Once he finished his outburst, the rabbit finally begun to take her to the library. It was quite a long trip, compared to everywhere else she had been.
It's a shame they didn't have cars, or audio books, possibly even comic books, she'd take those over reading thick long books any day, assuming all the books were as jumbled as the people.
She had come to turns that everyone she'd meet was weird, including the caterpillar, except… he was completely normal! It was actually a bit of a let-down
Despite his messy blue hair and bright green eyes, his attire was completely normal. A large grey coat with a white button up undershirt. He had matching grey pants, and a black vest on top of it with a lose and messy tie.
His only other discerning features were his glasses, and antennae like ears. Considering how many people she's met with animal ears already though, his felt a lot more normal than anyone else.
She expected him to dress crazy, as it was hinted in the original Alice in Wonderland what kind of person the smoking hookah blue caterpillar was. Sort of like the March Rabbit. Perhaps he wasn't mad?
"Oh my, you've certainly let yourself go tonight," the white rabbit interrupted her thoughts as he shook his head and commentated on the blue caterpillar. "You look zoned out completely! We can't have that, I'll show Alice around myself." He huffed.
He looked completely fine to her, his eyes were clear and he held a smile when they entered, greeting them politely. He's even the best dressed person she's met so far!
As soon as the white rabbit said that however, she saw the blue caterpillar exhale a huge sigh of relief as he pulled out a pipe, immediately ruining his professionalism from a few moments earlier.
"Don't stay for more than an hour or you'll be marked as checked in, you can sign yourself out there." He pointed his pipe in the direction of a large book. There goes her hope.
"If you keep acting like that our meeting will be short again!" The white rabbit half-heartedly scolded as he begun making his way through the large library.
Not able to get any slack, she chased after the annoying rabbit. "Something tells me he's not a professional." Alice muttered in reference to the rabbit.
It seems like the rabbit ears weren't for show as her guide stopped and turned to her. "I guess you still don't get it? Everyone here is mad! There is simply no one professional, my dear." He shook his head with his arms crossed.
She wanted to argue that she wasn't mad, but it felt like it'd turn against her favour. "What books are we looking for?" She changed the subject while they went back to searching around the library.
"To find more about magic, and to allow you to check out a little something," he replied while glancing at shelves. "Although we are insane, it doesn't mean we aren't tight-lip or stupid."
It was quite large, spacious as the ceiling was nearly five houses tall, and a single room was nearly like a castle's throne room size. There were red velvet carpets, and shelves that stacked so high even if she cranked her neck she could not see the ends.
Even after walking for five minutes, it felt like there was no end. She was surprised he knew where he was going. "Excuse me, mister." She called out to the rabbit.
"How large is this library? From the outside it was small." She said, noting that the exterior was barely even there. Compared to the Dormouse's place, it was tiny.
Clapping, he turned towards her as he shouted out, "Blue Caterpillar, please bring A-34O73 to me." And all of a sudden a book came flying straight towards his head, barely moving in time for him to dodge.
Similarly, the Blue Caterpillar came out of nowhere and tried to throw his pipe at him with a groan. "That's not nice!" He called out fixing his clothes out.
She noticed the slight eyeroll as he proceeded to smoke again. "It's my domain, why don't you leave?" He asked, his tone clearly laced with annoyance.
Ah, she understood. He was a lazy person. "Awe come on now, don't be like that in front of Alice! Atleast let me look good." He whined in response, while gripping her shoulders.
Looks like another lecture, she thought. "Meet the Blue Caterpillar, master of the library. His magic allows him to control this entire library with books of all of his knowledge, and the knowledge of past role holders."
Hmm, it was an interesting magic choice but why was holding a role as librarian important? Wasn't there already records for everything?
"Yeowch! Instead of throwing the pipe you need how about you calmly smoke it and stop hurting me!!" The white rabbit whined and hid behind her, sticking his tongue out like a toddler.
While she understood better, the full picture wasn't exactly there. "Uhm…" she called out to try and stop their fight. The rabbit really gets hated, huh?
She wondered if secretly a side effect to his magic led to him constantly being harassed. It was pretty upsetting in his perspective but he deserved it for running his mouth and being a creep.
"Shut up, my migraines getting worse!" The Blue Caterpillar yelled out. As he turned to leave, the rabbit listed off twenty odd codes.
"B-O7942," "C-1941," or even "DS-N89," all these things yet she had no clue what they meant. He proceeded to bounce back as books were thrown at him from the air.
Clicking his tongue the Blue Caterpillar glared while crossing his arms in silence. "You'll memorize these eventually Alice but, for now please ask him for any book you'd need."
She looked at the Blue Caterpillar who took out a new pipe, and after a few minutes had a smile on his face. "Welcome to the library, where the Blue Caterpillar will be your guide. Any book you'd ever need is within this library."
It was shocking how quickly he changed to professional. "That's his effect. He knows and controls every single book in this library, with his perfect memory, but unless he's smoking he has a huge migraine retaining knowledge. The human head should only know so much, but he defies that with his existence." He explained.
That made so much more sense, as to why he begun shouting. Those must be the titles of the books, and the blue caterpillar who owns this library can give it to the requester simply off that. No need for climbing or worries.
"If you'd ever need to know something, always ask him, Alice." The white rabbit said with a dangerous glint in his eyes she failed to notice as he smiled, handing over a tall stack of books.
Sighing, the librarian came over. "In terms of organizing, these are magic, these are about roles… and this lists the current names and profiles of role holders and their drawings." He sighed, before taking off.
With a wave, the white rabbit called out to him, "Meeting soon! Don't forget to write our check outs, you're so nice!" He teased before grabbing Alice and leading her elsewhere.
There were a few people within the library, compared to when they entered. Specifically, a green haired boy with pink eyes she caught a glimpse of for a mere second that gave her a deranged smile once he saw the man she was with.
It gave shudders down her spine, but she chose to ignore it. "Where are we going?" She called to him. She knew most people here were weird, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched by someone.
"Well my dear Alice, that's a surprise! We can't just have the Great Magician act the part," he smiled while they exited at long last, in what seemed like a new area. "Just trust the watch!" He said as he checked one of numerous clocks, and hummed
She had no clue how it worked, but they were somewhere new. If she were correct, the white rabbit also had the ability to teleport or open portals to different places but she had no proof
Was it his abilities? Did he say something? Touch something? Is it his eyes? She had no clue, but intended to find out eventually. He truly could be useful if it could activate at anytime and she were about to face off the against the queen.
She wondered if he would save her like the novel, with his unrequited love. However, she doubted he even care for her at the moment more than a superficial level.
While lost in thought she failed to notice their arrival at a whole new place. This time, the exterior and interior were both beyond extravagant. "Well then, Alice- would you say you're ready to truly understand what it means to be the Great Magician of Carneline? For the sake of our people… and us."