Chapter Text
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The gentle hum of beeping flooded the old mans ears, or rather, his metaphorical eardrums, as he hadn't had ears since entering the circus. A chess piece with ears would be rather scary and anatomically confusing.
He could've sworn he had heard this beeping before, in some place.. long ago. It wasn't unnerving, instead it was a consistent almost peaceful sound, perhaps relieving, he decided to settle on that. It was nearly background noise or static for the overwhelming darkness he found himself in. Darkness was nice, it was like a home to him, so he couldn't really complain, even if there was something.. off about it.
His eyes were closed, he couldn't open them, his body felt.. strange, if he focused he could feel something stuck to him, although he wasn't sure what.
Overall, Kinger found himself feeling a variety of sensations which he hadn't once before. There truly was never a dull day in the circus, was there?
"…?"
Oh? A new noise had joined, this time it seemed.. different, more fluid.
"…ing…?"
He couldn't help but feel as if he should be reacting to this in some way, but he was unable to speak. Any attempts died in his non existent throat. How bizarre.
"Kinger?!"
A familiar voice accompanied by a sudden pressure caused him to jolt forward, his eyes flickering open in a startle, quickly bolting around to scan his surroundings and whoever that voice belonged to.
Huh. Tanned skin, freckles, warm brown eyes and brownish curly hair. He certainly didn't recognise this person, and since when had Caine added such realistic looking humans as NPCs? They- whoever they were, looked rather concerned as they stared down at him, their hand on him. Whilst he couldn't recognise them from their features, he knew that voice, he heard it constantly- just who was it?
And.. why was he in.. a bed? This place.. it looked like a hospital, with yellowed walls and an overhead lamp which lightly buzzed, not to mention the fact the person before him wore a gown. Was this some sort of incredulous adventure? His thoughts got cut off by the figure holding onto him and beginning to speak, giving him no chance to speak.
"Oh thank god- you're finally awake. Oh gosh- Kinger we- we really got out and now- we're all here together somehow I really don't understand any of it but we got out," they rambled on and on, nearly choking on their words as they did so, their grasp on him tightening.
Kinger simply stared back at this mystery person, bewildered, his eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to think back on what he remembered last, processing anything they said would be a whole different kettle of fish, too much was happening already. The darkness had been a welcome feeling, this less so.
His head continued to ache, a dull numbing pain washing over him as he slowly glanced down, out of mere instinct more than anything, only to let out a shrill shriek.
Shoulders- he had shoulders, and pale skin, with hands (even paler, he'd note quietly as he flexed his fingers) and arms. He felt his heart, which he shouldn't have, quicken its pace as he stared back at the figure before him, his eyes wide with fear like a deer in headlights. His headache somehow got even worse, causing him to wince weakly.
"Kinger- oh Kinger it's me, it's Ragatha- it's okay, it's all okay oh gosh I didn't even-" Ragatha quietly scolded herself as she gently took one of the older man's hands into her own, tracing his knuckles. It was something which the former had done, a long time ago in the circus when Ragatha had.. needed it.
Kinger exhaled harshly, wincing again as a sharp pain shot through his already trembling body. His brain was rushing with all different thoughts, he was feeling far too many things, both physically and mentally, and that godforsaken light was too harsh. He clenched his eyes shut tightly.
Ragatha. This was Ragatha.
Ragatha that was like a daughter to him.
He inhaled, slowly, before exhaling and slowly opening his eyes to land on Ragatha once again. It was weird to feel bone from one who once was a rag-doll, but he didn't complain, it helped ground him in a weird sense. She must be expecting a response, but he had no idea how to respond, so he settled on a meek nod.
It seemed to soothe Ragatha somewhat, her gaze softening slightly as she turned to a plastic cup full of water.
"Here- drink some of this, okay?" she spoke softly, in that people-pleasing auto pilot mode she so often reverted to, but she regardless lifted the cup to Kinger's cracked lips. She hadn't known what to expect when she stepped in, but.. pale skin, messy dirty blonde pushed back hair, scruffy facial hair, wrinkles and massive sunken eyebags all hit the nail on the head really. His avatar weirdly fit his appearance well, ironic all things considered.
Kinger slowly took a sip from the water, sinking back slightly into the creaking bed as he felt the water slowly run down his throat. It was a weird sensation, yet he couldn't help and feel an overwhelming relief at it too, god knows how long he had been without drinking anything, most definitely far too long but he wasn't going to unpack how he survived that either. The bed was slightly uncomfortable, one of those that were cheap and springy, but he found himself appreciating the flexibility after being a wooden chess piece for so long.
He paused for a second, his eyes drifting off in a familiar fashion. His thoughts, as chaotic as they were, slowly began to turn more coherent before suddenly shooting straight up and turning to Ragatha, grabbing onto her arms and causing her to spill some of the water onto him but he didn't care. Kinger's eyes quickly examined Ragatha's, he had always found eyes to be the best way to understand someones thoughts or inner workings.
"Ev—" he coughed, sputtering and painfully clearing his throat "—everyones here? Everyone?" he asked with an unmistakable excitement and hope of which Ragatha immediately recognised.
She faltered momentarily, an uncertain look spreading across her face as her mouth opened and closed in a cautious gesture.
"Kinger..." she began, a nervous expression now on her face, speaking as carefully as she could. "..Not.. everyone."
Kinger's face immediately fell, a weak cough escaping him as he sat up further, his throat burned harshly as he coughed and his chest weighed him down heavily. His blue eyes began to water as he shook his head weakly, he could barely comprehend what was going on and he absolutely hated it. He had more lucidity than he did within the circus, more memories and feelings, but he was just as confused as he was then if not more.
He gasped quietly as he felt Ragatha's weight sink onto him, pulling the older man into a gentle but warm embrace. He quickly returned the gesture, his trembling arms slowly moving to wrap around her, he closed his eyes and gently rested his forehead on her shoulder, a quiet thank you.
Kinger hardly felt like talking right now, and he presumed Ragatha would feel the exact same. He appreciated the company, though, she had always been a constant, a warmth, a light, to him whenever he had needed it. From when… Her abstraction, to now.
The pair remained in their own little bubble for a while, Ragatha leaning on the bed to keep Kinger close, her hands gently rubbing circles on his back. Their time in the circus had lead to them developing a sort of father-daughter dynamic, although neither one had outright said anything, it had become clear to the rest of the circus rather quickly.
Peaceful moments such as these only solidifed it further, it made sense that the two that had resided in that prison the longest would understand the most about how it could make others feel and not only drift towards each other due to it- but also theoretically know what to do to help someone feeling the effects of it all. Therefore it only made even more sense that they would be the ones trying to comfort the others, even if Kinger wasn't quite always.. there.
It was ironic, for a place that made its inhabitants feel less than human, or out of touch with their humanity - holding onto what made them human really did help, including human company. For all its darkness, there was always a butterfly around to make it feel a little bit better.
"Thank you dear," Kinger said weakly, coughing a little bit as he raised himself from her shoulder.
"It's alright Kinger.. I'm just glad you're okay. The others are slowly getting used to being awake again, but you uhm.. had been out a long time," she explained, her eyes still worried before she sighed and continued speaking.
"—But we need to regroup to piece together what actually happened soon. The doctors don't understand it either, at the moment we're just a group of miraculously found missing people," she laughs a little, gently pushing him back to lay down again and wringing her hands together nervously.
Kinger nodded his head in understanding, giving her a smile to try and reassure her nerves before looking around the room. His vision was blurry, even when squinting he could only make out the tables beside him, some sort of- machine that he was strapped to, and Ragatha. Had he used glasses in the past- he couldn't quite remember.
"Oh- yeah- the doctors said your body is rather weak, I think they said something about you having symptoms of severe malnourishment? So they erm, got you hooked up to an IV bag and some other things I didn't quite understand," she explained.
"Oh," Kinger responded, in that typical inclination, he wasn't shocked in all reality he hadn't known what to expect— well he had never thought about this as it had seemed like such a farfetched possibility.
The pair fell into a slightly awkward silence then, Kinger still trying to get accustomed to everything that was happening and actually process the last 30 minutes. His headache had eased somewhat, but the heavy feeling in his chest had not. Despite the cacophony of thoughts jumbled up in his mind, one main thought was far louder, the fact Queenie wasn't here. It stung him deeply to think on it so clearly, if it wasn't for his overwhelm he was sure he would've started choking up— but Ragatha's phrasing made him think. Were.. all of the abstracted people not here? What had happened to them?
What had happened for the group to be released from the circus? No matter how had he pushed himself he truly couldn't remember anything other than being in his pillow fort.
"Ragatha?!-"
A distant voice, feminine, Kinger recognised this voice too.
"Ragatha where are you?!" it yelled, urgency evident in their tone.
"Oh- er- in here Pomni! I'm with Kinger!" Ragatha quickly responded, giving Kinger a confused glance before watching the entrance.
"He's—" The voice got closer, loud padded footsteps sounding out before a short figure came barrelling towards the room, sliding just shy of the door-frame.
"Kinger!"