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A few days after retreating from the Spire of Deceit, Shadow Milk Cookie and his minions settled in a new area to plan what to do next.
Shadow Milk Cookie roamed through the new spire with his minions close behind. Suddenly he felt someone hugging him.
“Who said you could hug me?” he snapped, turning his head to glare at his minions.
Candy Apple Cookie wildly waved her hands in front of herself. “It wasn’t me! Honest!”
“I can attest to that, Master. We’ve been walking next to each other the whole time,” Black Sapphire Cookie said.
Shadow Milk Cookie squinted at the both of them, skeptical. When out of nowhere he felt a pat on his head, he flinched and looked around, shocked.
“What’s wrong?” Candy Apple Cookie asked.
Shadow Milk Cookie regained his composure. “Hmm…It seems someone is playing tricks on me.”
“Intruders? Do you want us to take care of them for you?” Black Sapphire Cookie asked.
“No. I have a feeling I know who’s responsible. It’s time for me to pay a visit!” He opened a portal and walked through. “You two keep watch here.” Then he disappeared.
In the Vanilla Kingdom, Pure Vanilla Cookie was having tea with White Lily Cookie discussing the events that took place in the Spire of Deceit. When they finished their tea and left the table, White Lily Cookie noticed an interesting item sitting on Pure Vanilla Cookie’s sofa.
“What is that over there, Pure Vanilla?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s a Shadow Milk Cookie plushie. Isn’t it cute?” Pure Vanilla Cookie said. “It was in my room in the spire.”
White Lily Cookie looked at Pure Vanilla in confusion. “And you took it with you?”
“Yes,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said with a smile.
“Um…why?”
Pure Vanilla Cookie walked over to the plushie and picked it up. “I don’t know if this plushie is special or not, but I give it affection every now and then.” He gave the plushie a light hug. “I like to think that where ever Shadow Milk Cookie is, he could feel the affection and feel a little less lonely.”
“I know you said you were hoping to befriend him, but if you ever encounter him again…please be careful. He’s still the Beast of Deceit…”
He nodded. “I understand your concern. He’s the one who ran away from me, though. I don’t think he’ll confront me again for a while.”
The two said their goodbyes as White Lily Cookie left Pure Vanilla Cookie’s home to attend to other business. Pure Vanilla Cookie sat the plushie back on the sofa, and went to clean up the tea table.
He thought about Shadow Milk Cookie for a moment. “Hopefully you’re not causing too much trouble wherever you are…” he said out loud, quietly to himself.
“What if trouble finds you?” said a voice.
Pure Vanilla Cookie looked around, startled. He knew who the voice belonged to, but when he looked around the room, there was no one around.
“Up here!” said the voice.
He looked up and saw Shadow Milk Cookie, poking his head through a portal then proceeded to drop down in front of him.
“Shadow Milk Cookie? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said in surprise. “Have you come to accept my offer of friendship?”
“You’re a funny one! Of course not!” Shadow Milk Cookie said. “I’m here about the tricks you’re playing on me. It should be obvious it would catch my attention.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie tilted his head. “Tricks? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Shadow Milk Cookie laughed and floated up to him, tossing his arm around Pure Vanilla Cookie’s shoulder. “Oh Silly Vanilly, you know how much I love lies. But just for this instance, we’re gonna tell the truth, okay?”
“I am telling the truth,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said. “Can you tell me what the tricks consist of?”
“They’re your tricks! Something I would expect from you!” Shadow Milk Cookie said. He floated away from Pure Vanilla Cookie and scrunched up his face, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “It’s…It’s like someone is holding me…in a hug…”
Pure Vanilla Cookie gasped softly. “Really? I can’t believe the plushie actually-“
“Ah-ha! You do know something!” Shadow Milk Cookie said, pointing at him. “So what’s the secret to this trick, hmm?”
“I didn’t know this would happen.” Pure Vanilla Cookie walked over to the sofa and picked up the Shadow Milk Cookie plush. “Here. This may be the source.”
Shadow Milk Cookie couldn’t help but be amused (and a little flattered) over Pure Vanilla Cookie keeping the plush. It was a little endearing. “Aww, that’s the plushie I left in your room back in the spire. I didn’t think you would take it with you,” he teased.
“You can have it back if you want.” Pure Vanilla Cookie held the plushie out toward him.
“Oh, no, no, no. It’s a gift from me to you,” Shadow Milk Cookie said with a wide grin. “A little reminder that when you get tired of the truth, you can always embrace deceit.”
“Yes. Embrace like this.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie wrapped his arms around the plushie to give it a light hug. Shadow Milk Cookie’s eyes widened and he jolted. It was the same feeling he felt earlier.
“That’s— that’s it! What did you do?! What kind of magic did you put on the plushie?!” he shouted, taking a step back.
“I didn’t do anything to the plushie. I didn’t know it was magic,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said. “Sounds like something didn’t go as planned when you made the plushie.”
“While I did make the plushie with magic, there’s nothing magical about it,” Shadow Milk Cookie said. “You did something. Even if subconsciously.” He poked him on the head a few times.
“But I—”
Pure Vanilla Cookie stopped and thought for a moment. Maybe he did something that had an effect on the plushie. He had an idea on what he might have done, but it sounded absurd.
“Well…actually…while hugging the plushie, I was hoping my affection would reach you somehow…”
Shadow Milk Cookie stared at him in disbelief. “What? Are you saying you just willed it to work that way?”
“That’s the only thing I can think of,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said with a shrug. “It could be a part of my newly awaken Soul Jam abilities.”
Shadow Milk Cookie sneered. “Well aren’t you full of surprises.”
“I suppose so!” Pure Vanilla Cookie said with a smile. “I should also say that the plushie is made with your magic, so my magic is probably connecting it to you.”
Shadow Milk Cookie slow clapped. “Bravo…It sounds like the mystery has been solved. Now stop using your…silly magic hug abilities.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie handed him the plushie.
“No, no, the plushie is yours,” Shadow Milk Cookie said, wagging a finger. He pushed the plushie back towards Pure Vanilla Cookie.
“I’m getting mixed signals…”
“Keep the plushie. Stop using your hugging magic.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie stared at the plushie, then stared back at Shadow Milk Cookie. Then he suddenly realized something. “Ah-ha! I know what the issue is!” he said.
“Great. Demonstrate so that I—”
Shadow Milk Cookie suddenly felt like he was being hugged again, but this time it wasn’t through the plushie. Pure Vanilla Cookie was actually hugging him. Shadow Milk stood still, blushing as Pure Vanilla’s arms were wrapped around him. His own arms trembled slightly as they hung limp by his sides. He didn’t know what to think. The hug was…comforting, but he still felt like he had to distance himself. Don’t lean in. Don’t get too close.
“You haven’t been hugged in so long, it must have been strange to be hugged by some invisible force, right? Now that I’m truly hugging you, you have a frame of reference. You can think of me.” Pure Vanilla Cookie said, softly. He gave Shadow Milk Cookie a light squeeze before letting go.
Shadow Milk Cookie didn’t move. He simply stood in place staring at Pure Vanilla Cookie. He looked at him annoyed and indignant at first, but then he averted his eyes while holding his own shoulder.
“My offer of friendship still stands. You don’t have to feel alone,” Pure Vanilla Cookie said, his voice warm and sincere. He smiled softly and held out his hand.
Shadow Milk Cookie stood frozen, his gaze fixed on Pure Vanilla Cookie’s outstretched hand. His mind raced with thoughts as he hesitated. He slowly reached out his hand towards his, carefully. Their hands nearly met…
Then Shadow Milk Cookie slapped Pure Vanilla Cookie’s hand away.
He forced a laugh out. “You’re persistent aren’t you? You know nothing about me!” He opened a portal behind him and backed away into it. “This isn’t over!” Then he disappeared.
“What about the…plushie…” Pure Vanilla Cookie’s words faltered once Shadow Milk Cookie left.
Back in the spire, Shadow Milk Cookie was in his bedroom, lying down on the bed. While resting his eyes, he realized the plushie situation was left unresolved. He couldn’t go back to Pure Vanilla Cookie now though; he would look stupid doing that. He did tell him to stop hugging the plushie, so maybe he listened.
But a part of him was hoping Pure Vanilla would hug the plushie again. He would never admit it though.
He opened his eyes when he felt a gentle embrace. It didn’t feel as strange anymore, now that he knew what a hug from Pure Vanilla Cookie felt like. Tender and sweet, soothing any tension he had at the moment. He closed his eyes and smiled, taking comfort in the hug.