Work Text:
“Thank you, have a good day!” The salesman called out to her as she walked out.
Stollen Cookie and Strawberry Cream Cookie were on the last step of the holiday exam, they had passed every test! Stollen drove perfectly, and Strawberry Cream delivered perfectly. Now all that was left was getting the perfect gifts for each other.
She’d been thinking about it for a while, and she knew exactly what to get him. Well, of course she did! She was the best at this, nobody compared to her- Er… wait, no. That sounds bad…
And as she walked out of the store, storybook in hand, she knew she had made the perfect choice. She’d been so rude to Strawberry Cream, it was only fair that she got him the best gift of all. He’d be able to use it to study!
—
“Hey, did you hear? The woods to the west, behind the school, have become really strange lately. Thorny bushes have been appearing a lot and the Snow Sugar Reindeers have become ferocious!” A student mumbled to another.
Another student chimed in immediately. “Yeah, I heard! So, that’s why the professors are closing off the entrance to the west forest…”
Strawberry Cream walked by them as they spoke, ears back in misery as he struggled to come up with the perfect gift for his Exam Partner. She’d said she didn’t want to be his partner at all, what if she didn’t like whatever he got her…?
“But I also heard the other day that the holly tree in the middle of the west forest bore its first fruit in 10 years!!” The Snowbell Student cried in joy, squealing and flapping her arms in excitement.
“Whoa! Must be super bright and sparkly! With that kind of fruit, I bet any train engineer Cookie would become the best!”
“You’re so right… It could probably light up the tracks miles and miles ahead!”
Strawberry Cream Cookie’s ears perked up as he heard the students muttering. The brightest in 10 years? The best engineer…? He remembered how Stollen had said she wanted her holly fruit to be the brightest of all…
But they had also just said it was dangerous. Should he… No, he had to. It was the perfect gift for her. She needed to pass this exam, and for that he needed to get her the gift.
He didn’t think twice as he ran off of campus, around the side of the western woods. He couldn’t enter through the front, since the teachers were blocking it off entirely. He’d have to push through the sides…
He rode upon his Strawberry Sugar Fox into the woods, barely grazing past the thorny bushes and spiky trees. On his way to the middle he’d gotten a few cuts in his dough, but nothing the woods-living cookie wasn’t used to.
He ran towards a bright red light, but froze as soon as he saw that he went the wrong way; the red light was the holly fruit of a teacher trying to keep light by the entrance.
Immediately when they saw him in the woods, they gasped. “STRAWBERRY CREAM COOKIE! Get out of the woods, they’re dangerous!! They are off limits!”
He stared at the teacher for a second, considering his options. His heart sank to his stomach as he began to turn around, hopping back onto his sugar fox and running deeper into the woods.
—
News of his entrance spread fast, when a single student overheard the teacher crying for help from other staff.
“HEY EVERYONE!! Someone’s gone into the west forest!!” The student shouted out to the others in the lobby.
At the same time, Stollen Cookie had returned back, books in hand. “What’s all the fuss about-? What’s going on?” She asked, stepping closer to the shouting cookie.
The student gasped as they saw her, alongside Pinehog. “Stollen Cookie? Pinehog? Where were you?” they asked, immediately grabbing onto Stollen Cookie’s shoulders.
She laughed a bit at the grasp, though not fully smiling. “I went to the bookstore in town to buy a gift for Strawberry Cream Cookie. I got him a story book.” She smiled proudly. “I hope he’ll like it… But… It’s okay if he doesn’t.”
She paused.
“...Where is he, by the way? Has anyone seen Strawberry Cream Cookie?”
Peppernut Cookie awkwardly smiled. “Well… um… You see, I… heard from other train engineer Cookies in the hallway that Strawberry Cream Cookie went into the west forest to find a holly fruit a couple minutes ago!”
She frowned. “What…?! The Cookie everyone was talking about is… Strawberry Cream Cookie?!”
Principal Pave Choco walked into the lobby, picking up a microphone. Her voice was heard over the speakers. “Now, now, everyone. Stay calm and go back to your rooms. Us professors will bring back the student safely.”
Pinehog nudged Stollen. “Lets go back to the dorm, Stol. He’ll be back safely.”
“But.. Strawberry Cream Cookie is… Well… I guess you’re right, Okay..” She nodded, beginning to leave the lobby with Pinehog.
—
It was hours. Many many hours. No teachers were in the building, and even some of the older students were called to find Strawberry Cream. Nobody could find him in the woods.
Stollen Cookie was pacing back and forth, biting her fingernails. She had been doing this for the last couple of hours. Pinehog had given up on trying to calm her down, she just wouldn't sit still for more than 15 seconds.
“What if he's dead?!” She cried out.
Pinehog grunted a bit, looking up from their video game. “Huh?”
“What if.. what if Strawberry Cream is dead and it's all my fault..?”
Pinehog stared for a second, before laughing. “Stollen, he's not dead. If I know anything about him, he knows the woods like the back of his own hand.”
“...oh, um.. yeah, I guess you're right.” She said, sitting down on the side of her bed. “He's.. probably okay..”
There was a knock at the door, and she gaStollen Cookie immediately perked up, practically falling out of the bed.
“See?” Pinehog started. “That’s him right there.”
She rushed towards the door, about to twist the knob before Pinehog stopped her. They called out “OI”, before tossing the storybook Stollen carefully wrapped to her. She smiled, nodding towards Pinehog as a thank you.
Pinehog smiled slightly, before turning back to their video game, clicking the resume button and fading back into their mindless clicking of assorted buttons.
Stollen Cookie took a deep breath, before opening the door. “Strawberry Crea-”
She paused. Behind the door was not the fox-like friend she’d grown to care for, but instead a couple members of the staff. Her eyes widened in worry, her grip tightening on the book a bit.
Pinehog leaned over to look out the door, falling out of their beanbag since they leaned back so far. The room filled with a loud “WhoAP-” and a thunk, before Pinehog sat up and stared at the people at the door, shock filling their eyes just as much as Stollen’s.
“...Stollen Cookie, can we… May we come in?”
The German cookie looked back at Pinehog, her expression of distress not changing. Pinehog simply shrugged, mouthing the words “I guess?”
She cautiously stepped out of the way, allowing the staff members to enter. They all had sad expressions as they filed in one-by-one, none of them speaking to one another or even making eye contact.
Principal Pave Choco sat down on Stollen Cookie’s bed, patting the spot next to her. “You’ll want to sit for this, my dear.” She frowned, looking over at Stollen.
The student hesitated. What was… What was going on?
It took a moment, but she sat down on the bed. Her eyes were already glossing over with tears as she processed all of the different reasons they could possibly be here. There was silence for a while. Nobody seemed to want to say whatever it was to her, simply looking back and forth between the group.
Finally, Pave Choco spoke up, though her voice quivered and lacked confidence. “Stollen, Dear… We-... Well, ah-... You see..” She tried to say, though she struggled to find the words.
Suddenly, she reached into her bag, pulling out a small box and holding it out to her. Stollen took it, though confused.
“What’s… This for?” She asked softly, her head tilting slightly. She looked down at the present, running her finger along the bright red bow, feeling the silk. As soon as her finger no longer touched the silk, she looked up at the Principal, her heart sinking as she noticed how Pave Choco had begun to softly cry.
She tugged on the silk ribbons, glancing up as though waiting for permission to open it. Pinehog stood up, rushing over to Stollen’s side and placing their hands on her shoulders. “Go on, go on, open it!! I wanna know what it is!!” They said, shaking her slightly.
After what felt like hours, the box was finally opened. When the top fell off of the box, Stollen Cookie immediately gasped. Inside the box was a beautiful, glowing red holly fruit. She gently cupped the shining holly in her hands, the tears in her eyes reflecting the bright red. Her finger brushed against it, feeling its lack of blemishes and sheer smooth skin.
She couldn’t help but smile. She was holding the perfect Holly Fruit, just as she had always wanted. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Pave Choco’s somber tone.
“...He would’ve wanted you to have that.”
Pinehog froze up immediately, processing much faster than Stollen did.
She continued to smile at it for a moment, before it finally clicked what Pave Choco said. “...Sorry, what? Who would’ve… Huh-?” she mumbled, looking up at Pave Choco.
Finally, one of the others spoke up.
“I’m sure you heard… That.. um… a student entered the Western Woods.” He said. Before she could respond, he continued. “That student was Strawberry Cream.”
Stollen Cookie remained silent as the situation was explained to her with minimal detail.
Every word felt like another candy cane being stabbed into her stomach. Her hearing began to muffle behind piercing ringing, her breath speeding up. She knew what they were about to say, but she didn’t want to hear it.
“...We… Unfortunately, we… Well… We were too late. We… Found him crumbled beside the holly tree… in the middle of the woods. That fruit was in his hand… We believe he got it for you.”
Stollen Cookie nearly fainted.
—
“Miss, are you… Sure you want to return home? They told you you passed the test, you still have a bit more training.”
Stollen Cookie didn’t respond as she idly stared at the car door, hesitating to open it and get in. She hadn’t spoken at all since she’d received the news about her exam partner.
Putting her hand in her pocket, she felt the red berry. She looked up a bit, though not very much.
She turned around, seeing the group of people around the memorial set up for Strawberry Cream. Despite feeling a horrible twinge of guilt, she began to approach. Her shoes crunched in the snow, alerting everyone of her approach.
They all turned and stared at her, stepping out of the way as she approached. She felt as if everyone was watching her with judgement and hatred. After all, Strawberry Cream’s death was all her fault. Maybe if she hadn’t misspoken all those times, he wouldn’t have gone into the woods for her.
Every step she felt heavier and heavier. Her guilt got worse and worse with every step, the ringing in her ears started again.
She couldn’t hold back her sobs as she dropped to her knees in front of the memorial, the photo of him causing her to reach her very limit. Her sobs filled the air for miles, a mix of “im sorry”s and incoherent blurbs of words.
Nobody interrupted her as she sobbed and bawled.
“I-I'm sorry, Strawberry Cream- I'm so sorry, I… it's all… it's all my fault… if I hadn't.. if.. if you had-... I don't.. I don't think you'll.. ever.. forgive me… but I'm sorry.”
She sat there kneeled in the snow, letting out all of her emotions for the entire world to hear. And it did. The world heard every single word. It heard every tear hit the ground, every atom moving.
And it answered.
As she placed the red holly fruit on the memorial in front of her, there was a quick and sudden breeze, a scent of strawberry filling the air almost immediately.
Her eyes widened as she turned around. Sitting directly behind her was the largest sugar fox she had ever seen. But simply by the sparkle in the fox's eyes, she knew that the divine beast before her had to be his partner fox.
She smiled slightly, not quite saddened but not quite happy. She just.. smiled. The large fox leaned into her a bit, letting out a small chitter as it snuggled against her.
She didn't know what else to do but simply sit there for a while, embracing the silky fur of the fox.
—-
“Are you ready to go now, miss..?” The butler asked.
She looked him in the eyes, staring for a moment before glancing back at the memorial. “...yes, I'm.. I'm sure.”
Her butler nodded, opening the door to the car for her. She felt hesitation to even get in. This was her dream. And.. how would she face her parents? Would they be mad at her…?
Slowly, she got into the car. Best to just… deal with it. She shut the door behind her, looking back at the crowd of people standing outside the school.
The car began to move.
Suddenly, she rolled down the window, peeking her head and one of her arms out to wave goodbye. “Bye, everyone!! I.. I might be back!! Thank you for having me!” She cried out, watching everyone develop a small smile and wave goodbye to her.
She teared up once again as everyone called out goodbye to her as well. As the car began to drive off faster, she leaned back into the car, rolling the window back up.
“....ALOE-XA, play Carol Cookie music, please.”
She laid her head back as the gentle harp music began to play. Her eyes shut slightly, before she noticed odd pink blurs in her window. She looked up, noticing the fox running alongside her car. She smiled a bit, looking down. After a second, it clicked in her mind, causing her to quickly look back up and gasp.
The giant fox was running beside the car effortlessly, looking her in the eyes. She rolled down the window once again to call out to it, but it didn't quite go as planned.
The second her window was down enough, it lunged into the car. Stollen Cookie yelped, sitting there in shock for a while. By the time she looked over, the fox had already curled up by the heater, nuzzling into its own fur.
“...you-... Are you.. coming with me..?” She mumbled, reaching out to pet it.
The fox gratefully accepted the petting, even nodding towards her a bit.
Stollen Cookie smiled ever so slightly.
“...thanks, that.. that means a lot to me.” She said, running her fingers through the silky fur beside her. Sure, this past day had been incredibly traumatic, but….
At least she wasn't alone anymore.
🍓🦊
—