Chapter Text
Rags trudged down the over saturated hallway, relief washing over her as she reached her room and slipped inside, the door shutting behind her with a small click.
Once the door was safely closed, blocking Rags off from the rest of the circus members, her smirk dropped to an irritated scowl. The doll managed her way over to her bed, flopping down on the covers with a huff.
She stared at the flipped pictures on the wall for a little before rolling over so she faced away from them. She was too tired to be thinking about them right now. Rags’s eye narrowed, glaring daggers into the space of the room around her. “Stupid Gangle. Why’d she have to bring up that?” Rags muttered.
Oh well. At least she’d gotten back at Ribbons by hanging out with Jax. Gangle was so desperate to be friends with him that Rags couldn’t help “befriending” him just to piss her off. And it had worked perfectly. The look on her tragedy mask had been priceless.
Spending time with the rabbit hadn’t been completely terrible either. He was fun enough to mess with and his easiness to scare only made him better. Although his obsession with the senile jester was odd. Why did Jax like the nutcase so much anyway? She was clearly out of her mind.
And Pom was annoying, always getting in Rags’s business. Rags couldn’t help but wonder why the people around her all sucked. Was she really the only normal one here?
And of course Zooble had to go and make things even worse. Rags could already feel the red flush covering her face at the thought of that stupid maid dress. They’d just had to put her in the dress. Rags’s mittens clenched into fists. God, she hated that dress. It was downright humiliating. Probably Gangle’s idea. Triangle-head would do anything to get a laugh from her.
She stood quickly, stomping over to her mirror and giving it a hard kick, hoping that would relieve some of her anger. It didn't.
She turned to go back to her bed but her reflection caught the corner of her eye. She spun back to the now slightly ajar mirror.
From within the glass, Rags’s reflection glared back at her. She took in the angry flush on her fabric cheeks and the mess that was her hair… or yarn. The bows which kept her pigtails must’ve fallen out at some point during the adventure.
At the sight of the tangled and staticky yarn, her glower shifted into something melancholic.
As much as she wanted to just dissociate from reality, she couldn’t shove down the memory her reflection stirred.
“Oh Aggie, you should really take better care of your hair,” Ribbit tsked, reaching up to gently pat Rags’s head. The doll flinched away in response.
The motion earned a slight frown from Ribbit. “I know you’re not used to this place yet, but I promise it gets easier once you accept it.” She reached again, more slowly this time, making sure Rags could see their hand on its way up.
The amphibian rested her hand on the other girl’s head, re-rolling one strand of yarn which had begun to unravel.
“How about this,” Ribbit started again, her resolve unwavering. “You don’t have to do anything, you’re probably not comfortable with your avatar yet but can you at least let me fix your hair?”
Rags groaned. “Fineeeee,” the ragdoll agreed, albeit a little begrudgingly.
The frog gave an excited grin, grabbing Rags by the arm and pulling her to their room. One inside, she grabbed a woven basket from her vanity, plopping down on the bed and gesturing for Rags to sit in front of her.
The doll complied, settling on the lillypad carpet beneath her.
“Alright Aggie! What’re we thinking?” Ribbit asked enthusiastically. “If you ask me, we should ditch the bob. You’re just gonna let your yarn get out of control all over again if you keep it. Plus bobs are out of date anyway.”
Rags felt a soft warmness creep onto her face as the frog played with her hair. She ignored the feeling, responding with a simple, “whatever. Surprise me.”
As Rags finished pulling her yarn back up into their proper pigtails, the memory replayed in her mind. The frog had been so proud of her work, bragging to the other members about how she’d “befriended the circus recluse.”
Rags felt tears beginning to well up and she quickly wiped them away, dampening the fabric on the back of her woven hand. Then for good measure, she ran her other palm over her button eye, although she knew it never leaked tears.
Rags forced out a laugh, which came out cracked and horse. She wasn’t supposed to cry, she was supposed to be strong.
Rags considered going to bother Zooble. It’d be funny, and especially deserved after the whole thing with the maid outfit. However, then a better idea crossed her mind. Gangle.
After all, Gangle was the one who had brought up Ribbit. Even if she tried to save it afterwards with her whole apology. Rags scoffed. She was probably just pretending to be sorry to make Jax like her more.
“When in reality, you just f*** everything up for everyone else!” Rags grit her teeth. Since when did Gangle grow a spine? She was supposed to be cheerful, not honest. In part, Rags felt relieved as she had complained many times about Gangle’s fakeness. On the other hand, Ribbons talking to her like that really p***ed her off.
Revenge. That’s what she needed to make it better. She’d teach Gangle a much needed lesson. The only question was how? It needed to be significant, something more than just hanging around Jax like she had earlier.
Shatter her mask? Nah, it’d already broken earlier in the adventure and even if Caine had fixed it by now, it was nothing new. Tie her ribbons into knots and lock her in a room? Maybe but it still just didn’t feel like enough. She’d probably just call for help and then the other’s would spend all day pestering Rags about it.
Despite all her pondering, Rags’s mind was devoid of ideas. Of well. She’d just have to settle for using every opportunity to taunt, shove, and attack the cheery bundle of mask and ribbon. Maybe then Gangle would feel as miserable as she did, instead of wearing her stupid, blatantly forced smile. Still Rags couldn’t help the irritation that bubbled up at her inability to think of something better.
Despite her fatigue from the previous day, Rags was too tired of laying wrapped up in her thoughts. She turned from the mirror, deciding to go bother the others.