Chapter Text
Strength.
That's what it took to be in a place like Choco Mud Town.
Resilience.
That's what it took to stay.
Perseverance.
Is what it took work towards leaving it behind for good.
Luck.
Is what it actually took to escape.
Up until a few hours ago, Street Urchin Cookie, a newly "Graduated" resident of the Upper City of the Creme Republic, had all four.
That was until a group of thugs at a bar recognized her as a former resident of Choco Mud Town, and promptly made moves to "throw her back down".
6 Cookies. One of her. She was the only Cookie that made it out of that bar, and even then she did so on Death's Door.
And now she was here, bleeding out in the middle of some town square, after crashing her motorcycle on a Bollard she couldn't see in the dark.
At least the fountain she was dying next to sounded nice.
Vaguely, she could hear noises in the square stirring to life. Cookies moving and talking amongst themselves, lights clicking on… All probably just to gawk at the intruder on their perfect little square. She had made quite the stir when she crashed…
Street Urchin Cookie closed her eyes. She tried to focus on the sound of the fountain. Trying to give her something nice to go off on, instead of just worrying what other people were thinking of her. She was supposed to be past that now…
Well…
She supposed she was going to be past everything In a few minutes…
She sighed.
A part of her… Almost saw this coming.
Or at least the idea of it.
That once she graduated to the upper class she'd just find a way to either get crumbled or tossed back down again…
Maybe.. she should have listened to that little voice of paranoia in her head… Too late now though..
More noises. Footsteps. Quick ones.
Street Urchin Cookie just tried to focus on the-
Light.
She shielded her closed eyes with an arm, as the footsteps drew right up next to her, and a glow of white light followed.
"Oh thank the House, you're still alive!"
A bright, melodic, yet worried voice rang out.
Tired, and near Death, Street Urchin Cookie curiously opened her eyes, and what she saw was,
Possibly one of the most beautiful Cookies she had ever seen in her life.
“Y-You're….. A…. Sight….. For…… Sore eyes…..”
Street Urchin chuckled, coughing out some of her own jam as she looked up to this angel of a Cookie.
"Oh goodness, hold on miss! We can get you all healed up, I just need you to hold tight!"
The Cookie said, as she placed the lantern down next to Street Urchin Cookie, and opened up her medical kit.
"Don't…. Bother…. Missy….. I'm as…. Good as gone…."
Street Urchin Cookie said, laughing a little at the pure absurdity of this random cookie's kindness. If she was back in Choco Mud Town, someone would have been robbing her by now…
“Nonsense miss! Hold on and don't fall asleep on me! We just need to staunch your bleeding and then we can get you to a professional!”
The Cookie said, as Street Urchin took a look at her as much as she could with her exhausted eyes..
Caramel Choux Cookie.
That's what her name tag said at least….
“Such a pretty name for a…. Pretty…. Cookie….”
Street Urchin said, not really realizing until a few moments later that she had said it aloud.
Were I not dying, I'd be more embarrassed…
She thought to herself, as Caramel Choux performed the first aid equivalent of throwing a cup of water on a house fire.
"Caramel…. Choux…. Cookie…."
"Yes miss, what is it?"
"Come…. Closer….."
Street Urchin Cookie mumbled, as she felt death tug away at her consciousness. She was determined to do one last thing before she gave in to whatever was beyond, and she'd be damned if she was gonna miss her shot now.
When Caramel Choux Cookie leaned in to listen, Street Urchin Cookie used up all her strength to grab her face, and give her a quick, jam-soaked kiss.
"Mhmm!"
Caramel eeped out, never having been kissed before in her life.
"Mwah~ Hah…. Always… wanted to…. Kiss a pretty lady…. Before i…. Croaked…."
Street Urchin Cookie made out, before she gave up the last of her strength, and slouched over. Caramel Choux was trying to wake her, trying to say something, but she could feel her senses dissipating. She knew this was the end. She had done what she wanted to do, even if it probably wasn't right, and even if for a moment…
She got a taste of what life was like outside Choco Mud Town.
And… It…. Didn't…. Seem…. Too… Bad……
Street Urchin Cookie closed her eyes.
When next she awoke, instead of finding herself in some paradise, she slowly, and groggily realized that she was…
On a hospital bed.
Very much alive.
And with Caramel Choux Cookie sleeping in a chair next to her.
She froze up instantly.
She… Was not expecting to live through that at all.
No…. “Doctor”... In Choco Mud Town could have treated what she had just been through, so why should…
She looked over to what she now realized was her exposed arm. The variety of Tattoo’s that it once hosted, as well as the wounds that had blanketed it, were all gone. Not even a scar.
Oh.
Street Urchin Cookie blinked.
She… Forgot that healing magic wasn't illegal up here.
She blinked again, as the entirety of what just happened began to fully set in on her.
Oh god she just randomly kissed the woman that was trying to save her life and now she's sitting right next to-
“Miss Urchin Cookie?”
“GAH!”
“Oh! Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"
Caramel Choux apologized, as Street Urchin looked over to see that she had just woken up from her nap.
“Oh my gosh i'm so sorry about kissing you i thought i was gonna die and i-”
“Oh, um, I didn't mind…”
Caramel Choux said quietly, surprised that Urchin Cookie would bring up the topic so suddenly, and completely kneecapping the mood that Street Urchin thought was happening.
“Wh- Huh?”
Before the conversation could continue, the door to the hospital room opened, revealing a kind looking doctor in white medical scrubs, holding a clipboard chock-full of notes.
“Ah! I thought I heard noise coming from here! Urchin Cookie, it's good to see you're finally awake!”
The doctor said cheerfully, as Street Urchin Cookie shifted uncomfortably in her bed.
Should she tell them her name is actually Street Urchin Cookie?
“How are you feeling?”
“Oh, um, fine enough I suppose.. I don't feel any pain.. And my heads all clear… So I don't think I have anything to complain about…”
Street Urchin Cookie said, looking at herself, still trying to get used to the fact that the tattoos that once served as a key part of her identity and safety were now healed over like the poorly-disguised wounds that they had always been.
"No discomfort in your limbs, or feelings of impending doom?"
"No?"
"Ah, good. Common side-effects of healing magic for some."
"So um.. am I okay then?"
"To go? I mean, as long as you're feeling well, you should be fine to start offloading yes. Your freind over there already paid for your bill in advance, so there's nothing to worry about on that front.."
Street Urchin Cookie looked over to Caramel Choux Cookie, who smiled at her kindly. She had to hold back a look of raw shock. This random stranger she kissed paid for her medical bills!? What kind of Cookie was she!?
Oh gosh, how much did she owe her now?
Did she just get trapped in a debt loop on her first day in the upper city??
“Thank you Doctor! We appreciate it alot!”
Caramel Choux chimed up, oddly cheerful despite only having woken up.
Street Urchin Cookie couldn't help but feel worried. Were the rumors wrong? Was the upper city just as bad as Choco Mud Town??
Street Urchin Cookie scooched over more towards Caramel Choux, and hushed her voice a little.
"Allright.. How much do I owe ya, and what's the interest.."
She said, waiting for the catch to all this unpaid kindness.
"Interest? Oh no, please, you owe me nothing! House Custard provides us Town Square workers excellent healthcare budgets! Really, this is all handled!”
Caramel Choux said a little bit too loudly, all which added to the absurdity of this situation.
This…. Isn't how things are supposed to go.
This… Isn't how life is supposed to work.
All of this felt so surreal. So… Out of place…
Was the transition from living in Choco Mud Town just going to be that hard? Were people up here really just that much kinder??
She felt her head spin a little bit, and reclined back in her bed. This was a lot to take in…
“Regardless of payment Miss Urchin Cookie, you should be fit to change your clothes when you can and walk out at your own leisure! All your possessions were put in a bag on your arrival, and they were returned to the room about an hour ago. So youre all good!”
The doctor said cheerfully, as he dropped off some discharge papers to be signed, and before Street Urchin Cookie could really comprehend it, was gone once more, leaving her alone with the Cookie that she had randomly kissed.
For her, the awkwardness was as palpable in the air as chunks in a mudshake.
“im…Um… Sorry… About last night…”
“Please, it's okay… You're new here, I didn't expect you to know….”
“How… Did you know I was new?”
“Oh, um… Your…… Gang Tattoos…..”
“Oh… Yeah… Um… Did those get healed over or something??”
“I… Did that actually… I had a feeling you might not be treated if you looked like a…. Thug… still, so I used what little healing magic I knew to heal them over…”
Caramel Choux Cookie admitted, a little bit ashamed at the fact.
Street Urchin Cookie blinked, and looked back down to her now bare arms. All of its history. All of.. Her history… Gone, just like that… One of those tattoos also.. Had her full name on it… There's no way that Caramel Choux would have been able to heal her tattoos without knowing it..
“Is… That's why you're not calling me by my real name ethier?”
“Ah…. Y-yes… I listed you as Sea Urchin Cookie instead of Street Urchin Cookie…”
“Sea Urchin….”
Street Urchin said to herself, not trying to admit how she somewhat preferred it to her old name…
“Am… I going to have to… be like this to live up here now?”
Street Urchin Cookie asked, not really sure what to make of all this change.
“You… Might have to yes… The Upper City prefers its people to be nice and approachable, you know….”
“Yeah… The few run ins I've had before… What happened… Were still such a shock….”
She admitted, as she tried to get used to the fact that her arms were now bare.
“This…. This is a lot….”
She said, looking at her arms.
“I… Wasn't expecting to live past that moment at the fountain…”
"I… I don't know what to do…"
She admitted, looking over to Caramel Choux with eyes like an abandoned dog.
Caramel Choux Cookie let out a little smile, and looked over to the book she had set down on the table next to the chair she was sleeping on.
“You know… This all reminds me of something that happened in a book I'm reading…”
“Huh?”
“In it, there's a Character called Caramel Hotcakes Cookie, who after a life of strange and extreme circumstances, goes from being a mild mannered office worker, to becoming reborn as a professional assassin in a wacky and wild life of crime…”
Caramel Choux recounted, as she looked over from the book, and back to Sea Urchin Cookie.
“In a way, you've had something of the opposite happen to you, Sea Urchin Cookie…”
“What do you mean?”
She said cautiously, as she tried to fit the puzzle pieces together herself.
“I mean, think about it.. Your Name, your Tattoos, even your Bike… All of those got washed away the moment you got here… You've gone from being a criminal to…. Being reborn into… um….”
“Something more.. Upper city?”
“Yes! Yes.. In its own way, you've been reborn too.. Except… I think for the better, if i may say so…”
Street Urchin Cookie looked down to herself, and saw all that was missing from her body. She peeked in a nearby mirror to see that even her trademark makeup had been scrubbed away, given way for something that looked more approachable and friendly.
If it weren't for her spines, she would almost be unable to recognize herself in the mirror.
Was this… The better option? Was this her shot out of poverty? Is this just… What she had to do in order to live in the Upper City?? She always thought that she would just open up a bike repair shop up here and live life out that way, but if this is what she actually needed to do to stay out of Choco Mud Town….
“I….”
Street Urchin Cookie hesitated.
She thought back to her life in Choco Mud Town. The connections she made, the family she had forged for herself. But also the chaos that lived down there every day… How she had to pay someone to watch her in her sleep so no one would come to rob her…
If she left it all behind, who would genuinely miss her? And who would just be disappointed they couldn't squeeze money out of her anymore?
No.
No, she wanted to leave it all behind for a reason. She knew that. This was her chance to. This was her out.
Street Urchin Cookie closed her eyes.
But it was Sea Urchin Cookie who opened them, and held out her hand to Caramel Choux.
"Should… We get going then?"
Sea Urchin Cookie said, still a little cautious, but going out on a limb for the first time in her life to trust this stranger that saved her life.
"Oh, um..Y-yeah! Uh…. You… Might want to… put some… Clothes on…”
Caramel Choux Cookie stated, as she averted her eyes from Sea Urchin Cookie.
Slowly, Sea Urchin Cookie looked down.
And realized that once the blanket covering her had fallen when she just sat up, that it wasn't just her arms that were bare.
“Oh…”
“I uh…. Oops..”
Sea Urchin Cookie said, embarrassed to no end. Blush covered her face, as she was quick to put the blanket back up to shield her bare chest.
First you kiss her, then you flash her!! Witches Street Urchin Cookie, could you be embarrassing yourself any more??
She thought to herself, as she quickly got off the bed, blanket covering her like a makeshift dress, as she walked over to the bag that contained…. Well… It was definitely some of her things….
“Uh… Caramel Choux Cookie? It's safe to look, but um… Are these your clothes?”
Sea Urchin Cookie asked, looking into the bag to see that while her personal belongings had been preserved, her pants and shirt and the rest had been replaced with more of what looked like Upper City fashion.
“Oh um.. I have your real outfit back at my place.. I… Had to give you some more reputable looking clothing because I was afraid you wouldn't get treated…..”
Caramel Choux said sheepishly, as Sea Urchin picked up the new clothes and looked them over.
A new Name, a new Outfit, a new Life…..
All thanks to… Her…..
Sea Urchin looked back to Caramel Choux, who was trying not to make it look too obvious that she was trying to ever so slightly peak, despite being given permission it was safe to look.
Sea Urchin Cookie wondered to herself what had made her so open to helping her… What had given her such kindness to do all this for her…. She closed her eyes, and sighed quietly. She knew better than to look a gift-horse in its mouth. At least for now..
She picked up the new clothes, and doffed the blanket that covered her, as she slowly put them all on, one by one.
Caramel Choux Cookie’s mind was racing with thoughts as she watched Sea Urchin Cookie slowly put on the clothes that she had selected for her.
She wasn't lying when she said she did all she did to make sure that she would be treated, but a part of her really did choose the clothes for her because she thought they would look so pretty on her…
And look pretty she did.
She stifled her breathing as she tried not to look too suspicious. She didn't know what it was, what single thing had happened to her, but…
That bloody kiss awoke something inside her that had refused to go to sleep ever sense.
No one had ever called her beautiful like Sea Urchin had. No one had ever even kissed her. She needed to know it wasn't a fluke. She needed to know it was real. That these emotions were real. That whatever the ovens she was feeling was real…
And for now, that meant holding on to Sea Urchin Cookie in whatever way she could.
Even if it meant….. lying…
“So um… Where next then?”
Sea Urchin Cookie asked, now fully clothed, and looking over to Caramel Choux. She kept her eyes closed, pretending still that she wasn't peaking.
“Is it safe to look?”
“Yeah… You can look.”
“Right then! Well, from here, I think we need to go back to my house! I have the rest of your stuff there, including what's left of your bike…'
"Ah Witches, I almost forgot… How bad is the damage?"
Keep her here.
"Its.. Not going to be going anywhere without some serious work I'm afraid…"
"Dammit… I'm gonna have to make a lot of coin to get back for that…"
Keep her here.
"You know, I could always use an assistant in my job as supervisor of the Town Square! I'm sure House Custard would be happy to hire you with my recommendations!"
"Really? Are you sure about all this? Really, it doesn't feel right that you're giving me all this charity…."
Keep her here!
"Sea Urchin Cookie, it's okay… Seriously, it is…"
Lie.
"I… Used to live down in Choco Mud Town too, long ago… I just want to give you the start I always wanted to have…"
Caramel Choux lied convincingly, as Sea Urchin Cookie seemed to lighten her posture and not be as tense.
"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't know…."
"It's okay… Just. I want you to succeed, because I see a bit of myself in you. And if you'd like, I can help you get on your feet here."
Keep her here. Keep lying.
"Okay Caramel Choux…. I trust you…"
Sea Urchin Cookie said resolutely, as she took all her things from the bag, and stowed them away in her new outfit. She smiled, feeling a little bit safer now that she knew that she was not a stranger, but a kindred spirit instead.
Caramel Choux Cookie could only smile in response, as she got up, and got her things ready.
Until she knew what she was feeling, Sea Urchin Cookie was going nowhere.