"It starts with Sorry" (A Jax X Ragatha story)

Chapter 7: A Gesture for a Jester

As Ragatha noticed Pomni and Kinger playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, she then reached for a box of helium balloons before then passing them over to Jax who was confused by her action.

"What the hell are we gonna do with helium balloons?" He asked, confused by the prompt.

Ragatha then pulled out a bunch of yellow and lime green balloons and one brown balloon for Jax to inflate as she responded with "Well, I was hoping that you could use your balloon inflating skills for good and to make something nice for Pomni"

"Ok.....what the hell am I supposed to make with only green, yellow and brown balloons?" Jax asked.

"Remember Gummigoo?" Ragatha asked him back.

Jax pondered for a bit as she mentioned the name "Gummigoo" since he had heard it before but couldn't quite remember where it came from. "No..not really...who was he again?"

"Well, Remember that yellow and green bandit crocodile NPC that Pomni befriended in the Candy Kingdom?" Ragatha asked, trying to help Jax remember.

"Oh yeah, that guy! Didn't Caine end up snapping him and turning him into confetti?" Jax asked, now remembering who they were talking about.

Ragatha sighed sadly as she remembered that event and how negatively it had affected Pomni not just mentally but emotionally. "Yeah..it really didn't sit well with Pomni for a good while. So..that's why I came up with this prompt to help her feel better, by having you make Pomni a balloon version of Gummigoo that could help her cope with Gummigoo's....untimely deleting if you will"

"Eh.., not sure how effective a balloon animal is gonna be when it comes to coping but clearly, you're the expert here" Jax replied sarcastically.

Ragatha shrugged it off before replying "Hey, it's a nice gesture, it'll make her feel better and she might end up warming up to you so there's no real harm"

"Heh, sure Dollface~. Now, how did this "Gummigoo" guy look like again?" Jax asked as he grabbed a bunch of the Yellow and lime green helium balloons.

"Oh right! Well uhm...he's tall and..his lower half was lime green while his top half was yellow...Oh! and also, his right arm was green and his left was yellow." Ragatha replied.

Jax then began forming the Balloon version of Gummigoo starting with his lime green lower half, forming his legs, tail and right arm before moving on to his yellow upper half as he slowly formed his face including his snout and also including the left arm.

Ragatha then decided to chime in as she noticed one more thing that needed to be added. "Don't forget the Cowboy hat"

Jax quickly grabbed the brown balloon as he began to wrap it around to make it look like a cowboy hat before wrapping it around the top of the Balloon Gummigoo's head.

"There, how does that look?" He asked as he showed off the completed Balloon Gummigoo.

Ragatha examined the Balloon replica of the Yellow and green Gummy bandit, amazed by Jax's ballooning skills before replying "Yup, it looks great"

"So what now? Am I supposed to just give it to Pomni and leave after?" Jax asked as he held the Balloon in his palm.

"Nope, you're gonna try to have a nice conversation with Pomni and THEN you'll give her the Balloon" Ragatha answered.

Jax groaned but still went along with it since he knew he didn't really have any other alternative as he walked over to Pomni and Kinger Hiding the Gummigoo balloon behind him as they then noticed him walking.

"Oh, Morning Jax" Pomni replied. "I didn't expect to see you up so early"

Kinger was a little shocked to see Jax up this early since Jax had always been more of a late-morning person but he welcomed the change regardless. "Well, it's nice to see you trying something new"

"Right on the Money, Hoo-Ha~" Jax replied, trying to sound as Nonchalant as possible even though he had no idea what the hell he was doing before trying to start a conversation.

"So...nice weather..we're having right..?" He replied awkwardly.

"You're not used to starting conversations are you?"Pomni asked, she could tell Jax wasn't an expert when it came to starting conversations if he was resorting to asking about the weather.

Jax sighed as he nodded in defeat. "Yeah...I don't really know how you guys do it"

"Oh, it's quite easy" Kinger replied chuckling. "Here, I'll start for you"

Kinger then proceeded to Recount stories of his experiences with his wife Queenie before her abstraction and despite the slightly sad tone of the conversations, Kinger seemed happy to tell stories of simpler times with his beloved brown Queen chess piece always talking about her in the most loving and fond terminology. Pomni and Jax listened to his stories and while Pomni was a LOT more invested and interested than Jax, they both couldn't help but admire Kinger for his Devotion to Queenie and their marriage despite her Abstraction. It was also a nice opportunity to see more of his serious and genuine side rather than his usual oblivious and easily forgetful side.

Once he finished, Jax's ears perked up slightly as he remembered why he had been there in the first place. "Oh right! Pomni..I..uh got something for you"

Pomni raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You have something for me?"

"Yeah, but I guarantee you it's not a boxing glove that's gonna punch you in the face like last time~" Jax replied, though his smirk made Pomni skeptical.

"Alright...Fine Jax, but if this is a prank, I'm never trusting you again" Pomni replied.

Jax smirked as he then showed off the Balloon Gummigoo to Pomni as she gasped with widened eyes.

"Jax...you actually made this...for me?" Pomni asked in shock.

"Yeah...I remember that when that Gummigoo guy died, you were left feeling pretty sad so, I thought I'd make this to..make you...feel better or...something like that...I don't really know how this works.." Jax replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head before shrugging.

"Oh wow, it does look like him" Kinger commented.

Pomni smiled warmly, not expecting it but also being appreciative of the gift. "Thank you, I'll treasure this deeply" She replied heartily smiling at him.

"Heh, you're welcome NPC" Jax replied smugly as he began to walk away from the scene only to find Ragatha clapping and smiling at him in the distance. He knew that turning over a new leaf, being nice to the others and leaving his previous Douchebag attitude and persona behind wasn't gonna be easy but he was willing to take up the challenge. Anything for Ragatha's sake.

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