[Chapter 3: "Use your head, little one. Use your head and get what you want, as long as you have the manners."] ____________________________________ Kinger sat in his fortress, staring at the pillows, sitting in the dark, his hand sliding over the floor, hesitating, thinking about something. What was there to do, really? Just sit here in the dark until he's forced back into the brightness. He thought for a second until a quiet movement of a pillow came from outside, making him look up, glancing over at the pillows. "Hey." Jax said, moving the pillow out of the way. "Hey, Jax." Kinger said, looking back the other direction. Jax hesitated for a moment, before sighing. "Could I...come in? I need to talk to you." He muttered quietly, almost so quiet that Kinger couldn't hear it, but Kinger heard. "Sure, just make sure no light gets in." He hummed. Jax crouched down, sliding in the small area, before putting the pillows back in the way of the "outside", slightly hesitating again. "So.." Kinger muttered before Jax could say anything, turning towards the rabbit. "What did you need to talk about?" Jax sat there for a moment, clutching his overalls, pinching himself slightly, before sighing shakily. "How do you seem so much more...smart in the dark?" He asked, staring at Kinger for a few seconds, before quickly looking at the ground. Kinger hesitated for a second, before lowering his head, as well. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" He asked, sliding his hand across the ground. "No, not really." Jax rubbed the back of his neck, a sharp, nervous laugh slipping out. "Just wondering?" Kinger chuckled back, sliding his hand back and forth on the smooth checkered ground, even if it was dark. "Yeah." "Well, all I'm gonna say is the fact that the darkness helps me think more straightly, so it just works so I can...help out, y'know?" Kinger said, before pausing, waiting on Jax to answer. "That...makes sense, somehow." Jax muttered quietly, his foot tapping on the ground. "Well, how wouldn't it?" Kinger laughed about it, before pausing, realizing it wasn't an exact thing to laugh about. Jax chuckled back nervously, it coming out more as a forced cough. "I don't know, uh, ignore that, actually, back to the thing I /wanted/ to talk about in the first place." "Right. Okay." Kinger hesitated slightly, before nodding slightly. "Go ahead." "Yesterday, you said...when Ragatha was acting weird she wouldn't abstract, when that's what everyone's so scared about it. How would you know?" Jax asked, his voice shaking slightly. Kinger's brow furrowed in concern, but he sighed. "I didn't, I was really just trying to comfort you guys." "That's not..comforting." Jax muttered. Kinger paused. "What?" "I....nothing! Just a prank! HAHAHA..." "..." Kinger stared at Jax for a moment, before looking away. "Should you leave?" He asked. "What-?" Kinger felt Jax staring at him and he quickly lifted a hand, placing it on Jax's wrist. *He's shaking.* Jax quickly pulled away, chuckling nervously. "Kinger- what are you-" "Nothing." Kinger cut him off, looking away, bringing his hand back to him. "You should leave now, though." He said, concern is shown in his voice. Jax froze, his hands balling into fists, before sighing, sliding out, kicking the pillows out of the way. Causing the entire fortress to fall. Kinger quickly grabbed a pillow, pulling it over his head. "JAX!" He snapped. Jax flinched, visibly swallowing, backing up a few steps, lifting his hands in a defensive motion. "Sorry, jeez!" He muttered, turning and walking off. Kinger's face relaxed and he sighed, starting to place the base pillows back down, keeping the pillow over his face. Jax walked quietly throughout the circus, before he paused, noticing Caine floating right in front of him, though his back was facing towards the rabbit. *Crap.* Jax slowly turned right, starting to walk off, walking as quiet as he possibly could. "Jax!" Caine's call made him freeze, sighing shakily, staring at the ground. *CRAP.* Caine floated towards Jax, an excited look in his eyes. Jax stared back with a tired expression. "Listen, Caine, I don't feel like...going on one of your little adventures, I was heading to my room to sleep." Jax lied, closing his eyes. "You don't NEED sleep, my long eared fiend!" Jax winced like the words like they genuinely hurt. He just knew what was coming. "Jax, Jax, Jax, it's been quite a few minutes since anybody's done a solo adventure." Caine hummed, his voice sounding like a threat. Jax felt his body tensing up, but he opened his eyes, staring at Caine with a serious expression, his breathing quicker, but he sighed, forcing himself to calm down. *It won't be that bad. Caine never does anything bad.* "Okay...solo adventure." Jax muttered, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Why now? And why ME?" He crossed his arms, tilting his head. "It'd be better if you didn't question it, Jax, it's really not anything bad, it'll be fun!"
[[CONTINUED]] "Is that a..." Jax started. "It's a promise!" Caine chirped. Jax sighed, straightening his position. "Fine. Just this one, right?" He sighed, narrowing his eyes slightly. Caine's expression got excited. *Too excited* Jax hesitated, swallowing. Caine leaned in closer, his floating eyes spinning in opposite directions inside his mouth of teeth. He didn't blink. He *couldn't* blink, slowly lifting his hand and moving it towards Jax. Jax backed up a step, his shoulders tensing. "Snap!" Caine's fingers collided with a sound like a small explosion. The checkered floor beneath Jax didn't just vanish; it shattered like glass. Jax didn't even have time to yell before he plunged into total darkness, the air whistling past his long ears. He braced for impact, but instead of hitting the ground, he slammed heavily onto a velvet couch. Jax winced slightly, rolling over, staring around, hesitating slightly, before sitting up, rubbing his arm. Suddenly a spotlight flashed down on him, releasing a blinding light, Jax closed his eyes for a moment, moving his hand over his eyes, before opening them and looking around. This wasn't where he JUST was. No. Instead, there was snow everywhere around, falling, landing on the ground. Jax glanced up, expecting a spotlight, but just seeing the sun flashing down through clouds. Jax looked back down, his breathing getting caught in his throat, looking straight ahead. In the distance, there was a cabin. A warm looking cabin. That cabin...why does it look so- Something clicked. Jax stood there for a moment, before backing up a step, the snow giving a quiet 'sff' with his movements, staring at the cabin, his breathing getting quick as he realized. "No..." he muttered quietly, before taking a shaky breath, looking down. Why was the snow so cold? It used to feel just like static. *Calm down Jax...* He sighed, closing his eyes again. *It's not real. Caine would never put me here. I'm just in the circus in my room having a dream. I'm just having a dream.* He bit his lip. "Jax?" The voice sounded familiar. All too familiar. All too friendly. Jax opened his eyes quickly. Usually, he'd be back in the circus. No. He's still in the snow. And now... Ribbit was standing there, staring at him with concern in her eyes, before they sparked into happiness. "Oh, Jax!" She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug. Jax tensed slightly, before slowly wrapping his arms back around her. "It's...been a minute since I've seen you..." He muttered quietly. "What do you mean by that?" Ribbit pulled away just enough, staring at him with confusion. "What-? Ribbit, I- last time I saw you was-" "Right now! I'm right here, silly! Oh, you look so cold..shall we head inside?" She smiled sweetly, tilting her head, wrapping her arm around Jax's waist, making him tense slightly. "Uhm...sure." He smiled nervously. "Great! It's so nice to have you here, y'know. Maybe we can stargaze, sleep, and drink hot cocoa..." Ribbit hummed, leading him towards the cabin like he didn't know how to walk. Jax hesitated slightly, looking at Ribbit for a moment, realizing she never looked away from him. He looked forward quickly, as they walked up the stairs of the cabin. Ribbit let go of his waist to open the door, and Jax exhaled shakily, walking in. "It's so nice to see you here! I've been waiting for you for hours, y'know." Ribbit chirped, walking in behind him. Jax sat down on the couch, nervously staring at the ground. "Oh! I'll go get the hot chocolate, we have catching up to do!" Ribbit clasped her hands together, walking off quickly. "Right.." Jax muttered, his leg bouncing on the ground nervously. *Caine...this better be a prank...* He thought, closing his eyes. ____________________________________ ⚿ AU : @-JAXT0Y- ⚿ ART: NONE RN!!! ⚿ AUDIO : New Darling! - Maretu → Previous : https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1317638448/ → Next : WIP → First : https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1308870223/ GULP I'LL ADD THE ART WHEN IM BACK FROM BREAK I SWEAR!! OKAY IMMA GO TO BED NOW! CYA'LL AFTER BREAK
