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Burning Spice paced around in Golden Cheese’s guest bedroom. He and the other beasts had gotten a talk from Pure Vanilla about being ‘reformed’ and getting ‘better’... To Burning Spice that just sounded like a bunch of bullshit. How was HE supposed to change and be ‘good’, he doesn’t want to be good again! There’s no reason for him to try. But… He didn’t have much of a choice. He was currently stripped from his souljam and the only way to get it back was to TRY and get better, even if he HATED the idea of it.
He was so BORED. It felt like Golden Cheese had NOTHING to do in this damn kingdom. Most of her subjects were resting in their soul cheese and the few who did come out sometimes weren’t super entertaining ethier, they constantly had an eye on him, they refused to let him break stuff. It felt so CAGING he HATED IT!
He scoffed as he completed yet another lap around the room, getting sick of staring at the same four walls. He stared at the door and burst through it, slamming it open and making a loud sound when it hit the wall. Maybe if he went to go bother Golden Cheese he would feel a little less bored… She had told him where she was earlier, it was something about research? Oh yes he remembered! She was going to research how to get her subjects back in her library. She had borrowed a ton of books from other kingdoms, desperate to find a more permanent solution to her problem.
He scoffed at the thought. It sounded so boring to sit there reading, and writing, and reading, and learning about pointless things that wouldn’t even work! Just the idea of bringing back her crumbled subjects was a ridiculous idea! From his knowledge that has never been possible before. Besides, her subjects were WEAK! PATHETIC even! Why bother trying to bring them back?
He kept walking towards her library, he was just about to grab the golden handle to open the door but was stopped by Burnt Cheese. He growled as he stepped back, staring at the cookie who stood before him. He didn’t expect any of her subjects to be out of their soul cheese right now.
“You cannot pass! I was ordered to not let anyone.” Burnt Cheese stood tall, not taller than Burning Spice but still, tall. Burning Spice scowled, as much as he wanted to just pick up and throw him at the damn wall. But he stared him down, thinking about how to get past him without getting in trouble with Golden Cheese and potentially other ancients. Breaking item’s was one thing but if he dared to lay a hand on one of Golden Cheese’s precious treasures, especially her son.
“What if it was an emergency?” He crossed his arms and stared down at him, trying to out smart the gatekeeper. “You and I both know you do not have any sort of emergency.” Burning spice’s eyebrows furrowed at that statement, he didn’t like the way that Burnt Cheese was talking to him. “You are not allowed in and I was ordered not to let you in!” Burnt Cheese slammed his staff against the ground, making Burning Spice step back a bit more in surprise. “Hm.” Burning Spice smiled. “Well I suppose Golden Cheese does not need to be informed about the trouble Fettuccine is getting into! I guess I could just let her wander off and out of this kingdom by herself!” Burning Spice turned around, smirking as he began to walk off. “Fettuccine?” Burnt Cheese sounded worried, but he shook his head. “No! You’re lying!” He accused Burning Spice, stepping forward.
Burning Spice let out a low laugh, stopping as he heard Burnt Cheese’s accusation. “Well I COULD be telling the truth and you wouldn’t know… Unless YOU want to go see for yourself? She’s on the other side of this temple so I don’t think you would get there in time…” He tapped his chin with a finger, smirking as he heard Burnt Cheese grunt and rush past him, deciding not to risk the chance of the little cookie getting lost, knowing how much she LOVES to wander.
Burning Spice walked up to the library's doors once again, gripping the handles and sending the doors flying open. The room was surprisingly dark, it was full of bookshelves and dimmed down lights. He hummed, walking through the shelves to attempt and find Golden Cheese. He could hear a faint sound of pages flipping, a pencil softly writing… It got louder as he got closer to Golden Cheese.
After turning a corner he found her, sitting at a table with a lamp turned on beside her, two PILES of books beside her, one taller than the both of them, while one was just up to her chair. She shut her current book and put it into the smaller pile, it seemed to be her ‘discard’ pile. She stood up on the chair, grabbing a new book from atop of the bigger pile before sitting back down.
Burning Spice stepped closer, seeing a pile of already written in notebooks and getting a glance at her current one. It was almost sad how desperate she was to find a permanent way to keep her subjects alive… Almost. He walked up to the big pile of books that sat beside her, she was too wrapped up in her studies to notice him yet. He looked at the books, up and down before grabbing one in the middle. He YANKED it out letting all the books fall and startle Golden Cheese. She let out a loud squeak, her head whipping towards his direction as she heard the books fall.
She let out a loud sigh, putting a bookmark in her book before setting it down. She crouched down to start picking up the books, she looked so terribly exhausted… Burning Spice raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, surprised that he wasn’t getting a lecture from her. “Have you got nothing to say to me? No lecture about how I shouldn’t have done that and I’m here to ‘Improve’?”
Golden Cheese sighed. She turned to look at him, setting down some books on the table before fully turning to face him. “I do not have the time to lecture you.” She softly admitted, watching as his expression turned to a confused one. She rubbed her eyes as she sat down on the chair, thinking of what to say next… “Burning Spice. Do you understand how much energy it takes out of me to keep my subjects out all the damn time?” She stared, the exhaustion weighing heavily on her shoulders like a burden she could not rid herself of.
Burning Spice hesitated… How much energy did it take? It was only three people, it can’t take up that much energy..! Right..? He thought to himself before responding. “Hmph. Can’t take up THAT much energy! It’s just three people!” He let out a laugh, thinking that she was just being dramatic.
“All of my energy.” She bluntly replied. “I feel so drained. I’ve been researching everything trying to figure out if I can find a way, some way to not have to use all of my energy to keep my subjects alive.” She sounded on the verge of tears as she looked at all of the books she’s been reading.
“I have so many books from all over Crispia! Hell there’s books from beast yeast in this pile! I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to get through all of these, it just feels hopeless!” She turned away from him, picking up more books. Her wings looked neglected, feathers were falling out and there were so many uncomfortable pin feathers in her wings that have not been tended to.
As Burning Spice looked closer at her he saw she was in an overall terrible physical state. Her hair was messy, her wings were neglected, she was clearly exhausted, and was on the verge of a breakdown. He could hear the sound of her voice, see the way she trembled. He could sense the way she needed someone else to tend to her for once. He sighed, a part of him wanted to… Help her. A big part of him. He mumbled to himself, thinking about how he’ll regret this but decided that if he didn’t the other ancients might blame him for her current state.
“Then put them away.” He grumbled, grabbing her shoulder and feeling her tense up. He watched as surprise appeared on her face as she looked back at him. “You need the rest so put them away. They’ll understand.” He sounded firm, almost demanding. He didn’t seem like he was willing to accept a no.
“What.” She stared at him, processing his words. “Nno… No I can’t! Not with you around… Not with Fettuccine! Who will watch my baby girl and- and what if YOU do something I can’t! I can’t trust you enough I-!”
“Enough!” Burning spice gently shook her, not wanting to listen to her sleep deprived ramblings. “I’ll watch her. I understand you don’t trust me but I’m here to become a better person right?” He crossed his arms as he leaned back. “Well yes but-!” Just as she spoke up she was gently shushed by Burning Spice holding a hand out to pause her. “If you don’t let me try to do something as simple as watching a child when YOU can barely do it yourself then what's the point of keeping me here? If you don’t let me TRY to help, how can I build trust?”
She stared at him silently. Taking a minute to think about his words. “I suppose… You don’t have your souljam..” She hesitated, looking so nervous… “Alright… Fine. I-I guess I can call my subjects down and have them return to their soul cheese’s..” She picked up her phone, starting to type up a message.
Burning Spice stared down at the phone, surprised at this technology. “What is that?” He stared at the words on the screen, squinting at how bright the phone was. “When did this start to exist?!” Golden Cheese lightly snickered as she sent the message to her subjects, turning to look at him. “Wow… You don’t know what a phone is?” She wasn’t too surprised but she thought the beast cookie’s cookies were aware that the world had gained more technology!
“NO?? What the fuck is it??” He growled, getting slightly annoyed at her teasing tone. He watched as she sat up straighter beginning to explain. “Okay so a phone is a machine we can use to communicate with other people! You can take pictures, send messages, record videos, and play games on it! It has a built-in flashlight if you need it! Two cameras for the front and back! It’s easily portable and so is it’s charger so you don’t have to carry around batteries all the time!”
She began to go off on a ramble about other devices, Burning Spice listening intently. As she kept speaking, eventually she was interrupted by her subjects entering the library. She stared at her precious treasures, slowly getting up to hug Burnt Cheese, before pulling away to look at the rest of them. “My subjects I-...” She started. “You need us to return to our soul cheese’s don’t you?” Smoked Cheese crossed his arms, staring at her.
Golden Cheese was slightly shocked, not expecting him to suddenly speak up. As she was about to get defensive she felt Mozzarella gently grabbing her hands, speaking up. “My queen, we know you are exhausted from having us out. It’s so obvious when you are drained!” Mozzarella smirked a bit, smiling up at Golden cheese. “Please rest my majesty!” She let go of Golden Cheese’s hands.
Golden Cheese hesitated, sighing softly as she understood her subjects knew what was happening. “Okay… Okay. Rest well then my subjects…” She sighed, watching as her subjects returned back to crumbs into their soul cheese’s. She gently scooped them up, watching as Fettuccine followed her to the table where she gently set them down.
Burning Spice glanced down at Fettuccine, seeing the way the little mummy looked up at him. He looked back at Golden cheese, grabbing her shoulder and gently leading her away from the table. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.” He listened as she whined softly. He rolled his eyes before picking her up and causing her to squeak, carrying her as Fettuccine followed behind them.
Burning Spice carried her throughout the temple, getting lost a few times before finally making it to her bedroom, plopping her down onto her bed. “Augh gentle!” Golden Cheese complained, watching as Fettuccine climbed into the bed with her. She gently brushed a hand against Fettuccine’s bandages, looking at her with a gentle gaze.
Burning Spice stared down at her, looking at her wings. He moved closer to the bed, grabbing a wing to stretch it out. Golden Cheese cookie quickly pulled away though, her eyes widened as she stared at him.
“What in cheese’s name are you doing!” She snapped at him, looking fearful as she recalled the last time he had touched her wings. “Clam down birdie!” He grumbled. “You have so many pin feathers I was just gonna preen them!” He reached out for her wing again, this time being stopped by her grabbing his wrist. She stared up at him anxiously. “You’re going to be gentle right?” Burning Spice held himself back, feeling a surge of anger and annoyance. He took a deep breath, trying not to be angry at her paranoia. “Yes. I will be gentle. Please just. Let me preen your feathers.”
Golden Cheese could hear the serenity in his voice, letting go of his wrist and stretching out her wings. She scooped Fettuccine into her arms, holding her daughter as she felt Burning Spice beginning to focus on her wings. She was tense for a bit. Trying not to freak out at the slightest uncomfortable touch she felt.
At one particular feather she got very tense, about to react in a very strong way when she heard Fettuccine suddenly speak. “Why so… Scared?” Fettuccine stared up at her mom, her eyes big and watery like a little puppy. “Mama is just… Anxious.. And tired.” Golden Cheese sighed, staring down at her.
Burning Spice rolled his eyes a bit at her speaking, though staring over her shoulders and seeing Fettuccine made him relax a bit. He spoke up as he rubbed out another pin feather. “Your Mama has been hurt in the past. Her wings are very sensitive and she’s scared they might be hurt again.” He looked away from Fettuccine, focusing on her feathers once again.
Golden Cheese was surprised by his response, hearing as Fettuccine let out a soft ‘ooo’ in understanding. She let herself relax a bit. Maybe Burning Spice was improving. As he got to the last few feathers Golden Cheese was like puddy, soft coo’s coming from her as she felt the relief of her last feather being preened.
Burning Spice pulled his hands away, still hearing the coo’s coming from Golden Cheese. “Pft… What a pathetic noise.” He grumbled, checking her wings just in case there were any pin feathers he may have left behind. Golden Cheese gave him a slight glare at his comment, slightly annoyed.
She watched as he went over and through her feathers, making sure she was comfortable and tended to properly. “Burning Spice.” Golden Cheese’s voice was softer, catching his attention and making him pause. “Thank you.” She looked away, almost as if she was embarrassed to be thanking him for anything.
Burning Spice just stared for a minute. He hadn’t heard those words in a long time. He grabbed Golden Cheese by her shoulder, turning her to face him as he reached out to gesture that he wanted to take Fettuccine. He watched as Golden Cheese kissed the top of her daughter’s head and gave her a big squeeze. “Be good for Burning Spice okay?” She gently brushed the top of Fettuccine’s head before giving her to Burning Spice. “Okay…” Fettuccine softly mumbled, going into Burning Spice’s arms.
As Burning Spice took Fettuccine, he looked back at her as if he was waiting for something. “Lay down.” He grumbled, he wanted to be sure she was actually resting before he left. Golden Cheese’s eyes narrowed, a bit annoyed at his demanding tone. “Do not speak to me in such a way!” Golden Cheese grumbled, though she still made her way under her covers. She hugged one of her pillows as she started to get comfortable.
Seeing that Golden Cheese was actually planning on resting Burning Spice let out a low hum, turning away to the door. “Turn off the lights?” Golden Cheese asked, just as he was about to step through.
He looked at the light, his eyebrows narrowing as he glanced at the switch. He pointed at the switch, silently asking if he was supposed to flick it. Seeing her nod he turned off the lights. “Goodnight… And You’re welcome.” He mumbled, shutting the door behind him to let her get some much needed rest.
Maybe being good isn't as terrible as he thought...