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Time in the circus could get a little fuzzy, but, according to Pomni— who had been obsessively keeping track of time since she got there and continued to do so out of habit— it been two months since the circus had returned to normal... or, at least as normal as it could get. After some much needed downtime, the crew found themselves looking for something to get them out of the tent. Something like an entertaining experience, something like an exciting expedition— what's the word for it? Caine was ecstatic, of course. When Zooble cut in and suggested they did something, you know, normal, it was clear that he was down in the mouth. But he quickly course corrected, for the sake of the group. He was a changed AI, after all. No more torturing his troupe.
After thumbing through his available maps and assets, he presented the circus crew with an exterior environment map. It was modeled to look like a dense evergreen forest, surrounded by gentle mountains. The only thing you would find here were just boring trees and rocks. It wasn't like you couldn’t make the map exciting— Caine could spice it up with a killer Bigfoot NPC to prowl around the woods. But he knew better than to suggest that now. The crew seemed pleased with the map as it was, monster free and all. Given the environment, they settled on taking a hike as their objective. Getting out of their rooms and seeing some nice, digital nature would be the perfect starting point for getting back into the swing of adventuring.
They had headed out at sunrise. There weren't any NPCs on the map, much to Caine's untold chagrin, but the songs of birds and the chirping of bugs could be heard in the thicket. The air was chilly, but not bitterly so, and it smelled like pine needles and clay. It felt familiar to all of them in one way or another— Ragatha's family home sat on the edge of similar untouched woodlands. Pomni had explored abandoned homes tucked away in dense forests much like this. It was nice. It was peaceful. By midday they had already reached the halfway point, stopping for a brief, albeit unnecessary, lunch break.
Kinger had made a variety of sandwiches, from grilled cheese to BLTs. Gangle brought along some more snack-y things and treats— Pocky, she had called the biscuits dipped in chocolate. Zooble provided the drinks, of course. Mocktails made up of juices and lemonades, so no one got tipsy on the next leg up. Ragatha had made an assortment of cookies. Chocolate chunk, snickerdoodles, gingersnaps— you name it, she had it. And Pomni... wasn’t a very good cook. They took their time, working at their meals and chatting, making sure to clean up and pack away any extras for later. Even if the map would unload once they finished the adventure, they thought it best to leave the forest better than they found it.
Zooble hooks a claw around Gangle's arm. "I’m ready to go if you are," they say smoothly, earning a shy smile from the bundle of ribbons.
"Y-yeah! You guys ready, or...?" Gangle glances over to the others.
Kinger is already close behind, backpack somehow attached to him with his disembodied hands eagerly gripping at the straps.
"Ready!" He chirps. "Or... at least I think I am. I’m not forgetting anything, am I?"
Ragatha chuckles, checking his bag. "I think you’re all set," she gives his backpack a reassuring pat.
"Actually," Pomni pipes up, "I think I might sit here a little while longer." She turns to look out at the view.
The crew had stopped for their lunch on a nice little plateau, a felled log fit for two situated perfectly on the edge of the overhang, looking out at the forest below. Even further from their spawn point, the pines stretched into a valley— a lake set right in the middle of the bowl, with a river feeding into it from the mountain opposite to them. It was nice, and Pomni wanted to enjoy it for just a little bit longer.
She turns, glancing back at her friends, "You guys go on ahead, I’ll catch up—" her eyes wander sheepishly over to Ragatha, "—would you... wanna stay with me, maybe?"
Behind Ragatha, Zooble and Gangle exchange a knowing glance.
"Oh!" Ragatha squeaks, "Yeah, Pomni, I’d— I’d love to!"
Zooble already has their other hand on Kinger. "All right," their usual cool tone can’t quite seem to cover slight lilt to their voice, "you kids have fun. We’ll see ya at the top."
They say their goodbyes, and soon enough the three had disappeared around the bend in the trail. Ragatha takes her place on the log next to Pomni, and they soon fall into their new normal; the ragdoll leaning her weight into her, the jester happily reciprocating, and their hands finding each other, fitting together like lock and key. They sat in comfortable stillness, the only sound breaking the quiet of the clearing being the chirps of digital birds somewhere in the distance. Having grown up practically outdoors, Ragatha could put a name and face to the calls. A Northern Cardinal song here, a Blue Jay cry there— and, her favorite, the "cheeseburger" of the little Chickadees.
"This has been such a nice day," the ragdoll sighs, eye sit set on the green in the distance.
"Yeah," Pomni starts, pulling back to glance up at her, "thanks for staying with me, by the way."
There's a flicker of something in Ragatha's eye as she glances back at Pomni that she can't quite register before the ragdoll manages to compose herself. She can't do anything to help the blush that spreads across her face, though.
"O-oh! Well, thanks for asking me, Pomni," her free mitt finds the back of her neck, looking anywhere but at the jester, too shy to engage further.
Pomni, on the other hand, wants more. Something in her rubbery, digital body urges her to get the ragdoll to look at her, to smile at her, to laugh at her. And, after a brief pause, she concocts her scheme to get just that. The jester leans forward, looking over the edge of the plateau. It's a long way down.
"...Do you think if I fell off I’d bounce back when I hit the bottom?" Pomni pulls back, glancing up at the ragdoll with a dumb grin.
Pomni gets exactly what she wants— Ragatha's eye flickers to her, a quick, shy grin, and then a laugh.
Pomni's rubber heart flips every time she’d graced with it— it tumbles over her, every titter sparking and kissing her skin, heating her inside and out. Oh, how she cherished every giggle, just as she’d come to cherish all of the ragdoll’s gentle touches. These gifts she gave the jester were like kindling in the harsh, bitter winter. Little pieces of overwhelmingly warm and fuzzy feelings that fed into her hearth, igniting the fire and keeping her cozy despite the cold.
"Pomni," Ragatha manages, "please don't throw yourself off the mountain. I don't want to have to go back down there to get you."
"You'd do that? For me?" The jester flutters her dark eyelashes at her.
That gets another wide grin out of the ragdoll.
"Of course I would!" Ragatha cries, smile still gracing her lips.
Pomni's smirks, slowly leaning forward.
"But that doesn't mean that I want to!" Ragatha snatches the jester's shoulders, pulling back and planting her firmly on the log.
It's Pomni's turn to laugh, which only encourages Ragatha to start up again.
"We're having such a nice time," Ragatha snorts, and Pomni finds it very endearing, "and then you come out of nowhere with that!"
"I was just curious," the smug little jester drawls, "I'm trying to think more like a cartoon character these days."
"Well, keep thinking instead of trying, please," Ragatha swipes a stray tear from her eye. Her fabric face hurt from all the smiling.
"You're no fun..." Pomni pouts, suddenly reaching for the ragdoll's mitt. She gladly gifts it to her. The jester works her thumb methodically over the fabric.
"Sorry," Ragatha whispers under her breath, eye bound to the jester.
Pomni keeps her head down, focused on her task. "Don't be. Thanks for always looking out for me," despite her tender touch, she speaks with certainty.
It makes Ragatha's candy heart lurch in her chest. "I-I'm happy to..."
There's a lull in the conversation. Not awkward, but instead too absorbed with one other to speak— Ragatha keeping her eye on Pomni intently, while the jester fiddles with her hand with similar heated intent.
"...The cookies with the butterscotch chips were my favorite, I think," Pomni mumbles her non sequitur into Ragatha's hand as her fingers trace along the hills and valleys that make up the ragdoll's mitt. It tickles, but she holds her breath.
"I’ll make you some more when we get home, then," Ragatha sighs softly, her hand closing gently around the jester’s.
Pomni can't help but glance back up at her. She hears her pulse thump in her ears. Was it the promise of cookies that did that, or the fact that Ragatha had somehow strung together a sentence so sweetly domestic it made her heart twist? I-it was probably just the cookies. Yeah.
She swallows. "Thanks, I, uh, would really like that."
Another pause. This one, a little awkward. The two stare at one another, very much aware of the fact that the jester’s hand is still captured in the ragdoll’s larger mitt. That warm, fuzzy feeling that Pomni revels in seems to come over Ragatha's chest, too. Oh, god. Ragatha clears her throat.
"We should probably get going, huh? Don't wanna keep the others waiting," Ragatha releases the jester, pulling her hand back to its default position near her chest.
Pomni's hands can't help but move after her mitt, like a heat seeking missile. But she thinks better of it. At least, that's what she tells herself— maybe she just chickened out.
"Yeah, sure," the jester quickly pushes herself up and off the log, "let's get going, yeah—"
Ragatha bites her lip, eye following the jester. Did she just ruin the moment? She did, didn't she? Stupid, stupid—
"...I wonder if I could see the others from up there," Pomni breaks the ragdoll from her spiraling, her eye following the jester's gaze, which was currently pointed at the tallest pine in the clearing. Pomni bounds away before Ragatha has time to process what the jester is proposing.
"Pomni, wait," Ragatha stands up, quickly tailing the little jester. "I don't think you should—"
"It's fiiine," Pomni braces against the base of the pine, "I used to climb stuff all the time when I went exploring." With surprising speed, she's suddenly scrambles upward, clawing at the branches as she goes.
"Oh, god, Pomni," Ragatha calls from below, "please— be careful!"
She'll be fine. She's done this plenty of times in the real world. She's gonna get to the top, and get a big smile and a laugh from the ragdoll down below. She'll be so impressed. Pomni reaches as far as the tree will allow, situating herself on a sturdy branch and peeking just below the tree line. Forgetting the entire reason why she even came up here in the first place, she takes the opportunity to look down to meet the ragdoll's worried eye.
"Hey, Ragatha!" Pomni pulls her hand away from the pine's trunk, balancing on one leg, "check this ou—!"
Before Pomni can finish her sentence, she's free falling. They can't die, as they've all ruminated extensively over, but in that moment Ragatha looks as if she had seen a ghost. The ragdoll's legs feel like they're filled with wet sand instead of their usual mix of beads and cotton, but she wills herself to move regardless. She manages to get about an arm's length away from Pomni as the jester finally meets the hard ground plane. And oh, god, the human sounding crunch of nonexistent bone that resounded when she lands. Pomni makes a winded sound, more shocked than necessarily pained. The ragdoll landed in a heap just beside her, but she's quickly at Pomni's side.
Pomni groans as Ragatha slowly collects her from the ground, cradling the jester in her soft arms.
"What the f%$!# were you thinking?!" Ragatha's uncharacteristically harsh tone hurts her more than the fall.
"I wasn't..." Pomni moans. Oh, she's so f%$!#ing stupid. Ragatha's definitely not laughing now.
She didn't bounce, either. Stupid f%$!#ing circus logic.
As Caine had told them when he returned, his omnipotent powers weren't as... omnipotent anymore, resulting in limitations in and around the circus. They knew that the adventure could pose potential risks because of this, but, as Caine had set up the adventure's parameters with the help of the group, it was supposed to be just a short hike up the gentle slope set on the lowest difficulty. If they couldn’t go out and take a walk, how are they supposed to bring themselves to do anything else in this digital world? For this map in particular, Caine couldn't modify the win condition or interact with assets and players. Something about not having "administrative privileges" for this older, untouched map. So, the crew were left to their own devices. This didn't strike any of them as a problem at the time— no enemies, no obstacles, no stakes, just. A walk. Up the hill.
"Where does it hurt?" Ragatha moves on, disregarding Pomni's previous self-own. One of her mitts cradles the jester's back while the other hovers over her. There's no visual tell of the injury. Ragatha supposes that Pomni's clothes don't have any additional textures to indicate damage.
"All over...?" Pomni cracks an eye open to look at the ragdoll above her.
Ragatha frowns. Okay, that wasn't helpful. Pomni tries again.
"My leg, I think it's—" Pomni leans forward and out of Ragatha's grasp. She tries to put some weight on her leg, but within seconds she's back down in Ragatha's arms, whimpering like an injured puppy. Great. That's awesome.
"Hang on," Ragatha uses her free hand to reach around behind her, grabbing at her backpack. She manages, pulling out a small, red med-kit from the pack. With surprising deftness, she's able to search the kit all the while coddling Pomni. "D%$!#n it," she mutters, "no pain relievers? Really?!" Ragatha's frustrated tone makes Pomni wince.
This is all her fault. They were having such a nice time, too. Pomni keeps quiet, worried she'll just make things worse by opening her big mouth.
Ragatha takes a deep breath, her hand coming loose from med-kit to cup around her mouth, "Caine!"
Caine spawns in, a small flourish of confetti in his wake. He had been in a better mood these days, given that the crew had been warming up to him.
"Well, hello my whimsical woodsy well-wishers! What could I do for yo— oh, god," Caine's chipper demeanor shifts when he takes in the scene.
Ragatha doesn't bother with pleasantries.
"Could you help us look for some more supplies? I think we’ll need pain killers to tide Pomni over until we get back to the circus..."
Until the adventure's win condition was met, they couldn't return home— that win condition being collecting the little white flag at the peak. Unfortunately, the win condition calls for all of the playable characters to reach the flag for the adventure to end. Of course.
With a knowing nod, Caine rockets himself up and away from the two, eyes scanning the hill. His jaw widens.
"There!" He points his cane just north-east of the trail, "Just take that path to your right and you should reach it in no time. I’ll go tell the others to, uh, hurry back to help!"
"Not too fast! We don’t want anyone else getting hurt, okay?!" Ragatha calls after him. She lets out an exasperated sigh as Caine flies out of sight above the towering pines. Pomni keeps her eyes trained on the ground, too ashamed to so much as sneak a peek at the woman currently cradling her.
"All right," Ragatha sighs, situating Pomni into a sitting position against the pine that had oh so wickedly betrayed her just moments before, "we’d better get going..." She gingerly pulls her hands from the pathetic little jester.
Despite Pomni's embarrassment, she feels a pang of disappointment course through her as the ragdoll retreats. She enjoyed being in her arms, even if it meant she had to fall out of a d%$!#n tree to get there. The ache in her heart doesn't last long. The ragdoll crouches low, swinging her pack to her front, settling herself down with her back to the jester.
"Do you think you can manage, Pomni?" Ragatha glances at her over her shoulder, hands tucked behind her back and ready for the jester to hop on.
"Oh," Pomni says dumbly, finally meeting the ragdoll’s eye, "are you... are you sure I won’t be too... heavy?"
Pomni knew she wasn’t— the times she had thrown herself into the ragdoll’s arms were proof enough that she could handle her. Ragatha fixes her with a skeptical glance. She knows that she knows. Her mouth twitches with a smirk.
"You're not," she decides now is not the time to tease. "Now, come on," the ragdoll beckons her firmly, trying to hide her grin. It's not often she sees the jester so shy. That's usually her job.
Pomni scooches closer, slowly clambering onto Ragatha’s back, clinging to her like a baby possum to its mother. Ragatha slowly hefts herself and the jester up and off the ground. Despite being filled with stuffing, she's surprisingly strong. The two had been plenty close in recent days. Pomni would loop her arm around the ragdoll's when the two would walk down the hall together. Ragatha would greet her with hugs so full that she'd lift the jester up and off the ground. They were very much touchy feely, and comfortable being so. But something about Pomni being injured felt more... intimate? No, that couldn't be right, it's because she's worried for her friend. That's the reason why Ragatha's heart is thumping against her cotton chest. It's okay. This is fine.
"I'm so sorry, Ragatha," Pomni's head falls forward into Ragatha's yarn curls, "I just..." She stops short.
How is she going to phrase this without being weird. The jester had learned the recipe to get exactly what she wants out of the ragdoll— she does something, or says something, funny and then receives her precious reward; those impossibly warm and fuzzy feelings she gives the jester. Be silly, get a smile. Be stupid, get a laugh. Be the jester, make her princess happy.
...Her princess? Oh, god, wait where did that come fro—
Ragatha missteps, stumbling slightly, painfully pulling Pomni from her thoughts.
"S-sorry. You okay, Pomni?" Ragatha rights herself, holding steadfast onto her little passenger.
"Fine! I'm fine. Don't apologize," she grits her teeth, "it's my fault I'm dead weight."
"It's..." Ragatha wants to say it's fine, but she reconsiders, "...you're going to be okay. I'll make sure you're okay."
Pomni feels heat rush to her face. "T-thanks. For always looking out for me..." She mumbles into the ragdoll's hair.
Ragatha can't help but chuckle quietly. "I'm happy to..."
Pomni feels that familiar warm, fuzzy feeling creep over her when she hears that lovely jingle. The pain in her leg pales in comparison to its intensity. The jester elects not to continue with her previous thought and, mercifully, Ragatha doesn't pry further— she's probably too focused on trying to get her dumba%$!# to the finish line so they can all get out of here before the digital sun sets. It's quiet again, save for the always present soft sounds of the birds, and the sound of leaves and pine needles crunching beneath Ragatha's fabric shoes. That in combination with the warmth spread across her face and the sway of the ragdoll's stride, Pomni's big, dark eyelids start to droop. Oh, no, she cannot take a nap mid-piggyback. Not after everything she's put Ragatha through. She straightens, starting back up with a dumb "Um" before continuing.
"Are you doing okay, Ragatha?" The jester leans over the ragdoll's left shoulder so she can look into her eye. Ragatha's gaze flicks back to meet her for a moment before she returns it forward.
"I'm fine, yeah! You're really not heavy, you know," she reassures, a smirk playing on her lips.
"I meant like— how are you... feeling about this, I guess? Are you really gonna carry me all the way to the top...?" Pomni's voice trails off at the end there, the thought of one part pleasant and the other tainted by guilt.
"Well, we can't exactly get Caine to fly you up there, and I know you don't exactly..." the ragdoll can't help the wobbly smile that crosses her face, so she keeps her face forward and out of Pomni's sight, "...want anyone else carrying you..." This fact has her preening. Oh, even if she has to haul the little jester the rest of the way up the mountain, it makes her candy heart swell knowing that she's the only one allowed to do so.
Ragatha had an... excellent point, Pomni considers. If anyone else held her like this, she thinks the itch of being handled would be just as agonizing as walking. The guilt creeps over the pleasantness, all consuming.
"Ugh," Pomni dramatically drops her onto the ragdoll's shoulder, "I'm sorry, Ragatha..."
"Hey, it's okay," the ragdoll bounces her slightly, trying to cheer her up, "we'll stop and take breaks if I need it. How's your leg?"
"I-it's fine, I guess," she glances down at the limb, uselessly swinging with each of Ragatha's steps, "I definitely don't think I'll be able to walk on it until we get back, though." She grumbles before continuing, "I need to find a way to make this up to you..."
"Maybe you could bake me some cookies when we get home," Ragatha's head stays forward, but Pomni can hear the shy, hopeful air to her voice at her suggestion.
"I'm... not really good at baking—"
"Let me teach you, then?" The ragdoll all too quickly replies.
Pomni purses her lip. The chance to spend time with Ragatha is ever enticing, even if there's a chance she could mess up. For god's sake, she screwed this up, how bad could baking be? "Yeah. Yeah, okay," she leans forward to meet the ragdoll's eye again, "I'd really like that."
Ragatha catches Pomni's eye before she looks ahead again, her smile ever growing. Pomni can swear she feels a slight skip to the ragdoll's steps now. The jester smiles into her hair, clinging to her with renewed excitement, ebbing out the guilt previously draped over her. Soon, Ragatha's springy steps start to slow— ahead of them, the trees thinning. Ragatha pauses at the tree line, a lush meadow filled with wildflowers sprawled out before them. It's breathtaking, and both women breathe a soft "wow" as they take it in. Scanning the horizon, Ragatha spots it. There, on the other end of the clearing, sits a bright red backpack underneath an old oak tree— the supplies Caine spotted. The ragdoll slowly starts up again, bee-lining it for the pack. The tall grass and flowers reach her knees, politely parting for her as she gingerly journeys forward, keeping her eye low as to not trip over any rocks or branches lurking in the brush. Once they reach the oak, Ragatha gently settles Pomni against its base, its twisting roots providing the perfect little hollow for the jester to settle into.
Ragatha sets herself down next to Pomni and snags the pack, quickly rifling through it. She pauses, before pulling out a single object. A f%$!#ing horn?
Both women can't help but let out a clipped laugh at the sight. They both glance at each other before Ragatha passes Pomni the funny little wind instrument, resuming her search of the pack.
"Are you— kidding me?" Ragatha turns the pack over, shaking it up and down as if something useful would magically come tumbling out. It doesn't. Both of them are smiling, though.
Pomni turns the horn in her hands, then blows on it experimentally. Ragatha can't help but guffaw as the horn sounds— a pathetic little trill. Pomni lets up on the horn to laugh with the ragdoll, who's currently in stitches. Ragatha’s laughter encourages Pomni’s, which in turn encourages Ragatha's— turning their fit into a feedback loop. Once their laughter finally peters out and the two have caught their breath, they both sigh dramatically in tandem.
"Well," Pomni starts, tossing the horn behind her, "that did make me feel a little bit better."
"Me too," Ragatha's expression softens at her little jester.
Oh, that look. Pomni can feel her heart jump up her throat. She glances away, swallowing hard, banishing that stupid heart of hers back down where it belongs.
"I’m... sorry I ruined the adventure," Pomni tries to collect herself, managing to find the courage to look up at the ragdoll, "this was supposed to be a nice day and I just had to... f%$!# it up by being stupid..."
"Pomni,” Ragatha sighs, reaching for the jester’s hand. Pomni all too quickly finds her mitt, squeezing it. "I... seriously, what in the world were you thinking?" Her voice strains. She isn't angry, she's upset. Upset that Pomni didn't listen to her.
Pomni feels her heart force itself back up into her throat— this time with a vengeance. It chokes her into silence. She squeezes Ragatha’s hand again, trying to communicate that she had at least heard her. Pomni clears her throat to fill the air, doubling as another strategy to try and get that stupid heart out of her windpipe.
"Look, I, uh," Pomni fidgets, her free hand finding its way to the back of her head, "you promise you won’t laugh...?" The jester never wanted to be in a situation where she had ask the ragdoll not to laugh.
Ragatha’s tired expression shifts. In the months prior, any open ended question Pomni posed to her most likely would have made that look concerned— scared, even. But now, after some time and practice with the jester, her anxious tendencies have been... at least somewhat tempered. Instead, she has this mischievous look in her eye, a smirk on her felt lip.
"I dunno," the ragdoll drawls, "I can't make any promises..." Now is the time to tease.
God. Pomni flushes, a deeper shade than the blush marks on her cheeks. What she was thinking was embarrassing, but busting her a%$!# because of it might be even more so. Just— be weird, come out and say it.
"I just—" Pomni releases Ragatha’s hand, pulling at her hair in place of the tail ends of her cap, "I just wanna make you laugh, that’s all!" Pomni turns her head to the sky, crying out a loud "Ugh" before continuing, "I know it’s stupid, but, I just— it's nice seeing you happy, okay? I’m— I’m sorry for being so reckless." Her head and hands fall, too embarrassed to face the ragdoll. So instead she minds the ground before her, hoping it might magically open up and swallow her whole.
Ragatha doesn't speak. The quiet of the meadow hangs between them, lasting long enough that Pomni gets worried. So, she steels herself, and looks up to check in with the ragdoll. Oh, her face is the same color as her pretty curls.
"You—" Ragatha sputters back to life when she sees the worry in Pomni's eyes, "you—? You really...? You wanna make me—" Despite herself, she laughs.
Pomni gawks, dumbstruck by her reaction, the quiet of the meadow suddenly overflowing with the sound of Ragatha's mirth. A sly smile slowly creeps over the jester's face.
"I told you not to laugh!" She whines, reaching for the ragdoll’s wrists, her mitts hovering in front of her face, trying to cover her laughter. "Stop laughing!" Pomni says through the cacophony of her own giggles, shaking Ragatha by her wrists.
Holding onto each other as if their bout of laughter would make them float away, they sit underneath the old oak tree, howling together like school girls. The digital birds and bugs sing with them, turning the meadow into its own little joyous concert. Once they finally come down from their fit, cotton and rubber sides sore from it all, the two take deep, greedy breaths. Ragatha opens her eye to glance shyly at the jester.
"Pomni," she pulls her mitts away, only to return them to grasp at the jester’s hands, "sweetheart..."
Pomni’s rubbery insides flip.
"That’s— it’s not stupid. That’s... that's so sweet of you..." the ragdoll puffs, face still flushed, "you... you make me happy, just by being yourself. You don't have to fall out of a tree to do that."
"Falling out of that tree did get you to laugh eventually, though..." Pomni laughs under her breath.
Ragatha shoots her a fresh look. "Don’t you start with me..." It’s her turn to shake Pomni, eliciting another chuckle from the jester.
"I'm, uh," she chances a timid glance up at the ragdoll, "really glad to hear that, though. When you're happy, I'm happy, too."
Ragatha's face had just started to cool, but it promptly matches the lovely color of her curls once more. She squeaks.
"I— um," she starts to pull away from the jester, but she leans with her, chasing after. There's no avoiding the warm fuzzies now. The next best thing Ragatha can do instead of running and hiding is laughing again, apparently. "You— uh, haha, I, ah—"
Pomni takes the chance, pulling Ragatha in. The ragdoll's breath catches, laughter dying in her throat, as Pomni holds her as close as digitally possible. Carefully, her mitts find their way around the jester. It reminds her of their first hug, save for all the tears. She's not far off from those either, though.
"Thank you," Ragatha whispers into the crown of Pomni's big head.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you, you know..." Her voice is muffled by the cotton in Ragatha's chest, but she gets the message.
That warm, fuzzy message— a note written on red construction paper and oversaturated with glitter and paper hearts and cute horse and clown stickers. What the note says, both are too shy to say, but they know it and, more importantly, they feel it. Pomni can feel Ragatha's laughter bubble up again from her place on her chest. It's infectious, as it always is, and the jester holds her tighter, trying to hide her own giggles. The jester had managed to make her princess laugh again, and all she had to do was be honest. Pomni recalls all the other times she's told the ragdoll how she really feels— each time receiving nothing but genuine kindness and understanding. Something deep down in her rubbery gut feels as if she doesn't deserve it, but she's gifted it graciously regardless. That sinking feeling is soon overtaken by another. She feels so warm. So fuzzy. She feels very, very lucky.
"See? You make me laugh all the time," Ragatha chuckles, drawing the jester from her thoughts, "now promise me you won't fall out of any more trees, okay?" Ragatha pulls away, not willingly, but instead to meet the jester's eyes— to make her promise.
"Okay," Pomni holds on, but meets her eye, "I promise."
A beat of content silence is suddenly shattered by a resounding"Hey!" from across the field, making both women jump. Their heads whip in that direction, and soon they spot their colorful friends above the equally colorful wildflowers. It was Zooble who had called out to them, waving their claw high above their head.
"Whatcha guys doin'~?" Gangle practically squeals with her ribbon hands cupped around her mouth, a playful catlike smirk on her mask. They must have seen the two all cuddled up. Of course they did.
"Oh! H-hey, guys! Thanks for coming back all this way!" Ragatha waves, her other mitt holding loyally onto Pomni. Even if it was embarrassing that they'd seen them, she wasn't going to let go. She glances back to to the jester. "You ready to go...?"
"Y-yeah, let's go," Pomni reluctantly releases her grip on Ragatha, but that ache in her heart doesn't last long. Soon she's on the ragdoll's back once more, and the two are up and walking to meet their friends in the middle.
"You fell out of a f%$!#ing tree?" Is the first thing out of Zooble's nonexistent mouth when they meet at the heart of the meadow, "What the f%$!# were you doing, dude?"
Pomni doesn't exactly know how to answer that. She doesn't even remember why she went up there in the first place, but she chews the inside of her cheek, before deciding to just admit to what she'd been doing this whole time. "I was just trying to make Ragatha laugh..."
Ragatha stiffens, face flushing.
"Wha—" Both Zooble and Gangle try to interject, but they're quickly interrupted by Ragatha starting off in the direction they'd come from, Pomni gripping her shoulders for dear life as she speed walks away. Kinger happily follows without any questions, while Zooble and Gangle stay, confusion set on their faces.
"W-we'd better get back on the trail, guys!" Ragatha calls, without looking back, "Don't wanna be here all night!"
Zooble and Gangle glance at each other once more. Gangle smirks, and Zooble smiles with their eyes back at her. Oh, they know. Without a word, and claw in ribbon, they start after the others. At the front of the pack, Ragatha slows, letting Kinger keep pace with her. Soon Zooble and Gangle aren't far behind.
Ragatha sighs deeply, a breath that she'd apparently been holding, "Sorry we couldn't find you any pain killers, Pomni," she glances back at the jester, "how's your leg feeling?"
"I'm all right, don't worry about me," Pomni pats her shoulder reassuringly, "if you get tired of carrying me you could always ball me up and dribble me the rest of the way."
Ragatha snorts before another chipper burst of laughter tumbles out of her. Pomni beams, that warm, fuzzy feeling returning in full force. The dull throbbing in her leg was nothing compared to the thumping of her little rubber heart.
Oh, she's got it bad for the ragdoll...