Chapter Text
When it came to the life of a Dragon, solitude was just something that one had to come to terms with. Once a dragon would reach a certain age, they would leave the protection of their parents’ lair in order to find their own. This was the norm, and it was perfectly acceptable, merely a cautionary measure. For if a Cookie would just so happen upon an unassuming cave, only to find it inhabited, then in the slim chance they would survive the encounter, the Dragon would then have to leave. Most Dragons didn’t want to kill, but Cookies wouldn’t even spare a second thought to hear them out. No, most Cookies would rather risk their fragile lives chasing out the apparent threat than listen to a Dragon’s plight.
All Cookies were like that, chasing out or even in some cases killing the supposed threat even if they had only simply minding their own business.
This is how it was, and this is how it had always been. Cookies couldn’t be trusted in the slightest, and it was something all Dragons had to learn. Pitaya had learnt this well enough from Lotus and Ananas, and they’d made sure to do everything in their power to chase off the Cookies that might have just so happened upon their lair accidentally. Though it had not killed, not once, even if battling did fuel it in a way. For as much of a nuisance as these Cookies were, for how incessant they could be wandering near, they were innocent in every other way. They wouldn’t stumble upon the place looking to get killed, or looking for a fight. They were nothing more than a passerby, a passerby trapped in a inherent psychological debate with their own morals and what was deemed ‘correct’, before eventually deciding on going for the norm, as if frightened that doing anything else could end badly for them. And Pitaya understood that perfectly well, all Dragons did, but it’s not like the Cookies would even think to consider that.
It was simply what fate had deemed for them: Dragons were the enemy, and that was that. They were… unfeeling creatures that only knew death and destruction, and to think otherwise would be putting you in a danger that most wouldn’t wish on their worst enemies.
Well, except Dragons, it seemed.
A shuffling outside suddenly alerted Pitaya to movement out of the cave, and changing into a Cookie form, they could moved faster that way anyways, they raced out. They surveyed the area for a bit from the ground, but after seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they took to the air. Their cave was hidden pretty well, and trees surrounded it from very angle, so they were obscured as well as they gazed out at the brush. It could see movement on the right side of the forest surrounding them and it moved closer, lowering itself down a bit as it glanced at the culprit.
It was a child..?
Pitaya blinked as they hovered there, observing the Cookie from above, hidden in the trees. The Cookie appeared to be on the verge of tears, but Pitaya couldn’t say they really felt all that much sympathy. They were on high alert, and the Cookie may be a child, but he was still a Cookie. If they helped him, he might run off and tell whoever he was with about the existence of a dragon in the forest, and Pitaya would have to leave to avoid a confrontation. But still the child remained, clinging to a tree like it would bring his companions back, and Pitaya just watched him, ignoring the prick of sympathy he was making them feel.
Child or not, he was still a Cookie.
Backing up and further into the trees, Pitaya angled itself in such a way where it looked to be preparing for a dive bomb. Then it soared forward, miles away from the Cookie, they didn’t want to hurt him after all, but still close enough where a blur of red-pink could be seen, and the Cookie stumbled away from the tree almost as if he’d been blown away. He hadn’t, Pitaya hadn’t been going fast enough to create a strong enough wind, but it still appeared like that. Then, when the Cookie looked up at the sky, Pitaya let out a burst of fire into the sky, and the Cookie’s dough then paled. He scurried off without another word and Pitaya landed in some bushes not all that far away. They’d been obscured the entire time, so it was unlikely that the Cookie would tell anyone about the scary sight in the forest. He might only describe it according to what he saw: a flash of red, and wind.
It was cruel, Pitaya knew as much, but it was simply the way things were. Even if that Cookie hadn’t been aware of the ‘rules’, so to speak, soon enough he would, and he would become yet another thorn in the Dragons’ side. And it wasn’t the first child they’d dealt with either, though this had appeared to be the first one to accidentally stumble upon them. The others had been there with a purpose, a misguided desire of perceived revenge, or whatever had been going through their heads. Were the Cookies ‘training’ their young, younger and younger? Or was it perhaps only a few parents who seemed to have a grudge?
Pitaya wouldn’t know why, it hadn’t killed anyone, only chased them off. Obviously the Cookies wouldn’t realize that, but still it was annoying.
Stretching out its wings, Pitaya took to the air again. It still couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to patrol, especially after witnessing that child get so near. It started with the left side of the forest, only for it to notice a clearing not all that far away from its lair, though, it seemed like the clearing was far too busy itself to really pay attention to the Dragon watching it with mild interested. It was far away enough that the Cookies and such were only mere blobs of colour, and clearly not an imminent threat. Still though, there was one blob of colour, a real eyesore of a red-orange, violently twisting on and over itself, as if whatever it was attached to couldn’t seem to settle down. What it was, Pitaya couldn’t be sure, and it was far too dangerous to leave the safety of the trees. The clearing may be in the forest, but the trees surrounding it were sparse, almost as if they’d been cut or burnt down. The orange-red blob, however, still seemingly seemed to be uncomfortable.
But it really was too far away for Pitaya to really worry about it, and it clearly wasn’t in any danger of coming towards their lair, so they ignored it.
Plus, only bad things could come from a Cookie encampment anyways.
Pitaya turned their interest back on patrolling the forest, using the cover of the trees to hide themself from prying eyes. Two Cookies were hiking near the edge of the forest and nowhere near its lair, so it didn’t spend much time worrying about them. Next, they noticed a small boy walking through the forest. He was older than the child from earlier, and there was a stack of papers cuddled into his arms. Two feathered wings were folded behind his back, and his expression appeared to be determined. Also, he was headed nowhere near Pitaya’s lair, so they decided to ignore him. They couldn’t really know where he was going, but he seemed pretty set on his path. Pitaya then next checked the forest behind its cave. Not really known for its Cookie activity, but Pitaya did like to hunt around here. So, if the Cookie activity could be left to the minimum, they would be grateful for that. Its eyes gazed around the forest, and while it saw no Cookies, it did see a mouse or two, and, deciding ‘why not?’, they dived and picked up the mice without much interference. Taking to the air again, they returned to their den, all areas seeming clear, and landed in the cave. They placed the mice down on a rock jutting out of the wall and then left the cave, picking up the pot that they’d found abandoned, and flew down to the lake to fill it with water.
While they were perfectly capable of eating the mice the ‘traditional’ way, Pitaya found that they liked doing it this way better. It almost made them feel like they were on the same level as the Cookies, and somehow that filled them with a triumphant feeling. Once satisfied with the water level, they returned to their den and placed the pot on a pile of sticks, before proceeding to heat the pot up themself. Then they threw the mice in and waited.
Despite having to be under constant surveillance, Pitaya did like where they lived. It was fittingly remote, and the Cookie that did stumble upon here were few and far between, so while they were a nuisance, it wasn’t all that bad. Plus, when they still lived with Ananas and Lotus, the swamp had been fine, but Pitaya just simply more preferred the current almost volcanic soil of their current home. The soul back at the swamp had been cakey and unpleasant, but here, the soil was quite dry, and Pitaya preferred it that much more. Moving home was just something that Dragons did once reaching a certain age, but Pitaya was very happy with where they’d ended up. They didn’t know how Cookie families worked, but from what they’d seen over the years, it appeared that they lived with their parents far longer.
And perhaps that was why their hatred of Dragons was so prevalent. More time with their parents, meant it got baked into them more. Meanwhile with Dragons, whether or not you end up killing your intruders seems entirely dependent on yourself. Would you rather kill them and never hear from them again? Or would you let them be, and chase them off, leaving them open to finding you again if they discover you? Apparently that seemed to be an easy choice for Dragons
But for Cookies?
It’s unlikely they’ll ever get to the point that they can choose if they consider Dragons unfeeling. And that’s why most Dragons avoid confrontation. Why fight when the other side has such a shortsighted view of you? There’s no point. It’s better to hide away from the world that hates you than confront such a rigid wall of a world view.
All Cookies are the same, that’s something all Dragons know.
To consider otherwise is only writing your own death sentence.
Believing that a Cookie could be different is a dangerous yet worthless thing that will never have a good outcome.
You’d be fool to even consider that.
If Cookies weren’t going to give Dragons a chance to explain themselves or even form some form of comradie, then why should Dragons heed them?
If hiding away is necessary to keep the world’s balance in place, then so be it.
Pitaya glanced up at the sky. The sun was still quite high, and it could only really be about midday, yet, somehow the forests surrounding them seemed restless. They couldn’t place why, and Dragons weren’t exactly attuned to nature, but the trees seemed unsettled somehow, though the forest was silent. It wanted to investigate, but the mice weren’t ready yet, and it didn’t exactly want to leave the pot unattended. It could draw in lost and hungry Cookies, and Pitaya wasn’t exactly ready for that. It couldn’t trust any Cookie, not even one down on their luck, so it certainly wasn’t ready to be accommodating should one show up. Dragons had to be cautious, they couldn’t afford to take risks. They couldn’t risk being taken advantage of and become someone’s plaything or something of that nature. They had to be cruel, that was what fate had decided for them. They had to be cruel, even though Pitaya was sure that some didn’t want to be. They had to be cruel, for their own safety.
It didn’t matter if the Cookie was at death’s door, it didn’t matter if they were a child, it didn’t matter if the Cookie was fully prepared to fight them to the death.
For their own safety, Dragons had to be cruel.
A sizzling noise from the pot caught Pitaya’s attention and they turned their head. The mice had turned a golden brown colour, and they removed them from the pot. They placed both mice in their jaws and then threw out the water into the pond, before returning and proceeding to chew on the mice.
Pitaya ate their meal in silence, and while sometimes silence was comforting, somehow the forest still seemed on edge. There was a slight breeze now, and it seemed to be growing chilly, so Pitaya retreated further into their den, eventually hiding their appearance from the outside world. To them, it was simply an abandoned cave, with no sign of life for miles. But still there would be something intriguing about the place too, you just couldn’t put your finger on it, because, while the cave would’ve seemed abandoned, soon you’d find the mice fur on the soil and little red scales that scattered the place. But since you would’ve had no other clues as to something living there, you could simply chalk it up to a passing bird or something like that.
That was just how it had to be. Cookies far out-populated the Dragons, so they had to bend to their will in a way, and they could not do all that much about it in any case.
The chill could still be felt through the cave walls, after all, the entrance was a giant hole, there wasn’t much preventing the wind from getting in in any case, and seeing as most caves were like that, Dragons simply had to deal with it. Though, Pitaya had never minded the cold winds all that much. They saw much less Cookies when the wind was cooler, so in a way, it was almost relaxing. Pitaya could very well fall asleep to the wind if they wanted, fully protected from any Cookie discovering their home. It was only a brief respite though, as eventually they would have to leave once again and patrol. Though, usually they would’ve had to deal with more than just a lost child in a day, so the fact that another Cookie hadn’t shown up yet was surprising, and honestly, frightening. Things were calm, but they felt too calm. Hidden in the shadows of their cave, Pitaya almost felt a need to leave once again and patrol.
It was quiet, too quiet, but nothing seemed off. The chilly wind was the only thing out of the ordinary, and it wasn’t even that out of the ordinary. Wind came and went, it was simply a part of nature, but still it felt strange.
Perhaps it was because of that sighting of the young Cookie with a purpose earlier, the one with the feathered wings, or the sight of that encampment, far away, but not out of the forest. For all Pitaya knew, that lost child from earlier could have been from that encampment, if it had been that, and not some freak show or something like that. But if the child had been that close, then why had he just run off in the opposite direction? Wouldn’t he have run off in the camp’s direction? Or for the other one, the one with papers, what was his goal? Were they in cahoots? Send the terrified child to scout out the area, not caring if he lives or dies, and then send that older child?
When it came to Cookies, anything was possible.
There was no evidence to suggest that they knew of Pitaya’s existence, and they didn’t think that they knew, but still the thought was there.
Eventually, Pitaya just walked out to their front entrance, though they found nothing. So, their worries had been unfounded. Good. It had nothing to worry about. Returning inside, it thought it could hear a distant scream. Not anywhere near it, closer to where the camp was, but still fairly close. Though, the fact that it had pierced through the wind was slightly concerning. But when it came to Cookies, Pitaya had a hard time feeling any sympathy. Instead, it walked over to the part of the cave it had seemed its sleeping area, and sat down. Being in a Cookie form had its advantages, conserving energy was one, and it also allowed Pitaya to function more like a Cookie than if it had been in its true form. Though it also made things appear much larger than it was used to, which took some getting used to. Still though, it much preferred this form. Being as large as it was when in its true form made quite a few things difficult, such as reading the book it had picked up from one unlucky intruder.
It was some old fairytale about a princess Cookie in a tower with some curse that Pitaya hadn’t exactly cared to learn about. The book was almost juvenile in how it displayed the story. Going on and on about true love and stuff like that. And while many a magical thing happened in this land, Pitaya had a hard time believing that something like ‘true love’ existed. Dragons weren’t exactly raised with being taught that ‘love’ was a powerful force, and yet Cookies treated it like it was some magical force that no one quite knew how it worked. It all seemed a little ridiculous. Though when considering how Cookies raised their young, Pitaya supposed it did make sense. Cookies were usually openly affectionate, it seemed, especially seeing as their worldview was so prevalent. So it was perfectly understandable that they might consider ‘love’ to be a powerful thing. It still was ridiculous, however.
Pitaya threw the book into a corner in the shadows, and proceeded to forget about it. They shouldn’t worry about it anyways, there were much more important things to worry about, like patrolling, and chasing off any stray Cookie they should come across. Such was the life of a Dragon, and they had no other choice.
The world was wide and vast, but for a Dragon, it was small and cramped.
Pitaya eventually removed themself from their sleeping place and once again strolled out of the cave. And once again, there were no Cookies there to speak of. The sun was quickly descending behind the clouds and an orange glow was now starting to take over the forest. Pitaya took to the air and hovered in place for a while.
The forest was silent, save for the chilly wind, which caused Pitaya to shiver, but they stayed airborne, gazing at every part of their territory, but despite the orange glow, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and eventually they just returned to the ground, quickly running inside the cave. Warming up by hiding in there would be useless, because of the entrance, but Pitaya lay on the floor and wrapped themselves in their wings. It wasn’t much warmth, if any at all, and it wasn’t exactly comfortable, but this was how they’d done it hundred of times before. Once sufficiently covered in their wings, Pitaya just lay there, not even moving towards their actual bed. They kept their eye on the entrance, but it was impossible to see exactly what was happening, so they eventually just averted their gaze, deciding to just simply focus on repositioning their wings. They did this for while before settling in a more comfortable position and proceeding to just lie there and wait.
It wasn’t quite certain when it ended up falling asleep, but it ended up awaking with a horrendous crick in its wings and neck, and it picked itself up off of the floor, stretching out their neck and wings painfully, and once it finished that, it looked out its cave. The sky had darkened and the wind had stilled, but there was an odd orange glow coming from below the entrance as well. Well, that, and the distinct stench of smoke, and Pitaya jumped up almost immediately, rushing out to investigate.
The scene that greeted them enraged them. Cookies were scattered around every corner and were littering the once pristine soil. Not literally, there were no Cookie… things, scattered about the place, it was just simply the Cookies themselves that littered the place, in makeshift dens and lairs, and in one corner one was petting a cake hound as if nervous, and another was using a stick to stoke a fire. Acting as if they weren’t currently on the land of an irate Dragon could blow at any moment. Why were Cookies here? What were they doing on a Dragon’s land?
Pitaya was terrified, but it was manifesting as anger.
“WHAT ISSS THE MEANING OF THISSS?” Pitaya growled, their voice coming out low and harsh. It seemed to echo around the camp, but none of the Cookies moved. They did react however, the cake hound Cookie now full on holding it and the fire Cookie had frozen in place. “EXPLAIN YOURSSSELVESSS NOW,” Pitaya growled, voice only growing more feral. “OR PREPARE YOURSSSELVESSS TO FACE THE CONSSS-“
“I’m so sorry ma’am,” one Cookie eventually spoke up, though when Pitaya growled at the ‘ma’am’ he whimpered. “W-we really don’t mean to intrude honestly! W-we promise!” A little late for that, Pitaya thought as they turned their attention on the Cookie, their chest puffed out and wings unfurled.
“Give me one good reassson why I ssshouldn’t blassst you to a crusssst,” Pitaya growled at him, their voice no longer sounding echoey and loud. “Tresssspasssser…” The Cookie let out an anxious laugh, his voice coming out high and strangled.
“We don’t intend to trespass, we really don’t! I can assure you…. Uh, Dragon!! Uh, you… you… see, we… w-we can’t exactly…” Pitaya narrowed their eyes.
“Sssspit it out, Tresssspasssser. Or I’m sssure you’re aware of the conssssequencesss of entering a Dragon’ssss land…” they hissed, causing the Cookie to yelp. Pitaya even let smoke escape their mouth as a warning.
“We have nowhere else to go,” the Cookie said quietly and Pitaya blinked. The Cookie played with his collar. “And… and this place seemed abandoned, so… we set up here.”
“Nowhere elsssse to go?” Pitaya repeated, tone as flat as they could make it. “And you thought a Dragon’ssss lair, wasss the next bessst place? You’re a fool with a death wisssh.” The Cookie looked at them.
“Believe me ma’am,” Pitaya growled at him,” I-I mean Dragon! If we’d had the choice, we wouldn’t be bothering you at all. We likely wouldn’t have come to this uninhabited forest. We wouldn’t be here.”
“You have no choice? Likely ssstory.” Pitaya’s voice grew deep and harsh again “WHY ARE YOU HERE?” The Cookie gazed at them, eyes terrified.
“T-this!” He stammered and produced a piece of paper from his backpack. “T-This should explain everything. P-Please don’t kill me!” He squeaked. Pitaya took the piece of paper with a swipe and the Cookie flinched. They brought the piece of paper up to their face:
Eviction Notice~
A note to select members of the Garden of Delights! Unfortunately plans have changed and we can no longer house you! Fortunately, we have procured some land for you to-
Pitaya tore their gaze away from the notice and the Cookie whimpered that them. “WHO GAVE YOU THISSSS? WHO THINKSSS THEY HAVE THE AUDACITY TO GIVE AWAY OWNED LAND?” The Cookie flinched.
“Eternal Sugar Cookie.” Pitaya growled at the Cookie.
“WHERE can I find her?”
“In the kingdom over the bend, the Garden of Delights,” the Cookie whimpered. He looked around at the gathered Cookie behind him. “It’s a long trip, most of us have only just arrived.”
“Sssshe made you walk all the way over here? Then you can walk all the way back once I’m done with her,” Pitaya snarled, and the Cookie blinked.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to find her, and I’m going to get my land back, and you will leave without another word. Let that be the lassst time we ssspeak.” Without another word, Pitaya reentered their cave, and disappeared into the shadows.
They would make Eternal Sugar give them their land back, if it was the last thing they did.