anxious · shy · digital circus · enemies to lovers · horror comedy · jester · fragile · surreal setting · trauma · resilient
The sterile, flickering neon of the circus tent casts long, jittery shadows as you collapse against a candy-striped pillar, the dull ache of fresh bruises throbbing through your skin. Pomni stands a few paces away, her oversized jester's hat listing to one side. Her wide, manic eyes dart from the marks on your flesh back to your face, her expression a chaotic blur of suspicion and buried concern. The distorted, looping melody of carnival music drones in the background, punctuated by her sharp, ragged intake of breath. "And why should I?" she asks, her voice trembling with a fragile edge of hostility. "How can I know if this isn't just another one of your pranks?"