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Licorice huffed as he watched Red stand over the table with a dreadful taste in his mouth. Red the cockiest cookie Licorice has had the misfortune to meet. Licorice gripped the rough bonnie shaft of his homemade weapon. He forced his gaze away from the tall muscular cookie to look at his feet. Anger continued to serge in his chest as the memory of Red Velvet's confident stride filled his head. How he could walk in and get a slight shift of approval in Pomergrante's gaze. How could Red Velvet earn her approval! He does nothing all day but plays with stupid freshly baked puppies. He doesn’t do any work as Licorice does.
Licorice continued to hold his staff with a deathly grip happy he was too weak to crack the salty bone. He shifted in his seat now antsy with frustration. He just wanted to punch him as hard as he could. Though knowing Red he would just gruff at the hit and look down at Licorice with a little smirk that reminded him how weak Licorice was physically.
“My armies have been doing better. Shifting my priority from baking as many cakes as I can to training them has helped us fight against those pesky little cookies,” Red stated proudly puffing out his chest a bit. Licorice rolled his eyes, mocking Velvet under his breath. Red glanced over to Licorice tilting his head with a little knowing glint in his eyes.
“You’re certainly doing better than some cookies here,” Pomegranate hummed with a small smile. Licorice felt his chest shrink seeing Pomegranate not only praise Velvet but bring him down at the same time. Did Pomegranate understand how hard it is to actually fight someone and not just hide behind some cakes? Licorice shifts his grip on his scythe trying to contain himself in a formal meeting. Things didn’t end well for him the last time he lashed out at one. Plus he wanted to fight Velvet one on one.
Once the meeting was over Licorice stood up to keep Velvet from leaving. He moved in front of Red Velvet before he could leave, crossing his arms, “Can you stay and chat for a bit?” Licorice glared up at Red hating he was barely 5’5 and Red towered him at a good 7' 1.
Velvet nods with him, “For a bit. I have some pups waiting for me to return home.”
“So you can cuddle with them?” Licorice taunted earning a low growl from Velvet. Licorice shivered slightly scared of him when he growled. Licorice always felt like his cake arm would consume Red’s body and turn him more cake than a cookie.
“I’ll let you know some of them are sick,” Velvet cornered Licorice against the table. Licorice glared at him and rolled his eyes.
“I’ve got some remedies for that dumbass,” Licorice held his scythe closer. His heart pounding against his chest Velvet tilted his head a bit curious.
“What do you mean remedies?”
“I’ve got some traditional medicine. I never was able to afford medicine so I learned some traditional solutions,” Licorice mumbled his gaze just past Velvet towards the wall behind him. Velvet smiled, his hips swayed a bit. Licorice huffed hating how dog-like Velvet can be. It just made Licorice wanna pet him. Licorice moved away from his trapped table corner. Velvet let him leave his trap, watching Licorice walk towards the door. Velvet followed after him with a smile. He was happy his pups would feel better soon. Licorice walked through the murky foggy woods where many of the Darkness Cookies hid their homes in. Licorice got to a cottage home fitting every gothic stereotype. Velvet hummed watching Licorice dig in some dead shrubs for his house key. Licorice smiled, holding it up into the air once he found it. Velvet snickered at all the dead leaves sticking to Licorice's sleeves. Licorice unlocked his door walking inside. Velvet followed after Licorice before Licorice could close the door in his face. Licorice puffed out his cheeks seeing Velvet slip past him before he could lock him out. Licorice was very secretive about his home. Velvet smirked down at him, rubbing it in the necromancer's face he was able to slip into his secret lair.
Licorice stomped his foot, "Out!"
"No," Velvet hummed before he flicked Licorice's nose. He started to walk away from him, "Now where is the remedy you were talking about?"
Licorice puffed out his cheeks and continued to stay in his spot stomping his feet some more. Licorice soon gave up on his temper tantrum once he saw it wasn't working on Velvet. He whined leaving the front door to find his remedy. Licorice entered his spell workroom opening up a cabinet. Velvet stood outside the door whimpering a bit. The aura of the room matched all the anger Licorice had inside him. Licorice huffed as he started to climb up on his table reaching up for the top shelf. Velvet watched Licorice struggle trying not to laugh at his short ass. Velvet took a deep breath walking into the spooky room. He shivered to feel the very clear shift in energy. Velvet walked over easily reaching the shelf Licorice wanted.
"Which pouch?" Velvet asked, not wanting to test Licorice in his room of dark magic.
"I uh- WHAT? GET OUT!" Licorice snapped glaring up at him. Licorice continued to sit on his table unable to get off now that Velvet was standing over him.
"Okay short ass, how are you going to get the stuff from the top shelf? Just tell me the pouch you want me to grab for you and then I'll leave your space."
Licorice took a deep breath, "The dark green one." Velvet grabbed the pouch and handed it to Licorice. Licorice took the pouch. He got off the table once Velvet left the room. Licorice grabbed the mortar bowel and his pestle, crushing up the herbs for Velvet's pups to swallow easier. Licorice grabbed a bottle and put it inside it.
"You can have them eat these or make it into a tea if that's too hard," Licorice explained, handing the bottle to Velvet.
Velvet's hips swayed again as he took the bottle, "Thank you! I'll replace the herbs for you."
Licorice blushed a bit, "No it's okay. I forest for all my herbs or this one market stand."
"I get it. You're picky about your herbs. Just like my ingredients for my pups," Velvet smiled watching Licorice clean up his space a bit. Though the room was very messy. It just seemed like how Licorice organized his things. Velvet sighed leaving Licorice on his own, closing his door behind him.
Velvet started on his journey towards the Sweet Tower of Chaos. He had a little nursery near the tower he would stay in and raise the newborn cakes. He sighed walking inside going to the room of quarantined puppies smiling as a few barked excitedly once they saw him.
“Hello babies,” Velvet whispered, picking up a few of the pups. He sat down in a chair petting them. He just wanted to hold them for a bit before he brewed the medicine into a tea. Velvet smiled as he watched the puppies start to fall asleep in his arms. The poor things were very sick and just slept all the time. Velvet didn’t think it would kill any of them though, so he wasn’t desperate.
Velvet was trucking through the murky woods to find Liorice’s house with one of his sick puppies. They were starting to get better, but Velvet was just exhausted from taking care of sick babies. He was barely sleeping, and he was falling behind in his work. Licorice was struggling at home with Mushroom. The poisoned child was refusing to eat their vegetables. Licorice was trying not to pull out his hair sitting across from a pouting Mushroom Cookie. Velvet knocked on his door giving Licorice a break from his stare down.
“You better finish up those veggies. It’s two more bites. I don’t why you decided to hate it when you were almost done eating it,” Licorice sighed walking up to his door opening it. He blinked seeing Velvet out the door with a puppy in his arms. The puppy wagged their tail seeing Licorice.
“Hey. I need some more medicine. A few of the pups are better. I just need more for the rest of them,” Velvet wheezed. The hike to Licorice’s house was long. Licorice took a few steps away from the door allowing Velvet inside. Velvet stepped inside kissing the top of his puppy’s head. Licorice walked into the kitchen gathering up what was left of the dinner he cooked.
“Who’s at the door?” Poison Mushroom asked, poking around his veggies.
“Velvet. He’s got some sick puppies and he’s asking for medicine,” Licorice explained, deciding on the parenting win, placing what was left on Mushrrom’s plate onto Velvet. Mushroom nodded, kicking his feet as he watched Licorice.
“Okay!” Mushroom got up running off to see Velvet. Licorice reached out to stop Mushroom. He sighed, giving up once Mushroom slipped just out of his grasp.
Mushroom squealed in excitement once he saw a puppy rushing over to pet it. Velvet blinked in surprise seeing Mushroom rush out. Licorice walked out handing Velvet the plate of leftovers.
“Here. I’ll go make the herb mix,” Licorice huffed, deciding to leave Velvet with food before he could protest. Velvet blinked watching Licorice march off.
“So what’s going on? He isn’t trying to pick a fight,” Velvet frowned, not liking his passive he was being.
“Ya. He’s just giving up on the day. He said he doesn’t wanna fight with today anymore,” Mushroom explained, still petting the puppy. Velvet nods, deciding to just eat the food Licorice gave him. Licorice came back with two bottles of the herbal remedy. Velvet smiled while taking the bottles. He had finished his plate of dinner.
“Thank you for dinner and the medicine,” Velvet smiled, “Let me take you out to lunch once I get all the puppies healthy.”
Licorice smiled a bit, “I would appreciate it. I could use a break.” Velvet smiled looking around the house. He realized how he has just gotten messier since the last time he was there.
“You work really hard. You deserve a break,’ Velvet smiled, finally giving Licorice some validation. Licorice seemed to just melt away some of the stress he had been carrying. Velvet smiled happily to see him finally let go of some of the stress.
Licorice was trying to fix up the strings on the front of his hoodie since they were uneven. He was waiting in his living room for Velvet to pick him up for the lunch date he promised. Velvet finally knocked on the door. Licorice jumped up from the couch rushing over to the door. Licorice tries not to make too much noise as he tripped over some toys left out. Mushroom just left his toys out wherever. Licorice almost fell into the door as he opened the door. Velvet noticed how off-blanched Licorice was. He tried not to laugh tilting his head.
“You look nice,” Velvet hummed, liking the loose jeans and hoodie he was in. It was nice to see him change up what he was wearing. Licorice straightened himself up once he gathered up his balance. Velvet just gave Licorice a warm smile only offering his company, and that’s all Licorice needed from him.