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Pomni sat inside the edge of Jax’s pillow fort for the fifth night in a row, watching him sleep. Her knees were curled up under her chin, and she hugged herself. For perhaps the billion and tenth time, she replayed everything they’d talked about inside his mind. She wondered if she was in the middle of pulling him out when the others interfered.
I don’t blame them. They thought they were helping, doing the right thing. I just wish …
Pomni’s musings were interrupted by Jax stirring briefly in his sleep again. She felt her eyes getting heavy as she watched him, and eventually, she fell asleep, too.
She dreamed of Jax that night. He was sitting across from her, mirroring her posture, watching her the way she was watching him.
—-------
Upon waking the next day, Pomni found herself just outside of the tent. She wasn’t sure how she got there, but she wasn’t glitching so she felt confident Jax didn’t touch her. Or if he did, Caine had already repaired the damage.
Honestly, I’m not even afraid of him accidentally hurting me anymore. Even if Caine hadn’t returned, it was worth it from the effort of trying to pull him back from falling into abstraction completely.
Pomni sighed and got herself up off the floor. She went to find the others, correctly assuming they were eating breakfast. She put on her false bravado, facing the day looking to everyone as if she was happy, well adjusted even. At peace with the world they were building together. And she was, in a way.
Everyone is so happy. It makes me happy to see everyone collaborating on what the Circus is becoming. I just wish he could be here to see it, too.
Pomni took a seat at the table, ready to eat breakfast with the others. Ragatha smiled at her and handed her a plate of pancakes. “Not as good as Bubbles, but I think I do alright. Do you want some syrup?” Pomni nodded gratefully and began eating in silence.
She watched Gangle and Zooble, who had gotten very cozy, more cozy than they thought possible before, judging by the hearts that float out of either of their rooms on any given night. They were giggling together, touching as often as possible without seeming to even realize it.
Before Pomni could register it happening, Ragatha had an arm around her shoulder. This was becoming a habit, answering a mutual need for physical connection that Ragatha seemed to have had for a long time, but until recently had restricted herself from having.
Maybe she’s trying to comfort me. Maybe she thinks I’m sad, or lonely, or missing Jax. She wouldn’t be wrong but … I guess there’s no harm in letting her. Maybe she needs comfort, too. Everything has changed so fast around here.
Caine came walking in, one of his new habits since his return. He rarely floated anywhere anymore. It felt almost symbolic. He was no longer “above” them, but equal to them. She missed Bubble. She missed Caine’s antics. But she did not miss the pain, the torture, the endless adventures that seemed to do more harm than good. He joined them at the table, pouring himself a cup of coffee that he wouldn’t drink, and began talking animatedly with Gangle and Zooble about possible adventures for them to go on today.
Pomni realized after a moment that Ragatha was speaking to her again. “Did everything go alright last night? No glitching?” Ragatha seemed to be inspecting her for damage, but Pomni knew the real question beneath her inquiry. Are you ok? Are you going to abstract, too? “I hope it’s OK that I pulled you out last night. I didn’t want … him … for you to get hurt in your sleep.”
Pomni shrugged. “It’s OK. I don’t mind. If he does hurt me, Caine can just fix me.” Pomni looked up into Ragatha’s eyes, something she rarely did with anyone these days. “Please, don’t pull me out next time? I … prefer sleeping in there, with him. It hurts less when he’s nearby.” She hung her head again, looking at her plate as she finished eating. She had no real interest in keeping up the illusion of eating, but it seemed to bother Ragatha when she didn’t, so she kept up with appearances for her friend’s sake.
Pomni wasn’t oblivious. She knew Ragatha hoped for more between them. She also knew Ragatha was aware this wasn’t possible for Pomni. At least, not now? Pomni wasn’t sure. Maybe some day she could see Ragatha as something more than a friend, but honestly, the idea of being in a relationship with anyone felt exhausting right now. Pomni was currently devoting all of her energy to keeping up the appearance that everything was ok, when nothing was ok, and she wasn’t sure if it would ever be ok again.
Pomni stood to distract herself from the train of thought currently running through her brain. If she started crying again, Ragatha would become upset and start trying to cheer her up. She just couldn’t bear the thought of it today.
Caine excitedly clapped and the group stood, preparing to embark on the adventure everyone agreed to. Pomni rarely gave input these days. It was all the same to her. She’d go in, put on her mask, and play her part. But her heart wasn’t in it. She would see him everywhere, expect his voice, wait for his antics, and it would never come. If she could just convince herself he opted out of today’s adventure and was goofing off somewhere in the Circus, planting centipedes in Ragatha’s room or exploring new rooms looking for secrets, she could sometimes get into the adventures and have some genuine fun. Today would not be one of those days.
Pomni sighed again. Everything feels so heavy, today. When did my hat get so heavy? “Hey, Caine? Can you maybe take my hat off? It’s bothering me …” Caine looked a little concerned, but nodded and said “Sure, Pomni. How would you like your hair today?” Pomni shrugged. “Surprise me. Doesn’t matter.”
I don’t wanna go.
Pomni could feel Jax’s hug wrapped tight around her, his tears on her shoulder, the pleading in his voice. She made a choice in that moment.
“Is it ok with everybody if I stay back today? I’m not feeling up for it.”
She avoided looking at anyone’s face, knowing the concern she would see in them. “I’m fine, guys. I just want to relax today. OK?”
Zooble nudged her with an elbow. “Pomni, we’re here for you. Talk with us if you need to. Promise?”
Pomni nodded and left the group to their day. She went back to her room and went to sleep, peeking inside Jax’s fort on the way.
—-------
Time passed this way and Pomni lost track. Months, years, she wasn’t sure. Every night she would stay in the pillow fort with Jax, curled up by the entrance. Ragatha didn’t pull her out anymore. She would sometimes go on adventures, and sometimes sleep in her room during the day. Some days were better than others. She could participate in adventures, smile, get excited about things. But nights? Nights were always the hardest.
Pomni started having dreams about Jax. Most nights, they would have conversations, talking about the stupidest shit to the heaviest things he’d fought so hard to keep hidden from the world. Sometimes she would wake up happy, freer. Those were the good days where she could do things with the others and feel ok. But some days Pomni woke up with puffy eyes and a wet face. Those were the days she struggled.
Everyone had been very supportive, checking on her, taking care of her on the days when she didn’t do a good job of taking care of herself. Ragatha always made sure she ate, and included her in discussions whether she wanted to participate in them or not.
Pomni wasn’t depressed. She wasn’t sad. Pomni was numb. The only time she felt things was in her sleep. She wasn’t that concerned about it. During the day she felt incomplete, fake, like an actor on stage playing a role for someone else’s benefit. At night, she could cry and be sad, or she could be happy, or she could be angry, but she felt complete. Some nights she felt the urge to kick the pillow fort to pieces and let Jax go on a rampage, just to see it all burn. But she knew it wouldn’t be as satisfying as imagining it. Caine would snap his fingers and everything would go back to the way it was.
Well, not everything. He would still be there, but not there, himself, but not himself. He would still feel wrong. His absence would still hurt.
Except at night. At night, Pomni felt close to Jax. He still wasn’t there, but something was different. Especially when she slept. Especially when she dreamed. They’d gotten close in her dreams, and they would often hold each other, talking about what could’ve been. She knew it wasn’t real, but it felt real to her. It was the only thing that ever felt real anymore.
One day, on the couch while everyone was watching a movie together, Ragatha was holding her arm across Pomni’s shoulders like she usually did, and Pomni felt herself cuddling into Ragatha, like she did with Jax in her dreams. It wasn’t the same, but it was something, and for a moment she felt comforted.
—-------
“Pomni, are you sure?” Ragatha’s voice was simultaneously full of hope and concern.
Pomni hesitated. She knew it wasn’t fair to get Ragatha’s hopes up like this, but …
Maybe if I allow things to progress with Ragatha, I can close the door on Jax. Maybe I can find peace.
Pomni nodded, looking shyly at Ragatha, and leaning in cautiously for the kiss she knew Ragatha had been hoping for for so long. Ragatha had started to lean in more times over the years than Pomni could count, but this time she hadn’t moved away from her, and Ragatha had stopped because she knew something had changed. Pomni just wanted to try to feel … anything at all.
Pomni deepened the kiss, shoving aside the pang of guilt she felt, startling when Ragatha pulled away. It wasn’t until Ragatha reached up to wipe a tear away that Pomni realized she was crying.
“I’m sorry, Ragatha. I’m … sorry …” Pomni stood and ran out of the room, embarrassed, ashamed, retreating to her own room, and slamming the door.
Ragatha sat alone, having watched her leave, heart cracking in her chest. She felt like she was losing Pomni, and if she didn’t figure out a way to get her to stay, it wouldn’t be long before Pomni needed her own fort to stay in, next to Jax’s.
—-------
“... and she was crying. I felt awful for letting her … when I know she ... I just … I don’t know what else I can do to help her.” Ragatha sniffled. “I .. love her and … she’s drifting …”
Zooble gave her a hug. “Sometimes we do everything we can and it’s never going to be enough. I don’t know what happened when we found her hugging him, but pulling her out was harder than it should’ve been, and even though she pretended for a while to be ok, I think we all knew something changed for her in that hallway. All we can do is keep being here for her and hope she eventually comes out of whatever this is.”
Ragatha sniffled, nodding, wiping her tears away again. “What are we going to do when she abstracts?” Ragatha started crying in earnest, and Zooble pulled her into another hug. “She’s going to abstract!”
Zooble stayed silent, having no words for Ragatha.
Kinger chimed in, softly "we remember her, we love her, and we make her comfortable."
Somehow, Ragatha managed to cry even harder.
—-------
That night, Pomni sat in the fort again, like she always did. This time, however, she scooted a little closer to Jax. He didn’t seem to notice or, if he did, he didn’t seem to mind, so she curled up and stared into his multicolored eyes until she drifted off to sleep.
That night, she dreamed of Jax again. This was one of the nights he seemed more alert, more real, more … Jax.
“Hey PomPom, what’s wrong? You seem so sad tonight.” She curled up further into his arms, and mumbled into his chest. “I kissed Ragatha today.” She could feel him tense up, but she continued. “She pulled away. All the times she’s leaned in to kiss me, all the times I’ve leaned away, and today I finally go for it and … she pulled away.”
Jax cautiously asked her “Why?”
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “She wiped away tears I didn’t even know I was crying. I said I was sorry and … I ran away. I’m awful. I felt so ashamed for leading her on like that. I just wanted to … for just a minute … I needed to … I guess feel something again.”
Jax reached to wipe her tears from her cheeks in a way she imagined had to be her own brain making shit up. The real Jax would’ve never been that tender or loving.
Suddenly, before Pomni could register what was happening, Jax’s tender sweep of her tears from her cheek turned into him cupping her cheek. Slowly, Jax leaned down and kissed her so softly, she almost pulled away. This definitely wasn't real. Then, something broke, and she could hear herself crying even as she returned the kiss. Pomni clung to him, kissing him like it could bring him back, like it could make her abstract too, before they broke apart and she poured all of her tears out onto his chest. She didn't feel his tears falling on her hat, at all. "I'm so sorry, Pom. It wasn't supposed to be like this. You're not supposed to miss me. You're not supposed to love me."
All he could do was hold her as she cried, as he cried, until they both eventually cried themselves to sleep.
—-------
Pomni startled awake, immediately registering pain in half her body. She looked down, confused, and found that she was cuddling one of Jax’s appendages. His many multicolored eyes blinked back at her, and she could swear there was a sadness there she hadn’t seen before. The appendage seemed to nudge her closer to the fort entrance, reluctantly.
“Ok, ok … I get it … I’ll go now.” She turned to look at him one last time, wishing she didn't have to leave. Pomni walked out into the bright light of the Circus, which felt brighter and more painful today than usual. She stumbled into the kitchen where everyone was, hearing gasps and “Oh my God, Pomni, are you ok?” Caine snapped his fingers and everything went back to normal, the physical pain vanishing. Pomni wordlessly turned to leave, going to her room.
After a while, Pomni woke to hear knocking on her door. She didn’t want to answer it, but she also knew she needed to talk with Ragatha and apologize. So, Pomni reluctantly got up and went to the door. She invited Ragatha in without words, and they sat next to each other on Pomni’s bed.
Pomni took a deep breath before jumping right in. “Ragatha, I’m so sorry. I was being selfish, and you don’t deserve that. You’ve been nothing but caring, and loving, and supportive and …”
Ragatha put a finger to Pomni’s lips, silencing her. “It’s ok, Pomni. I know I’m not … him … but if you need that comfort, if you need closeness … even if it’s not me you want … I’ll …”
Ragtha was cut off by a tight hug from Pomni. She quietly began to rub circles on Pomni’s back, shushing her as she cried. Between her sobs, Pomni tried to get words out. “I … he … I don’t understand what’s happening to me … I have these dreams, and they feel so real … it’s like he’s right there with me … we talk … he holds me … he even kissed me … it hurts so much …"
Pomni can’t continue. All of the feelings and emotions she’s been numb to during the daytime finally come pouring out of her and onto Ragatha’s soft chest. Pomni is sure she is breaking Ragatha’s heart more with every word that tumbles out of her, but she can’t help it anymore. Ragatha offered, and Pomni accepted, and even though it was hurting them both, it had become impossible to stop resisting this feeling, this need to connect with someone real.
Pomni found herself reaching up and kissing Ragatha again. This time, having already poured her soul out through her eyes, there were no tears. Only determination. “Are you sure, Pomni?” Pomni nodded and kissed Ragatha again, putting her hands shyly on Ragatha’s waist and back, pulling her close.
I'm so sorry, Ragatha. I'm a terrible person. I never wanted to hurt you.
Pomni shoved every single thought away and focused on the feel of Ragatha's doll-like body, the feel of her lips on hers, the rapid beating of her own heart as it tried to exist in something other than heartache.
For a few brief, precious moments, Pomni allowed herself to forget. To be here, now, with someone real, who could touch her without causing her to glitch out in pain and … she felt relief. She felt immense guilt, but she also felt relief. She felt alive for the first time in years.
—-------
Gangle came looking for Ragatha and Pomni, and quickly turned around and left as she saw the tell tale hearts coming from Pomni’s door. They didn’t seem the same as the ones she’d been told come from her and Zooble’s rooms when they were together. It was hard to say, because she didn’t focus on them too hard, but she felt they might’ve had little cracks throughout them.
—-------
That night, Pomni slept in her own bed, with Ragatha curled up beside her. Her heart was heavy, and she felt like a terrible person, but she shoved it far away and ignored it. She was feeling something instead of the endless nothing she’d been feeling. That had to be worth something, right?
—-------
When everyone came out in the morning, they found the pillow fort had been destroyed, and the surrounding area had been ransacked. They didn’t know where Jax had disappeared to at first, but he was eventually found huddled in a dark room, alone. Caine snapped and set everything right, eventually leading Jax back into his reconstructed home.
Pomni watched from the balcony and sadly turned away. No one else would know what happened, but she did. She hadn’t been there last night, and somehow, he’d felt her absence. He’d gone looking for her.
Everyone gathered for breakfast and Gangle nervously tried to distract everyone from the obvious concern - in the last several years, Jax had never rampaged. Was he becoming less stable, less safe? Would he have to join the others? The unspoken concern was exchanged between Gangle and Zooble. What will happen to Pomni if we banish Jax to the cellar?
Ragatha ate and studied Pomni. “You seem to be in a better mood this morning. Did you sleep well?”
Pomni smiled, something no one at this table had seen in a very long time. “Yes, I did, thank you.” She blushed. “It felt nice to be in my bed again, curled up with you.” Something in her words felt wrong to Ragatha, and she tried to brush the feeling away.
Zooble and Gangle exchanged worried looks. Kinger just hummed, looking from face to face as if he could fix the problem if he just willed it hard enough.
They all discuss today’s adventure with less enthusiasm than usual, but Pomni actually participated, smiling and laughing and seemingly having a great time. For a time, Ragatha had hope that maybe she could save Pomni, if she could just let herself break her own heart a little bit.
When they returned to the Circus, everyone ate, and laughed, and talked about their favorite parts of the adventure.
Pomni looked very much like she used to. Ragatha still can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong.
—-------
Pomni enters the fort, and reclaims her usual spot. After a while, she scoots closer to Jax than she’s ever dared to go since she last hugged him in the dark hallway after he’d abstracted. He reaches out toward her, getting as close as he can without touching her. Pomni smiles at him, a single tear running down her cheek. She lies down and allows herself to fall asleep.
Tonight, dream Jax is moody. “You weren’t there. I was afraid you were gone forever. I went looking for you, but … I think I did bad things. I hope I didn’t hurt anyone.”
Pomni studies Jax. “Sometimes it feels like you’re really talking to me. Like this isn’t all just a dream in my head, trying to make me feel better about losing you.”
Jax looks at her, kind of hurt. “It is real, Pomni. I’m here, talking to you, right now.”
Pomni starts to feel angry. She lashes out. “You’re NOT real. You’re a figment of my imagination. Ragatha is real. What we shared last night was real. This …" she gestured around them “this is NOT REAL. You’re not here, Jax! You’re gone!” She started crying. “You left me all alone.”
Jax has a look of disgust on his face. “You slept with Ragatha? Please tell me you’re making that up. I thought we …” he hung his head. “I guess not. How can we have anything real, when I’m … and you’re …” Jax turned away from Pomni, and she was sure she could hear him crying.
After a moment or two, Jax swallowed his feelings and spoke. “I’ll prove it to you. Ask Ragatha about the kiss. She won’t want to talk about it. I made her promise not to, and even though she kept her promise, I pushed her away. Just like I pushed away Ribbit, and Kaufmo, and … you. How can I know about the kiss, if I’m just a figment of your imagination?”
Pomni sniffled and walked back over to Jax, pulling his arm around her and sinking to the floor to cuddle with him. “I’m not making it up. Ragatha stayed the night with me. She offered comfort, she said even if she wasn’t you, and I couldn’t stop wanting to be with you, she was there for me. So I took her up on it. And I felt alive again for the first time since you left. I’ve been numb for so long … but underneath that, it makes me feel sick that I've used her kindness this way.”
Pomni looked up at Jax. “If I ask her tomorrow, and she tells me about what you told me to ask … it means you’re real. What do I do with that? How do I go on living in a world that you’re not in, knowing you’re trapped in here, alone?”
Jax didn’t know what to say, but eventually, he said “If being with Ragatha gives you peace without me, then I think you should do it. Be with her. Feel alive. Forget about me. Don’t come back here anymore. I won’t go looking for you. The Circus will stay safe.”
Pomni’s heart broke all over again, and she cried herself to sleep in his arms.
Jax looked at her for a long time, watching her sleep, wishing he hadn't gone and gotten himself abstracted. I can't keep spending time with her like this. I'm killing her. I love her. I ... it's the right thing to do. I have to let her go. Let her be with Ragatha, if that's what makes her happy.
Jax's fists were balled up so hard it hurt. Why does it have to be like this? She's so fucking stubborn. She deserves better than this. Than me.
Jax didn't sleep that night. He watched her, believing she would listen. Believing this was the last time she'd visit him here. Believing he would never get to hold her again. His heart was shattered.
Better me than her.
—-------
Pomni woke up outside of the fort, half her body glitching in agony again. It was worse than last time. She knew no one had pulled her out today. She knew Jax had pushed her away again, and somehow, that pain felt more real than anything she was feeling in her body right now.
Pomni didn’t even bother going to the kitchen to find everyone this time. She called out weakly for Caine, and he appeared. He looked stunned but didn’t comment, snapped his fingers instead, and her pain vanished. Well, the physical pain vanished. Her heart still hurt. Pomni didn't bother getting up off the floor before she spoke. “Caine? Can I ask you something?”
Caine nodded, “Of course, Pomni. Ask me anything.” He lay down on the floor next to her, on his side, looking her in the eyes. He didn't understand why she was doing this, but he knew getting on her level felt right. Pomni would laugh if she weren't hurting so much.
She looked him square in the eyes and said “Please, tell me the truth. Is he really still in there? Or is he just a mindless shell now?”
Caine sighed heavily. “I’m honestly not sure. I tried to fix Scratch when he abstracted but nothing I tried worked. I come back to look at it from time to time but I’ve never made very much progress. Why? … What do you think? Do you think he's still in there?”
Pomni shrugged. “I don’t know, but today is the day I find out.”
She stood up slowly and walked away from Caine resolutely, on a mission. When she found Ragatha, the others left them alone. Ragatha leaned in to give her a kiss, and Pomni started to lean in, but then she moved away. She couldn’t look Ragatha in the eyes. The shame and guilt were overwhelming, but she had to know.
“Jax mentioned a kiss … a kiss you weren’t supposed to talk about?” Her voice wavered, breaking on the last word.
Ragatha made a sound, Pomni wasn’t sure what it meant. “How did you … yes. He did kiss me, once. I tried to comfort him but … he told me never to mention it again. Pretend it never happened. He made me promise. I thought that would be enough but … he pushed me away after that. Things between us were never the same again … how did you know about that? I've never told anyone. How, Pomni?”
Pomni looked up at Ragatha slowly, her eyes wet, but no tears were falling. “Ragatha, please understand something. I love you, but I can’t love you the way you want me to. I’m sorry for hurting you, for taking advantage. I shouldn’t have done that. Whatever happens … please … just know, I never wanted to hurt you. I do love you, very much. I just can’t be in love with you.”
Pomni turned and ran away, unable to comfort Ragatha as she heard her crying, and retreated to her room. She found paper, and a pen, and she wrote a short letter to everyone outlining her suspicions about abstraction, about Jax still being somewhere in there. She wrote about what she planned to do. There was a finality to it, but there was no sense of relief. Just ... finally letting go of a pretense of living in a world she had stopped living in a long time ago.
She wrote the final line as tears dropped onto the page “Don’t pull me out this time.” and signed it “Love always, Pomni.”
She left the letter on her pillow and exited her room, leaving her door cracked so someone would be curious enough to look.
—-------
Pomni stood outside of Jax’s fort, taking a deep breath before entering. She’d spent the day thinking about what she’d do when she went inside tonight, and she still didn’t have a plan. All she knew was she couldn’t fight this anymore. The time had come.
Pomni entered the fort.
Jax stirred, looking over at her, and then visibly turning and pulling away from her, as far away as the fort would allow. Pomni walked up to him, without caution, without fear, and she sat herself on the ground next to him, scooting over, until as much of her body as possible was touching his. She leaned her head into him, and closed her eyes. The pain engulfed her quickly, and it was nearly enough to make her scream, until everything blissfully went dark.
----------
When her eyes opened again, Pomni knew she wasn’t asleep this time. She knew that Jax, standing in front of her, was the real Jax. “I asked Ragatha about the kiss.”
Jax didn’t need to ask what Ragatha said. The fact that Pomni was here, now, like this, was all the answer he needed. He asked anyway. “What happened?”
Pomni shook her head, laughing. “Jax, I’m so sorry. I thought you were a dream all this time. I never … would’ve … I’m sorry.” He moved over, leaning down to hug her, eventually pulling her down onto the ground with him sitting and her on his lap. He held her like this for a long time before he spoke again.
“You’re not leaving this time, are you.” It was a statement more than a question. He already knew the answer. He just needed to hear it from her.
Pomni answered “No, Jax, I’m not.”
He held her tighter, his heart soaring, but also shattering in his chest, and he kissed the top of her head. “I’m so sorry I got us into this mess.”
Pomni grinned up at him. “I don’t care where we are. All I care about is you.” She leaned over and kissed him briefly, pulling away shyly before he leaned in and kissed her himself.
Jax gently eased her to the ground, and followed her there, holding most of his weight off of her as he finally did what he'd thought of doing every night since she started visiting him. Pomni, blissfully, encouraged him. In his arms, she felt alive again, finally happy, and loved.
—-------
Zooble, Gangle, and Ragatha stood outside of the fort, unsure of what to do. Zooble held the note, crumpled in their hand. Gangle was sniffling tears through her comedy mask. Ragatha stood holding herself in a hug with her arms. “What are we going to do?”
Zooble shook their head. “She told us not to pull her out. So we honor that. It sucks, but it’s what she wanted.”
“Are we going to hold a funeral for her?” Gangle’s tears started falling harder.
Zooble shook their head again. “If what she wrote in this note is true, she’s not gone and neither is he. A funeral doesn’t feel … right.”
Kinger walked up behind them, putting his hands on Ragatha and Gangle. He spoke thoughtfully. "Funerals are for the people left behind, anyway. If she doesn't think she's really gone, I agree. No funeral."
Caine watched this from the balcony, pondering. “Maybe it’s time to take another look at abstraction.”
—-------
Epilogue:
It had been years since Pomni chose to join Jax in his fort, and she’d only been spotted once since then, when the two of them were found frolicking around outside the aquarium built for the other abstractions. It was hard to tell who was who, but Ragatha liked to imagine it was Pomni chasing after Jax. They both seemed … happy.
It hurt, but Ragatha had learned long ago to let go of Pomni and she had found her peace alone. Caine had been allowing them to design their own NPCs and Ragatha was toying with the idea of maybe creating a companion. It got lonely watching Gangle and Zooble, and Kinger was more like a father figure to them. Caine … nope. She would never see Caine like that. I just don't want to feel so alone anymore.
She wandered over to the fort, and looked at it. She thought about going inside many times, but it felt like an intrusion and she wasn’t sure Jax would be so tolerant of her as he’d been with Pomni’s visits. Still, something felt … different today.
Ragatha thought she heard hushed, confused voices coming from inside. Surely not. How …
After a moment of hesitation, Ragatha entered the fort, just a little, and could not believe what she saw.
“Pomni?! Jax?! How … what …!”
She ran out of the fort, screaming at the top of her lungs for Caine, or anybody. Caine popped into the room as the others came running. Ragatha pointed to the fort, frantically. “They’re in there! I saw them! They’re really in there!”
Everyone exchanged looks, wondering if Ragatha had finally snapped, but it wasn't like this for long. Everyone’s heads turned to the entrance of the fort as Pomni and Jax exited together, looking confused, and holding hands.
Pomni spoke. "Guys? What ..."