Chapter Text
At one time you had been just a human girl. So long ago Those days were a haze now. Had you been born in Wonderland or brought there later in life? If you had been brought here then by who? Your parents? Who were your parents? Did you even have any? If you did, where were they? So many questions you had had at one time that floated around your mind continuously. It was a terrible thing not knowing where you had come from. Yet as the years drifted by, and there had been to many to keep track of, those questions tucked themselves away deeper and deeper within your subconscious until you didn’t even think about them anymore. Well, except one.
What was your name?
Your name had been lost to you long ago. You hadn’t meant to lose it. It just sort of escaped you one day never to return. Things from your old life tended to do that. It had been ages since you became what you are now and time had come to a standstill for you. It was understandable to forget the events of long ago but how could you have forgotten your name. Such a foolish girl you were.
“Cheshire!” called a voice from down below.
Your eyes slowly opened. Vaguely you wondered what color they were today. They had a habit of changing at random. It wasn’t uncommon to go through every color of the rainbow in a single hour.
“Cheshire!” the same voice called. Or was it? It was a little different now.
Though you did not have a name, your friends of this world had grown accustomed to calling you the Cheshire Cat. Where they got Cheshire was beyond your knowledge but the cat part they added had it's purpose. Long ago you'd shifted forms to become a slender purple cat with pink stripes. There was no fun in being of ordinary colors so why not something strange. If ever you wanted you could change back. The occasion where you would need to do so had yet to happen so you had remained content as a cat. It had been your favorite animal…...or had it? There was a reason for the choice of animal. You knew there was. Maybe you'd eventually figure it out.
A yawn escaped you as you stretched out with front claws extended and your tail swaying behind you. All this while you remained floating high up in air. Gravity was no restraint on you. Even reality itself seemed to bend to your will at time. It was a peculiar thing you didn’t quite fully understand.
Like a fallen feather you began to descend to the ground where the voice, or voices, were calling for you. The rocking motion almost made you want to doze again. What an incredibly lazy cat you’d been lately. You were no better than some average house cat that lazed about all day in the sun. Wonderland as of late had become so boring which was incredibly weird to say considering how abnormal this particular land tended to be.
Below on the ground stood the owners of the voices calling out. Well no wonder the voices had sounded almost the same but not. The owners were the Tweedles. Both wore a matching expression that was a mix concern and a dash of excitement.
“What is it my dear Tweedles?” you questioned while coming to a stop in air by them with paws curled up under your chin.
“There’s a stranger in Wonderland,” Tweedledee proclaimed.
“Very strange,” added Tweedledum.
“Came through the Looking Glass he did.”
Your ears perked up at the news. A stranger. How peculiar. It wasn’t often Wonderland got a visitor. Finally something to strike your interest.
“And where might I find this strange stranger?” you inquired while making a complete sideways spin in the air until you returned to your previous position.
At the same time the Tweedles pointed off to their right and said in unison, “That way.”
A most mischievous grin spread out over your pink and purple furred face to show your sharp white teeth as you faded to nothing. This should be entertaining. Your fur was bristling with excitement. The current situation had ignited your long dormant curiosity. You could only hope that this stranger would not disappointment.
When you appeared again you were a good distance away in the direction the Tweedles had indicated. At first the only sound you heard was of a few birds chirping and a squirrel chewing on a walnut. Your right ear gave a twitch when the sound of crunching leaves reached it. Booted footsteps. With minimal ease you floated up higher into the air to where you were obscured by leaves but had a perfect view to observe the forest path below.
Only moments later a man came brushing through some nearby foliage. He was a tall young man dressed mainly in black and dark colors. His demeanor gave you the impression of someone confident and perhaps a bit arrogant. Despite being in unfamiliar surroundings, he did not look at all bewildered like most strangers who ventured into Wonderland would be. Rather he looked bored while surveying his surroundings with his sapphire eyes. He stopped for a moment to breath out a disgruntled sigh and run a hand through his wild chestnut locks.
Just as he took a step to continue on, he paused. His expression grew suspicious while his eyes surveying his surroundings far closer than before.
“I know you’re there,” he called out. “Come out.”
So he knew you were there. What an observant fellow. Perhaps you’d have a little fun with him. You vanished and reappeared out of sight behind a tree. In a rare moment you let your feet touch the ground to actually walk. It felt weird to do so after so long. Doing your best to act like a normal cat, you strolled out from behind the tree and hopped onto a nearby fallen log.
The man had caught the motion from the corner of his eye and was immediately looking in your direction. An eyebrow arched on his face. “Just a cat,” he muttered more to himself.
In response you meowed and then proceeded to lick your paw. You held back the urge to scrunch up your nose in distaste. Ick. There was dirt on your paw and you’d just licked it up. How did normal cats do this all the time? It wasn’t at all pleasant. Guess it was a good thing you spent most of your time floating about the air where you couldn’t easily get dirty.
The whole dirt thing had distracted you long enough to not notice the man had crouched down in front of you. The next thing you knew his hand was scratching you behind one of your ears. Boy did it feel nice. The contact made you purr and close your eyes. Maybe you should let people do this more often.
“You’re a strange cat,” the man commented on.
Your mouth twitched. Don’t. Don’t do it. You’ll ruin your act. Try as you might you couldn’t keep the wide grin from spreading out. Cats weren’t exactly known for being able to smile quite so wide and the man took notice right away. Much to your dismay, his hand stopped scratching your ear. For a few long moments he just stared down at your smiling furry face a bit confused.
You turned your head off to one side while placing a paw over your mouth as you began to giggle. The louder your giggles became the more you started to fade until you were completely gone. The man had stood up again when you reappeared on his head. Still giggling you peered down at the man’s face. Oddly enough he wasn’t at all shocked at what had happened. He looked more amused than anything.
“What manner of creature are you?” questioned the man.
“Who me?” you replied playfully. “I am but a simple cat.”
“Simple cats don’t talk or float for that matter.”
Oh my, you had begun to float and hadn’t even noticed. “I do suppose you are right,” you said as you floated on you back around the man. “If you really must know what I am, I’d tell you….. if I could. I honestly have no idea myself.” When you stopping in front of him you gave him your trademark grin. “My friends have come to call me the Cheshire Cat and so can you if you'd like. It matters little to me.”
“Such an odd name.”
You turned upside down with your eyes staring upon the man curiously. “Do you have something you'd rather call me? Do tell if you do.”
The man was quiet for a few long moments to give the question some thought. “Y/N.”
“Y/N.” You repeated it slowly to get a feel of the name. It rolled off the tongue nicely and had a pleasant ring to it. It would do. While turning back right side up you gave an approving nod to the name choice. “Very well. You may call me that but what can I call you my strange stranger?“
The man grinned as he gave a little bow.“The name’s Jefferson. I have business here in Wonderland…. “ He paused for a moment looking to be in thought. “You appear to be a creature that knows much.”
“I may. “
“Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a glass orb. About this big. “ He held up his hands to make a round shape about the size of a grapefruit. “And a pair of magic slippers. “
“I have some knowledge I could share. “
“What do you want for your information?”
Of course there had to be an exchange for such information. Couldn’t just give it away for free. Luckily for Jefferson it was easy enough to please you. “Another scratch behind the ears will do. “
Those Jefferson looked baffled by such an easy request, he obliged nonetheless. In response you purred loudly. Yes, that would do quite nicely and so you gave him the information he sought.
“I know of this orb you seek. It's locked away tight not far from here to the north under constant guard. “
“And the slippers?”
You shrugged your little shoulders. “If they have been here I have not heard and I hear much. There have been whispers of strange happenings in Oz. You may want to try there.”
“I should be on my way then. My client is not the patient type. Farewell (Y/N).”
As Jefferson went to walk away, you followed alongside him. It wasn’t until he noticed you that you spoke, “How do you expect to get past those guards? They are near invincible and very stubborn.”
Jefferson cast you a look. “And I take it you know how to get past them.”
“Aye.” He looked ready to speak again but you cut him off. “I’ll help you at no cost. I’ve been dreadfully bored lately and this sounds like fun. Though this form will not do.”
You sped ahead of Jefferson to land on a large flat boulder about ten feet away. A swirling puff of purple and pink smoke grew around you to hide you from view. The smoke swirled higher until it was between five to six feet tall. A gust of wind pushed the smoke away to reveal you once more. However now instead of a cat, stood a human. It had been so long since you’d used your original form. Despite this you had no issue adjusting to the different body structure and movement that came with being human. You stood with body dropped into a little curtsy and body garbed in an off the shoulder dress of your favorite color. Your face was tilted down slightly with your eyes closed and a grin still on your face. The light breeze drifted through the forest played with your trestles of hair that were the original color you had been born with save for the few random streaks of purple and pink. When you lifted your face you opened your eyes. Even in this form your eyes continued to shift between colors but now your pupils were round instead of slanted.
Jefferson was surprised, though he did not let that stay in his expression long before replacing it with amusement. His eyes followed you as you jumped daintily from one rock to another on bare feet that barely touched each rock before moving onto the next. On the last rock you twirled on the front of one foot causing your skirt to flutter around you. When your twirl stopped you were facing Jefferson who had begun walking toward you.
“This is certainly a surprise,” Jefferson commented upon as he held a hand out to you. Once you had taken hold of it with your own, he helped you down from the rock.
You more floated down from the rock than stepped and even after you still remained about a half inch off the ground. It seemed like your body didn’t want to fully embrace gravity just yet.
Instead of letting go of your hand Jefferson pulled you closer to him after noticing your lack of having touched the ground. “I’ve heard of being light on your feet, but this is a bit extreme,” he said with a chuckle.
“To fly is to be free,” you replied as you allowed your body to raise up until you were lying horizontally in the air with your face at even height with Jefferson’s.
Your free hand was taken up by him so now he held both of them and intertwined his fingers with yours. The two of you remained like this with eyes locked. What was it about this man that had you so enticed? This was all so very new. Only vaguely did you happen to notice the distance between you and him was starting to shrink as he was bringing you closer. Your lips were just a hair’s breath away when it clicked in your mind just how close you two had become. Your cheshire grin appeared on your face as you started to fade. Before contact could be made you had vanished and then appeared behind him on the same large boulder you’d been on before. You were now lying on your stomach with legs bent at the knees and ankles crossed while you propped your chin up on your palms.
“Naughty naughty boy,” you teased.
Jefferson turned around and cocked a smirk. “What can I say? I couldn’t help myself,” he said. “If you’d allow me a proper kiss next time, I can guarantee you won’t regret it.”
Your eyebrows arched. “My oh my, such confidence. Another time perhaps. For now though we have work to do. Mustn’t keep your client waiting.”
Things were going to get interesting.