ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘʀᴏғɪʟᴇ ﹣ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ

[glumshoe]

[ This is an inauspicious start to the New Year.

Considering the tension since last event, where Will sat side by side with the friend he'd roundly denounced to Ned and, for lack of a better phrase, sat pretty while most of Wonderland's residents tore themselves apart, his and Ned's lack of communication is nothing out of the ordinary. The few times they did speak afterward were short, in the public eye, not betraying their respective secretkeeping but definitely not delving into just what Will's behavior was all about.

Still, pies continued to be delivered, baked dog snacks came. Nothing seemed irreparable, even if it didn't seem good. Will thinks it's about time he cleared the air, and sends word ahead so that, in true introvert form, Ned can prep himself for another intense, likely protracted talk.

In private. Will clarifies one text later, Will your room work? It ought to, Will's headed there.

Except, stepping inside, Will feels a certain inevitability come to pass that he maybe should have picked up from Ned's lack of response. Barren walls, stripped furniture. Like Ned's prepared to move but where the hell would he go? Unless Will's gone strictly on the verboten list and isn't in the perky pie party that gets the new address forwarded to him. But in the unlikely event that Ned is the kind of man that would leave someone behind, well. Then he wasn't who Will thought he was. ]

Hey, little guy - or, girl.

[ he says wearily while the English spaniel raises a cautious nose to the air. Something like her owner. A soft whine sounds. ]

Yeah, I know.

[ Not Ned, but Derby tolerates a newcomer a little bit better than the piemaker, even though she'll be missing Ned. She wouldn't be the only one. The notion dawns on Will to open a channel to the network while Derby occupies herself with skirting Will's immediate proximity. ]

It's been a while since I addressed the network.

[ "Addressed" here is an accurate term; accidental nighttime shows don't count. ]

But for those of you that knew him, Ned, our resident piemaker, has disappeared.

[ Yes, that piemaker from the diner on the eighth floor. Those of you who share the obsession with his baking have suffered a great loss, but don't let that blind you to the greater loss of Ned himself. ]

This might not mean anything, as for recent departees who've wound up right back here, I'm among their number. But I wanted to let Ned's friends know before search parties were sent abroad. Particularly a - Tohru. I'm afraid you'll have to find a temporary hire in your diner.

[ Will gets the dog, sorry. ]

Comments

video;

[oversight]

[ Blake hasn't been around in days. Hell, he's been holed up since Christmas if we're being specific, and the only reason he's making any sort of appearance is because the new year's brought back at least some of his resolve. Nevertheless, he's unhappy to hear this message, and maybe also a bit perturbed by the persistent unrest around the mansion. ]

You there now? Are his things gone?

[ Not knowing Ned all that well, Blake can only guess what his room might have looked like, but he suspects Will is a little more adept at knowing the differences if he's already there checking things out. ]

video;

[glumshoe]

[ With Will's absence from Wonderland mid-December and the subsequent attacks (and the Core's lunch outing), neither has Will been particularly diligent in seeking out friends. If it could be reasonably conceived that Blake is still his friend, though with the rather close proximity the nature of their prison forces them into, it's practical, too, to answer a network call of someone you might have less reason to trust.

As it turns out, unrest is just the easiest answer for not reestablishing contact. ]

Looks like he's moving in a hurry,

[ Will says, here turning the feed to show a cup of tea on the counter, stone cold, along with a kettle that's long since stopped whistling. ]

But not by his choice. Pretty sure it's Wonderland.

video;

[oversight]

[ Blake can appreciate the view if only for the fact that it keeps him from having to snoop himself. If there's little reason to suspect foul play, he'll just as soon leave it to someone else, especially when Wonderland's the number one culprit.

He nods slightly and before he can say anything more, Nessa the gray tabby cat nuzzles under his chin for an on-screen appearance of her own. John sighs and gently places the cat back on the floor next to his desk with all the practiced precision of a long-suffering cat owner.

Ah... [ Where was he? Oh, right. ] Any idea how long he's been gone?

Video

[sorta_cinderella]

... Temporary, that's the word.

[She looks contemplative.]

Video

[glumshoe]

Hope is the reason for the season.

[ Hello Saki, it's been a while. Will slips up onto a vacant stool and sets the device on the bar, Will the only item of interest set against the bare walls. ]

Did I shake a thought loose, Miss Hanajima?

Video

[sorta_cinderella]

... Nothing too ground-breaking. Just how time can be so irrelevant here, when people can come and go so easily.

Video;

[breakthecurse]

[She's noticed. Mr. Ned is very much like her, in that he's in the diner more often than not, so it was noticed immediately when he didn't turn up to the diner one, then two days in a row. It felt different without the scent of fresh baked pie, and without their resident pie maker baking them.

It takes her a minute to find words, but when she replies she can't help looking sad at the news. She bows her head at the screen anyway.]

...Thank you very much for seeking me out to tell me. I really appreciate it. We'll, um. We'll do our best to find someone to help in the meantime, until we're sure Mr. Ned is...until we're certain whether he's gone for good or not.

[For now, she might be able to acquire some help from some friends, but long-term hires are difficult to come by in Wonderland.]

Video;

[glumshoe]

You're welcome.

[ He hates to be the bearer of bad news, but he's well aware that receiving it's a whole lot worse. Nothing quite like discovering your surrogate daughter is missing and likely dead as coming out of anesthesia and being told you did it.

The poor girl on the other end had nothing to do with Ned disappearing, of course, and there aren't many options for mitigating the impact on Tohru outside of offering his services himself. And really, no one wants that. ]

I, um - for what it's worth I don't think he'll be gone for long. If he's coming back, I mean.

Video;

[breakthecurse]

R-Really? You don't think so?

[Tohru's been in Wonderland for some time now, but she's actually never had someone very, very close to her disappear only to come back quickly. For her, any dear friends who have disappeared have vanished for good, so to hear that it might not be the case with Mr. Ned sounds like nothing short of a miracle.

But even so...there's still another concern.]

If he comes back quickly...do you think he might remember us?

[Or will his memories of Wonderland be gone, like what seems to happen to everyone else who returns?]

video;

[alayne]

--- Will.

[ said as a sigh of relief, the emotion quite a strange one for the girl who is mostly used to disappointments. but there he is and alayne smiles, too happy by far to see him. you are alright, she wants to say, I cannot believe it.

a smile then, and then another. ]

It brings me great joy to see you.

video;

[glumshoe]

[ What really brought home the greater ramifications someone's disappearance has is when Evelyn could hardly believe Will was standing in front of her, after suffering a history of anyone she cared about suddenly evaporating, either forever or long enough that they forgot her entirely.

In that vein, there isn't a lot Will can retrospectively say about his narrow field of vision and the people that were waiting to see what would become of him, much like Ned's friends. Will's dim awareness that there are people outside of Evelyn that want to keep him around should reflect badly on him while Alayne replies, concerned over him and not the man he's trying to helpfully raise awareness about. Seems right to let it slide, Will smiling a small, pleased smile. ]

Thank you. And hello, Alayne. I'm sorry I haven't been as diligent with checking in in the wake of my own return.

video;

[alayne]

It is entirely forgiven, I have never thought of it as a slight.

[ she knows how horrid the attack has been, has ran away from the jabberwock herself ( never look back, she had told herself and so all that she remembers is a terrible roar ). and will has always been kind to her, always patient and sweet.

he calls her alayne and she wants to tell him more of sansa but perhaps not now. ]

I am simply so happy to see you again.

video;

[guestlectures]

Will you take Derby?

video;

[glumshoe]

I'll look after her for a while.

[ That "while" is entirely determined by how long Ned takes to get back, in itself an odd thought because Will never decided when, exactly, he started believing Ned is coming back. ]

I figured I'd relieve you and Evelyn of dogsitting duties.

[ Yeah, remember that? ]

video;

[guestlectures]

All right.

[And with that confirmed, she ought to make her farewells and end the call.

When did she stop taking her own advice?]

What happened back home, between you and Hannibal?

video;

[unsullies]

I was taken and returned twice within a fortnight. I would not yet worry that your friend will be gone for very long, as you said.

[ Hello, Will. Dany quite likes your good friend Hannibal. ]

video;

[glumshoe]

If we can count on anything, it's Wonderland's arbitrariness.

[ Oddly, yes, he doesn't find himself that worried since as often as Ned shrinks in and pirouettes away from contact entirely, he never struck Will as the type that couldn't take care of himself. ]

I haven't had the pleasure of talking with you since your queenly announcement, come to think of it. Mind telling me what your trip home was like?

[ And no Dany what are you doing. ]

[Video]

[onlyhomemade]

[Gabriel had noticed the distinct lack of something in air that carried from the 8th to the 10th floor daily. His heightened senses couldn't quite pick out what it was until it was addressed on the network as the absence of fresh, baked pies. The diner still ran so there were other food smells, so it wasn't that abrupt, but now that it's known he can't believe he didn't notice it before. The days to follow would be hellish as he won't be able to NOT notice the lack of a sweet, buttery tang to what floated through the endless halls of the mansion.]

Ned?

[Gabriel chose video on most occasions, using his facial cues and expressions to his advantage. But this time he was honestly concerned with the others absence. He's not sure he could go so far as to call the pie-maker a friend, not considering they were still patching up things after he'd disemboweled him. But his loss would be felt.]

You're certain?

[He didn't want to believe it and if he were to be honest, it was a far more jagged pill to swallow than he would've thought. Not just for the delicious homemade pastries, but that was one human he had been putting effort into winning over honestly hoping to befriend. Still, the idea of being temporary is only a partial relief. Ned deserved to be home. He believed all of them did despite how much he hated humans and made enemies of others.]

[Video]

[glumshoe]

[ Ned isn't incapable of making friends, but is maybe predisposed to garnering fans first, for obvious reasons. Then is a problem with attention. The fans that just can't be deterred. The ones there at every turn. Waiting.

Will's not met any of Ned's fans in the flesh, but a mention or two of a woman named after a tree whose branches may be extended in peace - which Ned got none of under her affections - has Will immediately wary of some inquirers over others. ]

I'm sure.

[ It asks a lot of Will to not let the subtext of that reply be you idiot, but he manages it. It's a Christmas miracle. ]

[video]

[potatoesandmolasses]

Oh no! Not the Piemaker! Maybe he just went out looking for, uh--fruits and stuff?

[video]

[glumshoe]

I - hadn't considered it. Generally anyone who wants to grow their own plants or forage for cooking materials will do it for recreation. Since Ned is a baker for a living, he might favor the expediency that the kitchens provide.

video;

[avoirfaim]

What a shame.

[ He would have made a great meat pie. ]

video;

[glumshoe]

Speaking as a fellow baker?

[ GTFO. ]

[video forever]

[akapeanut]

Shit. Any idea how long it's been?

[glumshoe]

Difficult to tell.

[ He touches the side of the kettle resting on the stovetop, frowning faintly. ]

This could have gone cold an hour ago or a week ago; there isn't any way to make heads or tails of it.