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Morning sunlight poured softly through the window, warming Pure Vanilla Cookie’s room in a gentle golden glow. He stirred awake and stretched, listening to the cheerful chirps of bluebirds, signaling the start of a new day.
As he sat up, something caught his eye.
His Shadow Milk Cookie plushie was on the floor.
He tilted his head, still half-asleep. He remembered it was on the armchair beside his bookshelf before he went to bed. Guess it somehow toppled over. Perhaps he had placed it too close to the edge.
He got out of bed and set the plushie back on the chair, giving it a small pat before leaving to brush his teeth.
When he returned to his bedroom a few minutes later, he stopped in the doorway.
The plushie was sitting on his bed.
Pure Vanilla Cookie stared at it. He was sure he had just put it on the chair. Maybe he was mistaken? He had just woken up, after all. Trying not to overthink it, he picked it up and placed it back on the chair.
Downstairs, he made buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. He ate quietly at the table, enjoying the peaceful start to the day. After cleaning up the dishes, he carried a watering can into the living room to tend to the houseplants.
That was when he saw the Shadow Milk Cookie plushie on the sofa.
It was sitting right in the center of the sofa. Neatly arranged between the decorative pillows. Facing forward.
Pure Vanilla Cookie slowly lowered the watering can.
He knew he had not brought it downstairs.
Now he was certain something strange was going on.
Pure Vanilla Cookie looked around the room, scanning the ceiling and corners of the room carefully, looking for signs of portals or magical disturbances.
“Shadow Milk Cookie? Are you in my home, moving the plushie around?” he called out.
There was no response.
Even if Shadow Milk Cookie wasn’t directly moving the plushie, Pure Vanilla Cookie believed it had to involve him somehow. Possibly some sort of magic spell cast on the plushie so it could move on its own.
Pure Vanilla Cookie decided to run a small test. He left the plushie on the sofa and went upstairs to his bedroom. He opened the door and…
…Now the plushie was back in the armchair.
Hmm, it seemed like the plushie was following him. Nothing too concerning so far, but he still needed to be cautious. He didn’t know what the plushie was capable of.
For now, Pure Vanilla Cookie had a temporary solution for the problem. Until he could determine the plushie wasn’t dangerous, he picked it up and placed it inside the nightstand drawer. After that, he locked the windows. Then he left the bedroom and locked the door behind him.
Hopefully that will do for now. He went outside to tend to the garden.
It was noon, and Pure Vanilla Cookie returned home to have lunch. Before that, he would go upstairs to his bedroom to put some items away.
Yet when he opened the door, he was met with a shocking sight.
Blankets and sheets were pulled from the bed. Pillows tossed on the ground. His books from the bookshelf were scattered all over the room. The desk chair was tipped over. The drawer boxes were all removed from the furniture, and their contents dumped all over the floor.
Pure Vanilla Cookie slowly scanned the room, until his attention stopped at the armchair.
There it was.
The Shadow Milk Cookie plushie.
Sitting calmly with its usual cheery stitched smile, as if none of the chaos around it had anything to do with it.
Pure Vanilla Cookie stared at it silently.
This was going to be a bigger problem than he thought.
Pure Vanilla Cookie went back downstairs to have his afternoon lunch. This time he brought the plushie with him and placed it on the sofa nearby, keeping it within sight.
He kept glancing over at it while he ate.
The plushie sat perfectly still.
It seemed the plushie was cursed. Unfortunate since it was well-made and quite cute. He assumed it was just an ordinary plushie that Shadow Milk Cookie left in his room back at the Spire. In hindsight, he should have known better. There was always a possibility for it to be a tool of deceit.
After eating lunch, he picked up the plushie. It could start giving him more trouble if it remained here, so he needed a way to get rid of it. If only he knew how it moved around. All he knew was it only moved when he was out of the vicinity.
But there was something he found interesting about the plushie’s actions. It was able to leave a nightstand drawer, but it didn’t leave the bedroom when the door and windows were locked. Maybe it couldn’t leave locked spaces…
Oh! That gave him an idea!
He could place it in a locked box and bury it underground.
It shouldn’t be able to escape from that.
Pure Vanilla Cookie traveled to the land below the Vanilla Kingdom, where the Raisin Village used to be. The area was quiet now, mostly empty dirt fields.
Earlier, he went to Strawberry Crepe Cookie for assistance, who was willing to give him a heavy-duty metal box to seal the plushie in and even lent him a robot to dig a deep hole in the ground. Such a kind child.
He found a suitable spot near a large rock and pressed a button on the robot.
The robot carefully set down the metal box it had been carrying and began drilling into the earth with mechanical efficiency.
Meanwhile, Pure Vanilla Cookie set the Shadow Milk Cookie plushie into the box and placed the lid on.
Once the robot finished digging the hole, it locked the box shut with heavy metal clamps and lowered it into the ground. Then it rapidly filled the hole back in.
All done. That should be the last time he ever sees the plushie.
Pure Vanilla Cookie returned to the Vanilla Kingdom. The sun was still high above. He should have plenty of time to clean up the mess the plushie caused in his room then leave to spend time with the townsfolk.
He went inside his house and closed the door.
He was about to head upstairs when—
…No…
…It can’t be…How?!
It was the plushie…again!
Standing on its own a short distance away in front of the stairway, appearing to be sentient.
Looking directly at him. Holding a small stick in its hand.
It had the same stitched smile as always…and yet…Pure Vanilla Cookie had a feeling it wasn’t too happy right now.
Before he could react, the plushie sprinted and lunged at him, grabbing onto his shoulder. Then it repeatedly smacked him in the face with the stick.
“Ow! Hey! Stop it!” Pure Vanilla Cookie shouted while stumbling back, trying to block the hits.
He managed to pry the plushie off and held it away from him. Then he took the stick away. It continued to swing its arms around, trying to hit him.
The plushie must be incredibly upset at being buried underground.
Pure Vanilla Cookie realized that at first the plushie’s antics were harmless, simply following him everywhere. But when it was prevented from following him twice, it retaliated.
Did it want to spend time with him? Maybe it was feeling lonely.
If that was the case, it was certainly made in its creator’s image. Amusing in a way.
Pure Vanilla Cookie pulled the plushie close to him and wrapped it around his arms for an embrace. “I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
He held the plushie out in front of him. It wasn’t trying to hit him anymore.
Pure Vanilla Cookie smiled. “Since you want to follow me everywhere, I’ll carry you with me for the rest of the day. But you can’t hurt anyone, okay?”
The plushie didn’t react. Hopefully a good sign.
“I’ll take that as agreement,” he said. “I’ll even give you plenty of affection throughout the day.” Then he kissed the plushie on the cheek.
He went upstairs to clean his room, which didn’t take too long. It was mostly picking things up off the floor and making his bed. The plushie was placed within sight near a wall.
Once he was done, he held the plushie in one hand and grabbed his staff with the other as he walked downstairs and out the front door, ready to continue the day.
Evening arrived and Pure Vanilla Cookie was on his way home, along with the plushie. Unsurprisingly, during the day many of the townsfolk were wondering why he was walking around with a plushie everywhere. He explained the situation, and they understood. Some even found it endearing that the sentient plushie wanted to spend time with him.
After returning home, he set the plushie down on the dining table while he prepared dinner. He gathered the utensils and pans he needed. Next were the ingredients.
When he opened the fridge, he nearly jumped.
The plushie was sitting inside.
He shook his head and laughed. “You little rascal.” He picked up the plushie and placed it on the living room sofa.
Dinner went smoothly after that. Pure Vanilla Cookie ate his meal while occasionally glancing toward the plushie, which sat perfectly still as always.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Pure Vanilla Cookie settled down on the sofa to relax with a few books for the evening. This time he kept the plushie next to him, resting comfortably against his side while he read.
Before long, the sky outside had darkened completely. It was time for bed.
He stood up and stretched, letting out a small yawn. He carried the plushie upstairs with him and placed it neatly on the armchair before leaving to brush his teeth.
A few minutes later, he returned.
And the plushie was now sitting on his bed.
He paused in the doorway, then chuckled softly. “Alright. You can stay in bed with me for the night.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie held the plushie as he got in bed and pulled the blanket over him. He laid on his side and pulled the plushie close to his chest, patting it on the head.
“Goodnight.” He gave the plushie a kiss on the cheek, before drifting off to sleep.
Pure Vanilla Cookie woke up at dawn. The first light of the sun crept over the horizon, casting a dim glow against the bedroom curtains. Still sleepy he peeked his eyes open, then closed them again. It wasn’t quite time for him to get out of bed yet.
He shifted a little and lazily patted the plushie he had fallen asleep holding.
But something was off.
Instead of soft fabric, his hand brushed against something with a silky-smooth texture.
There was also a feeling of something wrapped around his torso. Strange.
Slowly, he opened his eyes again and—
…Shadow Milk Cookie!?
Pure Vanilla Cookie screamed in shock and jolted back. But the arms around him tightened immediately, holding him in place.
“Boo!” Shadow Milk Cookie said with a wide grin.
“Shadow Milk Cookie!? When did you—, how did you get in my bed like this without waking me up!?” Pure Vanilla Cookie stammered..
“The answer is obvious,” he said with a smug smile. “Here's a hint: What did you do before going to sleep last night?”
Pure Vanilla Cookie thought it over. He did his usual night routine before going to bed. He also brought the plushie to bed with him since it—
In that moment, realization dawned on him.
“You were the plushie this whole time!” he exclaimed. “No wonder it was able to move around so easily if it could just conjure portals.”
“Correct!” Shadow Milk Cookie said. “I decided to take the place of your plushie for a day.”
“Then where is the real plushie?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked.
Shadow Milk Cookie snapped his fingers. A swirling portal appeared above the armchair and the Shadow Milk Cookie plushie dropped onto the seat.
Pure Vanilla Cookie stared at it for a moment before looking back at Shadow Milk Cookie. “Why did you did you decide to transform into a plushie?” he asked.
“To torment you! To drive you insane with an ominous plushie that won’t stop pestering you and you can’t get rid of!” Shadow Milk Cookie declared proudly. “…But later I realized my original plan wasn’t going to work.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So I had to think of a different way to torment you.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie raised an eyebrow. “Which was…?”
“This!” Shadow Milk Cookie said, tightening his hold slightly and laughing. “You should have seen your face when you woke up and saw me! Priceless!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie blinked as resignation set in. “I see. Well, it sounds like you got the reaction you wanted,” he said calmly. “I would like to get a little more sleep now. You’re free to come back later.”
But instead of leaving, Shadow Milk Cookie immediately snuggled closer against Pure Vanilla Cookie’s chest.
“Nope! I’m going to torment you more,” he said.
Pure Vanilla Cookie paused. “…By cuddling?”
“Shh…” Shadow Milk Cookie whispered. “Didn’t you say you want to get more sleep? It won’t be easy while I’m tormenting you like this but try your best.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie sighed, though there was a hint of amusement in it. “Alright. I guess you’re staying.”
He settled onto the pillow and closed his eyes. The room grew quiet again. For a moment, everything was peaceful.
Then suddenly Shadow Milk Cookie planted a kiss on his cheek.
Pure Vanilla Cookie eyes snapped open. “Huh?!” Heat rushed into his face.
“It’s part of the torment,” Shadow Milk Cookie said with a snicker. Then he snuggled against Pure Vanilla Cookie again and closed his eyes.
Pure Vanilla Cookie was stunned for a moment, before brushing his fingers over his cheek.
Well…it’s only fair. He did kiss Shadow Milk Cookie a few times on the cheek while he was in plushie form. Not that he knew it was Shadow Milk Cookie at the time.
Pure Vanilla Cookie wondered why Shadow Milk Cookie didn’t leave the first time he hugged and kissed him as a plushie. There was time to do so when he needed to clean up his room.
It was probably because he didn’t want to. Pure Vanilla Cookie was starting to think Shadow Milk Cookie liked all the affection from yesterday. And this “torment” right now just sounded like an excuse to cuddle.
Pure Vanilla Cookie glanced down at Shadow Milk Cookie’s face. He looked comfortable and happy.
He lifted a hand and began gently stroking Shadow Milk Cookie’s hair. Several of the eyes in the hair morphed into little heart shapes.
Pure Vanilla Cookie chuckled quietly.
Now that the surprise from earlier had worn off, he found himself relaxing into this unexpected cuddle session. Shadow Milk Cookie let out a soft content hum as Pure Vanilla Cookie continued stroking his hair.
Pure Vanilla Cookie closed his eyes again with a peaceful smile on his face.
He didn’t mind staying like this for a while.