Scared 0f Starvation ⮽ Chapter Two

Instructions

[Chapter 2: "Just a doll."] ____________________________________ It was just a normal adventure. Well...as normal as it could get with Caine being the ringmaster. One minute Ragatha was trying to keep Pᴏmni from asking bad questions when Caine could be around anytime, anywhere... and the next... Ragatha was just standing there like she didn't know any of them. When she knew she did. Jax was leaning on a tree, glancing over at Ragatha slightly. "What're you looking at me like that for?" He asked. Ragatha blinked a few times, before looking away. "Nothing! Sorry!" Jax hesitated slightly, his ear twitching, looking over at Zooble, who just shrugged. "We should continue." Ragatha said quickly, walking forward, pushing Gangle out of her way. "Ragatha-" Pᴏmni said, putting her hand on Ragatha's arm, making the doll flinch and turn her head. "Y-Yeah?" "Why are you acting so weird?" "I'm not!" "You are, Kinger isn't immune to it, and it's bright here." Ragatha looked over at Kinger, who was staring at her, mumbling something. "But I feel fine-" She lied, looking back at Pᴏmni. "Do you actually feel fine?" Jax said, walking up behind Pᴏmni. Ragatha glared at him. "Since when did you care? You're the big jerk of the place. So why are you asking me? To mock me? You big idiot!" This made Jax pause. Zooble's eyes widened Gangle looked up from the ground. Kinger stopped shaking. They all looked at her weirdly. Ragatha's hands balled into fists and she looked away. "N-Nothing..let's just hurry up so we can get back to the circus." She said, quickly walking off. Pᴏmni reached out her hand, as if about to call to Ragatha, but Zooble grabbed her hand, shaking their head. "Let's..go, Pᴏmni.." "But...Ragatha-" "She's going to be difficult." Jax cut in, staring at the doll leaving, staring at her like she was weird, but there was a hint...a small hint of concern. "We should just go and ask Caine about it." "But- I thought we were trying to avoid Caine-" "I don't think we should avoid him if there's something happening." Ragatha kept walking, ignoring the fact she could feel the others staring at her, looking down at the ground slightly, walking a bit quicker. [[A few hours later...]] A portal opened, and Ragatha stared at it for a moment, before walking through. Caine was there to greet them as usual. Ragatha just kept walking. "Jeez, what's up with her? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Caine asked, mentioning towards her. Pᴏmni stared at him, before taking a step forward. "Actually, we wanted to ask you if you did something to Ragatha- she was fine until just a bit ago." She explained, lifting a hand slightly, blinking. Caine stared at Pᴏmni, adjusting his hat, before chuckling. "Ah, I see. I could go check on her, maybe." "NO!" Everyone yelled simultaneously, making Caine flinch and put his hands up innocently, floating backwards. "For the love of- okay, fine!" He said, huffing, crossing his arms, tapping his arm for a minute. "Exactly when did she act...off?" He asked, glancing over. Jax tensed slightly, his hands balling into fists. "Why do you.." His eyes widened slightly and he looked at where Ragatha went, quickly walking off, digging in his pocket, taking out the key to her room. Caine watched, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What's he doing?" Zooble clearly caught the look in his eye, because they grabbed Caine's arm. "Caine! How about another adventure?" They asked quickly. Caine looked back at them, his eyes sparking in amusement. "Oh! I just need an idea...to the drawing board, then!" He chirped, before disappearing, a small bit of confetti popping up, blowing down on the 4 of them there. Pᴏmni looked at Zooble. "You don't think that Ragatha's....?" "She couldn't be..." Gangle whimpered, bringing her ribbons to her face. Zooble shook their head, sighing. "I don't know, but that look on Jax's face...I think it's going to be fine if we just keep her with us she'll be fine. She has to be. We can't lose her now. If she abstracts..." "She won't." Kinger said, before sliding away. Zooble looked over, their eyes widening. "What- Kinger- how would you know-?" But Kinger ignored them, continuing to slide. "Ragatha! Wait up!" Jax called, running towards the doll. Ragatha didn't 'wait up', she just walked faster. Dammit. Jax moved his legs faster, trying to catch up. Don't go in your room, Ragatha. Don't think about it. Don't do it. "CAN YOU STOP?!" Ragatha's yell echoed through the hall, making Jax freeze, grabbing onto the wall. "Can you just STOP following me?! God, you're SO ANNOYING!" "I'm annoying? I'm trying to HELP YOU!" "YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST TRYING TO PUT A CENTIPEDE IN MY HAIR!" "Rags, let's be fair here, it's been a while since I've done that." "It has but you NEVER change. You're always trying to prank everybody." "It's been forever!" "Back to my statement. You never change, you're just trying to trick us for your own enjoyment." Jax's shoulders tensed, his hands balling into fists. "That's not-"