You Can't Take Me || Hatter

by **William Wolf** Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:07 am

You can't take me; I'm free!

What the hell is this place? Will jerked the sleeve of his jacket back again, eyes resting upon the intricate and troubling design now imprinted upon his arm. It damn sure hadn't been there this morning, and he had certainly never been here before, wherever the hell 'here' happened to be. What exactly had his last few hours put him through?!

Peeling off his soaked jacket and setting it aside, he turned his gaze over his shoulder to the water he'd just pulled himself from, attempting, without any conviction in his effort, mind you, to get a grip on where he was. He recollected very little about exactly how he'd gotten to this point, and, quite frankly, he didn't quite care at that exact moment how he'd gotten here. What did matter was where exactly this place was... What little he did remember was coming around in some goodness-knew-not-what... thing... And instinct had told him to get out of there. So, he'd whipped out the dagger he'd kept tucked away down by his ankle, a gift from a friend or some such, if he remembered correctly, and he'd got himself out. Now he just considered himself lucky that he'd managed to keep a hold on the thing as he made his drop into the water and then crawled out on the bank where he currently sat.

With a somewhat heavy sigh, Will shook his head before running a hand through his hair in an attempt to dislodge the most of the cool water he could still feel clinging to him. He couldn't stay put for too long, not that moving would do much to combat what damage he knew his soaked, cool clothes could do. It also didn't help that he had no idea where he was or which direction would take him towards any sort of 'friendly' territory. He didn't even know if there was such territory here... For everything this place had shown him so far, they'd wanted nothing but his life, by the looks of things, and that was something he wasn't exactly keen to give up, especially to an entity that he didn't know and never had before.

Well, here's to all or nothing... Sliding his dagger back into its small sheath down by his ankle, Will stood, grabbing his jacket off the ground, feeling a light shiver run down his spine from the chill of his soaked clothes. The sooner he found some place safe, or at least safer than the exposed river bank, that was warm, the better. He definitely didn't fancy hanging around in these wet clothes for too long, and not only because they were now clingy and uncomfortable. With one last glance over his shoulder at the water, he started off into the unknown to seek out somewhere more sheltered, and hopefully find some information about why he was suddenly here... and the rather strange design on his arm, too.

WORDS :: 489

TAGGED :: @Phillip Hatter

OUTFIT :: ^Check out that snazzy eye candy up there x3

NOTES :: ~~Damn Google and Damn YouTube.~~ Do you know how torture-filled this post was? Solely because of good music and drooling on my keyboard... in my head, of course... Also, his snazzy dagger.

Template created by blackrose538 of Caution 2.0

by **Phillip Hatter** Sat May 02, 2015 2:32 pm

Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside

It’s where my demons hide

Scowling, Hatter jammed his headphones onto his head, turning up his music as loud as his ears would let him without feeling like they'd explode. He was trying to drown out the deafening racket that was coming from outside his office, from within the Teashop itself. A new emotion had just come onto the market and the betting was getting out of hand. It was deafening! If it continued like this, he'd have to go sort it out himself, though he rather hoped that he wouldn't have to. Wonderlanders got unbelievably rowdy when they were interrupted in the heat of their betting. Tempers rose, things got said, punches got thrown. It could get ugly, and Hatter didn't want to deal with that mess. The bodyguard that the casino had sent over could deal with all of it. Hatter didn't enjoy having an official Spade bodyguard acting as a bouncer walking around his shop, especially since a lot of his customers preferred to have as little to do as possible with the Hearts and all the families under their command, but the casino had insisted.

With a groan he spun around in his chair, turning to look outside, but the next second he turned away, his scowl deeper than before. The view outside his window was almost as bad as the din from within his shop, if not worse. The landscape outside painted a bleak masterpiece, and frankly he was in a foul enough mood already without being reminded of what the war had done to Wonderland. His eyes closed for a long moment as he tried to block the sound out and just concentrate on his music, but all to no avail. Opening his eyes, his gaze settled on his jungle of flowers, decorating his surroundings. The noise was getting to them. He hadn't thought it would have been so bad, because the racket from the Tea Shop was somewhat bearable. But in the lead-up to the new emotion being released, excitement levels had gone soaring out of control and noise levels had gone through the roof. Literally. Standing up, he morosely wandered over to the moonflower vines growing up the posts of his four-poster, reaching up and gently caressing its listless leaves. Poor things.

A long sigh left Hatter's lips and marching over to his coat rack, he pulled on a jacket. A walk would do him some good. Help him clear some cobwebs from his foggy mind. Fresh air and exercise were apparently good for the soul, though Hatter had never believed in such rubbish. Nothing was more soothing than a hot cup of tea, brewed just right. Even better if the tea had just a splash of comfort in it for good measure. Striding over to lock the front door that led out into the shop, he cringed at the shouting outside, before turning on his heels and marching through the back door, letting it slam softly behind him. As the cold air hit him, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a long moment and leaning against the concrete wall. Finally, he opened his eyes and began to walk. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but he'd figure that out soon enough.

TAGGED: @William Wolf	WORDS: 542	OUTFIT: this
NOTES: <3

Template by Melz/mizlopez89 @adoxography and Caution2.0

by **William Wolf** Sun May 03, 2015 1:54 am

You can't take me; I'm free!

If he was entirely honest, Will had no clue what he was doing. Sure, he was trained for situations like this, but... Not this. What he wouldn't give to also have his pistol with him... At least that had a range on it. If he got into a situation now, he'd just have to hope that it was a situation that would favor him only being armed with his dagger. Otherwise...? Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

His best bet right now was not to stray too far from the water's edge. While he had no idea where such a body of water would lead, it was the best he knew to do. It had to lead somewhere, after all, and, even if it didn't, there might be some place along the way that would allow him to properly gather his bearings and figure out what in the world was going on and why he was here.

Still have to figure that out, too... Indeed! He didn't even know where he was! And he'd thought his job had offered him a good book of travel..! This place had definitely not come up. Ever. Granted, he'd retired, as it was a game and such a game got tiring and had the tendency to wear on people, but still... The world certainly hadn't grown in his time in retirement from the service to the system, but in the service or not, that sort of thing would've reached his attention one way or another, he was sure.

William shook his head again, chewing ever so slightly at his lip. He had no way of taking his mind off of his training and instinct that kept reminding him that he needed out of these wet clothes. The occasional shiver he could feel creep down his spine didn't help, either. He might not have been active in the service for the longest time anyone had, but he'd been in there long enough. His sister used to tease him that they'd taken her rebellious brother who used to run around playing cowboys in the front yard with her and turned him into a monster who lacked a good amount of social skills and that's why he hadn't already married. He'd never had the heart to tell her how true those words actually were... The idea made Will grimace and another shiver crept through his body, but that time, it wasn't because of the cold.

Not that he'd hated his work, he told himself as he kept walking, trying to keep quiet as possible in case he disturbed someone, or something, that would give him more trouble than he could handle and eyes never leaving his surroundings. Quite to the contrary of what he'd just thought, they really hadn't made him into a heartless bastard. He'd simply taken his orders with however many pinches of salt they decided to force upon him and he'd learned that trust was something one had to guard at all costs. It had made him reluctant to play any of his cards away from his chest, but with all the sick, greedy bastards he'd seen in his days, he guessed he couldn't blame himself. Pros and cons... Pros and cons... Those things were for him to live and deal with, and now was probably not the best time to be thinking over such things. At any rate, he was simply hoping he'd run into somebody or something that could tell him more about what he was facing here, and, preferably, that 'somebody' would be someone that wouldn't want to kill him. That'd certainly be the better way to learn more, at least.

WORDS :: 613

TAGGED :: @Phillip Hatter

OUTFIT :: ^Check out that snazzy eye candy up there x3

NOTES :: Soo... To explain this wild mess, I'm thinking he might be ex-CIA and he retired before the game could get to him, or that's what he was trying to do at least. xD Until this happened. lol

Template created by blackrose538 of Caution 2.0

by **Phillip Hatter** Tue May 05, 2015 9:54 pm

Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside

It’s where my demons hide

His music was still blaring in his ears, but Hatter hardly heard it over the whistle of the wind and the distraction that were his thoughts. Maybe he'd go visit the casino gardens. Though he hated going anywhere near Isla de Sueños and the concrete-and-glass monstrosity that was the pride and joy of the Hearts, he loved the gardens there. They were a beautiful sight, a slice of natural paradise in a concrete jungle. He hadn't expected such a thing from the Hearts when the casino was being built, but then who could resist the beauty of a rose or the cheerfulness of a tulip? Seemed even tyrants could appreciate a spot of natural beauty amidst all the oppressing and killing.

He was supposed to be visiting Julianne and the rest of the rebels down in the Great Library this week to bring them supplies, but he wasn't in the mood to go see them today. Even though he was always welcomed warmly (though that was potentially because he had food, medicine, and other luxuries to share), and was regularly invited to stay for tea or for a game of chess, the whole ordeal was incredibly depressing. Tens of families reduced to living like squatters in a historic library could have that effect. And Hatter didn't want to deal with all that today.

No, what he wanted was a new pet project, something new to nurture back to health. Nurturing refugees while helping the Resistance by smuggling in supplies was all well and good, but it got too draining at times and he wanted something that didn't rely on him quite so much. He felt responsible for all those people, even though he hardly knew them, and although he understood that he was being selfish, he didn't want to be. He wanted a break. A break where all he did was look after himself, his shop, his plants, and no one else.

His current plant babies were all thriving and had no need for any extra attention, though he happily gave it to them anyway, watering and singing to them when he was certain that no one would overhear him. He didn't have the finest singing voice, but they seemed to like it nonetheless. But Hatter figured that anything would be better than silence, day in, day out. Even the sound of his croaky voice.

They could do with a new addition to the meadow. Deciding finally that he would indeed go to the casino gardens and see if there was some dying seedling that he could try and save, he took the next corner too sharply and felt himself colliding with something heavy but definitely human. Instinctively the man grabbed the stranger by the shirt and hauled with all his might to push him against the concrete wall. "Careful. Wouldn't want to take a fall now. It's so far up that no one would even hear you splat when you reach the bottom," he commented, giving a grim smile as his dark eyes studied the man before him.

----------------------------------------
TAGGED: @William Wolf
OUTFIT: this
WORDS: 509
NOTES: If the whole almost-getting-Will-killed-but-grabbing-him thing
isn't ok, lemme know and I'll change it! :3
CREDIT: Template by Melz/mizlopez89

by **William Wolf** Wed May 20, 2015 5:50 am

You can't take me; I'm free!

Now.., when he'd mentioned he was hoping he'd run into someone that might be able to help him, he had not meant that literally. But, before he knew it, he looked up from taking in his surroundings and wham!

The collision sent Will off-balance before a strong grip on his shirt had him hauled back against the concrete wall before he had much time to think about what the consequences would be if he hadn't caught his balance or whoever he'd run into hadn't caught him and managed to haul his weight.

Arms rested firmly back against the concrete to brace himself, Will got his first good look at the 'someone' he'd happened across as he heard the other male speak. The stranger's words held some dark truth, and Will judged the male knew it by the grim smile that followed the words. What the hell kind of place is this..?

"Thanks," he managed, forcing off all of his questions about the place to confront later. Instinct and training had him wanting to assess the situation first. The last thing he needed was to ask the wrong questions before he knew that it was safe to ask them. If he started asking before he knew just what kind of person he was dealing with, it could get him into more trouble than he already was...

At first glance, the male didn't seem to mean him any harm, but that could be attributed to the male not knowing who he was when he'd first collided with him; that demeanor could change in a heartbeat. Will had seen it plenty of times, and he wasn't willing to take chances here. Not when the last thing he knew, people had seemed to be out for his life or something to that extent, and if there was one thing he had learned all too fast and all too well was trust no one. Granted, he had trusted people, but he hadn't stayed alive this long in his former job by just trusting everyone he met the first time he laid eyes on them. No, that would've had him killed years ago...

This was a curious land, and Will was suddenly reminded of the intricate design that was now imprinted upon his exposed arms. He was still entirely uncertain of what to make of it, but something had him suddenly weary of showing it around - as if it was something that wasn't to be smiled upon in this seemingly shadowy, sorry landscape, and the thought made him shuffle his jacket over his other arm in order to cover up the little curse. Not that it'd do much good. In hindsight, the mark had probably already been spotted... He just had to hope that this first meeting here wouldn't wind up being his last all in one go!

WORDS :: 613

TAGGED :: @Phillip Hatter

OUTFIT :: ^Check out that snazzy eye candy up there x3

NOTES :: I sorry it took me so long to get back to you! *runs away to hide behind Aaron and Will*

Template created by blackrose538 of Caution 2.0

by **Phillip Hatter** Wed May 27, 2015 8:07 pm

Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside

It’s where my demons hide

Hatter shrugged nonchalantly, as if saving a person from certain death wasn't a big thing. And to him it wasn't; if he'd looked where he was going and taken that corner a bit more carefully, they wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place. He was too busy trying to find a way to get himself out of this funk to remember that other people still lived in these parts too, people who potentially could be knocked into the chasm below if he wasn't careful. It had been all his fault to begin with, so there was really no point for the stranger to be thanking him for the subsequent save. "Don't mention it. Don't know about you, but I don't much like knocking people off ledges to their deaths." He attempted to give a reassuring smile, but his mind refused to work with his mouth and it instead turned into a grim grin.

A splodge of dark colour against pale skin caught Hatter's eye and his eyes flashed down to the man's arm, only to widen in shock. An oyster! A real life oyster wandering Wonderland instead of being milked at the casino. This was bad news. Very bad news. Hatter quickly looked one way, then the other, checking to make sure the coast was clear. They wouldn't have much time. Soon Cottontail's goons would realize that one of their precious oysters was missing from the honeycomb containers and would instigate a search. Which was going to be very bad if anyone saw him talking to this man, whoever her was.

"You need to hide." A hint of urgency crept into his tone, though Hatter squashed it, again looking up and down the street. No point in getting the oyster scared and worked up. Who knew how he would react if he found out someone would be searching for him soon? He'd probably cause more trouble than it was worth. "Am I the only person you've talked to since you escaped, or has there been anyone else? Rat catcher, random citizen out for a walk...? Someone, anyone at all." His tone was calm, belying Hatter's rising panic. If he'd talked to anyone other than himself, or worse, if someone had seen his now-covered tattoo, Hatter couldn't help him. As much as he wanted to help a poor oyster who probably didn't deserve the treatment that would have been bestowed upon him, his friends and his shop were a higher priority than any oyster would ever be. He wouldn't let his customers, or more importantly - his friends, be mistreated and threatened for information if anyone had seen them together. No one could know that the oyster had been here, and no one could know that Hatter had anything to do with him.

----------------------------------------
TAGGED: @William Wolf
OUTFIT: this
WORDS: 464
NOTES: ---
CREDIT: Template by Melz/mizlopez89

by Sponsored content

You Can't Take Me || Hatter

You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter

Re: You Can't Take Me || Hatter