A Mad Tea Party (Alyss)

[hatter]

Theo was not quite as mad as he might one day perhaps become, he was merely a little eccentric... but where he came from, he was being neither at all today, even though he appeared to be having a tea party by himself.

He was sat in the park, because it was such a lovely day, with a blanket spread out beneath him and an entire tea service on the blanket, complete with one or two extra cups, because tea absolutely had to be done properly, for one thing, and because one never knew when company might unexpectedly appear, for another. He also had a selection of tarts and scones and other treats, to complement the tea (that being the focus of his spread, of course).

A rather elaborate top hat (his favourite, made himself of course) sat on the blanket beside him, and he'd even gone so far as to remove his jacket and roll up his sleeves, quite poorly dressed for good company he was sure, but he didn't really mind, not here.
He concentrated carefully as he measured out the milk and sugar into his latest cup - tea making was a precision art as far as he was concerned.

[Deleted]

There was a time when Alyss walking around could only mean that she was brooding over something, as she often did back at Avalon, and while there were of course some compassionate people around at the time, surely even the saints of the world would have grown weary of her constant melancholy. That was why it was such a relief that this was hardly the case now. While she had been keeping herself far busier than she used to these days, she still had time for a nice walk, and now it had nothing to do with dithering and everything to do with just...well, you know the sorts of days when you can't help but stare out at the window and wonder how forcing you into school today could possibly be legal? That was today, and it was just far too nice to be cooped up inside.

Smiling just a bit as she strolled along the path, she figured that this would be one of those few days when nothing too odd happened...and of course she realized almost immediately how stupid that was. It seemed like this place couldn't do five minutes without having something strange happening, it was really no different than Avalon. It made you wonder why...whatever it was that caused all of these strange happenings even bothered. Then again, she supposed she couldn't complain; it gave her the power to leave the self that she had begun to really despise behind. It was like the new blonde hair actually made her a more well adjusted person.

Still, the minute she caught sight of a rather elaborate looking tea party/picnic hybrid as she was walking, she definitely decided that one should never assume that there would be a dull moment around here. Squinting a bit from where she stood...now was it just her, or did that man in the top hat look extremely familiar? Then again, this could be because she vaguely remembered a mention of a mad tea party in that book of Dodgson's...okay, her curiosity was peaked...perhaps she would just...casually walk on by, pretend like she didn't see him.

Yet everyone, even the graceful, had their clumsy moments, and hers came in the form of a jogger that must have been blind, because he zoomed right by her and basically caused her to fall just before the tea party. You really couldn't get much more awkward than that.

[hatter]

Well, he had been right after all, one really did never know when company would arrive. Theo was not yet so obsessed with his oddities that he would ignore her, and the chance for a little conversation and perhaps a tea-drinking companion was one he wouldn't like to let pass by, so he immediately put his cup aside (gently) and leapt to his feet.

"Are you quite all right?" He asked, offering her a hand to help her up. "People really should watch where they're going, how terribly rude of him." he shook his head after the continuing jogger. That was one of the major things he'd noticed since arriving here, quite apart from a lack of basic style (i.e, not enough people were wearing hats) and due deference to the important of tea, they were all so terribly rude.

"Would you like some tea?" He offered, perhaps a touch prematurely in proceedings.

[Deleted]

Thankfully she hadn't been hurt or anything, and she had actually been on her way of getting herself up when she was approached by the oddly familiar looking man. She vaguely remembered something about...giraffes was it? Then again, perhaps she was imagining things, it did happen every so often. She offered him a smile either way as accepted his hand and pulled herself up. "I've dealt with far worse, so I suppose I am. Thank you," she responded, smoothing out her skirt as she heard him talk about people needing to watch where they were going. She figured she would just shrug there. Of course she did feel like people ought to, but it seemed a tad petty to, say, go off into a rant about it. "Yes, they probably ought to," was all she said, still finding herself a bit curious about him.

And in spite of herself, she had to work hard to not chuckle a bit when he offered her tea so abruptly. That definitely seemed familiar, but if this was that Hatter she had met back at Avalon, he seemed so...different. Smiling politely, she answered, "Well if I'm not interrupting, that would be lovely, thank you."

[hatter]

"Of course not, of course not." He smiled "Tea is a drink that simply must be enjoyed with company, though of course it is an excellent choice to enjoy alone as well, in fact it can be drunk at any time really, except perhaps just before bed as it is a little too stimulating..." He realised he was going on a little bit, and just about managed to stop himself - not because he thought she would be confused or bored by his speech, but because he had yet to offer her a seat and pour her a cup.

"Please, please, sit down." He motioned, crouching so he could set about preparing her some tea, although not quite sitting because it was, of course, rude to be seated before a lady was.

"I realise this is a little irregular, we have not been introduced and you are unchaperoned, but I intend nothing untoward, I assure you, and things do seem so terribly different here, don't they?"

Perhaps, at the back of his mind, there was a lingering memory that made him feel more inclined to speak to her, but on the surface he didn't recall ever having met her before.

[Deleted]

This time Alyss couldn't help but let out the softest chuckle as he went on about tea. She could understand enjoying it; she was fairly certain you couldn't survive in London for as long as she did without developing at least a taste for it. Settling down along with him, she nodded at all that he said seeing as she was fairly certain that she wouldn't have been able to keep up with just everything he said verbally anyway.

"Things are quite different around here. It seems like I get caught up in conversations with new people quite often, actually," she agreed. "Not at all like back in London, not that I mind. So don't worry, I'm sure you have no ulterior motives or anything...but for the sake of solving the introduction problem, my name's Alyss." She smiled once more, settling into a comfortable silence for a moment as she awaited her tea, then glanced around, marveling at how much he had paid attention to the details here. Her gaze returned to him and she figured that it wouldn't hurt to start a conversation now, would it?

"Do you often do things like this, Mister...?"

[hatter]

"London?" Theo repeated, smiling a little "I've been to London a lot, of course my father's shop is there, but he prefers to do his work away from the hustle and bustle of the city, so we live a little further away."
He didn't normally witter on so (well, not about anything other than hats or tea or riddles, anyway), but it was nice to find someone he might actually have something in common with.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Alyss." he told her, taking a seat and passing her the cup, indicating the milk and sugar for her to help herself.

"Milliner," He replied "Theodore Madoc Milliner, at your service. And as for the picnicing, not so often, but the tea drinking, my word yes I do that rather often indeed."

[Deleted]

Alyss herself glanced up when he seemed to have a soft spot for London himself. From the look on his face, his memories of London were far happier than her own, even if she was starting to move on from all of that. Well, good for him, and she truly meant that. She was finding that her empathy had somehow grown as well, and she could see how he brightened somewhat as he spoke of his father’s shop. She imagined she’d be similar if she were to, say, recount the few games of tag with her own father that she could remember. Sadly, it seemed that her recent transformation had made remembering her birth parents all the more difficult, outside of some blurry images in her dreams, and that truly frightened her. If she lost them, was that a sign that she really didn’t belong in Wonderland anymore, as she had been fearing for the past year and a half?

But she wouldn’t trouble this conversation with that. Instead, she smiled. “Yes, I could understand that. The city can be a touch chaotic,” she agreed, gladly accepting her tea with a thank you and adding just a bit of sugar as he introduced himself. Well, she supposed it was easier to think of him as Theo than as Hatter, since she still thought of her old guard when she thought of Hatter, something that this young man seemed so far from.

“The pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure, Theo.” Instead of chuckling when he said that he drank tea quite a bit, something she had guessed when he was talking about it when she first arrived, she just let her smile broadened. She of all people knew how laughter could be taken as quite a bad thing. “Well, always good to try something new, especially if it involves something pleasant,” she noted before taking a sip of her tea.

[hatter]

((omg I'm so sorry I completely forgot about this!!))

"Quite absolutely." Theo agreed "Although I'm not sure it can be considered new, I have picniced before, just not often... " He frowned thoughtfully for a moment "Unless, of course, it counts as picnicing when one is simply outside, as my dear friend March's table happens to be..."
The tea parties he engaged in when he visited Wonderland were not the same affairs he was destined to host, but they were still bright and enthusiastic and took place outside - rather more well attended than they would be in the future, as they would often be billed as unbirthday parties for all the folk of Wonderland who wanted to attend.

"How is your tea?" He added, pulling himself away from his thoughts and turning his attention back to being polite, although his enquiry was also due in large part to wanting to make a good impression with his tea, he prided himself on brewing an excellent cup, so he hoped she would find it satisfactory.