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“Gather round my fruzu-lustrious fannites!” Caine blipped into digital existence, Bubble in tow. His teeth chattered, following the excited giggles that flowed from his mouth— er, eyes? Gangle was blubbering profusely, kneeling down to pick up one half of her comedy mask. “Oh dear… I really tried to keep it on today.” Zooble, the mixed-up member of Caine’s circus, was busily rummaging through a box of assorted parts. Kinger sat on the couch, fixated on a plastic pink flamingo he had pulled from the faux grass lawn outside.
“Sorry, Gangle— I’m not seeing any new masks.”
Ragatha collected bits of the other broken half into the folds of her dress. Her cherry red hair bounced frivolously up and down, simply refusing to stay in one place.
“Hellooo? Anyone?” Caine announced, clapping his hands together.
“Zooble! Where are Pomni and Jax? Ugh, don’t tell me they're hiding!” His harlequin eyes wandered every which way, suddenly shooting out the back of Caine’s chatter teeth face. They swooped past Ragatha’s body, nearly knocking her off balance. Her skirts fluttered past her ankles, allowing cold air to brush the back of her thighs.
“Caine!” She squeaked, immediately pushing her dress down.
“Now, now, Ragatha! I’m trying to find those two rascals!” Caine aimlessly drifted around, tapping a finger against his front tooth. One of his floating eyes bumped into Bubble’s side, to which the minion gave it a nibble.
“Ow!” Caine shrieked, slapping Bubble’s backside with his staff.
Zooble narrowed their eyes, and quickly took Gangle by the hand. “ I’m just about to throttle that stupid ringmaster.” They made a show of flexing their noodle arms. Gangle laughed, though her tears still flowed.
“You guys go on ahead, I’ll take care of this.” Ragatha gestured to the shards still cradled in her dress.
“You don’t need to do that, you know. It's all pixels. They don’t hurt, not really.” Zooble shook their head.
The doll shrugged. “Chores are good. Builds character.”
Ragatha, to her credit, remembered where the waste bin was (next to the lime-green circular column!). It didn’t do much seeing as nothing really existed in this place. The circus was just a model. She could walk into a particular spot and find herself clipping into the lake. Still, it was nice to have some semblance of normal human processes.
Back home, Ragatha threw herself into chores. It was the best way to be useful.
“Raga-Agatha!” Caine’s hand enveloped her shoulder as soon as she dropped the shards into the waste bin. His eyes were still gone, floating about the circus no doubt.
“ ‘Ra-ga-tha’ , Caine. You named me, remember?”
He stared (as best as anyone could with no eyes) blankly.
“Well, Ragnes— You’re a people person, right? Go find them! Oooh, better yet— tell them that I have a surprise! These last few adventures haven’t really been hitting the dial so to speak, so I’m trying something…”
Caine took a deep breath.
“Different.” He finished, topping off such a revolutionary thought with jazz hands.
“I’m sure it’ll be great, Caine. But, um… Can’t you just snap your fingers and uh— call them?” Ragatha would rather not get into it with the damned rabbit. And Pomni, she found, did not like to be doted on.
“It’d save everyone the headache.”
“Nonsense! I’m a good caretaker! Instead of putting myself in the awkward position of being yelled at, I make you do it! See? Win-Win.” Caine chattered, shaking hands with himself. “Now, go on! Get to it, I’m counting on you!” He gave her two thumbs up facing the other direction.
Ragatha felt that oh so pesky affection arise.
This need of hers. It was stronger than fear, than annoyance. It pulled her out of bed, and lulled her back to sleep. Being needed was like a drug. She thrived off a job well done, and it was no secret. It made the days of digital hell somewhat palatable.
Ragatha walked into the resident hall; a long, winding corridor with several rooms. She passed the first couple doors, ignoring the crossed-out faces. Many of them were friends, long lost to the darker depths of Caine’s circus.
Her friends.
She committed them to memory, once. Their voices, their faults, their joys, and their losses. Everyone was burdened here, but they were burdened together. Long ago, she was determined to never let the pain stop, because to forget them was an insult. How could she make up for all those moments when she nearly lost herself?
Her eyes caught on the rubber hose dog a few doors down.
His name would rest with the others deep in her psyche; buried.
Forgetting was how Ragatha survived. Focus on the happy bits, and blur the bad. It didn’t matter how many tears she had let loose behind closed doors, how much sleep she lost, nor how many times she cursed herself for being so callous.
It was best not to think about such things.
Very briefly, she wondered if she could hide in her bed. Just for the day. Caine might give her some leeway for being such a good sport all these years. He liked that about her.
Ragatha’s mouth turned downward.
But…. Caine might stop liking her if she dared to skip out. She couldn’t capture his attention like Zooble, or Pomni. He wouldn’t sit her down and ask what’s wrong.
Ragatha passed her own room, refusing to look at her smiling face.
A poor mask, if anyone squinted.
Jax’s grin was stamped on the door right next to hers. Ragatha brought her hand up, prepared for the whole song-and-dance that was their relationship. She didn’t know how to get through to him. It was like the rabbit had x-ray vision. He could see every tactic, every which way she’d twist herself to charm him.
Ragatha had given up hope long ago.
She switched doors, walking to Pomni’s room across the hall. No reason she’d have to agonize herself, it’s not like Jax would care. The rabbit would find his way to the meeting area sooner or later.
“Pomni?” Ragatha knocked on the jester’s door.
No answer.
“It’s time for another adventure.” The doll said, somewhat tiredly. Though unlikely, Ragatha always wondered which resident she could unknowingly say her goodbyes to. That’s how it was in this place, every day was a breaking point.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Pomni’s voice was muffled through the door.
Ragatha stepped aside, making sure the distance between them wasn’t stifling. She didn’t realize how much she hovered until Pomni pointed it out. “I can think for myself.” The jester’s voice rang in her head, over and over.
Is that how everyone saw her? Overbearing?
The door creaked open, revealing the semi-newish member to the Digital Circus. It was great (or terrible) luck that Pomni came when she did. Kaufmo, the old funny man of the circus, had abstracted. Despite her first few days, the jester was actually settling in okay. Ragatha was a little envious of how easy the transition was, her own arrival was chock full of tears and anxiety.
“Great. I’ll just go back then, tell Jax he needs to get up.” Ragatha smiled. Being needed, as good as it felt, wasn’t enough to drown out the awkwardness.
Jax, strangely, had not taken the time to bother her.
It was only a few days after the ‘lightning round’ of adventures they had. There were no centipedes in Ragatha’s dresser drawer, no eels in her bath. Not once had the rabbit stuck his leg out to trip her. At first, she was relieved that his tricks had stopped, but at some point the stagnation became puzzling.
Ragatha had considered asking him. Then, she realized how useless that was.
“Maybe you should go.” Pomni muttered, walking through the door. “He’s been weird ever since the softball game. I tried talking to him about it, but… well…” The jester suddenly jerked forward, appearing to squirm for a moment. She reached into her collar and pulled out a small centipede.
Ragatha jumped away as Pomni simply tossed it aside.
“I think I’m gonna sleep in Kinger’s fort tonight.”
Ragatha was not amused with the idea. “Oh, I bothered him enough— and, you know… he reacts better with anyone else. Besides, I think I hurt his feelings.” She mumbled that last part out, trying to smooth down her frayed hair noodles.
Her stomach turned.
How could she be so thoughtless? Even to someone like Jax. He was human, just like her. He could think, and feel, and love, and a million other things. If she was a better person, she could say that she empathized.
Instead, the thought of Jax hating her was terrifying.
“You apologized, didn’t you?” Pomni asked, already a few yards ahead.
“Yes. But, I didn’t think he’d be a baby about it.” Ragatha reached for the patchwork folds of her dress, clenching the fabric between her hands. She stared at the looming hallway of doors and crossed-out faces. Suddenly, she couldn’t help but wonder what was happening behind closed doors.
What if…?
Her cotton feet were almost silent as she reached Jax’s door. It looked normal. No varying glitches or black pixels centered around the frame.
Ragatha tested the door handle and found it unlocked.
Her eyes instinctively squeezed shut as the door drifted open. A silly way to prolong the inevitable. As much as she hat— ‘disliked’ Jax, she would never wish such despair on him.
Like it or not, they were burdened together.
Ragatha slowly opened her eyes. Her heart beat like a drum, drowning out the ambience of digital music.
The darkness seeped into the corners like normal. The sheets were clean, neatly tucked into the sides of a large bed. Ragatha glanced around, wondering where she’d find that stupid smug face.
“Looking for someone?”
Ragatha jumped, throwing her elbow into the rabbit’s side. There was a loud groan, before something shoved her back. Ragatha stumbled, catching herself on the door frame while the just-fine Jax was nursing his ribs.
“Jeez Dollface, calm down. You’re lucky I’m fresh out of centipedes.”
“Don’t scare me like that!” Ragatha shouted, knocking her fists against his arm.
Her soft cotton exterior definitely didn’t hurt, but maybe that was good. She’d do so much more if it weren’t for her manners. A couple days of moping, and suddenly Jax just felt like talking to her.
Not that she cared.
“Yeah, yeah. Relax. Just doing my routine ‘safety check’ .” The rabbit chided, flicking the tip of Ragatha’s patchwork nose.
In his other hand was the glint of a gold key.
“Safety— What is it with you and violating everyone’s privacy?” Ragatha tore away from his side, flushing horribly. “And here I was thinking you were gonna do something stupid!“ She threw her arms down, trying to regain composure. Like clockwork, she was always the one to lose her head.
Why couldn’t it be Jax all stressed and angry?
“Jeez doll, I wasn’t doin’ anything. I’m a restless soul, most people are into that.” Jax’s lanky arm reached past her, grasping his door handle. There was faint click, as Jax inserted the key and locked his bedroom away.
“Look, we have another adventure to get through.” Ragatha shoved past him. She wasn’t keen on playing games. “I can’t believe I wasted my time being worried—“
A strong hand grasped her shoulder.
Ragatha snapped her head in Jax’s direction, ready to mouth off about the creepy crawler he was about to drop down the back of her dress.
Jax was staring at her, quite intently.
His eyes widened into saucers, and that stupid, lackadaisical grin on his face was gone.
“Worried.”
“Hmm?” Ragatha tried prying his fingers off her sleeve. Being a doll was a can of worms on its own; she technically had two fingers on each hand. The other three had fused into annoying flaps of fabric, rendering her hits soft and feeble.
“Worried. That’s what you said.” Jax gave her a quizzical look, pushing her shoulder back so she could face him.
“You haven’t tried to mess with me once after the… the thing.” She trailed off. Ragatha found herself wracked with self-hatred after that stupid stargazing activity. Seeing Pomni follow the ‘jackass of all trades’ so willingly after made it so much worse.
Was Ragatha such a horrible person that a verified asshole was better company than her?
“But, you went looking for me.” Jax said.
“Caine asked me to!” Ragatha sharply inhaled, finally managing to twist out of his grip. Her face was red-hot with anger. How dare he touch her like that! All this boiling stress was overwhelming. It threatened to spill over, make her do something she might regret.
For a moment, it seemed Jax’s ears had drooped.
“And here I thought you were finally warming up to me.” The comment could’ve been teasing. But, the way he said it was so confusing. Ragatha was inclined to believe that this was some other trick, a joke that the rabbit would gleefully recount over and over.
“But, I guess I need to stop being so optimistic.”
“Optimistic?” Ragatha rubbed her shoulder, trying to smooth out the wrinkles Jax left on her sleeve. “You are acting weird.”
“You still mad I swiped Pomni from ya? Not everyone wants a mother in this place, Dolly.” He bumped his shoulder against hers, only to earn a scowl.
“Still mad, got it.”
“I’m not!” Ragatha huffed, crossing her arms. “Pomni can think for herself! What do I care if she wants to parade around with a sociopath?”
Jax reached into his overall pocket and pulled out a small, gold key.
“We spent so much time here, and yet—“ He tossed the key up in the air “—you still don’t know a thing about me.” Jax caught it, looping the circled end around his pinky.
“I don’t want to know you, Jax.”
The rabbit halted his step. The lapse was brief, but Ragatha caught it all the same. She closed her eyes. God, she’s done it again, hasn’t she? She couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Not in the field of stars. Not on the softball field.
She was always messing up.
“No! Wait, that’s not what I meant!” Ragatha staggered, turning to Jax to try and soothe his feelings.
“I just—“
Jax swung the key around again, showing the jagged end to Ragatha. “It’s funny, Dollface. Every time you’re honest with yourself— I like you a little more.”
He pressed the key into her hand.
“For the adventure today. Caine likes to be fancy, but he always reuses the same base set.”
Ragatha stopped listening after ‘I like you’.
Her brain was imploding. The alarm bells in her head were ringing so loud that they drowned out the usual hateful voices that tended to plague her every move. What was all this ‘like’ business? They weren’t in high school!
“Oh yeah?” Ragatha sputtered, clenching the key so tight, its teeth cut into her cotton skin.
“Well, with each passing day— I like you less!”
Jax was already at the end of the hall.
“Hurry up, Dollface. Adventures afoot.” He smiled, giving her a jolly salute before turning the corner.
Ragatha was left standing there, red-faced and huffing air like an angry tea pot. Her legs were spread out, inline with her shoulders which were raised quite ridiculously. She raised her fist, intent on throwing Jax’s stupid key across the corridor and moving on with her day.
Just as she was in her windup, the annoyingly curious part of her cautioned her to wait.
He gave it to you for a reason, didn’t he?
I don’t care about his reasons!
But, this adventure… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have a contingency plan?
Ragatha wrestled with the idea a few more times. Worst comes to worst, she could just chuck it at any time. And, in the right circumstance, a key to nowhere could actually be helpful.
“Oooooh Ragabelle? I seemed to have gained two performers, but lost one~!” Caine’s sing-song voice rang in her ears. Ragatha stuffed the key into her skirt pocket.
Jax was lucky she just wanted the day over with.
•••
“Now! Gather round, my tantalizing terabytes!" Caine snapped his fingers, summoning a technicolor poster from thin air. “We’ll be taking a blast to the past! But, not just any past— the 1860’s!”
There was a twinkling sound, followed by a shower of light.
Ragatha opened her eyes.
Her skirts were of fine cloth (silk?), and when she touched her head, she felt a lace bonnet that covered much of her hair. Like always, her blue bow sat proudly on top. No matter the costume change, it was the one accessory of hers that stayed consistent. Ragatha reached for her skirt pocket, finding Jax’s key and a small paper card.
The doll squinted, reading the silver letters.
“THE LADY”
Underneath it, in even smaller letters were the words: “Murderess, shhhhhh! You’re the culprit, don’t let anyone know! Find the clues before your fellow suspects in order to win!”
Ragatha gulped, quickly tucking it back into her dress.
Seems that they were doing another ‘murder mystery’.
The rest of the circus troupe were dressed in similar fashion.
Zooble was somehow stuffed into a vest and slacks. One of their mix-matched hands held a paper card similar to Ragatha’s while the other cradled a fancy looking oak pipe.
A professor, if Ragatha had to guess.
Gangle was dressed in long robes and held a pallet of dried paint; an artist. The mouth of her tragedy mask curved up into a smile, as she touched her brush to the pastels on her palette.
Pomni was decked out in a fashionable lace dress and draped in exotic furs. She held a wand of some kind, with grey smoke bleeding out the tip. A socialite of some kind? Like always, her jester’s hat was still stuck on her head.
Kinger was an old sea-captain. He jittered excitedly, holding a harpoon in the air. Those enormous eyeballs stuck on his face kept cycling over and over, eventually switching positions.
And Jax.
Ragatha withheld a chuckle. He still had his overalls, but they were colored black with polished brass buttons. His accessory was a wood stick with long bristles that stuck out in a circle at the end; a chimney sweep.
“I can see you smiling, Doll.”
She turned the other way.
Caine violently coughed, directing everyone’s attention back to his set of chattering teeth. “Now! In this fun, dandy mission— your single objective is to find…”
Suddenly, the circus lights darkened, leaving a single spotlight on Caine’s face.
“The murderer!”
Only Kinger let out a dramatic gasp.
“Thank you, Captain!” Caine opened a portal with the tap of his staff, stepping aside so the others could walk through. “I strategically placed clues all around the mansion! Find them, figure out the murderer, and be entertained!”
Not a single soul gave him a second glance.
“And!” Caine quickly added, fixing his top hat. “And, the person who wins gets to pick the next adventure!”
A few of the circus attendees raised their heads a tiny bit.
Ragatha clutched the key in her pocket.
She wasn’t that intent on winning, but having an adventurer based all around her interests? Maybe she could set the record straight. Request some sort of farming simulation. Back home, she knew that sort of work like no one else.
If everyone could just see her in her element, see how good of character she had…
“Ooh, I like that.” Jax said, touching one of the bells hanging Pomni’s jester hat. “You could get another shot as president, newbie.” He flicked the little gold ball, making it twinkle. Ragatha eyed the two, quietly following the group into the portal.
“Have fun, my friends!” Caine waved furiously just as the portal closed.
The mansion around them wasn’t a new sight. Dusty shelves, dusty books with no words, all were things that she saw someplace before. The sconces and wood texture were reminiscent of the haunted manor adventure they had a few weeks ago. Caine tended to just recolor environmental assets and call it a day. He had much more fun with the physical activities (games, puzzles, characters, etc).
“Oooh, I like my napkin.” Kinger said, staring intently at his card. “Says here I'm a grizzled old fisherman, ain’t that something?”
He squinted a little more closely.
“Does anyone else’s card say “innocent” ?”
“Well, we know it’s not Kinger.” Zooble sighed. They then took out their card and flipped it over, revealing an identical “innocent” marker. They tossed the card away and stuffed their hands into their pockets.
“I guess that leaves us four.” Jax said, dropping his chimney broom and kicking it away. He then turned towards the rest of the group, smiling mischievously.
“Now… who would want to murder everyone?”
Ragatha gulped, trying to keep herself relaxed. Stiffening up might reveal her cards a bit too early, and she really wanted to win. The doll looked around the room, spotting the entrance to a hallway.
Caine said something about ‘clues’, didn’t he?
“I’ll start in the kitchen!” Ragatha announced, speed walking towards the door.
Usually, this was the part where the group would split up into pairs. However, Ragatha wanted to win. Another person would bog down the search, and she didn’t need anyone to note that all the clues were pointing in her direction.
There was some shouting behind her, but Ragatha didn’t pay much attention.
The troupe would break off into groups sooner or later, but at least she had a head start. The bonnet tucking her hair back loosened, causing a few curls to slip past the covering. As Ragatha was about to push them back, she realized that she did not know if this place even had a kitchen.
The layout of Caine’s adventures were always a bit confusing.
At first glance, they made sense; a room here, a bathroom there. But, geometrically the details would get more complicated. One of Ragatha’s first adventures was a giant ’Bubble’ themed amusement park. Most of the rides were generic; rollercoasters, spinning teacups, that sort of thing. However, she ended up walking to the very edge of the park, and found the more ‘unfinished’ parts. Large, towering structures, buildings made of steel and rebar (skeletons, really), and the malformed carnival residents.
The hallway curved, leading to a grand staircase.
“Kitchen… kitchen…” Ragatha said aloud, peeking into one room. The smell of smoke suddenly filled her lungs, and she coughed. Ragatha held her nose, privately cursing Caine for accurately simulating the smell of cigar fumes.
Past the smoke and lights, the doll realized she had found some sort of billiards room.
A mannequin was busy chalking a pool cue, smoking a glowing cigar. It stuck out its blank face, despite the lack of a mouth. The mannequin paid her no mind, only leaning forward and preparing to shoot a game a 8-ball.
Ragatha held her nose as she quickly made her way around the room.
She checked the display of pool cues, the pool table, the velvet armchair, anything that could possibly house a ‘clue’. Murder mysteries weren’t common in the Digital Circus, but Caine always had a motif when he did scavenger hunt-esque adventures.
Ragatha glanced around the room once more.
Her gaze settled on the mannequin. NPCs weren’t anything to gawk at, but she was curious as to why this particular one was here.
Finding a murderer typically involved witnesses, didn’t it?
“Um, hello?”
The mannequin snapped its neck upwards. It tucked the pool cue at its side like a rifle. Wood joints creaked terribly as it turned to face her.
The mannequin stayed in that position, waiting.
“Um, did anything happen here? Anything you saw?” Ragatha asked, showing that small paper card.
“I’m Buzby Buzzbinger! And, I was standin’ right here, when da murder happened!” The mannequin gestured to its wood feet. “Shame, too. Dat Baron—“ Something like splintering wood erupted from the mannequin before its whole body went slack.
Ragatha wondered if Caine hadn’t rewritten this NPC’s code just yet.
There was a lightbulb ding.
“Shame too!” The mannequin announced, much more vigorous and energetic. “Dat LORD was a good man. I’m sorry for your loss, m’lady.”
It tipped an imaginary cap.
“My loss?” Ragatha asked.
“Oh! Oh, right! Yes, my loss.” She cleared her throat, patting her skirts and feeling Jax’s key.
She was the lady of this manor, wasn’t she?
“Um, is there anything else—“
“THAT BEING SAID!” The mannequin shouted. “I did see the Lord and Da [PAINTER] down in the parlor before his death! Ya think dat’s anything—”
As if someone pressed pause on a recording, the mannequin’s voice abruptly stopped.
A small icon with Ragatha’s face suddenly appeared in front of her. It chimed happily, marking a small green checkmark below her picture; she had gotten ‘one’ point. Ragatha watched her smiling face fade from view.
“Don’t.” She commanded.
“Don’t think about it. You want to win.”
The doll had to remember that. She would crumble, but not right now. Strangle that feeling holding you, and its grip will soften. She’s done it so many times that it was second nature.
She could look on the bright side.
Ragatha walked out of the room. The billiard mannequin mentioned the parlor was down somewhere. The doll headed straight for the staircase and flew right down the steps. Her head was strangely empty of her usual thoughts. Typically, Ragatha had to fight through hateful voices and scatterbrained scenarios, but right now— all of her was thinking the same thing.
Win.
Win and show everyone that you’re not just an insecure, pitiful, fake—
“Hi Ragatha!” Kinger’s voice made her jump.
Suddenly, the doll lost her balance. Her feet left the stair.
She was flying.
Her skirts billowed, embarrassingly. If she landed wrong, hopefully Caine was mindful enough to give her some bloomers.
But, no. That’s not how life worked.
In a world where there were sentient computers, living molasses, and asshole rabbits, there was always a glaring realism that Ragatha kept facing: clumsiness.
She smacked into Kinger, hard.
The pain dulled almost immediately. Cotton was a natural pain killer is what Ragatha found out her first few days at the circus. She could be stabbed, burned, drowned, hung, even thrown into an oncoming truck and only feel a twinge.
There were very few things that could hurt her.
Ragatha’s stupid bonnet slid down her head, forcing more hair over her eyes. She laid there for a good moment, catching her breath. Her limbs stuck out at awkward angles, likely bent out of their natural shape. She shifted her elbow, managing to untwist it and firmly grasp one of the wood floorboards.
“Sorry!” Ragatha said, blindly moving off poor Kinger.
“Jeez, if you were so eager to run into me, you could’ve just been my partner…”
The doll stiffened.
She quickly brushed the hair out of her face, desperately hoping that she had imagined that stupid voice.
She did see Kinger, didn’t she?
Yes, he was at the bottom of the stairs.
Ragatha noticed the chess piece standing a little ways from where she had landed.
He waved.
“Don’t look so shocked, Dollface. You’re the one who decided to run down here like a crazy person.” Jax was flat against the ground, legs akimbo. He was looking at nothing in particular, simply keeping to the floor.
“What— I— you—!” Ragatha was ready to mouth off at him.
“Jax, you’re on the floor. See any nice bugs?” Kinger asked, kneeling down next to the rabbit. His harpoon was left forgotten by the stair railing.
The rabbit’s angular eyes swiftly looked at Ragatha.
“I see one.”
“Funny.” The doll curtly replied, stepping over the rabbit and walking left of the staircase.
She didn’t have the time.
The parlor was around here, somewhere. If it was anything like her family’s ranch, it was near the front door.
“Aw, c’mon Dollface— you run out of zingers or somethin’?” Jax called from the stairs.
Ragatha ignored him, turning the hallway corner.
•••
Jax couldn’t be more entertained when he saw that doll face of hers.
Her button eye glinted angrily, and the rabbit was so ready to receive another tirade from her. That’s how it was, wasn’t it? He’d push, she’d push back— all day long.
All the damn eternity.
Those soft lips would pull back, revealing a scowl that she reserved only for him. Hatred was the only thing he could clearly see under her stupid, smiling doll-face.
They were similar in that way.
Then, one day— he saw something else.
It could’ve been a blip. But, he didn’t want to think that. An apology was all it took to make him question her all over again.
The softball game should've been the breaking point.
He knew that Ragatha could be scathing, and he found himself right. She brought up Ribbit, just because she was a little jealous. He'd hate her even more, but it was likely that he would’ve done the exact same thing.
That’s what pushing got ya.
“I—wha—you—!” Ragatha stammered, backing away from him like he was covered in centipedes. Usually, the ragdoll would blow her top and they’d trade the regular vicious snipes.
And yet, here she was holding herself back.
It irked him. She could’ve asked him why he was an asshole. Or, poked a hole into their strange fragile peace.
Anything, but walk away.
He couldn’t stop staring at her as she turned the corner.
“Look.” Kinger waved a finger in Jax’s face, referring to the large black insect crawling on his other hand.
“It’s a locust.”
The critter chittered its mandibles, directing beetle black eyes at Jax. The rabbit quickly pushed Kinger’s hand away.
“I prefer the long, wriggling type.”
Kinger laughed, curiously watching the insect crawl over his hands. “There are bigger locusts. Actually, they’re not even their own species— they’re grasshoppers.”
“I don’t care.” Jax scoffed.
“I know, right? Now, locusts aren’t inclined to swarm like you see in movies, it’s only when they experience a sudden growth in vegetation and rainfall that—“
“Aaaaand, leaving now.”
The rabbit got up, dusted himself off, and went to the left of the stair. Maybe he could find Gangle and shove her into a closet again. He had nothing particularly against the ribbon, he simply found her reactions funny.
Jax touched his throat.
The thought of being strangled by Zooble made him dismiss it. Tripping and throwing was all good fun, but he’d much rather not be wheezing the rest of the day. Though death was irrelevant in the circus, there were a few times where that mix-and-match picasso painting managed to crush his wind pipe.
Pomni also seemed to reach her limit with his antics.
He precariously placed his darling centipedes around her room, and all the jester could do was blankly stare at him before calling Caine to clean it up. She was settling well enough into the circus, much to the rabbit’s chagrin.
Jax was only with Kinger because as soon as Ragatha shot off, so did everyone else. Zooble had already taken Gangle by the hand, with Pomni in tow. The jester wasn’t as keen on hanging out with him these days.
Ugh.
You throw a person into a tank full of blood-thirsty piranhas one time and suddenly they prefer to keep their distance. Whatever. He didn’t care all that much.
Fact, he didn’t care much about anything these days.
Jax silently rounded the corner. It wasn’t like Ragatha to not cling to some poor soul as soon as the adventure started. Jax pulled his ‘info’ card, flipping it over to the ‘innocent’ marker printed right under his character description.
It wasn’t Zooble, and it wasn’t Kinger.
If he wanted to win, he just had to find the killer, right?
A whole day where he could do whatever he wanted? That was the dream. Maybe he’d request a centipede-specific adventure, that’d really make the Dolly squirm.
Pomni, Gangle, and Ragatha… which one?
Jax poked his head into one of the passing rooms, finding one of Caine’s NPCs nestled in a big velvet armchair. The rabbit just flashed the info card, causing the mannequin to jerk up and shout:
“My name is Dewby Dewbinger, and I—“
“Skip to the part where you saw the murderess.” Jax scowled, waving his hand. Any other day he might’ve thrown the NPC out the window, but right now he just wanted to win.
“I can’t say I saw anyone like that—“ The mannequin pointedly lifted its hand up, stroking its wood chin “—but, theee Lord was died in the wine cellar! And, I did see someone follow him in!”
“And, it was…” Jax gestured for it to continue.
The NPC shrugged, slamming its hindquarters back into the chair. Its wooden limbs went slack, making it sag in the plush seat.
“Of course.”
A blue dialog box appeared in front of Jax, placing another green checkmark under his profile. He was up to three, having found on NPC in the study, and another up in the belfry.
“Okay, okay—“ Jax muttered, rubbing his temples.
He could do this! All this detective BS wasn’t that hard.
The 1st clue: someone close to the Lord (which didn’t make any sense seeing as everyone was a suspect).
The 2nd: a piece of lace was found at the crime scene.
Jax paused. Lace. He saw lace, somewhere. A few of his company were wearing it, weren’t they? Pomni had worn a bodice and… and… Ragatha! Yes, she had a lace bonnet, didn’t she? Which nixes Gangle from the lineup, as she only wore long cotton robes.
Or maybe, that’s what Caine wanted him to think.
Who’s to say that the lace wasn’t a red herring?
“Oh my god.” Jax huffed. His ears drooped, drifting just above his eyes. Being a rabbit sucked. His heart thumped like no tomorrow, if he sneezed too hard he’d scare himself, and every once in a while he had a terrible craving for greens.
Sometimes, simply existing was hell.
The ends of his ears lightly fizzled.
Nope. He would not lose his head. Never. He avoided it all this time, and he’d continue to do so.
‘The cellar!’, his thoughts collectively screamed.
The cellar. Right. The third clue. All good things came in threes, didn’t it? He knew where to go, the only thing that puzzled him was how to get there. He could wander about a little more, but that would waste time.
He wanted to win.
Jax tipped his head, letting the scents of the manor flood the roof his mouth. Cigar smoke, a fireplace, dry wood rafters; he could easily pick them apart. It sucked to live in a body so grotesque, but sometimes…
A damp, musty smell made his fur stand on end.
He followed it, passing digital doors and windows. Out of paper thin perversions, the smell was perhaps the realest thing that he could cling to. It mirrored a vague memory of his. Nothing special, just that one time he walked by a pool of standing water.
The context was long gone, but lord, he would never forget that smell.
Something like rot. Something like death.
The cellar was located near the very front of the manor. Jax knew it was the front, because the setting was near identical to Mildenhall Manor a few adventures ago. Strange decor, seeing as if anyone ever decided to strut in they’d probably trip on the cellar door handles.
Jax looped his hand through on the handles, easily lifting the cellar door.
Pitch black.
His ears drooped.
“[SWEAR].”
Couldn’t Caine be bothered to simulate a light switch? Jax squinted, leaning further into the cellar. Rabbits (he learned) had low-light vision. Great for the crack of dawn, but not so much for black holes. He saw a few wisps of spiderweb glint between the descending wood steps.
Jax grabbed a lit candlestick from a hallway dresser, holding out in the dark cellar.
The amber flame flickered, casting his long-eared shadow against the stone walls. Jax slowly tested the first step. It creaked terribly, but the boards seemed sturdy enough.
One foot at a time, Jax descended the staircase.
Near the bottom, he saw cases of wine barrels. Most were sealed shut, to his disappointment. Getting drunk would’ve been much better than doing Caine’s stupid adventures.
Not that Jax would ever say it out loud.
Telling Caine ‘NO’, never computed. A person was more likely to be exiled to some dark unused space till they agreed. Not quite like the ‘basement’ but close. Caine had many dark spaces that he just didn’t bother to fix up. Not unless his adventures required extra storage.
Jax had gotten into the habit of collecting ‘keys’; objects affected by said unused space.
He could unlock doors, slip between pixelated walls, there was no place he couldn’t reach. It was a testy process though, one wrong step and he could glitch into some malformed puddle. The effects were short term, but that didn’t make them any less painful. Thinking about it, it probably wasn’t very nice of him to give Ragatha one of his keys.
And yet, he did so anyway.
Hopefully, she’d melt into a puddle and finally yell at him again. Or, maybe she chucked it as soon as he turned the corner.
Jax investigated one of the barrel cases.
“There better be a buttload of clues down here…” He grumbled under his breath. He tried turning a rusted spout, but it wouldn’t budge.
Jax’s ears flicked up, alert.
He hated being a rabbit, it sucked. He hated seeing his stupid face in the mirror every darn morning… But, he could see better. He could smell better.
And, in this instance, he could hear better.
There was a small clamber of steps near the back of the room. The sounds of someone in a rush. Jax set the candle down on the floor, keeping the light to one spot. His dark clothes, as corny as they were, provided perfect cover in the dark. Jax stuck his body low to the ground. His legs kicked up, carefully moving with his arms as he backed into the creepy corners of the cellar.
Someone was here. Maybe the murderer.
He grinned gleefully.
Jax was going to win.
The steps grew closer. He saw another flicker of light move from behind a stack of barrels. The candles (his on the floor, and the one floating closer) mirrored each other, their webs of light slowly colliding until they formed one big circle around the mysterious interloper.
Raggedy curls, lace clothes, and one button eye.
Ragatha was down here, too.
It didn’t take much thinking. Jax crept closer, keeping on all fours. His ears stayed flat against his skull, blending seamlessly into the rest of his body. He slinked behind a stack of barrels, waiting for a lapse in movement; a breath; an opportunity.
Ragatha held her candle close to her chest, completely focused on the candle Jax left on the floor.
Jax, as silent as he could, inched forward.
He could see her shoulders shaking.
“Boo.”
Ragatha screamed, whirling around and socking him in the chest.
With enough force, cotton was a heck of a battering ram.
Pain splintered across his ribs, before it nulled. It irked him how quickly it went away. Barely, would Caine let him feel human.
“Relax. It’s me.” Jax coughed.
Ragatha’s one round eye narrowed in anger. Her cheeks puffed out and she quickly pulled her fist back. “That’s the second time you scared me today! Can’t you even ever just… just be civil? It wouldn’t hurt to show some decency!”
She cradled her candle, crushing the metal bottom against her chest.
It was like she wanted to set herself on fire.
“I thought you didn’t want to know me…” Jax teased, taking a corner of her fabric face and yanking it back. He stretched it impossibly far before letting go and watching her face snap back.
“Stop it.” She smacked his hand away.
“It’s not like I wanted to be stuck down here with you, Dolly. Now, if you don’t mind, there some dumb[SWEAR] clue I need to find.” He smoothly walked past her, pretending to examine an extremely crusty wine barrel.
Ragatha’s hair noodles frizzled up.
From experience, that typically meant she was hiding something.
“Yeah.” Jax continued, turning around again. He grinned widely, propping his hands behind his back. “I’m real close, too. And soon, our next adventure will be my choice. Ain’t that great? I could make ya eat a whole bucket of centipedes, or maybe I’ll just turn ya into one. Won’t that be something?”
Centipedes was what scared the doll the most.
It’s why Jax went through so much trouble procuring them. He could coax the occasional jump from Gangle or Pomni, but Ragatha really just freaked out whenever they were in her vicinity.
She scowled immensely.
“It’s not that funny.”
Jax’s cheshire smile never wavered. This was the normal Ragatha. Someone who he could trade blows with no matter the situation. After the softball game, keeping his distance seemed like the best option. Admittedly, he still felt… uncomfortable around her. There were times where he thought of just scaring her, or tripping her, but he’d always chickened out. The only reason he even decided to continue his antics was because Ragatha actually went looking for him.
“It’s incredibly funny! Your hair stands on end like this!” Jax grabbed his ears, waving them in all sorts of directions.
“Besides, isn’t it good to just ‘react’ ?”
“What are you on about?” She scoffed.
Jax knocked his fist against one of the wine barrels, hoping a clue would just pop out.
“We both know that ain’t your true face, Doll. So, I’m giving you an out. You can be as petty as you want with me. No nice words, no fake feelings— that anger you’re feeling? It’s real.” Jax knelt to the floor below, checking under the barrels.
“You pretend with everyone else, but with me—my god, with me...“
Jax’s chest swelled at his words. He had no idea why he sounded so happy saying it.
“You’re honest.”
Ragatha wasn’t moving.
Her face said nothing. She wasn’t even frowning. Just staring. Was she hoping he’d laugh? Mock her? Walk away?
Jax couldn’t really think of anything else to say.
“…I think I hit you a bit too hard.”
“Yeah.” His voice was already morphing into a chuckle. Laugh it off. Play it as a joke. Deny. Deny, Deny, Deny, Deny, Deny… He could deny all day long if he wanted to.
“Speaking of, I think I see a centipede right the—.”
Ragatha jumped away, knocking into the rabbit. The wall of barrels clattered, banging against each other as Jax fell back. A rusty barrel spout poked into his back, bending little by little as Ragatha shoved into him.
There was a sharp ‘snap’!
The back of Jax’s clothes were wet. A damp, metallic smell flooded the room. Varying pixels flew scattered across the floor, piling with the inordinate amount of water that spewed from the now broken spout.
“Jax!”
“You crashed into me, Dollface!”
“Only because you scared me!”
“How was I supposed to know there’d be consequences to my actions?” Jax snapped, already heading for the stair. The cellar was a bust, which shouldn’t have surprised him. Normally, he’d love to bring some mischief to whatever boring task Cain had prepared for them, but the water was rising incredibly fast.
“I don’t think this is wine.” Jax muttered, seeing glitching pixels swirl about the dark liquid.
“No [SWEAR], Sherlock.”
Ragatha was already at the cellar stairs, beginning to climb back up. Her feet made soft squishing sounds as she scrambled up the steps.
There was a clanging noise.
“Did someone lock the doors?” Ragatha shrieked. Banging echoed from the cellar stair.
The water was at Jax’s midsection now, lifting some of the wood crates off the ground. The water wasn’t cold. It didn’t have a temperature. At least, Jax’s body couldn’t detect a difference. Parts of his fur stood on end, reacting with the static particles sizzling around the dark ocean.
Jax felt his way up the cellar stairs, propping himself right at the top step with Ragatha.
She furiously banged her fist against the wood planks, getting splinters in her cotton skin. The little light they had was slowly waning; Ragatha was holding her candle as far above water level as she could while Jax had lost his completely.
“Let someone with actual bones try to break down the wood door, okay?” Jax gently moved her aside.
He immediately elbowed the wood.
Like always, the pain dulled. The circus was working its screwed up magic, numbing his muscles to the point that he reveled winding his fist up again. The water was up to his ribs now.
“Jax?”
“I know.”
“The water—“
“I know!”
There was the cold. The water came rushing in all it once. It seeped into his bones, making his limbs go slack.
“Crap.”
“Move!” Ragatha shoved him aside.
From her skirts, she produced the gold key he had given her.
“Wait, don’t—!”
“[SWEAR] off!” Ragatha shrieked, wedging it into the cellar door and pushing.
The wood steps beneath Jax’s feet trembled. One moment, it was there. The next, he was suddenly treading water. There was a small whirlpool that formed, suctioning out a sea of black liquid and two idiots.