after a bit of burnout and taking care of irl stuff, part 4 is finally finished! suggestive content warning at the end for this part, nothing crazy though. thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy. :]
hi!! im peepo i like to draw, cosplay and yell abt things i like <3 i also share my content on tiktok under the same username! creator of the funnybunny comic Coping Mechanism!
FAQ:
Can you draw (insert request)?
you can absolutely send requests in my askbox, but i only draw what i vibe with or feel like drawing! sometimes theyll sit in my inbox for weeks before i get to them, but pls dont be upset if i dont do yours :(
When does Coping Mechanism take place?
coping mechanism takes place a few days after episode 6! jax had isolated himself for several days, making everyone worry and leading pomni to check on him.
Can I dub any of your work?
yes! i do not mind my content being dubbed, as long as full credit is given to me for the art. the only exception is anything involving AI, as i am explicitly against the use of my artwork with AI in any shape or form.
~~~+++~~~
tiktok
commission info
18+ ONLY MINORS DNI @princesspesis
18+ Discord Server!
ko-fi (if u send anything my way ill kiss u on the mouth)
thank you all for coming on this adventure with me. im so grateful for all of you, and i hope you'll stay with me onto the next one. i hope you enjoyed coping mechanism. 💕
Jax felt Pomni start to stir. He glanced over in time to catch her rubbing the sleep from her eyes before she blinked and looked back at him. They stayed there, frozen in their shared gaze, before Pomni finally turned and looked towards her door. He watched as she physically slumped, as if the sheer weight of the thought of leaving the room was almost too much to bear.
As Jax watched her, he felt a sudden desire take hold of him. Before he could give the thought a second chance, he reached over, pulled her closer to him, and nuzzled against her neck. She let out a soft giggle and leaned into him, letting herself be completely cocooned by his body and long limbs.
Neither one of them spoke as they sat there, him cuddling her. They’re heartbeats strangely calm and soothing. He felt her give a sigh before nestling deeper into him. He himself content enough to drift off.
***
In the week that followed, Ragatha had made a total of 4 more appearances, before she stopped coming out of her room altogether. Jax had counted each one, watched as she purposely avoided Pomni and him, and followed her with his eyes as she left a short while after. Each time she came out, she seemed to spend less and less time there, only talking to Gangle, Zooble, and Kinger when she did. After the third appearance, Zooble had caught him watching her leave, approaching him a short time later.
“Do you know what’s going on with Ragatha?” They asked, catching Jax off guard.
“Fuck if I know. It’s not like she talks to me.” Zooble narrowed their eyes, but didn’t seem to have a response and turned to leave. It took him a second to realize how unusual he must’ve sounded right now, but in the grey of it all, he didn’t really care. “Has she come out here when we haven’t been here?” He asked before he could stop himself. As he spoke, he nodded towards Pomni who was working on a section of floor a few yards away.
Zooble shook their head. “I don’t think so. I wasn’t really paying attention though.” They turned to head back over to Gangle before pausing. “It’s just she sounded off today. More than usual.” And with that, they walked away.
Ragatha’s fourth and last appearance of the week came a few days later. Jax had looked up just as she had entered the atrium, watching as she be-lined it for Gangle and Zooble, saying something to each of them before making her way over to Kinger. The old chess piece seemed to sense something more and tried to hold on to her a little tighter, but she shrugged him off and made her exit just as quickly.
“Maybe I should go talk to her?” Pomni spoke up beside him. He shrugged but didn’t vocally object. “Promise me you’ll wait for me in my room.” She added, her voice gaining a fearful edge to it.
“Of course,” he said quietly, and watched as she left in the same direction as Ragatha.
Alone for the first time in weeks, he tried to focus on the spot they were working on. But he soon found conjuring to be a bit more difficult without her there with him. Had he really become so dependent on her presence? It didn’t help that another voice was telling him that now was the perfect time to sneak away. To finally end it all. But a second later, his mind supplied the image of panicked Pomni desperately trying to find him, only to find something else instead. It startled him something fierce.
“Fuck this,” he muttered to himself, and set off for her bedroom. At least in there, those thoughts rarely surfaced. It was strange really, how her bedroom had become a sort of refuge. He was calmer there, even when she wasn’t there with him - which granted had been very rare these past few weeks, but the point still stands. He felt like he could relax and actually breath. That the reality of their situation wasn’t so dire and grey.
As he approached her bedroom door, he saw her standing outside Ragatha’s. He instinctively tried to block out what was being said in an attempt to give them just a moment of privacy. It was the least he could do given how much he’d fucked up. He all but dived into her room, using the blankets and pillows to try and block any sounds from outside, cursing his stupid rabbit hearing. He had mostly succeeded, only catching a few pleas from Pomni as she tried to get Ragatha to open up.
He closed his eyes and could feel the edges of sleep start to take him when he felt a soft touch on his leg. Instinctively, he kicked, instantly regretting it when he heard Pomni yelp.
“Shit!” He cried out, throwing the blankets and pillows off of him to check on her. She was on the ground between him and the door, looking more startled then wounded. Before she could say anything, he reached out and grabbed her, dragging her over to him and into a hug. “I really didn’t mean to,” he said into her ear.
“I know Jax. It’s okay.”
Jax froze. There was something about her voice that wasn’t right. It wasn’t as cheerful or happy…or as optimistic as it had been as of late. But there was something else there now too. Regret; sorrow; hopelessness; defeat. He pushed her back a little to see her face, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
“I’ve never heard her speak like that before.” She said quietly. He pulled her back towards him again. “Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone.” Her voice was so small, it broke him.
“You won’t be. I’ll be here.” His own voice trembled slightly. “I’ll stay right here for as long as you want.” He could feel her body shudder in a poor attempt to keep back yet even more sobbing. He tried rubbing her back again, hating how simple it felt. Oh how he wished he could do more for her, like take away all of the pain or banish the fear. He hated watching her be reduced to tears time and time again.
A thought suddenly came to mind. It was something he had once discovered accidentally, and had worked hard to keep it from ever resurfacing ever since. It was embarrassing, really, but if it might help her, then it would be worth it. He closed his eyes and reached deep into himself. He’d never been able to do it on command, so he wasn’t sure he could do it now, only to be surprised when he felt it. It started low in his chest, slowly getting louder and stronger.
“Are you…purring?” Pomni asked softly into his chest, her voice hiccupping through her tears.
Jax bit back a groan, but didn’t stop the low thrum in his chest. “Yes.” He said, almost too quietly.
“I didn’t know you could do that.” Her voice was a little lighter, the sobbing having lessened substantially. It was working, it was actually fucking working.
“I didn’t really want people to know I could,” he admitted. She made a small noise of affirmation.
They sat there in silence for a long while, the only sound in the room was of him purring. He had to admit it was kind of strange and weird, but at least she had calmed down. He’d take the win even if it did make him slightly uncomfortable.
“Thank you,” she breathed ever so softly, before slipping in a seemingly peaceful slumber. A new feeling began to worm its way through him. A warmth he hadn’t felt in ages. With it, a sense of pride fell over him as he realized there was something only he could do to help her, something he wanted to do again and again for her. As if this was why he was the way he was, to be here for her in these trying times. The strange, uncomfortable embarrassment morphed into something he didn’t dare name, but wasn’t all that against exploring further.
“Your welcome,” he replied softly, despite knowing she couldn’t hear him in her slumber. With another gentle kiss on the top of her head, he laid back slightly satisfied and let his purring lull him to sleep.
***
“I’m really worried,” Gangle said, twisting the ends of her ribbon hands. Jax had to bite his tongue to keep from pointing out that if she kept it up, she was gonna tie herself up in knots. Sure, he was an ass, but one look at Pomni’s expression told him now wasn’t the time for jokes. Nor did he want to dwell on the fact that the new growing feelings he’d been having lately made him reconsider how he acted toward the others, especially when around her.
“And you’re sure she hasn’t come out of her room lately?” Pomni asked, bringing Jax’s attention back to the matter at hand. Zooble and Gangle had approached them as soon as they had entered the atrium with concerns about Ragatha. After her final appearance the week before, she hadn’t been seen since. Zooble and Gangle had been able to at least speak to her, but only through the door. And Pomni gave up trying after the last time, the hurt from the doll’s words still too raw for the jester.
“She told us she was okay and just wanted some time alone, but she hasn’t come out yet.” Zooble added. “And Kinger said he hasn’t had much luck either. We were hoping maybe you could reach her.” They looked towards Pomni first, who simply shook her head side to side, then towards Jax.
“Don’t look at me. I’ve been on her shit list since the day Caine was deleted.” He watched as everyone’s eyes seemed to widen in varying degrees at this bit of revelation.
“What…what do you mean?” Gangle asked at the same time Zooble said “What did you do?”
Jax stiffened a bit and glanced towards Pomni. He really didn’t want to say anything, knowing she would take it bad. So, after swallowing the growing lump in his throat, he decided to give what he hoped would be the safest answer possible. “Oh you know, just ancient history. Seems like old Rags got a bit resentful about the past.” It wasn’t a lie, but it also wasn’t the whole truth.
Zooble glared at him, but seemed to accept the answer. It was, after all, a known fact that there was some bad history between them.
“I’m sure she’ll pop her head back out when she done sulking,” he tried to casually reassure them. “I mean, shes still talking to you through the door, right?”
Gangle shook her head side to side. “That’s just it - it’s been three days since she last spoke to us.”
Jax’s ears fell as he registered the words. There was pit in his stomach as a sense of dread fell over him. A quick glance to the others suggested they were having similar concerns. He looked over to Pomni, who looked like she was trying her hardest not to jump to the obvious conclusion and was blinking back tears.
“Do you have a key to her room?” Zooble asked, their voice surprisingly lacking any trace of accusation. Jax nodded.
Without another word, Zooble led them back down the bedroom hallway, stopping right in front of Ragatha’s bedroom door.
“Ragatha?” Zooble called out while knocking on her door. “Are you in there?” Silence. “If you don’t answer, we’re opening the door and coming in.” Still no answer.
Zooble turned back to Jax and motioned to him before moving out of the way. Jax fished out Ragatha’s key from his front pocket and stepped forward, slipping the key into the lock.
“Wait,” Gangle suddenly said, stopping him for turning the key. “What do we do if she’s…” She didn’t finish the sentence. They all knew what she meant.
Zooble’s eyes widened. “Fuck. Without Caine here….” Their words died out as everyone else realized with a sudden horror that they were ill-equipped to handle a raging abstraction.
“Maybe she’s okay,” Pomni finally spoke, her voice unsurprisingly hallow. “Maybe we don’t have to worry about that.” Jax turned to Zooble and shared a knowing look.
Jax turned back toward the doorknob. He realized it could very well be the only thing keeping them safe from a potentially abstracted Ragatha. With one last deep breath, he turned the key and slowly opened the door, keeping his had firmly on the knob just in case. The room beyond was dark. Jax scanned around the room looking for signs before his attention was brought to one corner of the room where an unnatural darkness lurked. As he watched, rainbow eyes opened up all over the form, their gazes wildly looking around before they all seemed to settle on him. Jax quickly pulled the door back closed. His hands trembled as he tried to turn the key in the lock. The key finally turned and was yanked out as a sudden banging from the other side made him jump backwards.
“no…no no no nonono,” Pomni muttered beside him. He glanced at her, panicking when he saw her eyes were wide; her irises squiggles. He quickly pulled her to him, embracing her in a tight hug as he himself tried to grapple with reality behind Ragatha’s door.
Another chapter done. I actually didn't expect this one to be done so fast.
I really like this chapter, especially the part about Jax's purring. I personally prefer the headcanon that he purrs from his chest rather than the chittering rabbits can do. I also have always loved the idea that it is something he only does for Pomni, especially when she needs comforting. (It also lowkey reminds me of my own kitty who was a big purrer right up to the day she died)
Lastly, I hadn't meant for this entire chapter to be told from Jax's POV, it just sorta happened that way. I'll be doing some Pomni POV next chapter for sure.
