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Dear Vibrant Sugar,
Thank you for the gift idea. It worked wonderfully, the Avatar of Destiny has come back home with me. It’s only been a few days since its return and the calm in my life.
However, I have a request for you.
Truthfully, I do not know much about the Avatar. I do not believe you do either, but you both have wings. I do not know how to care for them as you do despite your teachings whenever I have asked.
If possible, I would love for you to come to my home and meet the Avatar in person. It may be a little shy, but I need the time to investigate if It has any creatures like it out there in this vast unknown world.
Selfishly, I wish for it to have some friends. Or, if it used to have them, closure on where they have gone.
You are the best first option I could think of. When you wish to visit, please send a letter in advance so I can prepare the Avatar for your arrival so It does not flee.
Yours truly,
Blueberry Milk - Fount of Knowledge.
Dear Blueberry Milk,
I would love to talk to the Avatar and help it with Its wing care. I am shocked you did not ask sooner, but we both know how stubborn you are when it comes to things, or creatures, you love.
I’ll do my best to keep them distracted whilst you look for a possibility of It having kinship with other possible Avatars. If you find nothing, I am still more than willing to try! A new experience is always something to celebrate.
I’ll arrive within the next week of this letter arriving.
From,
Vibrant Sugar.
“Stop that!” Blueberry yelled, whacking a wing away from his face.
Blueberry Milk was in his bedroom with the Beast. Trying desperately to get dressed for Vibrant Sugars arrival today. The Beast, however, had different plans.
It kept using its larger statue and wingspan to try and pull Blueberry Milk back to bed. Whining and chirping. Sounds that came off as a demand to come back to bed. Blueberry could almost imagine the beast complaining about how the sun hadn’t even come out, that they had more time to rest. That the bed was cold without him.
All wonderful notions if it weren’t for the fact Blueberry Milk had things he needed to do, and prepare, before Vibrant Sugar’s arrival.
“I promise we can sleep in more when Vibrant Sugar has left.” He whacked the wing that was sneaking up on him away. Not hard enough to hurt the Beast, but enough to push the wing away.
The Beast growled lightly.
“Oh come on!” Blueberry fixed his collar, happy with his appearance. “She’s not as bad as Charred Spice. She at least gave us warning for her visit. You can tolerate her for the time she's here.”
Whine.
“She has wings too, maybe you could get your wings preened better than I ever could give you.”
“Ieum!” It cried. Blueberry Milk was surprised to hear how offended it sounded.
“Okay okay, not as good. I get it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to send her home immediately.”
The beast let out a noise of disapproval before It finally, finally, got out of bed as well. Its large stature shrinking to that of a mortal cookie that barely reached Blueberry’s shoulders.
Blueberry Milk snickered. “You know if you wear that appearance you need a proper name.”
The beast shrugged, instead coming up and leaning into the back of Blueberry Milk. It rubbed its head very lightly, murmuring something in that odd language of its own.
“What was that?”
“Pu..re.. Vani..lla..” It spoke. Blueberry Milk turned to look at it. Blinking owlishly. Had it just said a name? In Blueberry’s language of all things?
“Pure Vanilla? Is that what you said?” Blueberry repeated with an air of hope. Maybe they were making progress on that front again.
The Beast nodded into his back. “Pur..e. Vanil..la.” It muttered again. Sleepy and annoyed. Blueberry Milk couldn’t help but find it so cute. Instead of embarrassing the Beast by overreacting to the words spoken, Blueberry Milk just turned around. Gently pat the hair on top of the Beast's head down. It felt like feathers too.
“Alright then Pure Vanilla cookie, shall we begin our day?”
The groan of annoyance that came out of the Beast was wonderful to Blueberry Milk.
He would deny every allegation of bursting into laughter at the beast.
Vibrant Sugar arrived on schedule, on the dot. Right at Noon, no sooner, no later. She floated down from the clouds with a bright smile. The top of the Spire of Knowledge welcomed her with open arms, and so did Blueberry Milk.
“Blue!!” Vibrant Sugar giggled, swooping in and giving him a hug so tight he wheezed. She didn’t notice the cookie that sat at the edge of the top, feet dangling with eyes blindfolded.
“Sugar..! How nice.. To see you..! Now please, let me breathe..!” Blueberry Milk patted her on the back, struggling to breathe through the dough crushing hug.
She did let up though. Happily pulling back and swirling around Blueberry. “Have you grown since the last time we saw each other?”
“Sugar, it's been 3 months.”
“So?”
Blueberry Milk sighed, rubbing his temples in fond annoyance. At least he knew she cared for him deeply. At that moment, the cookie by his side looked up.
‘Pure Vanilla’ frowned at the show of affection. Shuffling wings that barely poked out of the cloak It wore. Sure, it was aware that It's Love had these friends but… Seeing the open affection was different. It felt jealousy.
Vibrant Sugar noticed the movement, looking down at the cookie that stared up at her through its blindfold. She looked confused for a moment, looking between both of them before understanding came to her.
“Is.. Is that the Avatar?” She asked, looking down at the ‘cookie’ that was barely shorter than both of them. It was a cute cookie, sure, but what bothered her was how.. Barely different from both of them it looked.
“It is!” Blueberry Milk smiled, patting the ‘cookie’ on the head. It allowed it. “I don’t know exactly why the Avatar wished to take the form of a cookie today but… it did! Usually it’s much taller, barely a head taller than Charred Spice!”
A growl ripped from Its throat at the mention of Charred Spice. Vibrant Sugar gained this amused bewilderment look on her face when the Beast expressed its anger at the mention of that specific cookie.
Blueberry Milk looked horrified.
“I’m sorry it normally doesn’t do that and-”
“It’s okay, Blue. I understand. You must really lose that habit before Charred Spice ends up roasted alive.” Vibrant Sugar giggled before floating down to the Avatar.
It watched her closely. It didn’t like having visitors in its domain, even if the other half of itself deemed them safe to be here. Not after that ‘charred spice’ made It give up a gift.
Vibrant Sugar smiled gently, holding out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person. Would you like to go flying? We could even race about it if you want~”
… A tempting offer. The Beast shuffled a little. Looking up at Its other half to see how he felt and…
The Avatar saw how nervous Blueberry Milk looked. Did its other half want It to get along with her that badly? It expected a little bit more… possessiveness.
But that meant that this ‘Vibrant Sugar’ wasn’t a threat then. Not to them both, or their domain. It turned back to Vibrant sugar and took her hand carefully.
That was a mistake.
The Beast barely got to open its mouth to try and say something before Vibrant Sugar pulled it off of the ledge of the Spire. It yelped in surprise before letting its nine wings flare out to keep it from falling.
Vibrant Sugar had not let go of its hand.
“I’ll bring It back by sunseeet! By Blue!~” Vibrant Sugar called behind her as she took the Avatar to the skies, above the clouds. It couldn’t even see or hear Its pair’s response.
It harbored no fear for the small cookie dragging It along but It did worry for its other half. It hoped that the kingdom folk would leave Him alone, for a singular day whilst It went with Its partners whims.
Vibrant Sugar only stopped their ascent once they breached the cloudline, No one but the both of them there, silent as ever were it not for the wind that would occasionally make itself known.
Vibrant Sugar let go of the Beast’s hand finally then, floating down onto a cloud and patting the spot next to her with a smile.
“Come on! Blue asked me to talk with you. So come on, let's talk.”
.. She did not know It had a hard time speaking their tongue as opposed to hearing it. But It would try anyway. Its love had asked it too.
So the Beast floated carefully to one of the clouds, still unsteady in its smaller cookie form. It stood there, looking down at Vibrant Sugar as she laid on one, smiling up at it like It were an old friend.
“Sooo, did you have any family before now?” She asked.
“.. Sai.” It responded. Awkwardly sitting down in front of her.
“.. Crap I can’t understand you can i.” She laughed, running a hand down her face. “So much for being two cookies… or one cookie and one eldritch bird. You are a bird, right?”
It ruffled its wings a little. Bird was one way to put it, It supposed. It did not like the term bird but if She also used it to describe herself then It would as well.
It nodded. Vibrant Sugar looked relieved. “Oh good.”
There was a pause before her smile was lost. She glared at it openly and It tensed up. Ready to fight.
“So why are you courting Blue?”
The question she gave threw It off. That required such seriousness? Yet it could not answer her in a way that was… pleasant. For both parties.
It did not know how to describe the feeling of kinship, that the small blueberry cookie made it feel like that small little cookie it used to be, all those years ago.
Before Destiny took Its hand and led it into what it is now.
“Lo..ve.” It managed to speak. Awkward and pronounced near incorrectly. Its vocal cords would adapt soon enough but it was not now. Their language confused It.
Vibrant Sugar looked It up and down, calculating before a lazy smile replaced her serious look.
“I can tell, not many would give someone so oblivious a mating feather without proper consideration.”
The Beast flushed a dark red.
Blueberry Milk stood there at the top of the spire, trying to spot the pair above the cloudline but He knew it was futile. If Vibrant Sugar wanted them both to be found, Blueberry could’ve spotted them by now.
The only comfort was that he knew the Beast was still within the kingdom. Not sulking somewhere else like before. Not sulking within the cave Blueberry Milk had found it in so long ago.
Only two years ago. Maybe he should turn how they met into a fairytale for young cookies.
Blueberry Milk shook his head. Now was not the time to think about writing. The Beast was distracted by Vibrant Sugar who could hopefully get a useful conversation with it.
Blueberry Milk descended the Spire of Knowledge, straight into the library. He knew it was futile to go there, as he’d written most of the books there. But there were a select few, in the far back, that he did not write.
Books he found from a time before the ‘5 heroes’ as cookies called them. They were in a language not dissimilar to their current spoken and written but just different enough that it’d take him a moment to decipher it.
But he had one book in mind this time. Mythology and Legends from before their written history.
Normally he would stay away from those books when researching, as they are nothing but fiction.
But this time, he might as well need them. The Avatar of Destiny was in fact a mythological being after all. Yet it was chatting (hopefully) away with Vibrant Sugar above the cloudline.
Blueberry Milk found the book he hunted for, and found himself a quiet table in the far corners of the library. Opening it to the page where he first read about the Avatar of Destiny.
He hadn’t read beyond that because at the time, he had no interest.
He did now.
The book described the Avatar of Destiny as an untouchable deity. Yet Blueberry knew better. It was all powerful, nearly more than Himself with his souljam. But it was not emotionless.
Apathetic at times, but not without emotion. Its possessiveness of Blueberry Milk himself proved that. He flipped the pages describing the horrifying Avatar of Destiny, not needing to read what he could just easily find out.
He nearly flipped a page before noticing something different. A warden, it said.
Blueberry Milk read.
The Avatar of Destiny was not alone in the beginning. It had friends just like it, and one singular Warden made out of the purest Lily Flowers.
The five of them hid themselves from cookie kind, only coming out to correct injustices or stamp out evil that lurked within the hearts of cookies. Having traveled across the ocean to protect them.
One day, the Avatar of Destiny was left alone. The Flight Of Greed had fled for lands unknown, Unseen Pride hidden beneath earthbread. Its warden's Curiosity crumbled within its hands, and Hope hid behind curtains of darkness.
The Cookie’s of Earthbread faltered. With only one Avatar remaining, they grew beyond their means of survival. They wished to reach beyond the stars and sun, to see the Witches for themselves.
Regardless of the consequences. Regardless if the Witches even existed.
The Avatar of Destiny struck them down. Each and every one. The Sea of Earthbread formed from the tears it spilt over the departure of Its companions.
The Witches returned when the last Cookie was struck down, letting the Avatar hide within their shadow as they recreated the world. Giving birth to–
The book ended there. Or moreso, the pages after it were ripped out. Jumping directly to the next creation myth of modern day cookies. But that confirmed something Blueberry Milk needed to know.
The Avatar used to have companions. That there was land beyond Cookie-Yeast. There was a possibility that they could be found. If they were alive.
Would the Avatar even want to see them again? The mythology was vague about their departure and Blueberry Milk couldn’t find any more pages describing them.
He closed the book with a disappointed sigh. It was a start, but it was a slow one.
Pure Vanilla. The name that the Beast gave him this morning danced around in Blueberry Milk’s mind. Was that the name that the.. Warden? Had given it?
He was curious about the warden. They were a Lily cookie it seemed and embodied Curiosity. But why that specifically? For what motive? What purpose? Why give a warden to the Avatars, or Beasts, curiosity?
More questions came than answers.
Perhaps they had not been a warden but someone the Avatars trusted. Or Perhaps they had been an avatar as well but able to convincingly live as a cookie.
… Perhaps they were still alive, despite being described as crumbled. Curiosity never stayed dead, no matter how much you broke it. Blueberry Milk would know that aspect of it very well.
He found himself taking the feather on his left ear off and spinning it between his fingers. Letting the Navy blue feather shine gold. Would the Beast be offended if Blueberry Milk offered to help it find its friends? That Blueberry Milk decided to research it without Its permission or knowledge?
Would It hate him?
…
Hatred is too strong. The Beast had never hated him, no matter how much he tried. Somehow Blueberry only managed to make the Beast more protective.
He didn’t want the Beast to hate him anymore. Blueberry’s bed would be too cold without it. Insomnia would take him without the gentle purring. Without the gentle brushes of feathers.
Without the little kisses that the Beast didn’t know Blueberry was aware of before he drifted off to sleep.
Maybe he should ask Shining Salt about that next time the cookie wanders to Blueberry’s kingdom. Tell them about the land that existed beyond Cookie-Yeast. Let them find whatever laid there themself.
But Blueberry Milk knew that he wanted to see it with his own eyes. The Truth of the Avatar.
Of the creature that refused to let him go.
Blueberry Milk didn’t know how long he spent in the library but by the time he reached the top of the spire to retrieve ‘Pure Vanilla’, It was near sunset.
‘Pure Vanilla’ nor Vibrant Sugar were there. Not yet, at least. Just like before when the Beast hadn’t come home, Blueberry Milk felt restless without It nearby.
Even if he knew that it was just above the cloudline.
So he waited. They would be back. Blueberry just had to believe. Vibrant Sugar hasn’t broken a promise to him yet. He will not lose hope just over a few minutes. Just because he could not see the Beast that he had gotten accustomed to.
He waited. He-
Was pulled into a warm embrace from behind. Blueberry Milk would’ve freaked out had the softness of feathers and nine pairs of wings not immediately told him who it was.
He looked up to the tall beast above him, looked where Its eyes should be beneath the wings that covered its face. How the Beast had that small little smile.
The Beast was purring again. Blueberry Milk missed that noise and feeling of being pressed against its chest.
Then he spotted Vibrant Sugar peeking out from the edge of the tower’s edge. Giggling at him.
He’d been set up. What a cruel devil Vibrant Sugar is.
He didn't move though. Content with dealing with Sugar’s teasing in the comfort of a hug from his Beast.
“I need to tell White Flour all about this.” Vibrant Sugar pulled herself up slightly, smiling at them both in a way Blueberry Milk knew meant he would not hear the end of this for years. “You two have a good night, bye bye!”
And just like that, Vibrant Sugar flew off before Blueberry Milk could even think to stop her. He would’ve if he knew it would work.
‘Pure Vanilla’ just chirped and rubbed Its face into blueberry’s cheek.
“I missed you too.” Blueberry gently placed a hand on the Beast's cheek as well.
The Beast hummed contently.
“Did you have fun with Sugar?”
“Sai.”
“I'm glad. Maybe we can invite her over again?”
“...”
“Sai.”
Blueberry Milk laughed at the hesitance.
“You’re not even spared from her pranks and nosiness either. Poor baby.”
The Beast whined pathetically. Pulling Blueberry Milk impossibly closer.
“Shall we get dinner and then retire?”
“.. Sai, Ieum.”
The two walked down the spire.