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After so many adventures, Pomni could collapse. They went through the suggestion box, and while a lot of them were fine, doing so many things in such a short time could make anyone tired. Even Caine himself looked a bit sleepy near the end.
The onslaught of adventures had come to a stop, and everyone was now sitting in a bar-like area, drinking and sharing stories of one another's past lives. Even with her digital body, the alcohol still tasted sour and brass. She had never been much of a drinker, but ever since coming to the circus, she had found herself wishing for a bottle of wine and two shots of vodka.
Something to take the edge off at the very least.
“Well, I’m just soooo tired, so I think I’ll head on back. Hopefully, ya’ll kept your doors locked! Oh wait. I have a key, guess you’ll have to get there before me!” Jax said, going through a portal in the wall, Zooble running after him, and the others following in suit.
Pomni, on the other hand, was still sitting at the bar, circling her drink as she stared off into the distance.
It was nice like this.
Quiet wasn’t something she got often anymore. When she was still human, she found herself exploring abandoned buildings, graveyards, or putting on soundproof headphones to enjoy that silence.
In the circus though?
Might as well be a dream.
The last time she had been quiet was in the void, and even then, she could still faintly hear music in her ears.
In the bar, it still wasn’t silent, but it was much quieter than the circus. Having so many personalities in one place didn’t help it at all.
Alone time was much needed.
“Oh. Are you staying late too?”
Nevermind.
Pomni sighed, looking at the source of the noise, seeing fabric and a familiar button eye. “Yeah. It’s a lot quieter here than.. Practically anywhere else in this world. Why are you here?”
She twisted her stringed hair between her fingers, “Similar reason. I wanted to be away from Jax for a bit. Although he is probably going to put centipedes in my room again.”
Pomni took a sip of the icy cold alcohol and relaxed in her chair.
Ragatha looked down at the floor solemnly, “If you want complete silence, I can leave. If you’d like.”
She shook her head, “No, it’s okay, I was gonna head back soon anyway. You can sit, there are plenty of chairs.”
Not missing a beat, she immediately found herself sitting just one seat away from the other.
Silence was bestowed upon them. Almost to an uncomfortable degree.
“So. Uhm. You said you used to explore buildings, that’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah. Nothing too exciting, it was mainly just to get some type of thrill in my life. You didn’t say much. What did you do?”
She paused for a moment, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
“I lived on a farm. Right before entering the circus, I finally got a job other than working on the farm, helping people get homes and such. I really wanted to move out but.. I never really got the chance.”
An uncomfortable laugh escaped her throat.
“I know a bit embarrassing, 30 year old still living with my parents. My mom always wanted me to leave, but anytime I tried, she would get upset and say I needed to be there to help with chores, so it delayed my ability to move out.”
“Was your mom a little controlling? I had a similar problem with my brother. He always wanted me to stay home.” Pomni replied with a smile.
Ragatha smiled back for a second before looking into a corner of the room.
“Well, I guess you could say that. She was well. A lot. She never really cared for me much.”
The jester perked up a bit, staring at her intently.
“She had a habit of gaslighting, screaming, and overworking me. Leaving me with my brothers and sisters when I was still a child myself. She even tried- oh sorry. I’m rambling. What I mean is she was just a lot and everything-”
Pomni stopped Ragatha in her tracks, “If you want to talk about anything, you can always tell me. I’m always here to listen if something is bothering you.”
Two beats of silence went by.
“It’s nothing really. I shouldn’t be talking about personal things; it will just bring the mood down.”
Red and blue eyes stared into hers. “I’m here to listen, Ragatha. I don’t care whether it’s personal or not, if you have something you need to get off your chest, you can tell me.”
“I- It’s just… She was sorta.. Violent..? She always threatened me when I would tell her she was wrong. And.. All I ever did was try to make her happy, and yet she was never satisfied. It was a lot for a younger me.”
“What do you mean by threaten?”
“Well, she would hit me every once in a while. Se threatened to kill my siblings, to kill me, even to kill my dad. I knew she would never do that, but I didn’t know that at the time.”
The air was thick, and it was dead silent.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
She looked away so Pomni couldn’t see her face.
Soon, liquid tears began running down her face, soaking into her plush fabric. “All I ever did was for her. I even sold my horses so she could pay the bills, and yet all she did was yell and hurt me.”
Pomni moved to a seat now sitting directly in front of her. Wrapping her arms around the other's waist and pulling tight.
She always suspected Ragatha had some type of trauma. No normal person was ever so afraid of disapproval. Scared of saying the wrong thing. It wasn’t fair for someone clearly having enough on their plate to go through a game like this.
She didn’t know how long they sat there listening to silence broken apart by quiet sobs. But she wasn’t counting. It didn’t truly matter to her how long they were going to sit there, as long as Ragatha was crying, she was meant ot be by her side.
Pomni wasn’t one to leave someone who needed help; she did that once to Ragatha at the very beginning of all this, and she wasn’t going to let her down this time. Never again.
Soon the sobs began to quiet down, her face still in the crook of Pomni’s neck as the jester ran her hand along Ragatha’s back. When her head came up, clear lines of tears were down her face, but despite it, a smile tugged at her lips.
She whispered a small “Thank you.”
And the other looked deep into her eye.
They were face-to-face, only about an inch away from one another.
If they were any closer, they would be touching.
Pomni could just-
“Oh! There you are, my little superstars, hope I’m not interrupting anything! While I’m glad you like what I created for you, I can only keep so many areas open at one time. I’ll open it for you guys another time. Lay low on the alcohol though, hah!!”
Ragatha immediately backed away and hopped out of her chair, “Hah- yea…Nice to see you, Caine ahhaa..” Her face was a bright pinkish red.
“SeeyoulaterPomnithanksforeveryhtingimcompletelyfinehhaHAHAH!” Her words and body went about the same speed as she ran through the portal Caine had made.
She sat in her chair, a bit shell-shocked.
Her heart was racing for whatever reason, and sweat was on her face.
“Well, she was certainly in a hurry. Better catch up Pompom!”
What the hell just happened?