Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pomni stared at the glistening reflection of the sun on one of the nearby roofs, until the light had imprinted on her eyelids whenever she blinked, almost tuning out Caine‘s words. Someone nudged her, and her gaze drifted back to Caine holding his arms out as far as possible as he explained: „-will have to find at least 50 of them and chop their grubby little heads off before they can cause too much damage! Are you ready my sour little earthworms?“

„Your- oh never mind...“, Pomni mumbled, too disinterested to question him. She caught Bubble sniffing a concerningly fluffy hotdog abandoned on the ground and made a face.

The others were already gathering their axes, a certain bunny with a wider than usual grin threatening to split his face in half if it got any bigger being especially quick to grab his and start running after Gangle. Someone nudged her again, so gently she almost missed it. She probably would have noticed her approaching if these cicadas weren‘t so damn loud…

It was Ragatha, already holding an axe of her own. „Pomni? You seem more… annoyed than usual. Everything ok?“

Pomni tried to pull her face into something more friendly. „Yeah yeah, just- I‘m not a big fan of beaches.“ They were at a beach town, sun blazing and sand flying from the ocean breeze. She had begun to sneak into the shade, Ragatha following without getting too close.

„I see.“ Ragatha paused. She was about to tell her something supportive but ultimately unhelpful, surely. Pomni liked her, but it was something that could get on her nerves. Not that she had told her that, she didn‘t want to hurt her feelings again.

Instead, Ragatha said something she hadn‘t anticipated. „You know… We could just, not participate today. If you‘d prefer that. The adventure doesn‘t seem that difficult, I‘m sure the others would be fine. Maybe one of the stores here has a parasol? Then we could explore without you getting too warm.“

Pomni looked up at her, eyes wide. „How did you know the sun is bothering me?“

„Oh well,“ Ragatha started, hand at the back of her neck, „I just noticed how you always seem to rush to the shade when we have adventures outside, so I just figured,“ she said, fiddling with her axe. Then her pupil turned into a pinprick. „I-I promise I wasn‘t watching you or anything, at least not in like, a weird way, I-“

„Hey hey, it‘s ok. I think it‘s sweet that you noticed,“ Pomni said, tucking her hair behind her nonexistent ear. It felt odd, knowing someone cared enough to pay attention to that. „I like your idea.“ And she liked seeing Ragatha do things that were a little more risky. It left her intrigued. Pomni wanted to see what hid behind the guard she put up, open her chest and claw and dig until she found something true, something real.

„You do?“ Ragatha held the axe to her hip, miraculously attaching it to absolutely nothing.

„I do.“

„Ok.“ For a moment, it seemed as if there was nothing going on behind her eye, until she snapped her finger, cheery demeanor returning. „Why don‘t you wait here while I get you that parasol?“

„It‘s alright, I can come along,“ Pomni said, smile reaching her eyes.

The two walked in silence for a bit, grains of sand crunching beneath their shoes as Ragatha asked around in different stores. Somehow, none of them had a parasol. Pomni was itching her arm, the rubbery texture not bringing the same comfort as skin would have. The chirping of the cicadas became louder, reverberating in her skull. She tried to pay it no mind. If it stopped being so damn hot, maybe the urge to rip her brains out and throw them to the grainy floor in a bloody heap would be easier to suppress.

It was fine. She was used to this.

They stopped under the awning of the last store they tried, Ragatha burying her face in her hands. „I‘m so sorry, Pomni. I really thought they would have something like that.“

She couldn‘t help trying to judge whether the other woman was more bothered by being unable to help her, or because she was scared of disappointing her. „Don‘t… worry about it.“ The floorboards creaked and bowed slightly as she shifted her weight.

At that, Ragatha narrowed her eye, first at her, then at the restaurant across from them. Which had oddly travel-sized parasols giving too little shade to the tables they were meant to protect from the burning menace in the sky. „What I want to worry about is up to me to decide. You‘re worth worrying about.“

Hopefully she hadn‘t heard the undignified squeak that escaped her. She watched Ragatha calmly walk across the street, take one of the menus and hold it in such a way where you could not tell if she was studying it or how the parasol was attached to the table, before she shrugged, grabbed her axe, drew her arms back and swung.

Pomni noticed that it was the same stance and technique she used when they played softball. Her aim was impeccable, her strength enough to cut the wood of the handle in one go, the parasol toppling over harmlessly. Ragatha put the axe back in its place and kept her hands on her hips in contentment. Pomni‘s breath hitched.

Until a mannequin holding a clipboard stepped out of the restaurant, dropped the clipboard and left their arms hanging limply in shock. Both stood still as the whole town seemed to hold its breath. Very slowly, Ragatha knelt down, grabbed the parasol… And proceeded to book it, running towards her with a speed Pomni had never witnessed from her. The mannequin got their bearings, taking after Ragatha.

„Run, Pomni!“

She finally snapped out of her stupor, taking off into the general direction Ragatha seemed to be aiming for, startling seagulls and causing a tiny mannequin that was likely supposed to represent a child but was merely a scaled down version of the usual ones, proportions still exactly the same, to drop their ice cream while two larger mannequins fussed over them and handed them their own scoops. After rounding who knows how many corners, they heard no footsteps behind them and came to a halt, catching their breaths.

When they looked up at each other, they couldn‘t help the smiles they broke out into, until they dissolved into a fit of giggles at what they had just done. Pomni stopped first, noticing how pretty Ragatha‘s laugh was for the first time. Like bells chiming in the wind. Maybe she hadn‘t actually heard it before, not a genuine one. She wanted to hear it again, again, drown in it.

Ragatha calmed down, and Pomni suppressed a frown as the sound ceased. „Oh, sorry! Here‘s your parasol, hun.“

„You say that so casually as if you didn‘t just steal the thing,“ Pomni teased.

Ragatha just smirked. „Would you prefer for me to bring it back?“ She turned around and took an exaggerated step as she looked over her shoulder, waiting for Pomni to protest.

Her shade! „Gimme that!“

Her eye glinted as she turned back to her and held it out with a bow, but Pomni continued to look at her face when she tried to grab it, accidentally grazing her hand with her own. She drew back, catching how blush began to paint Ragatha‘s face, and feeling her own mirror her. „S-sorry.“

„It‘s ok. I didn‘t mind.“ She put the parasol into her waiting hand, holding her own hand out for Pomni to take with her free one if she wished to.

She appreciated being given an invitation instead of simply having her hand taken, and accepted. Ragatha began walking, Pomni simply going along, content now that she was safe from the harsh light. It was easier to focus on Ragatha instead of the hustle and bustle around them. The way her hair bounced with each step, the softness of her hand in her own. Perhaps it was safer to avert her gaze to the ground. Those pebbles sure did look interesting!

They halted, Pomni taking a step too many and floundering not to loose her footing.

„Careful, Pomni!“

She managed to catch herself, blush now out of embarrassment. „I‘m ok,“ she said in a tiny voice.

„Thank goodness,“ Ragatha sighed. „I‘m sorry, hun. I shouldn‘t have just stopped without warning like that.“

Has she always been calling her hun? How had she not noticed before? „It‘s alright, I didn‘t get hurt. Why did you stop though?“

„Oh right! I thought it might be nice to get some ice cream. What do you think?“

She peered over at the list of flavours, eyes catching on one in particular. „They have coffee ice cream?!“ Pomni said, bouncing on her heels.

„Seems like it,“ Ragatha said with a chuckle. „You want to get that one?“

„I‘d love that“, Pomni said, her pupils turning into stars as her mouth hung slightly open.

„You got it.“ She was covering her mouth now, holding back from laughing. „Two scoops of coffee ice cream for her and one scoop of pistachio for me, please.“

„Will that be in a cup or a cone?“

Turning to her, Ragatha waited for Pomni to express her preference. „Uh, a cone, please.“

„A cone for both of us, please.“

Ice cream in hand, they walked off, Pomni incredibly content now that she had her sweet treat. As much as she enjoyed that, she couldn‘t help missing holding Ragatha‘s hand just a little. „I can‘t believe you like pistachio,“ she said, side-eyeing her. Still, her voice retained a brightness that made it difficult to be too offended.

„What‘s wrong with pistachio?“ Ragatha asked, tilting her head to the side.

Pomni laughed. „You look like a confused puppy!“

„O-Oh, is that, a bad thing?“

„Nope!“ she said, coming to a halt with a flourish. She considered for a moment. Hanging out with Ragatha has been surprisingly fun… „It‘s cute, actually,“ she said, winking. Pomni had noticed her flirting with several female NPC‘s by now. She wasn‘t sure if she was doing the same thing with her because she wanted to pick her brain and see what made her tick, or because she liked the thought of Ragatha liking her.

Ragatha stuttered helplessly for words as her face grew red, eye wide.

It was the latter.

Considering what she could say next to make her more flustered without overdoing it, she failed to pay attention to how her ice cream had started dripping down the cone, until it began to pool atop her fingers. She held it far from herself in a primal need to stop the sensation, making a face at the offending cone. Just then, a seagull swooped down and stole the whole thing.

„Wha- hey, get back here!“ Ragatha called out, but the offending bird was already gone.

Great. Now her hand was sticky, and she didn‘t even have any ice cream to make up for it. Granted, she had been almost done, but still! She hung her head, hand still extended and fingers spread apart as to prevent herself from feeling them cling together.

„Are you ok, Pomni?“

„Yeah, I just...“ She trailed off, not bothering to finish her sentence.

Ragatha noticed what she was doing. „Do you want to wash your hand? We could go to the shore.“

The thought of grains of sand getting stuck in her shoes made her shiver. „Yes to the first idea, but do you think we could maybe… find something else?“

„Sure, hun.“ Her voice was far too soft. „I think I saw a water fountain in the middle of town. How about that?“

„That sounds good, thank you,“ she said, now much quieter. Ragatha didn‘t offer her hand this time. She didn‘t know whether to be saddened or relieved.

From then on, things only went downhill. She managed to rinse her hand off, but a massive gust of wind had swept atrocious amounts of sand into her face, the crowd was too tight and loud, and those unforsaken cicadas were starting to make her actually want to rip her head off! The gore would be Caine‘s problem to deal with, he deserved it. Except her blood and viscera would only get lapped up by Bubble, and the thought of that was nasty enough to make her abandon the idea. Hand clean, she began scratching at her arm again, hoping to find comfort in the familiar motion.

Her skin had become one size too small, and she was suffocating in it.

„Pomni, I don‘t think that‘s good for you,“ she heard muffled over the ringing in her head. Ragatha made to reach for her, but drew back just as quickly when Pomni stumbled backwards to prevent this, only to bump into one of the faceless mannequins.

That was the last straw. She needed to get out of here. Logic abandoned, she dropped her parasol and ran through the crowd, heart rate picking up with every NPC she grazed, but it would be worth it if she could just finally get out of this hell.

Mercy. A sea of spruce trees waited past the edge of town, and she bolted into it like they were the gates of heaven. The distinct smell of dried spruce needles that had collected on the forest floor lied itself over her like a weighted blanket, earthy and gentle, providing a small comfort.

Tenseness refused to allow her full relief. It wouldn‘t leave on its own, she knew this. It never had, a distant memory whispered to her.

She didn‘t know how much time had passed as she stood studying the trees. There were only about three separate models, repeated over and over across the woods.

„Pomni!“ a voice called out ever so faintly.

She turned to it, spotting a purple figure rushing towards her in the distance. Simply waiting until she got closer.

„I‘m… So sorry…,“ she said between exhausted breaths. She was still holding the parasol.

Pomni locked in on it, grabbing it before Ragatha had the time to process, and chomping down on the wooden handle with sharpened teeth. It split in half, leaving her to spit out chunks of wood after dropping it to the floor once more. Tension subsided.

She blinked, realizing what she had just done. „I, uh. Oops.“ Building up the confidence to look at Ragatha, she was surprised to find her face awfully similar to a tomato once more.

„That was kinda hot...“ Ragatha mumbled.

„Huh?!“ This is not the reaction she had expected.

„I- sorry! Oh my gosh you just had to go through all that and here I am saying things that are entirely inappropriate, I-“

Pomni smiled, then chuckled, only to break out into full blown laughter. „Ragatha, you- don‘t need to apologize so much,“ she said, wiping at the corner of her eye. „I needed that. Thank you.“

„Oh! No problem, hun,“ she said, pitch slightly higher in confusion.

„I‘m the one who should apologize. You‘ve been really sweet to me, I shouldn‘t have just run off without warning.“

„It‘s ok. You were overwhelmed, right?“

„Yeah...“

„See? It‘s alright. I‘m glad going here helped you feel better.“ Ragatha had composed herself, but a slight pinkness still painted her cheeks. It looked good on her, Pomni thought, then yawned.

„I feel really tired though.“

„Oh! We don‘t need to keep doing anything. I assume you don‘t want to go back yet?“

Pomni nodded. „ I wish I could lie down somewhere… The floor looks soft, but the thought of bugs crawling on me is awful,“ she admitted. Ragatha had already seen her freak out, might as well be honest.

She held her chin, pondering. „Have you seen any centipedes here?“

„I haven‘t“

„Hmm. This is a bit forward, and you don‘t have to accept. But you‘re pretty small, I bet if I lied down on the floor you could just use me as a bed.“ She glanced aside, waiting for Pomni‘s reaction.

„I‘m not that sma-“ She stopped, fully registering what had been suggested. „Oh.“

„It‘sreallyokifyoudon‘twantto-“

„That sounds nice.“

„A-alright.“ Ragatha observed the ground, looking for a good spot. Eventually, she crouched down and lowered herself onto her back, then patted her stomach as an invitation to Pomni.

She hadn‘t thought this through. This idea was… really intimate.

Perhaps that wasn‘t a bad thing.

She crouched down next to Ragatha, staying like that for a beat too long.

„No need to be shy.“

Pomni gulped. She did look really soft… Her mind made up, she placed her hands on Ragatha‘s shoulders for support, then crawled onto her stomach and rested her head on her chest. Was this ok? Don‘t think too hard about it.

It was undeniably comfortable. Pomni supposed she should not be surprised, considering the other woman was literally a plush doll. Something told her she hadn‘t gotten this far with someone she found interesting before. If this could be interpreted in such a way.

„You make for a really good bed,“ she said, immediately regretting it. „Sorry, that was weird.“

Ragatha merely chuckled, holding Pomni in place so she wouldn‘t get jostled. „I‘m glad you‘re cozy. You make for a good blanket.“ She let go of her again.

„C-can you… hold me like that again?“ She wouldn‘t typically feel comfortable being this close to someone else, but being given full autonomy to choose whether she wants to be touched or not seemed to change things, if only in this moment. Ragatha would let her leave without a complaint if she wanted to.

„Of course, darling.“ She placed her hands on Pomni‘s back, gently rubbing it with her thumbs every now and then. „Is this ok?“

„Mhm,“ was all she said, snuggling her face a little closer to hers. „‘S perfect,“ she drawled.

She was close enough now that Ragatha was able to reach forward and give her a kiss on the forehead, and she found that she didn‘t mind at all. „Why don‘t you get some rest, hun?“

She knew she‘d feel awkward when she woke up from this, that she‘d have to confront her seemingly sudden shift in attitude and interest towards Ragatha. But for now, she couldn‘t manage to care. It was the most content she had felt at the circus, and if a part of her which had always hoped she would get to snuggle with a cute woman like this was singing with joy, then well, so be it.

Chapter Text

Crap. Crap crap crap what had she been thinking?!

Pomni looked about her room, heart rate rising quickly as she tried to collect herself. She must have fallen asleep. On Ragatha. Good grief, how was she going to look her in the eyes again? Her face grew hot with embarrassment. First, she had to act like a baby again and run off, and then she-

Someone could have seen. They could have all seen. She had to hope they didn‘t.

She really hoped Ragatha hadn‘t told anyone.

Before she could drag herself out of bed to face another day in Caine‘s warped playplace, space distorted around her, making her stomach drop as she held her hand over her mouth in hopes of keeping herself from puking.

Her legs wobbled as she found herself on solid ground again, breathing with intent until her mouth ceased to taste bitter.

„Hey Pomni,“ oh no. „How did you sleep?“ Ragatha asked kindly. Pomni turned to look at her, shoulders tense. The other woman was smiling radiantly at her, clasping her hands in front of her politely. She looked plain adorable.

Pomni‘s heart beat faster, a sensation of falling radiating through her chest. No no no. „Uh, great! Thanks, um,“ she eyed the others around them. „Why wouldn‘t I have?“

„Well, since you-“

„Shh!“ She stood on the tips of her toes and held her index finger over Ragatha‘s mouth, who blushed at the contact. Pomni quickly drew her hand back. „Ragatha, I-“

„Pomni, Ragatha, you two are going to miss my new AMAZING adventure! Please listen!“ Caine interrupted, and Pomni wanted to strangle him. Could they not take a break for one day? He, meanwhile, was making puppy eyes at them until he deemed them attentive enough for his liking. „Great! So-“

Pomni was tuning him out again. She was too distracted to feed his fragile ego, but looked in his direction so he would leave her be.

With a snap, they were in a corn maze. The moon was full, the night breeze cold, and Pomni rolled her eyes when she heard a wolf howl. Ragatha was standing next to her, a plastic-looking witch cauldron in hand. Pomni noticed herself holding one as well.

„Wanna team up?“ She asked.

„Oh, uh.“ Pomni looked about, finding an annoyed Zooble with a spaced out Kinger as well as a shrunken into herself Gangle next to Jax, who was for once, not grinning, his eyes blown wide open while his pupils were lost in the sea of yellow. How odd.

They had all already teamed up. Just her luck. „Sure,“ she said, deflating.

Ragatha raised one eyebrow at her, but refrained from commenting. She held out her hand. Pomni pretended she didn‘t notice.

They began walking in an awkward silence once the others had gone down different paths, both fidgeting with their cauldron. The ground had largely been reduced to firm earth from repeated use, or so it was meant to appear. She could only think about the fabricated nature of it all. But Caine had an eye for detail, she had to give him that. She wondered how he knew to pay attention to these aspects. Dried blades of grass had fallen closer to the middle from the sides, crunching beneath their feet with each step. Otherwise, the maze was repetetive, and she quickly ran out of things to distract herself with.

Finally, Pomni could not bear it any longer. „Did you catch what we‘re supposed to do?“

Ragatha sighed with relief. „Yeah, we have to find three different kinds of candy before we‘re given a way to escape.“

Pomni was suspicious of this. „That‘s it? Really?“

„I guess so… It‘s nice to get more harmless adventures though, right?“

„It is, but I don‘t trust it.“ Something was off. She felt it in the way her muscles refused to relax, the way the back of her neck prickled.

„Still, we might want to get started. I don‘t really want to be here any longer than I need to,“ she said sheepishly. Ragatha was eyeing the ground, as if looking for bugs.

Pomni blinked. „Right, yeah, let‘s get going.“

They walked slowly for a while, saying little while Ragatha grew agitated, glancing at her periodically. Pomni felt her stomach churn. She was being selfish. Ragatha had been kind to her, more open. That took courage. The least she could do was pretend like everything was fine. But her lips felt like lead, she could not produce a single word.

Jerk.

Eventually, Ragatha stopped looking at her, and Pomni hated how it finally allowed her to relax a smidge. While she was distracted, her companion halted, stepping towards the corn. She waved her closer, and Pomni obeyed, still not speaking.

„Look at this.“ Ragatha lifted her hands to one of the corn cobs, gently spreading the husk apart with two fingers. Pomni internally berated herself to what her mind jumped to. The kernels looked perfectly normal, aside from seeming a little too smooth and shiny. Ragatha ran her index finger across them, eventually breaking a couple off and showing them to her.

It was candy corn.

„Looks like we have the first one.“ She dropped a few into Pomni‘s cauldron, visibly pleased with herself.

And her heart- Oh, it clenched. She loved that look on her. Wanted to see her this content with herself more often instead of the Ragatha who was so eager to please, you could hardly tell who hid beneath it all.

Still. No words came out. Pomni gave her a wobbly smile, giving her a thumbs up only to cringe at herself.

Now, Ragatha‘s prior hurt morphed into concern. „Are you ok?“

Pomni nodded, though screaming at herself to respond, stop this before Ragatha babied her again. Did the others see her carry her back? She must have done so. How embarrassing, something whispered in her. She hated how she craved to remember what that felt like.

She wanted to be held again, to trust someone fully and cease worrying about how they may judge her.

Her skin crawled at the thought.

Ragatha reached her free hand out, and Pomni recoiled. The other woman quickly drew back, hurt clouding her eye once more. She could see the gears turn in her brain. Berating herself for taking it personally when she knew Pomni didn‘t always appreciate physical contact, most likely.

A mild anger bubbled within her at that. She wanted Ragatha to be a little selfish. A little less palatable. A little more raw. To show her the ugly parts of her innards and let Pomni know she could be a little ugly sometimes too. That neither needed to be perfect to be liked.

„O- only two more to go,“ Ragatha finally went with. Such a void statement. She couldn‘t blame her, she had given her nothing to work with.

Just. Talk.

After a while, Pomni stopped in her steps at a squeaking noise. When she noticed, Ragatha halted as well, following Pomni‘s gaze to the darkened, starless sky. Bats were flying above them, or something akin to them. They appeared shiny, slightly semi translucent and lacking defined edges… gummy.

It clicked. They were candy too.

Perhaps Pomni was still failing to speak, but that didn‘t mean she could not act. Her body had been tingling for her to move this entire time. She placed her cauldron down and snuck to a large corn stalk, testing how firmly it stood. It seemed to sway with the wind, but when Pomni tried to move it, it would not budge, stuck in its own rhythm.

Perfect.

She climbed until she was towering even over Ragatha, waiting, stalking. Analyzing their patterns of movement. Eventually, two of the bats flew close, and she lunged forward, grasping one in each of her hands and grinning at her success, until she saw the ground plummeting towards her, bracing for impact as she curled into a ball, fists remaining firmly closed.

It never came. She was caught by something- someone soft, and tensed once more.

But the look she was given was not one of concern. Not one of pity.

Ragatha was clutching her close to her chest, eye wide, mouth slightly open. In awe.

Just like that, her lips felt lighter, her vocal chords no longer stiff in defiance, her tension melting away not fully, but considerably. „Thank you,“ she said weakly.

„No problem.“ Her voice was breathy.

Pomni‘s breath hitched, looking away. This felt so… safe.

„Do you want me to let you go, Pomni?“

Did she?

„No.“ She surprised herself along with Ragatha, daring to look at her again. Ragatha was grinning, giggling a little. She sounded absolutely beautiful to her. „You‘re really strong,“ Pomni said much more lightly, daring to throw in a wink.

Her grin vanished, replaced by a coy little smile. No one else was around. No one else had to know. Maybe, she could be allowed?

Pomni lifted her hand to Ragatha‘s cheek, opening her fist to hold it.

Only for the gummy bat to escape, her saviour letting out a yelp as Pomni frantically grasped for it, both letting out a breath when it was in her grasp again. They looked at each other, giggles turning into full blown laughter. She had missed that sound.

„We should-“ Ragatha tried her best to say between laughs, „probably put those away,“ she finally managed.

„True,“ Pomni said, voice sounding bright with amusement.

To both of their dismay, Ragatha placed her back on the ground, Pomni pondering what would keep the bats from flying off once she tried to put them in with the candy corn. Ragatha was waiting patiently, going slightly red again when Pomni gave her a mischievous smirk. Looking her right in the eye, she loosened her grip on the candy bats briefly to allow them to fly up slightly, holding them firmly again once their heads stuck out. Then, she brought them close to her mouth, ripping both heads off in one go with her sharpened teeth. Pleased with herself, she dropped one in both of their couldrons, hands on her hips as she watched Ragatha look at her, to the ground, then back at her repeatedly.

Eventually, she tucked a strand of hair away (unsuccessfully, she had no ears), before freezing. „Pomni, do you think those were sentient?“ she said, voice low and laced with dread.

Crap, she didn‘t consider that. „Uh, no, I don‘t think so.“ Ragatha did not seem convinced. Think, Pomni! „Th- their flight patterns, they kept flying along the exact same invisible line. I don‘t think they had any thoughts. Just programmed to move around a bit.“

That seemed to do it. „Whew! Well, that was mighty impressive. Ready to almost be done here?“

„Yeah,“ she said, making sure to sound genuine. She hesitated for a moment, before grazing Ragatha‘s hand with her finger. She stopped to ensure she had not imagined what Pomni was doing. Said jester was still holding her hand out, waiting.

„Are you sure? You didn‘t like this earlier.“

„Ragatha, you just bridal carried me,“ she laughed. „It‘s fine. I want this.“ She was startled by how much she meant it. She wanted to let herself be closer to her. Wanted to stop running. Ragatha was asking this time not out of fear to not please, but in a genuine effort to respect Pomni. She had been so wrong to dismiss her.

She took her offered hand, gaze growing soft as they continued walking. Pomni enjoyed the moment before she remembered and frowned. „I owe you an apology.“

„What do you mean?“

„For… ignoring you. I didn‘t mean to, not the whole time at least. I didn‘t have any time to really process what happened yesterday, so when I saw you, I didn‘t want to… acknowledge it. I felt embarrassed. I‘m sorry.“ She hung her head in shame.

For an excruciating minute, Ragatha remained silent. „Do you regret it?“ She finally decided to grace her with.

„No,“ she said without hesitation. „I really enjoyed our time together. I just felt weak, and I couldn‘t stand it.“

„Hmm. That‘s ok.“

Pomni squinted at her. „Don‘t lie to me to appease me. I don‘t like when you do that.“

That startled Ragatha. „O- oh, sorry. Uhm.“ She was visibly struggling not to respond in a way favouring someone else. But she tried, and Pomni liked her even more for it. „I felt rather stressed when you wouldn‘t talk to me. I thought I messed up, and you‘d never want to be around me again. And...“

„And?“

„I was a little mad at you for that.“

Pomni was surprised, she hadn‘t noticed. „… Thank you for your honesty.“ If she wanted Ragatha to try less hard to be perfectly palatable, she could deal with someone being frustrated with her for a little bit and knowing it. „I don‘t blame you.“

„I wasn‘t mad the whole time. Eventually, it seemed like you really wanted to say something, you weren‘t ignoring me anymore. But you still didn‘t talk. Can I ask what that was about?“

„You can, but I don‘t know the answer. I tried to talk to you, and nothing came out no matter how hard I tried.“

„Oh goodness. I‘m sorry you had to deal with that...“ She was pausing, picking her words carefully. Trying not to make Pomni feel small, perhaps, trying not to fret over her, to scare her off again because she was too weak to handle feeling weak. „I haven‘t experienced this before, but I think Zooble has. You should ask them sometime, they might know more. They‘re good with this stuff.“

„I didn‘t know that. Uhm, thanks. Maybe.“

Ragatha considered her. „Pomni, can I ask you something?“

„Sure.“

„After this, are you going to ignore me again?“ Her voice shook when she said it, hand growing colder.

„No, I won‘t.“ Her heart felt tight. She hated to have caused her to feel this way. Pomni squeezed her hand a little. „I regret doing that.“

„… Thank you. But I get it. You deserved more time to think about everything.“

„Thank you.“

She wasn‘t used to having her perspective respected like this. To have the things that made her feel so weak not be treated as something inherently wrong with her.

„Ragatha, I… I like when you don‘t care so much about how we see you. When you do things you‘re not supposed to. When you let yourself have fun. I like that side of you. And… I do like that you care about us. That you care about me, respect my boundaries. Without all the people pleasing.“

She glanced away. „I‘m glad, but… I don‘t think I can stop doing that overnight. But I can try to work on it. I… know that it only pushes people away. I don‘t want to do that anymore. I just don‘t know how sometimes.“

„That‘s ok. I can help you work on it?“ Pomni offered, pupils wide with hope.

„I would like that,“ she said, voice warm.

They smiled at one another for a while, until Pomni mock whispered to her: „You think Caine forgot to code in the final candy?“

Ragatha giggled into her hand, her small cauldron only slightly getting in the way „I wouldn‘t put it past him.“

„Right? I bet he would leave us here until he gets too impatient for us to try his next idea.“

„Pff, Pomni, that already happened before,“ Ragatha laughed.

„Wait, really? I was joking!“

„He gets so space-y sometimes. It was actually great though, Jax got turned into a statue but was still conscious, so he was just seething for hours until Caine noticed his puzzle wasn‘t solveable.“

Pomni snorted at the metal image. „I wish I had been there for that.“

They continued to muse about Jax‘s suffering until a heavy, wet, squelching sound rang out. Both froze, listening. They were footsteps.

Approaching around a corner slowly, as if it knew it was inevitable, was a giant, ugly beast of dripping caramel, apples and gummy eyeballs sticking out of it, along with-

Hands.

Hands Pomni recognized. Looking more closely, she saw Gangle‘s ribbons, one of Jax‘s ears, a larger eyeball she thought may be Kinger‘s, and a wing Zooble had decided to wear that day. None of them were moving.

„Pomni,“ Ragatha said quietly, eerily calm.

„Y- yes?“

„We should run.“

For a moment, they retreated slowly backwards, until they started to sprint, running in desperation as they heard the hideous creature‘s steps quicken rapidly, each corner slowing them down more than they could afford.

She didn‘t know how long they could continue to do this, to run before their legs would give out. Her chest was beginning to clench painfully from the effort

Not knowing what else to do, Pomni let go of Ragatha‘s hand, who shouted at her to be careful- Pomni reached into her cauldron and readied a piece of candy corn at the dripping creature.

It halted immediately, cowering with a pathetic whimper.

„Uh,“ Pomni said, perplexed. „You‘re scared of candy corn?“

„Horribly allergic,“ the creature said, turning what might be a head away dramatically. „That‘s why I‘ve been breaking out with caramel.“

„That… souuunds awful,“ she said, trying to sound sympathetic.

„It is! I am suffering tremendouslyyyy,“ the creature wailed.

„Hey, I uh, might be able to help you? Can I try something?“

„Ok,“ the creature said quietly.

Pomni approached warily, beckoning a hesitant Ragatha to join her. She grabbed at one of the green apples, careful not to let the sickly looking caramel, all covered in dirt, touch her, the creature flinching but allowing her to continue until she dropped it into her cauldron

As the wet, heavy splat rang out in the hollow form, lightning struck. The moon turned a deep red, bathing the entire corn maze in its foreboding light until the entire field burst into flames, Ragatha, Pomni and the beast huddling close to one another until the fire died down, reflected in their wide eyes the entire time.

Caine sure had a thing for the dramatic.

The fire was gone, having taken all the corn with it. The creature lay down with relief, Pomni grabbing Ragatha‘s hand to drag her away as it began to melt.

Or so it seemed. The caramel was dripping from it like the flesh of a person in flames, revealing not a skeleton, but a smaller body made entirely of apples as the other circus members flowed away from the creature with its caramel, groaning.

The ‚beast‘ was a green dragon made of fruit.

It shook the last droplets off itself, making Pomni rush to hide behind Ragatha as she grit her teeth. „Thank you, fair maiden!“ It called out loudly, causing Pomni to flinch. „For saving me so heroically, I will bring you back to whence you came, climb on!“

Pomni looked to Ragatha, who shrugged. „Might as well?“ Ragatha took the spot right on its shoulders, Pomni crawling in front of her and seeing her hesitate to put her arms around her. Endeared, she took them gently and guided them around her waist, heart beating a little faster as she felt her chest press into her back. Act cool.

The apple dragon stood, leaning the front of its body down as it readied itself for a jump, and took off into the red sky.

„Whoa, what about the others?!“ Ragatha asked.

„They lost, lord Caine will gather them.“ It said, sounding rather unimpressed.

Pomni, meanwhile, was delighted at being carried through the air, for a moment entirely unburdened. Feeling brave, she looked up at Ragatha, holding her face with both hands from beneath her. „Can I try something with you too?“

She nodded, swallowing loudly.

Pomni guided Ragatha‘s face down until she could reach her nose, and kissed it.

Ragatha‘s mouth opened and closed repeatedly as her face turned near as red as the sky, Pomni leaning back into her with a dopey grin.

Perhaps together, these adventures could be fun.