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The glitching that had once spread across Pomni’s body had hurt. Badly. But it didn’t compare to the ache that had settled deeply in her heart.
For the past couple weeks, She’d been trying to ignore that ache. She’s filled her days with distractions; An evening at Zoobles new bar, doodling with Gangle in her art studio, indulging in meaningless conversations with Ragatha. It was never enough. While in the moment, it would help, once the interaction was over, the loneliness would strike back ten times harder. It often left Pomni immobilized in her bed at night. Quiet, warm tears streaming down her cheeks.
This is in the situation Pomni is in now. Her body is curled around herself, hugging tightly in an attempt to self-soothe. It isn’t working. Frustrated, Pomni sits up. She isn’t going to continue this cycle.
This cycle of remorse and grief. It would be the end of her if she continues down this path. Her fate was in her hands.
Oh but who was she kidding? She had been a mess since Jax abstracted. The semblance of normality she’d found in the circus was gone. His… death has taken a toll on her. Seeing the crossed out face on the door across from her, the empty couch, the lack of sarcastic quips on adventures. It’s getting to her.
And sitting here, in the dark of her room isn’t helping either. With a sigh, Pomni boosts herself from the warm bed and makes her way to her door. She stops her hand on the handle. The cool metal is soothing against the warmth radiating from her palm. She feels her heart beat quicken, the twisting in her stomach becomes more violent.
She doesn’t want to see his face again. Can’t. The bright red X that covers his face is a sick reminder of what her fate will be if she doesn’t figure herself out. She takes a deep breath and fixes her eyes on the ground, opening the door.
The hall is dark, the only noise that breaks the silence of night is her soft footsteps on the plush carpet. Her heart rate slows to a normal pace as she turns the hall. His door is now out of sight.
The circus is quiet. Through one of the windows she can see the Moon. She casts a blue glow on the world. Her mouth is moving with words Pomni can’t hear. Caine must be awake talking to her. Pomni’s heart aches for that kind of connection. To have someone to sit and talk about anything.
While the others are fun to hang out with, Pomni can’t help but feel guarded around them. Or excluded. Zooble and Gangle had each other, Ragatha was so sweet, it became too much. Pomni appreciates their presence of course, but she missed the realism she found within Jax.
While he used to preach them being cartoon characters, Pomni found him the most realistic ‘character’ out of their group. While he was mean, and rude, and performative, he had deeper parts to him. Pomni had been able to reach those parts. And now that she knew what he was truly like under all the deflecting and insecurities, she wants more. She wants to see his good side, who he was. Who he is.
The pillow castle comes into view and Pomni nervously starts wringing her hands together. She’s come to visit Jax countless times, she doesn’t know why tonight is making her hesitant. Was it the accumulation of grief and guilt?
Pomni blames herself for his abstraction. She’s never told anyone this. Ragatha can tell something is eating away at Pomni but she never pries. While Pomni appreciates her for respecting her boundaries, she also wishes she would push, just a little bit. Pomni knows herself, and she probably would fold and open up under a little more pressure. But Ragatha doesn’t, so Pomni remains dwelling in her self pitying state of mind.
Was it the underlying secret she has yet to even acknowledge herself?
Maybe it was time to acknowledge it. Time to accept the fact that the thought of him causes her heart to quicken, her mind to race. The grief she feels at his abstraction is greater than what it would be for any of the other circus members. The buzzy feeling she had gotten whenever their shoulders or hands would brush on adventures. When their gazes lingered a little too long on one another. It felt electric.
Pomni doesn’t know. There’s a high chance she’ll never know.
Jax’s abstracted body couldn’t respond to her. The only form of communication she figured out worked was watching his slow, blinking eyes. They tended to carry a lot of emotions behind them. No one else really seemed to notice besides Pomni.
Pomni stops in front of the tent. A daunting darkness lies in front of her. She hasn’t visited Jax at night before. Normally, she’d be returning from an adventure, promptly coming his way to talk about the troubles they’d had with it, or the fun parts.
Pomni has no idea what she’s going to talk about tonight.
How she can’t sleep? How much she misses him?
No. That’s cringe.
Taking one last breath, Pomni steps into the tent. It takes her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. It envelops her. Her gaze flicks back and forth, trying her best to locate Jax’s glowing eyes. She sees nothing. Biting her lip, she walks deeper into the tent.
“...Jax?” She whispers There’s no response from her friend.
“Jax?” Her voice is a little clearer. An array of hypnotic colors is suddenly presented all around her, or at least it feels that way. Jax’s large, undulating body appears in front of her, his glowing eyes illuminate the room. They blink slow and sleepy.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” He just peers down at her.
…
Suddenly he turns from her and circles around himself, curling down onto the ground. He lifts his head, watching her every move closely. Pomni’s throat tightens. He looks so feeble, and small. And pretty. She blushes.
Clearing her throat, Pomni grabs one of the pillows that had been thrown into the tent haphazardly. She brings it over to where Jax is curled up and sits in front of him. His eyes glow soothingly at her. She wraps her arms around her legs and sighs, pressing a cheek to her knee thoughtfully. The two of them sit in a comfortable silence.
The colors emanating from him light up the room in psychedelic strobes. She watches his lights. As time goes on, the speed of her heart increases. Her palms begin to sweat.
She clears her throat and sucks in a swift breath. “I’m going to just start talking okay? If you don’t want to hear what I’m saying just… Close all your eyes or something. That’ll shut me up.” She glances up at him. Tens of eyes peer back, laser focused on her. It’s a little daunting.
“Jax- I- Gosh this is so weird, I don’t know why I’m getting so choked up.” Pomni clears her throat and starts over.
“These past couple weeks, without you being here, have been hard. Harder than I would have expected. I mean- I knew it would hurt, just not this… badly. It’s been… lonely.” She clenches her fists, nails digging into her palm. She breathes out slowly and eases her fingers. Little white crescents are pressed into her skin from her nails.
“While everyone else is kind, and they’re there for me, it doesn’t feel like they understand. And I can understand that… I mean, you were awful to all of them, you know that. And because of that, they don’t really understand my grief. They don’t understand how I can miss you this much. Hell, I don’t even understand it.”
He blinks at her, watching her quietly. Her fingers start fiddling with her hair absentmindedly.
She lowers her voice an octave, almost like she’s only speaking to herself “I wish I had followed you that day. You came to ask for help, didn't you? I could have reached out. I should have. And then again when I… first saw you, abstracted… I should have held on tighter.” Her voice breaks. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Zooble didn’t pull me out. Maybe I would have been able to save you.”
…
“I wish I had been enough to save you. “
Tears begin forming in the corner of Pomni’s eyes. She doesn’t attempt to wipe them away. The liquid grief quickly overflows from her eyes and she buries her face in her arms. Her shoulders shake as she quells the sobs that itch to rise from her throat. There’s a soft shifting in the space in front of her. Sniffing, she raises her head.
Her vision is blurry because of the tears, it takes her a moment to register how close Jax’s dark form has gotten to her. Pomni can feel a slight warmth radiating from his body, like a lightbulb that’s been on for too long.
His eyes dart back and forth across her face, worried. Hesitantly, he moves closer still. Pomni instinctively leans away from him. The two hadn’t touched since their initial separation the day Jax abstracted. The pain that had wracked Pomni’s body from the glitching was something Pomni preferred to never experience again. Jax’s form deflates slightly and her heart aches.
Maybe she should try again. Which pain was worse? The physical torment; the feeling of chunks of her body being misplaced and then searing back together? Or the cold, aching, dripping loneliness she felt within her. It consumed her, rotted her from the inside out. Can Pomni really put up with it for much longer?
Would she be able to see him again?
Pomni sucks in a sharp breath and makes up her mind. She isn’t going to sit idly in her depression. She’s going to do something about it, for her. She’s going to stop factoring in the rest of her friends in the circus and finally, start doing what she needs for herself.
If she abstracts, at least she won’t have to put up with this deep rooted sadness anymore. And if she doesn’t… who knows? She’s just going to have to see what happens.
Before Jax even really realizes what Pomni’s doing, she throws herself at the dark mass. Light envelops her. Her stomach drops as a wave of complete regret washes over her. It’s too late to go back. Her body begins burning. Hot, stinging, pain pushes itself through her veins. She thinks she’s screaming but she can’t really tell, her ears don’t seem to pick up any sound besides the thunderous beats emanating from her heart. It hurts, her head is pounding, her body feels like it’s dying. She’s dying.
Oh my god. I’ve gone and killed myself.
Suddenly the pain is gone. A cool breeze brushes over Pomni’s skin. Soft grass tickles her arms and legs. Pomni realizes she’s curled herself up into a fetal position.
Taking a small, shaky breath, Pomni pushes herself up onto her knees and blinks at the scenery around her. The sky is a deep purple, bright yellow stars twinkle within it. The moon is a glowing orb, like the real one. Pomni stares up at it for a moment, wondering when the last time she saw the natural moon.
“I don’t think you were that loud last time.” Pomni freezes as his sarcastic voice chuckles behind her. Her head snaps around to the source of the sound and feels another wave of tears rising in her eyes. Jax. He sat casually on a bench, the lightpost from a few weeks ago sitting warmly next to him. It casts a low, pink glow. The soft breeze moves his ears ever so slightly. He’s calm, peaceful.
“Jax.” Her voice is barely a whisper. It’s so quiet, it could have been swept away in the air. She scrambles off her knees and lunges forwards, hitting his body hard. She clings to him desperately, wrapping him in a tight hug. She can’t seem to squeeze him tight enough, her skin itches to press closer than possible. Jax hesitates for a moment, surprised, before wrapping his long lanky arms around her body. His head buries itself in her hair and he breathes in her scent.
Fat tears start falling from Pomni’s eyes. His arms around her, It’s what she’d been missing for weeks. Warmth blooms in her chest. She relishes on the soft fur brushing her cheek, the fast beating of his heart, how his arms continue to constrict around her, crushing her into him. It felt good, she needed this.
“No need to cry Pom-Pom, you couldn’t have missed me that bad.” He murmurs into her hair, trying to be sarcastic and flippant, but his tiny, trembling voice gives him away. He’s missed her just as much as she has.
Pomni laughs through her hiccuping sobs. “You have no idea.” She pulls away and gets a good look at him. He’s just as she remembers, except she can see the sheen of tears in his eyes. His hand wipes them away hastily. Embarrassed, he doesn’t meet her gaze.
Jax clears his throat. “I thought it would be easier to talk face to face. I uhm- didn’t really think past that.” He frowns. “ I don’t… know how you’ll get out.”
Pomni shrugs, wiping away her own tears. “I’ll figure it out when I need to.”
They stare at one another deeply. Pomni is currently held in his lap, his thumb strokes her waist absent-mindedly. The two are so close together, Pomni can feel his breath on her face. They’re sharing the oxygen. Pomni isn’t sure if it’s from their close proximity or the lack of fresh air, but her mind starts to go numb. She slumps forward, not even an inch, and watches as Jax’s face turns a bright red. Pomni realizes just a moment after him and scrambles off of their lap.
They had just been extremely close to kissing.
Jax clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck nervously. Pomni looks around frantically, searching for anything to lead them away from the interaction.
“Uhm, this place looks a lot different compared to when I was last here! What- how’d you do that?!” Her words come out rushed and jumbled, not hiding her embarrassment at all. She curses herself out in her mind.
Jax chuckles breathlessly. “The darkness of the tent helped me concentrate, I can kinda mold this place to my liking. It is my head and all that.”
“Oh.”
There’s an awkward silence between the two. Pomni chews on her lip nervously. At least he isn’t deflecting or pushing her away, she doesn’t know what she would’ve done if he was acting like his usual self.
Pomni looks back up at the glowing stars. She gathers her thoughts as they twinkle above her. Lighting bug wings and cricket chirps fill the air. It’s warm, nostalgic. The scent of honeysuckle and fresh leaves fills the air.
“You made all this?” She finally asks.
“Yeah, spring was always my favorite… I missed experiencing it so I tried to replicate the feeling it brought me.” His eyes gleam in the dim light. Pretty. He pats the spot on the bench next to him.
Pomni stands and takes a seat next to him. “I think you captured the essence of spring well, I… really like it.”
“Thanks… I- I tried my best to recall what it felt like when I was younger. The older I got, the less magical it felt.”
“What memory did you think of to create all this?” A shooting start flashes across the sigh. Jax leans over and picks a flower from the clovers beneath their feet. He twirls it around in his fingers, blushing.
“It’s nothing special, just some random evening that stuck with me for some reason.”
“Tell me about it.” Pomni is half expecting him to snap back with a sarcastic remark about her snooping but he doesn’t. Instead he takes a deep breath, slumping back into the bench seat, head falling back limply to look at the sky. His fingers still hold the delicate flower.
“I think I was like 7 or 8, It had just finished raining a few hours earlier… so the air kinda had this moist feeling to it, but it wasn’t a gross humid moist. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. My neighborhood… It was small, when I was that little at least. My mom… Moved us around a bunch the older I got.” His nails cut into the stem of the flower before relaxing. “Anyways, my neighbors, they would host a movie night every week, had a projector and snacks and shit. All the neighborhood kids would gather in the evening to watch. A lot of the time, half of us left to go play. I remember playing around the lamp post, catching fire flies. Frogs and crickets were hunted down but never caught because we were too slow.” He chuckles.
As he tells his story, the noises around them change. The sound of loud croaking fills the air.
“I ran around with huge chunks of watermelon. Someone’s mom had brought it. I was sticky all over but I didn’t mind.” The faint taste of watermelon settles on Pomni’s tongue. Jax rubs his hands on his pants, as if trying to clean off invisible juices.
“I’m not really sure why I recall that night so vividly, I think I won the game of tag. That might be why.”
The breeze picks up again, leaves brush against one another smoothly. Pomni looks behind her and notices the forest that has sprouted up. Jax must have just conjured that. A firefly lands on her knee, it’s light pulsing a soft orange. It flits away as quickly as it had landed, fading into the darkness outside of the lamp light.
“It’s really pretty.” Pomni whispers.
“Thanks.” His voice is just as hushed. For a little bit, the two just listen to the noises around them. It’s soothing.
Pomni can’t remember the last time she’s been surrounded by nature. Caine has tried to replicate the environment in his adventures, but it always feels cartoonish, exaggerated. Last time Pomni was on a nature adventure, all the forest animals flocked to their group. Very reminiscent of snow white, and very overwhelming.
This is nice though. Occasionally, a chipmunk or squirrel would scamper into the light, but it would quickly flee.
“You know, I’ve missed you a lot too.”
“It’s unusual for you to admit something like that.” Pomni chuckles, but can’t deny the warmth that floods through her at his confession.
Jax stops looking at the sky and turns his attention to her, he looks at her thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I guess it is. I just- I figured that there’s not really a point to it anymore. Deflecting I mean. I’ve already pushed away everyone else, no one really misses me… except you… and I’ve abstracted! So what’s the point? I might as well open up this one time; as much as I hate it.”
Pomni nods along slowly, taking in his words. She’s happy he’s made this decision, if he hadn’t, her coming into his mind and potentially abstracting herself would have all been for nothing. Speaking of her own abstraction, she wonders how her body is doing right now…
“I didn’t think I would be so conscious after abstracting, it’s weird. Like I can see you every time you come to tell me about an adventure, but at the same time I’m here, on this bench. I try my best to communicate, but I just can’t. I can create whatever I please in this place, and it’ll assimilate, but I can’t even manage to form words through my physical body. I don’t know why you keep coming to visit me. I’m a pretty boring conversation partner now.”
Pomni smiles at him shyly, she scoots closer to him ever-so-slightly so that their arms now brush against one another. “I don’t know, I think you're good at expressing yourself in your new body. You blink in certain ways that give me clues to your thoughts on stuff.”
He laughs. “I don’t even know how I’m able to do that honestly. In my mind I've still only got the two, but I guess my new body is covered in them. Is it creepy to look at?”
Their pinkies touch lightly. “It was at first, I kept getting scared you’d attack me, but you never did. After a while I started finding all the eyes kind of pretty. They glow nicely in the dark of the tent. If you get past the part of how dangerous you are, it’s calming to just sit in there with you.”
“Good to know, I’ll try to learn how to blink in a strobe light sort of way. That way Zoobs can start throwing raves in the tent. They seem like the type of person to like that.”
“Is that supposed to be a jab at them?”
He chuckles and glances down at their hands, a dusting of blush on his cheeks. “No… I like raves, I wish I could’ve experienced one before I got trapped in here.” His voice is soft again.
His fingers slowly creep over hers. Her heart begins to race and she turns over her own hand, allowing his fingers to hesitantly intertwine with hers. They stare at their rare display of… affection?
Jax clears his throat and squeezes her hand lightly. He avoids eye contact. “Thank you…for coming to see me everyday. I’ve enjoyed hearing about the adventures. I didn’t realize I’d miss going on them this much. Hearing about what happens, helps.”
“You’re welcome. Honestly coming and talking to you everyday has helped me too. I miss just being able to talk to you man… this is nice.”
Jax hums. His thumb starts stroking the back of her hand, hesitantly. The little motion makes her cheeks burn. His fur is so soft against her skin. She wants more. She wants to hug him close, feel his warmth radiate around her. She wants to hold his cheeks in her hands and look at him deeper than she ever has before. Examine his eyes, eyelashes, ears, teeth, lips. All of it. She takes a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself from the anticipation growing within.
“Jax, I- I don’t know when I’ll be able to speak to you like this again so I’m just going to say what I want to now. Okay?” She glances at him hesitantly. He nods, attention now fully trained on her.
“I miss you, you know this. But it’s different. The ways that I miss you, the things that I miss wouldn’t happen with anyone else in the circus. I would miss them, but I don’t think it would be to this degree. It’s weird, I find myself seeking you out in the weirdest ways. I’ll see a bowling ball and immediately feel the need to cry. Or something as simple as an ear of corn! My chest seems to constrict around itself, and I can’t breathe. I see you in other things as well. Every time a door has a key, or I go up into one of the tunnels. Not even a tunnel that we’ve explored before! I’ll just find myself in one and think to myself I wish Jax were here.” Pomni is shaking now, nervousness overtaking her.
“Your absence is so heavy, it’s suffocating. And everyone else seems like they’ve moved on. They put up with my crying and skipping adventures, but they don’t understand it. I don’t understand it. Well… I do, it’s just- it’s hard to explain. You wouldn’t get it.”
He squeezes her hand again, harder this time. “Try me.”
Pomni bites her lip. How should she put this? Probably bluntly. “I wish we had the time to get to know each other more… I wish I could’ve helped you and we were friends again. Sometimes… sometimes I wish we had the chance to be more.” Her heart is pounding in her ears.
She watches, embarrassed, as Jax’s face grows red. His eyes widen, so wide in fact, that Pomni can see herself reflected in them. She’s not much better colorwise, she looks like a tomato. This only embarrasses her further. Might as well continue her speech while she can.
“You made this place bearable for me, Jax. Yes, you were a jerk, and an idiot, and I get why everyone hated you, but you were real. With me you were at least. For a little while. Before you threw up your mask again, you intrigued me so badly. I wanted to know more about you, the things you liked and disliked, your past, your thoughts, everything. That want to know… pushed me forward. It’s not like that for everyone else. They helped but they didn’t make me want to stay. You did.” Her voice shakes.
Jax says nothing. His thumb is frozen on her hand.
“I wish I could have learned about you. And more.” Her voice is a whisper. She leans closer to Jax, he’s still frozen in place in front of her.
She inches forward. “I wish I could pull you out of here.”
She can feel his breath on her face. “I wish we had the chance to be more than what we are.”
Finally he speaks. His voice is breathy and shaking. “I don’t understand why you want that.”
Their lips are millimeters apart from one another, It’s driving Pomni crazy. But he isn’t pulling away. Instead he sits as still as a statue, she doesn’t even think he’s breathing.
“Me neither.”
Jax’s absent hand comes up to her cheek. It presses her permanent blush slightly. Pomni leans into it, never breaking eye contact with the man in front of her. They breathe in each other. He smells like cinnamon. She hasn’t ever been close enough to smell him. She’s able to study his face for the first time. His eyelashes are dark purple, and long. It’s pretty. The moon reflects beautifully in his blown-out eyes. It’s like he has a solar system of his own within his pupils. She could gaze into them for hours and still have new stars to find.
Jax finally moves and leans in closer to Pomni, his eyelids droop as their lips brush together ever-so lightly. It’s soft and fragile, like the tip of a feather brushing against her skin. Despite how little the contact is, it still sends a jolt of electricity through her body. Her fingers are tingling where they’re intertwined with his.
Their breathing is timid. Jax holds her face close to his. “You weren’t supposed to love me.” It sounds like he’s on the verge of tears.
“I know, I can’t help it.”
He presses forward again, catching her lips with a little more desperation this time. His thumb rubs at her cheek as he holds her to his lips.
At this moment, Pomni fears she might explode. All her emotions seem to amplify. Sadness, guilt, joy, confusion, happiness, love. It all wells out of her in another round of tears. Jax pulls away in shock as he feels her crying onto his hand. He tries his best to wipe them away but they don’t stop. Pomni is so overwhelmed with emotions, she has no idea where to put them, and she’s already done her fair share of crying tonight.
Pomni takes hold of Jax’s cheeks and pulls him back to her. The kiss is definitely sloppier due to Pomni’s crying but neither one of them seems to mind. They’re enveloped within one another completely and pay no mind to the now whirling mindscape around them. They don’t care about the cacophony of noises raging on within Jax’s mind. They only care about themselves and the little time they have left with one another. Pomni can’t stay here for much longer, they both know this.
Too soon, Pomni feels her body begin to heat up to an uncomfortable temperature. A stinging, burning sensation spreads over her. She pulls away from Jax, breathless, and stares at him. He stares back.
“I think I’m being pulled away, I’m not letting go of you this time.” Her limbs are on fire, but despite the pain she pulls Jax into a tight, desperate hug. He clings to her in return.
Pomni can feel her body being torn away from the abstracted body of Jax. It hurts. It’s as if her skin had merged with his and is now being forced into her own, independent body again. She cries out in pain and she feels the pressure of Jax’s arms increase around her. Was he still there holding her? Or was that just the sensations of where he was previously? Is he going to be ripped out of his own mindscape with her? Pomni can only hope. She grits her teeth and prepares for the pain of returning from near abstraction.
The pain is searing hot and Pomni fears she’ll pass out. But just like before, the sensation immediately stops. Groaning, She opens her eyes.
Caine floats above her, eyes wide.
“Pomni! What could possibly be concerning you at this hour? And getting so close to an abstraction without any back up? I thought you were more clever than this.”
Pomni just stares up at him, unable to speak. There’s a shift of movement behind her and she immediately starts to scramble in the direction of the noise. Caine watches her as she throws pillows wildly around the pillow fort, desperately searching for Jax, his abstraction, anything. Finally, she throws aside a random blanket and lets out a choked sob. Under the fabric, buried deep in the pillows is the roiling mass of eyes that is Jax’s abstraction. It hadn’t worked. She hadn’t held on tight enough.
Her heart hurts.
She sadly places the blanket back over him and presses her fingers to her lips. The pressure of his kisses is still lingering on them.
“You should go back to your room my dear, it’s quite late and I know how much you humans love your sleep!” Caine's voice booms over her.
“Yeah, you’re right. I will.” Pomni’s voice is tired and drained. Her energy is gone, the last hope of being something with Jax is slipping through her fingers. She now has to go back to that dreaded hallway and see his face crossed out on the door across from hers. Despite her unwillingness, she turns to leave the tent. Caine watches after her intently.
Before Pomni makes it through the tent flap, a whine begins to peirce the air. It’s low. Pomni turns back into the tent, eyes wide. Could it be…? The noise is coming from the corner she’d left Jax in. Pomni runs back over to the blanket and lifts it, once again revealing the abstraction. But this time it’s different. The spikes are jagged, violent looking. A screech imitates from him, a noise she’s heard no abstraction make. Her heart drops. Had she made it worse? Did he lose control?
Caine pops up next to her, finger tapping at his bottom gum. “Don’t you think it’s time to put him in the cellar now?” he raises his hand, moving his fingers into position in order to snap them.
“NO!” Pomni frantically grabs ahold of his wrist. Caine stares at her before his eyes soften. He’s gotten better at understanding the needs of everyone. He lowers his hand.
The two stare at the abstraction next to them, it appears to be in pain. But it doesn’t lash out, or become violent. The movements are contained. This gives Pomni hope. She sits and watches for what feels like eternity. She watches as his dark body spikes and jerks around in the pillows. Fear wraps around her more than once but when she sees his erratic appearance calming, she lets out a sigh of relief. Only for the process to start again.
Caine sits with her the whole time, quietly watching her.
Finally, after what could have been only seconds or hours, Jax’s body calms. His multiple eyes don’t open. He’s still. Too still. Fear courses through Pomni.
“Jax…?”
…
A sob escapes from her, she claps a hand over her mouth to hide the defeated noise.
What has she done?
Pomni jumps back as a final spasm from the abstraction causes its tendrils to whip out sporadically, lashing at the sides of the tent. Caine moves in front of her in a protecting manner, his hand ready to snap away the mass. Pomni once again grabs his wrist, shaking her head fervently to stop him.
The tendrils retract, the abstraction begins to… shrink? Pomni watches in awe as the creature collapses in on itself, molding into something new. No. Something familiar.
The jagged spikes smooth into a rounded body, two ears protrude into the air. Pomni stares as the once roiling mass takes the shape of her friend. The friend she’s missed so dearly; caused so much anguish.
Jax.
He stands before her, quietly. His body is spotted with patches of black, occasionally an eye would appear in the darkness and blink at her. His chest rises and falls rapidly. The state he’s in seems as if he’s sleeping on his feet. Occasionally his body would sway to the side, but he doesn't fall. Until he does. Pomni rushes to catch his limp body, as he collapses to the floor of the tent, breathing harsh. Pomni clasps his hands tightly and holds his head in her lap.
Caine watches the whole exchange in disbelief, his jaw literally dropped.
“Jax-” Pomni’s hands flit over his sleeping body, wondering if it would be okay to touch him. He flinches and groans.
The muscles on his face relax and he opens his eyes. Pomni stares into them, watching as stars of color float around in them. Sometimes the colors would flare up and glow brighter, other times they would twinkle lazily in the abyss of his pupil. It’s breathtaking.
She smiles down at him, her lips tremble. “Jax.”
His eyes widen as he stares up at her, she watches as his vision shoots across her face.
“Pomni.”
Jax’s Pupils shrink and he sits up suddenly, throwing his hands out in front of them and staring at them. He has fingers. He has arms, and a chest, and a torso, and legs. He has a body. A surprised laugh erupts from his chest. He stands, testing out his newly reformed limbs. Joy emanates from him. And Pomni is laughing right along with him. Turning back to her, a smile wide across his face, he scoops Pomni off the floor and spins her around in a tight hug. She holds onto him like she’ll never let go. She might not.
The world blurs around them as Jax spins. Pomni can feel his chest heaving with laughter. He presses his face to her hair.
“Thank you. You did it, you pulled me out.” They squeeze each other tighter, not wanting the moment to end.
“Well, this is certainly new!” Caine’s voice booms out from above them. Jax slows them down and gently places Pomni back on her feet. He takes her hand in his and smiles down at her.
“I have to go wake the others and share the good news with them! You two stay here!” Caine flies out of the tent with excitement.
Jax and Pomni stand hand in hand, smiling widely at one another. Jax leans down hesitantly and plants a small kiss on her lips. He looks embarrassed.
“Thank you.”
She squeezes his hand reassuringly.
“I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.”
With that the two wait for the rest of the group to show up. They sit among the hundreds of pillows, leaning into one another heavily. The aching loneliness that had resided in Pomni’s heart is fading, she can feel herself getting lighter.
This was only the beginning.