Chapter Text
Pomni woke up to the same artificial morning she had been waking up to for weeks now. She wanted nothing more than to just roll over and fall back asleep but she had never been able to do that as easily as others, so she reluctantly slung her feet off the side of her bed.
She looked down at her new pajamas thanks to an addition from Caine that allowed players to switch between their regular model and a set of comfy lounge clothes by simply thinking about it.
Well, they were supposed to be comfortable. They were for some other people as Caine had made their pajamas out of the same texture their regular clothes were made out of to make things easier he claimed. So while Ragatha and Kinger got soft, cotton feeling pajamas, Pomni was stuck in the same rubbery feeling of her jester suit.
She couldn't complain too much though. Sleeping in shorts and a baggy T-shirt proved much more comfortable than a big jester costume and shoes she couldn't take off, regardless of material.
Pomni walked over to the vanity in her bright red and blue child-like room. God she hated it. The one place in this digital hell that was supposed to be her's to relax and recharge just made her feel infantilized.
She looked at herself just as her jester suit popped back on. If her room didn't make her feel infantilized, her appearance definitely did. Her big pinwheel eyes and round face just screamed child. She just wanted people to take her seriously. How could anyone when she looked like a child?
She was just starting to gain an once of respect at her old job before she ended up here and anything she had going for her was violently ripped to shreds.
Everything about Pomni looked the same as it had since she joined the circus. The avatars here didn't show much evidence of time passing but Pomni had taken note of everyone's eyes.
While it wasn't uncommon for avatars to be missing body parts such as mouths, noses, or ears, everyone had eyes. And all of their eyes held so much emotion. Pomni could practically see the weight of years of trauma behind everyone's eyes, even Jax, who seems to try and hide it but it didn't get past Pomni.
Though this morning Pomni could see the same look in her eyes that she had seen in everyone else's. She was tired. She was done. And she had only been here a month tops. How the others had made it so long, she wasn't sure.
Her argument a few adventures ago with Jax definitely didn't help. She was just trying to get him to open up. She didn't know everything about him but she knew enough to make the conclusion that he is not the type of person who likes to talk about his feelings.
She could also quickly tell that he didn't have anyone on his side. Albeit it was his fault but everyone deserves someone. She thought maybe if she tried to give Jax a real friend here instead of immediately loosing hope on him, maybe he would finally talk.
She was very wrong.
Pomni had made a few attempts to reach out to Jax in the days after their fight. She just wanted to apologize if she made him uncomfortable in any way with her prying. But everytime she got a little too close to bringing up the topic, he came up with some excuse for him to get away.
She had heard every excuse ranging from him being too busy putting centipedes in Ragatha's room, to claiming he didn't talk to short people, and even straight up deflecting saying nothing happened that day. Which that last one just proves Pomni right. If "nothing happened" why would he be so determined to ignore her?
She wasn't going to let him get away that easily.
As she left her room and made her way to the lobby, she checked every door icon to ensure there were no new red X's she should be worried about. She knew it was morbid but she always felt like something bad would happen if she didn't check each morning.
It could have just been an anxious habit. It could have been due to the fact that on her first day here she was chased by an abstraction and she never wanted to be caught off guard like that again. Either way, it quickly became a part of her daily routine.
No new X's to report this morning. Thank God.
Pomni walked into the lobby to find everyone already in their respective spots on the couches, making small talk about whatever was the hot topic this morning. Everyone except Jax. That was pretty normal though. He liked to hide out sometimes. Though it usually meant that he was scheming something.
Pomni had a feeling he was sulking this time. It wasn't any of her business how he coped. If it meant one morning without Jax disrupting the peace, then so be it.
Ragatha noticed Pomni first, "Oh! Morning, Pomni. How'd you sleep?"
"Eh about the same every other night. Still getting used to the new pajamas," She responded as she took her seat next to Ragatha.
"I wish I could have gotten pajamas. Or at least some outfit change. Though I guess that's pretty difficult for Zooble and I... A dress would be nice" Gangle piped up, sketchbook in hand.
And with that the conversation shifted to figure out how to get more wardrobe changes for Gangle and Zooble.
It all felt so... Domestic. Normal. Human. It was moments like this that reminded Pomni how people like Kinger and Ragatha had been here so long. They had to learn how to keep their humanity.
Jax's "cartoon character" philosophy seemed to be the opposite of that. In order to get through to Jax, she would have to convince a man with no humanity left, that he was real. That he was allowed to be human.
Pomni took a mental note of this and returned to the conversation at hand without letting thoughts of Jax take over.
She had been thinking about him a lot lately huh? About the way he talks. The way he jokes. The way he's so annoying but it was bearable when they were actually having fun together. He was actually pretty fun to be around when he wasn't being an asshole and-
"Pomni?" Ragatha waved her hand in front of Pomni's face.
"Wha- yea?" She responded after a quick shake of her head, the bells on her jester hat jingling.
"We were talking about how we used to dress before the circus. It was your turn," Ragatha was smiling but she had that usual hidden concerned look in her eyes.
Well there goes not thinking about Jax for once. He wasn't even here and he was interrupting her conversation.
"Sorry sorry. Lost in thought I suppose," she thought for a moment, "Umm my style was pretty simple. I had to dress formal for my office job so I definitely just dressed down in my free time. Jean shorts and a graphic tee was my go to."
"Oh I love tea!" Kinger chimed in. Before anyone could gently correct him, he continued, "Except for when tea blight bugs start eating the leaves. They spread blister blight on the plant and kill it."
The others sit in silence for a moment, making sure he was done, before Pomni spoke up, "Thanks for the bug fact, Kinger."
"Bugs? Where?" He exclaimed before rushing off to his pillow fort, most likely searching for new additions to his insect collection.
They all glace at each other before Pomni couldn't hold back her smile anymore. As much as she hates it here, she had quickly grown to love the people she was stuck with.
If only she could get through to Jax. Then maybe that purple rabbit would stop living rent free in her head.
Their morning conversation had shifted from one about clothes to wondering when Caine would make himself known. Just then, as if saying his name summoned him (which it probably did), Caine popped up out of nowhere floating just above the couches. Gangle let out a squeal and Pomni jumped in her seat.
"Gooood morning my little fruity pebbles!" He exclaimed in his booming voice. It was almost like his voice surrounded you in a way. It was engulfing.
"How are you all on this fine morning?" Caine floated on his stomach and kicked his legs behind him while fluttering his non-existent eyelashes.
"We've been-" Ragatha started to respond but was cut off.
"That's wonderful! But enough with the small talk, I'm sure you've all been wondering what's in-store for today's methodically planned adventure by your's truly." Caine looked at the four sitting in front of him when he knew he had six humans under his watch, "Uh oh looks like we're missing a few!"
With a snap of Caine's fingers, Kinger was brought back out of his pillow fort. He was plopped down on the couch with a simple, "Oh."
Jax was also dragged into the lobby. His eyes were wide as if he had been caught off guard. He almost seemed embarrassed. He fell onto his couch a lot less gracefully than Kinger.
Jax landed almost entirely upside down as he let out a grunt. He scrambled to get upright. Once he did, he gave a quick, angry glance to everyone before rolling his eyes and crossing both his arms and his legs, annoyance still evident on his face.
Today was going to be fun...