Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Things have been going well… sort of, if you discount the whole former owners of the souljam who are corrupted, angry and insane! who were released from their prison and now looking to destroy the souljam's new owners and being eternal despair to all of earthbread!

Then yeah this is going well.

 Since they have White Lily cookie back and still have hope that they can defeat Dark enchantress cookie and the Beasts! All is fine and will be fine, as long as no one gets eaten agia-

 Wait. No. That isn’t right. Why did he think that? No one got eaten before, no one that he knows .. No, that he knew.  

Come to think about it, where is he? He was in a room with a fuzzy light brown carpeting and with brick walls that had brown, orange and beige coloring. There was a fireplace radiating an orange glow and a jam sandwich chair near said fireplace. The whole room had only warm colors painting it with no silver blues or deep greens in sight, the polar opposite of the woods that he and his friend were traveling through.

“GingerBrave?” an energetic voice called, a familiar voice actually, but it's too faint and too far to recognize.

“Hello? GingerBright?” Why did that name come out of his mouth? Did he even know a GingerBright?  it came out so normal like a routine, and he follows this unusual routine with another unrecognizable but familiar name,

“GingerDozer? Dozer? Bright? Where are you?”  He continued to call their names, before finally remembering who they belonged to:

his Friends, his Family, HIS SIBLINGS!

He walked around the room, mindlessly looking for two cookies, like they were playing a weird game of hide and seek. He looks in the giant treat bag next to the chair, not there. He looks under his bed, not there… Finally he turned to the red door with a skull on it, he walked up to it and placed his right hand on the nob.” Come on Brave! Let's go find all the fun things together,” GingerBright called in her usual cheery tone. “Yeah! Let's go on a new adventure!” GingerDozer followed up in his sleepy but sweet voice. “Alright, alright. I'm coming,  just wait for me.” he chuckled, feeling a smile spread on his face as he twisted the doorknob, pushing it open. But on the other side, looking back at him was-

 a.. Mirror? 

Or at least that's what he thinks it is, because reflecting back at him wasn’t him, or not exactly him. No, his eyes were… wrong! so very wrong.

 They were still blue but a much darker one with a red hue to them, not outright  purple but close enough to say it was a shade of purple. Not only were the iris’s of his eyes different but the white icing surrounding them was now chocolate icing instead.  

He stumbled back getting a better look at himself to see his arms and legs stained in a black swirling pattering, it almost looked like it was trying to engulf him in darkness, when he looked at his arms and legs they remained normal.  “What in the- Bright?! DOZER! Where are you? This isn't funny anymore.” 

No response was given, only silence had answered him. He reached out to touch the mirror, but his reflection came to life and gripped his arm like a bear trap. It brought him closer to its face, making his bright cerulean blue eyes stare at its cold mazarine blue eyes and baby blue pupils. His reflection whispered to him in a hushed and soulless voice.

“Wake up, Shadow baked cookie.”

He struggled to get out of the mirror's grasp, feeling the other's grip starting to dig into his dough to the point he thought it might snap in two. He began to pull even harder until he heard a shattering noise, feeling his arm being released. He turned to see that the mirror had shattered from him ripping the reflection from the crystal glass, reducing it to being nothing more than a pile of dust. 

Despite it being destroyed and him free, he still stumbled backwards in pure shock onto the floor, right in front of the warm fireplace. He tried to calm down and tried to puzzle out what the hell had just happened, but his already wobbly train of thought was interrupted when he heard a loud roar of fire from behind.

 The fire in the fireplace grew bright and more angry until it swallowed the room whole, shifting from the fire controlled fire to one he agonizingly recognized. The carpeted floor was replaced with a  metal sheet and the cozy brick walls were now the dark walls of the oven. He could feel the heat suffocating him, his dough screaming in pain, the flames grazing his dough made it hard to move and the smell of burnt dough and sugar made him feel nauseated.

He shut his eyes tightly, falling to his knees as he covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming and choking on the smoke, and all he could hear were screams, screams of his batch, the first cookies and the screams of the first batch. 

 He opened one eye to see someone in dark armor standing in front of him, with a jagged sword in hand and purple accents embedded in the chestplate complementing the bright jewel in the center of the chestplate, it stood out from the dark attire, making it hard not to stare at. Wait- wait! He recognized that jewel, it was White lily cookies souljam!

But- it looked…wrong. It was the wrong color and placement, it was a purple color and upside down instead of right side up…and only a certain group of cookies possessed inverted souljams; corrupted souljams.

.

Beasts. 

.

The cookie before him was a beast: a cookie who used to be the holder of light of solidarity before it was twisted into something else. 

He tried to get up but to no avail, reaching to the side for his cane only to realize it wasn’t there.’ Shoot!’ What should he do? What can he do?! He can’t move a muscle and he doesn’t have a weapon, he's a sitting duck  trying to face a cake wolf. He watched the beast, carefully waiting for a chance to do anything to defend himself. The beast seemed to be doing the same thing, circling around  him, getting closer with each loop around, their  feet not making a noise as he walked.  

GingerBrave was confused on what they were trying to do, strike fear into him? Deciding if they would crumble a threat or not? Or something else. Now the knight was right up to GingerBraves face to the point he could see lavender blue tinted eyes peering through the helmet's visor, he would have never expected the beast to have such gentle eyes, to be honest they remind him of Elder faeries comforting silver eyes. They continued their small stand off before the knight backed away from him and tossed something in front of him.

.

.

.

A sword

The small hero felt himself regaining control over his body once more, he got up and looked down at the sword then to the beast who nodded for him to pick it up as they changed to fighting stance, patiently waiting for him. 

Knowing there was no way out of this without a fight, he picked up the sword. It looked similar to his cane with the blade being made from candy cane and the guard having a similar pattern to Silent salts but in a light golden color. An eight pointed star symbol rested in the middle instead of something in the shape of the souljam, with the pommel instead being a small red diamond. He eyed the sword in his hands, he began to try it out with a few slash’s against the space beside him, struggling to hold up its weight since he's not really used to holding a sword.

After he was done analyzing and getting a good grip on the sword, he turned to the beast, shifting his stance to match theirs. The flames roared around them, staining the oven an orange. He breathed steadily, trying to keep calm, after all this cookie is unlike any foe the young boy has ever faced. He was afraid, really afraid but does not dare let it show. He has to protect his friend and this cookie poses a great threat to them, to their dreams and he will not let those dreams be shattered, not by anything or anyone.

both not making a single noise or even daring to make the first move.

He can feel the heat dissipate from around them, the whole environment shifting to a barren flatland with nothing in sight besides dead trees, the sky painted in a midnight purple with no stars in sight. The sudden shift made him feel uneasy, he doesn’t recognize this place at all; it's not anywhere in Crispia that's for sure.

He doesn’t let this shake him a bit, he might be at a disadvantage if this is the beast's domain and that he's all alone, but! He will always charge in first to protect his friends and so- doing what he does best

He charges in with  the beast following suit, the sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the dream, neither ready to back down.

                                                            ____________________________

 The fight that had ensued had ended in a hug between the last three cookies who survived the witch's wrath. One was humming to sooth them while giving her kindness and passion in whole. One spoke words of great wisdom and truth to ease the pain, and the last wailed and wept in sorrow, regret and fear. His tears falling like dewdrops off his face. Walnut eyes met crystal blue and crystal blue met ocean blue, and back around again. They held each other in silence, mourning the loss of their friends and family. 

She beckoned the cookie whose face was stained with tears, she embraced him as he gave a thousand apologies. 

She soothed the boy, the last of what she had of the first batch. She knew what she had to do, she couldn’t let tragedy repeat. She began to speak her last words to him, her heart aching with each word.

“ I know you’re hurt, and I agree with you but if you continue down this path..” The memory respond in static

“But promise me, Please promise me… don’t do this ever again.” 

 She took a sharp breath in, still greatly injured from the cookies strikes, but no matter how injured she was, she still held the small cookie in an embrace as she spoke to him. Already regretting the decision she had not yet made but had to make. 

The cookie tried to plead but the spell was already being casted. His friend watched in horror, knowing they wouldn’t be able to do anything and it may be for the best.  

The others watched with dipped heads and held in tears as they relieved one of their many regrets.

 "- I cannot lose another, I cannot let another Beast be born.”  

“I'm sorry, GingerBrave.” 

 So are you awake? Shadow baked cookie.

Chapter Text

Strawberry cookie woke up in a familiar and terrifying place: her old room in the Witch's castle.

She frantically looked around herself to see all of her old belongings in their proper places, left untouched and unused.

Last she remembered was that she was traveling with her closest friends, discussing a plan with Pure vanilla cookie on how they were going to find the binding ritual while trying to navigate the beasts of deceit’s land without issue. They were so close to reaching the spire, it was really easy since they had a guide who knew the way so the journeys weren't as dangerous as they thought.

But at the moment she was nowhere near there in the safety of her friends and 

Had no idea on how she got there but she felt the terror tremble through her dough, she needed to leave but alone? She couldn’t do it alone.  

She shook herself out of it. GingerBrave wouldn’t be terrified so she shouldn’t be either, and Wizard Cookie would have a plan so she should too. First she needs to recall her last memory before this, then assess the situation. (sounds like a smart Wizard plan, so this should work. Hopefully).

Step one was done now step two. From what she could tell no one was in the room with her that posed a threat, or anything really. She turned to the pink door with heart on it, all she had to do was leave out through the open window and pray to the everlasting moon that she doesn’t run into the Witch or her minions.  

She really wished GingerBrave or Wizard were here, she could just run into their arms and feel safe with the two cookies she trusts the most.

She approached the door, turning the knob and pushing the door wide open. And everything on the other side looked the same as she last remembered. She walked out and started to make her way towards the window. 

She started to hear soft singing coming from the one of the places she wanted to avoid the most: GingerBrights Room.  it didn’t sound like her singing, no it sounded like someone else much more mature and older but similar to Brights sweet excited voice.  

She tried to pull away but her voice practically beckoned her towards it, like she was chained to the rhythm.

 She reasoned with herself that she might be able to find some answers if she did follow it and having no better idea on what to do she decided to follow it. 

She walked back, back towards Bright's room, stepping in front of the purple door. The voice sounded less muffled than before. She opened the door, and instead of seeing yellow wallpaper and the cute decorations GingerBrights room always had- 

She instead was greeted by a dazzling place filled with cotton candy clouds and sugar waterfalls and rivers. The thing that really took her breath away was the massive temple in front of her. Sugar glass Sculptures of an angel like cookie led the way in. 

She can hear the singing coming from the heart of the temple, pulling her in further. She can hear the voice much clearer than before. As she progressed she noticed the statues change poses, like their alive and acting out a story statue by statue. The temple progressively got dimmer but the sugar glass lights, statues and even the flooring glowed like stars, the air also got slightly colder. Her steps echoed throughout the halls. 

The quiet sounds of harp could be heard, harmonizing with the singing. Strawberry cookie just adored music, she wanted to make her own but she would always stutter or freeze or embarrassed herself when the chance was given to her. She would always forget what note to play or how fast the tempo was, she wasn’t cut out for it like other cookies, but she was just fine with listening.

The halls seemed to go on forever with how long they were but she could feel the place move, like it was leading the way for her. She swore she could taste something sweet in the air, something sickly sweet at that. It smelled like roses and strawberries, she wondered if this is what others smelt when she would walk by? Or when she would get embarrassed. 

 She noticed a walkway that led to a garden and one that seemed to lead into a giant ballroom where the songstress seemed to be in. 

Strawberry walked in, aweing at how sparkly and beautiful the place was.

She gazed up to the ceiling and noticed the mural of the same angel like woman the statues were based off of.

She was looked kind, animals surround her as she was singing with a harp in hand, what Strawberry cookie noticed was the heart shaped gem in the pink cookies crown, it looked like- 

Oh no, oh no no no no NO! 

The mural depicted the gem to be right side up, not upside down but the fragrant cookie knew better and knew where she was. The air in the room felt more heavy and her breathing quickened. She couldn’t break down, not now.

“Took you *yawn* long enough.” Strawberry cookie turned to see two pale pink eyes meet her brown ones, the cookies hiding in the shadows but she could clearly see where she was. 

“ Now, don't tremble so much, I'm not going to hurt you. After all, you're the one who's going to help me.”  

The cookies dough shimmered in the lights glow; iridescent dust seemed to decorate this cookie top to bottom, they lazed on a cloud of soft floss sugar with angelic wings that could rival Golden cheeses, but she could see inky like demon wings hiding, seemingly fused with her hair.

The gem that resides in the middle of her crown was inverted, different then the mural. Yet again Strawberry already guessed that as she finally put the pieces together that the temple she mindlessly wandered into belongs to one of the beasts.  She felt like a massive idiot.

“I’ve always had a problem of not doing my job, i mean could you blame me? Why should I waste my energy focusing on others happiness when I can just focus on mine, but why stop at just myself? When there’s so many cookies out there who also need a break, that deserves to be in my paradise. Like you, a cookie who always puts her friends first, who's overlooked when she completes something. You deserve better dear, you deserve more.”

Strawberry could tell this whole situation is going to end badly, so holding up a shaky defensive pose as she held up her massive lollipop at the beast.

“...I-i won’t help you in whatever you have planned. And no matter what you say, I won’t b-betray my friends!”

The beast seemed to be amused at her act of bravery. “Tch, tch, tch. We both know that you're not the brave one, you more a less the shy one. So no need to put up such an act, sweety. You can trust me.” Eternal Sugar bluntly ignored the small cookies words, dismissing her entirely.

Is she serious? She knows she's a beast but the last beast they encountered happened to be a jester! And he was more serious than this!

Eternal sugar cookie pondered for a moment, what would make this cookie happy? What would convince her to become the beast's apprentice? Then she had an idea.

The beast summoned a smaller cloud that matched her own. “ *sigh-* Why don't you join me? You seem exhausted. Just let the sweet embrace of sloth in and maybe then you’ll see that it isn’t so bad.”  

The cloud floated down to Strawberry cookie, the beast beckoning her to it. But she stood firm, a scowl formed on her face. “Like I said: I won't!” 

Eternal Sugar only chuckled in response. “Well then, might as well test your skills in battle! Might as well practice for when the queen arrives.”  

With no hesitation the beast sent down a swarm of sugar cube bats to attack. Strawberry Cookie smashed them with ease with the help of her trusty lollipop. Despite the fight feeling easy, Strawberry knew that enemies like this are only just getting started. With that she threw the lollipop at Eternal sugar cookie like a boomerang, ending with the beast countering with only a strum from her harp. 

“Hopefully this won’t take all day.”

.”

Chapter Text

He had forgotten how agonizing the climb was, WHY DID HE MAKE HIS TOWER TO BE SO TALL?!!

He wasn’t even sure this was his tower, it felt…different. Yet again he hasn’t been home in awhile with all the missions and all.

The walls seemed too white with weird symbols etched into them, they sorta looked like-

Pure vanilla souljam but inverted.. The gears in his head started to work over time, he knew where he was and he feared what lurked here. He grew to be cautious, heading up the stairs as slowly as possible. He listened to the ambience around him, weary of any sudden change. He knew that if he was spotted or noticed he wouldn’t be able to win.

Man he needs a mana jelly right about now. 

The more he climbed the more he wanted to just explode the place with a gosh darn fireball. But if this wasn't a dream or a magical vision, then he can use this to his advantage. He needed to make a mental map of the place and to do that he needed to reach the very top of the spire.

He just wished he didn’t have to do it alone.

In the middle of his climb he was interrupted by something, it looked like a puzzle of some sorts. He examined it. It looked like a mural with six forks, a tall white figure and five cookies. Below the mural was plaque saying:

 “The fall of the heroes.” 

He guessed this was when they were sealed into the tree. But as he looked from right it shifted from the beast’s to the ancients heroes respectively. He wondered if the left side also changes, you can never know when you’re in the land of deceit, 

He moved to the right side and it shifted again, from the heroes to the beasts to.. His friends.

“WHAt?!” he was baffled, bamboozled. What could this even mean? 

In the beast of apathy's place was Custard Cookie the third, in the beast of destruction place was Chili pepper cookie, in sloths place was Strawberry cookie, in silence's place was Gingerbrave and in Shadow milk cookies place was… 

him.

He didn’t know what this could mean but he was scared to find out. He touched the mural, realizing you could move the pieces. Maybe you have to line them up in the order they each fell into evil since it said “the fall of the heroes” and not “the fall of the beasts”

But what order did they each fall?

“Hey, don’t overthink it kid, you're gonna melt your hair off if you do.”

A familiar annoying voice came from above him: Shadow Milk cookie

He was hovering over him, with a taunting smirk like he knew the answer to everything……

 Actually he might since he was the fount of knowledge before he became an overbearing jester. BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!  He prepared  his staff for a battle, lightning sparks coming out of it.

“Woah, woah there tiger. I'm not gonna hurt ya.” 

Wizard Cookie scoffed at him,”OH you let me believe that you aren't lying?  When it's what you're known for!” 

The jester seemed to not get the hint, dismissing the cookies intent to fight him. “Look kid, you want the help or not?”

 “I'm fine, thank you very much.” he made sure that the “thank you” sounded as sarcastic as possible.”

He stared at the puzzle closely. He shifted to each side to examine the different versions of the puzzle, trying to get a hint. His eyes darted to the blue jester who was quietly giggling and kicking his feet in mid air. 

His face got closer to his as he tried to think. Knowing he was getting nowhere, he might as well take advantage of that offer of help.

He sighed loudly with the beast giggle and smiled even more knowing the mage had finally caved.

“Fine! Can you tell me who fell first?” 

The jester put on a show of “thinking about it”  

“HMMMMMMM. No” he bluntly said. The Wizard's hair melted the more he got angry. “WHAT! What was even the point of offering to help? You, good for nothing jester. Holder of knowledge my-.”

“Ah, ah, ah. Laungugage~” said in a sing-song voice.he silenced Wizard Cookie, by literally zipping up his mouth.”  

“You can think of an answer in silence if you don’t have anything nice to say. You know this is more “amusing” than watching the others have their “midlife crisis”. This is much more entertaining!” 

Wizard Cookie started to sprout muffled profanitys before stopping. Wait watching them have their midlife crisis? Maybe watching their corruption overtake them?  That could be two different options, one: he was the first to fall, watching the rest join him. He did say it was amusing. Two: he was the last which was highly unlikely, but it could be the most likely if he was lying.

As the jester floated above him, leaving the young wizard to ponder as he was busy playing with a stuffed wolf (or sheep?) 

Wizard Cookie tugged on the Shadow milks outfits tail, like a kid pulling on their parents sleeve or shirt wanting to ask something. “Hm? Yes?” He answered 

Wizard cookie pointed at his mouth, telling the beast he couldn’t answer unless he could speak again.

“Oh, Right! Silly me” and with a snap Wizard could speak again. 

A second past as Wizard quickly tried to figure out the right way to answer.

“Who was the last cookie you trusted?” The question took Shadow Milk aback. It was random and very invasive, but he had no reason to hide anything since what can this kid do with this bit of information? He recounted the last cookie he truly trusted. “Elder Faerie Cookie” he answered, the old feeling of betrayal came back like a phantom pain. He didn’t realize he was still stuck up on it..

Wizard Cookie did not expect that at all. But now looking at it, it made sense of why he had a personal vendetta against the deceased guardian. 

“But why him? I know he probably was the last cookie you saw before being sealed. But why not one of the other beasts? What did they do to make you lose trust in them?”

The beast huffed, not liking this line of questioning. “Well they’re my comrades, yes, but they did leave me behind and I'm still upset about it. They didn’t even apologize when we all got trapped in the damn tree,” he said in his usually fake, whining and over dramatic voice. “But it sucks to be them since I was WAAAAY ahead of them.”

But now, he was getting somewhere. 

“Why would they abandon you, I mean aren’t you all like friends or something?”  

Wizard Cookie had many theories about the beasts, he wondered if they ever met the first batch, or were made with them. He pondered what they were like before.

“HAH, friends. Yeah, not really. I mean we did write to each other, went on small adventures here and there. And sure we were close before we all got our kingdoms. But friend is a word I wouldn't use anymore.” Shadow Milks voice got even deeper, regretful and sad? 

“You guys wrote to each other? Who would usually send letters first?” Shadow Milk Cookie raised a brow at the odd question. 

Wizard Cookie stammered out what he believed was the best answer he could give,”When me, Strawberry and GingerBrave start missing our other friends we would usually write first. But when we were all split up on our own adventures, GingerBrave is the one who sends the first letter, then Strawberry, then me. Custard the III takes the longest to write since he can get caught up in his “kingly” adventures so despite Chili pepper being “forgetful” she was the one to write next after me.”  

That was a long, lengthy and over-explained explanation. But! He didn’t lie to the jester, in fact he was being as honest as possible. Maybe he would let his guard down to him even more.

“Well…” he thought for a moment, i mean why would he tell something as personally as this to a random kid? But yet it's useless information that he didn’t need any more.

” I guess Salty is the first to write, making sure everyone is doing alright. Then Sugar would be second, I usually took my time but I would be third. Spicy would write second to last since he had to watch his subject from hours on end. And Flour would be last since she would always be busy with granting cookies wishes. And.. Elder faerie wouldn’t write, instead he would actively visit each one of us in person.” 

Wizard cookie processed the new found information carefully. He had to keep pushing, he was so close.

But he didn’t need to push much since the entertainer pretty much just let everything out.

“But after a while, Flour had stopped responding, Spicy would answer but it was getting hard to read his handwriting, it got even more messy until he just stopped. I wasn’t writing back as usual, but I was too busy preparing my plays alone.” he dramatically sighed. Wizard cookie paid attention to every little word the fallen hero was saying, making mental notes of things. Despite rolling his eyes here and there.

”And Sweets would only send the paper, she didn’t even bother to  write a SINGLE WORD. After a while She went silent too. I also stopped by then, what was the point if no one was writing. Only one of us bothered: Salty continued to write but I would just keep their letters in my nightstand. He persisted until he also stopped…You know I tried one last time, but nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!”

He started to raise his voice as he continued, scaring the wizard. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked, no he needs answers, he needs to know the truth.

“And, and. I- all I had left was him , but even he left me. The one moment I needed him, he just… left.”

he seemed to be in a daze, floating down to the ground not registering the cookie he was speaking to.

Wizard sat next to him, not wanting to comfort him but he didn’t want to be crumbled if the jester realized that he did this on purpose to get the puzzle's answer. 

“Betrayal hurts, it hurts like hell. I should know, it happened to me once. But he didn’t mean to, he just wanted to protect us. I guess that's where our similarities end.” he patted the beasts shoulder awkwardly; he wasn’t good with comforting cookies, that was more up Strawberry cookies and GingerBraves line of expertise.

Shadow Milk cookie raises a brow at the young cookie, confused on what he was doing.

It takes a moment then he realizes he was trying to relate to him, it honestly made him laugh. 

“Wait are- are you trying to comfort me? Seriously? I don’t need it, I'm over it to be honest.” he started to giggle uncontrollably at how absurd it was: the least empathetic of the little basic trio was trying to make him feel better. What. A. Joke.

Wizard Cookie only just grumbles in response. He got up from his spot and headed to the puzzle, placing each beast in order. First was Mystic, then burning and so on. And last but not least…he placed Shadow milk both in first and last place. An odd move to do.

The jester floated next to the mage, he stared at the completed puzzle. “You tricked me into opening up so you could get the answer..” Uh oh- he sounded upset

Wizard Cookie froze in place, he figured out his plan. and for a moment Wizard Cookie was scared.

“I MUST SAY, I'm impressed. Though why am I in first and last place? Care to explain to the class?”

It felt odd that Shadow milk cookie: one of their worst enemies was acting like a teacher with him, maybe that's why he felt pride when started his explanation.

“Well there's six when there only should be five. Maybe the forks don’t represent your sealment but your corruption. I went in the order of when you all started to act..”odd”. You started first but you didn’t fully succumb to it until much later. You were the first to be corrupted but last to become a beast. Or am I wrong?”

The jester didn’t answer, instead the puzzle in front of them enlarged and swallowed them whole. One moment he was climbing a tower and the next he was on a stage.

”BRAVO,BRAVO! You certainly are the “clever” one. Using a form of deceit that I myself haven’t mastered. The art of trust. So we know you can solve anything with that big brain of yours, but are you able to fight with that staff of yours? LADIES AND GENTLE COOKIES,I GIVE YOU WIIIIZARD COOKIE. VS THE BIG BAD WOLF. Who will win in this game of magic? Light or Dark? Who knows!”

Lights shined down on him, basically blinding his eye. The curtain in front of him revealed a Wolf adorned in clown-like clothing. Big, fluffy and clearly dangerous.

The mage gripped his staff, electricity sparking from his body. His opponent mimicked his movements.

Shadow Milk Cookie's voice came from the speaker, counting down for the fight to begin. 

“ARE YOU READYYYY?! Great now. FIGHT!”

Chapter Text

The day was going better than imagined, aside from the weird dream he had the night before.

He can say the day was going great! 

They just made it to an adventure inn, he had no idea one was out here! They had brief moments of rest and even got their fortunes read. Pure Vanilla Cookie’s were worrying and it didn’t look so good, nor did White Lily Cookie’s.

For some reason, Fortune Teller Cookie was adamant that the trio did theirs together. He seemed to be more anxious when he did theirs. 

Apparently according to Wizard cookie, the cards they drew were: The Sun in reversed, the Tower and Death in reversed.  He has no idea what any of those mean but getting a card literally called “death” wasn’t good.

Fortune teller cookie did tell them what it meant, or what they should do to avoid it: “Turn back now, nothing good will come if you keep going,” he said before vanishing, such a mysterious cookie.. 

Everyone in their group got a reading, all except for Apple Faerie Cookie, odd. He trusted almost anyone right away, but when something felt off.. He makes a mental note of it, not that he doesn't trust her, he does. But to him she seems off. 

But despite that, they’ve gotten closer to the spire. It seemed more menacing up close.

He opened his mouth to let out a yawn, his body still felt like it was fighting something and that he hadn’t gotten any rest yet. 

“I didn’t know you had fangs!” Apple Faerie Cookie appeared in front of him. Seemingly giddy and curious of his weird features. “Oh yeah, I just don’t really show 'em that much, it's weird but I can sorta retract my teeth. All of them are sharp.” Now everyone (aside from Wizard and Strawberry) were staring. 

“ I had no idea you could do such a thing, mind if we see a demonstration?”  Pure Vanilla asked, his flower staff started in excitement. “Sure.” he didn’t mind showing, he didn’t have any secrets to hide. 

He opened his mouth to show the two fangs he already had out, then a top and bottom row of sharp teeth popped out. He gave everyone a toothy grin before retracting all but one tooth. “OOOOOoo, what else are you hiding?” Apple Faerie Cookie asked cheekily. 

“Well nothing much really, just some other stuff. I don’t really wanna show just yet.” if they were acting this amazed at his teeth, he was worried that showing them his other traits would be too much..

“Well me and Strawberry also have our “quirks”. And I don't wanna share much either.” Wizard cookie pulled his hat down to hide his eyes, somewhat embarrassed he had a cool trait. Strawberry nodded, agreeing with the fact all three don’t really want to show them what they really looked like. 

“We understand a few cosmetic traits that we gained from using our soul jams,” White Lily Cookie said, telling them that they were not alone in that regard. 

“Does everyone here have a secret form besides me?” Apple Faerie Cookie huffed, finding it unfair. 

“Guess so,” GingerBrave answered. Everyone chuckled a bit at the Faerie Cookies little tantrum 

*Don’t trust her* a voice in the back of his mind whispered, But he paid no mind to the warning. He should’ve.

                                                                                 ______

They haven’t gone far until they ran into a young shepard cookie. He looked to be around their age, maybe even younger. He seemed frantic, he had apparently lost his herd and needed help to find them. Everyone agreed to help

Until, he told a story. GingerBrave wasn’t really familiar with fairy tales or stories of the sorts, so he was happy to hear a new one. The young shepherd went on about a story of the boy who cried wolf and how in the end he was mauled to death by wolves with no one coming to save him because of his constant lying. 

“Yikes! Why would he keep on lying?” GingerBrave asked, generally confused of why someone would lie without reason. 

“Well, why not?” the cookie answered, which wasn’t much of a real one.

“It doesn’t sound fun. I mean didn't get lonely? I know cookies wouldn’t want to be friends with a liar, I wouldn't. But I guess that's why no one came when actual wolves attacked.” GingerBrave countered the flimsy reasoning. 

“I second that, it's a weird story. I mean why on earthbread did the boy keep lying?” Wizard Cookie said, tired and growing more upset as they searched.

“Why, because it was funny!” the young shepherd said, his eyes briefly shifting into teal and cerulean blues.

“That's no reason for lying, it's pointless and only gets you and others hurt!” GingerBrave huffed, he could already feel his temper rising, he hated when that happened. “I wouldn’t blame them if they didn't ever bother checking on the boy to see if he was alive.”

For a moment the shepherd was taken aback, staring at him like he personally punched his grandma. “That's new.” the shepherd muttered. He recollected himself, putting on his smile again. Pure Vanilla listened carefully, surprised at what GingerBrave just said. If he was being honest, he didn’t expect the young cookie to say something that dark.

“Oh but the look on their faces was priceless! Ha ha ha!”

Wizard Cookie putting the pieces together realized it may be no fairy tale.” Funny?! You lost your entire herd because of your dumb lie!”

The young cookie crooked his head to the side, with dumb unknowing smile on his face, “What do you mean? Oh, we’ve arrived! Look over there! My sheep!”  he gleefully siad with a bright smile, the young cookie pointed to a big mass of dark fur.

Then growling came from the shadowed figures, splitting off into a pack of wolves.

 “Wh-what w-was that?” Strawberry Cookie stummered.

“THOSE AREN'T SHEEP!” Wizard Cookie said, realizing that they were surrounded by wolves.

Everyone turned to the shepherd who was now wickedly smiling. “Sheep? What sheep? I'm a Wolfherd” 

He approached the wolves , calling them over,”Oh wolfie, wolfie. How was your dinner? Oh Still hungry? Well lucky you, I brought dessert! I enjoyed your company, but I gotta go. Buh-bye.”

The Wolfherd disappeared into the shadows as the wolves lunged towards the group, teeth bared and claws unsheathed.

 GingerBrave bashed one with his cane before grabbing it with his cane hook.He quickly threw the fluffy beast into a group of wolves that were about to pounce on him, successfully knocking them back. Strawberry Cookie called out to him, without another word he got onto her lollipop and she thrusted him into a really big wolf, he slammed right into their chest, knocking it out. 

“Get out of the way!” Wizard cookie yelled. GingerBrave jumped up into a nearby tree, just in time too. The Mage casted a lighting chainspell, successfully stunning the wolves in his proximity. Seeing how badly they were losing this battle, the rest retreated.  

The two ancient heroes looked at each other with wide eyes, they didn’t know to be impressed or scared. 

“I suppose that's the last of them, we should get out of here before they bring more.” Pure Vanilla said, dusting himself off. “What about the ones injured? I know they attacked us, but it's a little unfair to leave them like this.” Strawberry said concerned for the stunned and knocked out wolves.

The healer smiled, “I admire your kindness, but if we were to help them, they could attack us again.” 

Strawberry Cookie looked solemnly at the wolves. “What if I put a temporary barrier so nothing attacks them when they're this vulnerable, and so they don’t attack anyone else?” Wizard cookie offered. “Yeah! I can also leave them some extra meat jelly I have from the inn, so they wouldn’t be more compelled to go after us.” GingerBrave jumped down from the tree tops, right next to his two friends. They all looked expectantly at the two adults, like they were asking for a toy or treat and now waiting for their approval.

Pure vanilla sighed, his smile not faltering. “Alright. But be quick okay.” and before he could finish his sentence they were already on it. Strawberry Cookie patched up any visible wound with homemade leaf bandages, gingerBrave placed an even amount of food next to each wolf. And after all was said and done, Wizard cookie put up a protective barrier. 

“Alright done!” GingerBrave announced.

And with that done the group continued. 

Apple Faerie stared at the three young cookies, curious at the behavior.

“Why did you help them?” she asked the three, the question was mostly pointed at Strawberry since she was the one who wanted to in the first place. “Well um- i guess its because in the end they’re wild animals who probably just follow their instincts. They didn’t mean to attack, they were probably just hungry. And I guess it's because it felt unfair to leave them in such a condition.” The pink dressed girl said. 

“So you pitied them?” the faerie cookie pressed for a more blunt answer. 

“Well, no, yes? Maybe?” Strawberry Cookie shrunk into her hoodie, hiding her face almost completely. her sweet strawberry fragrance began to spread, which happened in moments of fear or embarrassment.

“Because it was the right thing to do!” GingerBrave answered. 

“I mean it was, it really wasn't their fault in that situation” Wizard cookie followed up.

“We’re just trying to do better; we used to be so mean to the cake hounds when we first encountered them. And after meeting some cookies who hate how they were treated, we realized we needed to do better.” Strawberry Cookie finished.

Apple faerie just replied to them only in a hum. They paced through the forest, it felt warmer than it actually looked. 

GingerBrave felt his arms and legs get heavier as they kept moving, like he was slowly being drained by something. He turned to his friends, they seemed to also be tired as well. 

“ So let me get this straight. the shepherd kid was actually a wolfherd kid? I'm so confused, why would he lie to us?..” he finally brought up the odd encounter with the young cookie, unsure of why a kid would lie to them like that. 

Wizard Cookie sighed, he sometimes forgets that his friend can be too trusting, “GingerBrave, how gullible can you be? The brat tricked us for a quick laugh. It was all a LIE!”

“It's all alright everyone, I'm just glad no one was hurt. That's what's important,” Pure Vanilla said, still anxious from the encounter. It feels like someones still  watching him. “ But we should continue heading towards the spire of all knowledge. Please lead the way, Apple Faerie cookie.”

                                                           ___________________________

It was getting dark again, they should set up camp again. “Pure Vanilla, it's getting late and I don't think the kids can make it all the way without a little rest.” White Lily cookie was getting worried with how drained the three smaller cookies were getting. More a less, she's worried about her dear friend at the moment as well, he looked paler then he did when they left the inn. “We can push a little further, we’re almost there.” Pure vanilla cookie was adamant to reach the spire, so much so it really was becoming a problem. He seemed to be in a daze, either pushing them to go faster or being paranoid of someone watching him. 

She shook her head. “Pure Vanilla, you need rest as well. I will not let you push yourself like this, I know how you can get without any sleep.” 

The healer's flower staff's eye looked to the side, even without a real face it always gave away how he was really feeling.  “Alright, I suppose it is getting late. Alright everyone! Let's set up camp, it's getting late.”

Almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t know how much longer they could go without callsoping. Everyone was happy, except for one. “But we’re SOOOO CLOSE!” Apple faerie cookie whined, “We just need to go a little further and-”  she was swiftly cut off by GingerBrave. “Apple faerie, we can’t go on this tired, we should get some rest. It won’t hurt to do so.”

She pouted, but didn’t complain any further. 

It took awhile, but they managed to set up three tents, one for Pure Vanilla

 And White Lily, one for Apple faerie and one for the trio. 

“Is everyone pleased with this arrangement?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked, all nodded. Though White Lily was unsure of spending the night with her friend, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? They shared a tent before when they were young so why is she feeling so unsure now? “White Lily, are you alright?” Strawberry asked, worried if the hero was sick. She seemed to be a bright red and it was starting to worry her. “Oh, um yes. I'm fine.” the hero snapped back to what was going on.

“Now then, we should start the fire and prepare some food. GingerBrave how many meat jellies you have left?” Wizard cookie asked, knowing that Brave usually stored extra food for them. “Lets see..” he dug into his satchel, about enough to last them a few days. “Just enough for four more days if split evenly.” 

Wizard was pleased that he didn’t give too much of their food to the wolves. “Good, I'll leave the cooking to you, just don’t get distracted like last time.” He knew Brave was the best cook and baker in their group, but he got distracted easily. He still remembers the time his friend was occupied with a weird skull he found, which made him burn half of their food. It appears he also remembers that incident; GingerBrave chuckled nervously, he felt somewhat embarrassed. 

“Strawberry, do you think you can scout the area while I set up a barrier?” the mage asked the pink cookie.

“Mhm,” she replied. “May I go with you?” the green faerie asked. “Uh sure! More the merrier.” (she was relieved that she didn’t have to go alone)

White Lily watched them, she never noticed how independent they were. She always thought they seemed capable ever since she met them. But never to this extent. It didn’t feel right, something was off. 

She walked over to GingerBrave, planning to help him start the fire and get some answers.

She kneeled down next to the boy who was busy rubbing two sticks together, trying to start the kindling.

“Need help?” she asked him, he shook his head in response, “i got it!” he continued trying to start the fire before stopping, looking a little defeated he shyly asked for help. It was adorable to watch, she grabbed the two sticks and blew a plum of fire before tossing them into the rest of the kindling. The young cookie turned to her with wide sparkling eyes. “I didn’t know you could do that!” he was now filled with questions

She chuckled, his curiosity matched her own at times. “I can sorta do that but not much then a spark. How did you get it to be so big?” he asked, once again accidentally dropping a bombshell. “Wait, you can do the same?” she said, a little surprised. How can he be able to breathe fire, she only could because of the deal she made with the red dragon. Did he also make a deal with one? 

“Yeah! Apparently according to some cookies it's because of the extra heat from the oven. But I actually don’t know how I can do it.” 

The oven? Cookies are usually made from dough of one or two cookies, they put the dough in a makeshift oven at home. But she didn’t know GingerBraves parents or if he even had any, if she was being honest she didn’t know any of the kids parents. “Extra heat from the oven? Did your parents leave you too long?” she asked innocently. He tensed up, his face becoming wobbly with nervousness. “I uh- don’t have parents, i think. Well I might have a mom but I can't really remember much of my early childhood, I sorta don’t want to.” his voice got lower, tinged with hidden sadness she never noticed. 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I won't force you.” she tried to reassure him, he only gave her a weak smile before getting up to peppare the food.

The concussion she came to is that they probably didn’t come from a good home, running away at a young age. They might have even been abandoned. Despite not knowing who, just thinking about whoever his parents were made her blood boil. Who could ever hurt a loving cookie like GingerBrave, but the way his face changed when he said he might have a mother made her think otherwise. He seemed hopeful when he mentioned the mystery cookie, like he missed her. Maybe they were separated? She didn’t know, but it seems like he wanted to keep the past as the past, so she'll stop her investigation for now.

Though, she wondered who Strawberrys and WIzards parents were.

                                                                        ______

After everything was set up and everyone ate, they all headed off to bed. As GingerBrave got into his sleeping bag, Strawberry cookie started to shiver. “What's wrong Strawberry?” he asked. “It's a bit chilly. Do you think we can huddle a little closer?”

“Alright. come on Wiz, move in a little closer.”

 All three scooched in close to the middle of the tent, their sleeping bags brushing against each other. “We haven’t done this in a while huh?” Wizard Cookie chuckled, muffing his words because of his scarf. “Hey why don’t ya take off your scarf and mask? It's going to be uncomfortable to sleep on.” He knew what they looked like without their mask and scarf off; the glamour spell couldn’t cover up everything, leaving only their mouths alone. 

They both shuffled uncomfortably, yeah he knows what they look like but what if one of the others walked in? 

“Sorry, I know you guys don’t like showing your full faces.. What if I took off my earring? It sorta hurts to sleep with it on.” 

“Wait! Are you sure? I mean what if Pure Vanilla or White Lily Cookie sees you?” Strawberry Cookie shuttered.

“It’ll be fine, if they see then they see.” he took off his skull earring: an enchanted item to hide his true form. The moment he took it off, the glamour also came undone. His tail thrashed around before wrapping itself around his waist, his markings and scars became more visible and his eyes gained a soft blue glow with white diamond pupils, giving it a jewel-like look. His two little black wings fluttered a bit. He gained black smokey hair that wasn’t real hair but close enough. His wings and hair? Had small specks of white that sparkled like stars against the night sky.

“I sometimes forget what I look like.. So I like it when I get to take it off.” 

Strawberry cookie took off her hoodie and rose brooch, underneath she was wearing a pale yellow shirt with a white lace collar. The moment she took off the rose brooch, her real form appeared. Her dough changed to a pinker brown and faint heart markings appeared. Two pretty moth wings appeared along with fluffy antennae and a tail with a strawberry blossom at the end. Her eyes were a brighter pink, like syrup. She took off her mask, showing a dragon-like mouth and white heart freckles.

“Me too.” she whispered, watching her volume.

Wizard Cookie sighed but showed no annoyance  on his face. He took off his teardrop moonstone pendant. His long fluffy ice cream hair gained blue streaks and swirls. His skin gained a slight tint of blue. glowing veins came from his eyes and hands, like lighting being injected into his dough. He took off his scarf, showing a scar clearly given by a sharp weapon. His dough also shined like Moonlight Cookie’s dough; like stars given life to walk among them.

GingerBrave gently moved the hair on his right side of the elemental face to see his golden eye, beautiful like always. The mage didn’t even bother to fight back or to yell at him; he hated showing his eye to anyone, but his two dearest friends.. That was different. 

The hero realized what he was doing and instantly felt guilty

“Oh! Um, sorry I forgot you don’t like that.” his face flushed from embarrassment. 

“No, it's fine.’ 

The hero turned to Strawberry Cookie and brought her closer, she seemed to not be a big fan of the cold climate. She latched her arms around him, he was their personal heater so he was used to it, he just didn’t expect Wizard to do the same as he is more immune to the cold.

They all laid down, burying themselves in each other's comfort and warmth. Nostalgia of the past washed over them; even if he couldn’t remember, he remembers the warm feeling of those memories. He just hoped that he doesn’t have an episode in the middle of the night, but he worries that’ll happen every night. And if it does happen, he’ll have his friends to look out for him.

Right?

Chapter Text

A cold searing pain dug into his chest, it felt like something extremely cold was slicing through his dough, clean and deep.
The sensation began spreading from his chest before the rest of his body.
It became almost too much until he woke up in a panic, the pain was gone the moment he opened his eyelids.

“What time is it?” he muttered quietly, rubbing his eyes. Strawberry and Wizard were still asleep, peacefully drifting in their dreams. It seemed to be late in the night, usually the most dangerous time to be awake, at least to his experience.
He could just lay back down or he could take a nice stroll along the area to, you know, scope the area just one more time.

He grabbed his earring and brown beret and quickly put them on. He made sure to be extra quiet, trying not to wake his friends. He stretched his legs and arms before walking towards a path that Apple Faerie said led to a nice clear opening. He turned to see Apple faeries tent open, he peered in, to only see no sign of the green cookie. He should look for her, even if she isn’t defenceless, he should make sure she isn’t alone.

So he walked into the woods alone.
_____________________

The fog rolled in making it seem like a scene from the horror movies he, pumpkin pie cookie, cherry cookie and strawberry cookie would watch together. He's heard that the souls of the beast of deceit’s victim wander around the side of the forest; he doesn't believe in ghosts but the thought made him feel a bit queasy.

He searched throughout the place: in tree hollows and all. but still no sign of her.
He was now getting worried, maybe he should head back, she could be back at camp already.

“What is a young cookie like you out so late?” a new voice questioned him, he didn’t recognize it; he was on guard gripping it tightly, wary of whoever may be behind him. (he almost screamed his head off)

He turned to see a cookie with long blue hair with white speckles tied into a braid, she seemed to have soft blue eyes similar to the ones of the ‘shepherd’ they met earlier. She wore a blue dress with dark purple speckles, and a white apron around her waist. She had a lacey black handkerchief tied around her head, it matched the black bow at the end of her braid. She carried a basket filled with berries and other foods.

He didn’t know how to respond, he still didn't trust her. She, likewise, stayed quiet, but studied his face intently. He squinted her eyes at him, curious about something.

Finally he spoke,”I'm just looking for a friend, she disappeared from our group.”
He didn’t know how much he could say, keeping the fact that everyone was asleep or that they had a camp set up nearby. He knew he would be scolded harshly by the Wizard if he let anything slip to a stranger.

“Oh, I'm GingerBrave by the way.” he held out his hand to shake hers, maybe an introduction could make things seem less tense.
“Blue Foxglove Cookie.” She shook his hand, softly smiling a calm and welcoming smile.

“If you don’t mind me asking, have you seen a faerie cookie with green apples in her hair? I’ve been looking for her.” he asked, hoping at least this cookie has seen her.
She shook her head.”I'm afraid I'm not, young one, as far as i know, you’re the only one who i’ve come across all night.”
“You should head back to your group, don’t want two missing cookies. I'm sure she’ll appear eventually, so you should be going.” Blue Foxglove said with worry and concern, though he did hear a bit of pity laced in there.

“I should, but i just don’t want to go without just one more look around, i don’t want my friend to be alone out here.”
He answered honestly, this seemed to make the other cookies' eyes twitch a little.
“Maybe I can help? Speed things along.” she offered.

“Really?” he asked, she nodded.

And so the two walked for some time, in the trees, nearby caves and in dense bushes.
He decided to search the nearby pond. He looked around the whole area for at least what she presumed thirty minutes, hoping to at least find a single trace of her.

Still no sign of her.
As time passed, he grew more worried and inpatient, Blue Foxglove Cookie took notice.

“Say, why are you here in Beast-Yeast? It's not a safe place for kids.” she questioned him, it wasn’t an unreasonable question.

He paused, he knew why he was here, he was here because Pure Vanilla Cookie asked for his help.
But that wasn’t the real reason, now is it?
“To at least fix a mistake I did. It's actually the whole reason why I'm fighting in this war.”

he bitterly recounted his first meeting with the cake witch, he hated how she used him and his friends, hated how she hurt White Lily cookie, he hated how she tormented the ancient heroes and he hated how she was-

Right.

Right about so many things, but she went about it so wrong!
Something irked him about how she was doing things, it reminded him of someone, just he didn’t know who.
His memories are still not quite all there, it just being static; Not to mention the issues with him remembering simple stuff like who he was helping or the work he placed on the sugar gnomes when they left to find Golden Cheese Cookie.

“Is that really why? Or maybe you just want to feel better as a hero then as you are now.” the other cookie said, with a hint of smugness in her voice.

He shook his head, no that wasn't why. " I don’t really care to be a hero, I just want my friends to be safe.”
*they’re all i have left* he didn’t say the last part out loud, she didn’t need to know.

She eyed him, she walked over to a tree log close to him, sat down and patted her hand next to her, asking him to sit down with her. He joined her, still anxious and worried about his friend.
“You really should head back, you seem tired; you know i have a friend who would’ve wrapped you in a blanket and wouldn’t let you go till you slept, she used to be so concerned with others that she would forget to take care of herself. “
The talk made him feel more comfortable with the cookie and less suspicious. she seemed to miss her friend, talking about her is a past tense.

She looked at him, her eyes ever so slightly becoming more vibrant. “You know you remind me of someone, who would never leave their friends behind, that was his weakness sadly.”
Her expression changed to a bitter one, upset and tired.

She dug into her basket, looking for something. She took out a small golden eye shaped object with blue gems embedded in it, a slim shaped sapphire as the pupil. She placed the item in his hand, placing his other hand over it.
“You should have this, it’ll help you with getting around the spire; it acts as a key to hidden rooms.”

He looked down at the key before realizing that she knew where they were heading. “Wait! how did you-”

As he looked up to her, she wasn’t there, she was..

Gone.

He almost freaked out, was she a ghost? One of the beast's victims warning him about the spire? Or was he just sleep deprived? No, if he was then he wouldn’t have the key in his hand. He got up, turning to leave towards the camp, a thousand questions circling in his head.

But should he tell the others about it or just keep it to himself?
They didn’t need to know; sometimes a secret is better than a lie.

he walked through the dense trees, disappearing into the fog.

Blue Foxglove Cookie watched from the thick bramble, smiling an eerie smile before turning their gaze to a grumpy and upset Apple Faerie Cookie? Who at the moment was crossing her arms.
They shifted their form into that of a dazzling blue jester, his souljam shining in the moonlight.

“You almost got caught, you’re lucky the dumb one was the one looking for you.” His voice was full of displeasure.
“Well it's not my fault he went looking for me!” she pouted, puffing her cheeks upset over the fact that the little mr ‘hero’ got her in trouble.

The beast scoffed, upset he had to go out of his way to play the concerned stranger, at least he didn’t need to perfect the act; the kid was too dense and trusting.
“Just make sure you don’t allow this to happen again, or do I have to get Milkcrown Cookie to take your place in the plan?”
She immediately started panicking,”NO! No. I promise I'll do a better job master, you don’t have to get them involved; I do a better job then her anyways!”

He changed his demeanor to something more cheery, clasping his hand. “Good! I didn’t want to replace my favorite puppeteer anyways. Now, to deal with our little moral compass.” he looked to his side, to his other puppeteer.

“Why don’t you give him a good scare, let's see how brave he really is.” the jester wickedly smiled to Black Sapphire Cookie.
Black Sapphire without a word shifted into a wolf form, dashing past them towards the direction of the boy.
______________________________

It was more eerie now he was alone. He followed the trail back to the camp, hoping no one had noticed he was gone; he didn’t want to be scolded as at the moment he felt tired from all the searching and walking.
He just wanted to relax and explore in the open area Apple Faerie mentioned, but he was worried and didn’t want his friend to be alone out here. The almost full moon shone down upon him through the trees, making the dark blue forest appear a serene green, it felt like he could breathe.

He heard a twig snap from behind him, he gripped his cane. It could just be a small woodland creature or Apple faerie Cookie, but the footsteps felt too big and heavy to be a cookie or small animal.

The steps stopped and that was when he knew it was about to lunge at him.
Without a thought he swung his cane when he heard the bushes rustling. He definitely had hit something big and heavy. He tried to get a good look at what attacked him, a stunned and pissed off wolf stumbled back a bit. It growled at him, bearing its teeth at him.

He glared at the wolf beneath him, he was too tired and upset for this, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Leave, I'm not in the mood for a fight.” His voice was colder than expected. He gave it one warning, he had a long day and night and wanted it to be over.
The wolf didn’t listen, it tried to lunge at him once more. At least he tried warning it, but it was nice to finally vent some anger; he was still upset with the whole shepherd thing.

While it was in mid jump, he immediately grabbed its throat, choking it as he bashed the beast into the ground before letting go. He raised his cane and slammed it into the wolf's face, knocking a tooth out. He did this over and over again, left, right, left and right.

He then grabbed it by the ears and threw it into the trees, he swore he heard a cracking noise. The wolf didn’t move, as it was too stunned and paralyzed. It took a moment but it got up and stepped towards him, ears down and eyes wide.

He only looked down on it, saying nothing. He held his cane over his shoulders, waiting for the animals next move.
It didn’t do anything, so after a bit, he finally said something that even shocked him.

“My fox is a better fighter than you. you’re a pathetic excuse for a wolf, i wonder if your pack keeps you out of pity, given that you’re not dead yet.”

The wolf growled in response before running away, or at least to him as it tried to run but the damage was too much.
He stood there, alone in the dark, he looked at the ground beneath him to see specks of jam staining the dirt.
He didn’t feel satisfied, perhaps he was too harsh. He took out his anger on an innocent animal who was probably looking for a meal, he felt ashamed of himself. Maybe he just needs a good rest and he’ll feel better.

He continued on his way back to camp with an awful taste left in his mouth.

Unbenounced to him, another cookie was watching him, one in all black and who was overcome with doubt and sorrow. His eyes darkened blue and gold eyes watching the boys everymove.

“Why didn’t I notice it sooner?”