Meryl clung to Dumas willingly, taking a small comfort in his delicate embrace. She tugged Jeb closer to them, as well, so that he wouldn't bump into any off the weirdly floating objects. Jeb frowned as Dumas hugged Meryl to him. He didn't trust the other boy one bit - especially not when he looked like an umbrella with his silly dress puffed out. As they neared the bottom of the hole, he felt Meryl sigh with her entire body, though she was quaking some. He squeezed her hand in reassurance. When Dumas crawled through the hole in what looked like the tree they were in and beckoned them to follow him to some tea party, Meryl and Jeb glanced at each other for a long moment.<br/><br/>"I don't think we should follow him anymore," Jeb whispered mildly, considering the situation.<br/><br/>Meryl's big eyes looked too shiny. "But we don't even know where we are. We are currently crouching in a hollow tree-thing, we fell from above, which," she glanced up, "seems to not even exist anymore."<br/><br/>Jeb stared up. There wasn't even one hole in the wood four feet above them, just a tree. He gulped and looked back at Meryl. She seemed close to tears. He scooted closer and hugged her tight. "Just stay close," he murmured. She sniffed. They crawled through the space in the trunk one at a time and squinted in the sudden light.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>The Hatter clung to the tree branch in utter fear.<span style="font-style: italic">I am outside . . . I am outside . . . I NEED TO GO BACK.</span><br/><br/>And he was just about to. He shimmied down the trunk, trembling in fright. He had heard a screech in a nearby bush and was in the tree before he knew what he was doing or what he even heard. But as he reached the ground, he felt another wave of emotion and presence sent by Eleanor and he sighed. He could feel her pain and distress, and he really did miss her quite a bit; he couldn't turn back now, no matter how terrified he was. What if he stumbled and literally fell into a portal? Even touching a tree was dangerous.<br/><br/>Hatter wandered around the Forest for a while, an hour maybe, until he found a break in the trees and a path and an outcropping of rocks. He smiled. He hadn't smiled this much in a long time, a week at least. He slowly stepped closer and closer to a particularly large rock, his hat dipping over his forehead. Hatter touched the rock; it felt warm from the sun.<br/><br/>"El-eh-nooorrr . . ." he called gently.