The Hatter admired her languid form, stretched between her one captive foot and her small hands on his ankle. She was like a fluid; pour her into any container and she would take its shape. Make her into anything you wanted her to be, but don't expect the change to hold. She was.... It struck him, suddenly (as it did every fortnight or so)... she was mercury. Perhaps that's why he liked the taste of her so well.<br/><br/>He lowered himself to his knees, putting his head still above her own but close enough to see. To smell. "Stop your stupid whining," he growled. Then his fingers were in her hair again. Both hands now, a vise grip holding her head in place. Steady enough to kiss her brutally, his tongue invading her mouth and silencing it, for the moment. He drew back, licking his fleshy lips clean of the blood from her injured tongue. Sweet, salty, copper blood -- and another taste. Green. Another of the Hare's poisons. The small secondhand splash made his lips tingle and the nerves on his tongue explode at the sensation of the sharp edges of his teeth. He could only imagine what it must be doing to her.<br/><br/>"My naughty little pet. You'll put your feet in those boots, or I'll take an axe to your knees and you'll be able to visit your toes on weekends. You won't lose me, and I won't lose you, but if you're not quite careful I just might lose my temper, and we both know the sorts of things that happen on those rare occasions." His hands fell to her breasts, barely concealed beneath her tight top, and wrenched her nipples like a man trying to remove a stuck distributor cap. "Now do be a good dear and do as you're told. For if I do lose my temper it won't easily be replaced, and no bell in the world will help us find it again until things have run their course."<br/><br/>It was too late already, of course. The entirely unintentional side effect of Cat's insolence was currently tenting the front of Hatter's trousers, and a substantial swath of his left pantleg. The afternoon would not reach a satisfactory conclusion until that particular loose end had been accounted for fully. Perhaps repeatedly.<br/><br/>He rose to his feet again, fluffing the overlarge cuffs of his shirt. His eyes darted about the assemblage of equipment in what was currently called the Exercise Room. An elephant's-foot umbrella stand caught his eye, and from it he withdrew a slender metal rod. It was, if he were not mistaken, the radio antenna from a Ford Fairlane. How it had gotten here was anyone's guess, but it would do for now.<br/><br/>His voice was mild again, his anger invisible beneath the surface. "Now as we proceed, tell me about this 'Mouse' you mentioned." Newcomers to Wonderland were few and far between. If this was a new Player, he would need to know the details. If it was a new Prize, then he'd want to take possession of it before the Hare had a chance. Though it sounded as if Cat may have screwed that up as well. Ah well, one more for the penance list.<br/>