[ToxicShadow]

"Princess? ... Princess? ... Alice!"

Sleeping, once soundly, on the park bench was a young woman of petite build and stature, dressed in lighter blue, pinstriped dress with the skirt billowing out more thanks to the white petticoat underneath, black and white striped stockings, black, lace gloves, and cute, black mary janes with heart design accents.

Though, her choice of clothing may have been out of the ordinary, by the standards of some, the most unusual thing about her were the small horns adorning the top of her head, peaking out from her beige blonde locks.

[ToxicShadow]

At first, Alice did not notice the voice calling out to her as she slept, sitting in an upright position on the bench, but the familiar voice did finally stir her awake. Though, she did not wake with a start, in spite of her sleeping out in the open, in a public space. Instead, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking several times to adjust to the sunlight, and rubbed at them with both hands in a manner that the man that awoke her would probably say was unusually cute.

[ToxicShadow]

"Good morning, Princess," the man addressed her, when she finally began to stir.

"Daaaark," the woman half heartedly complained, as she finally opened her eyes to actually look at him, "I'm not a princess. You're the king."

The man before her wore black pants, a rich red button up shirt with white buttons and trimmings, black and red creeper shoes, and a long, black military coat with red heart accents, including a large heart on the back that was crossed out.

[ToxicShadow]

Just like the young woman did, the man had an oddity about him. Not horns, like Alice, but primarily white furred rabbit ears sitting upon his head, rather than having more human-like ears. Nowhere at all did he have a crown, or anything of evident value that made him seem like a king, though.

"I may be the king in name, but you are the creator. Thus, you are far more worthy of the title than I am," Dark insisted, as he always did.

[ToxicShadow]

Alice sighed. "And the creator bestowed the title of king to you," she reminded him, as she often did.

"Even so, I shall still call you "Princess," my dear," Dark assured, flashing a strangely fanged smile.

This common conversation of their's was all beside the point, though, so the rabbit eared man said nothing more on the matter. Instead, his smile turned into a small frown as he gazed down at her face. "What are you doing, sleeping out here like this?"

[ToxicShadow]

The supposed king, though, didn't really give Alice a chance to answer the question, before continuing on, "I understand that you don't always want to stay in Wonderland, but coming to this world, without anyone knowing where you went and without taking Tippity with you, and sleeping here? This is not a place fit for you to rest your head."

Though Dark may have been the "King of Hearts," as well as the "White Rabbit," in the end, Dark was just the person that nagged Alice.

[ToxicShadow]

Her safety was a priority. Not only to Dark, but to all the others of Wonderland, too. Without her, they would not exist, but it was not even just that. They were her friends, her allies. Some of them even loved her, as Dark did, though that was not necessarily in the romantic sense, even though the king often gifted her roses, kissed her hand, flirted with her, and the lists. At the very least, he did not expect anything from her.

[ToxicShadow]

"I don't need any special treatment," Alice replied, though she also already knew that Dark would certainly disagree. "Besides, I know, but I'm also fine." It may have sounded shocking to some, but this was not the first or last time that Alice would fall asleep on a park bench. That much, Dark was certain of, even though he would have much preferred that she finally broke the bad habit. "You really don't have to worry about it so much."

[ToxicShadow]

"Nothing has happened yet, but that doesn't mean that something wont happen in the future." Dark had every right to be concerned for his friend; not all of humanity was kind. Some would be all too willing to take advantage of a woman napping all alone on a park bench. And, given that she obviously wasn't a very light sleeper, with how much he had called out to her just to wake her up, he was even more concerned about it.

[ToxicShadow]

"All right, all right. I concede," Alice answered, staring back up at her friend, but then shaking her head. He really was such a nag, but at least she knew that someone cared about her. Cared about her enough to nag and worry. But, even so, it was not very likely that she would actually change her ways. Even if she decided to do so, when she suddenly left Wonderland and had no where else to go, and no money or means to make it, the park was really one of the few places she could always go.

[Wild Pet Found]

[ToxicShadow]

Once the young woman had conceded, the dark king of hearts visibly relaxed, though it was only barely noticeable, as his shoulders slumped a bit. His expression and such didn't change much.

Before saying anything else, the rabbit eared man began to look around, namely around the bench and Alice, but he didn't seem to find whatever it was he was looking for.

"You didn't bring Tippity with you?" he questioned, his gaze returning to Alice's face as he did.

[ToxicShadow]

Hearing the question, Alice's mouth pulled into a small frown, and she shook her head. "No, I didn't. I... Haven't been able to find him. He's... I think he's gone missing."

It was far from the first time that something, or someone went missing, vanished, even, after being in her Wonderland. It was awful, but it was fact. Though, she never imagined that one of her own friends would end up missing. He couldn't really be gone, could he?

[ToxicShadow]

As she relayed this information, her gaze dropped, unable to look Dark in the face.

Momentarily, the man frowned, too, but before Alice was able to see it, he switched gears. "Hey, this is Tippity we're talking about. I wouldn't so much say that he's missing as I would say that he's just taking a break and playing around in Wonderland." Or even this world, or elsewhere, all things considered. Just like Dark, Tippity was able to freely open doors between Wonderland and other worlds.

[ToxicShadow]

It was unusual that the mousey creature would wander off without Alice being aware of it, though. He was most typically her companion wherever she went. Not protecting her, but guiding her safely wherever it was that she wanted to go. He was just a stuffed plush toy that the young woman made and had just accidentally brought to life, and unknowingly gave those powers to. So it was his purpose in life, really, to be her companion.

[ToxicShadow]

Even with Dark's attempt to reassure her that Tippity was perfectly fine, wherever he was, Alice still didn't look back up at him. No, she felt it was her mistake somehow, that her companion was missing. Did she treat him poorly? Did he not like her anymore? These sorts of thoughts swirled around her head, along with others, that were even worse. What if he had gotten hurt? What if he somehow lost his ability to be alive and moving?