Chapter Text
Pure Vanilla stood at the base of the tree Shadow Milk was in, his face pitifully scrunched up, likely unaware Shadow Milk even knew he was there. Shadow Milk turned around to look at him directly, resulting in Pure Vanilla almost jumping back.
Heh…he was still afraid, wasn’t he?
“Whaddya want Nilly?” Shadow Milk muttered, directing every eye at Pure Vanilla.
Pure Vanilla touched his soul jam, as if about to go into yet another speech about friendship, the blue light pooling at his touch.
“Well, the other Ancients and I were planning to make flower crowns, if you’d like to join us…? I anticipate the other Beast Cookies will be asked as well.”
Shadow Milk chuckled, “Flower crowns? Geeze, you really are as sappy as you seem, Vanilla!”
Pure Vanilla began to turn away.
“Though, I suppose I could indulge your idea…” Shadow Milk continued, gliding out of the tree to float beside Pure Vanilla.
He pretended to turn away and look at the clouds as Pure Vanilla spoke to his friends, and White Lily and Golden Cheese returned holding hands, though he kept one eye near the ends of his hair focused on him.
Pure Vanilla appeared simply delighted at what they had planned, requesting that his friends ask their counterparts to join them as well. Eventually they all spread out once again, following Pure Vanilla’s orders, leaving the two of them alone.
“I am truly happy you’ve decided to join me, Shadow Milk.”
Shadow Milk didn’t turn to face him, “Of course you are.”
“I mean it. I know you don’t believe me, but I do.”
“Oh yes, as if you wouldn’t offer to fix anyone.”
“...That’s not what I’m talking about. You know that, right?”
“...mhm. Sure, let’s just… make flower crowns and watch the rainbows while we’re at it, right?”
Pure Vanilla sighed, wrapping his arms around Shadow Milk from behind. Too tight.
Shadow Milk resisted the urge to punch him, flying out of his grip.
“What are you— Don’t— just touch me like that!”
Pure Vanilla pulled back, “I’m sorry. I— didn’t mean to frighten you. Are you alright?”
Shadow Milk just stared at him.
What the hell was this cookie thinking?! Why did he keep getting so— close! Too close!
Shadow Milk huffed, “Just ask next time, imbecile. And I’m perfectly fine, you just startled me.”
“...Alright. I’ll trust you,” Pure Vanilla said, “...May I hug you?”
“Hmph… maybe later. You already did so in broad daylight, you know~.”
Pure Vanilla chuckled, “Alright, alright. Though, you should know by now, I’m a patient cookie. I’ll gladly wait.”
“Aw~. Well, it’ll at least be until we’re at your kingdom. In private.”
Pure Vanilla’s face lit up, “You’re coming with me?”
“Well… it’s not exactly like I have anywhere to go. I suppose I’ll have to tolerate your sickeningly sweet nation for a while. At least until I can reconstruct the Spire.”
“...ah. I forgot it was still destroyed. Was it not your home for…”
“Eons! Though, I could care less. It was nothing more than a bunch of stones, so easily destroyed by my disappearance! It…went down while I was in the Silver Tree as well.”
Pure Vanilla frowned, though his attention was quickly stolen as the others approached and he began to demonstrate how to create flower crowns out of the materials present.
Shadow Milk paid minimal attention as Pure Vanilla droned on. He already knew how this worked, especially considering…
He spared an eye toward Eternal Sugar. She’d taught him long ago, when they were still pure, uncorrupted virtues. She’d been so happy to teach him despite the fact he already understood how. Perhaps she’d simply liked feeling like she could teach him something despite his limitless knowledge, or just being in control.
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. That past, including their bond, was long over, and there was no bringing it back, whether they wanted it or not.
Pure Vanilla finished explaining, passing out frames to each cookie, including Shadow Milk.
He ran his hands over it, regarding it carefully. It seemed to be a piece of tree bark. Odd, though perhaps they were simply using what they could find around here. It was unlikely they’d prepared for something like this. He placed it on his head. A little loose, but it would likely fit once the flowers were added, right?
Everyone else had already moved into a circle. Pure Vanilla gestured for Shadow Milk to come sit beside him.
Shadow Milk hesitated. Sure, he’d said he would, but it seemed so… trivial. Why would Pure Vanilla want him to do this?
With a sigh, he floated over to Pure Vanilla’s side.
Pure Vanilla had already begun to make his, mixing yellow orchids and blue forget-me-nots.
Hm. Intriguing.
Shadow Milk didn’t care much for the type of flowers. He simply picked out colors that appeared pretty together, which happened to be mostly blue, though he chose to add in a few yellow ones here and there.
It wasn’t half bad, he supposed.
Shadow Milk finished rather quickly; everyone else only seemed half through by the time he was done.
Except for Pure Vanilla, who seemed to have been watching Shadow Milk work after he’d finished.
“Aw, you enjoy watching my struggle, Nilly?”
Pure Vanilla frowned, “No. I just liked the colors you used. And,” he pulled his flower crown out, his frown changing to a gentle smile “I would like to give you this. As a token of our friendship.”
Shadow Milk paused. Then he took the crown, passing his own over to Pure Vanilla, who immediately set it on his head.
“Hehehe! You’re just adorable. Giving me a token of our friendship when I only turned to you hours ago?”
“Yes.”
“Pfft. Whatever. We’ll be heading to your kingdom soon, correct?”
“Mhm.”
“Say, ya think I could get there through my other-realm?”
Pure Vanilla gently placed his hand on the Beast’s, “...Maybe you could. But you probably shouldn’t push it. You can sleep on the airship, if you’d like to ignore the journey, but—”
“Fine! I get it already, you want me to ride with you.”
Pure Vanilla hid his face, blushing, “Well…I do, even if that wasn’t what I was trying to say.”
Shadow Milk finally placed his own flower crown on his head. He knew it wouldn’t last long.
If this was a so-called ‘token of their friendship,’ would it be the same way?
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
Sugar loved flower crowns.
It was one of the few things she could stand to focus on, to put her energy into.
Despite how quickly the flowers would wilt and die, they were always beautiful for a time when finished. She always wished she could preserve them forever, though even in her garden they’d rot without proper nutrients..
They were also simply enjoyable to create.
She carefully applied the sap across her piece of bark, twisting some small, light pink flowers around it.
Hollyberry was working beside her, rather quickly too. Her hands were soaked in sap, the flowers on her crown unevenly spread out.
Eternal Sugar said, “Dear, you should slow down. There’s no rush~.”
Hollyberry perked up, “Hm? We do have to return to Crispia shortly!”
“Well… yes, though you could still afford a bit of time. Here—” Eternal Sugar demonstrated, twisting a flower around her own crown, “—you can get them to stay on better if you do it this way, though it does take a bit longer.”
Hollyberry attempted to copy the motion, though the flower practically fell right back off.
Sugar giggled, “See, you put the end of the stem through here, and that’s what keeps it on longer.”
“...I see…” Hollyberry bit her lip, focused, though she tore the stem of her flower. She chuckled, pulled it off the frame, then grabbed another and finally succeeded.
The way she lit up, proud of herself, was adorable.
“Yes!” She said, a mix of a whisper and shout.
Eternal Sugar went back to focus on her own crown, though her eyes kept wandering back toward Hollyberry’s work, which seemed to be beginning to slow down as she executed it more carefully.
Hollyberry finished her crown before Sugar did, immediately declaring it to the circle, earning approval from her friends.
…Except for Pure Vanilla. It seemed he and Shadow Milk had already finished, and Shadow Milk dragged him up the tree he was in earlier. Pure Vanilla was now showing him healing magic, using a couple of the spots he himself had been injured in as demonstration, Shadow Milk watching him intently, then replicating the spell on another of Pure Vanilla’s wounds.
Were they wearing each other’s flower crowns?
…hm.
Eternal Sugar was already over halfway done, the flowers on her an alternating pattern of light and dark pink. Meanwhile, Hollyberry’s crown was a beautiful mess, the colors somehow working together despite them being of seemingly random selection.
After finishing up her flower crown, Eternal Sugar carefully placed it on Hollyberry’s head. It balanced awkwardly on her armor, though it stayed on due to a small amount of sap sticking itself on her helmet.
Hollyberry chuckled, returning the favor by placing her messy crown on Eternal Sugar’s head. The winged cookie gladly accepted the gift, leaning on Hollyberry’s shoulder as they waited for everyone else to finish.
“Do you think I could take a bath as soon as we get home? Being covered in ash is quite—”
“Well, of course! Why wouldn't you?”
Eternal Sugar closed her eyes, “I wasn’t sure if you'd had anything planned…”
Hollyberry ran her hands across Sugar's hair, “We may need to cut your hair as well… It seems to be quite burnt.”
“Mhm… I'm not sure if we can…”
“...Why couldn't you?”
“Well, it's always been the same length, and I've never thought to try to cut it because of that. So, I'm not sure if it can be cut.”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out!”
Eternal Sugar chuckled, leaning further into Hollyberry's shoulder with a small yawn.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
Mystic Flour only barely opened her eyes, carefully eyeing the flowers in front of her.
She was supposed to make a flower crown.
There was no point to it, it would simply crumble to dust.
Yet she grabbed a flower, carefully twisting it around the sap-covered frame, then another, making it appear as though they were connected to each other.
She continued until it was completely around the frame, appearing as one flower-covered vine.
She placed it on her head, the crown incircling her bun. Dark Cacao seemed to finish around the same time as her, his crown perfectly neat with every purple flower facing directly outward away from the middle, lined up so that none of them covered another.
Mystic Flour asked, “Why would you put such an effort into something that will only wither away?”
Dark Cacao sighed, “It will die soon. You are not wrong about that. However, that doesn’t make it absolutely pointless. It’s… enjoyable to simply relax like this, is it not?”
“Joy is nothing but a fleeting emotion, one I do not care for. Besides, you do not seem to… relax either way. Look at the way you have arranged your flowers. I would hardly call that relaxing,” She said it as if it were simply fact.
“Hmph… perhaps you may not call it relaxing, though my point still stands. It is enjoyable. And if joy were constant and not… ‘fleeting,’ as you claim, there would be no purpose in it. Your suffering can make your happiness just that much more valuable.”
Mystic Flour did not reply. She glanced over across the circle, where it seemed as though Eternal Sugar was attempting to force a certain unwilling Spice to relearn how to secure the flowers without simply relying on the adhesive. She’d always been quite fond of little things like this.
There was a time when Sugar forced all of them to learn how to make them, long in the past before they all had fallen. She was so happy when they had all participated, practically squealing when Flour had given her the one she’d made.
Mystic Flour forced down her slight smile at the memory. It did not matter what they once were like. None of it mattered. Whether at her hand or at the mercy of time, everything would return to nothing one day.
None of it would ever matter.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
This was stupid.
These flowers would only wither anyway.
What joy could one find in making flower crowns, knowing they’d inevitably rot?
Eternal Sugar had come over moments ago, showing him how to put the flowers on the frame.
He knew how to do that. He wasn’t a complete fool.
He simply found it… silly.
He practically threw the flowers on, not caring whether or not they stuck.
Golden Cheese seemed rather uncomfortable next to him.
“You are aware you can slow down. It isn’t a ticking bomb.”
“I don’t care. This doesn’t matter. It’ll die and wither within a week.”
“Perhaps it would, though you wouldn’t care either way, now would you? You don’t see the value in simply creating something, Burning Spice Cookie.”
“Perhaps there is none. If it’ll only be gone—”
“Do you not find enjoyment in seeing your ideas come to fruition? Seeing your effort pay off, even if only for a small while?”
Burning Spice didn’t reply, tossing the bark frame to his side, the fragile thing breaking on impact with the floor.
“Ugh. You couldn’t even keep the frame together for an hour?”
Burning Spice smiled, “I suppose that proves my point, does it not?”
“No. That is a consequence of your actions. It wouldn’t have broken had you not thrown it.”
“Sooner or later, it would have. I simply… sped up the process.”
Golden Cheese picked up the frame, sticking the broken ends together messily with sap.
“There, it’s fixed. Could’ve done that yourself, too.”
“Tch.”
He ran his fingers over it idly, not caring to add more flowers. It wasn’t as if he had to truly make one.
As he did so, one of the flowers ripped in half. Typical. Flowers were always such weak little things.
He laid down on his back under the sun, gazing up at the cloudless sky. The sun was as bright and hot as ever, almost in a comforting way.
Golden Cheese was mixing white into her golden flower crown, highly focused on what she was doing, clearly trying to ignore him behind her.
“Say, what do you even plan to do with me?” He asked.
Golden Cheese sighed, “I am not sure yet.”
“Of course you aren’t.”
Burning Spice grabbed his axe, beginning to head toward the trees. Perhaps, he could—
“Do not.” Golden Cheese said, not even looking up at him.
“Hm?”
“Life has only just begun to return to this land due to White Lily’s spell. You will not be disturbing it.”
“Tch. You ‘heroes’ are so boring, with your sweet little… ‘bonding activities.’”
“Maybe you’ll simply need to learn how to be bored. Sit. Down.”
Burning Spice rolled his eyes, though sat back down.
•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•————•☆•
…
Silent Salt did not want to be here.
Especially not around these— Beasts.
They’d declared they’d change, but who could guarantee that wasn’t a lie? Another trick, discussed before and designed for betrayal?
There was no way to be sure they wouldn’t simply flip, and continue to wreak havoc across Earthbread.
And yet, the Ancient Heroes, heirs of the Soul Jams… had decided to make flower crowns with them.
It was utterly foolish. The Beasts were still Beasts, and they were making flower crowns, as if nothing had ever happened.
Silent Salt refused to touch his materials, standing on the outskirts of the circle they had made.
“Silent Salt Cookie…” White Lily Cookie asked, “won’t you at least try to make a flower crown?”
“No.”
Eternal Sugar perked up, “Oh, come on Salty—” she stopped, correcting herself, “Silent Salt Cookie. It’s fun!”
“No. I will not make— flower crowns with the Beasts.”
“Are you serious?” Burning Spice asked, his piece of bark broken and messily stuck back together with sap, two and a half flowers upon it, “It’s not as if any of us can do anything either way!”
Silent Salt didn’t reply until Eternal Sugar had come over, placing her hands on his, “Please? You don’t have to speak to any of us at all. Just… make one?”
Silent Salt shoved her away, “I shall not.”
Mystic Flour stated, “Shadow Milk isn’t around, currently. He seems to be the only one of us Beasts that has more than enough power to sustain himself. None of us have the will, nor the power, to attack.”
“Is that the only thing holding you back?” Silent Salt spat, “Power? So you admit, if you hadn’t been drained, you would’ve continued in your ways?”
“...You seem to misunderstand my words.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“I was simply stating facts I thought would calm you. I suppose I failed.”
Silent Salt refused to reply, his eyes landing on Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla Cookie in the tree nearby. Shadow Milk seemed to be showing the hero illusionary magic, guiding his hand in creating runes in the air.
Probably just the first part of his plan to corrupt him.
Eternal Sugar suddenly grabbed Silent Salt’s hands before he could react, sitting him down between her and Golden Cheese Cookie, and then placing a frame in his hands, not speaking to him.
Golden Cheese Cookie jumped back slightly as Silent Salt was placed beside her, then relaxed again, going back to working on her flower crown. It was a mix of yellow flowers Silent Salt didn’t recognize, and white lilies, almost like the one White Lily Cookie herself had made.
Silent Salt didn’t make a move to touch the flowers, simply watching what everyone else was doing.
Burning Spice didn’t seem to care for this much either, seeing as his flower crown was already destroyed and he kept moving as if it were simply impossible to sit still.
Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla Cookie were still in the tree, though it seemed as though they had moved on from magic and were simply talking. Silent Salt made a mental note to keep an eye on the hero’s behavior after this.
White Lily Cookie had already finished her flower crown, staring across at where Golden Cheese Cookie was situated. Her cheeks had a slight rosy hue, though she averted her eyes when Golden Cheese Cookie seemed to notice her gaze, giving a slight smile before returning to her flower crown.
Dark Cacao Cookie was simply watching Mystic Flour, occasionally shifting his gaze to the other beasts, as if he too expected them to do something.
Mystic Flour was already finished with hers, having twisted the stems so it seemed as if all the flowers were one, her eyes closed, uncaring of the world around her.
Hollyberry Cookie and Eternal Sugar had traded flower crowns, happily chatting to each other.
It seemed…rather peaceful.
Seemed.
They were still the Beasts.
Golden Cheese Cookie completed her flower crown, moving around the outside of the circle to hand it to White Lily Cookie, who lit up, placing it on her head, and gladly passed her own to Golden Cheese Cookie. She accepted the gift, placing it on her head as well.
They sat down beside each other, White Lily Cookie placing her hands on Golden Cheese Cookie’s, as Golden Cheese Cookie blocked the sun with her wing.
The way they interacted as they talked made it seem as though they were in a relationship.
Perhaps they were, and White Lily Cookie simply forgot to inform him, or found it unimportant to do so.
Pure Vanilla Cookie then stepped over, having left the tree, Shadow Milk trailing behind, idly toying with his other-realm.
“Okay! Now that everyone has had some time to relax, we should begin to head off toward home.”
White Lily Cookie followed, “I’ll be staying here in Beast-Yeast. After all, the Faerie Kingdom still needs a ruler…”
Pure Vanilla Cookie smiled, watching White Lily Cookie step away as he went back to discussing with the others.
Silent Salt followed after White Lily Cookie.
“Are you in a relationship with Golden Cheese Cookie?” Silent Salt asked, tilting his head.
White Lily instantly blushed, “Huh—?”
Golden Cheese seemed to overhear, her wings fluttering anxiously.
“Well, it appeared based on the way you interacted that you two had romantic affection for each other."
White Lily stuttered, “Well– we— I—”
“We’re just close friends,” Golden Cheese interrupted her, coming over after Pure Vanilla had seemingly finished speaking, “That’s it.”
“Ah. I see. I apologize for assuming.”
White Lily nervously wrung her hands together, “Well, Silent Salt Cookie, we should probably go let the Faeries know we’re leaving!”
“Of course. Goodbye, Golden Cheese Cookie. Let the others know we have departed.”
“Mhm…bye you two.”
With that, White Lily and Silent Salt left for the Faerie Kingdom.