A Strange Adventure | TADC | Jax x Ragatha

Getting One Thing Straight

(A/N: I think this is like the only Jax and ragatha fic?? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's fun)

Ragatha opened her eyes, the room dark and quiet now. She must've fallen asleep.

She sits up, looking around the room for something to tell the time by. Sadly, Caine "forgot" to give them any clocks.

She stands up, looking at her book on her nightstand, where it always is. That gives her an idea. Maybe if she snuck into someone's room and find out what was missing, she would know what to look for?

She steps forward, reaching for the doorknob, then stops. That's against the rules. You can't exit your room at night, let alone enter someone else's room!

She steps back, shaking her head. She can't break the rules. But.. this is important. Jax has been super secretive, and she needs to know why.

She puts her head up to the door, listening for any footsteps. Hearing nothing, she slowly turns the doorknob and opens the door.

It's dark outside, eerily silent as well. It's hard to see the pictures on the doors, and she walks close to each to see who they belong to.

After a bit of searching, she comes close to one door and sees that familiar grin. She listens closely for any signs of him being awake, and carefully opens the door.

Her eyes dart around the room, looking for any place that seems empty. The room is cluttered with decorations, props, and random trash. She has to step carefully in order to not trip.

Looking around the room, she notices Jax sleeping on his bed. She keeps walking, and then she steps on something sharp. She hops on one foot, covering her mouth to not make any sound.

While hopping, she wobbles and almost falls. She waves her arms around like a cartoon, catching her balance eventually. She pulls the sharp object out of her foot, inspecting it.

It's a.. thumbtack. It has bits of paper stuck on the pointy end. She looks around, wondering where it could have come from. Either Jax had something hanging up, or he left it there to prank someone.

She squints, looking carefully at the walls. She finds a small hole in the wall, and slots the thumbtack in, finding it fits perfectly. It must have fallen, or he ripped it off the wall.

Nothing else in the room seems out of place. She puts the thumbtack on a table, and starts walking away.

Just then, she accidentally kicks a water bottle. It knocks into a leg of the bed, creating a loud thunk.

Her eyes widen, and she scrambles to reach the door. Jax shifts in his bed, and she holds her breath. She reaches the door, and slowly turns the doorknob. It clicks as it opens, and Jax turns over in the bed, facing away from the wall.

He starts opening his eyes, and Ragatha enters the hallway and shuts the door behind her, breathing heavily. She races towards her room again, not taking any time to be quiet.

She jumps into her bed, pulling the covers over her to make it look like she was sleeping. She slams her face into her pillow, screaming into it. That went terribly.

At least she had some new information. Jax had some sort of paper hung up, and it was ripped off. Maybe the Gloinks stole that? It could be a possibility.

She can think about this tomorrow, it's too late for this. She lays down comfortably, just getting relaxed, before the lights click on and Caine recites his morning announcement.

She sighs. "Great. This is not gonna be fun."

Listening to the announcements, she hears something new. "Since some of you are still missing your stuff, this morning, please meet up with your partner at today's breakfast! I've color coded your seats, so you will know where to sit."

Ragatha grimaced. She'll have to talk to Jax, and he was definitely waking up as she left. It's going to be really awkward. Either way, it's not avoidable. She's gonna have to confront this.

She exited the room, seeing the others getting up and leaving at their usual routine. She does the same, walking to Pomni's room to wake her up.

As she raises her arm to knock on the door, she feels a hand on her shoulder, and her soul just about leaves her body.

She freezes in place, and Jax speaks up, quiet and serious. "Hey, Raggs. I got a question for ya."

Ragatha replies quietly, voice shaking, despite her best efforts to keep steady. "...What is it?"

Jax pulls Ragatha away from the others, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "What were you doing in my room?"

Ragatha forces a big smile, avoiding eye contact and looking down at her feet. "What do- what do you mean?? I wasn't in your room! Not at all."

Jax scowls. "I saw you. What in the world were you doing?"

Ragatha drops her smile. "Nothing, I swear, I was just-"

Jax crouches down to look her in the eyes, and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Tell me. Now."

Ragatha panics, stammering through her words. "I was just- I wanted to- I didn't know what you were missing and- I wanted to know-"

Jax stands up straight, still frowning. "And you didn't think to ask me? Wow, I thought you were better than that."

Ragatha breaks away, running to Pomni as she exits her room. "Hey Pomni! Morning. How was your hunt yesterday? ...find anything?"

Pomni nods. "Turns out Zooble lost a hand, and it managed to crawl its way back to us. We asked Caine what I lost, and he said I didn't have anything important yet, so I guess we're done."

Ragatha smiles, glancing behind her to see if Jax was following. "That's great! My team isn't done yet. Know anything about Kinger and Gangle?"

Pomni shrugs. "Not much. Apparently Kinger is too scared to search anywhere."

Ragatha sighs. "That tracks. Anyway, we should head to the table and... meet up with our partners."

Pomni lowers her voice, as if telling a secret. "Are you scared to talk to Jax?"

Ragatha nods. "I don't know what happened yesterday."

Pomni nudges her by the elbow. "He said he cares about you. Maybe he.. yknow..."

Ragatha flicks Pomni on the head, a bit shocked at Pomni's proposal. "Don't even suggest that! There's no way."

Pomni smiles a bit, chuckling. "Just a thought."

They reach the table, and Ragatha sits down in the blue chair, right next to a purple one. Jax sits down in the purple chair. Caine begins his spiel, but Ragatha isn't listening. She has something else on her mind.

What was that thumbtack hanging up?