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Chapter Text

The howls of the icy wind blew wildly, large amounts of snow thrown in every direction. The grey clouds covering the blue sky like a blanket, leaving only a humid, dark atmosphere.
There in the middle of the blizzard was a small well built tent, containing one single cookie. A well known mythologist researcher, Pure Vanilla.

With a warm color light from the lantern that stood on a wooden desk, Pure Vanilla perked up his head at the sound of a ringing tone coming from his laptop. With a sigh, he put aside his notebook and opened up his laptop, answering the video call.

"Ah Pure Vanilla! Hello"! A female tone came from the other line, seeing the screen was a woman with snow-white braided hair as she waved at the monitor.
"Good evening, White Lily! What seems to be the problem"? He asked, knowing when White Lily called, it was urgent or important.
"Oh no, nothing urgent! I just want an update on the research of the Licorice Sea"! White Lily replied with a wave of her hand.
"Ah, the Licorice Sea…In Fact I have found something interesting about it". He spoke, watching as Lily put her hand on her cheek to listen to Vanilla's discovery. "I have noticed the change in the climate here and how the Licorice Sea reacts to it. They seem to become more active in snow blizzards".

Honestly, Pure Vanilla had a lot of theories on why they might react to snow blizzards then normal snow storms. But he kept his mouth shut.
He ended up continuing to talk about his notes and a lot of things he finds useless to White Lily, only to just keep their conversation going.
White Lily only kept nodding along as she jotted down notes on something she finds important or interesting of what Vanilla is explaining.
While he spoke, she peered over to see what Vanilla had on his side, only to slightly frown to see a very familiar dark mauve colored notebook with an all familiar dragon printed on it.

"I see you are still working on that notebook". White Lily interrupted. Pure Vanilla stopped speaking to process what he was told. Until he finally understood, he glanced to his side to see the notebook he swore to hide from White Lily.
With a yelp, he slid the notebook off from the wooden desk as he heard the papers smash onto the floor.
"No! I-uh, let me explain White Lily"! Vanilla stammered as he tucked his hands on his hips with embarrassment. "Please, I just couldn't help myself". He murmured as he looked away from the pink magenta eyes that peered over him.
"I'm not mad, just upset, Pure Vanilla. I understand your research in that myth is important to you, but you have to understand that it was proven to be unreal". She spoke as nicely as she could, but for Vanilla it seemed as if venom was spilling from her mouth.
"...it's not a myth, it's real, I just know it"! Vanilla uttered as he finally glanced up at White Lily's eyes. "In fact, maybe the Licorice Sea is somehow connected to the Cacao Dragon, I heard-"!
"The Cacao Dragon does not exist, Pure Vanilla"! White Lily interrupted. "It was proven to be unreal, they had evidence and everything that they had to prove that The Cacao Dragon is just a folklore story"!

Pure Vanilla was frozen in place. He had nothing to say, yet he really wanted to prove White Lily wrong, he wanted to prove to everyone that The Cacao Dragon is real.
A shaky breath escaped from his lips as he stared at the monitor's keyboard. White Lily took notice of it, she let out a sigh of her own.
"I'm sorry, Vanilla. But we can't focus on that anymore. Now please-". Vanilla slammed the monitor off, ending the call for good.
With a shaky breath, he pulled his hands up to his face. Shielding his eyes from the warm color light of the lantern beside him.
White Lily doesn't understand. Pure Vanilla has gone so far to this research, yet he hasn't found a single thing to make her believe The Cacao Dragon was real.
Moving his fingers to peer to the floor to see the dark mauve colored notebook on the floor. Letting a breath that he hadn't noticed he was holding, he bent down to grab the notebook gently. He traced his fingers on the white outline of what people believe is how the Cacao Dragon looked like.
Turning a few pages, he stopped on one where he made a sketch of how he believed the Cacao Dragon looked like.
The sketch was a lòng dragon with mauve colored skin and a black mane with a white color streak that ran down to its tail. Vanilla also believed that this dragon might have red ruby eyes, but other theories have said the Cacao Dragon had purple, amethyst eyes, but it's a less believed theory.
Vanilla has always been curious and interested in this dragon. But one thing he could describe this dragon was scary…but beautiful. He had researched almost everything he could about the Cacao Dragon. From what he heard of his friend Hollyberry, she made a discovery that Dragons have the ability to turn to a cookie form.
Hollyberry is another mythologist, who was assigned to research the environment of Dragon's Valley and the Pitaya Dragon. She was very good at it then Pure Vanilla was. She made so many discoveries almost every month, she was also the one to prove that The Pitaya Dragon was real.
Of course, there have been many dragons that have been proven to be myths, such as the Red Velvet Dragon, The Fire Spirit Dragon, The North and South Dragon, and of course…The Cacao Dragon. Goodness, even people say that the Millennial Tree doesn't exist!

Pure Vanilla was tired of being wrong, but what if the Cacao Dragon truly doesn't exist? Honestly, he just needed to talk to someone and distract his mind from failures. So he opened his laptop again and hovered the mouse over Hollyberry's contacts and clicked a video call.
There was silence in his little tent, only hearing the ringing tone of his monitor and the roars of the snowy wind from outside of his shelter place. With a ring, the video call was answered, opening up to see a joyful Hollyberry with a glass of berry juice on her side. Who could've known.

"Pure Vanilla! Hello, my friend"! Hollyberry beamed as she reached for her camera to adjust the position. Pure Vanilla giggled a little.
"Hello, Hollyberry! How are things going"! Vanilla beamed as he watched Hollyberry struggle to get the camera to behave.
"Ur…hang on a sec-ok! Uh, well nothing much. Jotted a few notes here and there. Hehe"! She laughed as she seated herself on the chair.
"Not much? What are you working on right now"? Pure Vanilla asked as he tapped his fingers on the desk. It is very unusual when Hollyberry doesn't have much worth of anything.
"Ah well, the Pitaya Dragon is what I'm studying right now. Something has been off with that Dragon lately". Hollyberry sighed as she sipped from her cup.
"Oh my…off by a bad way or weird way"? Vanilla questioned.
"Mmm, weird way, I guess. They have been collecting a lot more resources and food than he usually does. He's been cooped up in their den for much longer than normal hours. They also came up to me to ask about cookie biology! Pitaya HATES cookies, so I don't know why he asked in the first place"! Hollyberry huffed, clearly showing how confused she is.
"But enough of Pitaya. How is the research of the Licorice Sea"! Hollyberry asked, resting her cheeks on her palms as she watched Vanilla smile.
"Well not much either, but I did find out that the Licorice Sea reacts to specific winter storms. They seem to be a lot active in snowy blizzards". Vanilla explained.
"Huh…do you have any theories"? Hollyberry asked, placing a finger on the hilt of the glass cup.

But of course Vanilla had theories, but he knew all of them relate to the Cacao Dragon. Though he can trust Hollyberry enough to share them.
So he reached over to his mauve notebook and flipped a few pages before landing on a specific one. He looked up to see Hollyberry's amused look.
"Well I have a theory that the Licorice Sea and the…Cacao Dragon have some kind of link to each other. From some of the books I read about the dragon, I found out that the dragon can create snowy blizzards. From what I know of, the Licorice Sea was discovered the same day the Cacao Dragon was seen….but you know, it might just be the Licorice monsters just like blizzards". Pure Vanilla murmured the last sentence out.
"You kidding!? That is an amazing theory, anything with dragons is always so interesting to me"! Hollyberry beamed.
"Your…not upset about my theory? You know the Cacao Dragon in all"? Vanilla questioned.
"What? Why would I be upset by a theory that involves the Cacao-oh…did…White Lily-".
"Disapprove of it…yes". Pure Vanilla finished as he cupped his cheeks with his palms.

There was silence between them. It wasn't the first time White Lily disapproved of Vanilla's theories that involve the Cacao Dragon. Hollyberry was fully aware of Vanilla's obsession over that Dragon and she supports his way of trying to learn more about it. So with a sigh, she looked directly at her camera and spoke as reassuring as she could.
"You know, Vanilla. It doesn't seem like it but…White Lily tries so hard to understand you. Believe me or not, she really wants to support you on your research. She just…has a hard time to believe things, unless there is evidence to make it believable". Hollyberry reassured him. Folding her fingers together as Vanilla still hadn't looked up at her.
"...I know". He murmured with a tone of sadness and anger. Hollyberry only sighed as she looked down at her table, tapping a few times with fingers before opening her mouth to speak.
"Get some sleep, Vanilla. Heh! You look like a walking corpse"! She laughed, satisfied as she heard a giggle from Vanilla.
"Alright…thank you so much, Hollyberry". Vanilla smiled at the monitor, watching as Hollyberry splattered her smile on her face.
"Anything for a friend". She replied before ending the call, leaving Vanilla with silence again.

Hollyberry was right, he should get to sleep now, he felt extremely tired. He got up stretched and grabbed the notebook and placed it in his bag. He flicked off his lantern, darkness consuming the whole tent.
Vanilla didn't want to do anything but just get to sleep, so he hovered over to his bean bag and curled himself up.
Maybe tomorrow morning he can grab a sample or two off the Licorice Sea if it is safe enough. But tomorrow he'll find a way to prove White Lily wrong about the Cacao Dragon, he can prove that it's real, and no one is going to stop him.
Vanilla felt his eyelids grow heavier every passing minute. With the sound of the swirling winds and the chilling atmosphere. Vanilla shivered a little before falling for a deep slumber.

If only he heard how much stronger the winds roared, as if it was a cry of a great, long dragon...

Chapter Text

The first thing Pure Vanilla felt was the extreme cold he felt in the entirety of his body. He felt his nose start running watery snot. Only when he wanted to lift his stiff body, he felt a sharp pain in his forehead.
It finally came to him. He was so tired yesterday, he forgot to try warming up the tent so he can sleep without a problem. Now because of his careless acts, he caught a cold.
Though it didn't stop Vanilla from trying to get up and ignore the throbbing pain of his head. Pure Vanilla won't let some common cold cut off his plans for today.
Though it only seemed to be just a headache and a runny nose. So Pure Vanilla ignored it and got up from his sleeping bag and towards his bag.
He knew he would face any illnesses or even frostbite and hypothermia, so he was prepared with anything. He pulled out some painkillers for his headache and a water bottle. He quickly downed it and packed the water bottle in a smaller bag. He grabbed some tissues and wiped his nose the best he could. He felt the burning sensation each time he wiped his nose, but still ignored it. Lastly, grabbing his mauve notebook and a granola bar, shoving them in the brown, smaller bag with a few flasks that he'll need eventually. And finally he was out of his tent.

Pure Vanilla breathed in the cold air with his one unstuffed nose. He felt the cool breeze touch his cheeks and shivered a little. The snow blizzard had finally calmed down, only leaving a slight strong wind behind.
Vanilla started taking steps on the 8 inch snow. Sure Vanilla did struggle to get out of his tent with all of the snow covering it from top to bottom. But he managed.
The more he walked, the more he noticed the snow shrinking by inch, meaning he is close to the Licorice Sea. He continued walking with his mind filled with thoughts on how he'll prove the reality of the Cacao Dragon. But he's always coming to a dead end on an idea that sparks his mind. Pure Vanilla is still upset about White Lily's remarks, he knew she didn't mean to yell at him, but it still hurts that his research is getting on her nerves.
Pure Vanilla memorized each snow covered tree to track his way to the Licorice Sea from his tent. As far as he remembered, he lost his way in the icy snow and had to call a rescue team to get him.
With a few more crunching steps on the thick snow, he finally saw the sight of the Licorice Sea.
The waves of the black substance danced along the harsh winds that blew endlessly. It's a thick liquid, almost just like water, but without life. Filled with Licorice ooze monsters, such as frosted one's as well. Ooze monsters do not have minds of their own, not that Vanilla knows about. Pure Vanilla knows to avoid a spit from them, having contact with their spit can result in corruption. It's an easy heal, but a painful process.
Setting down his small bag, Pure Vanilla took out a flask, also dropping his granola bar in the process. Though, Vanilla was too busy trying to find his gloves and a syringe to notice the granola bar in the icy snow.
Slowly getting closer to the black sea, Vanilla dropped to his knees and reached the syringe to the liquid. Taking a sample carefully and injecting the liquid into his flask, he carefully closed the flask with its lid.
Though maybe Vanilla should have checked his surroundings better when he placed the flask into his bag. He was then aggressively grabbed by a Licorice Ooze monster.
With a yell, Vanilla tried pulling his hand away from the monster, but only seemed to try pulling Vanilla further into the Licorice Sea. He pulled with all the strength he's got, a bead of sweat freezing in the process. The monster growled as its ooze started to travel its way onto Vanilla's elbow. Pure Vanilla was starting to panic before the winds of the snowy land started to pick up. That is when the monster finally loosen its grip onto Vanilla's arm, resulting in taking one of his gloves into the Licorice Sea.
With the force loosened, Vanilla fell back onto the thick snow, letting out ragged breath as his back made contact with snow.
He shivered, both with fear and cold. He stayed laying there for who knows how long. Pure Vanilla was only trying to catch his breath while endlessly shivering by every wind that passed by.
Pure Vanilla absolutely hated taking samples from the Licorice Sea, only resulting in him getting grabbed or spit at. Though he was ordered to take these samples to see if the Licorice Sea is capable of having life. But every sample he examined always resulted in the same thing…lifeless.
Every report he sends to White Lily about the Licorice Sea not capable of having life, she is far too stubborn to accept that the Sea is just a lifeless goop of monsters. He never understood why she is looking for life into the Licorice Sea, all he knew was that she is trying to make a living cookie of her own.
He knew that experiment was far too dangerous, Pure Vanilla had put a stop into it, but White Lily only continued to try. This caused her to send Pure Vanilla to the snowy lands near the Giant Icing Mountains. He only accepted the offer, only to try reaching further into the Cacao Dragon's origins and environment, while taking samples of the Licorice Sea and examining it.
Yet White Lily calls Pure Vanilla stubborn for not letting go of his research, when she is just as stubborn as him.
Vanilla only groaned as he sat up, reaching over to his bag and checked if the flask hadn't broken or spilled. Seeing as everything was ok, he finally got up from the snow, stretching out his aching muscles before walking the opposite way of the Licorice Sea.
Pure Vanilla was tired and hungry, knowing that he is sick makes it even worse. A churn in his stomach made him realize that he needs to eat. As he walked, hearing the crunching noises as he stepped on the snow, he reached over to his bag to find his granola bar. Though as he reached and skimmed over his bag, there was no granola anywhere.
He groaned as he remembered it falling from his bag, yet he didn't care enough to pick it up. His hunger got the better of him, so he turned back to retrieve it.
That granola bar was one of the last ones before he had to go back to the Blueberry Yogurt Academy to retrieve more food and supplies. He can't just let a perfectly, maybe a bit cold, granola bar go to waste. It's not sweet, but that was all the academy had, so Vanilla doesn't really mind if the food they give him is sweet or bitter.
Pure Vanilla finally reached the spot he thinks the granola bar had fallen. Only to see just snow, pure white as snowflakes still kept falling from the dark skies. The snow was pretty light at the moment, if Vanilla was gone for long, the granola still wouldn't have been buried in the snow. Though he doesn't see it all, looking around, behind a few trees, but nothing.
His stomach growled and pleaded to eat something, Vanilla only groaned annoyingly. Just before he'd finally given up, he sees a shiny wrapper of what he presumed was the granola bar. Jogging over it with a smile plastered on his face, he bent down to grab it. Only for him to frown.
The wrapper was empty, no granola, no nothing. Pure Vanilla was sure he hadn't eaten it, if he did, his stomach wouldn't be bothering him.
It couldn't be a monster or an animal to eat it. But the wrapper would have been shredded if an animal had eaten it. It was perfectly opened from the top as the granola was pulled out…as if a cookie-like figure had opened it.
Now Vanilla was fully aware he is the only cookie in the area at the moment. The villages are far from where he is, closest is the Licorice Village, but he knew they wouldn't come as far as he is in the snowy lands.
A harsh wind blew over him, shivering as he almost lost grip of the wrapper. The wind blew over a particular smell, new from what he had smelled in the area.

The smell of bitter cacao…

Chapter Text

A crunch and a grip on the wrapper wrapped around his grips.
Pure Vanilla was back to his tent, still eyeing the granola wrapper in his palms. He was confused, shocked or maybe excited. The wrapper was tinted with a particular smell.
A strong smell of bitter cacao.
Now Vanilla was no fruit expert, but he knew cacao beans grow in hotter regions rather than icy, cold places as near as the Giant Icing Ridges. Could it be?...No…It wouldn't. Still having White Lily's words in his head, he dropped the idea and stared back at the wrapper.
He clenched on it again before reaching over to another bag and pulled out a zip lock bag and closed it with the wrapper inside.
There are so many possibilities on what the smell was about. He wanted to believe that it might be true, though he still couldn't help but think it's a coincidence.
A ringing call took him back to reality as he eyed the monitor with Hollyberry's contact on the screen. Vanilla was tired and wanted to ignore the call, but then again, Hollyberry is an expert on dragons.

"Vanilla! Good afternoon"! Hollyberry's beaming voice echoed throughout his tent.
"Good afternoon, Hollyberry…" Vanilla replied, slobbering with each word he spoke. With a small giggle and shuffle from the other line, Hollyberry's concerned mouth started to speak.
"Wow, heh, you sound like you didn't have the greatest day so far". Hollyberry spoke, crossing her arms as she eyed his dark bags under his eyes. "Mmm…No, I didn't sleep well, I got attacked by a Licorice monster AND I lost my last granola bar"! Vanilla huffed, gripping his hair with how mad he is with the universe.
"Wow! Pure Vanilla, you're going to end up being bald with all the stress you're going through. Take a break, relax. There's always another day"!
Vanilla grumbled a little and yawned tiredly. "Yah…I should get myself in check. So…how's things with the Pitaya Dragon"? Vanilla asked, trying to keep the conversation going with Hollyberry.
"Eh, you tell me, that lizard is getting on my nerves". She groaned. "Hmm? What happened this time"? Pure Vanilla replied.
"Stupid lizard asked me what cookies eat". Hollyberry simply spoke. Vanilla raised an eyebrow and let out a muffled laugh. "And what did you say"? Vanilla questioned.
"I told them how every cookie has different diets depending on what ingredients they are or what environments they live in. So I recommended my diet of berries, berry juice…and roasted jelly frogs. But I guess he didn't like the idea, so I recommended them to ask the Mala Tribe for foods that fit his environment". Hollyberry explained, waving her hands around as she spoke.
"Hehe, I bet they'll recommend hot sweet potatoes". Vanilla laughed. Hollyberry let out a confused giggle. "Mmm? How so"? She questioned, crossing her arms a little. "Eh, it was the first thing that came to mind when thinking about the Mala Tribe".

That ended the conversation as they both didn't know what to say. Still hearing winds blowing from the outside of Vanilla's tent, for Hollyberry, it's a mystery what she is hearing at the moment.
Though, both Vanilla and Hollyberry love moments like these where they can sit in comfortable silence and just baring the presence of each other. And how much Vanilla misses doing these moments with either White Lily and Golden Cheese, both too busy or slacky for each other's time.
But Vanilla isn't mad, he understands all of us are busy in some way or another, he knew he was far too caught with his research, he forgets he even has friends. Hollyberry is always in contact with Pure Vanilla, regardless of the situation she is in and he absolutely admires that in a friend.
Though the silence was finally broken when Hollyberry decided to speak about a heavy topic.

"Vanilla…have you ever thought about…having a family of your own"? Hollyberry murmured, almost a whisper as she hesitated to speak that sentence. And yet, Vanilla was speechless.
It was a simple question and Vanilla didn't know how to answer such a heavy topic. He had thought about it, once or twice, but not in a serious way. "I…I don't know". He spoke fluently, fiddling with all his fingers in order to do something with them. Hollyberry had the face of a person who is speaking in seriousness. Who only wants an answer from him.
"Well…I have. Alot. After all these 500 years, I have been wanting to do something new, exciting even. The benefits of having a child is difficult, but it's a challenge I'm willing to take. After I finally retire, I might just think about it". Speaking her thoughts, she smiled at the thought of a cookie of her own blood, being able to care and raise them to become a better person for the future. Facing whatever obstacles with your child who trusts you to the fullest.
And yet Vanilla wasn't so sure what he'll do when he finally retires from the Cacao Dragon project, to prove if it's real or not. He's still lost, because for the majority of his 500 years, he was always researching something. He knew he could be a healer, since his hands are delicate enough to heal a cookie with touch. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that for the rest of his immortality.
Guess he was stuck in his own head that Hollyberry decided to reassure him. "No need to think about it now, Vanilla. You have all the time in the world to think about what you will do next in the future. No pressure, my friend". She suggested, speaking slowly and understandingly for him to understand.
Vanilla knew, he was always pressured with his research and even a small question such as Hollyberry's. If having to love someone and care for another, would he still feel pressured? "It's alright, Hollyberry….I'll try to think about the upcoming future". Vanilla smiled, watching as Hollyberry joyfully giggled through the other monitor. "Well it is better than running away from your problems! Say you remind me of the Pitaya Dragon! They have been running away from cookies so often that it's getting worrying. And when a dragon tries to hide from cookies, they hide in the most isolated places that no cookie has ever discovered yet, haha"! Hollyberry continued to laugh, still speaking how weird the Pitaya Dragon has been acting. But Vanilla stopped and stared. Dragons hide in the most isolated place that no cookie hasn't discovered yet. That sentence kept repeating in his head, telling him to think harder on what those words mean.
Then it hits him, the Cacao Dragon is willingly capable of hiding away from cookies, so the only place the Dragon could've gone was…
"The Giant Icing Ridges"! Pure Vanilla spoke out loud, catching Hollyberry off guard. "The Giant Icing Ridges"? Hollyberry mimicked confusingly.
Pure Vanilla quickly jumped out his seat, pulling his pale, blond strands with joy and laughter. "Hollyberry! You're a genius"!! Vanilla yelled, Hollyberry only stared confused as Vanilla was packing some stuff in his small, brown bag.
She watched as her friend was roaming around his tent, then pulling on his thick coat. A huge smile plastered on his face. She knew she said something to cause that. "I-What are you doing"? Hollyberry yelped out of shock at such mood change. Vanilla quickly turned and ran up to the camera monitor, a smile with excitement in his face. "It's like you said, Holly! Dragons will hide in the most isolated places that no cookie has ever been discovered yet. That means it's possible that the Cacao Dragon must be up there"! He said excitedly, but the same thing couldn't be said for Hollyberry. "And you're going up there"?! Hollyberry yelled, still watching as Vanilla was still looking for stuff to take. "Well, yeah! How else am I going to prove to White Lily that the Cacao Dragon is real"! Vanilla laughed, wrapping his bag around his shoulders, finally facing Hollyberry's face, as if she had seen a ghost. "But Vanilla! As much as I want to approve of this, the Icing Ridges are far too dangerous for a cookie to step on! The weather is far too abnormal up there, it's so cold you can get hypothermia within minutes, it's also far too dark up there! You could get hurt, worse even"! She yelled and tried to reason with him, but he was so caught with his head he ignored everything she said. "Do not worry, Hollyberry. I'll be back in a few hours"! He said, finally reaching his monitor to end the call. "NO, VANILL-". The call ended with a shut off of the monitor.
Hollyberry stared at the call ended screen, fiery anger running up her spine. Vanilla was so desperate that he'd die to see the truth. So she quickly got up and called for a rescue team before he got himself hurt, or worse.

Dropping his bag on the thick snow, he looked over his bag and took out a grappling hook. But of course he lost the rope to it, but he still dug the ends on the icy mountains. Only using them to steady himself on slopes of the mountain.
The words that Hollyberry told kept repeating in his head, determination filling his heart as he grunted everytime he pulled himself on the snow cliff. He noticed how every closer step he went up, the lower the temperature usually got. The wind picked up a lot more than it did down on the ground. He shivered ever so slightly, but he didn't stop.
Finally reaching over a steady surface of the mountain. Panting at how exhausted he is. Looking at the black sky, stained with forever lasting clouds. He's still got a long way up to the top of the mountain. So he continued to walk and climb.

Vanilla didn't know how long he's been walking and climbing, a few hours he presumed. But regardless, he kept going, even if his body pleaded to have a break. His nose and cheeks were Tainted with a pink blush, he felt his face become numb at how high he went. He felt tired, dizzy, but had something to prove.
He closed his eyes in relief as he pushed himself up for the last time, collapsing on cold, icy snow. Inhaling wheezy breaths, his body ached in pain, shivering every 5 seconds.
He groaned and forced himself to get up, looking around. Only white-black fog was the only thing covering his eyes. He dropped his grappling hook on the snow covered ground. He wrapped both his arms around each other, trying to warm himself as best he could.
He squinted his eyes to see something, but the fog is making the process harder than it should. He managed to see something from the fog, a purple glowing light a few feet away. He gasped and breathed in a sharp breath, he started dragging his aching body towards the source of the light. Vanilla was drawn to such mixtures of purple and magenta. And when he was finally close enough to see what the light was, his eyes and mouth widened with awe.
It was a sword, no normal sized sword, this one was huge, almost the size of an average cookie. But the gem that brightened the view of the fog was what Vanilla's eyes were fixed on. On closer inspection, it was a soul jam, which made him gasp out loud. He was aware that soul jams existed, especially when he had one, but he didn't know that there was a fifth.
Forcing his legs to continue walking at the sword, wanting a closer inspection. The closer he got, the more uneasy he felt, as if something was watching him from afar. Then again, Pure Vanilla ignored it.
The wind kept picking up as he was a foot away from the sword. Steading his legs to not fall from such harsh winds. But finally the sword was in front of him, pulsing harsh cold winds to him. It was beautiful, the color purple was a really good match for the sword, but Pure Vanilla couldn't help but think he had seen this particular sword before.
Being drawn to such a beautiful object, he reached his hand to try and touch it. Feeling pulsing waves and heartbeats ringing in his ears the closer his finger reached the soul jam. Just when he had his finger an inch away, he stopped. He felt an uneasy presence behind, he sensed that he was in danger. He turned a 360, but he didn't have enough time to even open his eyes and see whatever was bothering him. Before he knew it, he was hit bare on his guts with what seemed to be a tail-like thing. Vanilla ended up being knocked on a nearby boulder, he swore he heard it crack beneath him. His breath escaped from his lungs as his back hit the hard surface, completely losing sight of everything. Sliding down from the huge rock, his face planted on the cold snow. His body ached, his stomach hurt, he couldn't even feel his own face. He did everything of his power to keep his eyes open, his vision blurred from the blow.
Vanilla's eyes grew heavy as he was aware he was going to pass out. With the energy he had left, he weakly looked up to see his attacker with his blurred sight. All he saw was piercing, cat-like, purple eyes staring right down at him before his vision finally decided to black out.

Pure Vanilla doesn't remember much, but he woke up at the feeling of being dragged. Feeling as someone is grabbing him like a kitten from their scruff. His heavy eyes stared down at the moving snow as he was being dragged, his vision still blurred from the hard impact.
Looking to his side, he saw dark-brown, bare feet touching the icy cold snow. If he were more aware, he would have never believed that someone is able to walk in the snow with their bare feet. Knowing that a cookie-like figure is the one dragging him carelessly.
But Vanilla was tired and in pain, when this figure decided to drop him deep into the snow. Hearing their footsteps getting further and further away.

So he decided to finally close his eyes and fall into deep unconsciousness…

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla felt warm for the first time in weeks. Could he have finally warmed up his tent in the right temperature?
That wasn't the case though. He slowly tried to open his eyes to stare at a roof, feeling confused and unaware of his aching body. He was left with more confusion as he looked around, his eyes failing to see the rest of the room. Though he managed to see a pink silhouette with his blurred vision.
Letting out a pained groan as he tried to sit up, shutting his eyes closed with the pain. Only to feel pressure on his chest, looking to see a hand stopping him to move. Vanilla finally looked up at who it was, more confusion lurking in him as his vision finally cleared to see the face of Hollyberry in person.
"H…Hollyberry? What are you doing in my tent"? Pure Vanilla stammered, couldn't find the right words to say to the women above him.
"We are not at your tent, Vanilla. We're in the Academy". Hollyberry finally spoke, worry and anger leaking from her words.
The academy? Vanilla thought, finally breaking free from his trance of confusion. Quickly lifting his whole body to sit up, only earning a huge migraine on his head and cramp on his chest.
Memories of the trip to the Icing Ridges played in his head. The Cacao Dragon is real.

Hollyberry on the other hand was shocked as Vanilla rose from the bed sheets with a face that he had almost witnessed death.
"Vanilla?! Please lay down, you are still healing"! Hollyberry yelled, scared that Vanilla was just going to recklessly hurt himself again.
Though Vanilla was so caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized Hollyberry was speaking to him. He had seen enough, and he knew the dragon was real. "It's real…The Dragon is real"! He yelled as he stared at Hollyberry's eyes, piercing with fear.
"Vanilla…you're still healing". She repeated, but silently this time, trying to slowly get Pure Vanilla to lay his back on the bed sheets. "No, no no, I saw it! I saw the dragon with my very own eyes"! He yelled again, trying to make Hollyberry listen to him, grabbing her arms as he pushed himself closer to Hollyberry's figure.
"Please…just lay down". She was on the verge of anger as Pure Vanilla only gripped his palms onto her arms. Only Vanilla stopped and stared.
"You…you don't believe me"? Pure Vanilla questioned, staring at Hollyberry's expressionless face. "No, Vanilla I didn't say that-". She tried to reassure, but he continued to speak. "I mean sure! My eyesight isn't the best, but I can assure you what I saw was true"! Vanilla yelled, absolutely losing his mind at this point.
"Vanilla…" Hollyberry spoke after.
"B-But hey! My limbs are still intact"! Vanilla was on the verge of tears.
"Vanilla"! Hollyberry's voice grew angrier.
"I can finally prove to White Lily-". "JUST STOP VANILLA!'' Hollyberry yelled, grabbing onto Vanilla's shoulders, slightly shaking him with anger.
Vanilla had finally stopped talking, under the shock of Hollyberry's yelling voice. Hollyberry still had a firm grip onto his shoulders as she laid her head down to look at the blue bed sheets. She choked out a sob and while Vanilla cowardly cried in guilt at the sound of his friend's choked cries.
"Just stop, Vanilla…I can't bear seeing you losing yourself from reality". She choked a sob right after, squeezing Vanilla's shoulders as she spoke. "But Hollyberry…I'm fine, I'm still alive". Pure Vanilla tried to reassure, but that same sentence only made Hollyberry more angrier as she quickly looked up to finally see Vanilla's eyes.
"No, Vanilla! You could've died if it weren't for your Soul Jam"! She yelled at his face, tears rolling down her cheeks as he stared at her with shock. Never had Vanilla seen Hollyberry so mad, or sad at any situation. That's when he knew he fricked up.
Hollyberry has every right to be mad at him, she was right about the soul jam. He could've died grievely if it wasn't for it. He was so caught up to make White Lily proud that he was risking his whole life to prove to her about the Cacao Dragon.
So he felt guilt in every part of his body as it gravely ached. He let out a shaky breath as he reached over and wrapped his arms around Hollyberry's waist. Placing his head on her shoulder, finally letting out the tight knot in his throat, crying and apologizing as he hugged her tightly.
"I-I'm so sorry, Hollyberry…I d-didn't mean to worry you". Vanilla choked between his tears and ugly cries. Feeling Hollyberry cry out a huff as she wrapped her own strong arms around Pure Vanilla.
"You old fool, I thought I had lost you". Hollyberry laughed sadly, hugging into Pure Vanilla as she would lose him again if she let go.
They stood there in silence, bearing the warmth and the presence of each other. Hollyberry finally let loose of the tight hug, wiping her dry tears from her cheeks as Vanilla did the same. She let out another huff, Vanilla not sure if it was out of anger or sadness.
"You took a hard blow on the abdomen and a serious case of hypothermia. But a little bit of yourself healing and some rest, I'm sure everything will clear". Hollyberry smiled, rubbing her hands onto Pure Vanilla's gentle ones.
Though Pure Vanilla wanted to tell why it happened, why he is feeling a serious pain in his abdomen. But right now, it doesn't seem like the mood to speak of the heavy topic of the Cacao Dragon. So Vanilla smiled and sighed. Taking in Hollyberry's offer to rest a bit more.
"I'll make sure to tell White Lily and Golden Cheese that you're very much alive and healing". Hollyberry reassured, getting off the bed and started walking off to the exit. When she was gone, he sighed as he laid back down on the blue sheets. Staring up at the roof, flashing poor memories of the piercing purple eyes back at the Icing Ridges.
Purple eyes, the Cacao Dragon has purple eyes, was his last thoughts before being knocked out to rest.

Snoring was what woke Pure Vanilla of his resting sleep. The room seemed dim with an orange hue, seeming as if it's barely morning. The snoring kept going, which annoyed Vanilla a bit too much. Though felt that his blanket was missing, or rather replaced by something else. Reaching his hand slowly to touch what was covering him without looking down at it.
Rubbing his hands on the supposingly new blanket, only to shoot his eyes completely open at the familiar feeling. Feathers.
Vanilla panicked as he quickly sat up with a yell, only to make the pair of wings jolt away at the other cookie's back as they also sat up and yelled. Both cookies stared at each other, still a bit sleepy. That's when Pure Vanilla finally recognized the cookie on the other side of his bed.
"Golden Cheese"? Vanilla slurred with how tired he is.
"Pure Vanilla! Goodness you're finally awake"! She yelled, jumping into Vanilla's arm for a hug. He hugged her back tiredly, humming a little as he placed his head on her shoulders. "Stupid old buffoon, I thought you'd never wake up". Golden Cheese replied. Hugging tightly and a pat on his back before pulling away.
"Yah, I apologize for making you worried. Though why were you sleeping on my bed? And why are you in my dorm"? Pure Vanilla questioned, straightening his posture to look Golden Cheese in the eyes.
"Ah well, I was worried when you wouldn't wake for the past two days after your-". "I slept for two days"! Vanilla interrupted in disbelief. "Shh! Let me finish"! Golden Cheese yelled then continued to speak again. "So after Hollyberry told me that you have woken up and you're still healing, I came to check on you. Though you seemed like you were shivering under that cheap blanket you had, so I slept with you to warm you up with my wings". She explained, flapping her wings as she spoke. Vanilla blushed out of confusion.
"Well that's unlike you, Golden Cheese. Thank you"! Vanilla thanked her with a smile, she only blushed out embarrassment.
"Ah! Well, it was nothing, I did it out of pity"! Golden Cheese yelled in embarrassment. Vanilla only laughed it off. "Anyway, are you good at walking? You can go eat something, I'm sure Hollyberry would be there". Golden Cheese spoke, stepping off of the bed, waiting so Vanilla could stand up.
"Yah, I'm sure I'll be able to walk, still aching but I'll manage"! Vanilla yelped, letting out a small groan as he stood up.
"Well then, I'll be in the computer lab if you need me". Golden Cheese winked, pointed her fingers towards Vanilla as she backed away and left. Vanilla laughed as he slightly started limping towards the cafeteria.

Pure Vanilla walked until he saw Hollyberry sitting in one of the tables located near the kitchen. He walked towards her and waved at her when she looked up from writing something in her notebook.
"Vanilla! You finally got up"! Hollyberry yelped, petting one of the seats near her. Vanilla sat down next to her. She then passed her plate towards him.
"You must be hungry, eat the rest of the berries I bought, it's plenty for your stomach"! She explains, handing her plate of berries and other sides to Vanilla. Not his usual diet of food, but he didn't mind eating berries for breakfast. So he started eating her offer and thanked her for the food. She smiled and went back to writing in her notebook. Vanilla then grew curious about what she was writing.
"What are you doing, Hollyberry"? He asked, eyeing her notebook then back to her face. "Writing about that stupid lizard". She said annoyingly.
"Still trying to find out what they are doing"? Vanilla giggled, muffled a little with the berries he chewed up.
"Yes! It's absolutely annoying when they hide away from me. Like he's hiding something from me! And when they speak to me, they ask me stupid questions! For a day or two, I can't remember, he asked me what baby cookies eat"! Hollyberry complained, grumbling and huffing at how mad she is with the Pitaya Dragon.
Vanilla only reassured her that she will eventually find the truth behind the Pitaya Dragon's behavior.
They talked right after, finishing their meals and catching up on things about each other. The night flew by faster than the two researchers would've wanted to. So they said their farewells and went to rest for the night. That was what Hollyberry presumed.
Hollyberry pride opened her eyes from the little rest she had slept. She felt out of place, feeling as if someone was awake when they should be resting. So she slid from her blanket and landed on the cold floor, not bothered to try and walk bare footed. Hollyberry left her dorm room and let her instincts lead her to the library. When she opened the doors, she saw the silhouette of cream white flinch on her arrival. There stood Vanilla, still in his nightgown and black, tired eyes peering at her.
Hollyberry let out a sigh as she closed the library doors slowly and started walking up towards Vanilla and quickly closed a book he was ready. Telling by how the small lantern's light showed on his face, he was apologizing with a sympathetic frown. "H-Hollyberry!? Why are you up this late"!? He spoke, trying to hide the book he was reading behind his back.
"I could ask you the same thing". Hollyberry replied, more of a whisper. They stood in silence as Hollyberry only stood in front of Pure Vanilla as beads of sweat fell down his forehead out of fear. Hollyberry's hard gaze finally stopped Vanilla from trying to hide the book from her. A sigh escaped from him as pulled out the book from behind his back to show Hollyberry of what it was.
Folklore on the Cacao Dragon. Who would've known.
A sigh of her own was led free from Hollyberry's mouth as she pulled out a seat next to Vanilla and sat down right in front of him. "Vanilla…". Hollyberry whispered, trying to reach her hands towards Vanilla, only for him to turn away from her gaze.
"I know, Hollyberry. I'm sorry, I can't help myself". He spoke, with a stammer she could hear from his words. She rubbed her thumb on his palm, humming a little tune before trying to find the right words to speak to him.
"And I am not going to stop you". She replied, tightening her grip into his hands. Pure Vanilla only looks up in confusion, fully expecting her to lecture him on giving up his research mission on the Cacao Dragon. Seeing his confusion, she continued to speak. "Even if I tried to stop you, I know you are too stubborn to give up on your research. So from now on. Let me help you, in return you could help me with the Pitaya Dragon as well". Hollyberry explained.
Pure Vanilla only stood there, frozen in place as he processed on what Hollyberry told him. Finding it exciting that Hollyberry finally decided to try helping him on his research, in return on helping her on her own research of the Pitaya Dragon. "Y…you mean it"? Vanilla whispered, a tear falling from his eye.
"I mean it full heartedly. From now on, we will do this together. No more reckless sacrifices in finding the truth". Hollyberry said. Vanilla giggled a little as he tightened his grip onto Hollyberry's strong ones. With a wipe on his tear, he smiled, looking directly towards the women in front of him. Exciting of the new things they're both going to discover together. So Vanilla agreed with the new deal. He spoke as he agreed to work together on each other's research.

"No more reckless sacrifices on finding the truth". Pure Vanilla reassured. Eyeing the vase with a single geranium.

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla was a sweating mess. He felt his clothes stick to his skin with all the sweat that ran down his body. "Goodness. Hollyberry, could I have a drink out of your bottle". Vanilla huffed, wiping the sweat out of his forehead.
"Already finished with yours, Vanilla!? You won't have enough for the way back"! Hollyberry laughed, handing off her own water bottle to Pure Vanilla. He chugged half of the bottle, wiping his mouth and let out a tired sigh.
Certainly, Hollyberry had to research more on the Pitaya Dragon, so she had to travel to Dragon's Valley. Since both Vanilla and Hollyberry are working together on each other's dragon research, she had to drag Vanilla to Dragon's Valley with her. And Vanilla was very used to the cold weather back near the Giant Icing Ridges, he couldn't handle much of the hot weather. Since Hollyberry comes here often, the hot weather doesn't really affect her much.
They walked for miles and Vanilla wasn't so sure if he'll make it out alive from the heat. Eventually, Hollyberry came to a stop in front of what seems to be a cave. "Welp, seems like we're finally here"! Hollyberry yelped, eyeing the tired cookie soaked in his own sweat.
"Finally! Are we going inside or something"? Pure Vanilla questioned. Finding a nearby boulder and finally resting his feet.
"Nope! We're standing out here. Pitaya doesn't allow me in their den and I respect their boundaries, so I'll just wait until he senses us". Hollyberry explained. Just on cue, the ground started to rumble beneath the cookie's feet. Vanilla swallows down his fear as he is going to finally meet the Pitaya Dragon.
A head poked out of the dark cave, pink sharp eyes piercing towards Vanilla's direction. The full form of Pitaya's dragon figure was out of their cave, spreading their huge wings in anger. "Who daress to come all thisss way towardss my den"! The Pitaya roared, longing their s as they spoke. Clearly showing how angry he is to find another cookie in his territory.
"Now don't be rude with a new guest, you stupid lizard. Pure Vanilla is with me, so do not worry". Hollyberry spoke calmly to the huge dragon in front of her. Pitaya only growled as they eyed the new cookie to his eyes. Showing how they don't trust Pure Vanilla at all. "And why isss he here". Pitaya growled, speaking towards Hollyberry, lowering their head to look directly at her.
"Both me and him agreed to help each other with our research"! She explained.
"On what ressearch"? The Dragon questioned, angrily eyeing the women in front of them. Hollyberry stopped for a bit, before laughing nervously.
"O-On the environment on Dragon's Valley and the edge of the Giant Icing Ridges of course"! Hollyberry laughed, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead out of nervousness. Pure Vanilla eyed her in confusion of the lie.
The Pitaya Dragon then turned towards his direction to approve of this obvious lie. He quickly side eyed her and she had the face of fear to approve of the lie. "W-Well yes, great dragon. Me and Hollyberry agreed to work together. I originally worked alone on the edge of the Icing Ridges"! Vanilla blurted out nervously. The Dragon only huffed smoke off their nostrils in anger.
"And what does thisss have to do with me"? Pitaya growled.
"Well can't I see my only friend here in Dragon's Valley"? Hollyberry laughed. The Dragon only scoffed annoyingly.
"Whatever, that reminds me, I'm off to the Mala Tribe, so keep your friend out of my den…or elsse". They roared before taking off to the sky. The flaps of their wings almost made Vanilla fall from the harsh winds they made.
Telling by how the Pitaya Dragon instructed Hollyberry to keep Vanilla off of his den means he trusts her alot. Watching as the dragon grew smaller in the sky, he turned to Hollberry with confusion in his face. "Why did we have to lie about our research"? Vanilla questioned her. Hollyberry only sighed.
"Imagine someone comes up to you and says they are doing research about you. Like your way of living, your routine of your day or how you eat or what you eat. Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable if someone was recording everything you do"? Hollyberry spoke, crossing her arms as she spoke to the man in front of her.
Vanilla tried to say something, but was caught up with what she had explained. "Well yes, that makes a very good point". Vanilla admitted. Hollyberry only laughed, turning to face the cave in front of them. She toned down her face as she stared at Pitaya's den. Pure Vanilla turned to it in confusion.
"All of my questions about the Pitaya Dragon are just in that den. I'll find the truth of their behavior of what he is hiding in there". Hollyberry spoke calmly, eyeing carefully of the cave.
"Why don't you go inside and find out"? Pure Vanilla asked. Clearly aware at how stupid he sounds by asking. Hollyberry only let out a sad, yet angry sigh and eyed Vanilla instead of the cave.
"That would be sacrificing for the truth". Hollyberry spoke, as calmly as she could, even when she wanted to put some sense into Vanilla.
"I-Wah!? How is that sacrificing"!? Pure Vanilla yelled. Hollyberry just sighed again.
"Even if I finally find the truth, I'm still sacrificing my friendship and trust with Pitaya. They trust me and surprisingly find me as a friend after I defeated him years back. They trust me to not go into his den and his privacy…and if I do, that trust and friendship I had with them will be thrown out the window". She explained. "That is something you have to understand, Vanilla. You need patience and the truth will come to you. I'd rather lose the truth than losing someone else or yourself in the process".
Vanilla stared down to the ground, thinking and processing of what Hollyberry told him. He still didn't understand, but he knew what she meant. "I've never thought of it that way". He spoke lightly, luring his head to look up to her. She smiled slightly and chuckled a little.
"When the time comes, I'm sure Pitaya will tell me". Hollyberry said.

They spoke and wrote down things about Dragon's Valley's environment. An hour or two go's by and Vanilla was sure he was getting used to the heat. Then Pitaya finally arrived, this time he was in his cookie form. Much more different in form than his dragon one. Still slightly taller than both Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla.
"You guyss are ssstill here"? Pitaya growled annoyingly.
"Come on, big 'o lizard! Can't I hangout with a friend"! Hollyberry bravely elbowed Pitaya. They only growled in return. "Anyway, what did the Mala Tribe recommend to you"? She asked, looking down at the basket the dragon was holding.
"Hot Sweet Potatoes". They simply replied. Making Vanilla laugh mentally. 'I knew it'! He thought.
They left and instructed both cookies to stay put as he went inside of his den to put away the hot sweet potatoes. They started walking away without explaining where he was going. So Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla followed after them. "Mind if we tag along"? Hollyberry asked. Pitaya didn't look at her once, but eye side towards Vanilla instead.
"Do what you want, I don't care". They snapped, continuing to walk further ahead. So they both followed.

They continued to walk until the Pitaya Dragon finally stopped at a field of dead bushes and burnt leaves. Some bushes are still on fire from the nearby lava lake. Vanilla heard Pitaya sigh as they crouched down to take an arm full of dead leaves and twigs. He grunted a little before turning to the cookies that stared at him in confusion. "Why don't you and the other puny cookie become more usssful and grab a handful of bushesss"! They yelled as they continued to walk back to his den.
Both the other cookies looked at each other in confusion before heading over to get an arm full of dead leaves and twigs.
They burnt a little against Vanilla's skin, but not as much to leave bruises or blisters. "What do you think Pitaya is going to do with all of these leaves"? Pure Vanilla whispered to Hollyberry. Before she could reply, the dragon ahead of them spoke first.
"That isss not any of your bussinessss, sstubborn cookie"! Pitaya snapped at Vanilla, who yelped out in surprise at being heard.
Stubborn. He keeps hearing that word so much lately, it's getting annoying. He grumbled a little as he blew a leaf away from his face. Earning a small, whispered laugh from Hollyberry.

They sat down near a boulder as they waited for Pitaya to organize the leaves they had collected in the cave. Vanilla's thighs burned a little of how hot the rock was, but he managed to ignore it. He looked over at Hollyberry, who sat next to him as she jotted down something in her notebook. That led him to think of why the Pitaya Dragon was acting and from how Hollyberry explained, he had a small idea of what might be up with them.
"Do you think the Pitaya Dragon is having an egg"? Vanilla said out of the blue. This caught Hollyberry off guard. "I mean, we just collected a load of tons of leaves and twigs. They might be using that to create a nest". Pure Vanilla explained. Hollyberry stopped moving to think, looking to her side in thought.
"That wouldn't sense, though. A came with a discovery a few months back and found out that Pitaya is infertile. They aren't able to reproduce and even if he is going to raise an egg, that doesn't explain why they are going out of their way to learn about cookie diets and biology". Hollyberry replied with what she knew. Vanilla only looked down with an oh, looking at his feet in thought. It would've made a little sense if it weren't for Pitaya trying to learn cookie life. Now Vanilla doesn't know much about the Pitaya Dragon, but he knew dragons are a proud species, they tend to not want to learn anything that isn't dragon related. So it is very unlikely that Pitaya wants to learn about cookies, when he still shows how much he despises them.
A drowned out sigh was heard from Hollyberry, putting away her notebook to look directly at Pure Vanilla. "Well that was a great shot, at least we tried. By tomorrow morning, we'll see if we can go to the library and find some books about the Cacao Dragon"! Hollyberry reassured, showing how excited she is to learn more about the Cacao Dragon.
"Cacao"? Pitaya hissed angrily, causing the cookies to flinch and turn around to see the Pitaya Dragon behind them. "Cookies still talk about that wannabe cookie"?! He yelled angrily. Flaring smoke out of his nostrils. But Vanilla completely ignored what they saw and quickly rose to his feet in excitement. Gulping down his fear.
"You know the Cacao Dragon"!? Pure Vanilla yelled with excitement, causing the dragon to narrow his eyebrow and Hollyberry standing with him.
"I don't just know them, I've fought them! And of course I won"! Pitaya yelled, throwing away their angry persona with his pride. Vanilla was absolutely excited to ask them questions about them. But his face seemed to switch back to their angry self, but in a more serious way. Vanilla frowned nervously as Pitaya only peered their sharp eyes at him. Both Hollyberry and him shared confused and hopeful glances, then looking back at Pitaya, who finally started to speak again. "And it seems like you look up to it a whole lot". Pitaya spoke, more quieter, but still sent chills up Vanilla's spine.
"I-I uh, I actually do". Vanilla stammered clearly showing how nervous and scared he is as Pitaya only growled. Hollyberry then stood in front of Vanilla to defend him. But the dragon started to laugh.
"That dragon isn't what they seem! Hell! I wouldn't even be calling it a dragon! They're disloyal! A liar! And a selfish snake"! Pitaya yelled. But he continued with one last sentence that made Vanilla's chest ache.

"That dragon is nothing but a monster"!

Chapter Text

The library was dark as always, the clock ticking midnight. The only light source being Vanilla's favorite lantern. The librarian allowed both Vanilla and Hollyberry to wander the library, if they put everything back together and clean their mess.
Vanilla soothed his fingers on the loose paper of the book he read, stopping to realize the book was nothing helpful. He couldn't stop thinking about Pitaya's words, surely they knew the Cacao Dragon better than anyone else. Their words lurk in the back of his mind, repeating to just accept the truth.
A slam on the table made him flinch, looking to see Hollyberry with a big smile on her face. "Look at what just came in"! She whispered and yelled, showing off a new book that just came into the library. Squinting his eyes to read the cover. 'Origins of Dragons'. Vanilla narrowed an eyebrow and Hollyberry noticed, laughing a little as she sat down next to him. "I asked Golden Cheese to order this book, since it was banned in a few places. She managed to actually achieve it! I also heard this book has a somewhat of an accurate description of the Cacao Dragon"! Hollyberry explained excitedly. Vanilla put Pitaya's words deeper in the back of his head as he also got excited."Really? We should thank her later. How did she get it"? Pure Vanilla questioned. Hollyberry only laughed nervously.
"Well she bought it from an illegal website, still not sure how she even paid for it. Though, let's not focus on that! Let's get reading this book"! Hollyberry laughed, placing the book down in-between her and Vanilla. Flipping to the table of contents page, they found many page numbers of many different dragons. They soon found the Cacao Dragon's page number in between the Fire Spirit Dragon and the Lotus Dragon. Turning to all the pages until they reached for what they are looking for.
Hollyberry lifted the book and looked over at the paragraph and back to Pure Vanilla. "Do you want me to read this out loud to you"? Hollyberry asked, lilting her head to the side.
"Please, do". Vanilla replied, adjusting to his seat and placing his head on his palm. Hollyberry coughed a little before reading the page on the book.
"The Cacao Dragon, gender unknown, is a long dragon that was very known for their loyalty. They are more different from any other Dragon, for they believed that there was more to a cookie than just weak beings. So it wanted to live amongst them and offered them their kindness and generosity. Giving them its heart of gold and placing them in their golden throne. Giving all the cookies all it owned. Soon this only led the cookies to grow more greedy and disloyal, So it grew angrier and furious to see that all the cookies wanted more than the dragon could offer. The Dragon finally lost it. In complete blind rage, a phantom of anger and betrayal, killed those who would not follow their way of loyalty, killing any cookie that dared show their faces to it. Also killing those who were innocent and young. Going berserk to those that left them to rot for trusting those that they believed were kind. Regretting to even trust a cookie in their life, they grew to never trust a cookie again". She slowly finished reading the page. Slowly looking up at Pure Vanilla in question.
Vanilla was in thought, still a few parts missing in the story. He knew not all of the page Hollyberry read to him was accurate. This story also tells that the dragon indeed did something awful. There were innocent cookies, cookies that were still children that fell in the hands of the Dragon's claws. Vanilla didn't want to believe that the dragon just killed innocent cookies and children out of rage or for the fun of it. They were kind, that was what the story his mother told him, that dragon just wanted a friend.
His mind swirled with questions, but Hollyberry placed her hand on his shoulder, making him look up to her. "No need to think so hard about it. I'm also confused and have so many questions in my head". Hollyberry whispered, reassuring Vanilla to not go insane with the many unanswered questions in his head.
Vanilla doesn't believe in violence, they could've sorted everything out with a conversation. Still questioning why the Cacao dragon even dared to kill in the place. Though putting everything aside, Vanilla yawned, completely tired of all his thinking. Hollyberry only chuckled. "Maybe it's best we should head to sleep. Tomorrow's a big day"! She yelped, standing up from her seat, taking the book with her.
"Yeah, we should". Pure Vanilla yawned out, also standing up along with Hollyberry. Tomorrow indeed is a big day. Both planning on heading to the edge of the Giant Icing Ridges again.

Both walking together down the quiet, dark hallways, talking about the trip tomorrow.
"And make sure you have something warm, like a thick coat, or overlaying some sweaters and jackets". Vanilla whispered, explaining Hollyberry what to expect in a frozen terrain.
"Thank you, I'll make sure remage through the closet by tomorrow. I think I do have a jacket or two, maybe a thick coat if I'm lucky". Hollyberry yelped excitedly in a whisper. After speaking that last sentence, Pure Vanilla bumped into something looking at Hollyberry. Both quickly turned to look over at what Vanilla bumped into. Only to see another cookie.
"Wah? Vanilla? Hollyberry? What are you two doing out this late"? The voice was familiar. Vanilla squinting his eyes to see who it was. Only to be met with the familiar magenta eyed.
"White Lily! Hello! Uh-We should be asking you the same thing"! Hollyberry laughed out nervously, Vanilla already feeling the bead of sweat forming on his forehead as White Lily narrowed her eyebrow.
"I woke up to hearing voices down the hallway, only to find you two down here". White Lily spoke, her words hinting that she was annoyed. "What…are you guys doing up so late out of your rooms"? Lily asked sternly. Telling by how slurred her words are, she just woke up to catch both Vanilla and Hollyberry in the act. Eyeing that she was still in her sleep clothing, her hair loose from her braid, and the bags under her eyes, shows that she is more likely to get angry.
"Me and Hollyberry were going for a snack"! Pure Vanilla blurted out nervously.
"At one in the damn morning". She asked angrily.
"Well yes, it was my idea. I just wanted to catch up after Vanilla's incident at the Licorice Sea"! Hollyberry said, cocking her head to the side. Another lie. How good is Hollyberry to make up lies on the spot?
"Y-Yeah! I wanted to see if there was something to help with the pain in my abdomen". Vanilla said, only for Lily to question him.
"Your abdomen is in pain"? Lily questioned. Great, Hollyberry didn't even mention the pain in his stomach.
"W-Well, yeah! We had a small incident back at Dragon's Valley, Haha! You know how clumsy that stupid dragon is"! Hollyberry lied, slightly patting Vanilla's back. But sure enough. White Lily was convinced and sighed.
"Ugh, you guys should head over to your rooms, tomorrow is your journey back to the winter terrain with Hollyberry". She said, more precisely for Vanilla. They both nodded their heads in approval and watched as White Lily was heading back to her dorm. So Vanilla quickly looked over at Hollyberry in question.
"You didn't tell her about the pain in my abdomen"!? He yelled in a whisper. Hollyberry only sighed in relief.
"If I told her about the pain in your abdomen the moment we found you on the border of the winter terrain and that you were at the Icing Ridges, she would forbid you from coming there again". Hollyberry explained, but Vanilla was confused. He was knocked out at the top of the Icing Ridges. How did the rescue team and Hollyberry even find Vanilla far down from the mountain and to the border of the winter terrain?
"Wait a minute, you guys didn't find me on the top of the Icing Ridges"? Vanilla blurted out confusingly, seeking for answers.
"Well, yes. We assumed that you wouldn't make it to the top, so you tried to head out of the winter terrain from risking of getting hypothermia, which you did get". Hollyberry replied, unaware of Vanilla's confused gaze as they walked to their rooms.
"But what makes you think that I walked all the way back down from the mountain and walked all the way to reach the border. The place is far bigger than you think it is". Vanilla protested. But Hollyberry didn't seem to be impressed.
"Well since you're very stubborn, I assumed you took the route from halfway to the mountain to reach the border. It does make sense that I saw the footsteps on the snow leading to your body. So it seemed that you were walking until you couldn't anymore, passing out on the snow". Hollyberry explained. But Vanilla was still confused. He didn't understand anything she said. He was sure he got knocked out at the top of the mountain and didn't move from there since. The footsteps didn't make it any better.
"Well then, we'll talk more about this on the trip tomorrow. See you in the morning". Hollyberry spoke, Vanilla not noticing they arrived at their rooms.
"Ah, yes. Goodnight, Holly". Vanilla replied before going to his room. Letting out a tired sigh as he stood in front of his room. He grabbed the cold knob and opened it and closed it behind him. Heading straight to his bed, wrapping himself with the blue blanket that Golden Cheese somehow hates.
Turning to face the ceiling with tired eyes and swirling thoughts. Vanilla pictured the moment he felt as if he was being dragged. A cookie-like figure who walked on their bare feet on the cold, icy snow. With dark chocolate dough and strong muscle to be able to carry him away. Would it have been them on why Vanilla ended up on the border of the winter terrain?
Still questioning what really happened at the Icing Ridges, vivid memories just seem to finally show up. Looking down at his palm, he remembered the pulsing feeling of the soul jam implanted on the huge sword. The ringing in his ears and soothing sounds of breathing air. The uneasy, yet comforting feeling of something that wasn't the purple soul jam. He knew there was something watching him when he reached the sword. A huge presence, yet could've been a huge ice pillar.
Vanilla turned to the side and hugged the pillow underneath his head a little tighter. Still questioning the figure who somehow moved his unconscious body from the mountain to the border.
But Vanilla was tired, tired of thinking and questioning more likely. Seeming that just questioning something isn't going to help him. He's tired of trying so hard to find the truth, to prove to White Lily, to make her proud. But seeming that doing something he wants to do is only making her mad. His main mission was to research the Licorice Sea, not the Cacao Dragon.
A small, but painful chirn freed him from his thoughts. Too tired to try getting up to grab some painkillers. His eyes finally giving him a favor, were heavily closing to sleep.

Pure Vanilla mentally reminded himself to take the painkillers first thing in the morning.

Chapter Text

All Vanilla ever cared about was doing what is needed, he packed and made sure Hollyberry had the right equipment for the trip to the winter terrain. Never had he thought that he would forget something so simple as taking painkillers. Now he took the consequences and walked with the pain in his legs and his abdomen.
Hollyberry's words just seem to blur as the only thing Vanilla can focus on was the pain and aching. Then feeling the cold winds finally reach his cheeks, he was finally aware of the world around him. "Vanilla, are you ok"? Hollyberry's words rang in his ears, finally aware that she tried to pride him away from his mind and the pain. He let out a little snort as he looked towards his friend.
"I'm fine, Hollyberry. Just forgot to take painkillers this morning". Vanilla huffed out, the steam of fog coming out of his nose and mouth. Feeling the familiar cold breeze and the numbness in his cheeks and nose. Not had Vanilla had forgotten the unbearable freezing cold winds and dark cloudy skies. Though couldn't complain when he noticed Hollyberry shivering. Clearly not used to the cold such as Dragon's Valley where it never snows.
They have been walking and struggling to get through the thick tall snow and the harsh winds that blew from the north. Passing by each familiar chocolate pine tree, memorizing where he left his tent. Only when they were close enough. He was grateful that his nose wasn't running yet, catching the rare scent he encountered weeks ago. "Do you smell that"? Vanilla blurted out, stopping his tracks and Hollyberry who followed after.
"Dearest apologies, but my nose is stuffed. Whatever this smell is, can you describe it to me"? Hollyberry replied, wiping her nose and shivering when a wind flew by. Though Vanilla stopped and thought. The smell was familiar, from when he lost his last granola bar. The scent was dim, as if whatever was making such a bitter smell was here a few hours ago.
"It smells of cacao beans". Vanilla spoke. Looking around through all the tall trees.
"Cacao beans? But they do not grow here, do they"? Hollyberry said, with a rub on her arms as she also looked around for any sign of the smell. Vanilla only shrugged and continued to walk, later seeing what the smell was about. But in the meantime, he wants to get to his tent as soon as they can.

The dark humid skies and winds still did their deed. The temperature is still unbearable. Both cookies managed to get to Vanilla's old tent, making sure to not lure any wild animals who are curious to take a taste. When the tent was fully warm for a cookie's liking, both cookies finally settled in without their thick coats.
"Goodness, never had I thought it would be this cold out here". Hollyberry sighed as she laid on her sleeping bag, clearly sore from the hard walking to the tent. Vanilla laughed as he pulled his lantern in between Hollyberry's and his sleeping bag. Shining both of their faces. Tired of the day, completely walking the whole evening.
Hollyberry being the first to sleep, Vanilla was sitting up from his sleeping bag, eyes towards the plastic bag of the granola wrapper that he had found on the desk by his side.
He still wanted to deny his thoughts of the particular smell. If Vanilla had to be honest, it wasn't a horrible smell, rather pleasing instead. Hugging his legs up towards his chest, he let out a drowned out sigh. He was very grateful to have a presence such as Hollyberry's by his side. Completely thankful to have a friend helping him with his dreams.
Seeing the dark corners of his tent and the roaring sounds of the outside. He finally gave in and wrapped himself in his sleeping bag, joining Hollyberry in the Dreamrealm.

Days flew by and turned to weeks. Both Vanilla and Hollyberry decided to stay in the winter terrain for as long as they wished. Keeping lies and secrets from when White Lily asked and called about their mission. Both helping each other to keep up with the lies and keeping the search of the Cacao Dragon private. Both cookies are still having fun having each other's company and luring off any predators that dared to step any closer to them. Talking and laughing as if they are still children, and Vanilla absolutely loved it. Free from the pain and the worry. That is until today.
Pure Vanilla was crouched down, doing the boring habit of taking samples of the Licorice Sea, keeping an eye of any moving being. Hollyberry also took a sample of her own until she heard a twig snap from behind her. Turning back to see the deep forest of chocolate trees and powdered snow. Seeing as nothing was lurking in there, she grew curious. "I'll be back, Vanilla. Seems like we're being watched by another animal". Hollyberry said as she got from her crouching phase. Only hearing a tired sigh from Vanilla, clearly tired of fighting off monsters and wild animals. She snorted before going off to the deep forest.
Slowly creeping through the tall trees and bushes of chocolate and white powdered sugar. Slowly reaching for her belt to place her hand on top of the pistol she hid behind her thick coat. Being required to take a pistol for each of both cookies for defense.
Hearing the whimpers of a cream wolf from behind the tall bushes. Pulling out her gun to make sure the animal wasn't aggressive. Pushing her way to see the cream wolf in distress, Hollyberry had a clear sight of what was in front of her. The wolf was on the ground, no longer white, but stained scarlet red. The heavings of the wolf's short and wheezy breaths, growls and whimpers of pain. It's eyes seemed to try and pride it's eyes open, seeming as the poor thing was finally seeing the light.
Hollyberry panicked, as she loves animals very much, she ran and dropped to her knees in front of the canine in front of her. Pulling her bag in front of her and pulling out a healing liquid to help the cream wolf's injury. Taking in the sight of its wound. Hollyberry only felt sick of the sight. The wolf's side chest was clawed with deep scars and losing blood. Its white fur was stained with its own internal liquid and pulsing red cracks.
Hollyberry pulled out a cloth and spilled the healing potion on it, then pressed it on the poor animal's wound. But nothing happened. Usually the healing potion works great with wounds as grievous as the wolf in front of her. But the wound did not heal as she watched the red corruption that prevented this wolf to live. Finally smelling the iron scent of blood and cacao beans.

That day brought so many questions for both cookies, Hollyberry explaining to Vanilla about the odd corruption of the wolf's wound. It wasn't a first to Hollyberry that an animal died in her arms, but the cream wolf's death was tragic and mysterious.
Vanilla was still not sure what to do, but he was confused. He had inspected the animal's body and the wound was nothing Vanilla could heal. So he was stuck with his notes and thoughts, all while Hollyberry decided to take a break and fall asleep.
Pure Vanilla didn't know for how long he was up trying to find a reason for the animal's death. It's not everyday you see a bright red corruption preventing a being from being healed.
Then he lifted his head as he felt a weird chill run up his spine. Looking out the exit of his tent, he felt a weird gut feeling. As if something was outside in the dark chocolate forest. His guts pleading and begging to see whatever seems to be lurking in the woods. Turning to see Hollyberry sleeping in her sleeping bag, her chest heaving up and down with each snore.
A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, promising to her for no sacrifices. But his churning guts pleading to see whatever is out there seemed to win his instincts. He sighed, getting up to grab his coat and his pistol and lantern until stopping to look over at Hollyberry's sleeping figure. Guilt started to creep its way to his stomach. "I'm sorry". Vanilla whispered before quickly heading out of his tent and into the cold outside setting.
The dark clouds covered mostly the moon's light, making the forest pitch black. Lighting up his lantern, he made his way through the tall pine trees. Grateful that the snow was bright white, as it's a little easier to see in the night. Whatever his gut churning is leading him, he walked through the thick high snow and passed every familiar chocolate tree he knew. That is when he was hit with a pang of a familiar cacao smell. It was a lot stronger than ever before, plaguing an open field as multiple pine trees surrounded him.
It was dark and Vanilla could hardly see anything. But managed to see the black silhouettes of the tall trees that seem to look down upon him. Stopping his breath, he felt the familiar feeling of being watched. Gripping tightly on his lantern's handle and reaching his hand to pull out his gun.
When he didn't hear anything and the atmosphere wasn't as tense as Vanilla made it. Lowering his guard down and sighed out tiredly and disappointed for even following his guts. He turned around with a huff to head back to his tent, in which would be a disappointing jog. But pretty much that didn't happen. As he felt his legs lose their balance.
In a blink of an eye, Vanilla was quickly pinned to the ground by his neck, letting the holding breath of his lungs escape. Yelling out in pain as he grabbed whatever was pinning him down. Dropping his lantern and pistol on the snow. Feeling a grip of sharp claws tightening around his neck, basically trying to choke him to death. A choke grunt was let out, Vanilla opening his eyes to see his attacker, finding it hard as it was dark, losing his lantern from grips. His vision seemed to darken, knowing full well he was going to pass out. So with a quick choked breath, he lifted his legs and used all his force to kick the figure away from him. Managing to actually kick the figures abdomen, letting out a surprised grunt by Vanilla's strength. Quickly turning around to his knees, Vanilla grabbed into his own neck and choked out wheezing breaths. Not getting a chance to be able to breathe, he felt the heavy weight of the figure jumping on his back and grabbing his neck once again. "You should've been dead the moment you've been on that mountain"! The figure finally spoke, growling as they tightened their grip on Vanilla's neck.
"I-I-urg"! Vanilla choked out, losing his breathing. Opening his eyes to see his pistol from the corner of his eye on the snowy ground. Letting out a growl of his own, he grabbed the figures rough, soft arms and pulled them forward, pushing them off once again. Quickly getting up to reach his pistol, only to turn around by the feeling of the cookie-like figure running up for another attack. Trying to dodge the swipe of its claws, only to end up taking a hit on his shoulder. Vanilla also kicked the figure on the stomach, causing it to fall on the snow. Also falling by the impact, holding his wounded shoulder, looking down at his hand to see scarlet liquid. Feeling the scar lose blood rapidly, staining the beautiful white sheets of snow with his own blood.
Vanilla was in complete shock, never had he ever lost so much blood, the attack managing to rip his coat sleeves and cut real dip into his dough. Lifting his head to look up at his attacker, being able to see those familiar purple, sharp eyes. They seem to walk up to Vanilla, who sat on the snow in pain. Vanilla panicked, not wanting to get hurt again, already had enough with the stinging pain in his shoulder. Trying to push himself away, ending up touching something metallic. Vanilla turned to look down at his pistol. Turning back at the cookie in front of him, just seeming to be standing and darting back to attack Vanilla.
Now Vanilla never wished to use a gun, seeing that the situation he put himself into, he had no other choice but to use it. The problem was that it was dark, finding it hard to try a pin point figure. But Pure Vanilla panicked as he heard the hard footsteps running towards him. So without hesitating, Vanilla grabbed the pistol and pointed it towards where he believed the figure was.

Holding his breath and closing his eyes, he finally pulled the trigger.

Expecting not to hear anything other than the blast of the bullet. He was caught off guard by the sound of the bullet piercing into something and a pained yell and a grunt. Looking to see the bright purple eyes that squinted in pain towards Vanilla. Before letting out a huff, it turned tail and the figure limped away with a trail of its own blood on the white snow.
Now Vanilla being the stubborn cookie he is, he wanted to follow them. Trying to get up, slightly laying his back on a tree trunk. Wincing as he held onto his arm.

Only for his heart to drop to the sound of Hollyberry's voice

Chapter Text

It was dark and it was humid, passing shivering winds and cold sniffles. The sky turned with beautiful purple, pinks and oranges. And the chocolate trees overcast shadows upon the cookies.
Pure Vanilla winced as Hollyberry pulled off his coat sleeves, staining her own hand with his dried up blood. Feeling absolutely humiliating and stupid.
She didn't even bat him in the eye, or even spoke to him after she saw him lying against the tree bark. He knew she was furious and angry to know that Vanilla had gotten himself almost killed again. And for the first time in months, he is finally aware of that stupidity.
Hollyberry continued to pull his inner layers of clothes to inspect the wound. Vanilla stayed as still as could to not provoke her more than she is now. Finally clearly seeing the wound much better, her heart sank as she saw the huge scar mark on Vanilla's shoulder.
The very same red corruption stained at the top of his shoulder to the bottom of the wound. Blood still seems to ooze its way down to Vanilla's elbow. Hollyberry was frozen in place, confused and scared as memories of the poor cream wolf played in her mind.
Vanilla being dazed by the situation, he still managed to see Hollyberry's horrid stare of his shoulder. "What is the matter, Hollyberry"? He choked out, tired of fighting and defending after the mysterious attack.
Hollyberry still owed her voyage of silence as she looked around their surroundings. The sun coming up from the horizon and trees casting so many shadows around them. Hollyberry saw the gun on the snow near Vanilla and turned to look behind. She squinted to see a trail of blood leading deeper into the woods. Then seeing the messed up snow and many footprints, in which it seems as if Vanilla had gotten into a fight. She narrowed her face before finally breaking the silence.
"We have to get you back to your tent immediately". Hollyberry spoke, not her usual happy going voice. Still lingered with anger. So Vanilla didn't protest or say anything when Hollyberry picked him up, bride style.
Guilt crept inside of him, hearing the huffing and breathing of Hollyberry. The sounds of her stepping through the snow and whistles of the wind. Her angered expression that didn't dare look down on Vanilla.
He felt stupid. But I still couldn't understand what had happened earlier. Those bright purple eyes that squinting in pain, he managed to see through that pained expression, that whoever that was…they were scared. They were scared of him when he pulled out his pistol. They were scared that he triggered the bullet. They were scared when it managed to hit them. But what could Vanilla do? They attacked first, was it really something they deserved?

The silence was unbearable. Hollyberry wrapped the last bandage around his stinging wound. Still confused about what was so wrong with it, Hollyberry had examined it first before wrapping it in a warm, wet cloth to clean the dry blood and dirt. So when Vanilla had the chance to look over at his shoulder, his own mind went blank.
The same corruption of the cream wolf Hollyberry had found was implanted on his dough. The corruption that not even Vanilla's magic was able to heal. It stung so bad, and it swelled to the point that not even an ice bag can cool it down. Hollyberry did everything she could to heal and even Pure Vanilla tried to self heal, but nothing made the sting and swelling go away. Still in horrible pain of his shoulder, he stared off to Hollyberry's table. Seeing a single freesia laying there. Vanilla only narrowed his face.
Then time flies just as fast that not even Vanilla couldn't keep track of. Hollyberry still seemed to be mad at him, but that didn't stop her from facing him with worry. So when they thought the time was right to speak things out, the ringing tone of Vanilla's laptop went off. Seeing that the laptop shows off light in the tent and White Lily's contact picture popped up. It was now or never that Vanilla had to speak about an issue they encountered.
"Hello, Vanilla. How's thing going"? Her voice spoke. White Lily in her usual clothing, staring up and down on the camera to Vanilla. Pure Vanilla didn’t say anything. Already seeing that she understood what had happened. With Vanilla with tired eyes, his shoulder in red bandages and an angry Hollyberry in the background. "I see that you guys haven't had a good day today". Lily said, eyeing at Hollyberry specifically.
"You can say that". Hollyberry replied angrily, arms crossed.
"Well…is the damage on Vanilla's arm related to the cream wolf"? White Lily questioned, earning a narrowed eyebrow from Vanilla.
"Yes…it is". Hollyberry whispered, but managed to be heard from both the other cookies. A sigh was heard from the other line, all while Vanilla was confused. Seems as if Hollyberry had spoken about the infection of the cream wolf to her already. But then her sharp gaze landed on Vanilla again.
"So Vanilla…did you see what attacked you"? Lily questioned, also earning Hollyberry's attention. Vanilla only gulped nervously as the gaze of both women only carved holes on his dough.
"N-No, it was far too dark out to see what it was…but I believe it was a cookie like figure who attacked me…or so it felt like it". Vanilla explained, but did not get a reply, only a sigh. He was nervous as Lily noted something in a paper and looked back up to the screen.
"Seems like this was not the first time some cookie was attacked with this mysterious infection". White Lily said, with seriousness in her tone and face. "We can no longer ideal with keeping this thing around. It has only caused a lot of deaths and injuries". She explained.
"A-And what do you suggest doing"? Vanilla questioned, feeling the eyes of Hollyberry burning on the back of his head. White Lily only frowned, but slightly smiled.
"By killing whatever is causing such fear and destruction". Lily replied. Being happy about her idea herself, but Vanilla couldn't approve of it at all. But Lily only continued to speak. "And since you are the only one who has somewhat seen what this thing is, I'll be instructing you to go find it…and end it". Vanilla only went eye wide as he stared at Lily in disbelief, even hearing a small gasp from Hollyberry.
"What!? You know I can't kill anything! It's against my will"! Vanilla yelled.
"Sure, but at some point, you have to". White Lily replied calmly, unbothered by Vanilla's panicking state.
"B-But…I don't know how". He yelped, gripping his hands on the wooden table. Lily only smiled.

"Best way to kill a cookie-like figure is to point a gun to its head".

Those words had stuck in his head for hours, not sure how to get rid of them. It wasn't fair that White Lily instructed Hollyberry to go back to the academy for supplies, all while Vanilla is out here hunting a cookie.
He and Hollyberry did exchange a few words before leaving, but her words still lingered with worry and sadness. He knew she wanted to talk to him again, but how can he blame her? He broke a promise like everything that he has done with his life. She has every right to be mad at him.
Being hit by the cold wind broke him away from his mind. Looking down to see the same blood trail from yesterday. Finding it a bit surprising that the red snow was not yet buried by the newly made snow. Gripping his pistol on his side, and letting out a shaky sigh. He walked and followed the blood trail into the deeper woods of the winter terrain.
Unfamiliar chocolate trees had passed by him, hoping that it wouldn't snow as much to be able to follow the blood trail back to the empty spot. If so he finishes his deed. Following the blood only led far more deeper into the forest from what Vanilla thought he would. Seeing a small clearing of almost a bunch of trees, he was sure he finally arrived.
Vanilla's heart sank at the sight of a breathing figure, almost buried in the white snow that still surrounds it with crimson blood. The trail leading to the hard breathing of a cookie-like figure, he was aware he finally arrived.
Pulling out his gun, making it click, and pointing it towards the cookie in the snow. The clicking and the sound of the gun startled the cookie as they looked up in shock. Vanilla was awestruck.
This "cookie" was beautiful. Apart from its messed up state and the bloody gash on the side of its stomach. They had void black, long hair. The same piercing purple eyes, and a white streak on its hair. The streak finally made him aware of what he was looking at. This was no cookie, telling by the face marks, the horns, and the long tail on their back. There is no doubt that this figure is in fact a dragon in its "cookie form". But not just any dragon, he was face to face with none other than Cacao Dragon. Telling of tinkering of the air had got with the familiar scent of cacao beans.
Vanilla was in complete shock, seeing that he has a gun pointed towards their head and while they are in full alarm and in pain. He was faced with the dragon he sees in his dreams, in books and horror children stories. He was faced with the dragon he was seeking for almost the end of his immortality. And yet, he still points the gun at them.
They showed fear as they tucked their tail around themselves and their eyes sharpen at the gun pointing at them. Tightening their grip of their gun wound, that had Vanilla managed to shoot them at.
Vanilla had gone so far to his research, only for it to end this. He wants to approve to White Lily. If he kills the attacker of the many cookies around the winter terrain, she will finally listen to him, and finally see that he was right all along. Feeling his own finger linger dangerously close to the trigger, the gun perfectly pointed to the Dragon's head. But then the dragon only relaxed and closed their eyes. Finally accepting death as it was just a pull a trigger away. And it only made Vanilla wonder why.
Dragons are strong, proud species. They devote themselves a lot to their culture and their ways of survival. Yet this dragon in front of him just seemed to finally give up.
Vanilla couldn't do it.
He couldn't kill if it meant for the good.
Just watching as this dragon was waiting for him to pull the trigger.
And he did.
But not towards their head, but to the ground.
The sound of the bullet hitting the ground made the dragon flinch as they quickly stared at the cookie who had the gun pointed to the ground. Vanilla's eyes pricked with tears as he tried to hold back a sob. The Dragon in front of him was in pain because of him. Vanilla found it unfair that he had to kill them when they were vulnerable.
Choking back his sobs and cries, he stepped closer to the injured dragon, but they grew very tense each step he took.
"Get away from me"! They hissed, raspy with pain and dehydration. They are losing a lot of blood, Vanilla found it surprising that the dragon has lived very long with blood loss.
"I just want to help you". Vanilla whispered, just only for the dragon to hear as he took his steps. But the dragon wasn't amused. They started to back away with their legs, paining grunts from their wounds each time they tried to push themselves away from Vanilla. Only to fail. "I don't want to hurt you". He whispered again, seeing like he was trying to approach a scared cat. Reaching slowly with his hand to try and heal the wound. Hearing their rapid breaths of the dragon, until they couldn't anymore. Letting out a loud growl and lifting their claws to Vanilla's face.
"I do not need help from a mere cookie such as yourself"!! They yelled, Vanilla backing away as he was hit in the face, the familiar stinging pain from his shoulder to his cheek now. Stupid to think the dragon was going to let him help them so easily.
Holding his new scar in pain as watched the dragon painfully get up and start to limp away. Looking back to Vanilla with beautiful sharp eyes one last time before disappearing into the shadows of the lingering overcast of the trees and bushes.
Vanilla fell to his knees as his cheek burned in pain, but was more awestruck than shocked. He had met the dragon with his own eyes. The Cacao Dragon was very much real. But worry only crept inside Vanilla as the dragon was losing blood and more likely in pain. He wished to tell Hollyberry and White Lily of his discovery for the first time in years.

But for now, he'll keep this encounter a secret…

Chapter Text

Hollyberry could never be mad at Pure Vanilla for the rest of her immortality. But she can't help being furious with the other cookie.
She just came from the Academy, only to see the same scar mark from his shoulder to his cheek. Vanilla just told her that he tried to kill whatever was out there that was causing mayhem, but couldn't manage to shoot, earning the scar on his cheek. Though he didn't do anything right after.
They stayed in awkward silence as Hollyberry was cleaning his cheek. Her face was an unreadable expression, only completely focused on bandaging his cheek. Vanilla was not sure if she's mad or worried. But he kept his mouth shut.
While Hollyberry did her deed, Vanilla's mind went back to the Cacao Dragon. He couldn't get over how pretty the dragon was. They weren't like every other Dragon in their cookie forms, Vanilla could say a lot more basic than the others. Regardless, they were beautiful.
He never forgot how gorgeous their eyes are, the beautiful color of purple and sharp pupils. They're hair was sleek, messy and long with its signature white streak.
Vanilla's mind was all over the place as he thought of the winter dragon, he didn't hear Hollyberry talking to him. "Vanilla"! But sure, he heard her yell in his ear. Finally focused on the pink eyes in front of him. Hollyberry only sighed. "I'm sorry, Vanilla. I just wanted to apologize for the reaction". She spoke, finally having a face of emotion.
"Oh no, don't apologize, this was all on me. I should be the one to apologize since I broke that one promise to you". Vanilla reassured, happy to be able to speak to his dear friend again. But Hollyberry frowned.
"It's just that…back in Academy. White Lily spoke to me about going back to Dragon's Valley to continue the research on the Pitaya Dragon". Hollyberry spoke, putting away a few pieces of equipment as she spoke. Vanilla was only speechless. "I have no other choice but to go back". She spoke again.
"B-But…I can't do this alone"! Vanilla yelled, trying so hard to hold back his tears of the thought of being alone again. Hollyberry had done so much for him, only for White Lily to just send her back. Vanilla was completely on his last nerve about White Lily.
"I'm sorry, Vanilla. But I'm sure The Pitaya Dragon is questioning where I have been". She continued on, rubbing her strong arms against Vanilla's slim ones. Vanilla was only speechless, now knowing that he has to do his research on the Cacao Dragon by himself. "I had a lot of fun these past few months, I just want you to understand to be less reckless and more careful, now that I won't be here for you". Hollyberry spoke, raising her arms with Vanilla's, who was saddened by her farewell. "But don't worry Vanilla, I'll come visit in a week or two". She smiled.
Her last sentence really did make him feel better, knowing that she will come visit when the time is right. But he couldn't help but feel angry with White Lily. Sure hate is a strong word, but she seems as if she knows what both Vanilla and Hollyberry have been doing. She's as stubborn as how she presumes that Vanilla has been.
The farewell was saddening, but Vanilla knew at some point that they had to go their separate ways. Watching the pink silhouette of Hollyberry's form, she disappeared in the mist and fog of today's weather in the winter terrain.
Being in his tent without her was loudly silent, without a complaint or a joke from her in the atmosphere. Turning to see the empty desk that was presumed to be Hollyberry's. He saw the freesia that was left behind. Holding onto the yellow flower in his shivering hands. The feeling of the soft petals on his fingertips, he comes to question where this beautiful flower came from.
Then his mind came back to the dragon once again. With their beautiful appearance and the injuries that are occurring with them at the moment. Vanilla started to grow worried. His mind was all over the place. He was angry, worried, sad, maybe even confused. But he hadn't realized he was heading to the dark, chocolate forest once again. He hadn't even felt from when he put on his thick coat.
Pure Vanilla was desperate to help this dragon, especially when this dragon was the only thing that held Vanilla's heart. Seeing that the blood trail had gone permanently, deeply buried in the new white snow. Yet Vanilla remembered the path. He knew the dragon wouldn't walk off too far, especially with the gun wound near their abdomen.
He continued to sprint his way to find the dragon, with his cheek that swollen in pain, burning and stinging as he continued to run. Then he picked up the scent of cacao beans. He smiled as he knew they were close. Hearing the ragged breaths of a creature in distress, he caught sight of the beautiful silhouette of black hair.
Slowing down his own breath, Vanilla stopped his jogging and stared down at the poor thing that curled near the shadow of a chocolate tree, holding tightly onto their abdomen as they cried out in pain. Their eyes were closed, not yet to notice the cookie in front of them. Vanilla did not do anything, he didn't want to startle the dragon into scratching him and running off again.
Vanilla wasn't stupid, he knew constant was an important thing to understand if he wants to be friends with the dragon in front of him. So he sat down and waited for the dragon to notice him.
It didn't take long for the Cacao dragon to scent his appearance as it peered its slit eyes towards Vanilla. Finally coming to be defensive as they backed their head onto the tree bark. "W-Why are you coming back". It managed to growl out, telling by their voice, they seemed to be in great pain.
"I just want to help". Vanilla whispered, making sure he had his hands on his laps, showing the dragon that he wasn't going to do anything without the Dragon's telling. They continued to stare at the cookie up and down in a defensive way. But they growled in return.
"I do not need help from a helpless cookie"! They snapped, holding tightly on their bloody side. Vanilla only smiled sadly.
"Then I'll be back tomorrow to check up on you". Vanilla said, the sentence only made the dragon stare at him in confusion. Vanilla waved off as he threw a granola bar on the white snow near the dragon, causing them to flinch as they stared at the bar in front of them.

As Vanilla promised, he did come back with newly wrapped granola bars in his pocket. Sure the dragon did change their position somehow. But Vanilla didn’t stop and found them laying on a fallen tree trunk. They noticed his footsteps as they stared off angrily at him, but continued to stare off in the open.
Vanilla sat back down on the cold snow, unwrapping a granola bar for himself and started eating. Sitting in silence as winds blew by and hearing the ragged breaths of the dragon in front of him. Their wheezy breaths just seem to get even more frequently each passing hour. His eyelids closing and opening each passing minute. They seemed to finally give up as they noticed their breathing shortening every minute. They stared at the cookie in front of them as he ate his granola bar in worry. Hoping that dragon realizes that it needs his help. So they finally gave in.
"Urg…just do whatever you want". It came as a whisper, but Vanilla clearly heard them. He never dropped his granola bar so quickly in his life as he placed his bag on the snow. Pulling out strapped bandages and another granola bar.
The Dragon only became tense from the sudden reaction. Watching as Vanilla was walking slowly towards them. Crouching to his knees as he was finally in front of their wound. "...I need you to uncurl yourself". Vanilla said, as slowly as he could. The Dragon didn't move at first, a face of untrust written all over it. But as a few minutes passed by, the Dragon uncurled itself slowly. Unsure if they wanted to and feeling the wound throb in pain as they moved.
Vanilla sighed as he slowly brought his hands towards the dried, bloody wound on the Dragon's chocolate dough. Finally feeling the touch of the wound, making the dragon flinch and groan by the contact. Seeing his own hands glow and slowly healed the wound and the dragon feeling the magic running in their veins.
As time went on, Vanilla pulled away his hands. Grabbing the strapped bandages from the snow and carefully trying to wrap them around the Dragon's torso. Happy to see that the dragon was breathing more clearly than before as their eyes rested and stared off into the woods.
Vanilla smiled as he successfully wrapped bandages around their waist. But Vanilla was saddened that the wound still won't heal as quickly as he wanted it too. His healing magic isn't as advanced as he wished it was. Wishing that he knew and practiced more on his healing then paying more attention to his research. Who knows how their wound will be fully healed. But at least the magic stopped the growing pain and ragged breaths.
"Dearest apologies…but my magic isn't all advanced to completely heal your wound. At least it stopped the growing pain". Vanilla tried to reassure them, but the dragon could care less to listen to the cookie beside them. Vanilla only sighed as he sat down next to them and picked up the remaining granola bar.
He unwrapped it and slowly tried to hand it over to the dragon, who finally decided to look at him in confusion. Staring at the bar and then to Vanilla. "You should eat". Vanilla spoke, reaching his hand with the bar and patiently waiting for the dragon to grab it. But they only started. Vanilla doesn't know for how long, but the dragon finally hesitates to grab the bar from Vanilla arms. They snatched it away and started eating the bitter chocolate, granola bar. Eyeing Vanilla with their angry stare as they munched on the food.

Vanilla and the Cacao Dragon stayed for a few hours in silence, while Vanilla and them only starred in the open chocolate woods. Vanilla desperately wanted to speak to them, but also didn't want to startle them. So he kept it simple. "You're pretty". Well ok, that really wasn't what Vanilla wanted to say, but the dragon did look at him in confusion. So Vanilla continued. "W-Well, I mean, you're gorgeous, maybe even beautiful". Vanilla stammered, hating how his mind is speaking for itself. But the dragon only continued to stare at him sternly. Then they opened their mouths to speak. "What are you talking about"? The Dragon spoke, with their raspy and deep voice.
Never had Vanilla's heart broken so quickly in his life as he stared at the dragon. One thing he knew about them is that they are delusional. "I-I'm talking about how good looking you are"! Vanilla said as simply as he could. And maybe he did make the dragon understand as they just stared at him hesitantly. Then they quickly looked away. "Well, you're ugly"! They growled. Facing their back towards Vanilla as their tail twitched in frustration. Vanilla only laughed. Watching as the sky turned in a beautiful color of orange and red, and gray clouds that loomed over the sky. Vanilla slightly frowned, sighing as he finally got to his feet. Staring down at the dragon on the snow.
"I'll see you tomorrow". Vanilla said. Only for the dragon to ignore him as they continued to face their back towards Vanilla.
Being back in his tent was as lonely as he imagined, but the thought of being friends with the dragon he has always wanted to meet, sent a spark in heart.

He'll do whatever it takes to be friends with the Cacao Dragon.

Chapter Text

The weather was as cold as the ordinary, raining its usual forever lasting snow. Pure Vanilla hummed as he stepped on the snow and watched every familiar tree that had passed by. Patting his bag that consisted of any useful materials and two milk chocolate granola bars. Hoping the dragon wouldn't mind the change of flavor.
He came to a stop the last time he saw the dragon, the fallen tree trunk. But yet again, they disappeared into another location. Vanilla only huffed as he smelled and saw the footprints of where the dragon would've gone. Seriously, Vanilla is growing to love the snow and how helpful it was to him to track down the dragon. So he started to follow the trail.
It's been a few minutes when he found them next to a few boulders covered in thick snow. They seemed as if they walked for so long that their feet decided to give out on them. The Dragon did eventually sense Vanilla's presence and growled under their breath. "Hey, I'm back"! Vanilla yelped excitedly as he watched them uncurl themselves to lay their back on the rock. Completely annoyed by Vanilla's presence.
Vanilla sat down beside them almost touching shoulders if it weren't for the dragon to scoot further away from him. Going through his bag, he pulled out both of the sweet granola bars. Grabbing his own, he reached over to give the other to the dragon, who starred again for a long period of time before snatching it out of Vanilla's hands.
Vanilla silently ate as he watched the dragon unwrap the granola bar and take a bite. But what he didn’t expect was for the dragon to groan and spit it out. "Urg! What the- what did you put in this"! The Dragon yelled, throwing the bar on cold snow as they stared deeply and angrily at Vanilla. He only starred in both confusion and fear.
"I-I didn't put anything in it. It was just a different flavor". Vanilla stammered.
"Well I don't like sweet things"! They yelled, then turned their back once again towards Vanilla. The tip of their tail twitches as they are annoyed. That was something Vanilla found interesting in them. Their tail acts like one of a cat's. It's something Vanilla pays very much attention to, as their tail indicates how they are feeling.
"I'll make sure to bring more bitter treats next then". Vanilla smiled, mentally telling himself to not forget to write down the new information he found out of the Cacao Dragon. Their tail did stop twitching as they peered their purple eyes towards Vanilla, both in confusion and anger. Then turning back to the open of the chocolate woods.
"Why do you keep coming back"? They growled, wrapping their arms around themselves. Vanilla knew this was not the first time they asked, but this time he was taken aback. Remembering the words that Hollyberry had told him about keeping him as a researcher a secret to prevent them from being weirded out.
"I just wanted to get to know you. You don't see a dragon from folklore stories everyday". Vanilla spoke, hoping that the dragon fell for the lie. But they decided to ignore him again. What Vanilla saw that was saddening, was the dragon couldn't turn to their dragon form. Hollyberry had told him that Dragons need high amounts of energy to be able to turn to their original forms. Then seeing the Cacao Dragon all injured and not being able to turn to their original form to leave. Vanilla wondered what their original form looked like.
They stood in silence once again, watching and hearing the chirps of animals and whatever lurks in the forest. Vanilla had to be honest, even if the dragon ignores him most of the time, Vanilla doesn't feel as lonely as when he was back in his tent. Having the presence of the dragon was very comforting to say the least.

And so the fifth day went by, doing the same routine as every sunrise. Going to meet with the dragon in different locations and giving them bitter chocolate granola bars. They then stopped moving around on the sixth day, seeing that there's no way to get rid of the cookie.
It was the eighth day as Vanilla arrived at their usual meet up with the Cacao Dragon. But was taken aback to see no figure laying on the snow. Looking around to see where the dragon could've gone, but flinched as he heard a twig snap behind him. Turning around to see the black figure of the dragon, who was holding a dead deer in their arms. They both stared at each other for a moment before the dragon started limping towards Vanilla and dropped the corpse of the deer in the white snow. Staining it with deer blood.
"Eat". They simply said pointing their clawed, blooded finger to the body. Vanilla only gulped nervously as he stared at the body of a deer. The poor thing, but what could Vanilla do, this was nature.
"Uhm, I'm not hungry". Vanilla said, rubbing his arm nervously. The Dragon only narrowed an eyebrow and cocked their head to look at Vanilla from foot to head.
"Eat". This time it was more sturn, as if the dragon wasn't asking, more of a command.
"No seriously, I'm fine with the granola bars". Vanilla laughed off, showing the bar to the dragon in front. But they growled.
"I'm getting tired of whatever those things are, and maybe you should too"! They blurted out. "You look too skinny". Well that did hurt just a tad bit. Their eyes pierced through his skull as they were waiting for him to take a bite of the deer on the ground. If Pure Vanilla wanted to prove this dragon that they can trust him, then maybe a few bites of raw flesh can tell otherwise. How bad can raw deer meat be?
"F-Fine, just a few bites". He replied, seeming to finally satisfy the dragon as they calmed their eyes from staring at Vanilla. "Sooo…what part should you recommend for me"? Vanilla said, not wanting to look at the dead body below him. The Dragon looked down at the deer in thought before crouching down and ripped a part of meat from near its ribs. Vanilla was sure he was going to be sick by the sound of ripping flesh.
The Dragon then stood up and reached over to hand off the piece of meat to Vanilla. Hesitantly reaching his own arms to grab the meat as he touched the warm flesh and the blood that started to leak its way to his elbow.
Oh how much he wanted to tell the dragon that cookies don't eat raw flesh. Maybe it was just to show off to the dragon that they can count on him. He just didn't like the fact it was still warm and bloody.
Vanilla could only stare and ponder if he should really eat it. He felt the eyes of the dragon that waited for him to take a bite of his food. So Vanilla gulped down his dry mouth and opened his mouth to take a bite. The blood stained his lips and mouth, munching onto the fleshy chewy meat. Tears went up from his eyelids at how horrid it tasted. "Why are you crying"? The Dragon spoke. Vanilla nervously chewed, trying too hard to control himself from gagging.
"Tears of joy". Vanilla's voice came out muffled, doing his best not to make a gagging sound. Laughing it off as he begged his throat to just swallow the raw meat that was still covered in warm blood. Then the dragon finally decided to dig in. More ripping sounds of flesh only made it even harder for him to swallow. Feeling his own body trying to throw out the remains he managed to swallow right back to his throat. It was like chewing a gummy bear that has been left in the sun all day, yet it did not taste great, a taste of iron and warm raw meat.
The Dragon bit down its own piece of meat in content, unbothered how awful the texture of the raw flesh was. They seem to notice the weird body language Vanilla was doing, it also seems like he was going to be sick. "If you don't like it, just say it". They growled, angrily but more annoyed. Tail twitching as Vanilla forced himself to take another bite.
"N-No, its, urg-d-delicious"! Vanilla gagged, closing his mouth with his bloody hand to stop the food from coming out.
"You're going to throw up". They spoke, scooting a bit further away in case Vanilla did throw his guts on the snow. Vanilla tried to open his mouth to protest, until he suddenly felt his mouth start to water and his stomach churned for the need to bend over. That was when knew for a fact that he was going to throw up.
Choking down the stomach acid that started coming to his mouth. Vanilla quickly ran off to a nearby bush as he finally let loose of the tension in his stomach, releasing the horrid raw meat and warm blood into the bush. Feeling the horrible taste of the aftermath of stomach acid and the remaining taste of raw deer meat. Smelling the horrible scent of his own stomach. All while the Cacao Dragon stared at the cookie who released his insides in surprise and disgust. Not wanting to eat his bit anymore. Staring as Vanilla finally finished with his business, walking up to the dragon in shame. But the dragon only scoffed. "You cookies are weak". They spoke before picking up the remains of the deer and shoved it further in the woods for other predators to eat.
Vanilla hung his head low in embarrassment and mumbling a 'sorry' to the dragon. But they ignored what Vanilla had said. Instead they gestured their head towards the chocolate woods, signalling Vanilla to follow them. Vanilla didn't want to upset them more than he already had, so he followed after them.
Vanilla walked and watched how the dragon struggled to move with their pained abdomen. Limping with every step they took, but they continued with a normal pace in their footing on the snow. The clearing had become more clear as Vanilla saw up ahead was a small frozen lake. Watching as the dragon stepped foot on the thick ice and started stomping it until it broke underneath their bare feet.
Just watching as the dragon's bare foot touches the icy cold water only made Vanilla shiver. "Drink". They gestured with their tail, looking down at the cracked ice and the water that silently flowed. Vanilla was desperate to get rid of the taste out of his mouth, so he did not complain. Trying not to slip in the thick ice, he crouched down to a get a handful of icy cold water and a drank it to get rid of the horrid taste the lingered in his mouth. Tasted awful, but Vanilla was grateful their even is water.
Wetting most of his mouth and chin as he drank, the water eventually crossed its way towards Vanilla bandaged cheek. The feeling of the scar's sting made him stop drinking. Seeing that he had enough. Looking up to the sky as the grey clouds started to darken more with purple and orange hues. And seeing the sun set far behind the Icing Ridges. Who the dragon stared off to. Seeing as the Icing Ridges are still higher than before.
The Dragon had noticed the change in the sky's color as they turned with a flick of their tail. "You should leave". They trailed off, seeing that the sun will set, the cookie bothering them with finally leave them alone. Vanilla laughed silently.
"Sorry about earlier". Vanilla turned to look over at the dragon, he frowned as they continued to limp away. Ignoring Vanilla once again. Vanilla fiddled with his hands. "And thank you for the deer"! He yelled as he saw the dragon disappear deep into the forest. Not sure if they heard him.

Pure Vanilla sighed as he finally finished the last sentence. Putting down his pen on the wooden desk, he let out a groan. He's not so sure he had any progress on making friends with the dragon. Vanilla wasn't even sure if the dragon offered the deer was an act of kindness, more like pity.
But he won't stop, he's gone so far into this, it's a waste if he stopped here.
Turning to look at his supplies of food, he went over all the treats he thinks are bitter.

Maybe the dragon would like bittersweet chocolate.

Chapter Text

A new day has come to the horizon, the skies snowing as the usual day in the winter terrain. Chills ran down Vanilla's spine as winds blew as the ordinary. Still keeping a smile on his face as the day will continue going on.
Catching sight of the Dragon's tail, he waved his hands in the air. "Hey"! He yelled out to the dragon, flinching in return as they looked over their shoulder with a groan. "Missed me"? Vanilla asked, sarcastically.
"No". They grumbled under their breath as they held a dead rabbit in their arms. Squinting their eyes towards something in the chocolate woods.
"Well I did miss you. I brought a chocolate bar! I thought maybe you'd like it"! Vanilla said, handing off the chocolate bar towards the Dragon's claws. Dropping the rabbit on the white snow, they gripped the wrapper and snatched it away from Vanilla.
Still eyeing something from afar, they unwrapped the bar and munched on it. Not looking away from the woods until their eyes dilated and their posture stiffened. Their tail hung low almost between their legs as their hair stood on end, slightly puffing up, as well as their tail fur. Now Vanilla was concerned. "We have to go". Said the dragon, tail hung low with a puffed up tail tip. They started walking the opposite way of where they saw something in the woods. Vanilla was absolutely terrified.
"I-wah…what did you see"!? Vanilla whispered, jogging his way to catch up to the dragon. But the dragon only ignored him. They continued to slightly limp away from whatever they saw in the forest and Vanilla trying to catch up. "Please tell me what you saw". Vanilla pleaded, eyeing how their tail dragged on the snow to cover away the Dragon's footprints. How clever.
But they narrowed their purple eyes. Even from the fatal injury in their abdomen, they still seem to walk faster than Vanilla. "A cookie". They spoke, a hint of anger and fear in their voice of a mention of a cookie. Vanilla was taken aback, why would a cookie be here. So he stopped his tracks, also stopping the dragon as they stared in confusion.
"Wait, I'll go see whoever is out there. You don't have to go". Vanilla spoke. The Dragon only narrowed their eyes, scoffed and continued to walk away. Leaving from Vanilla's sight, yet he only sighed and started walking the opposite side.

Walking until he heard the footsteps and crunching of twigs and snow, he quickly tried to investigate. Seeing the pink silhouette of a very familiar figure. "Hollyberry"!? Vanilla yelled, exposing himself from his hiding spot behind a tree. Baffled to see his friend again.
"Vanilla"! Hollyberry flinched out, not expecting Vanilla to poke out of nowhere. Running up to each other for a hug and feeling each other's body warmth.
"Ah, I missed you, Holly"! Vanilla squinted at how tight Hollyberry was hugging him.
"And I missed ya too, Vanilla"! Hollyberry yelled out, tightening her grip a little more tighter. Vanilla desperately tapped her shoulder so he could breathe. "Wow Vanilla! Has it really been that long? You smell like a new man". Hollyberry said, pulling from the suffocating hug. This only left Vanilla confused.
"What do you mean"? He questioned, trying to smell his own clothing.
"Well you smell like…chocolate…bitter chocolate, like cacao beans more likely". She explained. Vanilla felt nervous and tried to smell it off, but couldn't get the smell in his nose. Had he really gotten so used to the smell of dragon that he couldn't smell it anymore? Maybe being around the dragon for so long made him smell like them and forget the scent.
"Oh I don't smell anything, maybe it was the distance". Vanilla tried to brush off.
"Hm…from what I remember, you are made out of vanilla-or was it vanilla extract"? Hollyberry questioned, tapping her cheek slightly.
"Hehe, maybe both". Vanilla replied with a small laugh. Both leaving out the smell topic. "Anyway, what are you even doing here in the middle of the forest". Hollyberry asked, looking around at every chocolate pine tree. A bead of sweat and a nervous gulp from Vanilla.
"Eh, just walking around, getting some fresh air you know". He nervously lied, also looking at the gray sky.
"That is very unlike you? Have you been doing this often"? She replied with concern, eyeing from the sky to Vanilla's heterochromia eyes.
"Ah, well-yes, I have. I just thought having a walk would clear things up in my mind". Vanilla smiled, fearing that Hollyberry could see through his lies. But she took it.
"Well it's great you're doing other things than being cooped up in your tent all day"! She laughed, patting his back with her strong arms. Almost making Vanilla almost fall.
They continued to speak almost the whole afternoon, Vanilla's worry for the dragon only grew with each passing minute. He was worried about where they went, or if they even were coming back. "You ok"? Hollyberry's voice broke him from his mind, he was realizing he was looking at the woods with worry.
"Oh nothing, just worried an animal might jump us"! Vanilla laughed nervously, rubbing his arm with warmth from the chilling winds. He wasn't sure if should really tell Hollyberry about the Cacao Dragon. How would she truly react? Confused? Angry? Or would she just tell him he was delusional. He wasn't really sure.
"Then we should head back to your tent, I'm sure you're cold". Hollyberry said, eyeing the sky. Vanilla had also noticed the sky darken, the hues of purple and orange once again tainted with the gray clouds. He sadly sighed, there goes his time with the dragon.

Another day and another horizon. Hollyberry was first to wake from her slumber on a sleeping bag, watching as Vanilla was snoring away. Getting up from the ground, her stomach growled with hunger. Looking to see if Vanilla had any food supplies.
Vanilla had then woken up at the hearing of crunching, yawning and stretching from his bed, he looked to see Hollyberry eating a chocolate bar. "Ah, Vanilla! You're awake, you don't mind if I'm eating a chocolate bar from your casket"? Hollyberry asked. "I was pretty hungry". Vanilla only laughed out tired, stretching his way from his sleeping bag.
"Oh no, I don’t mind". He yawned out. Hollyberry only smiled.

The day went by and Vanilla was desperate to see the dragon again. But felt nervous on how Hollyberry would react to him finding a dragon that was proven to be false. But she is a friend, he was sure she should understand.
"Hey Hollyberry, you wouldn't mind if I showed you something"? Vanilla asked as he walked on the cold snow and winds blew nicely on his face.
"Absolutely"! Hollyberry replied, a smile on her face showed that he didn't have to fear anything.
He led her to the usual spot where the dragon and him usually hang out, saddened that the dragon wasn't near. Perhaps they sensed Hollyberry's presence. But this only confused Hollyberry.
"Sorry…I'm sure it's somewhere around here". Vanilla spoke. "I'll go see if I can find them". He said before going off in the woods to find whatever Hollyberry thought was the thing he wanted to show her. Vanilla disappearing from Hollyberry's sight, she only stared around the open spot, trees circling around her. That is until she heard a twig snap, she quickly turned to the sound. Where the woods only seem to be endless, seeing the tree's shadows cast darkness in them. She was only confused.
Hearing dragging and footsteps on the snow, she was alert to put a hand over her gun on her belt. It could be a wild animal. But to her surprise, it wasn't an animal. Emerging from the shadows and bushes, a beautiful man(or woman, Hollyberry couldn't tell) dragged out a dead animal in their claws, back turned against her. She stood as still as she could, noticing the abnormality of this "cookie". The horns, the tail, the shoulder markings and the long hair, she knew this wasn't a cookie.
And whatever the figure was, they seemed to notice her presence and turned around to look over at her. Bright purple eyes only dilated at the sight of her, their tail hung low, hair puffed up at the woman in front of them. They had thought that Vanilla was her, seeming as if his smell had covered Hollyberry's presence to them. They also stood as still as they could. Both staring at each other in both fear and shock.
Hollyberry was scared, not she would ever admit to anyone, but whatever was staring at her freaked her out. Inching her hand to the pistol on her belt. Which seemed to make the dragon notice what she was trying to do, they quickly tried to turn and run, but their luck only seeed hate them when he felt a cramp on his abdomen and fell on the snow with a grunt.
Hollyberry pointed her gun towards the figure, inching her way towards them. "Hollyberry wait"!! Vanilla's voice cut through the atmosphere, turning to see her friend running his way towards her, fear written in his face. Quickly running himself in between both the figure and Hollyberry. "Do not shoot, their with me"! Vanilla yelled in panic, lowering her gun with his finger. Now Hollyberry was even more confused, seeing behind him was the dragon painfully trying to pride themselves up from the snow. Fiery eyes turning to both cookies, growling and breathing rapidly under their breath.
"So this was your stupid plan all along, you pesky cookie"!? They yelled, voices hoarse with anger and a tint of fear. Slowly and painfully standing up, a tail tucked between their legs and hair that seemed to puff up more in anger. "Bringing another cookie so you can win glory over me"!! They yelled, teeth bared to show the other two cookies who stood there in shock and Vanilla was quick to reply.
"N-No wait, I can explain everything to you"! He yelled out in fear, both from them possibly attacking and losing them at the same time. Yet Hollyberry could stare and realize what she had gotten herself into.
"That's the Cacao Dragon"!? She yelled out in realization, fear and shock displayed in her face. The Dragon only growled in return. Opening their claws to defend themselves. Blinded in fear and anger, they didn't understand what they were doing.
"Please, we can talk". Vanilla tried to speak in a calm and reassuring voice, but his voice only quivered each time.
"No"!! They yelled, causing Vanilla to flinch. "I'm not talking to you, more or less a cookie!! You all just seem to be the same"!! They yelled, using the little energy they had to turn to their original form. A figure loomed on both cookies as they stared flabbergasted. A giant creature, longer than a snake appeared in front of them. A dragon of purple scales and a long mane of black fur that ran down its spine.
Vanilla couldn't comprehend what was happening, he didn't notice that smoke was forming in the Dragon's mouth. Breathing out purple flames. If it weren't for Hollyberry shielding both of them with her old wooden shield, who knows for how long they would've lived. Covering his ears as Hollyberry stood before him with her shield, the flames running past them.
Weird to call them flames, for they didn't feel heat, but instead it got colder. The flames were as cold as the travel back in the Giant Icing Ridges. He swore he could feel himself getting frostbite by each little flame that managed to pass Hollyberry's shield and touch his dough. Purple and beautiful, yet they hurt so bad.
They stopped when they noticed that there is no use in trying to surpass Hollyberry's shield. Letting out an ear bleeding screech, Vanilla would've gone deaf if it weren't for him more focused on their beauty. They then turned around and ran off to the woods, watching as their longer tail disappeared. Hearing the crashing and stomping of the dragon until they couldn't anymore.
With the cookies' ragged breaths are the only thing that is making a sound, Hollyberry sighed, while Vanilla lowered his hands from his ears.
"What was all of that about"!? Hollyberry yelled, more of fear than anger.
"That…was the Cacao Dragon". Vanilla said, out of breath, from what? He didn’t know.
"Yah, I saw that! But why were they mad at you"!? She replied, trying to place back her wooden shield on her back under her cape. Vanilla only sighed as he stared down at the direction they went. He saw how scared they were, even if it seemed that they were mad. Then he sighed once more.

He had no other choice but to explain everything to Hollyberry…

Chapter Text

The icy winds blew harder than before, Pure Vanilla not so sure if it was a blizzard or a storm. He stepped hard in his footing, growling, grunting and chattering of his teeth came in sound.
He instructed Hollyberry to stay at his tent as he went off to look for the dragon, knowing damn well that he had to explain to them about the misunderstanding. Vanilla had told Hollyberry everything, she wasn't happy about him keeping the secret to himself, but she fully understood him.
With each grunt and a shiver, he passed his way through the winds. "Dragon"! Vanilla yelled out, feeling stupid for not even asking for the Dragon's name. He continued to walk and yelled until he felt an instinct and gun churning feeling as he saw a cave up ahead. The Dragon was still healing from their injury, so Vanilla was sure they wouldn't have stayed long in their dragon form and walked off with little to no energy. It would just make sense that the dragon is taking shelter in the cave ahead.
Entering with a relief of not having snow slapping in his face every second. He looked around and picked up the familiar scent of cacao beans and smiled. "Hey dragon, it's just me". Vanilla spoke, hearing his own echo through the cave walls. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. My friend was spooked and I was responsible for not telling her sooner that you were around". He continues speaking, trying to see through the dark. "Please dragon, I didn't know that she would be back. I can guarantee that she would not do any harm to you as well as I". He finished off as he heard a shuffle and a growl.
"Haven't you had enough, just go back to where you came from, cookie"! Vanilla heard the dragon yell, turning to see in the edge of the cave were their gleaming purple eyes that stared at him angrily.
"I'm not going to leave, especially with the storm out there. I wanted to just reason with you, dragon". Using dragon as the way they used 'cookie' in his sentence. They only scoffed.
"What is there to reason"!? They yelled, the echoes making their voice louder.
"To reason about the misunderstanding with my friend, she was spooked and scared, she was only doing what she was instructed to do when there was a threat". Vanilla spoke, but the dragon scoffed again.
"So I was a threat"!? They yelled.
"No! She THOUGHT you were a threat"! Vanilla yelled back. The Dragon only growled, head low by Vanilla's yelling voice. "No one is at fault here, I just want to continue being friends with you"! Vanilla yelled.
"We were never friends". The dragon replied with a scoff, turning their back away from Vanilla.
"To me, you were". Vanilla said, more calmly than before. The Dragon only stood silent and so did Vanilla. He let out a sigh as he slowly and quietly sat down as close as he could to the dragon.
The winds continue to roar, the skies darkening in both night and day. He shivered slightly, rubbing his shoulders a little. "My name is Pure Vanilla, but you can just call me Vanilla for short". Vanilla said out of the blue, wanting to start a conversation.
They stood in silence for a little while before they huffed. "I didn't ask". They grunted, but Vanilla only laughed.
"Well, I personally don't like being referred to as just a 'cookie'. Vanilla is my name and it's something I go by". Vanilla smiled as he spoke.
"Ok…cookie". The Dragon teased angrily. Vanilla was sure they would understand to use his name soon. So Vanilla only sighed.
"So…what is your name"? Vanilla asked with concern. In which that same question seems to spark something in the dragon as they thought for a while. Then they spoke.
"I don't know". They replied slowly, a tint of confusion and sadness at not knowing their own name.
"You don't…know"? Vanilla repeated, watching as the dragon nodded their head as they still had their back towards Vanilla. Pure Vanilla was saddened by that as he thought of something in his head. "Dark Cacao". Vanilla said, causing the dragon to perk up and look over at Vanilla in confusion. Seeing the eyes of a confused cat, he smiled and continued. "I thought maybe I should give a name. Since you have a tint smell of cacao beans, I thought having Cacao part of your name would make sense. The Dark one is a way to represent your bitter taste, knowing you have bitter dough and love bitter treats. Dark Cacao would sound great on you". Vanilla explained.
The dragon only stared at Vanilla in thought, not speaking for a good 2 minutes. "You don't have to like it, it just a sug-"
"I like it". They interrupted. Seeing as they turned to fully look over at Vanilla. "I really do like it". They spoke softly, a gleam of happiness in their purple eyes as they stared at Vanilla. Pure Vanilla blushed as they stared at him with a smile. "No one has ever…referred to me other than the Cacao Dragon". They said, a small fang of theirs poked out of their smile, Vanilla found it quite cute.
"I'm…I'm glad you liked the name". Vanilla replied, trying so hard to speak normally at how flustered he is. They stood there in silence as Vanilla watched how their mouth opened and closed as they were trying to find the right word to speak.
"You…don't seem like the other cookies". Cacao said, a hint of hesitancy in their voice.
"What do you mean"? Vanilla questioned.
"You are far too strong for an ordinary cookie. Yet you didn’t die the moment I attacked you in the mountain or when you didn't die from hyperthermia". Cacao spoke, both in concern and confusion. Vanilla only sighed.
"I-well, I guess you could say that I'm immortal and a soul jam holder". Vanilla spoke. The Dragon was even more confused.
"Soul jam"? They questioned, which made Vanilla confused himself when he saw a soul jam at the Icing Ridges.
"A soul jam is a force that connects with a cookie's soul, they give immortality and strength for those who wield them". Vanilla explained.
"Are you the only one"? Dark Cacao questioned.
"No, my friend you saw earlier has one, as well as two other cookies from where I'm from". 'And also you', Vanilla thought to himself. And the dragon was satisfied with that answer.
Vanilla wasn't sure where this sudden tension in the air came from, it was weird as Cacao could only stare at Vanilla all while they were thinking on what to say to continue the conversation. Personally Vanilla never experienced the weird feeling he was having towards the dragon in front of them.
They are beautiful, gorgeous even. With their eyes and dough, hair and face, and horns and tail. Vanilla had also turned to stare at Dark Cacao with admiration. He was absolutely oblivious to the world around him. Vanilla looked carefully at their markings. Every dragon in their cookie form has them. Dark Cacao had dark markings on their cheeks and shoulders. Vanilla was so caught up in their beauty he managed to see some faint freckles on the dragon's face. He couldn't even recall when it started to get hot.
"What are you doing"? Cacao's voice broke Vanilla free from whatever fantasy he was in. Finally aware of reality, he flushed as he realized how close his face was to Cacao. Quickly backing away in panic, he left his face burning and freezing at the same time.
Vanilla was so caught in his head, he was going in for a kiss. "Oh my! I'm sorry"! He yelled out in panic, absolutely embarrassed out of his mind.
"Was there something in my face"? Cacao replied in confusion, touching their cheek with their finger. Vanilla stopped his panicking as the Cacao wasn't even phased at Vanilla's attempt in kissing them.
"Oh…uh, yeah! Urm, I just noticed your freckles, that's all"! Vanilla said, embarrassed and relieved that Cacao was oblivious. It was Cacao's turn to blush out of embarrassment.
"I have freckles"? They said, using their hands to cover their cheeks.
"Oh no, don't hide them. They're pretty cute and they are barely noticeable". Vanilla reassured them, earning a small sigh of relief from the dragon.
Vanilla laughed as they were finally in comfortable silence. The sounds of winds and echoes of the cave. Vanilla was tired and embarrassed, but he smiled as he looked over at the dragon who was staring at a wall in the cave. Vanilla couldn't remember when his eyes shut and fell unconscious.

Pure Vanilla's body ached, forcing his eyes to open. Lifting himself from the rocky and hard surface, he looked around to remember he was still in the cave.
Looking behind, he saw the dragon awake as they held something in their claws. A flower of some kind. With a groan, he yawned in pain of his aching back. "You're awake". Dark Cacao spoke, sucking whatever they were eating.
Vanilla had finally sat up and had a full view of what Cacao had in their claws. A yellow, small flower. They seem to be sucking the nectar of the flowers. Which Vanilla found unusual. One is that flowers like them couldn't grow in the winter terrain and two, dragons are carnivores.
"What are you eating"? Vanilla questioned, seeing the dragon pick up another one from the pile they had beside them.
"I think they're called honeysuckles". Cacao replied, sucking into another one. Finishing off the one they ate, they grabbed another and turned towards Vanilla. "I heard honeysuckles are a way to show trust and loyalty when given to someone". Dark Cacao spoke, eyeing the yellow flower in their hands with a strong glare. Vanilla smiled as he watched them slightly hesitate and slowly handed off the flower with caution to Vanilla.
Gently grabbing the honeysuckle with his own hands, he looked over at the dragon with admiration once again. "Thank you, Cacao". Vanilla spoke softly, a blush creeping its way in his cheeks. They only huffed and started sucking into the other honeysuckles. "Where did you get them"? Vanilla questioned, staring down at the flower in his freezing hands.
"From the border". Cacao said between licking their lips. Vanilla was surprised, but didn't continue to question. Looking back down to offered honeysuckle. He blushed with a smile as he pulled the bottom of the flower's stem and sucked the sweet nectar from it. A hum of satisfaction, the dragon handed off more honeysuckles. The taste of sweet nectar in his tongue and the comfortable tie he had with the dragon at the moment. He was in bliss.

Who knew a flower could bring him and them closer together…

Chapter Text

"I don't know about this…", Dark Cacao had said as both the dragon and the cookie walked across the white, snowy grounds.
"I'm sure it'll be fine, I really want to introduce you properly to Hollyberry". Vanilla replied.
"Hollyberry? Is that the cookie's name"? Cacao questioned. Vanilla only nodded in response. Pure Vanilla had managed to bring Dark Cacao after the blizzard had faded away. He really wanted to know more about them and get to know them to know his friend, Hollyberry.
They walked to reach Vanilla's tent, just as soon as dawn rises. They walked in silence for the most part, but Vanilla was completely comfortable with the silence. Both figures had arrived at the tent clearing, Cacao stopping their steps. "Mmm, pathetically small". Cacao mumbled, looking at the shelter the cookie had made for himself. They scoffed and continued to walk.
"Hollyberry! I'm back"! Vanilla yelled, trying to catch the attention of Hollyberry. Luckily, she was in the tent, notebook in hand.
"Ah, Vanilla! I thought you'd be gone for long". She replied in glee, stepping in her footing to give Vanilla a hug. Stopped as she watched another figure enter the tent with curiosity, making eye contact with the same creature she had met the day before.
The dragon grumbled as they stared at Hollyberry. Tensing their shoulders as they stayed behind Vanilla. "Hollyberry, I actually managed to convince the dragon to come with me. Their name is Dark Cacao". Vanilla smiled, walking up closer to Hollyberry.
"His-their name is Dark Cacao"? Hollyberry corrected herself, earning a confused glare from the dragon. "I, uh…well, nice to meet you, Dark Cacao". Shaking away her nerves, she smiled as she extended her arm for a shake. Only for the dragon to suddenly flinch and stare at the muscular hand of Hollyberry. They stayed in silence as both cookies knew the dragon was confused.
"Um, you shake hands with her Cacao. It means greetings". Vanilla said. "It's a way some cookies greet others". A nervous laugh from Hollyberry was heard. Cacao understood the greeting, they were just not used to being greeted…kindly. A sway of their tail, they hesitantly took her hand and awkwardly shook. Hollyberry smiled.
"A friend of Vanilla's, is a friend of mine". Hollyberry said, glee in her voice. The Dragon only stared as they scrunched up their nose.
"Poisonous". They blurted out.
"Excuse me"? Hollyberry replied, Vanilla also looking confused.
"You're…a poisonous cookie". Cacao said. Hollyberry tensed a little as she looked at the dragon, in both shock and confusion. "I know what you cookies are made out of just by smelling you". They added.
"Poisonous? Wait, Hollyberry? I thought you said you're a berry? A sweet cookie". Vanilla blurted out in confusion. Hollyberry only stared between the two men. Tensing and sighing.
"No Vanilla…hate that it was blurted out from this…guy. I am not a sweet cookie unlike you, I'm poisonous". Hollyberry said, a hint of shame in her voice.
"Why are you cookies getting too worked up over what you're made out of"? The Dragon questioned, staring at the cookies. The cookies only stood silent. "You cookies are weird". They finished off as they walked away to look around the tent.
"Why didn't you tell me"? Vanilla whispered to Hollyberry.
"I just…wasn't happy about it". Hollyberry looked away in shame.
"You know I don't care what you are made of, as long as you don’t have to hide it away from me". Vanilla replied, a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, I'm not entirely sweet". Vanilla laughed, and so did Hollyberry.
"What's so funny"? Cacao questioned, lifting their head from under the desk.
"Oh nothing, just working things out with Hollyberry". Vanilla said, smiling towards the cookie beside him. The Dragon only scoffed. Hollyberry only laughed as she watched the dragon bump their head from under the desk. A twitch to their tail.

Hollyberry was woken up by a shuffle and something falling to the ground. Groaning and yawning the sleep away, seeing the cracks of the orange lighting of the outside world. She knew it was morning, pale orange rays, weakened by the grey clouds from above that just seem to never go away.
Hollyberry had noticed the pair of purple eyes that stared at her. Seeing as the dragon sure did drop something. "You're awake early". Hollyberry laughed, scooting away from the sleeping bag.
The dragon only ignored her as they looked around the tent. Curiosity written in their eyes. "Do you like the place"? Hollyberry asked.
"You cookies live in these…tiny spaces"? Dark Cacao questioned. Hollyberry laughed.
"Oh no, this is just a temporary place to stay. We cookies live in bigger houses. Some may even live in bigger homes than others". She explained happily.
"Why"? Cacao said.
"Why? Because…well cookies, you need to pay to be able to afford a home. Me and Vanilla do not have our own home. We stay at a school that provides us a place to stay for the meantime". Hollyberry relied.
"Pay…you mean…with wealth"? The Dragon replied sternly, a mixture of hesitancy and tensing in their voice.
"Well yes, coins, gold or anything that is valuable. Trades also work to be able to buy something". Hollyberry said, confused in the Dragon's tone.
"Cookies are greedy". Cacao mumbled under their breath.
"What was that"? Hollyberry questioned.
"Nothing". Simple, but Cacao said it in a stern way. They both stood silent, Hollyberry watching as the dragon looked around. Then they stared at her with confusion. "Why are you here"? They spoke.
"Why"? She replied in confusion.
"Yes. Why? You sweet and poisonous cookies can not handle cold places like here". Cacao explained. Hollyberry tensed again.
"O-Oh! Umm, we're uh…", Hollyberry stammered as she tried to find a lie. Cacao only stared at her sternly. "...we're-travels! Yah, traveler"! A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, staring at the purple eyes of the dragon in front of her.
"Travelers". They simply said, unsure of the answer.
"Yah! Me and Vanilla love to travel around Earthbread! Sometimes we come back to our Academy to rest or get more supplies"! Hollyberry lied, moreover that Hollyberry never wished to return to the Academy at anything given.
Dark Cacao only stared at her in thought, then scoffed as they turned away from her. They skimmed the tent and went back to her again. Piercing purple eyes squinted at her, and opened their mouth to speak.
"And what are going to do after that"? The Dragon spoke. Hollyberry was caught off guard by that question. Living with immortality and wasting ounces of life in some research career. She had always thought about retiring, leaving for good. She only smiled at the dragon.
"Well, I thought about…having a family". Hollyberry hesitated as she spoke. Cacao only cocked their head.
"A…family"? They questioned, not knowing what the word meant. Hollyberry softened her eyes in sorrow. Feeling bad that the dragon beside her didn't know what a family was.
"A family, cookies of blood of your own…or people you have a really close relationship with". Hollyberry spoke. "Do you not have anyone you consider…family"? Hollyberry wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask that question to the dragon. Watching as their tail twitched in thought.
"I don't know. Half-Siblings…yes, but I do not see them as family". They spoke sternly, looking away from the other cookie. "North and South, I hate them with a passion. They think so bold of themselves, it makes me angry". Cacao said.
Hollyberry only smiled as the dragon spoke to her. Surprised that the Black Dragon of the North and White Dragon of the South very much exists. Them being half-siblings to the Cacao Dragon made Hollyberry very much surprised.
Keeping a happy look on her face as both continued to speak for the whole morning.

Early in the afternoon, two cookies and a dragon walked around the winter terrain, walking close to the Licorice Sea. Both cookies explained they needed samples off the sea for collection in their travels. Hollyberry tells Pure Vanilla of the lie, continuing to pressure that lie to Dark Cacao.
Reaching his gloved hands into the black substance of the sea, grabbing a sample off of it, closing the flask with a sigh. Turning to see the other two, he only frowned. Hollyberry and Dark Cacao continued to bicker and laugh, talking and smiling as they quickly got along. Unlike Hollyberry, Vanilla almost died trying to form a bond with Cacao.
Pure Vanilla quickly tried to brush off those weird feelings, he should be happy that Cacao is bonding with other cookies. "Guys, I have the sample, we can go now". Vanilla spoke, quickly catching himself as his voice sounded more annoyed than happy. Hollyberry and Dark Cacao finished off speaking as they followed with Vanilla to just explore more into the winter terrain.
Each passing minute only seems to be hell for Vanilla. Watching as Hollyberry and Cacao bond so quickly made Pure Vanilla mad. He didn't know why. Yet Vanilla has never felt this way before.
"I'm going to go get something to eat, don't follow me". Vanilla had heard Cacao say sternly under the pressure of the new feeling Pure Vanilla was witnessing.
"We'll meet you back in the tent"! Vanilla spoke, ignoring his feelings. A hum from the dragon was enough for a reply as they disappeared into the woods. Leaving only Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla alone. With a sigh, Vanilla continued to walk. "Come on, Holly. Let's go back to the tent". He said, sternly for no reason. Hollyberry listened to him as both cookies stepped ground in the snow. Feeling the snowflakes from the grey cloudy sky touch them both.
Pure Vanilla was feeling ashamed, to himself specifically. He was not sure why he felt this way, even when both cookies he considered being friends were bonding with each other, just making Vanilla mad.
It made him mad that Cacao quickly started talking to Hollyberry. Trusting her so quickly and while Vanilla had almost died and injured himself to be able to be trusted to the dragon. And Hollyberry quickly caught on.
"I've noticed how irretic you've been acting, Vanilla". He heard Hollyberry's voice. He tensed as he turned to look over at her. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's bothering you"? She was so kind, and for what, just for Vanilla to be mad at her for bonding with a dragon. Vanilla looked down at his moving feet with a sigh.
"I've been feeling awful". Vanilla spoke.
"Awful? By what"? She replied, squeezing her palm into Vanilla's shoulders.
"By you and Dark Cacao. By how quickly you bonded with them. All while I almost killed myself and injured myself to get them to trust me"! Vanilla yelled, tears in his cheeks and eyes. Hollyberry was taken aback, before she let out a tiny sigh. "Vanilla…are you jealous"? Jealousy was a strong word. And Vanilla refuses to be called jealous.
"Jealous!? No i-ugh…", but even then, Vanilla realizes he was indeed jealous. So what point into arguing with Hollyberry when his feelings are always in the glass closet? Hollyberry only giggled.
"Oh Vanilla, it's not like that, I can reassure you of that to you". Hollyberry laughed, making Pure Vanilla confused.
"W-What"? She let out another small laugh.
"Dark Cacao doesn't trust me at all. We talk, yes, but it's mostly me who does all the talking. He just seems to be annoyed with me and frequently ignores me. Consider it all, he trusts you more, then I". Hollyberry explained with a giggle and a smile. Vanilla blushed in embarrassment. He was stupid that he hadn't noticed that.
"Oh, oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you like that". Vanilla mumbled, digging his face into his palms.

"It's fine, Vanilla. I completely understand. Relationships take time and effort. Maybe one day, he will consider you as a great friend". Hollyberry smiled, walking their way to Vanilla's tent with glee...

Chapter Text

Days, many weeks have passed by. Pure Vanilla had noticed how tense Dark Cacao had been acting. Mornings and afternoons, they would always stare at the Icing Mountains with puffed up hair and low tail.
Hollyberry had also noticed this behavior from Cacao. How they would sometimes avoid going out in the snowy woods and hide away in the small tent that cookies made.
These few days and weeks. Pure Vanilla has been getting calls and letters from White Lily. Vanilla did everything he could to ignore her, for he and Hollyberry had bigger matters to attend to. But Vanilla continued to do Lily a favor and still collected the samples off the Licorice Sea to not seem suspicious.

And it was that afternoon time where he and Dark Cacao traveled to the Sea to get a sample. Leaving Hollyberry in her own mind of notes and stuff she still has to study for the Academy. A sigh and grumbles, Vanilla still did try to find life in the darkened Sea. Which is only false hope.
Again, Pure Vanilla watched the dragon stare off into the Giant Icing Ridges, body stiff and tail low around their legs.
As much as Vanilla wished not to question it, it just seems that Cacao is only getting defensive each passing day. Pure Vanilla didn't want to ask questions, especially when most of them only seemed too personal for the dragon.
With a sigh, Vanilla stood from his crouching spot and hid away the flask in his brown bag. Turning to look over at the tense dragon, he spoke. "Something is bothering you, Cacao". He said with worry. Causing the dragon to finally look at him. They narrowed their sharps for a minute and turned to look back at the cloudy mountains.
"They're looking for me". They replied, a slight quiver in their voice.
"Who is looking for you"? Vanilla said. The Dragon again, only stood silent for a bit before speaking.
"North and South…my half-siblings". Cacao grumbled, annoyed to even explain that they're 'related', made Dark Cacao even more tense.
"North and South…", Pure Vanilla whispered to himself in thought. The Dragon beside him only grumbled.
"They seem to have noticed that I have been gone for a…while". Dark Cacao said, crossing their arms. "I feel their presence getting closer each passing day". They said, fear in their voice.
Pure Vanilla only frowned. It seems that Dark Cacao and their half-siblings didn't get along very well. Moreover, Dark Cacao is 'scared' of them.

Both continued to tread the terrain, watching the trees and bushes pass by. Both seem to be tense of the earlier conversation. Vanilla was scared, not for himself, but for Cacao. Seeing how scared they sound for mentioning their half-siblings is quite concerning.
Turning to eye the dragon to see how they constantly look back in worry. Tense shoulders and low tail around their legs, Vanilla was starting to get more worried. Then Dark Cacao finally spoke, sternly.
"Hide". They simply said, fear and anger lurking in their voice.
"What"? Vanilla was confused as the dragon stared off in the open.
"Go! Leave"! They yelled in panic, pointing in the opposite direction of what the dragon was looking at. Vanilla tensed, not wanting to make the dragon even more angry, he ran off to the other side. Looking back in awe to see Dark Cacao turn to their scaly, purple dragon form.
Vanilla didn't want to leave Cacao behind, hiding underneath the trees and in bushes, peaking to see Dark Cacao's long form quivering around, darting their eyes in the forest.
Minutes passed and a laughter of two rang in the chocolate forest. Making Dark Cacao dart their head towards a certain direction. "Look who finally decided to show up"! A loud, deep voice echoed through the chocolate forest. A chill ran down Vanilla's spine at the voice of another huge being and laughter.
"What do you want". Cacao grumbled in the deep voice of their dragon form. Standing defensively with their four legs. A form loomed over, just as long as Cacao's form, but a bit longer. Scales black as never less space, and shining bright eyes that pierced over at Cacao's purple ones. Vanilla quivered deeper in the bush in fear to see another dragon.
"We've noticed that you disappeared for a good whole month, almost". The voice was slick, with mischief in their tongue. Another dragon appeared, just as long as the other black dragon, with bright, clean white scales. Both towered over the dragon of mauve scales, almost hard to tell their purple rather than black.
Dark Cacao narrowed their eyes, trying so hard not to show the other two dragons that they were scared. "That is none of you guy's business". Cacao grumbled. Watching as they both smiled in amusement.
"But of course it is. We're half-siblings after all". The white dragon laughed.
"That doesn't mean anything"! Cacao yelled, backing away as they watched both dragons start to circle around them. Smiles and laughter, mischievous sharp grins. "You guys are no siblings to me!'' yelled Cacao. Both dragons only laughed.
"From what we remember, Theo"-
"Don't say his name!! Don't fricking say that heedless cookie's name"!! Dark Cacao snapped, sharp eyes of anger and rage. The dragons only smiled in amusement.
"Still the same old dragon, you'll never change…will you". The black spoke, their smile disappearing as they peered over at Dark Cacao.
Vanilla assumed the black dragon is North and White Dragon is South. Now Vanilla didn't like them very much.
They laughed again as they circled around Cacao like vultures. "It's too bad that you'll never change, maybe then, you can leave this cursed body of yours". North said, leaving no seconds behind as they jumped over Cacao without warning. Laughter from South as both attacked Cacao with snarling sharp teeth and claws.
Vanilla gasped as the body of Cacao slammed into the cold ground with great force, a pained groan escaped from their mouth. Trying to open their mouth, to flame their faces off, only to be slammed by South's claws, shutting their jaw closed.
"No need for any annoying flames". Scowled the white dragon, laughter in their throat. Dark Cacao struggled under North's grip and having South's claws gripping into their jaw was no help. Clawing and squirming only made North mad, managing to kick their leg with the little energy Cacao had. An annoyed yelp was heard of the black dragon's mouth, backing away from Dark Cacao. Freeing themselves from the South's gripping claws, they still didn't expect to be attacked from behind again. But much worse.
"You stupid, cursed dragon"!! Yelled the black dragon, with roaring anger in their voice as they sunk their fangs on Cacao's lower neck.

The painful yells of Dark Cacao made Pure Vanilla sick. Trying to catch his own breath, his back pressed hardly against the tree stump. Hearing thuds and struggles, breaking a few trees with their tails.
Vanilla felt horrible, seeing North constantly dig their fangs into Cacao's skin to prevent them from moving. As well as South as they only laughed and used their claws to muffle Cacao's yells.
Pure Vanilla eyed a medium sized rock on the snowy ground and back at the fight three dragons. Even if he himself is a cookie, Vanilla couldn't help and watch his friend get hurt.
Grabbing the rock from the snow, he quickly turned to see the dragons behind him.

North laughed as they continued to grip their claws on the mauve skin. Until a rock hit them in the face. Groaning, and shaking their head. North angrily looked over to see who hit them.
Vanilla was panicking as the bright eyes of both the north and south dragon looked down at him, and the surprised look of Cacao's teary purple ones.
"L-Leave them alone". Vanilla stammered out of fear. He could feel his legs shake below him. The looks of anger appeared on both the white and black dragons, then they smiled in amusement.
"Well look at what we got here". Smiled as South spoke out of laughter. The white dragon lowered their neck to reach Cacao's ears with a big grin.
"And here we thought you no longer 'slept' with cookies". South joked, a snicker right after.
Dark Cacao growled out angrily, muffled under South's claws. Trying to struggle under North's weight again in anger. Both the dragons laughed at their attempt.
"And what's a cookie like you gonna do, huh"? Asked North, a stupidly big grin. Pure Vanilla faltered for a second. What could he truly do to help Cacao from big, huge dragons?
Hearing the muffled and shakes of Cacao's jaws, they managed to free themselves for a second.
"Leave, you idiot"!! Yelled Dark Cacao before getting shut by the South dragon again.
"Oh don't worry, we'll not hurt your little cookie. What good could it do"? Laughed South, gripping into Cacao's mouth, earning a muffled cry from them.

His cheeks hurt, both cold and fearful. All he could do was watch his friend get hurt. Purple eyes meet blue and yellow. Vanilla couldn't tell what emotions the dragon is feeling other than pain and fear.
Gripping into his palms and ragging, wheezy breathes, he remembers he isn't just a normal cookie. Eyeing a huge tree, maybe big enough to crush those two dragons under it. If he has the strength to lift it.
Laughter and gocking, he was at his limit. Never had Vanilla felt such hatred for a dragon in his life. He couldn't recall remembering walking up to the tree, placing his delicate palms with rage. A grunt and a pull, he lifted the chocolate tree from the ground and exposed its roots. With anger and rage, he let it fall to the snow and swung the bark with great force towards the North.
"I said, leave them alone"!! Pure Vanilla yelled, hitting the black dragon off the mauve one.
"What the-", North was under shock seeing a cookie lift a tree like that. Being hit by the tree, they are in the snow with a huge thud, tree on top.
All while Vanilla stared at the fallen black dragon in shock. Not believing what he just did.
Dark Cacao took that opportunity and lifted their body and their jaw away from the South. Opening their mouth in flames and taking a hit on the white dragon's face.
"Urg"! Yelled the South dragon in pain, ice on their whiskers of the cold fire. Teary eyes as they felt the frostbite eat its way on their scales.
Backing up, Dark Cacao stood in front of Vanilla as both stared at the other two in pain. Panting from North and painted grunts from South.
"Leave". The deep voice of Cacao's spoke. Ragged and wheezy, just as much as Vanilla's own throat. North only let out a tired chuckle.
"You know…it was us who saved the cookies back then…from you". North spoke. A grin in their mouth and narrowed eyes from Cacao. "And what are you going to do with this cookie, huh? Kill it like the rest of the cookies who looked up to you"! Yelled North, in laughter and a mixer of tiredness.
"I said leave"! Yelled Cacao.
"Cursed dragon". Said North before turning around to leave. South gripping into their own face as they ran up to catch up with North.

Both Vanilla and Dark Cacao stood their silence. Until Cacao let out a tired, painful sigh as they finally turned back into their 'cookie' form.
Regardless of the blurred out conversation, Vanilla ran up to Cacao in worry. Seeing as they laid in the cold snow in tired panting, and bloody marks on their shoulder and neck.
"Cacao…", Vanilla whispered, more to himself as he laid down on the snow and laid Cacao's head on his lap. Snippets of claw marks on their face and tired purple eyes. Vanilla was sure he was going to cry.
"Why the hell did you help me"! Grunted the dragon in his lap. "You could've died"! Vanilla could only soften his eyes.
"As to you". He replied softly.
"I could've been fine. You didn't need to do that". Cacao grumbled as they looked at the Vanilla face. He only smiled lightly.
"Why wouldn't I…it's what friends do". Saying that same phrase broke something in the dragon. As they stared into Vanilla's own eyes. A face so unreadable to Vanilla, but they choked out a sob.

Watery, teary eyes looked away from Vanilla. Cacao finally let those years worth of tears fall down on his lap…

Chapter Text

Tears and broken sobs spilled from their mouth. Feeling the caressing hands rub against their cheeks with comfort. Also being the same cookie who ripped a tree from the ground with one pull.
They felt weak, under a cookie such as Pure Vanilla. Being rubbed against their cheeks with his delicate hands. Cacao couldn't remember when it was the last time he felt…loved. Or maybe he never was loved to begin with.
Their eyes felt heavy, tired by the pain in their scars and wounds. Tired of crying and latching onto Pure Vanilla like some "weakling". They tried their hardest to keep their eyes open. With Vanilla's whispers and shushings, they couldn't keep conscious of the world around them. Feeling the darkness consume them and the bright lights of blue and yellow.

He opened his eyes. The tired bags and old tear marks. His dark skin and darkened marking on his 'dough'.
Looking around was an old room, all too familiar and traumatic to remember. The walls scraped and aged with time. Broken furniture and cracked glass and walls. The Cacao Dragon must be dreaming. Or was he brought back to the past?
Yet he didn't remember his name, or what events that had occurred, but being the room he is now. He didn't like it one bit.
The dragon heard the door open, heavy and screeching, it hurt his ears. Piercing his eyes towards the figure of the bright light behind the door.
The familiar silhouette of someone the dragon never wished to see again. A cookie more bitter than the dragon, and a cookie who never had a heart to care.
"Hello…son". The cookie spoke, a grin to his voice, deeper than the dragon ever wished to hear.
'Son'. He never liked the phrase this cookie gave him. Even with similarities and the same blood, he never considered this cookie to be his 'father'. Yet they phrased him to such a word that meant nothing to the dragon.
He never liked to look him in the eyes. Red ruby eyes that seem to eat him away from how long he stares. The Dragon never liked the color red, for it only reminded the dragon of 'him'.
"We are short. We expect more". He heard the cookie say behind his back. 'Wealth' is what he meant. Cookies love it so much that they'd capture a dragon who granted them that wish.
"I…I don't have anymore". The dragon heard his own voice. Knowing full this was a memory. That only made the cookie frown.
He didn't know what happened next, only feeling the forms of bruises and blood dripping its way down to the ground. His eyes were heavy. He couldn't remember how to breathe.

"When will you be more useful to your kingdom? You've grown soft…grant me what I want, and you will not get hurt".

The Dragon hated that voice so much. The phrase and the sentence never left his mind. His thoughts flashed and opened his eyes. Seeing that he is now in a different memory. Where it all started. Where the dragon learned to never trust Cookies again.
"Please! Dad I'm sorry"! The Dragon heard his younger self scream. "You promised to be with me if I gave you and your kingdom what you wanted"! He could only cringe the way he pleaded. Hands and strains against the dragon's form, being taken away from the one cookie he 'loved' the most. The cookies that he thought would be kind enough to thank him for his loyalty.
The Cacao Dragon trusted those cookies with his whole form, he gave them so much to make them believe he was more than a beast, a dragon of winter. They trusted him and he trusted them. For they only grew so greedy.
The cookie in front of him only stared, with red eyes that stabbed him in the back many times all over again. A look so emotionless and unphased.
"Please dad"! He pleaded, tears of hope. "I thought you could keep a promise". Was more of a whisper, but the cookie in front only laughed.

"I got what I wanted. You are no use to me. You are no use to this kingdom. And you are no 'son' of mine".

The dragon had felt betrayed, seeing the cookie he once saw as a father figure slowly turn his back towards the dragon. Anger and disbelief was all the dragon could feel. Tightening his grips with force and ragged breaths.
Widening and weezy as he felt the air around him shorten. Staring at the same sword he used to train with the cookies he trusted. A soul jam so bright, he was sure it was the one who cursed him.
His anger and rage was the only thing taking over as if he could feel himself fade away.

"And you are no father to me"!! He heard himself yell.

And it all went blank. Memories and flashes, he couldn't remember what happened. But was aware of what he caused. The blood tread its way from his face, and the lifeless body of his 'father'. He slightly, sadly smiled. A fall of his knees as he was aware that his 'father' wasn't the only lifeless body around.
And the last thing he told himself before he disappeared without a trace. That he would never trust a cookie again. For the sake of not hurting them, just like what he did to the innocent.

Dark Cacao opened their eyes to be met with grey cloudy skies. The blows of the wind blew hard in their face. Feeling the warmth of a cookie's lap on the back of their head.
"You're awake"! A chiming voice of the cookie up high. Pure Vanilla with a smile of millions of stars. Cacao could've sworn he squinted. "You were shaking…did you have a nightmare"? More of a memory than a nightmare. The frown on Vanilla's face was of worry. Dark Cacao couldn't understand why this cookie was giving him so much kindness. Was it that he wanted something in return? Vanilla would be trying to pry something from Cacao from all the affection he was giving to the dragon. Though he wasn't sure.
"A nightmare". Was all they responded, voice slurred with pain and exhaustion. Vanilla only smiled.
"Maybe it's best we head back. I'll do whatever I can to heal you". Was the last thing they heard from Vanilla before he fell unconscious again.

Pure Vanilla lifted the limp body with ease. A worry of spike as he stared down at the fallen face of the dragon. Snippets of scars and scratches and bite marks on their shoulder and lower neck.
He was worried when Dark Cacao twitched in their sleep on Vanilla's lap. A twitch of their tail and body as they whimpered and cried, and whispered in gibberish.
He knew they had a nightmare, or maybe more to that as the dragon's answer was more of questioning than being sure. But Pure Vanilla didn’t push it.

Pure Vanilla will be patient and wait for the day Dark Cacao tells him of their worries…

Chapter Text

I am sorry to those who enjoyed this fanfic, I'll be discontinuing this story. I fell out of the Fandom, merely lost interest in it.

I tried so hard to try finishing it because at how much attention this story got. At first it was just a plain idea of having Dark Cacao as a dragon. And I enjoyed writing the last few chapters until I lost interest in the game completely.

If anyone is interested, I'll be happy to allow others to finish or write an ending to this story. The original ending I had in mind was pretty boring anyway.

Again, I'm very sorry. Maybe another time, I'll be able to pick this story up again. But at the moment, I'll be leaving this story behind.

Thank you for reading :)

Chapter Text

I was so, so close into adding mpreg this damn story, since the damn beginning of every damn chapter. I'm very down bad that I had resist myself into not doing so, but I think I did a good job not to.

Oh but it was a lie. It was my mistake to make the chapter, Dragonfruit. As it somewhat hid the fact that Pitaya had an egg, just what Pure Vanilla had assumed.
But wait, didn't Hollyberry say that Pitaya is infertile? It's true, Pitaya is not able to bare an egg. But here's the catch. Since Pitaya wanted raise something of their own, to keep himself busy from boredom, they asked Millennial Tree for help.
Thought Millennial Tree just couldn't grant Pitaya to be fertile. Instead, he gave them a soul of Pitaya's blood and his own, creating a vessel, a soul that will hatch from an egg.
And yes, this vessel turns out be the Red Bead-Dragon Bead, I forgot what it was called. That will soon hatch to be Fire Spirit. Another Dragon Headcannon along side Dark Cacao.
So the whole point into Hollyberry's research was about Pitaya's odd behavior. Because all along, Pitaya was preparing for Fire Spirit's hatching. And what Millennial had said to him, Fire Spirit will not turn out be fully Dragon, as he will have cookie in him, too. So Pitaya went out of his way to befriend Hollyberry to get to know more about Cookie culture, using her the same way she is using him.
So I'm not sure if that still counts as mpreg, but either way, it's something I wanted to clarify.

But wait, there's more. Fricking Cacao was going to be a victim (on off scenes). Yes I was planning mpreg on Dark Cacao, do I feel shame. Yes. But do I care? no, I have seen more problematic things on this damn website. I'm a kitten compared to those monsters.
So where was I going with this idea? I don't know, but I had to find a way on why Dark Choco exists, ok. And you want to know who the fricken father is? Freaking Pure Vanilla. No its not because of heat and no its not because they fall in love. It just sort of happened, I guess. I really don't know what I was going with this.
The other idea was making Hollyberry the father (yes, Dark Cacao still gets pregnant. Shipping him with Hollyberry wasn't going to change a thing). Adding more onto Pure Vanilla's slight jealousy of Hollyberry's and Dark Cacao's relationship in the chapter, Jealously. There friendship will develop more into the story, but more of a platonic romance kind of thing.
Because they both share a sense of wanting a family, or raising a child (yeah, it was implied that Cacao had thought of what having a family was like, bet you didn't know that on Jealously), they both decided to help each other. Thus, Royal Berry and Dark Choco are born, officially brothers in this story.
And where was Pure Vanilla in all of this? Simple, he does not fricken know. It was caught on eventually, and yes Pure Vanilla was distraught. Knowing he still holds in jealousy towards Hollyberry's and Dark Cacao's relationship, knowing Dark Cacao will never return his feelings, and because they didn't bother to tell Vanilla about Royal Berry and Dark Choco.
In a clear note, Cacao and Hollyberry don't like eachother romantically, this process was made to only help each other have biological children. (Sorry, Dark Choco is fully cookie in this, no dragon in him, buried genes from Cacao was the cause).

And let me spill this out at once, the reason White Lily had ordered Pure Vanilla to look for any sign of life in the Licorice Sea, was because she wants to see if she can create life from it. Thus, she created Licorice from a small sample of the Licorice Sea.

So yeah, most of the story was pretty much a build up of the birth of most recent cookies I know of.

I did all of this, just to up and leave :(