Chapter Text
“You’ll stay with me forever, right?” Caine said softly.
He said it carelessly.
However, the way Pomni responded, it didn't matter to him anyways.
Pomni stared blankly at him.
She looked around the circus hallway, which was usually loud with everyone else's talking. But it was different now. It was quiet. Unusually silent. Caine smiled at Pomni, still waiting on the answer he asked for.
Waiting.
“I-I mean…forever is a long time,” Pomni muttered, nervously, fidgeting with her hands.
Caine just laughed at her response.
“Not here it isn't!” He exclaimed, the walls suddenly glitched as he finished that sentence. The hallways were distorted, before instantly returning to normal.
Pomni took a step back.
Caine noticed,
Of course he noticed this.
His toothy grin widened, and widened. To Pomni, it was honestly scary.
“The others will never understand this circus like we do.” Caine said, quieter than before.
He floated closer to her.
“Everyone else distracts themselves.”
Floating closer, still.
“All of the others pretend there's something else out there. Someone waiting for them.” As he says this the lights began to dim.
“But you…” He points his caine at her, “You saw what happened to Kaufmo. You understood what happened to him. He abstracted. That's why you shouldn't try to convince yourself there's a way out. You can't end up like him.” He goes on and on.
Pomni’s throat tightened as she didn't know how to respond to that.
Caine stared at her for a few seconds.
“I mean, I keep everything together here,” He started again, this time whispering to her, “The rooms. The environment. The adventures. Them.” As soon as he said that, his eyes jerked and locked to hers.
“You.”
The hallway doors behind her quietly closed shut. Not in a way of saying she'd be stuck in that hallway forever but some type of metaphorical way of Caine already knowing she wouldn't be leaving.
Pomni's breath hitched at the soft click of the door handle closing. Caine continued to smile at her.
“Weird. I wonder who sealed the hallway shut. Oops!” Caine says brightly,”Crazy how this has happened to you, twice!”
Pomni doesn't answer. She hated this hallway, no one ever came in here. She wanted to leave. Nobody ever goes in here, so if she were to mention this to someone, they wouldn't know.
Not Ragatha. Not Gangle. Not Zooble. Not Kinger. Not Jax. If Pomni were to even mention this to them, they would have no recollection whatsoever of this hallway. They would change the subject almost immediately and would forget that she ever asked anything like this.
“You're quiet tonight,” Caine hummed. He drifted around her..His hands behind his back, staring at her. Planning what he was going to do next. His eyes were locked on her.
“I mean, you usually ask more questions.”
Pomni crossed her arms, out of frustration. “Maybe I've just learned and came to the conclusion that asking questions here is pointless!”
“Aww..” Caine placed one of his hands on his chest, dramatically. “You wound me, Pomni” His voice echos.
You wound me.
Wound me.
Me.
Pomni felt sick to her stomach.
“Can you just stop doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“The-” she threw her hands out, pointing to him. “That stupid voice echo thing!”
Caine’s smile twitched. In a second, everything in that hallway turned back to normal. The doors opened, the lights stopped flickering, but the weird feeling still lingered.
“There,” He said softly. “Better?”
Pomni just stared at him. Something just felt so so so wrong. He floated closer to him.
“You know what I think?” he asked.
No response from Pomni.
“I think you're scared of me.” Caine leaned down until his face filled her vision.
“And I think,” He continued, “you're the only one here who realizes they should be.” The hallway lights dimmed to a dark, glowing, red. Pomni stepped backwards. The hallway stretched so far. The door now looked like what seemed like a mile away. She looked back and saw the hallway, all stretched out.
“I'll just have to put you in your place.” He adds on.
Caine noticed her panic.
He smiled wider.
“There it is.,”
He whispered, almost sounding relieved.
“I was wondering when you’d start paying attention.”