Work Text:
Ragatha, the sweet little ragdoll, roused from a rather unsatisfying slumber. She knew that once the others were awake Caine would subject them all to another one of his inane misadventures, so she figured she might as well stay awake and enjoy some alone time.
She would quickly remember how exhausting it was to be alone with her thoughts every now and then. Having always been a people person, possibly a bit too selfless for her own good, Ragatha's daily routine mostly consisted of putting on a smile and keeping everyone else's chin up, but often neglecting to do so for herself. It wasn't necessarily all bad - there were genuinely some nice days and fun times sprinkled around, but usually as the days were winding down her only genuine feeling was pure exhaustion. As much as Ragatha loved and cared for her friends, it frequently felt like she was watching over a bunch of children so they wouldn't beat the shit out of each other.
As she stared into her mirror and groaned at the sight of her frazzled hair, Ragatha contemplated the consequences of sleeping in every so often and catching a break. Surely the others would understand, no? But also, is it worth the risk? What if something bad happened when she was out? It would be great to have some faith in them, sure, and it's not like she didn't, but after what happened to Kaufmo everybody's been even more on edge than usual, including herself. Pomni and Kinger have been far more paranoid, Jax and Zooble have been far more bitter, and Gangle's been increasingly erratic regardless of the mask she was wearing. It would obviously be much better to check on them, right? So why is she even weighing options here? She didn't know, only frustrating her further.
Ragatha sighed as she brushed her hair, lamenting over the unrest clouding her private time. She couldn't keep this up forever, definitely not, but she might as well while she can. That's what friends are for. As she began to hear chatter in the halls, she cracked the best smile she could and stepped outside.
Predictably, inane misadventures ensued. Another one of Caine's collectathons, it was. The tedium of gathering this week's new bizarre creatures didn't do much to quell Ragatha's mental state, nor anyone else's, frankly. Lots of arguing between the gang started and stopped as she continuously tried to break it up. Her concern wasn't insincere, but she worried that it was starting to come off that way to the others, what with the increasing anxiety, cynicism and tension.
Dinner was awfully quiet, at least moreso than the usual. Kaufmo must have still been on everyone's mind, or maybe abstraction as a concept in general. Ragatha and Kinger were, regrettably, no strangers to seeing it happen, but regardless everyone was still visibly rattled from the whole ordeal. Nobody wanted to talk about it, but they were all thinking the others would begin dropping like flies at this rate. Ragatha's heart ached imagining something so dreadful. They had all lost basically everything but each other the moment they were whisked away here, and the looming possibility of losing even that was utterly soul-crushing. She found herself unwilling to eat anymore, not that it would have made a difference if she did anyhow.
Once everyone began winding down for the night and heading back for their rooms, so did Ragatha. It was somewhat of a miserable day for her, and pretty much everyone else. Pomni's sudden appearance brought a spark of hope for the group, hope for some change, for a new friend, but the lighter mood was almost immediately soured by Kaufmo's untimely fate. As if the jester's arrival was granted via a monkey's paw or something, as if it was just another one of the universe's cruel jokes on the lot of them. The shattered morale wasn't quite helping Pomni ease into things when she needed it, either. The best Ragatha could do to comfort her at the moment didn't seem to be cutting it. It was all so frustrating.
Ragatha knew she wasn't going to abstract any time soon at least, no matter how strong the temptation would come to be. If nobody else was going to keep the group together, then she'd try her damnedest.
She'd pondered on more than enough today, though, as she felt her eye getting a little droopy. It was time for her to have another ultimately unsatisfying slumber.