Chapter Text
Ragatha woke up to shifting next to her. The first thing that came to her mind was wondering where she was, as this wasn't her normal room. It only took a second for memories of last night to surface. 'Oh, right... Pomni wanted me to stay.' She looked over to the new addition to the circus. She frowned when she saw the jester girl toss and turn as she slept.
Pomni's face was looking pained as she dreamt. In her dream, she ran through more exit doors, only finding more. Trying to outrun the black blob of eyes. It always being just out of reach of her, but she could feel how close it was. "Leave me alone!" She screamed. "I just want to go home!"
"I...Just... Home..." Pomni mumbled as she continued to toss and turn.
Ragatha frowned. 'Poor dear...' She reached over and used her cloth hand to gently brush her forehead. "It will be okay, Pomni... You just need to calm down." She spoke quietly.
Pomni was in the creature's grasp, a mouth appeared out of someplace on it and she was lifted towards it. "No! Please!"
"You just need to calm down..."
The jester girl heard a soothing voice echo out against the monster's snarls. "Huh?" The monster seemed to freeze as her focus was turned away from it.
"I am here... I know this place is scary... But, it isn't so bad... You got me to help you through it, okay?"
She couldn't tell who the voice belonged to, but it was strangely welcoming. "H-hello?" Pomni wasn't sure when the monster disappeared, but she was now surrounded by white instead of the office spaces.
"Can you wake up for me?..."
'Wake up?... Am I... Dreaming?...' Pomni looked at her hands and her vision became blurry. The room was spinning, or maybe she was, either way, she felt sick. "Ugh..." The spinning stopped and she plummeted into the void. "AHHHHH!!!!"
"AHHHHH!!!!" Pomni shot up, her chest heaving as she panted. Her eyes darted around the room, she looked over and saw Ragatha with a patient smile. "NO!" She screamed and flipped over on the bed to face her pillow. She then started to cry.
'Well, that could have gone better...' Ragatha tried to salvage the moment a bit. "Good morning, Pomni." She said with a bit of cheer to hopefully add a bit of it to her new friend. "Ready to start the day?" She was met with more sobs.
"I am still here!" Pomni cried as she thrashed around on her bed, pounding the pillow she was dampening with her tears. "I was hoping that this was all a dream! I am still stuck here!"
"Oh, come now. It isn't so bad." Ragatha lightly elbowed the new arrival.
Pomni rose from her pillow and looked her dead in her mismatched eyes. "We are trapped in a simulation, forced to go on strange adventures, by a guy with only a mouth and eyeballs for a head. HOW IS IT NOT THAT BAD?!" If she was in her real body, she was sure her voice would have broke there. She suddenly felt all her fight leave her in one swift moment, and she let herself flop back down onto the bed, her head sideways. "Just... Let me wallow..." Her tears slowed down, but still steadily dripped from her face. No longer a river, but a constant creek.
Ragatha took a deep breath in and out. "Look, Pomni... I know that this situation isn't ideal..."
"Hmm..." All the jester did was hum back in response. Looking like she has already giving up for the day.
'I am not letting you stay like this.' "BUT, it does have some advantages." Ragatha saw her pupuls look up to her and her face looked as if she was asking 'What?'. "We are free to do whatever we want. We could go swimming, play games, read books, although most here are meant for children-The point is, we can do anything your little heart desires." She saw Pomni open her mouth. "Within the confines of this place. I know you would love to just go back to your old life, but that is one of the few things we can't do, sorry." She patted Pomni's back a few times to try and comfort her. "So, what would you like to do?" She gave a hopeful smile.
Pomni was quiet for a full minute. "I want to lay here and die..."
Ragatha's smile faltered a bit. "Sorry. That is also a no. You can't die here. Even being abstracted, you are still alive, you just aren't 'you' anymore."
Pomni somehow found a way to make herself look even more deflated. She didn't say anything else.
Ragatha tried to think of something to cheer her up, anything. "How about we get us some breakfast?"
Pomni mumbled. "We don't need to eat..."
"No, but digital pancakes, still taste like pancakes. Come on." Ragatha looped her arms under the jester's shoulders and held her to her chest. "I got you." The ragdoll didn't feel her struggle as she just laid slack against her. "It's going to be okay, Pomni. I promise." She didn't get a responce, but she didn't expect one. She carried Pomni out of her room, she was sure to push the welcome basket into the room before she left. She was sure Jax would take it otherwise.
Pomni showed no reaction, but she had to admit... 'Being carried is... nice...'
They made it to the kitchen where everything seemed a bit too big for anyone to use, but there were stools and stepladders to help reach.
"What do we have here?" Caine poofed out of a sudden cloud of smoke. "I usually have bubble handle breakfast, what brings you ladies to the kitchen?"
"Hey, Caine. I was just wanting to take a crack at making breakfast again. Pomni is still a bit down in the dumps, so I wanted to make her something. Hope that's okay." Ragatha explained to the A.I.
"It is wonderful that you want to make our new addition welcome." He moved closer and poked Pomni's head a bit, but she didn't react. "She could use a bit of cheering up it seems. I hope you become in good spirits soon, Pomni. You guys have free reign of the kitchen. Just be sure to make enough for everyone, and I do mean everyone." He leaned over to the ragdoll's ear and whispered not so quietly. "I know you purposely made just enough for everyone, but Jax." He leaned back and went to his normal volume. "I like a good prank every now and again, but your cooking is cruel to not have." He laid his hand on his top jaw then snaped back to his usual pose. "Well, I am off. Just ring the bubble button if you need help. We have an adventure starting at noon, so be sure to be at the show room."
Ragatha nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Caine." She watched him wave and disappear. "He is nice, if not a bit weird. You just need to learn to roll with his zaniness." She looked down and Pomni, who still had a dead stare in her eyes. "Here. Let's get you a seat. I will start cooking, k?" She placed the jester girl on a stool, her body barely staying up, but she seemed to be stable. "There we go. Now... Where is the flour?..."
Ragatha moved about the kitchen, gathering ingredients and putting everything together. She decided to make Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fresh squeezed orange juice. She pressed the Bubble button and had them move most of the finished food out to the dining room. Leaving just enough food for the two left in the kitchen. "I bet you don't want to deal with the others right now, so we can just eat here." She moved Pomni's seat over to the counter and placed a plate of food in front of her, and holding her own, but standing nearby.
Pomni just stared at the plate for a bit. She eventually pushed the plate away. "Em...not...hngry." She mumbled with a scowl.
Ragatha pouted. "Come on, it will make you feel better." She inched the plate closer to her new friend.
"I said I'm not hungry!" Pomni slapped the plate away, and it fell onto the floor.
Ragatha got a bit mad at this. "Hey, I took the time to make that!" She saw the jester girl flinch at her tone. 'Crud...' "Sorry for yelling... Look, at least try a bite." She used her fork on the pancake. A solid chunk appeared onto the fork in a perfect 1/10th slice, leaving the other 9/10ths on the plate. The syrup and butter not moving at all as the piece was moved towards Pomni's mouth.
Pomni leaned away. "We don't need to eat... Why bother?"
"Try it and see." Ragatha gave an encouraging smile. "Come on, it is easy. Hear comes the airplane, 'Errrrrr.'." She motioned the chunk back to Pomni.
"I am not a child." Pomni crossed her arms and scowled.
She put the plate down. 'Got to pull out the big guns.' "Okay, you win... SIKE!" Ragatha began to tickle Pomni's belly with her free hand.
Pomni squirmed in place for a few seconds, before she bursted out laughing. "Hey! Ahahah! Quit it! AHAHA! *GASP* AHAHA-*Omph*-!" Her giggles were silenced as the food covered fork was shoved into her mouth as the ragdoll's hand moved away from her stomach. She started to chew out of reflex, and the taste was immediate. The fluffiness of the cakes, the saltiness of the butter, and the sugary sweetness of the syrup filled her mouth. She chewed for a few seconds before swallowing. "That... But...How?..."
Ragatha just smiled. "Just because it isn't real, doesn't mean it doesn't taste real. The best thing about it," She paused for a second. "it never goes bad." She took her own bite, using the same fork, but not seeming to notice or care. "It stay freshly cooked till you eat it or throw it out, at which point, it gets deleted and recycled back into ingredients." She offered another bite to Pomni, who hesitated for a second, but took the bite, enjoying the flavor again. "I saw that you didn't eat at dinner, so you didn't taste anything. Bubble is a pretty good chef, I think I do a bit better though." She rubbed her hand on her chest for a second as she praised herself. "So, what do you think?"
Pomni looked down, but a small smile graced her lips. "It was the best pancakes I have ever eaten..." She blushed.
"Awe, thank you." Ragatha hugged Pomni tight. "Most of the gang says that my cooking is just 'Okay.'. Jax says it taste like crap, but I know he seeks seconds when he can." She pushed the plate back towards Pomni. "Eat up. I have had plenty before. So, don't worry about taking my food, okay?"
Pomni gave a single nod. "Okay..." She took the fork and started to eat.
Ragatha wouldn't say it, but she felt something warm in her chest as she watched the sad little jester eat her food. She also felt it when she felt said jester grip her dress as Caine appeared. Same when she was tickling her. 'I will make sure you will be okay, Pomni. I promise.' She thought as she watched the girl eat. A smile graced her lips and slowly grew to a large grin. 'Ragatha's here to care for you when you need it.'