Chapter Text
Gangle watches zooble as they stumble across the floor, with their unmatched limbs moving in an uneven way. Gangle giggles a little to Zooble. Friendship wasn’t something she was used to in the circus since she usually just kept to herself, sketching in her sketchbook, and or just got bullied by other people.
Her gaze drifted downwards, settling into her own pages in her sketchbook. She sees the girl that was created just for her the manga that she always wanted to make. She smiles at it. The character that she made embodied everything Gangle wished she could be—bold, clever, effortlessly funny, and so cool that even the worst situations seemed manageable in her hands.
The more she looked at it the more Gangle’s heart ached. Maybe someday I could be like her, she thought. But before she could think any longer, a familiar voice cut through her daydreams.
Startled, she looked up to see Zooble standing a few feet away, their triangular head tilted as they watched her.
“Do you hear me?” they asked, their voice slightly impatient but not unkind.
Gangle realized she had stopped walking. Embarrassed, she quickly spun around to face them, clutching her sketchbook tightly so it wouldn’t fall out of her hands.
“Oh! Um.. sorry. I was too caught in my mind.” Gangle says, wobbling her ribbons around trying to keep her sketchbook from falling.
Zooble raised an eyebrow but didn’t question her.
Gangle focuses on Zoobles' eyes. “Um anyways what were you saying earlier?” She asked, tilting her mask.
“I was just asking more about how were you alright during the adventure today?” Oh. Gangle wasn’t feeling her best during the adventure. “You seemed kinda off during it so i'm just making sure you're feeling okay.” They gestured to come closer. Softening their tone.
Gangle was hesitant before a couple steps closer to Zooble. “Yeah… the mask wasn’t really the best option for me.” Gangle says, clutching onto her sketchbook. “I felt like I was going crazy with that mask.” The memories of the adventure start to flood back in her mind.
From. Jax’s mocking voice echoed in her mind—telling her he liked her better when she was sad. To Ragatha’s dismissive tone, calling her annoying, stung just as much as it had in the moment. It was overwhelming. If Pomni hadn’t stepped in to take over her shift, Gangle was certain she would’ve abstracted.
The final moments were a blur. She could barely remember getting hit by… something—a truck? A car? It didn’t matter. The details were all hazy, and thinking about only made her tremble more.
Zooble’s voice pulled her back to present. “Yeah… when I was cleaning up you were just standing there..” They suddenly start walking. “It was as if you weren’t even there,” Gangle starts to follow her.
“And when me and Ragatha were walking out I saw you looked like you were going crazy.” Gangle weakly smiles at Zooble before getting bombarded with a familiar voice.
“Hey look, it's Zoobs and Gangle!”
Jax’s grating tone in voice was unmistakable. The purple rabbit was feets away, he had a smug smile on his face as points at the two while looking at another small group of people.
“What took you guys so long to show up?” He teases "I was thinking one of you guys was getting abstracted.” Jax's gaze lands on Gangle, a wide grin spreads across his face before continuing. “Especially you Gangle.” Jax chuckles, he was clearly amused at his own joke.
“Jax! Don’t say that!” Ragatha yells, her voice was sharp, She seemed to be a lot more sober than Spudy’s. She was definitely on something during the adventure. Her gaze wandered off to Pomni as Jax and Ragatha argued with each other. Pomni seems to be having a conversation with Kinger, It was hard to make out what they were talking about. Ever since the last adventure they have been closer.
Her focus slowly drifted back into her sketchbook.She flipped over a page. She was envisioning a new drawing that she could make. Suddenly she feels a tap on her ribbon. She presses her sketchbook against her before looking at where the tapping was coming from. She sees Zooble smiling at her.
“Want to show your drawings to everybody?” They asked their voice barley above a whisper. She slowly turns her head back to everyone. She tooks a glance at her sketch. Her face starts to scrunch up.
Gangle hesitated, her mask rising slightly as she looked at the group. The idea of sharing her drawings made her ribbons tighten nervously.
“I don’t know…” she mumbled. “I don’t think they’ll like it.”
She glanced down at her sketchbook, her ribbons trembling as she clutched it tightly.
Zooble’s eyes softened, and they placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “They’ll like it,” they said firmly. “I’m sure they will.”
Gangle stared at them, her chest tightening with an unfamiliar warmth. There was something in their voice—a quiet certainty that made her feel… seen. Her ribbons fluttered slightly, and for a moment, she felt like she might melt under their gaze.
Why was she feeling this way?
She looked back at the group, then down at the sketch she’d been working on. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, gathering her courage.
“Um, I made a new drawing!” she called out, holding the sketchbook out for everyone to see.
For a moment, she waited, hoping for a response. But the group was too absorbed in their own conversations to notice.
No one looked—except Zooble.
Her confidence wavered, and she felt her ribbons droop slightly. “This is stupid,” she muttered under her breath, lowering the sketch.
Without another word, she turned and walked away from the group. Her ribbons trailed behind her, limp and lifeless.
Zooble watched her retreat, their expression unreadable. They took a step forward, as if to follow, but stopped themselves. Instead, they stood there, their triangular head tilting slightly as concern flickered in their eyes.