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Kinger enjoyed the darkness, for one, it meant he could sleep, and two… he got his sanity back.
Well, some of it, maybe.
And, ever since the recent adventure, Pomni and him grown closer. The last few nights they had been spending in the safety of his fortress, reading books, telling stories, and playing games. It seemed to comfort the little jester.
This night was a bit different, though.
Pomni approached the fort a little later, this time, carefully sneaking in with shaky hands. Kinger’s head snapped around, his focus taken away from the books he was holding.
“Oh! Hello there, Pomni,” He said, his voice gentle. “You scared me.”
Pomni just stared, her gaze distant. The jester shuffled to the corner she usually sleeps at, curling up into a ball and shoving her face into her knees - whimpering.
Kinger hums, putting the books down and making his way over Pomni’s resting area. He reaches out a caring hand, Pomni flinches, he then retracts it.
“Pomni? What’s wrong… dear?”
Pomni’s demeanor softens, her eyes darting from the floor to the figure above her. Her lip wobbles, she opens her mouth to say something, then immediately shutting it.
“Pomni,” Kinger begins, “I’m here.”
Pomni relaxes, and allows the older of the two to hold her close, now nuzzling her head into his lap.
Pomni tries to speak, a bit muffled, “‘M Dada use hu’t me, ‘m ow, Dada.”
“Hurt?” The taller asked, “Hurt how, baby?”
Pomni whimpered, “He—he hands… he hu’ted me.”
Kinger’s gaze was now fixed on the girl below of him, Pomni just looked so small to him, she was like a baby. Who would hurt such a tiny little thing? So precious, so innocent, so—
“‘M can’t… change clothes… too scared, too scared …” Pomni sobbed, whimpering as Kinger wrapped a fluffy blanket around her.
“I’m so sorry that… horrible… bad man hurt you, my sweet butterfly,” He said. “I promise, he can’t hurt you anymore, okay baby? No one’s gonna hurt you again.”
Kinger ran his hands through the small pieces of Pomni’s hair, trying to wrangle a coherent sentence, some sort of thought that could at least calm the little girl.
Little girl , she wasn’t a child, no, she’s a fully grown woman - he needed to remember that.
“‘M sorry… m sorry…”
“No, no, no, angel, it’s all okay,” Kinger whispered, pulling the smaller into his arms - almost cradling her, “It’s okay, Kinger’s here.”
Pomni sniffled, allowing him to rock her back and forth, sighing as he began to speak.
“You know, my wife and I always wanted a child.”
Pomni cooed softly, tugging at the fabric of Kinger’s clothes, he smiled, “We wanted a little girl, or any child, really, but around the time we were planning on… well… uh…”
“Da’ circus?”
Kinger nodded, “Yes! There’s my smart girl,” he praised, tickling her belly, watching as she giggled and squirmed around.
“There we go, kiddo,” He hummed. “Feel better, sunshine?”
“Mmm… mhm!” Pomni squealed, kicking her feet.
Kinger snuggled her close, watching as she played with a stuffed toy she found on the floor.
Sure, maybe Pomni wasn’t a baby, but she could be Kinger’s little girl… at least for a while.