Chapter Text
Waking up had never felt this difficult to her before.
Moving shapes she could see behind her eyelids, illuminated by a comforting blue and orange haze of light, muffled sounds of flowing water and steps treading through it reaching her ears assaulted by obnoxious ringing noises. How much she hated tinnitus, though this didn’t sound like anything she’d ever heard before.
Her head pounded in the rhythm of her frantically fluttering heart, beating behind what felt like bruised ribs and sore skin; any limb still attached to her body unbelievably heavy, dragging her down like anchors chained to her torso. For a moment, nothing but silence and the occasional sound of water filled surroundings she was still blind to, as her eyes remained closed.
That’s when she heard a voice not far from her — in fact, it seemed to hover right above her, like an observant watcher. Now she wished she could simply open her eyes up, even if the persistent pain in her head made it hard to focus herself on any voluntary movement. She felt trapped in this seemingly never-ending cycle of dormiveglia, not quite asleep, yet not quite awake either.
A soft voice spoke the first comprehensible words not muffled by the cotton in her ears.
“Poor thing. Has she hit her head?”
“I don’t quite know. I found her like this, and she hasn’t waken up since then.”
“Oh my. Let me help.”
Voices, they pooled and swirled all around her, like a vortex, a spiral. Her head certain felt like one, vertigo bizarrely stretching her entire visual image when her eyelids fluttered open, allowing eyes to take in any light around her. Everything seemed blurry, out of focus, like a badly taken picture or trying to open your eyes underwater.
Something wrapped itself around her body, gentle and caring, yet to her abused and bruised form it felt like being torn apart. She winced as response to the sudden touch, feeling inclined to flinch away from it, even if her body refused to obey her mind’s commands.
There it was again, that soft, mellifluous voice. “I think she's waking up.”
A rough one followed. “About time. I thought she was dead.”
Intrigue, and a new voice: “I wonder where she came from? She doesn't look like someone from around here.”
If ‘eye roll’ had an audible sound, it would’ve been the rough voice’s tone of speaking. “Of course she's not from around here, Ragatha. She’s a human.”
“Oh! I've never seen a human before, only ever heard of them in Caine’s stories... she looks so fragile and vulnerable...”
“I heard humans break their bones from the slightest injury!” The soft one exclaimed. “And can die from small infections…”
“Well, let's hope she hasn’t broken anything,” the rough voice spoke, now a little more gentle. “Hey. Can you hear me?”
The person, whoever they were, spoke right next to her ear — or rather, right next to her hair. As if the person trying to contact her had no idea where human ears were located.
She wasn’t so sure if it was even safe opening her eyes fully considering the topic at hand. What did these people mean by ‘she’s not from here, she’s a human’? This certainly had to be a dream. Nothing else would make sense! She wasn’t even sure what had happened…
A sudden push, maybe a trip. The last thing she could recall were those dangerously steep stairs in the abandoned office building she’d been exploring, the wet leaves fallen from surrounding trees lining the worn concrete steps. That’s when she’d slipped, and with no railing to be held onto nothing but a sudden descent downwards followed, far quicker than she’d wanted it to be.
A flash of white, a ringing noise exploding in her ears, taste of pennies reaching her throat when she’d swallowed. And now… she was here.
Wherever this ominous ‘here’ was supposed to be. Maybe she was merely hallucinating and was currently en route to the hospital in an ambulance? Soft rocking and a quite comfortable lounger she’d been positioned on might be good indicators.
“Yes,” she finally groaned in response to the voice next to her head, now calmed through the thought of this possibly being an EMT, someone she could trust…
Slowly turning her head to the side her gaze was met by anything but an EMT sitting next to her. Instead, she locked eyes with a creature, one so utterly out of pocket. It’s frame seemed to consist of several shapes of many colors and textures melted together, a triangle-shaped head adorning it’s unsymmetrical, shapeless body from where a pair of equally mismatched eyes making her feel like she was being watched by sharks — sharks that had smelled blood in the water.
The woman flinched at such unexpected sight, suddenly pushing herself upward and being hit with another wave of vertigo, nausea blooming inside her midsection. She ought to scream. She wants to scream in sheer terror at such sights, creatures both humanoid and inhumane at the same time, their frames and designs utterly disconnected from anything she’d ever seen before.
Scrambling to get away she discovered crimson ribbons tied around her body to keep her stabilized, being balanced on something vaguely resembling a ‘hand’, a spiral of several masks surrounding a glowing orb in a circular fashion watching her intently from dark eyes.
Each of the mask had a different expression seemingly painted onto them, reminding her of old theater masks she’d seen back in her time during school and theater class.
“Who— are you people— what’s going on here?” She finally got her mouth to speak up, voice trembling in sheer terror. “Where am I?”
“In safety. That’s all that counts for now,” the voice cooed, “don’t you worry. Do you know what happened?”
“I’m— sorry. I don’t know what’s going on,” she spoke, trembling. “I’m so confused.”
“No don’t apologize, it’s okay.” The tangled mess of red ribbons and many masks spoke up, her soft, timid voice soothing. “What’s your name, by the way?”
“I— my name?”
“Yes. What did they call you in your world?”
“I—…” She paused. Why did she pause?
Remembering one's own name was perfectly normal, something every child could do with ease. Why couldn't she? The woman blinked rapidly, confused, head turning frantically as if she was to find the answer somewhere in this… cave-looking environment illuminated by the ribbon-being’s orb of light.
Her lips trembled, unable to remain calm now. “My name— I don’t… know… oh god. Why can’t I remember my name?!”
“Poor thing, you must’ve hit your head pretty good there,” the voice identified as Ragatha cooed. “It’s okay.”
She stepped closer, allowing the human woman to get a proper look at her now, too. Red curls in many shades of auburn and crimson lined a dainty face, soft cheekbones melting seamlessly into sharply defined ears reminiscent of elven ears she had seen in fantasy movies, clothes consisting of many layers of fabrics in the shades of cornflower and ocean waves — a cascade of flowing blue hues, hiding a body underneath she couldn’t quite assess.
Only when Ragatha moved a bit closer towards her she was able to see the equine legs underneath, covered in white fur, akin to something you’d see on a unicorn’s body.
She almost lost her consciousness right then and there. Every new visual reveal of the people surrounding her felt more and more unhinged and out of this world, and they certainly were.
This couldn’t be real, right?
Her breathing grew rapid, just to calm a few moments later as she exhaled sharply.
“Oh, I get it now!” She spoke, voice shrill. “This— this is all a dream. If I just close my eyes and concentrate, I will wake back up in the office where I was last!”
Each of the creatures surrounding her exchanged confused glares with one another, almost if they were the ones deeming her insane. To the human woman, all of them were the insane ones, figments of her imagination running wild after having been knocked unconsciousness.
Ragatha’s face grew concerned, and she leaned forward. “You do know where you are, right?”
Cackling, the human woman unraveled herself from her position, wonky legs disallowing her to stand up any further than she already did, essentially sitting on her knees and seeking balance on the ribbon creature’s finger curled around her.
“Yeah! I’m in an abandoned office building, where I will be waking up any second now!” Her voice grew from shrill to frantic. “… right? I will just wake back up?”
Another round of confused glances. She hated seeing them do that. They seemed like they knew more about this than she did, and she wanted to hear of it.
“Don’t you dare tell me this isn’t a dream,” she exhaled sharply, eyes widened. “Please, it— if this isn’t a dream, what else is this supposed to be?! Where am I?!”
“You’re not dreaming, I fear,” the mismatching pile now spoke, “this is very much reality. Even though I am not certain how you’ve landed yourself in here. We haven’t had anyone cross over into our world for many, many years now. Maybe even decades.”
Her hands ruffled through her auburn hair, which had gotten lose. “This— just happens? Did I just no-clip into the backrooms, and Reddit was correct about this just happening?! Can you at least send me back, or help me?”
She added, a desperate plea directed towards every person in this room with her. Once more, their faces were hard to read, as if they weren’t even certain themselves. It frustrated her, she wanted to scream at all of them, even though she knew none of them seemed to have had any hand in her ordeal. They had even taken care of her when she’d been unconscious as it seemed.
“I fear— I have no idea what any of these words you’ve just said mean,” the mismatched person replied, face with little features contorted to show their utter confusion. “We speak the same language, yet you talk in riddles.”
“Jax would have a field day with her in that case,” Ragatha jested, earning herself a rather displeased look. “I’m sorry.”
Their triangle head perked upwards. “Nono, you’re giving me an idea. He could be of help to her.”
“I do?” Ragatha seemed surprise, blinking as she stepped closer, her hooves parting the water they were standing in. “How could he help her? He’s not really fond of anyone, really… you know that, Zooble.”
She felt the limina of the shifting atmosphere as these two people talked, her eyes unable to focus on either one for too long. When she turned her head she flinched at being met with the ribbon creature’s mask right next to her face.
“ I know. And I hate involving him,” the mismatched person, now identified as Zooble, grumbled. “But he’s the only one of us capable of striking a deal with mortals.”
She scrambled to get herself involved again now, hearing their words brought a faint sensation of hope to her mind. “Hey now— deals? Mortals? Who is this Jack you’re talking about?”
“Jax,” Ragatha corrected her, “he’s, uh— a merchant of sorts. You see… we can’t just send you back into your world, it’s complicated. But he might be able to help you more than we do.”
Zooble’s face tensed up further, though they had to admit Ragatha had a point. They acquiesced to her reply, slowly nodding their head along.
“Alright,” they spoke, “it’s worth a shot.”
Suddenly, the ribbon creature holding her seemed to move, breaking free from it’s previous frozen stand, causing the woman in it’s hand to be tossed to the side. Struggling and fighting for her balance she desperately wrapped her hands around the next best protrusion she could find, being a finger-like structure of all things.
“What’s worth a shot? I would like to be included in the conversation if it’s about me!”
She protested now, almost falling over when she rose to her feet too quickly, head remaining in a vertigo. She felt ready to throw up right then and there, much to her dismay. Bile rose in her throat, and she sat back down quickly to avoid it rushing upward into her mouth cavity.
“Where are you taking me?” She asked after swallowing hard against the bile in her throat, “and who are you taking me to?”
“To the only person that might be of any use in this situation to you,” Zooble explained without even looking at her. “We're just as clueless as you are. Nothing we know could even begin to help you get home.”
“I wanna talk to him,” she spoke, wobbly knees trying to support her legs. “Now, if possible. I— if he can help me I need to speak to him.”
“Let’s just hope he’ll be willing to speak to you. That’s what concerns me more,” Zooble admitted. “Gangle?”
Their eyes befell the ribbon creature, whose spinning masks emitted another expression now. “Yes?”
“Can you carry her?”
“Of course.”
Zooble nodded towards a direction the human couldn’t quite make out. “Alright then. Let’s get out of here.”
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
The transition out of the cave’s internal, dim levels of luminosity wasn’t easy. She felt as if a flash bang had been thrown her way. Immediately squinting her eyes she lifted an arm to shield her face, leaning it against the ribbons that were still roped around her, keeping her secured from falling down.
In the day light everyone seemed much less monstrous than she’d initially seen them as — Ragatha’s colors more vibrants, Zooble’s mismatched body suddenly making sense, and Gangle’s masks seemed to reflect the sunlight, making them shine and shimmer like polished porcelain.
The woman blinked, sight slowly but surely adjusting to the outside lights, allowing her to remove her arm and look forward.
The terrain made as little sense as the appearances of the people around her. A widespread desert made from golden sand so light it appeared almost white without burning her eyes right next to a forest closely resembling what she knew of her hometown back in Oregon.
It didn’t make any sense for these biomes to seamlessly fuse into one another, and yet here they were. Fantastical in a sense, reminding her of the old fantasy movies she’d watched time and time again with her parents.
Every memory of the human world so far from her reach had new tears pearl up in her eye’s corner and she quickly wiped her face down, movement catching Ragatha’s attention.
“Do you feel better?” She asked, treading closer to converse more easily with the woman in Gangle’s hand. “How’s your pain?”
Ragatha’s question had her reminded of her aching head, and despite the persistent pounding it’d grown more tolerable — for now. Tolerable enough to get forgotten about for a few minutes.
“It’s— better,” she admitted, “I still feel it, though.”
“No wonder. You hit your head pretty good!” The equine woman responded. “Lucky the water caught you and feathered your fall.”
“It did? I certainly didn’t feel it…” She jested, watching Ragatha tilt her head, lips curling into an almost shy smile.
“You’ll feel it later, most likely. I’ll see if I can get you some medicine to treat the pain, and any potential injury you might be having underneath your clothing.”
“Oh shit, clothing! I didn’t even consider there might be anything on my body…” She tugged on her shirts collar, then on her jacket’s sleeve.
Both pieces of clothing had been torn open pretty good, though her jacket seemed to be better off than her top, layers of warming fabrics dampening the impact and stones tearing through it. Her mouth curled into a scowl watching the expensive jacket being rendered essentially useless now, unable to keep her warm anymore, and she took it off, balling it in her hands to stuff it under her arm.
“Oh, is it damaged?” Ragatha asked, leaning in. She was close enough for the human to smell a mild minty aroma that clung to her cornflower dress and red curls. “I could patch it up for you, if you want. I am very skilled with that needle of mine.” Ragatha winked. “Though you might not need it for now. The climate’s pretty mild today.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised,” the woman mumbled, passing the jacket over to Ragatha with some hesitation. Was she really going to give this stranger one of her remaining clothing pieces? What if she was to never get it back from her?
“It’s so weird seeing a desert right next to a forest, and it’s not scorching hot,” she continued. “How come?”
“Well, I assume you’ve made different experiences in your world,” Ragatha stated, “but here, the climate barely changes between our borders. Now, there is some areas where you might be stepping into freezing cold or blistering hot areas that seem to start and stop at exact lines, but there’s no true telling when this will happen. This world changes as much as the people living in it.”
“Hm. Sounds a bit like my world.” She attempted a joking reply to relieve her own tension. “Everything’s always… changing up. It’s nothing new, but it can be rattling if you’re not anticipating a sudden big change.”
“I know, right?” Ragatha laughed, though with less joy than her actions would’ve alluded towards. “It’s infuriating sometimes, but we have little choices. In this world you adapt, and you will learn how it functions. It’s alive, and we follow it’s path, not the other way around.”
“Damn.” She looked genuinely impressed by this sentiment. “I wish humans were more like that. We constantly try to force the world to turn into your directions, not it’s own. And proceed to destroy more and more of it… but try telling that to people that are allergic towards change…”
“We have those too,” she got as a reply from her companion, “there’s some opposing any change the world makes for itself, and stand against the turn of the tides, inevitably getting washed away.”
The woman sighed. “I wish I could go back right now. As chaotic as it was, it was… well, my world.”
The more they talked the more the human woman’s frame seemed to relax. Inside her chest still lingered a souring sensation of dread, and the deep wish for all this to be a dream, waking up on the foot of the stairs with a headache and possibly a nasty gash, but back in a place where she truly belonged — as alienated as she’d felt in the human world, it still was her home.
This? All of this? It meant little to her, having her feel alien amongst these creatures of many shapes, colors and smells.
Ragatha’s glance seemed sad. “I hope Jax will be able to help you. Though I am not certain if he will immediately agree on it, but he cannot resist a good deal if you present one enticing enough.”
She wanted to ask what even would be considered an ‘enticing deal’ to people like… well, them, but Ragatha was quick to continue her rambles before she could even properly formulate a reply.
“But first… you should be given a name, so other people can properly address you. Not to mention, a soul without a name is very unusual,” Ragatha added. “It’s best you chose something temporary so you can get around without trouble.”
The woman’s face grew confused. “I don’t want to pick a name. I already have one.”
Ragatha tilted her head, eyes appearing saddened. “Can you remember it?”
She halted, a sigh building in her chest. How childish to protest when all Ragatha was trying is to make her feel a little bit better — and help her integrated into this… world, or society. She still wasn’t quite sure where exactly she’d even landed in the first place.
“No,” she mumbled, “I can’t. I— uh… I don’t know. Do you have any names I could use? I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb because of an unusual, human-like name or anything…”
“Let me see…” Ragatha’s finger tapped against her chin as she thought about it, before her head reared to face both Zooble and Gangle. “Any of you two have a stray idea what to name our guest while she’s unable to recall her name?”
Murmuring followed, until Gangle’s head perked up.
“Oh!” She exclaimed, “how about ‘Pomni’?”
“Does it have a meaning?”
“Yeah! It’s a name from the old texts of our world,” the ribbon coil continued, excitement retained in her voice. “It’s a term for someone new to the customs and currently learning them! We don’t… use it a whole lot anymore, but it seems fitting. If you want it, of course…”
Her quiet voice faded, losing it’s energetic demeanor with every word spoken aloud. She felt pity. Maybe that’s what drove her to the decision of simply running with that one — she wasn’t even so sure if she’d be having the mind and time to learn about this strange, new world, though she didn’t plan on meeting it’s people or customs with anything but outmost respect — as desperate as she was.
“Pomni sounds good,” she agreed. “It certainly has a ring to it.”
Ragatha chimed in: “So we shall call you Pomni from now on?”
“Yeah. Gonna have to call me anything, and it… yeah, it sounds nice.” Her smile was a bit forced.
She’d rather be called her real name, but without any memories of it right now that would have to wait. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, especially not in a world that wasn’t even their own, nor where they originated from.
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
When Gangle and the others came to a sudden stop Pomni was almost tossed forward from the sudden interruption of speed, grabbing onto the next bundle of ribbons in her way and held onto dear life. Gangle noticed, quickly lowering down to the ground for the woman to take a few wobbly steps, relieved to find actual ground underneath her bare feet. She sighed, taking a few deep breaths.
“We’re here.” Zooble’s voice sounded anything but happy about the situation they’d found themself in. “That’s Jax’s humble… domicile.”
Following their outstretched arm Pomni found herself face to face with a lavishly adorned tent-like construction, looking big enough to house an entire family from the outside already. It’s purple and blue lining was decorated with gold threads woven throughout complex and idyllic looking embroider scenery, each inch of the tarps and fabrics obviously carefully woven by hand.
It was endearing, yet enthralling, and so out of the norm for her. She’d never seen something as intricate as this tent meant to be someone’s living quarters in the city, nor where she’d traveled before, and it intrigued her more than she wanted to admit.
“He’s in there. Go on,” Ragatha tried to encourage her, “I’ll even walk you to the entrance.”
“Can’t you… come with me?” Pomni asked, torn out of her admiration to blink in confusion.
“No, I fear we cannot. He wouldn’t be willing to talk to us anyways… or, well some of us,” Ragatha added, sounding almost saddened.
Whatever confrontation these people had going on between them, Pomni wasn’t about to become a part in it. So, she sighed, shoulders slouching ever so slightly.
Great. A new world, yet people still have drama and beef, and I'm in the middle of it. How... wonderful. Totally what I can use right now.
“And you’re sure he’s my only chance at returning home?”
“He’s the only one capable of striking up deals with mortals. And he has knowledge about this place — as well as the place that could send you back,” the centaur replied, the setting sun carefully illuminating her red curls when she bowed her head. “We’ll wait for you here. Don’t worry.”
Each of her steps was filled with unease, the rising bile in her throat threatening to fully unload itself in the form of vomit. Pomni swallowed against the hard lump formed inside, hands balled into fists, nails digging into her palm for some relief of tension, which quickly dissipated when she had to undo the tent’s flap and push it back for entry.
“Uh, hello?”
“Why are you here?” A voice replied almost immediately, as if they'd already listened for her arrival and voice.
Pomni froze, eyes immediately darting into it’s source’s direction.
Sitting in front of her in what could be described as an array of colorful pillows and blanket imitating a throne-like structure was a rabbit, one of humanoid nature — walking on two legs, possessing all the limbs you’d normally see on a human body, through furred in several shades of purple, lilac and blue split down the middle, adorned by black and light markings running down asymmetrical patterns.
But the most fascinating and frankly captivating part of his appearance were his eyes — consistent of multiple, brightly colored rings constantly shifting in hue with the exception for what seemed to be his pupils, which now focused intently on the human woman in front of him.
“Come closer.” He curled a clawed finger inward, an enticing gesture allowing her to step further into the tent.
Drawing his legs a little bit closer the rabbit creature’s hand moved, even a simple gesture like waving her to step into the tent elegant and coordinated, nothing out of place. And yet it held a mocking energy to it, the demeanor of a person knowing they were above the other — in both knowledge and privileges.
His elysian demeanor drew her in against her will, feminine and masculine intertwining in not just his design but his entire being as well, the way he moved every limb of his with such coordination; a dance studied and danced time and time again with great jocund, radiating an alluring preposition when he lifted his chin in response to her, eyes widening gradually.
“A human. How peculiar,” the rabbit commented, his voice hard to pinpoint. It could’ve been the voice of both a man or a woman. “My day’s just gotten interesting. What brings you to me, human?”
Being allowed entrance and a moment to stand she caught her breath, torso slowly decompressing, allowing her tortured lungs to once more unfold fully and be filled with fresh air. Pressing a hand to her chest, she licked her parched lips, which had become chapped and rough due to the dry air; from some spots, beads of blood emerged, now clinging to her tongue and filling her mouth with the taste of iron.
When she swallowed, it felt as if she had pennies in her throat. As uncomfortable as it was, she knew she had no choice but to open her mouth and state her case, for the stranger across from her was now leaning in slowly, eyebrows raised.
In his hand a pipe, which emitted colorful smoke contrasting the blue and pink hues adoring his robe’s black fabric, from where waves of anise, cinnamon and something else the woman couldn’t quite lay a finger on hit her.
It felt pleasant, almost inviting, albeit treacherous. Such a mixture of smells had to have its purpose, and their thoughts were confirmed relatively quickly as a fog settled over their consciousness.
When nothing came from her the rabbit got up, walking over, his richly decorated robe dragging behind him, circling the newcomer like a predator assessing it’s prey.
“Hm, quite short for a human… skinny… sinewy… I see why nothing has eaten you so far if you’ve found your way to my humble abode,” he spoke, grin plastered all across his face. “Did your world cast you out for being so visually useless? Why are you here?”
Pomni’s hand found itself balled into a fist. She wish she could’ve thrown the punch for his demeaning commentary on her appearance, yet she restrained herself. Not just for the deal’s sake, but also her safety — she didn’t even know what this person was capable of.
Her lips trembled when she bit into them, canines digging deep enough for her to taste blood. And yet her throat refused to open up as her host returned to his ‘throne’, sitting back and stretching his legs, like he’d just run a mile or two instead of circling her once or twice.
“If I were you, I would quickly open my mouth and get to talking,” the rabbit spoke warningly although honeyed, “the smoke is sedative. I don’t want you fast asleep on my floor and drag you out of here as to not shoo away my customers.”
His voice remained enticing, like a snake charmer’s flute to a cobra, a sing-song humming smooth words without trouble of even finding them. Where Pomni struggled even emitting a single greeting or purpose of her visit in this strange person’s domicile the rabbit spoke velvety.
He seemed to know humans, otherwise he must’ve freaked out — so she assumed. Knowing herself she would certainly lose a marble or two upon being eye to eye with a being from a whole other universe.
She took another deep breath, feeling her ribcage rise and fall in it’s rhythm, finally building the courage needed for her lips to part and speak her mind.
“I was looking for help. I came here from— from the human world, if that’s telling you anything,” Pomni finally blurted out, and although speaking of helplessness in front of such an unpredictable stranger didn’t seem the smartest choice — she had no other. “I— met some people. They brought me here to get help.”
“So they sent you to me?” The rabbit replied, seeming genuinely surprised by such revelation, before lowering back down into his throne of pillows, snorting with amusement as he waved his pipe in a circle, it’s smoke trail painting figures into the air. “Oh, that’s funny.”
“Why?” She knew she’d be giving herself the answer fairly easily given everything she’d seen this man exert in behavior already, though she wanted clarity — not assumptions. “Why would they have sent me to you if you’re not capable of helping me?”
“I can help you,” the rabbit argued, “but that doesn’t mean I will be doing as such.”
Being taken back by his blunt reply, she blinked. “Why not?”
Jax cocked his head, ears swaying softly as they followed his movements, and drew something into the air with his pipe. “Do you have anything to offer to me? Anything of value?”
She appeared stunned, and she was. Value? What would be valuable in this world? Was there even anything on her she could be giving away? Her hands searched through her pockets, fingers soon bumping into the round shapes of coins and crumbled up outlines of a few dollar bills.
“I have… money, I suppose. Though I don’t know if that’s worth much in a whole other world…” Her voice died as her last words were spoken, already catching up on how bad of an idea this offer had been.
She could’ve slapped herself. What kind of offer was this supposed to be? This person would certainly not help her for half a sawbuck and a few quarters she’d gotten as spare change from this morning’s coffee run. This morning. How long ago it seemed.
“Money?” Jax snorted, the beginnings of a laugh somewhere in there. “Darling, money has no value in here. Not even our own currencies would be of any use to you, or me, and I’d never take money as payment.”
“What else do you pay with then?” She asked, combatively so. “If you have no currencies.”
Frankly, Pomni already had enough of his demeanor and these back and forths. She wanted answers, on how to get home safely. If she could even get back home to begin with. Her head still pounded with pain, a throbbing, unpleasant sensation surging through her body with every beat of her fluttering heart. And such pain made it hard for her patience to remain unstrained, withstanding the mental test of this… merchant, as they’d called him.
“We do have currencies. It’s just not what you’d expect.”
“What is it?” She exhaled impatiently. “Just tell me, straight up.”
Jax chortled, seemingly amused by their conversation and her desperate, human display. How long it’d been since he’d last seen one of them. “Souls. And you’re… a priceless one, indeed.”
“Priceless?” Her face scrunched up in confusion as she waved her hand about when some of the pipe’s smoke managed to waver into her direction regardless. “What are you talking about? Is there like, a price on my head or something?”
“Not on your head, silly,” Jax laughed full of amusement, “your soul.”
“I’m… not sure I’m following,” Pomni admitted, furrow deepening. It looked displaced on her rather round face, and Jax leaned forward with a roll of his colorful eyes.
“Souls,” he said, tapping his pipe’s head on hers to which the woman — with a disgruntled face — took a step back, “have worth.”
“And?”
“If you haven’t sold your soul to someone it’s an unblemished soul. Ever contract made takes a piece of your soul, makes it brittle. Fresh, clean souls like yours that had never come in contact with the devils of this world,” he explained, as if it were the most normal thing in the world for her — it was for him, but Pomni felt as if he was continuing to make fun of her and lie just to see her reactions.
“I don’t think I follow,” she admitted, placing a hand on her temple, feeling her own pulse flutter underneath her fingertips.
“A soul not sold or bonded to anyone is worth a lot of money in here,” Jax spoke, voice barely a whisper before he took a drag from the pipe, leaning backward and slightly to the side, as to not exhale it’s colorful smoke right into Pomni’s face. “Your soul’s as unblemished as it can be, considering you’ve just stumbled into this world, and no one had gotten their dirty claws on it. Yet. So, tell me then, how have you heard of me and my potential for helping mortals?”
“They told me you were the one that strikes deals with mortals and could help them get back to their world,” Pomni spoke. “That’s… why I’m here. I need your help.”
“Whoever told you that was right. I’m the only merchant striking deals with you… humans. Or whatever you call yourselves.”
For a moment, her eyes lit up with hope. It was almost cute, the rabbit thought to himself.
“And you could send me back to my world?” Pomni asked, taking a tiny step forward.
Jax gave her a small nod of his head, gaze still focused on the smoke rising from his pipe. “Indeed.”
“Okay, then make a deal with me,” she chuffed, chest raised as if it would do anything to make her appear taller than she was. “Easy as that.”
Jax gifted her nothing but a raised eyebrow in return, hand holding the pipe swaying to the side and out of his face as he exhaled the colorful smoke into the tent. A wave of rosemary, sandal wood and cinnamon aroma hit Pomni square in the face.
“I don’t do deals with mortals anymore,” the rabbit calmly said, leaning back as he did.
Her face fell. Gesturing helplessly, Pomni looked around the tent as if the colorful fabric space filled with all sorts of antiques and oddities could give her some answer that was not filled with riddles and mockery. “But— what— why?”
Jax’s eyes grew narrow as his grin widened, exposing more of his canines. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Yeah, I do like to know.” Pomni’s eyes seemed to grow larger when he raised her eyebrows, confusion glinting in her pinwheel gaze. “I really do. Because this doesn’t make any sense to me. Didn’t you just say you’re the one that has struck deals with humans before?”
Jax pursed his lips. “I did.”
“So it was a lie,” she dryly spoke the obvious. “Why did you lie?”
If anyone would’ve thought his brows couldn’t be raised any more, Jax proved them wrong. His ears perked up. “Why do you care?”
Pomni felt bewildered. That wretched... she didn't finish that thought. Instead, she clenched her hands into fists, which continued to hang by her side, and exhaled deeply through teeth gritted in frustration.
“Because you lied? You’re getting my hopes up to escape this… this… place, and now you’re shooting me down like that?”
“Baby, I’m a merchant, a devil,” Jax cooed, leaning forward enough for his face to hang right in front of hers.
Pomni would’ve loved to punch him — if not for his words, then for his lies and the behavior he showed her.
“If a deal’s not worth it I will simply not strike it. No worth in making losses if I won’t be getting anything in return from it,” he continued, leaning back to adjust his slipped robe.
As he tugged around on the black fabric, he tossed her another gaze, one filled with artificial surprise. “Oh. You’re still here.”
“I’m not leaving until you make the deal,” Pomni argued, standing her ground — quite literally. “So?”
He sighed. “Why do you even want to sell your soul so badly? Aren’t you humans… dependent on them, or something?”
“Because I wanna go home. I don’t care anymore.”
“Wow. Your soul must be quite worthless to you if you’re willing to sell it to the first person you stumble upon for help,” Jax jested. “Curious.”
She broke.
Tears stung in her eyes fresh and hot, not just a reaction to the pain she was feeling, but also her disappointment flooding her already overloaded system, emotions pressing against the dam she’d build to keep herself steady and upright for the time being.
Regardless of this being a dream or not, it felt real, and her emotions were just as real as her talking to a speaking… rabbit of all people.
“I just wanna go home,” Pomni mewled, voice but a whisper in her throat. “You’re the only chance for me.”
“I’m not. There’s other merchants. Certainly you’ll find someone capable of pity elsewhere,” Jax argued, voice cold. “I have made my stance clear. You can go now. Shoo.”
He waved his hand, like he was ushering off a stray begging for food at his dinner table.
The woman in front of him rose to her feet quite pathetically, her distressed face a husk of it’s former expressiveness; dull pinwheel eyes practically glued to the floor in front of her. That’s when something inside of her seemed to pull itself together.
“No. I’m not going away until you agree to help me,” she spoke, rising her head slowly. “Even if I have to sell my soul.”
“Excuse me?” Jax lifted an eyebrow, leaning forward ever so slightly. “What did you just say?”
He’d absolutely heard what she’d uttered. A hearing as sensitive as his wouldn’t struggle catching whispers.
“I said, I’m not going until you help me!” Pomni took a few steps forward, her hand balled into fists. “I want to go HOME. I was sent her for whatever reason, I don’t know why, I have the worst headache of all time, and I just want to go HOME. You can help me, and I can give you my soul. I don’t even care how this works, as long as I can escape from here. And I won’t be made fun of by a weird… furry rabbit wielding his bong and prancing around like he’s about to decide my fate!”
Jax blinked. He was surprised, shocked even at her emotional display, multicolored eyes widened, pupils pinpoints amidst their colorful glow. “Damn.”
“Is that all you have to say?!” Her shoulders shook with raging breaths.
Holding out her hand towards him Pomni’s fingers were curled inward like claws, and she shoved it right into his face. “Do we have a deal?!”
The furrow of his brows increased. “What?”
“Do we have a deal?” Pomni repeated, inching closer until her feet almost touched the pillows on the ground in front of her.
Jax’s mouth curled into a scowl, his large canines disappearing behind his lips.
“How dare you.” He seemed genuinely taken back by her demeanor. “You’re not the one in the position to make demands like that.”
“Oh, trust me bunny boy, I am,” Pomni butted against his words, outstretched hand trembling from how much she flexed her muscles to splay her fingers. “Answer the question.”
For a moment she assumed him to grow angry, yell, attack — and if she was entirely honest with herself, she was afraid. Panicked, even. Internally, she was screaming bloody murder looking this rabbit man into his confusing eyes filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite place, hinging between displeasure and intrigue, almost as if her demeanor had caught his attention in a new, fresh way.
Something seemed to have switched for Jax.
That’s when he rose form his pillow throne, towering well over her, ears perking up as he grabbed her hand with his right and shook it with enough force to yank her off her feet.
“We have a deal.”
A wave of light seemed to hit her, although the light levels in the tent had never changed. Instead it seemed to come from within, swiftly followed by a stinging sensation, like searing white and hot pain that engulfed her entire palm still pressed against Jax’.
Pomni almost tore her arm free when he grabbed onto her, muscles jerking involuntarily through sheer signals sent by her brain. Jax tugged on her arm ever so slightly, and she flinched again.
“Do not move,” he spoke, a warning. “Else you will interrupt the deal.”
Pomni’s urge to punch him returned. How was she supposed to remain still when it felt like her hand was about to be burned clean off? She ground her teeth against one another, jaws tensing underneath the added pressure.
“It hurts,” she admitted, voice breathless and forced through her clenched teeth. “Is that normal?”
Jax gave her a half-hearted shrug and nod of his head.
“Very normal, actually. You wanted that damn deal, now you’ll endure the pain,” he added, sounding neither remorseful nor empathetic about her pain, simply endured his own suffering in silence, not a single muscle in his body seeming to move. “Quit whining.”
Again, the urge to punch. How surprising. She glared daggers at him he didn’t even seem to notice, his own gaze too concentrated on their grip. But when their hands unexpectedly separated, it wasn’t because of Pomni — Jax had withdrawn his hand on his own volition, staring at his palm in utter confusion, then back at her.
“What?” She asked, brows furrowed observing his mentally absent face. He looked like he was talking to someone — someone she couldn’t quite see, nor feel around them. “Didn’t you just say not to move?”
Jax’s confused expression stayed, and he wiped his hand on his pants, a quick motion in which the wide grin on his face returned. As if a mask had been applied he appeared like nothing had happened.
“Well, looks like my deal abilities are a bit rusty,” he said in jest, obviously playing over something she couldn’t see, “guess we’ll have to it otherwise.”
His eyes darted around the room, assessing his inventory, walking around the tent as if he was looking for something specific.
“What? Why?” Pomni spun around to follow his movements. “What just happened? Can’t you talk to me before doing something that’s regarding my soul?!”
She wasn’t going to get any clear answer from Jax, causing her to huff and cross her arms. “I’m talking to you, by the way!”
“So I’ve heard,” Jax mumbled, returning from his little search empty-handed, looking quite confused, eyes darting around — before finally, his attention fell onto his own body, his arms and wrists, to which his pupils expanded in triumph.
He took two of his silvery bracelets danging from his arms off, extending them towards Pomni, looking like he was holding a piece of meat towards a wild animal. A bit scared in the weirdest way, overplaying it with this artificial confidence she’d seen in her co-workers before when they tried to play over their own insecurity, or felt out of their comfort zone.
Something must’ve happened for Jax to switch up like this, and despite only knowing him for little under twenty minutes it stood as a stark contrast to his previous demeanor, causing Pomni to pick up on it easily.
She took the bracelets handed to her, weighing them in her palm. The metal was cold, despite having been in contact with Jax’s skin for presumably a while now, and felt oddly static, like she was touching her phone as it was charging.
“Put it in your pocket,” he commanded, snapping back into his witty persona on the dime, “that’ll temporarily seal the deal until I figure out how we’re doing the soul transfer.”
“Why can’t I just put them on?” She tossed him a confused glance. “They’re meant to be worn, aren’t they?”
“Normally, yes,” he agreed. “But I don’t want you to wear them. They’re… important. You can’t just put them on your wrist like any jewelery.”
“Jeez. Okay. Keep your secrets, then,” she mumbled.
“I intent to.” Jax sighed. “Alright, let’s get the others.”
She blinked. “Get the others?”
He didn’t reply to her, instead walking towards the front. Pomni followed him, almost getting hit square in the face by the tent’s flap he hadn’t cared holding up for her. She blinked into the setting sun’s remaining light, and to her relief Ragatha had stayed true to her words — they were still outside, waiting on them.
Or rather, waiting on her as it seemed.
“Did you make the deal?” Zooble asked, pushing themself off the sandy flooring, Ragatha following suit, her equine legs struggling a bit to catch their balance in the unsteady sand.
Jax’s eyes grew narrow as he laid gaze upon the mismatched, clunky frame and their companions.
“Zooble. Of course it’d been you sending her to me,” he coldly said, mouth having dropped into a scowl as his eyes scanned the jumbled array of colors and shapes in front of him. “Who else would enjoy tormenting me as much as you do. No evil spirit in this world holds enough grudge for such persistence.”
Jax took a sharp, deep inhale, his free hand cradling his face in an extended motion Pomni could only describe as a ‘face palm’.
Zooble didn’t care about his emotional display or antics, instead turning around with arms crossed in front of their chest.
“Did you make a deal?” Was all they concerned themself enough with to ask.
“Yes. We did,” Pomni spoke before Jax could even open his mouth, and he cast her a disapproving glance. “He will help me find the human world.”
“Sounds good.” Zooble nodded ever so faintly. “I suppose that’s where our paths divide once again. Good luck out there.”
As they turned a hand grabbed onto their clothes, and yanked them right back. Growling deeply their head snapped to face Jax, whose claws were still buried in the artistically adorned gown woven from many different colors.
Zooble's voice was cold as ice. “Let go.”
“You brought her here and made her my problem. You’re going to come with us,” Jax growled, nodding towards Ragatha and Gangle. “You two as well. I’m not doing this alone. You found her and gave her the brilliant idea to come to me. So you can accompany us on that travel of ours.”
Zooble scoffed. “Are you insane? Do you have any idea where this journey will lead us to?”
“Oh I am very aware,” the rabbit continued, voice dangerously quiet. “That’s why I am bringing all of you along. You’re not sending me on a journey like that with a human and expect to get off scotch-free. That’s not how this works.”
“We’re not expected to accompany you,” they argued. “We’re not obligated to.”
“Well, let’s see how Caine thinks about this when he hears about the lot of you bringing a human to me like that,” Jax confronted them, and with those words he seemed to have gotten to Zooble.
Their face grew angry, their eyes rolled, and their fighting spirit dimmed it’s flame. Shoulders dropping just a bit everyone’s eyes now laid on them as they spat out onto the ground — from where, Pomni didn’t even know. She hadn’t seen any visible mouth on Zooble ever since waking up in the cave with the others.
“Seems like you’ve found yourself a companion,” Zooble grumbled, almost a growl. “But don’t you dare get on my nerves, rabbit. Else this journey will be cut short, quite literally.”
“Oh, I am so scared,” Jax spoke, his aggressive, pushy demeanor switching up as quickly as he’d done it before with Pomni. “If there’s no other input from any of you we can start the trip tomorrow. It’s too late now.”
“The first wise thing I’ve heard from you ever since meeting you,” Zooble grumbled, “I’ve heard your tent’s fairly comfortable?”
“Never in a thousand lifetimes would I ever allow you in there,” Jax bit back, “you have your own tents.”
He turned around quite abruptly, robe swinging behind him dramatically. As he retreated to his tent Pomni stood there, confused and taken aback by the confrontation unfolding. All she’d wanted was to get home, and now she felt as if she’d been dropped into a soap opera — one that might turn deadly.
“Do I have to… sleep in his tent?” She asked the others, pointing towards Jax’s tent. “Because of the deal, I mean.”
“You don’t have to,” Ragatha immediately jumped in to console her, watching the woman’s facial expressions shift. “You can stay with us, if you want.”
“Yeah. But, uh— where are you sleeping? Just out here?”
“Oh, no.” The centaur laughed, and it sounded quite delighted. “No, no. We have tents of our own.”
“… where?” Leaning to the side Pomni looked around Ragatha’s back, seeing nothing there that could potentially allude towards a tent having been with them this entire time.
All the woman had was a bag strapped around her humanly hips, and that leather bag didn’t seem big enough to even hold a single blanket.
Ragatha winked at her. “This world doesn’t adhere to the same rules as your’s it seems,” she commented, “look.”
She reached into the leather bag on her hip, producing something that looked scarily similar to a key.
Tossing it onto the floor it began emitting a soft glow, burrowing itself in the sand as if given life.
Pomni jumped backwards, flinching when suddenly a tent-like structure sprung from the ground, unfolding itself without any external help and settling down fully assembled. Her mouth hung open.
“What in the world— how did you do that?!”
“I don’t quite know how these things work,” Ragatha admitted. “We get them from Caine. You’ll— meet him soon enough.” She waved her hand, almost like she wanted to dismiss this idea, shooting it down as soon as she’d spoken it aloud.
Pomni had heard this ominous name several times by now, and it intrigued her. Though for now she remained quiet, watching Zooble and Gangle assemble their own sleeping places for the night, each of their tents quite unique in appearance.
Ragatha’s had the same blue hues as her clothes, while Gangle’s was red, and Zooble’s a mixed assemble of patchwork, fabric of several colors and patterns sewn together to form their tent’s walls and roof.
“Come on in!” Ragatha invited, having already approached her tent’s entrance. “We can catch up inside.”
“Thanks. I’m— I’ll be there in a second.” Pomni’s head reared around, eyes locking onto Jax’s tent for a few moments.
The lights cast dancing shadows onto the purple and indigo fabrics of his own domicile, and she sighed. What… a day. Had it even been a day?
Maybe she’d be waking up in the real world once she went to sleep in here. Like in those movies she’d seen all the way back in the cinema as a teenager.
A hero, getting tossed into a strange new world, possessing both their own body and another one depending on where their consciousness was currently laying.
She hoped this to be the case. It had to be.
She was afraid, and everything felt surreal.
Finally tethering her gaze from the rabbit’s tent she followed Ragatha’s hoof prints in the sand to enter her tent for the night.
