He was buried deep in thought, before he knew it Alice was using his leg as a pillow. He looked at the sleepy her with a mixture of emotions, fight, happiness and others he could quite place. He nodded lightly. "Yes." Was all he could seem to reply. This was a new thing happening to him and he wasn't sure how to act around her. He looked at the girl using his leg as a pillow, he smiled softly.

His mind went back to his false reality as he watched the rain fall. He was happy to be spending time with her but scared of going back to the asylum. It wasn't late so he wasn't tired, he took a deep breath and looked around the place wondering what would happen within the next few days on the way. This world wasn't exactly safe since the Red Queen.

That night, as Alice slept peacefully curled up by Ryu with her head buried in his leg, she dreamed. But it really shouldn't be called a dream. Maybe it was more of a memory replaying itself for her. Alice was at her young self -- eight years old -- as she ran through a forest looking much like the one her and Ryu had been walking through. Something was chasing after her. What it was, she wasn't sure. But all she knew was that she had to keep running. That is, until she came to a stop, a man looking down at her with a large, toothy grin, red hair, and a big top hat. He said something about her being late for tea as she watched him look behind her with a worried and nervous expression. He pulled her from the path and deeper into the forest, saying how Alice shouldn't have come.

When she caught sight of a large windmill with a long table in the yard, she woke from her dream, jumping at the clash of lightening as she let out a yelp.

He had drifted into thoughts after Alice had fallen sleep, he knew he needed to stay awake just in case of something happening. He was still frightened inside of the asylum, he closed his eyes trying to make the screams disappear. His breathing had started to quicken from the memories. "No... stop it." He quietly whispered so not to wake her, he could feel the panic arising within him.

The rain made a smoothing sound as he fought the wave of panic, it was coming down heavier the more it darken into night. He was enjoying the peace that came to the forest from the rain, it was slowly calming him again. "Ah!" Ryu screamed lightly from the jump of Alice, his heart racing from the fright she given him. His hands had grabbed at the stem of the large mushroom they were under. He swallowed the large lump in his throat before his choked out. "Are... are you alright Alice?" His heart still racing from the fright.

(Sorry it took so long to reply! My niece has been over practically all week and she's quite the handful.)

Alice gasped fro breath as she looked over at Ryu. She put a shaky hand to her mouth as she let out a sigh. "Sorry. Just...jumpy. I...had a strange dream," she murmured as she sat up and ran a hand through her hair, remembering where she was and who she was with and what she was to do. Her heart pounded in her ears as she saw the rain, the excuse for her sudden wake up. She relaxed when she knew she was perfectly fine. "I'm so sorry," she then said.

- That's okay, I'm going back to college tomorrow so I will be slow at replying. :) -

His heart continued to race from the sudden fright she had given him. "It... It is okay." He told her softly as he tried to relax, his hands returning to their spots before. He shook his head lightly, "Don't be, it is okay. Really." He told her reassuringly, though his heart still raced heavily in his chest. He wanted to ask her what she dreamed about but decided not to. "If... If you can, you should get more sleep. We have a long walk tomorrow." He told Alice, he hoped she would get some sleep before the morning. It was two more days to the asylum and she needed all her strength for the walk and the climbing. He didn't want to tell her about the climbing just yet, the cliff wasn't that steep to him but he was use to the height.