Chapter Text
A loud boom outside woke Ribbit from her restless sleep.
“What tha-” She frowned, sitting up in her bed. She had been locked in her room for the past few weeks, letting her mind race through the events of the Snowy Peak. The reminder of the bitter cold sends a chill down her spine. But the pit in her stomach and the suffocating pressure of her chest sent a searing heat through her body that would do anything but disappear. And her head-
“You're manipulating me-”
It would do anything but shut up about the adventure's events. How could she? She was, and still is, confused and drained. But overall, she was hurt and left lying on her bed, stiff as a frog lying out in the snow of the peaks, cold and almost lifeless.
“What, so you can pry into my life and hold it over my head-”
Is that really what he thinks about her-
“Why are you so fixated on that one night-”
Did she push too hard? Maybe she should have just never asked, she just-
“You're the one using me-”
What, noo she-
“You’re the one manipulating me-”
Another loud crash of boom came from outside, which snapped Ribbit out of her thoughts.
“What the heck is that?” She turned to look at her door. She hadn’t stepped out in weeks out of fear of seeing… him. Was she sure someone had heard the noise, right? Yet she hadn’t heard anyone in the halls or walking by like she usually does.
‘Maybe… I should go see what it is?’ The frog thought to herself, walking to her door. “N-no, what am I thinking, what if Jax is up! I c-can’t face him like this right now, let alone I would be surprised if her told Ragatha and Kaufman not to hang out with more or-” Her mind was racing again as she started pacing the room in an anxious fit, her breath short, her chest tightening, the room was spinning, almost causing her to lose her balance. Her body felt like static,
“Breath, Ribbit BREATH!” she shook, whispering to herself.
In and out.
In and out.
In and out.
Another loud boom roared through the circus.
“Okay, that's going to start getting annoying sooner than later,” she said, nearly breathing less, looking at her door. “Maybe I can just-”
She hadn’t heard anyone step out of their rooms, so maybe it was safe. She could hurry out, rush back, see what the commission was, then rush back to her room! It was still night after all.
As she steadied herself to open the door, there was a hesitation, take a deep breath, and open the door.