#whccares

This was the most lengthy conversation they'd had ever since that stupid wild west adventure. Of course, he'd blown things off as if nothing was wrong, as if she was presumptuous for ever thinking she could hurt him, but his grin was fragile and cracking around the edges. And there was a guardedness, a fear even, to his expression that hadn't been there before.

Her victory had settled in her stomach like ash-- to the point where she holed herself up in her room for several days until Caine forced her out.

Humans need social interaction and mental stimulation, he chided. And he knew just the adventure to cheer her up!

A medieval fantasy complete with an arranged marriage. To the one person she'd been avoiding.

Wonderful.

Her nails pick a hole in the corner of her glove. "Not all of us. I myself scoff at the idea of love at first sight. Such a magical spark scarcely exists outside of penny books and plays. Love is a conscious choice. Even if this union is arranged, it is also a choice I make with eyes wide open. And will keep making. Every moment. Every day."

@ribboff "Get your OWN nicknames, RIBS."

It was no secret that Jax and Gangle didn't exactly get along. Jax liked picking on them and pushing them around, and Gangle tried to avoid the purple rabbit when they could. But Jax had never acted like this around them before, and Gangle wasn't sure if it was supposed to be another ploy on his part. It did seem like the type of thing he would do, though: acting like he'd turned over a new leaf only to try running them over with a bulldozer later.

"Maybe I do! Maybe, we keep ending up like this because our fates are tied together! And no matter how we might try to pull apart we'll always end up right back here! With you tangled up in me, and me tangled up with you! Emotions are like that you know! They're complicated and messy! And none of them make sense! But, you still want to make sense of them anyway! Because otherwise you'll be miserable forever!"

Gangle hadn't intended this to happen, there hadn't been a master plan this time. Bad luck had simply drawn the two together again. And at this point, Gangle was gonna lay out something to the rabbit. Because neither of them were going escape from this cycle now. The ribbon girl was going to state her terms for this war between them here and now.

"You know they say conflict in of itself is a form of love. You tearing into me, me tearing into you, by its very nature change happens from conflict. Good or bad at least something will happen. That's more interesting that languishing here in the circus right? If we're fighting then we'll never be bored! Nothing can ever stop us here right?! You always talk like that, so this is me trying to match you! I'm not your victim anymore! I'll be your adversary Jax! I'll fight against you day after day! Because I want you around Jax! That part of what I said wasn't wrong. I do want to be with you forever! I just don't know in what way yet! So let's find out! No more running come at me! And I'll come at you!"

As she talked her ribbons are overtaking him again since she had him pinned to the ground why not take the chance? She wasn't going to let him run away again. Though, this time no relying on masks. She was fighting him as herself not as some fake version of her mother whispering words too horrible to be given form. She would fight with her own strength. If this was what life was now, then she would do it. At least, in this way she was keeping her promise to herself to keep Jax's solely focused on her so the others weren't caught in the middle.

"Maybe, if I do win in the end I will make you my pet rabbit!"

@whccares reached out: [R Amnesia] "You're a lot...dorkier without your memories" (From: Amnesia Prompts - Accepting!)

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped being an a$#@%le and help me remember! Like your name." Pomni scoffed, eyes narrowing at the weird looking bunny in front of her.

⠀ 🪡 ⠀ ╱ ⠀ 🧵 ⠀ ◞ ░ ◟ 𓊆 𝐉͓̽𝐀͓̽𝐗͓̽ 𓊇◝ º STILL ACCEPTING ︴ @whccares ︴ ➔ BABYSIT :  for one muse to help the other home while they’re drunk.

𝐓͓̽𝐇͓̽𝐄͓̽ 𝐂͓̽𝐎͓̽𝐑͓̽𝐑͓̽𝐈͓̽𝐃͓̽𝐎͓̽𝐑͓̽ 𝐔͓̽𝐍͓̽𝐅͓̽𝐔͓̽𝐑͓̽𝐋͓̽𝐄͓̽𝐃͓̽ before   them   with   the   inevitability   of   a   thread   drawn   through   a   needle's   eye,   its   jubilant   chromatic   splendor   subdued   beneath   the   solemn   tempo   of   their   uneven   advance .   jax   yielded   himself   almost   entirely   to   her   support,   his   equilibrium   dissolving   into   little   more   than   an   afterthought   that   ragatha   found   herself   compelled   to   preserve .   each   faltering   step   demanded   another   careful   correction   until   the   simple   act   of   escorting   him   became   an   intricate   negotiation   with   gravity   itself,   every   measured   footfall   a   quiet   reclamation   wrested   from   collapse .   the   negotiation   unraveled   without   warning .   her   stride   caught   against   the   polished   floor,   a   startled   breath   escaping   into   the   stillness   as   the   world   canted   sharply   beneath   them .   for   one   vertiginous   instant,   their   shared   equilibrium   threatened   to   dissolve   entirely,   every   hard - won   adjustment   poised   upon   the   brink   of   undoing .   instinct   eclipsed   alarm ;   her   grasp   tightened   as   a   hurried   litany   of   uneven   footfalls   reclaimed   the   fragile   balance   they   had   so   nearly   surrendered.   when   stability   returned,   it   did   so   with   all   the   tentative   grace   of   a   truce   rather   than   a   victory .

❝   jax -  ❞  𓊆    🪡    𓊇   ⸺ the doll exhaled, the cadence of her words still bearing the faint aftershocks of the near mishap , ⸺   𓊆    🪡    𓊇  ❝  could you please pick your feet up just a little ? i-i'm trying really hard here to keep us both upright ...  ❞  𓊆    🪡    𓊇   ⸺ another hushed sigh relinquished itself to the silence as her gaze lowered, ragatha's hold shifting almost imperceptibly in yet another quiet preservation of their precarious balance , ⸺   𓊆    🪡    𓊇  ❝  honestly, i'm starting to think you're making this harder on purpose ... o - or maybe i'm giving you a little too much credit ,  ❞  𓊆    🪡    𓊇   ⸺ the observation lingered only briefly before yielding to the hush between them, overtaken by the measured cadence of their progress and the soft susurration of his feet across the polished floor , ⸺   𓊆    🪡    𓊇  ❝  ... i'm probably talking to someone who's not even listening to me right now, huh ?  ❞

Jax had left the café like he was in some sort of panic when Kinger began to lose his insanity. The face he made. The way his voice sounded quiet. Something was up and it had bugged her the whole conversation with the others.

Why did he run off? Why did he look...scared. It didn't sit well with her, and the fact he was out there alone? Even more so.

In a hushed murmur she had quietly asked Ragatha to look out for Kinger and keep his bucket on his head before jogging out the way she came, moving quickly down the stairs with hurried footfall. She had to find him...make sure he was okay....

As they turned away from the pile of rocks now blocking the entrance and she peered down to the darkness of the cave ahead, within which the pair had been forced to swiftly take shelter, Ragatha felt grateful that Caine had at least equipped the humans with flashlights on this latest adventure.

(Although it almost made her wonder if the rockslide had been intentional somehow… But that would be crazy… right?)

“Yeah,” she sighed, "I guess the only way out is gonna be through. I just hope the others are having better luck than we are.”

It wasn't lost on her that Jax was about the last person on earth she probably wanted to be stuck alone with. But, for her sanity, she was trying to stay positive. And so she opted to try and make casual conversation as they headed onward.