Chapter Text
“I gotta give you credit, Caine, you really pulled out all the stops on this farm adventure!" Ragatha chirped as she walked down the hall to her room with the Ringmaster AI floating on her left hand side. His eyes were as bright as ever, his mood seemed joyful, which put the moving rag doll at ease.
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it, my chaotic cappuccino!" Caine chirped.
"The suggestion box proved to be useful after all. I hope you didn't mind my little twist on it!"
"Oh, no, no, no!" Ragatha reassured him, maybe slightly too quickly.
"It made it quite exciting! A-admittedly, the living scarecrows chasing us through the cornfield kinda scared me a little bit, but it was the fun kinda scared, y'know?" She added, with a light giggle, which made Caine laugh in turn.
He spun his cane and soared a little further, overtaking her just slightly, but she was still by his side.
"Is Jax still...." Ragatha started tentatively, then trailed off, only to feel Caine placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't you worry, Ragatha! Now he's back in the circus, Jax is doing just fine! Just ask Zooble! I can hear the both of them bickering in the common area from here!" Caine declared, a little too happily. He glanced at each door, allowing his mind to wander, only to feel something *thunk* into his side, just above his hip.
"Ouch!" He yelped.
Looking at what he had collided with, he saw it was a doorknob that belonged to Scratch's previous room. Even when he was not around, he made an impact. Literally!
"Caine, are you ok?" Ragatha asked, worried. She darted forward, her skirt swinging with each step, as Caine rubbed his probably bruised hip.
"I'm alright!" He chirped, though Ragatha could still hear a slight wince.
"I just didn't expect to walk into that doorknob. Usually I'm more aware of things like that! Haha!" He glanced down at the doorknob, unaware he was still facing the door.
"Caine, you're talking to a wall. I'm over here!" Ragatha chastised gently, cupping his shoulder and spinning him around to face her.
Caine's eyes widened in surprise, though the whites of his eyes looked a little red.
"Ah yes, so you are!!" Caine declared.
"Caine...are you feeling alright?" Ragatha asked with a concerned frown. She knew the ringmaster was a little kooky -everyone did!- but the way he was acting...safe to say it didn't seem like Caine was completely himself.
The doll of the circus couldn't help but feel something deep inside her. Something maternal, an alien feeling as far as those around her were concerned, especially her witch of a mother. She felt the same way as she did when Pomni arrived, but instead of towards another human, it was the one who ran the show. The digital mind behind the wonders. The one....who really looked like he was listing to the side right now!!
Without even thinking, Ragatha raced forward like a rocket, her arms out just as Caine collapsed from where he had previously been hovering.
His eyes glitched; blue and green, blue and red, blue screen, static, test cards, then back to a hazy blue and green. His gaze looked unfocused. It worried her immensely.
Though she was just filled with stuffing and had no organs to speak of, her 'heart' clenched as she cradled Caine who seemed more like a helpless kitten than a powerful ringmaster now.
One arm hung limp while the other was laid across his waist. His legs dangled uselessly, and even the shine that seemed to be on his clothing was a lot more dull. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. All he could do was gaze up at Ragatha's face with those big, glazed over eyes. At least his pupils dilated, registering her as someone safe.
"Oh boy..." Ragatha sighed, as she turned around and started to walk down the hallway towards the entry of the tent's main area, scanning doors as she went.
"Don't worry, Caine, I've got you. We're gonna find Kinger, ok? You're gonna be fine" she reassured him.
At this point she was unsure if the reassurance really was to keep Caine calm or to reassure herself that he was going to be ok.
Either way, she kept walking, carrying poor Caine in a bridal style hold.
Kinger would know what to do. He worked with computers before, right? That's what Pomni had said anyways. Plus the butterfly he'd made before led her to believe he knew more than he was letting on.
So she walked on, headed straight to Kinger's colourful pillow fort.
Even if Kinger wasn't sure what to do, at least Caine would be somewhere away from the others.