I'm Not That Mad

17

"Did you deliver it, Bunny?" Carroll hummed as Kanin came back into the room, their head lowered as they nodded, "What's the matter?"

There was a long silence as they walked over to their bed, sitting down in a daze. The sheets of the bed were soft, though they barely registered it through the haze that clouded their brain from their 'conversation' with Ozzy. They could feel how his ears had fallen, hanging on either side of their head in a way that reflected how they were feeling.

"What will happen to his father?" They asked softly, their tone carefully blank as they spoke, "If it's true... what will happen to Ozzy's father?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Kanin," Carroll hummed, his tone almost amused, as he moved to sit beside them, "The Cheshire Cat has committed multiple accounts of treason against my mother. He'll be executed."

Kanin drew in a shaky breath at that, pushing themselves against the headboard of the bed, hugging themselves tightly.

"Aw, come on bunny, you knew this would happen," Carroll hummed, sitting up next to them and putting a hand on their arm, ignoring how they flinched at his touch, "It wouldn't be the first time that you've had to do something like this."

Kanin bit their lip, hugging themselves tighter, the guilt beginning to really sink in. They've done things similar to this in the past, they weren't sure why it was eating at them only now. They've caused countless executions, enough that they had become something akin to a symbol of death back in Wonderland, and they had just thought they had grown numb to the feelings.

"What... what do you plan to gain from this?" Kanin asked softly, "I'm not foolish enough to believe that this is just loyalty to your mother."

"It's best that you don't question me, bunny," Carroll hummed, grabbing their chin and forcing them to look at him, "What time does he usually call his father?"

"Six, usually," Kanin said reluctantly, grimacing as Carroll nodded and picked up a small black box that he had sitting on his bed stand and placing it on Kanin's lap.

"It's almost that time," He hummed, nodding over to the clock on the bedside table, "Why don't we turn that on and listen in?"

Kanin hesitated for a long moment, their finger over the switch, but turned it on in the end. It crackled for a few seconds, the sound of static filling the room, before it finally stopped and Kanin was able to hear a faint voice on the other end. 

"I don't think he's wearing his jacket," Kanin mumbled to him, "We won't be able to hear him well if he isn't wearing it, maybe we should just leave it at that and check again some other-"

Carroll shushed him quickly, hearing some rustling on the other end, louder than the voices. It was most likely Ozzy putting on the jacket, as evidenced by his voice becoming a bit clearer than it had been. 

"Yeah, no, papa it's freezing in these dorms," They could hear Ozzy saying, "Say what you want about where we're living now, at least we have a heater."

To Kanin, it was obvious when the Cheshire cat began to speak, the voice as clear as Ozzy's was, however, they were almost certain that Carroll wouldn't be able to hear it as well as them without straining. 

"I don't understand how you can seem to enjoy living in this shabby apartment,"  The Cheshire cat responded, sounding rather amused, "We barely have a working lock here."

"That's why we prop stuff in front of the door, I guess," Came Ozzy's response with a small laugh, sounding a bit too amused considering the context, "Are you sure I can't come home any sooner than next week, papa? It's so boring here."