Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Although it was heavily regulated and mostly complete AI-generated garbage, there was some method of watching or listening to media in the digital circus. Since Halloween was coming up, Caine had ‘allowed’ the cast to watch a handful of movies that were old enough to have the option of being available of going to VHS. Although there were a few movies that they recognized, most of the selection made available were from no-name studios that went straight to DVD or VHS. It was either that or nostalgic, family-friendly Halloween media like Goosebumps. Caine didn’t vet them beforehand for that reason, they would soon come to realize. In attempts to gain more regularity with their daily routines, Ragatha, Gangle, and Pomni requested Caine for shorter adventures until after Halloween so they could watch all of the seasonal movies and shows now offered to them. Caine obliged, stating he would use the opportunity to think of a ‘big adventure’ that would take up the majority of the day after Halloween. That was a problem for everyone for a few weeks from now, though, so they happily took the smaller adventures for now and tried not to think about that uneasy future. 

 Pomni in particular had taken to watching the movies almost religiously. It was a welcome distraction, and something she would opt to do in her life whenever there was too much anxiety. It gave her something to do without having to think. Besides, she loved Halloween, even if she would never be caught dead in something like a haunted house. It was both a blessing and a curse that around this time (for reasons she would rather not think about pertaining to a certain rabbit who was currently not talking to her) Poni was having an incredibly hard time with sleeping. Nobody needed to sleep in the circus, sure, but it helped pass the time. Luckily, Pomni now had a much more appealing distraction for her insomnia than before. 

 Tonight was one of those nights. It’d been a while since the gun adventure, and unfortunately it was still on her mind. Ragatha and her had managed to become a bit closer to friends at this point, but the very real and obvious rabbit in the room that was Jax often had her mind wander. So, here she was on the couch in a room between the kitchen and everyone’s rooms that was more of a secondary lounge area. She knew she probably wouldn’t sleep at all tonight with how she was feeling, that tired restlessness that would often accompany her on nights she wouldn’t sleep. Pomni took that as her cue to make popcorn, and grab a soda from the fridge before popping in one of the many VHS tapes that had now accumulated in a pile from when Caine materialized them from nowhere. She made sure all the lights were off, and that she had a blanket from her room. Just because she couldn’t sleep didn’t mean she had to be uncomfortable. 

 She had just gotten settled and barely gotten past the opening credits before she heard some distant footsteps down the hallway. She turned down the volume the slightest bit to be sure, turning her head and--

“Oh, Pomni.” 

Jax had just peeked in for a moment, startling her regardless. Her breath hitched at the intrusion, as the only things she could see at the moment were his hauntingly bright eyes that resembled more of a cat’s right now more than anything. He must have sensed he startled her in that way he seemed to be able to sniff out, as she watched his trademark cheshire grin spread across his face. Before she could say anything (like she even knew what to say since he had been avoiding her), he swayed in like their last true interaction hadn’t been completely horrible and plopped beside her on the couch. Noticeably, there was an arm’s length between them. He also made a point not to look at her.

 When she couldn’t manage anything because her throat was so tight, Jax reached over with such an air of practiced nonchalance she was immediately impressed as he grabbed a handful of popcorn from her to start munching on. 

“Don’t tell me I actually scared you.” He snarked, his eyes already back on the screen. “What is this crap anyway?”

Pomni, not sure how to react or even what this meant or if she should even assign meaning to this interaction, felt a breath of a stutter leave her lips before she looked at the movie herself.

“Oh, uh…I don’t know. I just put it on.” She said bluntly, quickly feeling an air of awkwardness settle over them as the movie played. Should she even be glancing over at him right now? This was weird. More than weird. 

She felt herself stiffen, and couldn’t hold back her annoyed expression when a piece of popcorn hit the side of her head and landed somewhere in the folds of the blanket. 

His eyes were fixed on her now, his pupils wide. “Give me some of your blanket.”

“What? No.” She protested, instinctively grabbing it and bunching it closer to herself. Another popcorn kernel hit her forehead. 

“You’re really just going to hog it all to yourself?”

“Get your own blanket.”

Pomni looked away, thinking that was the end of the matter, and she resolved to push down all her messy and annoying feelings to deal with after the movie, or at least when she knew she could actually think about it.

Another piece of popcorn hit the side of her hair, immediately annoying her further.

“Pom.”

“Jax.” She said bluntly, glancing at him. He stared, and she sighed. She kicked over a corner of the blanket with her foot, and he greedily took it. He leaned back further away from her on the couch, their legs noticeably bunched up under the blanket together but didn't touch. For good measure she put the popcorn bucket between them, she thinks to both of their belief. He didn’t even thank her as he grabbed another handful. She couldn’t help the smile slide onto her face despite everything. 

A few moments of silence, and the movie’s plot started to pick up. 

“I really gave you a start there, didn’t I?” He asked smugly.

She gave him a look from the corner of her eye, remembering to shove everything that was already starting to bubble up in her chest for later. 

“A little, yeah.” She said honestly, tilting her face away from him. 

She didn’t know he went to look at her again for a moment too long before he smiled again and popped another bit of popcorn into his mouth. 

“Well that’s what happens when you watch movies in the dark.” He retorted, snarky as ever. 

She didn’t say anything immediately, settling back into the softness of the couch. She even grabbed a bit of popcorn for herself.

“Thought it was a better alternative to just staying awake in my room staring at the ceiling.” She added softly.

At first she thought he didn’t hear it, but then he spoke up:

“Been there.”

Pomni glanced at him again, just for a moment. That look she saw after their argument…it was back. That tired look. 

She didn’t say anything, but shifted in her spot on the couch. She should just focus on the movie. 

She didn’t want to think about that right now. 

 At some point, there was a mild and fairly obvious (if she had to be honest) jumpscare that made her jolt, making the popcorn bucket beside her threaten to spill its contents. Jax, being who he was, immediately snickered and moved the bucket closer to him. 

“Geez Pomni, haven’t you ever seen a scary movie before? Don’t tell me you need me to put on one of the kiddie horror movies?” He teased. 

She simply rolled her eyes and shrugged. 

“I’ve never seen it before. Don’t tell me you’ve never gotten scared from a horror movie?” She asked with a smile, her tone probably a bit more playful than it should be. 

Jax took it in stride, a hand to his chest as he grinned. “Me? Never. A true man never gets scared, and I need to keep up appearances.” She snorted, rolling her eyes.

She grabbed a bit of popcorn, her eyes turning back to the movie. She watched as one of the protagonists turned a corner and she knew it had to be a jumpscare-

“Holy sh*t!” Jax jumped high enough off the couch it did spill most of the popcorn, and he had gripped her arm for half a moment. She jolted from that and looked over to only burst out in a fit of laughter. 

“What was that about not getting scared?” She teased back, noticing the telltale bloom of warmth in her chest that she couldn’t smother before it made itself known. He did a horrible job of regaining his composure, only shrugging before settling back down properly on the couch. 

“Couldn’t have you being all jumpy by yourself.”

Chapter Text

Caine must have taken the request for shorter adventures so they could have more ‘realistic’ hobbies or routines too seriously. It wasn’t long into what (she assumed) to be the month of October because the movies were still there in a pile in the TV room (there was no true way to tell time here unless when Caine decided to briefly mention a holiday or the subtle enforcement of meal times) when he gave everyone the absolute pleasure of hearing him announce that he was test running a ‘digital illness’. 

Naturally, everyone immediately had something to say.

“Are you f***king sh**ting me, Caine?!” Zooble immediately responded. Caine gestured wide with his arms, doing a little spin. “Why of COURSE I am, Zooble! I know how all of you have been making comments lately about wanting some more realism to not just the adventures, but to your new home! A few other things will take longer to do, but this I managed to pull together in almost no time at all!” He gestured with his cane, sounding a bit too cheerful despite the lack of enthusiasm. 

Pomni was too stunned to formulate a proper response. 

“Now, now. Don’t you all get excited at once.” Caine added cheerily, chuckling to himself. He leaned back in the air, pretending to think. “I thought about infecting one of you to start, and just see how it works…then you all can give me feedback! After that it will just be a small risk that you could have in the circus, like tripping or drowning!” He snaps his fingers, his eyes fixing on Zooble.

“Now Zooble. I know how much you love to give me feedback, so I feel like it’s only natural to trust you with the most important task of being patient zero.”

Zooble stiffens, only to cough a moment later. Everyone else naturally gave them a few feet of distance. Caine claps his hands together. “Wonderful! Now that that’s taken care of, just know that if infected, you’ll feel a typical cold. Slight headache, coughing, sneezing, and general discomfort. I even managed to add night sweats, shivering, and fevers! Isn’t that wonderful?” 

When no one responded, he simply continued as if nothing had happened. “Great! Now, I’ll leave you all to it!” 

Zooble was back to normal after three days. Then Gangle, Kinger, Ragatha….

Several days after Caine introduced the infection and Ragatha had just started feeling better, Jax didn’t show up to breakfast. Everyone immediately knew he must have gotten it too, and most felt slightly relieved at knowing the circus would be quiet for a few days. His pranks had gotten worse lately.

Pomni was the only one who became worried. She hadn’t gotten sick yet, but based on Ragatha giving her account of what happened, it sounded awful. “It’s twice as bad as the flu!” she complained, all too happy to properly taste food again as she heaped a bit of pixelated scrambled eggs onto her plate. They didn’t feel hunger, but it was nice to at least taste the food, so Pomni didn’t blame her.

Pomni wasn’t exactly sure why she was doing this…but not seeing Jax on the adventure that day either made her go to knock on his door later.

“Jax? We all figured you got that cold, I was just wondering if you needed anything.” She hoped she was loud enough to hear through the door.

.

.

.

Pomni went to leave, thinking he was asleep. 

“I feel like sh*t, Pomni. I don’t want anything right now.” She grimaced. He sounded awful, even through the door. The others had briefly lost their voices for about a day, maybe that’s what was happening. Typically everyone had at least checked up on the sick person at least once per day to see if they needed anything. What did Ragatha say again? Tea and soup helped her throat? 

“Jax, your throat hurts, right? Let me get you something.”

“I said leave it, Pomni.” A hoarse voice croaked through the door, breaking a bit from the strain it must have done on his vocals. 

“Jax, I’m asking because I want to help.” she offered again. It was silence for a few moments before she heard some faint shuffling behind the door. The door opened halfway to reveal Jax in all his miserable glory.

His ears drooped slightly, and he glared down at her for disturbing the sleep he so badly needed but was obviously not getting. His fur was in clumps, and a bit darker in places from where he had sweat. The strap of his overalls slid off one of the shoulder of the arm he used to hold open the door.

“You’re going to catch it. Just leave.” He grumbled. His eyes narrowed down at her as she received a rare frown from him.

She startled a bit from seeing his appearance, but quickly straightened. “I was just going to get you some tea. Or water. Or I can get you an extra blanket or something from my room-”

Jax cut her off with a scoff, his face shifting into one of annoyance. “I’m not a charity case. Isn’t Ragatha still sick? Go coddle her like she does everyone else. I don’t need it.” 

Pomni frowned, putting her foot in the door to keep it open after he tries to shut the door in her face. He rolls his eyes but doesn’t do anything else to stop her. 

“I’m just trying to make you more comfortable. Besides, if you get it yourself you probably will get someone else sick. So technically I’m just looking out for myself.” That’s right, she could make it sound like she wasn’t here for him. She didn’t know how well he would buy it, though.

Jax paused, looking her over. He blinked, and she blinked back.

“Fine. But if you get sick just from talking to me like this it is not my fault.”

She shrugged and smiled up at him. 

“We did this with the others, I think it just spreads anyway. Might as well make you more comfortable.” She reasoned, happy for the opportunity to at least attempt to make him more comfortable. “Besides, Ragahta feels better.”

“Lucky her.” He said bluntly. He could not care less. 

He left the door open a crack while she went to go grab some tea and a few extra blankets and pillows. 

He’s there to take it from her at the door since it’s fairly obvious he doesn't want her in his room (probably wasn’t a good idea anyway). Arms full of blankets and pillows, he narrows his eyes at her again. She beats him to the punch.

“Will you let me know if you need anything?”

“No. Because I won’t need anything. God, Pom. I’m not dying. I practically have enough to get me through the winter.” 

She softly chuckled, giving him that small smile of hers she didn’t realize she only gave him. 

“Well, at least the offer is there. Feel better.” She said with a small wave. 

He mostly closes the door before adding a small: “Thanks, Pom.”

She manages to get a full night of sleep that evening.

The next morning, she felt awful. Her head was pounding and she could barely think. Letting out a groan, she rolled over in her bed. Ew, she felt sweat on her skin. Caine was not kidding about the sweating. She very vaguely registers someone talking outside her door, but it’s muffled. She has no idea what time it’s supposed to be or how long she was asleep. Right as she comes to that realization, Pomni rolls over again and manages to doze off. 

Pomni groggily wakes to her door opening, and she squints in the darkness of her room. Her head is swimming and she feels her face is flushed. She still has to be sweating because she feels hot. Her throat feels like broken glass got lodged inside it, and she smacks her lips.

She closes her eyes again, as the light from the hallway made her head swim, but she soon feels a warm palm on her forehead.

“I told you you would get sick, Poms.”

She turns her head towards the noise, making some odd croak of a noise in some sort of acknowledgment. 

A soft chuckle, and her hair is brushed from being plastered to her cheek. 

“I brought you some tea. It did help.” The presence added softly, and she feels a brief dip in the bed near her side. There’s an added weight over the blankets she’s already bundled under, and she feels half a fraction better. She coughs.

“I know. There are blankets too. Just get some rest. You’ll feel better in the morning.” 

She was sweating and shivering, hot and cold all at once. The ache thudded behind her eyelids, and she didn’t dare open her eyes. The voice started to say something else, but she faded out before she caught what it said. 

When she woke, she was swimming in at least two purple blankets, half a mug of cold tea she didn’t remember drinking on her nightstand. She did feel better.

Chapter Text

 Caine had taken notice of how much everyone was watching the movies. How it had sparked conversations during and after adventures. It seemed that adding in more seasonal things or events was making everyone more lively. 

 It gave him an idea. A few, actually. 

 He made the announcement at breakfast that morning. 

 “Good morning my Dizzy Dreamers!” He popped in front of them all with a small burst of confetti, happy to start the day. 

 Only Ragatha and Gangle managed to say good morning. Jax was picking at his plate, his grin plastered on his face like a sticker. Pomni wasn’t feeling the day, either. Her insomnia had been wavering lately. The inconsistency of sleep was just as unsatisfying as not being able to sleep entirely. She tried not to think too much lately.

 She missed things like Halloween. How long had she even been here?

 She barely noticed when Caine continued speaking.

  “I’ve begun to notice how happy all of you have been lately when I brought in some seasonal activities for you to do! So, in the goal of adding more realism and seasonal things for you to do, I’ve thought of curating Halloween adventures for you today! I’ve analyzed some of the media I’ve brought you, and made an adventure hopefully all of you will enjoy!” He looked around once he was finished, noticing some eager faces. Ragatha spoke first. 

 “That…sounds really fun, Caine! I know I’ll be happy to try it, I love fall!” Her voice wavered slightly, like she never could quite be sure of herself, but her smile made up for it. Kinger chimed in. “I think it’d be a nice change of pace. Besides, who doesn’t like snow?” Everyone paused for a moment to stare at Kinger.

Jax rolled his eyes, blatantly ignoring Kinger to address Caine.

 “Listen, if this doesn’t have detailed blood and gore, I’m not going. What’s the point in doing something seasonal if it’s not bloody or scary?”

Pomni poked at the ham on her plate, sparing a glance at Jax. “Uh…it’s not going to be like that haunted house adventure, right? I’ve had more than my fair share of jumpscares.”

Caine adored the questions, moving a bit closer as he hovered over the table. 

“All excellent questions! Nothing gets past you!” He gestures to all of them with a well-practiced smile. “I don’t want to spoil too much, but this will be a team adventure! In a hyper-realistic fall setting, most of you team up against a common foe. There will be two objectives: fix anything that can go wrong in the cabin or grounds the adventure will take place in, and find out which one of you is sabotaging the others! There will be one of you with a specified role to do things like cutting power, setting traps, or even…killing the others! That’s right, folks! This is a good old slasher adventure! Not petty jumpscares and haunted mansions like last time. This threat will be flesh and blood like you! If everyone but the killer is immobile or eliminated, or if the killer’s identity is found then the adventure will end! Happy hunting!”

And with that Caine snapped his fingers to summon a portal near the end of the table, sucking everyone in. 

“Caine! I never agreed to go!”

“Oh come on!”

 Pomni immediately noticed she was separated from the others. “Wasn’t this a team adventure?” She mumbled, standing up and dusting herself off. At least the leaves were pretty. She raised her head, realizing she was in the middle of a forest. It was dusk, a crisp chill in the air as a small breeze blew past her. Darkness was setting into the trees, and leaves slowly drifted towards the ground. When she took a step the ground crunched underneath her feet. ‘Not bad, Caine.’ Definitely a step up from before.

Oh well. Maybe she could wander around before it got too dark so she could find the others? She couldn’t even see the cabin Caine had mentioned. 

This forest was pretty thick. Most of the trees were losing their leaves, with some completely bare. And with the gusts of wind and no sounds of anything else…it was…eerie. Knowing this was a horror adventure, she didn’t want to be by herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to give herself some security. 

“This is fine. I’m fine. I’ll just walk…this way.” She breathed out, looking towards her left where she was probably imagining a trail. It was starting to get too dark to see anything in detail, so she followed her gut for now. 

 As she walked for a few minutes, the silence of everything continued to disturb her. She couldn’t hear anything but the wind. How big was this place?

 Her head jerked up as she heard a scream ring out through the forest. Was that…Gangle? It made her whole body shiver. ‘What happened? Was she with the others?’

 It probably wasn’t the best idea but the only thing she could think of was heading towards the scream. Maybe she would at least hear one of the others, or see that thing she was supposed to be doing. She had already forgotten the objective for the adventure. 

 As she kept walking, she didn’t hear anything else for a while. Didn’t see anything either. Honestly, she was kind of disappointed. Sure, everything was as realistic as Caine promised but with it being so dark it wasn’t like she could actually appreciate it! Pomni would have much rather have preferred something like going to a pumpkin patch or maybe a hayride…

She sighed as she thought of literally anything else she would rather be doing. 

It was then she noticed the small crunching of leaves mimicking her footsteps a ways behind her. She stopped, turning around. Not like she could see anything. A small puff of air left her lips as she let out a small huff of laughter. “Wow, I must be incredibly bored.” 

She walked a bit longer, yet again seeing nothing. It was getting colder, wasn’t it? She couldn’t see her breath before. 

There it was again. That slightly offbeat crunch of leaves behind her. 

She whipped her head around, raising an eyebrow. Was it a squirrel or something? 

“Uh…hello?” She called out, unsure. Nothing. 

She shrugged and kept going, only to immediately hear a twig snap behind her. 

A pang of annoyance shot through her as she whipped around to see a tall figure wearing a hockey mask right above her and raising a knife! She yelped out in surprise, stumbling backwards and tripping over a tree root.

Her chest tightened as she realized she had nowhere to go, and she was panicking thinking of some possible way to-

Her thoughts were interrupted by cackling laughter, the figure towering above her lifting a gloved hand to raise the mask. 

Of course it was Jax.

“Come on, Poms. Don’t tell me I scared you.” His grin said it all. 

She simply stared up at him, dumbfounded. 

He chuckled again, his eyes luminescent in the pitch black night. He offered her a hand as he lowered the knife.

“You should have seen your face! It was too easy. I couldn’t resist.”

“Shut up.” She mumbled, grabbing onto his hand as he heaved her up.

Her eyes narrowed as his grin got wider. 

“Relax, you take these things too seriously. Live a little! Enjoy the anticipation!” He teased, pretending to scare her again.

“Jax!”

“What? Don’t girls like getting scared?” He teased again. She pushes his face out of the way. 

“You’re probably the only person who even liked this adventure.”

He shrugged, moving back and putting the knife in his pocket, grinning down at her. 

“Yea, but that just makes it more fun. Let me guess, you wanted to go apple picking instead?” He tilted his head towards her, his eyes focused just above hers. 

“What’s wrong with that?” She asked with a small smile. Why did she feel a bit more at ease around him?

He chuckled. “Nothing, just means you're boring.” He stated, putting his hands behind his head. 

“Well, I’m about bored here anyway. It’s why I showed my face to you. The map was too big so the only people I could find this whole time were you and Gangle. Seems like it was a bust. There wasn’t even any gore.” 

She shook her head, the two of them started to walk. 

“Only you would be upset at the lack of blood and guts.”

“What can I say? I’m a visionary. Not my fault it's an unappreciated art form.”

The two kept walking towards the blue light of the portal that materialized, meeting everyone back in the circus.

Chapter Text

After Jax and Pomni watched the late-night movie together, their relationship was still strained, but less so than before. She wouldn’t go out of her way to talk to him, but they were at least talking again.

Fall had been all but absent in the circus other than the movies, and Pomni was feeling the brunt of it. Halloween wasn’t her favorite holiday or anything, but it would still be nice to pretend the seasons could change here. Adventures had been shorter, and Caine always missed the mark like always. To him, the season just meant the perfect excuse for his horror ideas. So, yeah. It was less than ideal.

Pomni sat in the common area after their short adventure, pretending to be interested in some building blocks. She still hadn’t been sleeping that well, so she wanted to save the movies for nighttime. Was this really her life now? Building blocks?

She barely noticed Gangle drawing beside her on the couch, half bored and half annoyed at her boredom. The soft sounds of pencil scratching on paper was at least better than dead silence. It was almost soothing.

“Gangle. Scram.” 

Jax abruptly interrupted the dull yet serene atmosphere. She had gotten almost accustomed the past few days of just being around the others without needing to speak with them directly, it gave her a feeling of solidarity. Gangle went to protest as Pomni looked up, only to see Jax snatching the sketchbook out of her hands with a scoff. 

“What do you even feel the need to draw for? Just mope around like the rest of us. Or maybe don’t. You do that enough already.” He seemed to finish his own thought, rolling his eyes as Gangle whimpered and weakly tried to reach for her things. 

“Now leave before you make me miserable too. Look at poor Pomni, she’s practically a puddle of sadness because of you.” Pomni scoffed at that, looking between the two of them. Gangle looked at Pomni for a brief moment before glancing back at Jax and deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble. She gave a soft wave to Pomni before taking her leave.

“See you, Pomni. Talk to you later?”

Pomni nodded, giving Gangle a friendly smile.

“Of course. Talk later.”

Jax took the very brief moment when everyone’s attention wasn’t him to collapse onto the couch. She stayed on the floor near the low red kiddie table so she could keep…playing with her blocks. 

Jax seemed to regard her posture for a moment.

“You really find that interesting?”

Pomni chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Uh..better than nothing.”

Jax didn’t respond, but stared her down. She didn’t hold eye contact and turned her head away.

“I’m just…bored. The shorter adventures have been okay. I obviously hate the horror adventures Caine keeps cooking up, but I don’t want to watch all the movies and shows he’s gotten us immediately. I want to save some. And, well, with the adventures being so short lately I have nothing to do.”

Jax smirks again at her, like it was something he expected. He crossed one leg over his knee and leaned back onto the couch to put his arms behind his head. 

“Yea, well, it only gets worse from here. On the upside, you’re getting used to his jumpscares, aren’t you?” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his grin widening. 

Pomni stares at him for a moment. And her emotions must have shown on her face because Jax laughs again and presses down on her head.

“Relax, Poms. He’ll tire himself out eventually. There’s been one or two things about the adventures you like, though, right?” He pressed down a bit harder on her head before letting up. Her eyes swirled around in her skull as she leaned back. 

She shook it off, her eyes fixing back on his face. She had to think for a moment. 

“Uh…the leaves falling were…nice?” She managed out, nervously laughing to herself. Jax scoffed at her, his eyes narrowing. 

“Oh, come on. If you could do anything now that he’s in his ‘seasonal’ phase, what would it be? Fall doesn't even have to be your favorite season. Just name something you like about it.” 

If she didn’t know him any better, she would think he was upset with how intense his gaze was towards her. He had leaned forward slightly, like he wanted to get the answer from her expression. She squinted as she felt the gears in her skull turn. The constant jump scares and inconsistent sleep had eroded her thinking process.

“If I could do anything I think I’d just want a nice walk in a grove of apple trees, honestly. Or a pumpkin patch. Anything that doesn’t drive my fight-or-flight response.” She lightly joked, an odd mimic of a smile on her face.

Jax at first didn’t say anything, only glancing up to look at the expansive ceiling above them as he spread his arms out across the couch. 

“I don’t see the appeal but…I guess if the weather manages to resemble fall it wouldn’t be too bad.” He said softly. He stayed quiet for a while, like he was lost in thought, and didn’t make further efforts at conversation. Pomni turned her head back to the blocks now in a small stack in front of her. The light feeling of comfort at just being in someone else’s presence extended to Jax as well. Things had been weird between them, but this was nice. They stayed in each other’s radius until she noticed everyone else taking their leave by walking past them to go to their rooms. She took that as her own cue to indulge in a movie before bed. 

The next day at breakfast, Caine appeared in his usual display of sickening cheerfulness that made everybody strain their smiles or drop them entirely. “Good morning my dapper dumplings!”

Pomni visibly cringed at that, and Jax immediately interjected.

“Don’t call us that.”

Caine simply continued like he hadn’t heard, clapping his hands together. 

“I just wanted to announce that I’ve gotten a request today. Since they’re so rare and it was simple, I whipped it up in no time for you! I usually enjoy the high-stakes adventures, as you all know. But since the adventures have been shorter lately and in a particular theme, I figured I could make a few exceptions. Take a calming journey through Cider farms! There’s a wide expanse of both apple trees and a pumpkin patch for you to explore, with a small petting zoo to boot! Just enjoy your leisure, and learn about the local pride of the town!” 

Pomni had barely been paying attention, her eyes too focused on trying to look at her fruit on her plate. But at hearing the lack of horror words in his description, she jerked her head up. “Huh? Farm?” 

Caine smiled, gesturing with his arm to summon a portal a few feet away. “Indeed! Just a small something I’ve pulled together. I would like your feedback on the fall atmosphere. I did my best to improve it for the request! Enjoy your time!”

The others stood and began to file for the portal, even Zooble deciding to join in on their own decision. Pomni simply stared ahead, dumbfounded. Request? She supposed it was a simple enough thing but…it was like someone read her mind.

Jax gently nudged the side of her arm, getting her attention. He had lowered himself to better look at her after standing up, grinning at her. 

“Looks like you got lucky, Pomni. Guess someone else wanted to be lame and take a break from Caine’s constant horror too. Come on, I want to see if I can find a pumpkin as big as your head.”

She laughed and smiled back at him, going to stand up to follow him out.

The very real possibility suddenly hit her, and her smile widened. She knew better than to acknowledge it, though.

“Alright, lead the way.”

Chapter Text

Pomni hadn’t been to the carnival since she came to the circus. She wouldn’t count the tour Caine gave her, as she didn’t actually visit. Quite frankly, she had forgotten its existence. 

With the wax and wane of her and Jax’s relationship, she wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it. Not when he would randomly go through long portions of the day without talking to her. She wasn’t noticing him more than before, right? But maybe that was exactly the case. Since the argument, she simply seemed to inherently notice when he was or wasn’t in the room. 

Maybe his behavior didn’t change, and she was thinking too much about it. It certainly didn’t help that Jax had been nicer to her overall. After a while, anyway. 

Today only fueled her argument. 

Jax showed up as he did on any other day after a lackluster adventure. Pomni felt nauseous just thinking about the jumpscare graveyard adventure that Caine had cooked up for them later that day. Jax, of course, was grinning immensely. 

“Hey, Pom. It was nice to see you getting invested in the adventures for once. Didn’t know you had it in you.” He teased her as he walked up, his eyes briefly locking with hers. 

Pomni couldn’t help her hint of a smile before going deadpan. 

“I was being chased. By a skeleton.” He smiled wider and shrugged.

“Ah, details.”

They look at each other again for a moment, and he seems to think of something. 

He leaned back slightly, barely intruding on her space. 

“Pomni. You wanna do something really fun?” His eyes shrank almost completely into slits as he asked, making her queasy. 

“What, you going to scare me too?”

Jax barks out a short laugh, lightly pushing her shoulder.

“Oh come on, Pomni. I’ve already seen you get scared today. That can wait for tomorrow. Let me take you somewhere new to try, hm?” He bent half down to her level, turning his head to peer into her eyes like he was searching for something. Weeks ago, he didn’t use to stoop this low when he talked to her. He would still lean slightly over her, like the point was to be slightly intimidating or annoying. Now, he bent in half to face her almost completely head on, actually listening to her and showing he was doing so through his posture. Maybe she was reading into things again or overthinking but it was like he was wanting to seem more approachable to her.

She did her best attempt to look skeptical, her eyes squinting at him. 

“Alright, fine. But if you scare me, I won’t talk to you for a whole week.”

“Oh, please. Miss out on time to torment you? I wouldn’t give you the peace of mind! You have my word.” He straightens, dramatically placing a hand on his chest for just a moment before he’s already moving again, leaving her a few feet behind. He always just expected she would follow, didn’t he?

Her legs were too short, and she was out of breath by the time she caught up. He glanced down at her. 

“Wow, about time.”

They were almost out of the tent, the digital world showing night outside. 

Pomni pokes her head out of the tent and Jax lingers, letting her step out. He seems curious to watch her reaction, his eyes wide and taking up most of his face, like a cat watching something that caught their interest. 

“Whoa.” She thought the tent was big. The area immediately expanded before her, a forest to the left and the faint glow of a carnival to her right. She saw the top of the ferris wheel, heard the cheerful music, and even saw a hint of the merry-go-round. Pomni turns back to look at him, her eyes even bigger than usual. 

“There’s a carnival here?” 

Nodding, Jax strolls just past her now that she’s seen it, leading the way. “Oh, yea. I’m the only one who ever goes, though. Which means I’m going to beat you in every game.” He looks back to give her a devious grin.

“Did you really show me this just so you could gloat?”

Jax only grins wider and shrugs, putting his arms behind his head.

As they played through the games, she ended up being completely right. He beat her mercilessly through every single game. By the eighth one, she was done. “Come on, Jax. This was a nice distraction, but let’s go back.”

His grin slides into a frown for a moment, before it’s quickly back in place.

“I don’t know about you, but all this winning has made me hungry. What about you?” He asked, completely ignoring her comment.

Pomni chuckles, her stature relaxing at the question.

“Yeah, alright. I could eat. Better than the same five things every week.” 

Jax leads her to an ice cream stand, the vendor was one of those wooden mannequin NPCs Caine loved to have for almost every adventure. 

Pomni stares up at it in slight awe. How had she never been here? She had been so lost in the existentialism of everything she had completely forgotten.

Jax taps her shoulder with his hand, the other on his hip.

“Earth to Poms. You know what you want?”

The look she gave makes him smile instead of grin. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll have some mercy on you. Nothing wrong with vanilla, right?”

He struts up to order, briefly glancing at her as she does. “I’ll take two ice cream cones as big as her head.” The wooden being takes one look at her and then nods, only taking a moment to deliver two vanilla soft serves with rainbow sprinkles that were in fact as big as her head.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had ice cream at a carnival before.” She says softly as he hands her the ice cream. The cone can barely fit in her hands. 

Jax stops his eating to look at her, his eyes big as saucers for just a moment before sliding back into place. “Really? Well, guess there’s a first for everything.” 

She glances up at him, and they look at each other. Jax seems to realize first exactly what they’re doing and he breaks first, his eyes darting away as he pretends to be distracted by something.

“You want to walk around and watch how pathetic the NPCs Caine has are?” He asks with half a grin, already looking in the direction of one in particular that seemed to have their arm clipping through a small game stand.

Pomni’s eyes travel to where he’s looking and she relaxes a bit more. Definitely better than those horror adventures.