Have you ever wondered what happens to the beloved fairytale creatures you've become so fond of after they get their "Happily Ever After"? Well they wind up here, of course, Ever After.
You see, in all those stories you read as a child, Ever After was never a state of happiness, like you so wrongfully assumed. No, Ever After is a place, my dear. Isn't it obvious? It's right there in black and white. "..and so, the prince and princess lived happily in Ever After..."
Whats that you say? You've never noticed that one key word, is it? Well I do suppose storytellers make mistakes. They are humans after all.
But now we're getting off topic.
Yes, Ever After is a wonderful and peaceful town where all the fairytale creatures can live in peace and harmony. Though, things do get a bit.. strange at times.
Well, how about you just see for yourself?

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RESERVED
(just in case)

Red stretched and yawned as she padded through the woods just outside of town. It would be daylight soon which meant it was time for her to get some shut eye. She poked her head into a bush and pulled out a small wicker basket containing a few fur pelts and a couple other personal items Red was fond of. She kept them stashed here for safekeeping. Though she had a cloak it didnt exactly offer anywhere safe to stow her belongings, and because she had no real 'home' per say, her old wicker basket was the next best thing.
Carefully, Red removed of the fur pelts and closed the basket, stashing it in the same place md sure to cover any holes that might give away its location. She layed the pelt on the ground and smiled to herself, "There ya go, Wolfie." Red knew he wasn't around, but he would eventually find it. And it turn, her.
With her signal in place she climbed up the nearest tree and sprawled out on one of the bigger branches, her cloak draped over her body as a sort of make shift blanket. "Thank you." She whispered to the tree as she started to doze off.

The morning's rays were just beginning to knock on the glass that separated the outside world from that of the cozy, warm room of the inn. Gretel was the first to stir, but even she was feeling oddly lethargic today. Perhaps it had everything to due with her bruised back? Had she not fallen from the tree in a failed attempt to snatch a witch, she might be a little more spry. Still, it can't be helped. Hunting supernatural creatures had its tolls and those tolls often wore the body out. It's not like Gretel was immortal or otherworldly. No, no, she was just a plain, boring, mortal, human just like her handsome brother who was just now beginning to stir.

"You need to shower," he lazily rolled up off the floor. The room came with only one bed and that always went to Gretel. Hansel was sussed used to the floor by now that he paid no attention to the hard floor. In fact, he actually found it more comforting that the hay bed his sister rested upon.

A growl pursued her lips. "Back at you," she snipped. It was true, neither had taken a shower in the past four days. They were beyond the definition of foul-smelling. Their skin desperately needy cleaning so much so that they might glow after the old coat of deerskin was removed.

The inn the two stayed in wasn't the nicest, but it was the cheapest. It also came with free hot water, which was a perk they desperately wanted. Gretel was the first to bathe as she had the long hair that needed more time to dry. After dumping out Gretel's slimy, grimy water, Hansel stepped into the tub and let the warm water burn away at his skin. It was so refreshing. He loved this more than his sister, which was odd.

After a good cleaning, the two moved downstairs into the lodge part of the inn. The scent of newly smoked venison made their mouths water to the point of almost frothing. They looked like ravenous animals that hadn't eaten in weeks. This, of course, wasn't the case. With their skills, the two were more than capable of keeping full and fed. Their rations depended entirely upon the surplus of food in the area. This week's hunt was rather exciting for they took in a few quails and a young fawn. Venison and fowl were just two things that twins had learned to love. After all, the meat was better than the cornmeal. That was hard and dull, without flavor whatsoever.

"We'll have what they're having," Hansel chirped to the waitress that stepped up to take their order. Looking around the inn, the pair noticed there were some unusual characters lurking about. A quick exchange between the two surmised that something was afoot and neither knew what to expect.

"Destiny has a funny way of showing up and turning you around," Gretel retorted to the blonde across from her. "Perhaps today will mark the beginning of the next chapter in our book."

The peculiar young man had awoken early in his small hut near the edge of town. He fixed a simple breakfast consisting of oatmeal and some fruit. The oatmeal he ended up sharing with the hen that also occupied the hut. Of course the curious hen hadn’t given the male much of a choice with her persistent clucking. If one didn’t know better they might have thought the hen had grinned and laugh once she got her way. Jack pet the little white hen on the head. “Fine you win this morning.” The chicken clucked at him in return causing him to smile.

Henretta was a curious and mysterious little bird indeed. It seemed that she was able to understand humans, though not many understood the hen when she attempted to communicate. It was only natural that Jack could understand the hen when she talked as the two of them had been together since he was a young boy. Anyway the male went about his normal morning routine. After breakfast he pulled out a journal and began looking it over. What was inside was anyone’s guess since he wrote it in a code that only he knew. While reading over his latest entry he grinned. “Henretta today shall be a good day to go on an adventure.”

In a small cottage at the edge of town and right at the beginning of the forest, a woman with extremely long golden red hair was just stirring. Sitting up in bed Rapunzel let out a yawn and pushed her covers off. After slipping her feet into a pair of slippers and grabbing up her long braid, she made her way into the kitchen. She quickly whipped up some breakfast and sat down to eat after starting a fire and swinging the large cauldron hanging on an iron hook over it to heat up water for a bath later.

Rapunzel cleaned up her breakfast and went back to her room to get changed. She slipped of of her nightgown and changed into a pair of brown pants and a forest green long-sleeved shirt. She put on a brown sleeveless leather vest and after tucking her pants into brown leather soled boots and lacing them up she grabbed a hooded forest green cape and tied it around her neck. Walking over to her dresser Rapunzel picked up a gold chain belt and placed it around her waist. There was a hook on the right side. She coiled up her extremely long braid and placed it on the hook so it wouldn't trail after her on the ground.

Her braid was intricate. There were gold and silver spikes braided throughout her long hair, it was her best weapon. Then after grabbing her leather shoulder bag Rapunzel walked out of her house and entered the forest. Today she was after some rare herbs.

Alice peaked out the window of her small cottage and smiled. "Yes it is morning." She said, answering the voices in her head. "Hush now, we'll go adventuring as soon as we're out of our night shit." She scolded, waggling her finger at empty air. "Well come on then." She said impatiently as she went to her old rotting wardrobe and removed a very wrinkled and torn blue dress. Alice had done her best at repairing the torn seems, but sewing just wasn't her forte. She shed her night shirt and forced her head through the hole in her dress. "Yes, I know. Stalkings." She said almost aggravated with the voices. "You sound just like mother with that nagging!" She pulled open a drawer on the wardrobe and removed a pair of black and white striped horizontal stalkings. There were grass and dirt stains clouding up the once brilliant white stripes, but never the less she pulled them on, paying no attention to the horrid stains. Alice slipped on a pair of dirty black combat boots and stood up to look at herself in the full body mirror, now cracked from one of her more angry outbursts. "Pretty as a picture, that's what mother would say." She stated to the empty room with a sad smile on her face. She looked into the mirror and pursed her lips, almost as if trying to remember something. "Mother.. where..?" For a moment the sanity seemed to return to Alice, she stretched an arm out, her index finger extended, towards the glass before her. But just as soon as the moment was there, it was gone again. She blinked and shook her head, turning away from the mirror. "Yes, we're going. Shame on you, you really have no patience, do you?" She asked as she turned the knob to her front door and stepped outside. As she walked Alice pulled a black ribbon from her pocket and gathered her messy, untamed hair into it, tyeing it securely in a tight bow. "Now, then.. Where to first?"

Ariel looked up at the dismal place that her and Tink now called home. It had once been a very famous place of Scientific research but it was now abandonned to the world as were many things. She often wished it was still the way it had been, that she was still the reknowned researcher she once was but that was in the past. But after the explosion in this place it was all tink and her could do to survive. At least the place still offered shelter, and a place to work. The other scientists may be gone, but at least She could still do research, her and tink were all that was left, but at least they had each other.

She smiled, and then slid aside the broken door, which although unconventionally, still served as a door to keep the elements out. Sliding through and then closing the "Door" behind her, she vaguely thought to herself that she needed to remember to fix that door in the proper way one of these days. She headed down decrepit and falling apart hallways, one, two, and three in all. She stopped only once to grab something from one of the rooms along the way. Eventually she stopped in front of an old door, this one glass and paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

She opened the door to the place, there sanctuary and there workhouse. A small fairy, once extrodinarily full of life and joy was in the corner at the moment working on something. Tink was more sober then she had once been but there was something magical about her tinkering, she always did love to tinker and it brought the best out in her. Ariel smiled before heading over to her own workbench to try to once more perfect the syrum that would allow non-mermaids to breath underwater. She had found one that had worked on her, but she had mermaid DNA and a try on a mouse had terrible results.

Tink was in the middle of working on a new project, something she thought the people around this place would like, or at least something that Ariel would like. A machine that created an air bubble for people to breath underwater, it was not a permanent solution, but it was a start. She was so wrapped up in her work that she did not initially hear the door open, it was only when she went to grab something off Ariel's desk that she noticed the tall redhead was there. "Oh! When did you get back?"

"Just a little while ago, You were busy over there so I didn't want to bother you in your work"

"You could have, I'm about near done for the day anyhow"

"Did you wanna go get some chow? We still have a little money from when you sold that last invention of yours."

"A good homecooked meal DOES sound better then hunting at the moment, sure. I'm game, lets go down to the tavern."

"Sounds good to me"

With full bellies, the twins decided it was time to head out and begin their adventure for the day. Hansel glanced over at the woman that rose alongside him. "What are we doing again?" He forgot the mission sometimes. He did have bigger and better things to remember, which was why Gretel had become the brains of the operation. He could sense her smugness before she even showed it. "Oh yeah, gathering today. Right?" A nod came from the woman. "Boring." A cold look was shot his way. "Boring, boring, boring," he repeated until a hand was raised. "What? It is." Letting out a sigh, he shifted forward and made his way toward the door.

Leaving the inn behind, the two trekked to the outskirts of town. Peering into the woods, Hansel let his green orbs rest on Gretel for a moment. "After you," he replied in a cocky tone. "You know what we're looking for... right?" He caught the woman swing at him, which allowed him to dodge before skipped forward a bit. "Oh lighten up, sis. Get your panties out of that knot and learn to have some fun." The words came too soon though, as Hansel was tripped over his own laces and planting himself firmly in the fresh mud that was made possible by the tied horses. A fit of giggles erupted from Gretel. "Lighten up, brother. It's only a mixture of sh-- and piss~!" Chirping in delight, she skipped away from her now soiled brother. "Come, come! We've berries and herbs to collect!"

Pushing himself from the mess, Hansel groaned before sloshing away from the snickering horses that seemed to enjoy the show. "I'll turn you into glue," he growled, which instantly silenced the horses. "That's what I thought." Hands shoving into his pockets, the brunette followed his sister into the forest. The would travel up the hill and into the thick of the forest where a tiny stream dug through the hillside. It was there where Hansel would tidy up while Gretel picked some of the currents by the water's side.

OOC: I hope it's okay that I posted again.
I noticed no one was in the same spot so I figured I would move
my pair out so someone could bump into them, if desired.

"... a little tea-pot short and stout... da da da-da da," the young man sang to himself as he worked on the hat in front of him. The design for it had wondered into his head sometime the night before and, not wanting to lose it, he stayed up all night to complete it. This wasn't unusual for him in any way, though. He slept when he wanted to, be it day or night. Sometimes he didn't even sleep at all. This man made and followed his own rules, and because they were his own he could bend them to his own wishes. Being ordered around by others never really tickled his fancy. It, among other things, actually made him quite mad and most people understood that making him feel this was not the wisest thing to do.

He held the little bowler hat up to his face and twirled it in his gloved hands. "Hmm," he said to the hat," A feather is what you need, my dear." After looking at it discerningly for a little while longer his mind was made up. " Yes, yes, a feather and you will be perfect. Then maybe we can find you a lovely little home." He set the little blue hat down on the desk gently, not wanting to bruise it and set off to rummage around his shop. To an outsider, the shop looked to be in absolute chaos. But, to this young Hatter, it was no less than perfect. Yes he would have to constantly search for any bits and bobs he needed, but he liked it in a way. It made the making of a new hat an adventure and this made the final project much sweeter.

After a while of rummaging, the Hatter placed his hands on his hips and sighed." Not a single feather to be found. Well, a trip around town is necessary then." He vaulted over some books and grabbed his own, large green hat from it's perch atop a shelf. Looking at it lovingly, he dusted it, adjusted it's little 10/6 sign and placed it on his head. "You need some fresh air anyway," he said as he tapped the hat," Perhaps we'll find a little birdie that will bee kind enough to give us a feather." He tugged his black swallow-tailed coat on, adjusted his rather and grabbed his cane." If not, then perhaps we'll gain a fowl dinner aswell." With a chuckle he locked the door behind him and took a deep breathe. The streets were fairly quiet as people were just beginning to stir. Without another thought the Hatter strode down the road, swinging his cane as he went, a man on a mission.

Things were quiet as the male travelled down an all too familiar path through the forest. It would be dawn soon and that meant he could nap soon. Conri glanced around to make sure no one was near before shifting into his wolf form. After shifting he turned, disappearing into some underbrush. His new path twisted and turned like a maze. If one didn’t know the way they could easily get lost. He grinned to himself for a moment before emerging from one of the numerous exists.

The large wolf shook out his fur as he surveyed the area. All seemed fine for now. He moved on to where he knew Red would be waiting for him. As he approached their normal sleeping spot he seen the fur pelt on the ground a sign that Red was already there. Conri made a last patrol around the area before coming back the pelt. The wolf made a circle around it then lied down, stretching out a bit. He yawned, resting his head on his paws. “Good night Red,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.

Deep in the forest Rapunzel was crouched at the base of a rocky mountain. The soil underneath the rocks was known to house so rare healing herbs. This was the fifth place she had dug into and she finally saw what she had came for. She carefully pulled the plants out of the earth, roots and all. After wrapping them up carefully in a couple of large leaves she then wrapped the leaves in a thick piece of leather. Standing up she placed it in her shoulder bag and brushed her knees off.

Parched she decided to walk to a stream dug into a hill nearby that had extremely fresh water. Whistling softly to herself she marched onward and to her destination. After a few minutes she came upon the stream and walked to the water. Grabbing out her canteen she bent down and filled it up. Off to her right she noticed two people, a man and a women(Hansel and Gretel). It looked like the man was cleaning up while the woman seemed to be picking something. She drained her canteen and filled it up again. All that digging had made her thirsty.

The cool water was more than refreshing. It probably didn't help that it was a bit too cool, but Hansel didn't seem to mind too much. He happily splashed around in the water and even splashed toward Gretel a few times. When she drew back her hand to strike, Hansel realized it was time to grow up and help the brunette. However, that plan wasn't about to happen, as his eyes spied a reflection in the water further down the stream. His head popped up and his green orbs shifted toward the silhouette of a woman, and a rather pretty one at that. Running his hand through his sun-kissed hair, he loosely grabbed at his top-less chest. It was a tad awkward standing in the water with nothing but pants on, but Hansel did have handsome features on his side. His body rippled with perfection. A six-pack was plain as day on his stomach and his pecks were firm, just like his muscular arms. A light blush crossed his cheeks as he turned away.

Gretel, out of the corner of her eye, saw her other half turn a shade of red. Cocking a brow, her deep emerald eyes scanned the area. Why the hell was he being so bashfu-

Her eyes narrowed. Who the hell was that b---h. Even though Hansel was her brother, Gretel absolutely hated the idea of her brother 'getting with' someone. To her, he would always be a virgin. He was too much of a coward around women. Hell, if the bar wenches weren't interested in him, what made the oaf think this lady, her looks beautiful without compare, would fall for him. Wetting her lips, Gretel almost felt like it was her turn to lust over this lady. However, Hansel slipping on a mossy rock derailed her. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes before returning to her berry picking.

Flailing in the water, Hansel tried to regain his legs but found it far too hard. It didn't help that he was terrified of water either. Thankfully, his thrashing and splashing did prove semi-useful to him. Within no time, he was within feet of the woman who filled her canteen. On his toes, Hansel finally broke free from the stream's grip. With a grin slapped on his face, he whirled around to see that he was no longer near his sister. In fact, he was now just an army's length away from that woman.

His brow collected beads of sweat as he tensed. Just how much did he flail? And why wasn't Gretel helping him? With a gulp, he snapped his head away from the woman to hide the redness that controlled his cheeks. "Uhh, you... you shouldn't wander the f-f-forest alone. It's... it's danger... dangerous," he finally stammered out.

Out of the corner of her eye Rapunzel couldn't help but notice the mans flailing about. She also couldn't hep but notice how handsome he was and how pretty the woman was. Trying to hide her smile at his actions she ducked her head and continued to fill up her canteen.

Looking up from the water she glanced at the man when he spoke. He stumbled his words, making him appear bashful. She gave him a smile and straightened from her crouch. Putting the cap on her canteen she carefully placed it in her bag, so as to not squash her precious herbs. "It can be dangerous yes, but not if you know how to take care of yourself." She looked up at him eyes and smiled once more. "Who says I am alone?" She let out a sharp whistle, a hawks screech immediately came from above. The massive bird swooped down from a nearby tree and landed carefully on Rapunzel's shoulder. She reached a hand up to stroke the magnificent creatures head. "This is Alexios, he warns me of danger. I'm Rapunzel." Alexios had been with her for a very long time. While she had been trapped in her tower years ago he had been her only friend. The two were inseparable.

A piece of bread here, an apple there. The things that go missing when you look away for only a moment. Usually if it's food, it's Peter. He darted into the air after snatching some goodies from a food stall in the marketplace. He chuckled at the shop's owner as he scratched his head trying to figure out where his merchandise went.

"Boy! You should see his face, eh Tinke-" Peter stopped mid sentence. He found himself talking to himself a lot nowadays. It was quite lonely without TinkerBell always by his side. Even with her nagging, she was missed. He sighed. "Bet you're really happy now though." He said to himself.

Finishing his food, he flew to the outskirts of town. Normally he would go straight to NeverLand, which was now only an island only a few miles from the mainland, but he decided to walk to the docks today. Most of the Lost Boys were doing their own thing, who knows what, so Peter really had to reason to rush back. Maybe there would be something interesting today. He longed for adventure.

((Sorry for taking forever to get this in! I should probably warn you that Monday and Tuesday I'll be gone on vacation. Tomorrow will be prepping, and Wednesday will be trying to get back into my normal schedule. So I probably won't be posting then.))

When the hawk emerged from its previous perch, Gretel decided it was time to get involved with whatever her brother was poking his nose into. Splashing up behind him, the brunette gave the male a light punch square in his jaw. "Has this bloke been bothering you, miss?" His pale green eyes glared at her brother. "He's a complete mess around woman. Never knows how to speak. And he gets a bit clingy, too. Don't ya, Hans?" Her lips curled up in a smirk. "Oh look, you're blushing now." Shoving him aside, she laughed when he dropped into the water. Brushing back her hair with her hands, the woman reached out a handle to shake Rapunzel's. "I'm Greta and that's my brother, Hans."

"Hansel," he finished for her. "Hansel and Gretel," he corrected for his sister, who gave him a dirty glare when he declared her as Gretel. "Nice buns. I mean breasts. I mean body. I mean... bird~!" Swatting the air in front of him, he bashfully looking up at the two beautiful ladies before him. A deep red blush covered his face from ear to ear. Refusing to look up to meet their eyes, he silently splashed the water he now sat in. "Bird," he muttered before pouting.

"See, I told you he was a mess. No wonder he'll never get a girl. He flies off the handle and runs that trap of his too much. If he would just shut up and look pretty -- he does look rather handsome, does he not -- he might actually find a lass who would want him. But, no, he just likes to yab and gab."

"I do more than just that," he blurted in. "I hunt witches, too. Give me some credit!" His deep green orbs jumped from Gretel to Rapunzel. Pulling himself up, he stood between the two women, which left him a bit uncomfortable. Still, he didn't want to move. It would be too obvious that he was trying to run.

"S-so what are you doing out here?" It was a stupid question. Based on her bucket and get-up, she was gathering something. Boy oh boy did he want to smack himself for being so stupid. With a gulp, he looked nervously over at the long-haired woman. Would she be nice? Or would she be nasty and sarcastic like his other half, Gretel?

((Dawwwwww i just want to pinch Hansel's cheeks!))

When the woman came striding up to them Rapunzel glanced her way. Her fist flew out and landed right at the mans jaw. With wide eyes she took one step back and watched him fall back into the water, Alexios let out a sharp screech and flap his wings once before settling back down. A bit confused Rapunzel glanced between the two as the woman spoke. Looking to the hand stretched out to her she took it, still confused.

Ah, and then Greta told her they were siblings. It all made sense now. As Hansel spoke up she glanced down at him. When he stumbled over his words she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. He really was charming, in a different way.

She glanced back at Great as she began to speak again. As his sister she did't really say nice things about him. Their sibling dynamic was weird. The second Hansel said witch hunters it clicked for her. "Ahh your Hansel and Gretel the witch hunters. I've heard of you both." She smiled at Hansel and replied to his question. "I was gathering a rare medicinal herb earlier. Decided to stop and get some water before I headed back to my cottage." Rapunzel smiled at Greta before asking, "would you both like to come back with me? I was going to make some lunch and I wouldn't mind the company." She often got so bored in her cottage, with only Alexios around.

So she had heard of them! Fancy that! Hansel was overly excited by this statement but the moment the invitation to lunch arose, he started to object. "We don't usually-" he was cut off by his sister. "We would love to. It's not everyday we get offered a meal out of the kindness of someone's heart." It was clearly a stab at Hansel. He was always wary of witches, never trusting any one that wandered alone, especially with a bird. The last woman with a bird, a goose-swan-thing, turned out to be a witch. The odds were not stacked in his favor. Chances were, this hawk-lover was a witch too. Although, she didn't look anything l like a witch. This, naturally, perplexed him and caused him to circle the lass a few times before receiving a tug at his ear.

"She's not a witch, brother. She's obviously human. No witch would invite both of us in. Stop your vulture moves and c'mon." Moving back to her satchel, she gathered up all she had collected. It wasn't much, but the leaves and roots she found along with the berries would make for good trading later on. Perhaps this woman would even trade with them. Granted, she looked as if she might be interested in rarer items, like the dyes or fabric.

Pout still on his face, Hansel caved and decided he might as well tag along. Besides, food was food and who was he to pass up a home cooked meal. It had been forever since he had something aside from smoked beef and wheat. Perhaps they would indulge in a salad or fruits at this lady's house? "How far a walk is it?" He was just trying to make conversation now. After his embarrassing slip ups, he needed to redeem himself. This small talk, he figured, would suffice.

The Hatter had been walking about for an hour or two. He'd come across two birds so far. He didn't bother with the first one was it's feathers where not exactly what he was looking for. The second one had been perfect, with long purple tail feathers that would match the little bowler hat perfectly. It had quite a lot to spare, but whenever he attempted to talk or even get close to it, the bird would screech and take of.
"The nerve of that little stool pigeon," said The Hatter, gripping his cane tightly between both hands,"I shouldn't have even asked! I should have just gone and squashed him. Then again, I probably would've squashed the feather aswell. Ah, no matter."

He was a very persistent person. The Hatter would find that bird if it took him the entire day... the entire night if necessary. He began humming his little teapot song in an attempt to calm his nerves. If he was angry then that would mean him being impatient and a mission of this nature required the utmost patience.

Suddenly, a flash of purple caught his eye. Could it be? Yes, the very bird he was searching for had flown passed him and landed on the roof above. It perched itself on a drain pipe, bobbed it's head a bit and then settled himself down for a good rest. "So, the little pigeon is tired, eh?" said The Hatter as he moved around the back of the shop. He was searching for a way to reach the roof and one soon presented itself in the form of a long wooden ladder. He skipped over to it and positioned it against the wall. He continued speaking to himself in a hushed tone as he slowly ascended the ladder. "Well, let's see that you get a good rest, my dear. A permanent one." Soon he was atop the roof and he silently crept towards the pipe on which the bird was perched. It's back was facing him so being seen wasn't a problem... or was it? "I do hope no one I know notices me up here," he thought,"It would be strange situation to explain."

Alice smiled to herself as she shut the door behind her and bounded down her front porch steps. She popped open her front gate and began skipping down the road. She had no idea where she was going, but it didn't matter to her. She began humming the tune to White Rabbit as she skipped, "One pill makes you smaller and one pill makes you small.." She sang to herself. To anyone else it would sound more like a haunting tune, but to Alice it was beautiful map of sorts. Advice almost. "If you go chasing rabbits and you know you're going to fall.." She twirled around gracefully and stopped in her tracks. "Heed your head." She whispered as she looked around the town. A faint shuffling noise had her looking towards the roof of a shop. Was that Hatter sitting atop it? It had to be. No one else gave off the aura of madness quite like him. Alice giggled to herself as she watched him, to th looks of it he was chasing a bird. No doubt he coveted its beautiful feathers. She had half a mind to call out to him, however, she knew better. If she somehow frighted the bird and chased it off, Alice imagined Hatter would be quite cross with her. Though she knew she couldn't call out to him, Alice wanted to do something to get Hatter's attention. She watched him as she thought of what she could do.


((Sorry I've been gone so long. I've been sick. I still kind of am, but I think the worst is over. Hooray!))

The Hatter crouched a meter or two away from the bird. "Now, how to get a good hold on him?" he thought to himself. Grabbing him with his hands was too much of a risk. He could use his hat to trap him, but then again that was a risk as well. The bird would be alive and would still be able to fly, so there was the possibility of it getting itself lost in there like that unfortunate young man a few years ago...

He thought and thought and after a little while, an idea struck him. The Hatter lifted his hat of of his head, careful not to make a sound, and started rummaging through it's contents. Surely he had put one one in there. Soon, his face brightened and he slowly pulled out a fairly large brown sack. It was perfect. Setting his back in it's place, he held the sack between both his hands and carefully took aim. He only had one shot at this, only one chance to make his hat perfect. Failure was not an option. The Hatter lunged towards the pipe. It was only when the sack was half-way over it's head that the bird realised what was happening. The sack closed around little creature and The Hatter laughed triumphantly... before losing his footing and tumbling over the edge of the roof. Thank Heavens he was in the possession of some acrobatic skills that had strengthened his arms or he would have ended up a stain on the sidewalk. He just managed to grab a hold of the pipe with his right arm while his left clutched onto the bird. The bricks were a bit uneven, so he managed to use his toes to stand on a few and take the strain of his arm. How long he would be able to stay like that, he didn't know. "Well," he breathed," Atleast I caught you, little pigeon. If I go, you're coming with!" His efforts to hoist himself up caused his hat to fall form his head and float down to the side walk, from which a familiar face was staring up at him.

It brought a smile to his face, though he was slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a situation. "Alice!," he called down to her, waving the sack in his hand,"Lovely day for a stroll, isn't it-" His left leg slipped and for a moment it felt as if he would let go. " Uh, Alice, be a dear, yes? Run along to the back of this shop and fetch the ladder. My arm is starting to cramp."

OOC~ As long your feeling better, psycho!

The young man grabbed his satchel and began to fill it with various things. The journal he had been looking at went in first followed by a compass, map, spyglass, magic beans and a few other necessary things for any journey. Henrietta clucked reminding the boy to make sure to pack what she would need as well. Jack chuckled at the hen, “Now you know good and well that I couldn’t forget about you.” Once finished he slung the satchel over his shoulder. “Let’s go,” he called as he picked up the ax that rested by the door.

Not wanting to be left behind the hen hurried over and was out the door before the young man. Jack just shook his head, closing the door behind them. “I think we shall go get some water first.” To anyone that didn’t know Jack they would have that he was talking to himself instead of the chicken by his side. A soft cluck in agreement came from Henrietta. The odd pair made their way through the forest to a small stream. A little ways away from the stream he spotted several people by it. Jack paused, the young man was unsure about if they should continue on or head further up the stream.

The male had never been good around other people. He did okay around other males, but when it came to females forget it. He just ended up being a bigger mess than usual. Jack just didn’t know how to act around them. There were a few exceptions to that though. One of them was Alice. That girl may be strange, but Henrietta liked her so it led to him watching the pair and actually being able to be comfortable around the girl. With Alice it didn’t matter if he was himself or not which made things easier. The other exception had been his first crush. Unfortunately she no longer resided in this place.

While deep within his thoughts the little white hen beside him decided to take the initiative to go on ahead. Henrietta made her merry little way toward the people and the water’s edge. As she walked she balked and clucked to herself, almost as if she was singing or humming. When Jack finally noticed that the chicken was no longer by his side it was too late to stop her. The young man hung his head slightly in defeat. “Why do you always do this to me,” he mumbled to himself before following after the hen that was now right behind the three people.

Rapunzel smiled at Greta, then her smiled turned into a frown as Hansel started to circle her. He really thought she was a witch? She looked nothing like those nasty witches. Her mouth open to say something when his sister grabbed his ear and pulled him away.

She was human, her hair was just magical. Rapunzel decided not to let them know that, lest they think she was a witch. Hearing Hansel's question she turned her face to look at him. "It's about a half of an hour. I live on the edge of the forest." She studied him for a moment and then said, "so do you still think I'm a witch?" A small smile was on her face.

Alexios shifted on her shoulder before letting out a shriek. Knowing what this meant Rapunzel spun around, her hand going to her coiled up hair. Behind her was a chicken and a man. "Hello," she said calmly.

The young man ran a hand through his chocolate brown hair. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “You see Henrietta here…well she likes to meet new people,” he pointed at the little hen beside him. Jack motioned for the chicken to follow him, not wanting to stay longer. He never really did well around girls, especially pretty ones. The hen was stubborn though and ignored the male. She walked right up the Rapunzel and clucked a hello to her.

He sighed and shook his head. “I really am sorry that we disturbed you all. Sometimes that little hen has a mind of her own and I can’t do anything with her.” Once more he gave a small smile at the trio. The whole time wishing that Henrietta would hurry up so they could go about gather water somewhere with less people. “Oh…where are my manners.” He stumbled a bit over his words. “Like I said that’s Henrietta and I’m Jack.” At the end of his introduction he bowed his head slightly to the strangers.