M e s s a g e 3 4

[curiousher]

[When Alice appears on the screen today, she's bobbing up and down in excitement with the widest smile – even without eyes to accompany it. Curiously, for those who have never met Alice before, her gaze always goes to the camera somehow, even though by all accounts she should not be able to see it.]

Everyone! I've thought of the most marvelous riddle and simply had to share it immediately! So many of you are much smarter than I am, and I'm certain you'll come up with an answer easily.

Hm... [She brings a hand to her chin and frowns in thought.] Now, how did it go again? I think it was..."If there's something in the forest, and no one's ever seen it, how do they know it's—" --no, that's not quite right, is it? Someone who's seen it obviously told them and that isn't much of a riddle at all. Maybe it was...maybe it was "If everyone's scared of a beast in the forest, but no one's ever seen the beast, is it truly a beast at all"? Hmm...I don't think it was.

[Alice scratches her temple, frustrated that she's lost the correct wording to her absolutely fantastic riddle.]

Perhaps it wasn't so marvelous after all. [She shrugs. Eh. Over it.] Oh well. Everyone knows who you are is much more important than the sort of riddles you tell. So, let's do that instead!

Tell me Wonderland - who are all of you today? That ought to be much more curious than some riddle.

[She rests her chin in her hands, waiting for answers, and then the video feed flickers off.]

Comments

[mourning_ghost]

I see. Though, I can fly so that wouldn't be a problem for me.

[curiousher]

Is it still flying if it's underground in a hole? I've always wondered that...

[mourning_ghost]

Yes. We fly when we move through the air using machines, such as an airplane, or wings. You can do that above or below the ground.

[curiousher]

I see, I see! So if you're flying underground and the ground is above you, does that mean you would be flying upside down?

[mourning_ghost]

[Alice is little (he thinks? She's definitely smaller than most of the humans he's seen) and Wonderland would probably make something like that happen, so she's spared the scornful glare that comment would otherwise create.]

It doesn't normally.

[curiousher]

[Alice is little for a human, about twelve years old (or at least she appears to be. She's been twelve for a very long time after all), and very curious about this talking bird.]

Have you ever tried it?

[mourning_ghost]

[He hasn't been fifteen nearly as long as Alice has been twelve (only five or six years), but it's enough to have an understanding of that situation.]

Once. In the tunnels underneath the mansion. [It wasn't for very long. He stopped when it grew too dark for him to feel comfortable flying in there.]

[curiousher]

[Truthfully, Alice wasn't expecting him to have, so she's pleasantly surprised.]

Ah! You must be an expert on the matter then!

[mourning_ghost]

I suppose you could say that. Though there are others who've flown underground more than I have.

[curiousher]

Really? Do they live underground then? That must be horribly inconvenient for them.

[mourning_ghost]

They just worked there.