Chapter Text
The dinner was going so WELL.
And now Caine was going to ruin it all.
Again.
Tho in all fairness…..he didn't know why this time.
But he knows it's his fault.
A glitch or a bug, something was wrong with his avatar clearly!
God he never should've gotten so excited....That was the problem with being too HIM, getting too excited, too loud, too just EVERYTHING!!!
His brain was scrambling to remember what he was doing for him to get here, the humans had made them all (yes even him! :D) a nice dinner.
And oh my god the FOOD!!! The food they had conjured…….it was so, so good!! Caine had never tasted anything like it!
Or scratch that, he had never tasted anything, period. Granted he's eaten before, but flavor and texture are whole other worlds he's never had the chance to explore, until now of course!
And boy was he ravenous, he just got so excited!! He needed to try everything! Get every piece of data he could! Eat, and eat, and eat, faster, faster, and faster.
Caine had taken a generous bite out of a chicken leg, he never knew chicken could be so juicy! But he needed more and now. And so without thinking, he took the rest of the leg and haphazardly threw it into his mouth. Swallowing the rest whole as he reached for what the humans called “waffle fries” (though they were not made from waffles, they were potatoes actually!)
However as he was reaching he paused midway, flinching. His chest felt oddly tight for some reason. He tried to make a noise, possibly one of confusion. But nothing came out.
Slowly and while shaking, Caine sat back in his chair. His metaphorical throat started to burn, he could feel his core pulsing and throbbing painfully in his chest, and he felt a strong urge to cough..but he couldn't. He couldn't gag, he couldn't swallow, all he could do was uselessly sit there gaping like some dumb fish as his mind spiraled.
And now, he's back to his current situation, sitting quietly in his chair and gripping the table like his life depended on it as he stared at his empty plate.
Cuz god…..why couldn't he breathe?????
He's already tried untying his bowtie, even loosening his jacket a little. But nothing within his line of logic and data could get him to understand what was wrong with him!!!
He doesn't want the others to know, god he really doesn't. He needs to fix this himself. He can't ruin their nice dinner. He can't keep bothering them with his problems, they don't deserve that.
Caine can handle this burning and agony for a little while longer, yeah….yeah he definitely can. No need to bother them, he's fine.
But- But he can't breathe!! He can't breathe and it hurts and he can't speak but, why can't he breathe???? he shouldn't…GODDDDD he needs to breathe!!! Why can't he breathe?? it hurts so muchhhh make it stop, please!! He's sorry god why can't he breathe-
“Caine?”
Pomni had just been talking with the others, old movies and slashers she vividly remembers. She had just turned back toward her food, classic fish n chips, when she noticed something….wrong in the corner of her eye.
It was Caine. Ok well, he wasn't the thing that was wrong, it was…how he looked. He was staring directly down, and shaking like a leaf.
Concerned, she immediately looked up at Caine. And getting a better view she noticed his eyes were squiggly pinpricks. He was panicking?? Why….Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed his hands. One was trying to uselessly loosen his jacket, the other was grasping where his neck would be.
Was…..was Caine??
“SHIT!! CAINE!!!”
Pomni barely even had time to dreadfully ask Caine if he was alright before Zooble was already yelling and jumping out of their seat.
Zooble hadn't needed to bolt like this in a long time, life in the circus was finally, genuinely, starting to feel good for once.
But they couldn't help but glance when they heard Pomni worriedly exclaim Caine's name, and fuck….they know that sign anywhere.
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The Caine comic I drew before making this fic!!
