#fandom agree

♟️~ His regressed age is anywhere from being a newborn to 4 at the oldest. You'd think he'd range a little (haha) older, but his regression is very much a trauma response/coping mechanism, so his mind just defaults to something as simple/safe as possible.

♟️~ Dependent on padding (much to his chagrin). He'll just about throw a fit/try to run for it if someone is trying to change him, especially when he first drops. Only Ragatha and Gangle can get him to willingly cooperate, otherwise it takes at least two other circus members to get the job done. (Wears them around his lower half; makes more sense visually with the next HC)

♟️~ Doesn't just mentally regress; because of his (often unconscious, especially in the light) ability to conjure (especially post-finale), he almost always physically regresses when he has an age drop. It scared the heck out of everyone the first time they witnessed it, and while it still makes them worry about him, they've gotten used to it. At least it makes him easier to handle! (He basically just turns into a pawn wearing a purple cloak/cape. Babpy 💜)

♟️~ Continuing on the conjuring concept; he's pretty much never conscious of his conjuring while he's regressed, everything he makes coming from a base need or desire. For example, if he's regressed and overwhelmed enough to be having a meltdown, he has a tendency to conjure a wall/fortress of pillows around himself for protection.

♟️~ His regressive episodes started shortly after Queenie abstracted and before Ragatha joined the circus. He was in no way conscious of it due to his dissociative mental state at the time, but Caine certainly was and mostly just watched him from afar (he was frightened off from helping out of shock/fear when he saw Kinger's unconscious conjuring of his own body), but on occasion he'd play with him and take him on little adventures. After Ragatha arrived Kinger repressed it as much as he could in favor of trying to look after Ragatha and later everyone else in the circus, but following the events of the finale (in this setting I HC that it ends with a mix of the SOMA theory and the gang finding a way to revive Caine) the metaphorical mask shatters and he drops for like a week straight. The gang is horrified but are also quick to take care of him until he ages back up, after which they all sit down and discuss Kinger's regression episodes and how they'll handle them moving forward. Found family ❤️

♟️~ His behavior is honestly very random. Sometimes when he drops he's dead quiet and doesn't do much of anything other than sleep and hide, other times he's babbling on and on about whatever peaks his fancy and is trying to be helpful, and on rare occasions he's a tiny terror that wants nothing to do with anyone trying to look after him. The others have pretty much nailed down who's best at handling him during certain behavioral shifts, but the early days of figuring it out were chaotic to put it mildly.

♟️~ Can and will get into anything he finds interesting. He thinks someone's room looks fun to explore in? Well, the door just opened whether it was locked or not, so he's gonna scamper on in there if you don't mind! Oh, there's a cookie jar placed on the highest surface that the other circus members could find? Don't mind Kinger, he's just free-climbing his way up there without an ounce of hesitation, much to his caregivers' horror.

♟️~ Trying to argue with or explain something to him using logic is almost impossible. His dissociation/mental limitations are tripled while he's little, so it's difficult for him to grasp most concepts (especially when he doesn't like what he's hearing). Jax has found a decent work around by just making stuff up, much to Ragatha's frustration. For example; Kinger wants to play by himself on the fairgrounds. Ragatha says no. Kinger asks why. Ragatha explains that it's not safe for him to be unattended in such a potentially dangerous place. Kinger argues that he's not unattended because he's tending to the fairgrounds. They go back and forth until finally Jax cuts in and tells Kinger the fairgrounds are full of invisible monsters that will eat him if they catch him without a caregiver present; cue the poor baby needing a change and to be near someone for a few hours straight, but hey, at least he's staying out of the fairgrounds like he was told to.

♟️~ Like I said, his behavior/mood is kinda all over the place, but certain triggers deeply affect his drops. If he gets frightened or hurt, he tends to be chattier and more clingy. If he's overwhelmed during an adventure or overstimulated, he tends to isolate himself and be much quieter. And if something reminds him of Queenie or the incident with Caine... well, get ready for a meltdown.

♟️~ His memories of people/events are even foggier than usual while he's regressed, so it's not uncommon for him to not recognize the other circus members and straight up forget about those who have abstracted, including even Queenie. As a result he defaults to referring to everyone as his parents, siblings, babysitters, or whatever he thinks makes sense.

♟️~ Oh yeah, what he calls everyone! Ragatha is either Momma or Ra-Ra. Pomni is usually Mommy, but is sometimes called Sissy. Gangle is also often referred to as Sissy, but she also gets called Gangy and Ganma a lot. Zooble is Zoo-Zoo or Renny (I heard that as a non-binary parent title once and I love it now). Jax is Papa or Bubby (usually Papa). Caine is Daddy or Mister. And Bubble is just Buh-Buh. After Jax comes out as transfemme Kinger starts calling her Momma-Mommy (yes, all together like that; NGL she cried the first time he called her that). ((Yes I'm a transfemme Jax truther yes I'm a transmasc who relates with Jax. We exist /j))

♟️~ While regressed he likes to do a variety of things; his favorite activity is arts & crafts by far, which depending on the materials can quickly turn into a warzone of paint, glue, and glitter. He also really likes doing group/partner activities (so long as he's feeling social) like baking, watching shows or movies, and going on adventures!

♟️~ Jumping off from the arts & crafts messes, he's surprisingly well-behaved for baths, considering his disdain for padding changes. He doesn't really play much during them, preferring to just zone out and enjoy the warm water. Because of this some of the other circus members (mostly Ragatha) will usually add bath salts or bath bombs to enhance the calming aspect, although this typically ends with Kinger falling asleep mid-bath.

♟️~ Getting him to eat and drink is relatively easy. Like most toddlers he prefers simple meals and snacks, his favorites being chicken noodle soup and pretzels. As for drinks, he'll drink just about any liquid that's in a sippy cup or bottle-shaped container, to the point that the others need to be very careful not to leave anything he shouldn't have out; following the group accepting that they can't leave the circus and reviving Caine, they've been practicing their conjuring and even creating their own adventures, leading Zooble and Gangle to create a 24 hour bar/coffee shop that the circus members and select AI can visit whenever they'd like. All this to say, Zooble made the mistake of bringing Kinger with them while they were bartending, and while they kept him away from the booze, he got his hands on an espresso Gangle had made and... yeah, let's just say the little one was glitching like he did that one time in the pilot 😂 Jax has been giving Zooble crap for it ever since.

♟️~ Punishments are probably the hardest part for everyone (other than padding changes); no matter the headspace, Kinger is very sensitive and jumpy, so sp*nkings are a complete no-go (someone learned that the hard way, might write about it later), but time-outs can be effective, although they're difficult to enforce unless someone is actively monitoring him. If for whatever reason they can't use a time-out the others will put him in "air jail" or just make him take a nap.

♟️~ More of a potential writing prompt than a headcanon: During episode 4 when everyone else was working at Spudsy's we know Caine took Kinger on a solo adventure, and in this setting I like to think he was regressed for it. Caine was planning it around Kinger being in an adult headspace, but once he dropped he rolled with it and took him to the fair and let him participate in a more traditional take on a circus (acrobatics, clown shows, animal handling, etc). By the end Kinger aged back up and forgot most of what happened, but it was honestly a great time for both him and Caine. (I wanna write this so badly!)

Things are, unsurprisingly, very tense after they revive Caine; the AI is grateful for it, he really is, but he’s also reasonably upset that he died at all, so he hasn’t exactly been the most social with everyone since then, especially not Kinger. That’s fine, though. They all have a lot to work through right now.

Everyone else is fighting their own personal battles, the fact that they can never leave the circus- that all they are is the mental copy of the people they were before they became a part of this place- difficult to cope with. Pomni, despite being the newest addition, is probably coping with it the best, the knowledge that she’s not dead in the real world enough to comfort her through the worst of her trauma. At least now she doesn’t have to worry about her family going mad trying to find her, even if it hurts her to know she’ll never see them again.

Considering her somewhat more stable mental state, Pomni’s taken it upon herself to keep an eye on everyone else over the course of the next two weeks, making a full-blown routine out of it. She starts the morning by eating breakfast with Ragatha and… oh, Kinger’s not here yet. How odd. Although his absence troubles her, she doesn’t deviate from her schedule just yet, helping Ragatha tidy up before continuing to her next stop of the day.

After breakfast she brings a plate of it to Jax’s door, and is pleasantly surprised when he opens it while she’s still there, even chatting with her for a few minutes. He promises to meet up with her later to do something, he isn’t sure what yet, just that he wants to be around her again. Pomni eagerly agrees, relieved to see him fighting back against his urge to isolate himself.

Zooble and Gangle are next, the couple- Pomni’s pretty sure not a single person was surprised when those two announced that they were going to start dating- snuggled together in Zooble’s bed while watching a movie. Pomni doesn’t overstay her welcome, offering the couple a wave and a reminder that breakfast is available when they get hungry. Gangle returns the gesture, but then she’s right back to curling herself around a dozing Zooble.

Usually Pomni checks in on Caine next, his reluctance to talk to her or anyone else for that matter not nearly enough to scare her away from making sure he’s remaining stable, but she chooses to find Kinger first and see if he’s alright. She honestly thought that he was just late to breakfast and that she’d run into him during her rounds, but he’s been nowhere to be seen, sparking a very reasonable sense of worry in her.

She doesn’t doubt that Kinger still has a resilient mind, but… she knows finding out that Queenie can’t be brought back has reopened that wound, causing him untold amounts of grief. If that weren’t enough, he’s still wrought with guilt over Caine’s death; it ended up being fixable in the end, but they all spent several days believing it was permanent, and that grief and remorse hit no one harder than Kinger, his unintentional murderer.

Shaking her head, Pomni focuses on the here and now. She obviously checks the fort first, the pile of expertly positioned pillows still sitting in its usual spot in the center of the tent. She makes an effort to walk more quietly as she draws near, wanting to believe that Kinger’s only overslept, but she still feels that itch of anxiety at the back of her mind warning her to expect the worst.

“Kinger?” Pomni calls out his name once she’s just outside of the fort, her arms folding behind her back out of awkward habit. Upon hearing nothing after a solid minute, she starts to shift uncomfortably in place and bounce from foot to foot. “Kinger, are you in there?” She tries calling out to him again, louder this time. “It’s me, Pomni. Is everything alright? I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning.”

Nothing. Pomni swallows, her anxiety only worsening the longer this goes on. Could he have… no, if he had she would have found him the moment after it happened, this can’t be… she shakes her head again in an effort to silence such horrific thoughts. No, Kinger wouldn’t abstract, not after coming so far and finally finding some level of peace with Caine. He must be out somewhere, maybe in the fairgrounds? It’s not uncommon for any of them to spend the day there, but it’s odd that he went alone and didn’t tell anyone before leaving.

Pomni starts to walk around and past the pillow fort, intending on getting Ragatha and maybe a few others to widen the scope of her search, but before she can get more than a foot away she hears it, some kind of shifting noise from the pillow fort. She startles, swinging around to stare bug-eyed at the structure. Is Kinger really in there? How did he not wake up sooner!? Maybe he went to bed later than intended and is feeling sluggish? It’s not a good habit to fall into, but at least he hasn’t run off somewhere on his own.

“Kinger?” Pomni repeats, her voice shakier than she would ever like it to be. “Kinger, is that you? Are you alright in there?”

There’s more shifting sounds from inside, but strangely enough whoever is in there still won’t say anything or respond to her calls. Is it really Kinger in there, or something- someone- else? Maybe a really small NPC, like a gloink? Then why hasn’t it made off with all the-?

Whatever was on Pomni’s mind is lost when, with little more than a whimper of warning, the pillow fort collapses in on itself, the intelligent mind inside letting out a squeak. Pomni startles again when she hears it, something about it sounding so… diminutive. She’s careful when walking closer to the ruined structure, her body tense in preparation to run if things get dicey. Just as she’s grabbing one of the pillows to start digging, several more of them shake and fall just out of her reach, and out pops…

“What the f*ck?” Pomni exclaims, unsure what to make of what has revealed itself to her.

She’s never seen an NPC quite like this before; during one of their late night conversations after his revival, Caine admitted to her that he makes an effort to not create any NPCs that too closely resemble the current circus members so he won’t risk confusing himself, and while this thing certainly isn’t Kinger, it looks uncomfortably similar to him. The NPC is an animated pawn that’s half Pomni’s height, a true achievement considering the fact that she’s three foot nothing. It wears little more than a purple blanket tied around its neck like a cape and what looks like a papermatched crown on its head. It’s… actually kind of adorable.

“Um… hello?” Pomni tilts her head at the NPC, studying it in search of an explanation for its existence.

The pawn startles so hard that it falls back into the pile of pillows. It quickly proves to be rather bendy around the middle like Kinger is when it scuttles out the opposite end of the mess like a caterpillar, but then it’s on its feet- foot?- and hopping away as fast as it can, which is actually pretty fast for such a puny thing.

“Wait!” Pomni takes off after it without any hesitation, intent on getting to the bottom of this. “Come back, I promise I won’t hurt you! I just wanna know why you’re here!”

To her surprise, the pawn responds with a loud “Nuh uh!” before continuing on its less than merry way, quickly giving up on hopping in favor of scuttling away without actually stepping off the floor.

Pomni does her best to keep up with it, but to her dismay, once it turns a corner into the living quarters it seemingly disappears. That, or it’s hidden itself somewhere nearby. Seeing as everyone’s doors are closed by default, Pomni finds it odd that the pawn made such a clean getaway. Did it hide in someone’s room? Whose? Jax’s is locked tighter than fort knox, so definitely not in there. Maybe her own room? Pomni doesn’t remember locking it ever, so it’s not the worst place to start, but she keeps the door open so she can hear if someone goes down the hall while she’s performing her search.

Her room seems safe, everything exactly where she left it this morning, as far as she can tell. Pomni’s searching the toy chest when she hears the telltale squeak of a door opening down the hall; she bolts out to investigate, running face first into Jax, but he catches her by the shoulders before they can collide.

“Whoa there, kid. What the heck are you running around all crazy for?” Jax asks, his smile waning slightly upon seeing the state she’s in.

“Kinger- a pawn- running-” Pomni has to stop and breathe, otherwise she doubts she’ll be able to get everything out in a coherent fashion. Jax is kind enough to wait it out, his smile more comforting than he probably realizes. “Kinger wasn’t at breakfast, so I went to check on him and… I have no idea where he is, but some weird little NPC was in his fort and took off before I could figure out how it got here and who made it,” She grimaces when looking Jax in the eyes, all too privy to how mischievous he can be. “Jax, did you conjure an NPC that looks like a baby Kinger?”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Jax is downright befuddled now, his pupils shrinking in an instant. “No, I haven’t gotten that good… but that does sound like a fun prank once I get this conjuring crap figured out. Thanks for the idea, Pom!” He starts to turn around, content to leave it there.

“Wait!” Pomni catches him by the wrist, the rabbit freezing the moment she touches him. “Jax, I’m being serious! If you didn’t make that NPC, then I have no clue who did; I don’t even think Caine would make that! Whatever it is, we need to catch it before this gets any weirder.”

“Oh come on, don’t be so dramatic. I’m sure it’s just-” Jax pauses mid-sentence, his right ear twitching. He turns his head to look that way, his eyes widening at whatever he sees. “What the f*ck!? Get outta my room, half-pint!”

Pomni follows Jax when he goes after whatever seemingly intruded into his room, turning the corner to find the pawn taking off like a bat out of hell from behind Jax’s door. Just like that, the duo are chasing after the NPC, the taller of the two much more capable of keeping up with his target. The pawn looks behind itself mid-run, letting out a terrified squeak when it sees how close Jax has gotten, and in a wild rush it bolts between the rabbit’s legs in an effort to outmaneuver him. Pomni almost catches it on its way past her, but when her hand gets near its head, she feels a burning pain overtake her fingers.

“Ow!” She jumps away to avoid any further injury, giving the pawn enough time to escape again.

“Pomni!?” Jax is kneeling by her side in a heartbeat and grabbing her hand to inspect it, his grimace deepening. “Well, you aren’t bleeding… what happened? Did it bite you?”

“I think so,” Pomni says, wrestling her hand free to shake it off, the digits slightly damp. “This is so weird… like, weirder than usual.”

“Think we should get Caine?” Jax asks, not sounding very enthused despite being the one to suggest it. “I sure as heck didn’t make that woodchip, and neither did you, so… yeah, I have no clue who’d make that thing, either. Maybe Ragatha? She’s the closest with that kooky old man.”

Pomni nods along. “Maybe… it wouldn’t hurt to ask her. Let’s wait to ask Caine until we’ve asked everyone else. I’m worried if he sees that pawn, he’ll… he’s not exactly on good terms with Kinger right now.”

Jax winces at the thought. “Yeah, fair. Guess we’ll go round up the freak-” He freezes, a full-body shiver making his body spasm.

“Jax?” Pomni asks, unsure at first what’s got him so freaked out, but a glance at the floor has her eyes widening to be as big as dinner plates, her pupils nearly matching them. “Oh… I guess it can-”

“-Yeah,” Jax growls, looking about one word away from losing it. “Okay, new plan; you go round up the ladies and Zooble while I scrub my foot until the skin comes off.”

Pomni can’t keep from chuckling, undeterred by the fearsome glare this earns her. “Aw, come on, Jax, it’s not that bad!”

Jax’s glare intensifies, if that’s possible. “I just stepped in f*cking woodchip piss; if you don’t grab that thing first, I’m chucking it in the fireplace.”

“Jax, we don’t even have a fireplace.” Pomni’s fully laughing by now, even holding her stomach to ease the pain from how severe the fit is.

She swears she sees the corner of Jax’s mouth twitch with the urge to join her, but his frustration has him in a chokehold. “Yeah, well I’m gonna conjure one, then. With the stone walls and everything. All other fireplaces will look like complete sh*t in comparison.”

Pomni almost falls over with the force of her laughter. “Jax!” It’s shouted in a pleading note, the jester half convinced she’ll die if he makes her laugh any harder.

For some reason that’s what lightens Jax’s mood enough to at least make him smirk. He obeys her unspoken command and leaves it at that, not so subtly speed walking away to clean himself up. Pomni in turn does as he more directly asked of her, running off in search of the rest of the circus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ragatha, unsurprisingly, did not make the pawn, nor did Zooble or Gangle. All three are thankfully onboard with joining in on the search though, so at least now they have more hands on deck for this impromptu investigation. They spread out into three groups; Zooble and Gangle search the fairgrounds, Jax and Ragatha check the lake, and Pomni… well, she can only poke around the tent for so long before she has to admit defeat and call on someone with far more eyes than her for assistance.

Following his revival, Caine has been spending a lot of time in his office. He says he’s working on more adventures, but Pomni isn’t sure if she believes him. She’s pretty sure he’s isolating himself as a form of self harm, or because he doesn’t trust them anymore, but it’s likely a mix of the two. She can’t say she blames him for the latter; she’d be mad too if the people she loved the most murdered her, even if it was an accident.

Pomni knocks on the doors leading to Caine’s office a few times, giving it a minute before she tries saying anything. “Hey, um… Caine? Can we get some help with something? It’s, uh… pretty serious, I think.”

The doors to the office swing open before her; Caine is lounging in his desk chair with his feet propped up on the tabletop, his head formed into a grin. “Ah, Pomni, my persistent avocado!” He greets her enthusiastically, but then she sees it, a slight twitch in one of his eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure? You’re rather late to check on me today, you know. I was beginning to wonder where you’d pranced off to!”

Pomni struggles not to squirm in place, feeling every bit like a schoolgirl that’s been sent to the principal’s office. “Hey, Caine,” She greets him a second time, somehow sounding even less convincing than she did before. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner, I just… look, I know you probably want nothing to do with him, but Kinger’s missing. On top of that, we’ve got a weird looking NPC running loose in the circus.”

Caine glitches for a split second when Kinger is mentioned, but otherwise he does a decently good job of masking his discomfort. “…Is that so?” He asks after far too long of a pause. “Well, that’s… what does the NPC look like? What does he have to do with this?”

“I found it in Kinger’s fort when I went to check on him; he didn’t come to breakfast, so I was pretty worried about him,” Pomni explains, relieved that Caine is at least willing to hear her out. “The NPC looks… it looks like Kinger, but if he was a little kid. It’s a living pawn and is wearing similar clothes to him.”

If Caine had eyebrows, she’s pretty sure they’d be hitting the roof. “Really now?” He asks, something in his tone sounding off to Pomni, but she can’t place why. The AI gets up and starts pacing in the air, at which point it hits her; he’s anxious, but about what, she’s still piecing together. “Interesting… I thought he’d outgrown this, but… there was that incident while you were all at Spudsy’s… yes, I can see how that might… but why now? Why again? Isn’t he satisfied? Is this not enough!?” Caine rambles like a madman and gestures wildly as if he’s arguing with someone face to face, but he doesn’t once acknowledge Pomni throughout his tirade.

Pomni watches on with a mix of confusion, concern, and genuine fear, and rightfully so, considering what happened the last time she saw him reach his breaking point. Not even conscious of it, she backs up a step, that one movement and accompanying sound enough to break Caine from his trance. He flinches, turning his head so fast that it has enough momentum to keep spinning, but doesn’t. Pomni half expects him to grow huge and start strangling her, her heartbeat speeding up at the thought of reliving such a nightmare, but then he floats down to be at her level, his eyes wide and brimming with tears.

“Pomni, I… I’m sorry,” Caine says, never sounding more sincere than he does now… other than when he was brought back and sobbed about how much he still loves them. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, I just… look, I can help you with this, I promise! It’s… difficult to explain, but it’ll make sense once we catch our miscreant little pawn.”

Pomni relaxes significantly once he’s changed the subject, her fear traded out for concern over the whole situation. “So how do we catch it? It’s faster than it looks; not even Jax could grab it!”

Caine chuckles, remaining true to his nature with how amused he is by the antics of humans. “Oh my dear, sweet Pomni, this is nothing that I, your beloved ringmaster, can’t solve! With just a flick of my wrist, I can… I can…” He gestures a few times, only for nothing to happen. He glares at his hand, giving it another shake before huffing- not growling, thank god- and summoning up his cane to wave it around, but still nothing comes of it. “Oh, come on!” He snaps, well and truly furious again, but thankfully it’s not directed at Pomni. “Just come here already! You know as well as I do that there’s nowhere to hide in my circus!”

“What are you… doing exactly?” Pomni asks, not as scared now that she knows that Caine isn’t going to lash out at her.

Caine huffs again, his tone more defeated this time. “I’m trying to summon that uppity little knickknack, but someone’s being difficult about it! No matter-!” He tosses his cane over his shoulder, the mobility aid disappearing before it can hit the ground. “-I have more than one method of capturing such an elusive troublemaker!”

Okay, so he’s definitely talking about the pawn; Pomni honestly thought he was talking about Kinger for a second there. “So how are you gonna catch it?”

Caine’s grin could outshine the morning sun; Pomni can admit that it makes her feel a thousand times better than she did before entering his office. “Why, it’s actually quite easy, my dear… so long as we have the necessary materials. I can make them myself, but I know you want me to be more- what was the word?- cooperative? Yes, something about asking for input, even when I don’t need it, so I shall ask this out of obligation… have you or anyone else conjured up a baby bottle?”

Pomni smiles, not processing the question right away. “Aw Caine, I’m glad to see you… wait, what?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is stupid.” Zooble insists, although they don’t make a move to disrupt the plan by coming out of hiding.

“No it isn’t; it’s brilliant!” Caine is just as stubborn as them, if not more so, his glare more than enough to convey how offended he is by Zooble’s commentary.

“I, um… how exactly is it… brilliant?” Gangle gathers the courage to ask; Pomni can’t tell if she’s doing it to help Zooble be more informed or because she’s actually curious. She’s leaning very heavily on the former.

“Because, my flip-flopping rose petal-!” Caine doesn’t miss a beat, back to being jovial at the thought of successfully fulfilling a request for one of his humans. “-This isn’t my first time wrangling a dissociative scratching post, and if what Pomni is suggesting is accurate, it probably won’t be the last!”

Pomni’s tempted to ask him what he means by that, but while she’s stuck under the current circumstances, she opts to maintain her patience and chooses to hold her tongue as much as possible. Besides, if Caine’s plan is as foolproof as he’s implying- with his track record, she doesn’t risk getting her hopes up- then it won’t be long until she gets the answers she needs. At least if she waits, the plan should have a much better chance at succeeding.

What the plan actually is exactly is something Pomni’s still piecing together. After she informed Caine that no, none of them have even considered trying to conjure something only an infant would have a use for, the AI grabbed her and teleported them back to the common room, a wave of his hand summoning up the rest of the circus- save for Kinger still- to join them. After that he stopped trying to clarify anything, instead creating the bottle himself, already full of warm milk. He set it as well as a few other strange trinkets- namely a stuffed bumblebee and a bowl of pretzels- in the middle of the room before ordering them all to find a hiding spot. Because Pomni’s head was still spinning after the sudden transportation, Caine chose to drag her to hide with him behind a stack of giant blocks.

Unsurprisingly, Zooble hid with Gangle at their side, the two of them hiding behind a bouncy castle just a few feet away. That’s left Ragatha to hide on top of one of the smaller structures, and Jax… well, Pomni doesn’t actually know where he went, but she knows he’s nearby.

The six of them wait for what feels like hours- but realistically is just half of one at most- before the pawn finally reappears. It’s slow when stepping into the atrium, looking to have come from the bedrooms again. Where the heck was it hiding this whole time!? Pomni has no clue, and she certainly isn’t going to jeopardize the plan by asking it before it’s been captured. The pawn is as cautious as a mouse, its head on a swivel in search of any threats, but that all goes out the window when it spots the bait.

With an audible chirp of excitement, the pawn hops its way onto the bumblebee themed quilt the offerings have been left on. For now it ignores the stuffed toy and snack, its attention entirely on the bottle once it has it in its hands, and with its treat at the ready, it plops itself down on the quilt and starts drinking without a care in the world; the nub of the bottle disappears against its face, proving once again that it indeed has a hidden mouth like Kinger does.

“Gotcha!” Caine shouts, flying into the air quicker than a cheetah so he can have better elevation- or just to look more important- before snapping his fingers.

That’s all the warning that the little pawn gets before a plastic playpen is surrounding it, its sudden appearance making it drop its bottle. In a frenzy it tries to climb out, but Caine must have some invisible wall in place, keeping it trapped no matter how hard it fights to escape. After throwing itself at the wall several times and trying to lift it doesn’t work, it plops back down and starts sobbing, and while Pomni can see that it’s frustrated, it sounds more scared than angry, especially when the rest of the circus comes out of hiding- wait, how the heck did Jax fit in that flower pot!? …Oh yeah, his weird cartoon logic- and surrounds the playpen.

“I know it’s caused a lot of trouble, but I can’t help but feel bad for the little guy.” Ragatha admits, her maternal empathy even extending to such a troublesome AI.

“Yeah,” Gangle agrees, one ribbon hand wrapped around one of Zooble’s, the other just sort of hovering, as if she intends to try and pet the pawn, but she’s wise enough to restrain herself for the time being. “Poor thing… it doesn’t help that it looks like a mini Kinger.”

“Oh, that’s because it is a mini Kinger,” Caine says without missing a beat. Unlike Gangle, he has no reservations against reaching in and patting the pawn on the head, the poor thing too scared to do anything but flinch and whine. “My, you’re even jumpier than you usually are, my misbehaving frosted cake! I wonder what set you off this time.”

There’s a beat of silence, then-

“WHAT!?” Everyone but Caine and the pawn scream.

“What the f*ck, how did he even do that!? Zooble asks, Pomni unable to keep from thinking that they might be jealous. “I thought you said it’s impossible to edit our avatars!” Yep, they’re definitely jealous.

“Next to impossible. Not entirely so,” Caine corrects, never taking his eyes off the little pawn… or rather Kinger if the AI is to be believed.

“Jesus Christ,” Jax mutters, but there’s a slight smile beginning to spread across his face. “So what’s the deal here? Is the old man pulling a prank on us? Well played, Gramps, well played, but uh, I’m definitely throwing you in a woodchipper for making me step in your piss.”

“Wait, what!?” Zooble doesn’t miss that last bit, giving Jax the most baffled look they can manage.

Much like Caine, Ragatha can’t take her eyes off Kinger, her own slightly squinted while inspecting him. “Caine… he’s not conscious of this, is he?” It sounds more like an observation than a question.

Caine nods and gives Ragatha a proud smile. “Right you are, my dear! The little thing doesn’t even recognize us!”

“Oh my god,” Pomni joins in on Ragatha’s pity for him, but with an added layer of guilt. “No wonder he was running from us…”

With Caine having proven it’s not guaranteed to be dangerous, and no one paying enough attention to what she’s doing to stop her, Gangle goes through with putting her hand near the pawn, only she doesn’t outright touch him, just leaves it in his space and waits for a reaction. Kinger’s still crying a fair amount, and he flinches away upon seeing her hand so close, just like he did when Caine touched him, but after a few seconds of not being grabbed, he gathers the courage to approach the offered hand. Another few seconds pass, and then with little more than a whimper he presses his head against what’s probably her palm, desperate for comfort after such a stressful morning.

“Aww. Poor thing.” Gangle coos, utterly endeared by the little chess piece. She untangles her other hand from Zooble’s to better pick Kinger up; he squirms around at first, but then he’s right back to trying to lean on her, the ribbons making it difficult.

“I can take him,” Ragatha offers a little too eagerly, her smile suggesting she’s just as enamored as Gangle. That smile widens when Kinger is passed to her, and unlike with Gangle he doesn’t hesitate to cling to her, his little hands grabbing both sides of her waist in what might be an attempt to hug her. “Aww, you are too cute like this!” Ragatha tells him, all too happy to reciprocate with a much more successful embrace.

“Geez, didn’t take you girls long to start playing house, huh?” Jax asks, still laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “Don’t expect me to be the daddy anytime soon, or I’mma make like mine and split!”

Kinger looks up when he hears the word “daddy”, but rather than stare at the person who said it, his eyes lock onto Caine instead.

Caine squirms nervously under his scrutiny, now refusing to even look at the little pawn.

With everyone else going quiet, or at most murmuring to each other or the toddler, Pomni takes it upon herself to ask the question she’s pretty sure everyone is thinking. “So… what do we do now? Is this permanent?”

Caine’s quick to shake his head, his excitement to be helpful far outweighing whatever had him so tongue-tied a moment ago. “Oh no no no, he should turn back to his big, oblivious self in no time at all… probably!” He assures, back to floating just over the heads of his circus. He scratches his non-existent chin when looking down at them, before he grins outright. Pomni shivers, knowing even before he opens his mouth that he’s about to turn this into a game of some sort. “Well now, it seems our little chess piece is regressed for the time being, so why not make an in-house adventure out of it? Your goal is simple; keep that little miscreant in good condition and out of trouble! Think you can handle it?”

Despite their disdain for adventures, Zooble doesn’t try to argue against it. “Not like I didn’t do this enough times for my little siblings… sure, whatever, so long as this one-” They point at Jax with the closest thing they have to a thumb. “-Doesn’t start sh*t!”

“Aw Zooble, I’m hurt. Wounded even. I think you’ll find that I’m an amazing influence on such a young mind,” In a matter of seconds and without warning, Jax manages to outmaneuver Ragatha and grab Kinger from her. He gives the pawn a grin while holding him over his head. “What do you think, king craps himself? You feel like helping uncle Jax scare the socks off these suckers?”

“Jax!” Ragatha snatches Kinger back in record time, keeping him sat on her hip and away from the mischievous rabbit. “Don’t call Kinger that! He obviously can’t control this.”

“What? Am I wrong? If the guy can’t hold a number one, I doubt he can hold a number two!” At first Jax is laughing about it, but then he sobers up upon thinking it over more. “So, uh… what do we do about that?”

“It’s simple, really!” Caine chirps, waving his hand to summon up what Pomni’s pretty sure is one of those massive diaper bags she’s seen so many moms carry around. “Inside this bag you’ll find everything you’ll need to keep our diminutive eggplant in tip top shape!”

Pomni grabs the bag first and rifles through its contents, and while it’s pretty much all the kinds of things she was expecting to find, she winces when seeing and pulling out what looks to be a gauze-like wrap that’s undoubtedly meant to be a diaper for the toddler.

Jax’s pupils shrink at the sight of it. “Oh, f*ck that! No way, I am not changing no freaking diapers!”

“Aw, what’s wrong, Jax? I thought you were excited to hang out with king craps himself?” Once they spot an in, Zooble has no reservations against teasing him for it.

Ragatha glares at them for repeating the nickname, but she doesn’t get the chance to respond before Jax does.

Jax sputters like a leaky faucet, blushing nearly as much as he did when Gangle put him in that maid’s dress awhile back. “I- you- this is different! I don’t want him crapping on me, and I sure as f*ck don’t wanna see it!”

“Then don’t. I used to babysit on the weekends back when I was in high school, so I’m pretty sure I can handle it.” Pomni explains, admittedly not anymore enthused than Jax at the thought of this specific part of taking care of such a young child, but she’s not about to let the little one be neglected.

“Well, he’s all yours then!” Jax tries to grab Kinger again and hand him over, but Ragatha holds her ground, freeing a hand to swat him away. “Hey, I’m just trying to help!” He whines.

Ragatha glares daggers at him. “I’m not going to let you hold him again until you can prove you’re not going to be rough with him. He’s just a baby!”

“So? He’s usually a big guy, he can handle it,” Jax insists, the smile he gives her full of mischief. He glances down for a moment, his smile widening even further. “Hey Momma, I think you dropped a passenger. You know, they’ve got bumper stickers for that if it becomes a habit!”

“What!?” Ragatha looks down in a panic to discover that Jax is telling the truth; Kinger’s disappeared again.

“Take it easy, I’ve got him. This isn’t my first rodeo.” Zooble is quick to intervene, and indeed, they have Kinger held under one of their arms, this one looking like the arm of a teddy bear. Rather fitting, considering the trials ahead of them.

“Oh thank god,” Ragatha lets out an exhausted sigh, the scowl she gives Kinger barely even enough to be called one. “You need to stay with us until you’re big again, okay Kinger? No more running off!”

The little pawn has the gall- more like lack of social awareness- to giggle in response.

Luckily for him, Ragatha finds that far too endearing for her to hold a grudge against him, her smile proving as much.

“So other than getting him… wrapped, what else do you think he’ll need?” Pomni takes it upon herself to ask the big questions again, glancing back and forth between Kinger and everyone else in attendance.

Caine shrugs. “Gotta be real, I usually just keep him distracted with an adventure when he’s like this.”

“How many times has this happened to him?” Gangle asks, her tone full of concern.

“Um… he did it while you were all at Spudsy’s, but other than that, he hasn’t regressed since before Ragatha arrived,” Caine explains, hovering down low enough to pat Kinger indulgently on the head. “But I’m sure you lackadaisical pomegranates will-”

With Caine this close for the first time since he broke out of his panic attack, Kinger takes the chance to grab the AI’s jacket and tug on it, his eyes squinted in a smile. “Daddy!” He chirps, pulling on the fabric a few more times to prove who he’s talking about.

The whole circus goes dead quiet, save for Caine, who’s been left as a sputtering mess. “Uh… yeahokaylookslikehe’sfineI’llseeyouguyslaterBYE!” And just like that, he disappears in a puff of glitter and confetti.

Everyone stares wide-eyed at the space Caine occupied just moments ago, some of their jaws slack in shock.

“So, um… anyone else hungry?” Jax asks.