I just enjoy having a good time. And if you don't want to be a plaything, well that's all right by me. I don't force anyone to do anything. That's not how Wonderland works." he said, smiling lightly. He'd never met anyone who had seemed frightened by him.

"You're free to stay in my company and get out of this maze. Or you could leave and stay stuck. Joker won't let a pretty girl like you leave that easily. He controls the maze you know. Doesn't always let people leave, especially if he takes a liking to them." he shrugged. "Mary-Ann's probably already told him all about you."

[Kirsten Greenhart]

Kirsten only glared harder when he laughed at her. The thought of calling for Duke again, to come and protect her, ran through her head, but all thoughts scattered as he finished talking. She bit her lip, brows drawing together as she thought, before sighing, her anger practically dissipating as quickly as it came. "Alright. While I have trouble believing that about Mary-Ann, since she seemed rather nice to me, I don't like being lost." She shuddered.

"And I especially don't like being stuck here by some evil mad man." Kirsten placed her hand in his hesitatingly, and pulled away from the hedge.

"Just no funny business." She warned, fixing the strap that held her violin case on her back. "But I think I believe you." Looking him over once more, a slight blush grew in her cheeks, as the thought that she may not totally mind being his plaything came unbidden to her mind. "Do you think you could still help me find my dog? I can't leave him here." Big green eyes were turned pleadingly upon the man.

[marchhare]

"Oh but I do enjoy the funny business..." March said, shooting her a look of utter sadness before perking up again in a split second. "I'm just kidding." he told her, hoping she wouldn't get all jumpy again.

He noticed her give him the glance over, and then blush slightly, and he grinned, turning around and heading in the direction he had come from. "Yes, yes my lady, we can go find your little pup. And then I must insist you join me in a get together with my little friends. Only for a little," he promised her quickly before she could object, "In exchange for helping you find the wee thing."

He paused, turning back to her. "Do we have a deal?"

[Kirsten Greenhart]

Kirsten couldn't help the smile that grew on her lips. "Well, I do have to admit that some funny business is fun, just not the mean kind." She hurried to catch up with him, biting her lower lip as he turned around with the deal. She mulled it over for a minute, before deciding that she needed the help.

A quick nod, causing her hair to come free of the ribbon that bound it. With a sigh, she bent over to pick up the ribbon and stuff it into her pocket as her hair fell around her shoulders. "Alright, we have a deal. After all, it's an excellent chance to meet other people from wonderland. But I have to warn you, he's not exactly 'little'." Kirsten held out her hand to seal the deal, a crooked grin growing on her lips.

[marchhare]

Marchy beamed, shaking her hand to seal the deal. "Lovely, simply lovely." he said, ignoring her comment about the size of the beast he was now searching for. Seemed like a hassle just to bring a little fun to his party, but he was sure it would be worth it in the end.

And suddenly he was entranced. "You have beautiful hair!" he said cheerfully, reaching out and running a hand through it. "You shouldn't tie it back like that, it's just silly. Like caging bread-and-butterfly. Just doesn't seem right to me." he smiled sweetly, then turned again quickly and headed towards the heart of the maze. "But look at me jabbering on and such when we have work to do. We have to find that pup of yours so you can come to my party later."

[Kirsten Greenhart]

Kirsten grinned, though it quickly turned bashfull, a blush staining her cheeks much more noticably when he complimented her hair. She immediately resolved to leave it down more often, before mentally smacking herself for being silly. "Thank you. It's rather a nuisance sometimes though."

Hurrying to catch up with him, she said, "Knowing him, he's probably stuck in a hedge. I only wish I had something a little nicer to wear to a party." She looked down at her well worn jeans and baggy t-shirt, before shaking her head, calling herself silly silently once more. After a moment, of thinking, she finally gave in to her curiosity. "By the way, what's a bread-and-butterfly?"

[marchhare]

"I have some clothes back at my place, if you would like to borrow something." He offered thoughtlessly, letting his mind wander onto other things, such as who would be in attendance, whether Hatter would share his playthings with him or not, and whether he would make tea for the party. Hatter's tea was infamous throughout Wonderland, truly it was.

When she asked him what a bread-and-butterfly was, he shrugged gently, then looked up, pointing out one of the many that haunted the gardens of the palace. "There's one there. Looks like just a plain white bread-and-butterfly, but you get different types, like rye and wheat and such." he said with a small smile. "Perhaps your pup has chased one into the heart of the maze. That's where they nest, you know."

[Kirsten Greenhart]

"That would be wonderful," Kirsten grinned, as she started to skip beside him, much happier now that she had company in this confusing maze. She hummed under her breath, since he seemed somewhat preoccupied, to amuse herself.

Her eyes went to where he pointed, and what she saw took her breath away. "Wow. That's amazing." She replied softly, watching the odd creature dart about like the butterflies from her world. It made her wonder what other kinds of creatures lived here that she'd yet to see. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something that looked like a miniature rocking horse flying around. "Rocking horsefly?" She questioned, laughing as it zoomed around her head a couple times before disappearing.

[marchhare]

"Right you are." he said with a laugh, reaching out to try and catch one of the little things, but missing since it was too high. "You could be a Wonderlandian with an imagination like that." he said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye and shooting her a quick smile.

"We're a fun loving people for the most part." he explained as they walked. The maze seemed to get darker and darker as they neared the center of it, most likely Joker's doing to keep those too scared of the maze from entering it's hearts and getting out in time. "We like to live and we want to have fun doing it. At least, that's how I live. We're all mad here, so why not have fun being mad?"

"But then again, that's why some of you humans don't like it here. You're not used to being able to enjoy yourself all the time. You feel like there needs to be responsibility and order to keep your lives in check." he said with a laugh. "Well, at least most of the humans I've met, anyway."

[Kirsten Greenhart]

She beamed at his comment about her imagination. From what she'd seen of Wonderland so far, it truely was a wonderful place. Well accept for Joker and whatever a Jabberwocky was. She noticed the maze getting darker as March spoke, and slowly drew closer to him, looking around warily. It's not that she was afraid of the dark, for she loved night time, but this was a rather creepy place.

"'We're all mad here.'" She repeated, a wry smile growing on her lips. "Why not indeed." A hand was ran through her hair, as she looked around once more, the smile slipping away. Kirsten drew closer still, chewing her lip. "Well, I do hople I'll be able to enjoy myself. I rather like it here. It wouldn't do if I started worrying about responsibility." Her smile grew again as she looked up at him.