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At it again I see.

Not you. Not now. I'm busy.

[Chess took stock of the piles of fabric, pins and other miscellaneous items littering the room. She smirked softly.] Clealy. And c'mon, you know you missed me.

Missed is such a specific word. [He mutters as he pulls a curved needle through the inner band of a bright yellow and teal wide-brimmed picture hat.]

[The blonde watches him for a moment, the wrinkles her nose at the hat. Those colors were hideous, but that was her opinion.]

I'm one of the few friends you have here, it seemed appropriate.

[He dramatically drops his head onto the table, pressing the brim of the hat between his skin and the wood.] Yes. [He mutters into the table.] And it's distracting.

[Today is one of his worse days. He had to get home. It drummed in his head. He had far more important things than making useless hats over and over and over again. He needed to be home.]

[She rolled her eyes at that. Moving to sit on the stool opposite him.] Maybe you need a distraction. [Does a quick sweep of his emotions with her powers.] Your mind is rather frantic today, isn't it?

...Grace is alright you know.

[His head launches up and he barely contains a surly remark.] How do you know? [He says softly and sets his jaw. He tugs at the yellow thread until it's taut.]

[Well, that worked like a charm; sort of. At least he hadn't hurled anything at her.]

Because I've seen her. [Her voice is comforting, like a mother to a child.] You forget I can leave Wonderland a bit easier than you. She's safe, worried but safe. I promise.

[His eyes narrow, trying to decide if he believes her or not today. This isn't the first time they've had this conversation. Like most things, the same thing happens all the time here in Wonderland. He punctures the bias binding again with his needle and puffs out a heavy breath.] Safe. Yes.

And how are the comings and goings of this horrible place?

[Oh, here we go again. Maybe she'd be better off appearing as a cat to him like she does with Grace...what was the difference really between a scared child and a confused adult? Yet, when he speaks it's sane.]

About the same, although I hear the Queen had a visitor today. A pirate of all things, no one's quite sure how he arrived.

A pirate. [He scoffs.] Did they check for a ship? [Another stitch whips through the hat.]

So they say. [She picks up a button and begins spinning it like one would a coin.] Apparently one couldn't be found. It's like he appeared from thin air...with a dead body of all things. Color me odd, even for Wonderland.

That could be arranged. [He mutters dryly.]

[Less than amused, assuming he meant her.] Seriously? You I come because I care.

I know. But I do have three dye pots at the ready. [He finishes the seam and at an alarming pace grabs his shears and snips the thread in one swoop. He slams the sharp shears down on the table and grabs a grip of silk flowers in a wide variety of colors and plops them on to the hat.] That doesn't seem right, does it?

I can see that. [Chess shook her head. Honestly, when was the last time he'd slept? At his question she shrugs.] I don't know, I'm not really one for hats. It does seem a bit bright though. [Quietly.] Jefferson, when did you last sleep?

I don't have time. This- [He frantically flings the flowers around by shaking his hands through them.] This is not working. [He hits his head against the table again.]

[Ok, so maybe he wasn't so fine today. Still, she of all people could roll with it.] It's not working because you're exhausted. ['For the love of whiskers, really?' she thinks as he hits his head again.

Exhaling, she allows her body to relax and shifts into cat form. The feline bounding across the table easily and coming to sit by his head; head-butting it with her own and meowing.]

[The soft fluff of fur he could feel against his head calmed him for the moment.] I'm not exhausted. [He spoke softly into the table.] Nothing is working.

[He rolls his head to the side to look at her.] And portals don't just make themselves. [He furrows his brow.] Actually some do. But I can't sit around waiting for one to appear.

[The cat's tail gave a sharp flick. Oh yeah, she believed that for all of a minute. Laying down, she's happy when he at least looks at her. The now golden eyes meeting his blue.

Poor Jefferson. Even so, she knows he'd be better with sleep and hops down onto the ground, her paws carrying her over to his cot of a bed upon which she leaps onto. Meowing yet again.]

[Though his head barely moves, his eyes follow her.] No. I have to finish.

[She meows again, louder and more insistent. C'mon, did she really need to go lay on the pillow and get fur all over it. Sitting, she begins "ruffling" the blanket with her claws a few times.]

Stop that. [He shuts his eyes tight, gripping the edge of the table with his fingers.] I can't stop yet. I'm. Not. Tired.

[The cat growls lowly as if to say, fine have it your way you stubborn ass. Before moving toward the pillow and sitting on it.]

[When she gets on the pillow, a large pink plume springs out from underneath where he'd slept on it. Attached to it is a red velvet flat cap. Meanwhile, with his head still firmly planted on the table, Jefferson reaches below and grabs hold of a bolt of orange tulle and pulls the end loose. The bolt flops onto the ground and he draws the material across the table and into view. He examines it quickly before rejecting it and grabbing another bolt, this one white, which was stacked just under that one. He repeats the process, again rejecting it at the end and throwing it to the ground in a huff. He shuts his eyes again.]

[Chelsea jumps startled when the plume springs out. Wow, this was really getting out of hand. Sighing again, she moves down the bed and shifts back into human form.] Jefferson please, indulge me? Five minutes...please? ['Cause a hat made of tulle certainly wouldn't help him -were there even hats made of tulle? She didn't think so.]

Five minutes? [He said, his voice clear that he's been worn down a little. His eyes remained shut, but his face began to relax.]

Yes, off the stool. [She pats the bed beneath her. If only she could get him to lie down maybe he'd actually sleep.] C'mon, I'll even be your guard cat. [That last bit is said through a chuckle.]

[His eyes barely opened, his face still squished awkwardly against the wood.] You promise.

[He sounded so much like a child then it twisted her heart, although what exactly she was promising she wasn't sure. To stay with him or only let him sleep for five minutes? Probably the latter.]

I promise.

[Jefferson pondered her promise for a moment before forcing his body upright and slumping across his work space to his cot.] You'll wake me? [He asked in a pleading and tired voice as he dropped down onto the cot next to her. It felt so soft beneath him.]

[Score one for the cat, she mused triumphantly when he walked over.] Yes. [It just may not be five minutes later, what was time in Wonderland anyway?

Curling her feet beneath her dress, Chess debated shifting back into cat form but for the moment remained human. Hesitantly, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hairline; whispering] This will all be here when you wake up, just sleep now.

[Her fingers felt soothing as they passed through his mussed hair. When she reminded him that it would all be here when he woke, his face visibly twitched. He worked tirelessly to find peace from his agonizing guilt. His eyes slid shut again, even with his boots still touching the floor.]

[One more trip, she said.]

[Chess winced, when she realized her blunder. This wasn't home for him, it was practically Hell, still, mentioning Grace would probably just send him into a frenzy again.] Shh. [She tried again, pleased when he seemed to drift off...only time would tell how long it lasted. At most she'd wait an hour or two to make sure, surely any nightmares would pass by then.]

[With her beside him, he very quickly slipped into a deep sleep. It had been days since he had laid down in this cot. Surviving on stolen moments of sleep spent face down at his work bench or among a pile of materials was not the sleep he needed. Like always, it was plagued with terrors and fits, but it was sleep none the less.]

((ooc: this has been crazy fun. I would love to either keep going or try another thread.))

Edited 2013-09-24 03:35 (UTC)

((OOC: I enjoyed it too! It's rare that I find a Jefferson and Chess so longs for one. I'm good either way. We can keep going on this one, I can make another SWS thread or I have a log of memes I've posted to in her journal; more than happy to do an older one.))

((ooc: I can see this thread continuing, but I am also super curious about Storybrooke Chess.))

((ooc: LOL. Storybrooke Chess can be interesting -depending on if we're talking pre or post curse break- but that leaves room for more threads! ;)...Sounds a little like you want to continue this one, so we can definitely do that. Would you want to keep it to SWS or move to a journal?

((OOC: I'm good for either. Maybe move to a journal?))

((ooc: Probably, we're already at 40 comments and I could see it getting pretty long otherwise.))

((OOC: Yeah. Yours or mine?))

((ooc: Wanna do yours? Either Jefferson waking up on his own or Chess actually waking him? Then -if/when we have another long one- I'll do mine?))

((ooc: follow the link to go further down the rabbit hole...))

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Wonderland, FTL or Storybrooke?

Wonderland?

:)

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