Chapter Text
Caine had a day and night system which periodically tipped in a cycle, shifting between the harsh, colorful lights of day, and the just barely less harsh lights of night. There was a soothing (irritating) lullaby/jingle which played on loop in the Tent, if you had the unfortunate urge to vacate your room after the moon rose, and he had eyes outside and around the grounds to ensure no one got “lost.” This meant’ that everyone, except perhaps Kinger, was locked inside at night, no matter how much they actually despised their rooms.
Pomni hadn’t known this little fact at first, but one loud megaphone to the ear and an unwanted pat on the head reminded her why she was never doing that ever again. It wasn’t usually hard to fall asleep, anyway, but she felt like every time she laid her head down, spikes of panic would shoot through her brain. After what must have been an hour, she admitted defeat.
She sat up in bed, swung her legs around, and let out a big sigh, enough so that her body seemed to actually deflate like a balloon. No clocks were allowed, but she could hear the rhythmic flow from the hallway. It wasn’t like last adventure had been all bad, so she wasn’t sure just why she felt so antsy. Unbidden, she rose to her feet and scanned the room: no way would she find comfort here, huh? Maybe she could go bother someone else. Jax, possibly, as payback for literally any of the numerous things hes already done to get underneath her skin. Already, yeah, how long has it been anyway. It must only be weeks, but it felt like so much longer, it felt—
She stopped. Regrouped. No panicking in the middle of night, or you’ll be panicking for all eternity. All eternity, huh? Stop thinking!
All of a sudden, she was pulling the doorknob open and was greeted by the sight of a mini sleepover. Pomni blinked, rubbing her eyes. Gangle was laying down in a giant pile of pillows, one clutched close to her chest(?) and Zooble wasn't far from her. Something that looked suspiciously like a hot chocolate machine was churning precariously in front of them, and a toolbox with a bright orange hazard symbol on it was sat beside them, unopened. They were squinting at it, hard. Ragatha was helping Kinger build a giant, more structured pillow fortress, including blankets, snacks and stuffed animals. From Pomni’s own estimation, she’d guess that Ragatha was running on just about no sleep, and no energy, and somehow, Kinger had enough energy stored up for them both. He should bottle it, honestly, she’d kill to be that awake: her eyes hurt just from watching how fast he was moving. And Jax was there too, not exactly participating, but present, and watching everyone from just slightly afar. The only reason he must have spotted her first was due to him being parked just in front of his door, and well, their doors were right in front of each other's.
“Wow, guess who finally showed up!” he crowed, eyes wide, “Didn’t realize sleeping beauty would ever get out of her tower.”
“Wasn’t…Rapunzel the one in the tower…?” Gangle called, “Auro—AHH!”
Jax - being Jax - had thrown a pillow at her face. Strangely, the throw had been weak, and Gangle only really flailed due to the size. It was maybe as big as Kinger was tall.
“Who cares? Disney princesses aside, Pomni, you are incredibly late to the party.” His eye bags were suddenly apparent to Pomni, as was the strange note to his voice.
She blinked rapidly, “The what?”
“Oh!” Kinger brightened immensely, pausing in his pursuit of apparently creating his very own tower (did that make Ragatha the princess?) He flashed her a look of determination, “Catch!”
“Oof!”
When she had recovered, she slowly unraveled the bright red blanket that Kinger just had on hand, covered in an army of ladybugs. On second glance, even Jax was reluctantly holding on to a blanket, and she pressed hers to her face, slowly walking closer, “Thanks.”
“For what?” Kinger asked blankly, before returning to his task. She could hear the melody restart. It almost felt louder.
“So…um.” She coughed softly, unwilling to sit down, but not sure what else to do, “Why are we having a party?”
“Oh, well, haven’t you noticed that-?“ Ragatha paused, glancing just behind Pomni, “I suppose you haven’t exactly been out here for a while.”
“Yeah, almost got out my key ring for you, you’re welcome!”
Zooble glared at him, snapping out of their staring contest with the toolbox, “’Almost’ being a key word. You didn’t do j@cksh!t!”
“Calm down, Zoobie. I would have, if dear Pomni hadn’t graced us with her presence-“
“Wait, wait, hold on,” Pomni finally sat down in a nervous heap, “What are you talking about. I saw you guys a few hours ago! Right?”
“I’m sure you think that, but, uh…” Ragatha rubbed her neck, glancing over at Kinger, who was humming to himself as he adding another blanket, which knocked over a whole quadrant of his kingdom, “It's been…”
“Caine hasn’t made it day.” Zooble cut in, “Caine is…basically ghosting us, too. Thats the big deal. Which is why were throwing a party. Too bad the hot chocolate machines not working…” They mumbled the last bit, experimentally prodding one of the very broken looking side compartments. A cloud of steam immediately blossomed out of it, and Pomni found herself wincing.
“So, wait, is he still…y’know? Around? Or is he…” She trailed off with great emphasis, miming a sword sliding against her throat.
“Caine can’t die, silly.” Kinger said in an almost kind voice, “He’s not even alive!”
“Comforting.” Pomni deadpanned.
Jax gave her a squinty look, before moving from his spot till he was a bit closer. This put him much closer to the rest of them, so the chaos group of humans resembled a circle, in the order of Jax, Pomni, Gangle, Zooble, Ragatha, and Kinger, though Kinger was constantly moving around: really, he was the only one who seemed at all cheerful.
“Don’t tell me you’re not happy to get a break.” Jax said, leaning back on his paws, posture relaxed. If Pomni didn’t know any better, she’d say he looked content, but honestly, he just looked like he did after sharing his thoughts and…concerns about Ragatha. Fake and covered up by a mask. It was funny, considering who he’d been talking (complaining) about.
Pomni shoved that from her head, forming her thoughts, “It's not that I miss him, but he must be planning something: He always is,” She circled back to something implied earlier, “And how long was I in my room? How long has this been going on for?”
A mischievous grin lit up Jax’s face, “Five years, and seven-“
“Quit it, Jax!” Ragatha had a steel look to her, something fierce, but also frail, “It’s only been a few days, you don’t need to scare her.”
“A few days!” Pomni jumped, eyes wide as they could go. It hadn’t felt like that. She remembered the stupid adventure, remembered feeling so tired and gross, remembered rushing to get clean, to get away, to be anywhere but exposed. She’d gone to bed early, still a little irritated and restless, but had tried to retire anyway. It couldn’t have been days, right? Ragatha had to be lying.
But she looked pretty honest. And worried, “Oh, dear, I-“She closed her eyes, “I could have been more gentle” She berated under her breath.
Jax, who had been staring intently at Pomni, glanced warily at Ragatha for a moment, “It’s not like you could get away with not telling her, y’know. Save your breath, it’s fine! Right, Pomni.” He stared pointedly at Pomni, and she nodded on autopilot.
“Yeah,” She breathed out, glancing again at the fortress set-up that Kinger was working so hard on, “When did you all get here?”
“Early on.” Gangle piped up, “We couldn’t…sleep.”
“Still can’t, Ribbons, very important detail.”
Pomni frowned, remembering how hard she had tried to fall into the blissful trap of sleep, and how hard she snapped back to reality whenever she got close, “Huh.”
There was silence, which was unfitting for Ragatha, who immediately sat up a bit straighter, “So, were making the most of it, and having a bit of harmless fun. I’m sure Caine’s just…taking a break. He used to take them all the time.”
“He should. Treat himself. Forever.” Zooble said bitterly, letting their fingers tap on top of the toolbox, which apparently had a mouth with razor sharp teeth. They jumped back by a lot, badly startled, “Whoa!”
“Careful!” Kinger shouted, which only made Zooble jump again.
It wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to Pomni in the circus, certainly not (a certain possession came to mind: she could still feel her bones breaking-) but it came alarmingly close. There was no rulebook, no relief, just a stupid lullaby, and a room full of similarly cranky humans, who had no idea how to fix this. Pomni started to really think and consider what that meant.
“We called Caine at first, but we think he’s blocking us. The Tents boarded up.” Zooble added, after glaring at Kinger and the toolbox: only one looked repentant and it wasn’t Kinger, “There was a note that promised a “Big Surprise.” Personally, I’m hoping he forgot about us.”
“I’m not.” Gangle said quietly, “I’m…really tired.”
The circus was cruel, in that it was almost right. Bones ached, but in the wrong places. Light cascaded, but never gave warmth or depth. They had touch, and sight, taste, all of it, but it was simulated, a running program, an almost exact replica but just slightly off. And they could sleep, and they’d feel fine. And they could not sleep, and they’d be fine, but it was always better to sleep, anyway, even if it felt stupid, even if it felt like a waste, it really, actually wasn’t. Pomni had learned this the hard way, and learned it quick. Even the nightmares she’d deal with, if only for the chase of the slight satisfaction of a night of good sleep. It was so close to correct: where food fails, where sight fails. But now…
“It’s okay, Gangle.” Kinger said soothingly, “Here, the castles done! Maybe, if you’re inside, that’ll help!”
Pomni could actually see some merit in that, not just due to Kingers dark sense, but Gangle looked hesitant. One glance around the room showed off similarity disbelieving looks, so she sighed, and stood up solemnly, “That sounds nice.”
Ragatha frowned softly, watching as huge quilts seemed to slowly close in and down, “Are you sure there’s even enough room for all of us, Kinger? It’s still a little…small.”
“It’s perfect.” He said proudly, before racing in. After he moment, a hand pushed back out, securing the entrance. Pomni saw Jax shrug from the corner of her eye.
“What’s the harm, right? It’s just a fort.”
—
‘Just a fort.’ Famous last words from the rabbit idiot, Pomni thought.
As if inspired by immensely ridiculous cartoon logic, the fort (or rather, the kingdom, like she’d sarcastically decreed it before) was huge from the inside, with pillowed walls, arches of linen sheets, and tiny butterflies bursting with light, zipping from corner to corner. Pomni couldn't help but gape at the size, the beauty, all of it, and she could hear gasps from behind her. For once, Jax had nothing to say: she couldn’t tell if that was due to real surprise, or pure exhaustion.
Once she got her bearings, she spotted Kinger sitting in the center of the room, his head tilted up, pupils enlarged and eyes literally sparkling. Maybe it was dark enough, and maybe he was more here now, for lack of a better word. Present. Focused.
“Wow! This is lovely, Kinger!” Ragatha cheered, sounding genuinely, and pleasantly, surprised, “I’m really sorry I doubted you.”
“Oh, thank you.” Kinger said back, eyes turning to look back at the five of them, “It’s understandable, of course. Though I’m unsure why the butterflies are here. I hadn’t meant to spawn them in, but theres at least one in a 5 by 5 radius, which…?” He hummed thoughtfully.
Pomni relaxed further, bounding closer, and sitting quietly just to the left of him. She would think he was too deep in his thoughts to notice, if not for a careful hand giving her a pair of cozy slippers. She grinned.
“Didn’t know you were a secret architect. Do you and Caine ever go on coffee dates, cause that control freak would go crazy over this?” Jax commented lightly. He paused nearby, before sitting by Pomni again: Ragatha frowned at them and sat on Kingers other side. Two more pairs of slippers were summoned from the void and gifted to them.
“No, I’m not, and no I don’t. Though he would probably enjoy that. I’m grateful he hasn’t asked me, as I’d hate to say no.”
“Why couldn’t you say yes?” Gangle asked. Pomni startled, realizing she was wearing her tragic mask without prompting. The tears were wildly reflective from the light coming from the butterflies.
“I could never do that. Even though she wouldn’t see it the way I would, it still doesn’t feel right.” He looked lost in his head, spacey, but popped right back into place, “Anyway, I assume that once Caine completes whatever new thing he’s working on, he’ll fix this bug, so we might as well try to…I don’t know, relax for a bit.”
Pomni hummed in agreement, shoulders still a bit tense with worry. Did Caine somehow cause the lack of sleep? And if so, wasn’t that a way for him to control their minds? Or were they just that keyed up? She thought back to the latest adventure, the one that even Zooble had been in. She promptly felt the urge to smack herself: “Coffee!”
“What now?” Kinger said, turning abruptly to face Pomni.
She specified. “Coffee. Remember. In the last adventure, we had coffee, because Caine was annoyed at how sleepy we were. Maybe thats it!”
“What kind of coffee from h3ll did he give us that made everyone an insomniac.” Zooble grumbled, “Are you sure we can’t kill him?”
“Zooble!” Ragatha admonished, at the same time that Kinger shook his head. They deflated.
“Well, if your theories right, who knows how long we’ll be suffering through the effects.” They glanced around appreciatively, before laying down, eyes wide open and watching the sky. “Waiting it out it is.”
Jax huffed, glancing once more at Pomni, a careful scope which made her want to disappear. It was too scouring, too invasive, too caring for the Jax she’d gotten used to. He relaxed after a moment though, and stood, “Dibs on that dark corner!” He raced away, setting himself up farthest from everyone else that he could get.
Pomni clasped her hands, staring at the way her fingers bent at her will, the white sparkle of the gloves, and at the spindly nature of her wrists. She tried not to consider the body she was forced to inhabit, the face in the mirror that she didn’t recognize, and the jester outfit that she didn’t know what to make of. She had freaking tattles, and bells, and buttons, the whole charade. She wasn’t a jester. She wasn’t a wild card. She was just a stupid, stupid girl, who chose the worst place in the world to record a YouTube video at. She shivered, hard.
Kinger glanced over. Everyone else had made themselves comfortable, some doing some type of activity. For instance, Gangle and Zooble were drawing, and Ragatha had joined them, quietly watching with occasional questions and compliments. Kinger had summoned a notepad, but he had set it aside in favor of Pomni. She shivered again. Pomni. What a stupid name.
“Hey. You okay?” He murmured, “I know this is pretty scary.”
“Its all scary.” Pomni looked down, “Do you…never mind.” She’d love to speak her mind, to freely talk with lucid Kinger, but she was scared of the opinion of everyone who was around. Kinger’s worried eyebrows drew in tighter.
“Do I what?”
Pomni glanced around the fort, “You always seem so put together, when I see you like this. I’ve barely made a month and I’m already so tired by the circus. I don’t get how you…cope.”
Kinger paused for a moment to think: she tried not to over complicate the look on his face, “Emotions and state of being are never going to be linear. And you should give yourself more credit; you had a very hard first few weeks.”
“Still. I feel…” She paused, grasping for words. Kinger gave her an encouraging nudge.
“…You feel?” He echoed.
“Like I’m going to drown. And that it's only a matter of when.”
Kinger sucked in a sharp breath, and she felt the urge to continue, “I’m not saying…I don’t think I’ll…I’m okay. I am. But it’s so hard to keep feeling okay. With these adventures, and all, I feel so lost. Like I’m stranded at sea, with no lifeboat, no anything, just waiting for my arms to give out.”
Kinger just looked at her for a moment, so still, before softly asking, “Do you need a lifeboat?”
“Huh?”
“Do you need me to give you a lifeboat,” He smiled with his eyes, “Thats how I cope: connecting with the people around me, letting them in, and seeing how much longer we can swim together. I know its hard, that it feels insurmountable, but if we all stick together, I’ll do my best to keep you afloat.”
“You…you don't have to do that. That sounds like such a burden-“
“You would never be a burden.” Kinger tilted his head, gaze heavy, “None of you are. You’re here, and I wish to keep you floating. I don’t ever want you to drown, and thats partly why I’ll make sure I never do, too. It gives me a purpose, something to keep us moving. All of us. Already, too many of us have-“ He draw in a breath, and forcibly relaxed his shoulders.
Pomni reached for his hand, “But if I did, I’d never blame you. No one here would. None of them would, not if you were trying. And you are trying.” She looked around herself, at the place Kinger had built.
He sighed, squeezing her hand, “You don’t have to comfort me.”
“You don’t have to comfort me, either, but you're still doing it.” She squeezed his hand back.
He snorted, “Yes, you’re right. That was silly to say, and not actually what I meant to say.” He paused for a moment, going back to a more serious expression, “Caring is how I cope. I remind myself that theres all these unwilling people here, scared and lost. I can’t help them fully, I’m not a therapist, I don’t have an exist, but I have heart, and a willing ear. If even one good act from me helps someone, no matter how small, it will have been worth whatever pain I may feel. You’re so important, Pomni, and I want you to be okay, and if I can be a support, for you and everyone else, well, who cares about the rest.”
She stared, wide eyed at Kinger, before deliberately leaning herself against his side, “That's…” She didn’t know what to say, “You sound like a superhero.”
He laughed softly, carefully settling a hand on her shoulder, “I’d make an awful superhero. Did you know, years ago, we had a adventure where…….
—
Outside, Bubble was dragging a giant box of parts by her teeth, the contents so heavy that she nearly popped herself every time she moved an inch. She panted, “Where’s an army of LACKEY’s when you need them.”
Caine paused in midair, “You didn’t have to shout.” He rubbed his nonexistent ears and then glanced at the award show plans. He was running low on time, and the lack of progress was making his turn red. Red. Red. Error. Error. Wait, no, adventures, character awards. Buckle up, folks! Hollywood stage. The big lights. A horribly sleep deprived audience awaits.