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February 21
I was wandering aimlessly through the narrow streets between the minishop booths today, as is usually the case when I have nothing better to do. However, I was not looking at the wares available this time. My eyes were cast downward, as I had just recieved some bad news.
As I was walking, something that might have once been white caught my eye. I probably wouldn't have noticed it among the detritus littering the streets if I hadn't been looking down to begin with. I picked it out of the trash to inspect it, and discovered that it was a book! It had been abused badly, which did onthing to improve my mood. I can't stand people who treat their books poorly. I carried it back to my home, intent on repairing it.
When I got home, I had a much better chance to look closely at the book. It seemed to be a copy of Alice in Wonderland, coated with a layer or grime and slightly dog-eared. I set about cleaning the cover as best I could, taking care not to hurt the book any further. As I cleaned, I found myself becoming calmer and more collected. In fact, I felt the best I'd felt since I heard the news that Hunter S. Thompson had died. I decided to keep the book for myself, as I seem to have a tendency to become attached to objects when I spend any amount of time with them. As I cleared off the last of the dirt, it almost seemed as though a warm golden glow began to emanate from the book. It made me happier to look at it.
I placed the softly glowing book on my bedside table and drifted off to sleep.

February 23 (later)


Unbeknownst to Tabitha, the book may have been ok on the outside, but its interiors were fading, and fast. If one were to flip through it, the only discernable words would be 'White Rabbit.' The glow was beginning to dim, and the book shook, its pages slightly fluttering...


eek Transition Stage has been achieved...

February 23, near midnight.

The book falls from Tabitha's hands as a golden light engulfs her and washes over the entire room. As the book begins to shred, a little spirit fades into view where it used to be, formed by the scraps of the blank pages. He stares at Tabitha, cocking his head before trying to reach for the nearest watch, and stared at Tabitha with remorseful eyes when he couldn't find one.

eek BravoStage has been achieved.

February 24
I went out to buy myself a new pocketwatch today. I decided to let the White Rabbit come along with me, since I wasn't sure what he would do if I left him alone at my house. He seemed happy enough to come with me to Agatha's, although he refused any perch except my head. I guess it's comfy up there between the horns. He spent the entire trip alternately cooing at his watch and peering around like he thought someone was going to steal it.
As I stepped into the jewellery store, the Rabbit became very quiet. Agatha got halfway through her customary "Welcome" before the little spirit had launched himself off of my head and started bouncing around the store like a demented pinball, pausing briefly at each display of new and intriguing shiny things. He finally stopped in front of the display cabinet containing all the different sorts of watches. He pressed himself up against the glass, making throaty whining sounds. Agatha just stared. "Sorry, ma'am," I blushed, attempting futilely to pry him away from the glass. "I'm afraid he's a bit of a chronophile. Um, I need to buy a pocketwatch."
Agatha stared stonily at the Rabbit, who was making smears all over the glass display case. "We have a wide selection of watches, as your friend seems to have noticed." The Rabbit noticed her, evidently for the first time. I suddenly found him wrapped around the back of my neck behind my hair, whimpering quietly. Agatha didn't even pause. "Are you looking for something in gold or silver?" I explained that I was looking for a replacement for the watch I'd bought just last month, the gold one that the Rabbit now possessed. Agatha peered suspiciously at the Rabbit, who was peering back from behind my neck. She opened the display case (I could feel the Rabbit tremble as though he wanted to leap in) and picked out a watch nearly identical to the one the Rabbit had secreted away somewhere about himself. "We also have this model in white gold," she began, but I stopped her before she could launch into her full sales pitch. I was looking for a silver watch, I explained further. That way we could easily tell them apart. Plus, I didn't want the Rabbit to develop pocketwatch envy or anything ridiculous like that. After trying to sell me the deluxe pocketwatch with a diamond-encrusted lid and cubic zirconia hands, Agatha gave up and sold me the plain but shiny silver watch I wanted.
I paid for my new watch and left the store. The Rabbit seemed to relax as we headed out, climbing down my arm to inspect my new treasure. "Hey, this one's mine," I told him. He took it as though he hadn't heard me. He inspected the surface carefully, brushed off an invisible speck of dust, opened it to watch the hands move for a bit, then held it up to his ear to make sure the insides all sounded happy. Seeming satisfied, he placed it in my pocket and crawled back up to his perch atop my head.
I decided to take the Rabbit out for something to eat, so I headed towards the minishops. Going on the advice of a friend, I soon found a sushi place with reasonable prices. I ordered a combination platter for myself first, figuring that the Rabbit would be able to try a bit of everything and decide what he wanted. He turned up his nose at all of the fish before popping the entire wad of wasabi into his mouth. "That's hot," I blurted out, rather too late. The tips of his ears got flushed, and he started waving his hands at his mouth frantically. I popped a kappa maki into his open mouth, figuring that he wouldn't object to it too much because it had no fish in it. The rice helped to take away the taste of the wasabi, and he devoured the others on my platter in what seemed like less time than it takes to blink. I waved for the server and ordered a bunch of kappa maki and a tall glass of milk. I didn't know whether or not the Rabbit would like the milk, but it would certainly help to dull the taste of the wasabi.
We ate in relative peace after that, the Rabbit now suspiciously sniffing each cucumber roll before eating it. I showed him how to dip his food into the tray of soy sauce, which he greatly enjoyed. In fact, he took the bottle of soy sauce and practically emptied it over the rolls that wouldn't fit into the tray to marinate in the stuff. I made a mental note that he didn't seem to object to salty things.

February 28
We didn't manage to find any gloves or fans on Friday, but we did run into my friend digidrago when we were out looking. To my great surprise, I found that she also had a book spirit with her! Hers appeared to be Alice, and it (she, I suppose) spent a great deal of time chasing the poor White Rabbit around. I mean, she did chase him in the book for quite some time, but she wasn't wielding a knife in Lewis Carroll's version. I think she was genuinely curious about the Rabbit, but she seemed quite attached to her knife and probably wouldn't be persuaded to put it down. And it seems that the Rabbit is rather shy, which didn't help any. He's fine when he's around lots of people as long as none of them are paying any attention to him. Once he becomes the focus of someone's attention, he gets very tense and tries to hide wherever he can. Which reminds me, I need to see if I can de-stretch my shirt and remind him that cleavage is an inappropriate hiding place. He can sometimes float right through objects, but he's really quite solid when he's frightened.
And goodness me, but he eats like ten bears. I've spent pretty much the entire weekend buying and preparing food for him. He likes vegetables best, so I've been cooking separate meals for both of us. I like my veggies well enough, but I wouldn't be too hard-pressed to become an entirely carnivorous thing.
Oh, and we did buy him some gloves and a fan on Saturday. He seemed quite pleased with them, and was bapping me on the head with the fan all the way home. I can only assume he'll begin wearing the gloves once (if?) he develops actual hands.