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It was common knowledge that the guardians of nature didn’t need to eat or sleep. They could survive without food and sleep easily, but there was of course still effects. Not sleeping enough could lead to severe hallucinations and fatigue, while starvation could result in intense pain and exhaustion.
Wind Archer Cookie was no stranger to these feelings, as he often forgot to eat and sleep. Much of the time his week would go by quickly, only for the weekend to hit him hard with hunger and sleep deprivation. Wind Archer had managed to start remembering to eat more regularly, making it a habit to eat in the mornings and snack throughout the day.
Today, Wind Archer was on his way to visit the other guardians. He had already visited Moonlight Cookie and Sea Fairy Cookie, leaving Fire Spirit Cookie. As the green cookie flew through the sky, he spotted the Dragons Valley in the distance. He boosted himself further, darting through the air.
He slowed down as he approached Fire Spirit Cookies cave. The air was scorching hot, suffocating the wind guardian slightly. He huffed and landed before slowly making his way into the cave.
“Fire Spirit Cookie?” Wind Archer called out, looking around for any sign of the fire elemental. He felt unease creep into his dough as he continued down the cave to a larger area. “Fire Spirit?” Wind Archer called out again.
He immediately pulled his bow and arrow out, ready to shoot any enemies the moment he heard something shift above him. He looked up to see Fire Spirit Cookie hanging like a bat, staring down at him with wide eyes. His dragon wings were wrapped around him, and his tail was holding him up.
The orange cookie let go of the ledge he had been holding onto and dropped down, landing in front of Wind Archer. “Hey Windy! Why are you? Let me guess, another attack from the darkness?” Fire Spirit asked, standing up straight and crossing his arms.
“No. I came here simply to check and see everything was fine. Has anything happened as of late?” Wind Archer asked, putting his bow and arrow away. “Nope. Everything’s clear over here.” Fire Spirit said, placing a hand on his hip.
“Very well then. I shall take my leave. My visits will be monthly from now on.” Wind Archer said. “Sounds great Windy. I’ll make sure to be more loud so you don’t accidentally shoot me next time.” Fire Spirit said, leaning forward slightly. Wind Archer huffed in annoyance, looking at the cookie in front of him again.
As he stared, he felt a hint of worry pang in his gut. The fire elemental was thin. More so than usual. His cheek bones were slightly more visible, and his bodysuit looked more loose around his stomach.
Wind Archer observed the cookie in front of him a bit longer, squinting at the dark circles under the others burgundy eyes. “Have you slept recently?” Wind Archer asked, breaking the tense silence that had washed over while the green cookie took in Fire Spirits appearance.
Fire Spirit stood up straighter, showing a hint of shock before regaining his composure quickly. It slightly unnerved Wind Archer at how quickly Fire Spirit could mask his emotions, but he didn’t make any comments about it. “Yeah. Just haven’t been getting good rest is all.” Fire Spirit said cautiously, shifting his feet slightly.
Wind Archer narrowed his eyes again. “What about food? Did you eat today?” Fire Spirit snorted. “Of course I’ve eaten today. Why wouldn’t I? You know I’m a glutton through and through.” Fire Spirit said, confidence returning in his body as the tension melted away like hot butter.
Wind Archer blinked, unamused. “Very well then. Contact me if anything new pops up. I will see you next month.” The guardian of wind quickly floated up into the air before flying out, leaving a slightly conflicted Fire Spirit behind.
Fire Spirit stood there, staring after Wind Archer Cookie. Once he was sure the guardian was gone, Fire Spirit immediately melted down to the floor, holding his stomach and curling up into a tight ball. He groaned in pain, hunger pangs smashing into his body. He shook, panting. He knew that he should eat, but he couldn’t get himself to.
He still weighed too much. Fire Spirit slowly stood, stumbling a bit from a small head rush. The fire elemental floated up into the air before returning to his perch where he was originally. Immediately, he turned and hung upside down, allowing his tail to hold his weight as his arms dangled beneath him. He wrapped his wings around his body like the usual, sleep tugging at him.
There he stayed for a while before slowly drifting off into a restless sleep yet again, plagued by nightmares. Memories of his past replayed through his head like clips from a movie all smashed together into one compilation.
He saw himself going into the Dragons Valley, eyes dead and body worn, ready to die. He saw himself jump into the fire, immediately burning. He saw himself turn to regret his decisions, wanting to escape but being unable to. He watched as his mortal self begged for mercy from the dragon. He watched as he drank lava painfully. He watched as he died. He watched as he was reborn like a phoenix from the flames, made of something already alive rather than the remains.
He watched himself get accustomed to the life of being a guardian of nature. He saw the darkest moments where he had tried to escape from life again, and he saw the brightest moments where he was laughing and talking with Wind Archer Cookie, Moonlight Cookie and Sea Fairy Cookie.
Then, he saw the worst moment of every memory. Even worse than when he had to drink lava like it was soda.
There he was, standing in a forest, lit up in flames. It wasn’t just any forest though. It was the one Millennial Tree Cookie and Wind Archer Cookie resided in. Dessert Paradise. Fire Spirit gasped, stumbling away from the burning shrubs. He ran, the world blurring into fire and smoke. He could feel his eyes stinging, whether it was from the smoke or from tears, he didn’t know.
He quickly burst into a clearing, tripping and falling to his knees. He panted before looking back up to see the forest was gone. All that was left was ashes. Fear clenched at his heart as he looked around. Then, he saw it.
Wind Archer Cookie, standing a small distance away, half of his body burnt into an unrecognizable crisp. Fire Spirit could see the green jam leaking out, the bone under the charred flesh. He felt his stomach twist violently. He covered his mouth, feeling painful tears slip down his face.
He gagged, turning his body to face away from the burnt cookie. He continued to gag, only for nothing to come up. He coughed, feeling the air in his lungs slowly slip out.
Then, a burst of blood poured out of his mouth. He choked, coughing up more of the blood. It was disgusting. It tasted metallic, not like spicy raspberries that his jam usually tasted like. He heaved violently his head spinning, before suddenly he woke up, jolting.
He hung there, shivering. Faintly, he felt his tail give out, allowing him to fall. It was only about a second before he hit the ground that he realized what was happening. Unfortunately, a second is not enough to stop a large fall.
Fire Spirit smashed into the ground, spread out like a starfish. He groaned, peeling himself off the floor. He felt jam running out of his nose and groaned yet again.
He stood, pressing a hand to his still bleeding nose. The fire elemental walked out of his cave, launching into the air. He could go for a good fly, and wanted to check up on Dessert Paradise to make sure everything he saw truly was a dream.
As he flew, his nose stopped bleeding, allowing him to rub away any excess jam that stuck to him. His face still hurt after his fall, but he did his best to ignore the feeling of a bruise forming on his cheek.
Fire Spirit watched the world below him, seeing cookies bustling and talking. He slowed to a stop, staring down at the Vanilla Kingdom. He saw various different stands, many of which had beautiful flowers. He huffed, turning and flying down to the kingdom, landing in a more discrete area before walking into the clearing. He slipped through the crowd, observing all of the flower shops.
He stopped at one that particularly caught his eye. The stand was filled with various colorful flowers and plants, many of them pink. What truly had him hooked was a beautiful pink and orange flower with yellow tips near the back corner of the shop.
“Hello! What can I get for ya?” The shop owner asked, placing another vase of red camellia flowers down near the front. “Whats that one?” Fire Spirit asked, pointing at the flower in the back. “Oh, that’s a Fiesta Hibiscus. You interested in it?” Fire Spirit nodded, watching as the cookie grabbed the vase and brought it forward.
“It truly is beautiful right?” Fire Spirit nodded again. “It reminds me of a fire. But not a bad one.” Fire Spirit said. “A warm fire. The fire of passion and hope.” The shopkeeper said, smiling at Fire Spirit Cookie. “Can I get it?” The shopkeeper nodded, chuckling.
Fire Spirit swiftly bought the flowers, giving much more money than needed. The shopkeeper stared at the extra hundred dollars in front of him. “Excuse me sir, I think you overpaid.” The shopkeeper looked up, only to see that the orange cookie had vanished with the flowers.
Fire Spirit flew at a moderate pace, careful to not destroy the delicate flowers he held. After about another hour of flying non stop, he could see Dessert Paradise in the distance. He sighed, relived that he could finally rest for a bit before having to go back to the inferno he lived in.
The elemental winced at the pain in his stomach, realizing he hadn’t eaten the whole day. He growled, gritting his teeth and picking up the pace slightly. His stomach could wait.
Fire Spirit flew down and landed in a clearing, keeping distance from most trees and shrubs. He toned his flames down before making his way around the forest to find a place where the flowers he brought could grow well. He heard the sound of rushing water and perked up, making his way to where he heard it.
He came to a stop in front of a small river, filled with water. He smiled before kneeling down and scraping some dirt away from the ground near the riverbed and gingerly lifting the flowers before placing them in the hole. He refilled the hole with dirt, making sure the plant was secure.
“Fire Spirit Cookie?” The fire elemental jumped, whipping around to see Wind Archer Cookie with his bow out, an arrow ready to be shot. The wind guardian looked faintly confused, staring at the orange cookie.
“What are you doing here?” The green cookie asked, lowering his bow. “Oh. I was coming to visit for a bit is all. Happened to fly by the Vanilla Kingdom and saw some cool flowers.” Fire Spirit replied, standing. His wings curled in slightly, shielding his body from any possible attack.
He had his signature smirk back on, and was standing like nothing could hurt him. But Wind Archer noticed. He saw the bags under Fire Spirit Cookies eyes. He saw how exhausted the elemental looked. He saw the tense shoulders and the curled up tail. He saw it all.
“Alright well, now that I’m done here I’ll go ahead and head back to Dragons Valley. No need to worry about me burning anything.” Fire Spirit said. “See ya Windy!”
The flaming cookie launched off the ground, quickly flying away. Wind Archer tensed as he watched the fire elemental vanish into the distance. He would need to keep an eye on Fire Spirit. The elemental of fire never visited to check on something. Especially not Dessert Paradise.
Wind Archer thought for a bit longer before sighing and continuing his patrol. It was getting late, meaning he would need to turn in soon. He could only hope that Fire Spirit would stop and rest for the night. Unbeknownst to him, that is the exact opposite thing Fire Spirit did.
Fire Spirit Cookie had been flying for hours non stop. It was late into the night at this point, and quickly approaching day as Fire Spirit flew. He was exhausted. His dough felt heavy, weighing him down. His wings felt heavy, muscles sore. He contemplated landing, only to be struck by the thought of him being weak. He growled and flapped his wings faster and harder, picking up speed.
He began to go higher into the air, diving down towards the ground, then curving his bath so he went back up. He gained speed rather quickly, allowing him to glide instead of manually flap his wings.
He continued this process until he saw Dragons Valley and began to flap again. Fire Spirit sighed in relief the moment he felt the heat of the valley engulf him. It was like a welcome home hug, and warming up his exhausted dough and giving him a slight boost to keep flying to his cave.
Fire Spirit dived down, landing in front of his home before walking in. He groaned, letting his exhausted wings drag behind him. As he made it to his usual sleeping spot, he realized he would have to fly to get up.
Fire Spirit growled before turning and walking to a different spot where he was shielded from any eyes that may end up seeing him. He settled down, wrapping his wings and tail around him before curling up. He quickly drifted off into nightmares yet again, waking up in a cold sweat after a particularly bad memory was replayed. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking around the cave.
He could feel the hunger eating away at him, but he just ignored it and flopped back down, curling up again. Food could wait.
This process continued for days, going on long enough to the point where Wind Archers monthly visit arrived. Fire Spirit was woken up by Wind Archer calling his name impatiently. The dragon-like cookie groaned, opening one eye and looking up at Wind Archer.
“Fire Spirit Cookie. Why are you asleep? It’s the middle of the day.” Wind Archer said, annoyance on his face. “Mm just needed more sleep.” Fire Spirit slurred out before tucking his face back under his wing. The guardian of wind sighed. “I have not seen anything wrong, so I will leave you to your nap.” Wind Archer said before flying away.
He left a small greenish white feather behind from his feathered wings. Fire Spirit stared at the feather before grabbing it and holding it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. The orange cookie curled up again, falling back asleep. For the first time in a while, his sleep was somewhat peaceful.
It has been months of visits. Every time Wind Archer went, Fire Spirit looked worse and worse. He had started going every two weeks rather than four, checking on the fire elemental. He would almost always find the orange cookie curled up in the same corner, asleep. There were a few times he found Fire Spirit out doing his job as the guardian of fire, but not very often did that happen.
Wind Archer grimaced as he flew in, the smell of raspberries filling his nose. He stopped, realizing that the smell was coming from Fire Spirits direction. Wind Archer rushed in, immediately scanning for the other elemental.
He found Fire Spirit on his hands and knees, a puddle of sticky jam pooled on the floor. Wind Archer had come just in time to see Fire Spirit heave more jam. The fire elemental whimpered in pain and moved one hand to his stomach. He was pale and shaky, a red flush on his cheeks. He looked sick.
“Fire Spirit Cookie!” Wind Archer rushed over, collapsing to his knees. Fire Spirit looked up, his eyes large and owlish. “Windy? Why are you here?” Fire Spirit croaked, his voice cracking. “I came to check on you, and clearly I made the right choice. Come, I am taking you to Millennial Tree Cookie.” Fire Spirit tensed at Wind Archers words.
“I’m fine.” The flaming cookie immediately snapped, his wings curling defensively around his body. His tail thrashed, showing how upset the statement had made him. Wind Archers brow furrowed.
The green cookie stared at Fire Spirit. “You clearly are not fine.” Wind Archer stated, raising an eyebrow at the puddle of raspberry jam. Fire Spirit grimaced, his fingers digging into the ground. Wind Archer looked at Fire Spirits hands in shock, seeing dark brown rock beginning to form on them.
The green cookie instinctively reached out, only for Fire Spirit to flinch away, pulling both his hands to him. He wrapped his wings around himself and pulled his tail in, letting out a small hiss. Wind Archer sat there, confused and worried.
“I am fine, Wind Archer Cookie.” Fire Spirit said sternly, his glare pressing down on Wind Archer. He felt a chill and a small wave of fear at the ferocity that Fire Spirit was sending him.
“Fine. Contact me if something happens.” Wind Archer said, feeling a bit of regret at the idea of leaving the orange cookie alone and sick. Fire Spirit looked surprised, staring at Wind Archer as he left.
Fire Spirit immediately was pummeled with despair, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. Of course he had to get sick while he was actively starving himself. Of course Wind Archer had to visit. Of course he had to push away the one cookie he trusted.
Fire Spirit moved away from the jam, crawling back to his corner. He lay there, feeling his stomach cramp. He groaned and sat up, lifting a few of the rocks he slept in to find a bottle of ibuprofen. He quickly smacked two capsules into his mouth, dry swallowing them. He laid back down, curling up as he waited for the medication to work.
The process of taking medication, not eating throwing up jam, and having nightmares became a miserable routine. Fire Spirit expected the pain meds to work, but they didn’t do much but upset his stomach further. Wind Archer continued to visit, checking up on him even when Fire Spirit said he was fine.
Fire Spirit had decided to act as an actual guardian. He promised himself relief from the pain by eating if he continued to be a guardian, but never went through with that promise. It quickly became a part of his routine. Wake up, lay there for a good thirty minutes crying and scarring his face from the tears, dry swallow multiple pills, begin patrolling, throw up jam, continue patrolling, throw up jam again, finish patrolling, go back into the cave, take more pills, go to sleep.
Everytime Wind Archer dropped by, he would come across a pale and shaky Fire Spirit trying to be the guardian he was made. It continued onwards till one day, something shifted.
Fire Spirit sat there, overlooking the valley and watching for any danger. He heard the flap of wings and turned to see Wind Archer fly down and land gracefully. Fire Spirit didn’t say anything but only stood, ready to have Wind Archer follow him as he continued to patrol.
Only Fire Spirit didn’t even get into the air. He stumbled, his head immediately pounding and his ears ringing. His vision blurred, darkness creeping up around the edges. He didn’t know when he fell to the ground, only that now he was curled up in Wind Archers arms.
He opened his eyes, confused for a second that they had even closed in the first place. “Fire Spirit Cookie!” Wind Archer yelled, cradling the thin guardian. Fire Spirit groaned, curling up tighter. It felt as if someone were stabbing a giant iron rod through his skull.
Fire Spirit Cookie barely noticed Wind Archer flying with him towards Dessert Paradise. He didn’t register the fact that he was now enveloped in green light, laid in a soft cream sheep wool bed. He barely realized how calm and at peace he felt.
Maybe he didn’t have to starve himself. Maybe his past didn’t truly determine who he was. Maybe. Just maybe. He could be free from that darkness.
Wind Archer Cookie watched as the guardian of flame drifted off into a peaceful sleep, his breathing slow and stable. Wind Archer had arrived at the valley to check up on Fire Spirit, only to have the orange cookie collapse in front of him. He had quickly lifted him, taking him off to Dessert Paradise. There, Millennial Tree Cookie had quickly taken care of Fire Spirit, healing the ulcers that had formed in his stomach from the use of too much pain medication.
Slowly but surely, Fire Spirit recovered. Next to him on his bedside table lay some flowers. Fiesta Hibiscus.
One petal had fallen, but in its place, a new bud grew, waiting to spread outwards and shine beautifully.