A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

All About The Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cholongkkoch had counted down the days to the Tiger Festival, planning ahead. Now that it was the morning of the day before the festival, she had to act quickly to eliminate her mother from the situation.

"Oil paints?" her mother asked. "From the United Colonies?"

"I specifically need the blue and green colors that they don't make here," Cholongkkoch said with a frown. She uncovered her latest painting: a beautiful green landscape that looked like it was right outside her window. "I wanted to paint the sight outside of my window. It's so beautiful. I don't want to ever see any other sight. But I can't finish painting it because I ran out of the green needed for the grass, and I don't have any blue for the sky." Sure enough, the sky on the canvas was a bright white.

"Hmm." Cholongkkoch's mother frowned at the painting. She really did not want to travel all the way to the United Colonies, especially with the Tiger Festival happening. Nobody ever bothered them, and she knew Cholongkkoch would be safe here by herself, and nobody ever questioned her or where she went. There was just something about this that felt...off. "Perhaps you could paint the sky grey instead? Combine the paints you currently have and then paint it grey."

"If I may be so bold," Kai chirped from where he was sitting near the painting.

Heulin lowered her eyes at Kai. "Yes?" She hated it when Kai had to say something. According to her, Kai never had anything of importance to say.

But she somehow found herself moved by Kai's words. "Cholongkkoch has been working on this painting day and night. She has been crying every night, because she cannot create a perfect example of where she lives. She loves this tower so much, ma'am. It is her home, her only home. I hate that I have to listen to her suffer like this."

"Fine, fine," Heulin said. "But why do I have to leave today?"

"Because if you leave tomorrow, there's a chance that you could be spotted leaving the Naeil Kingdom when you should be going to the Tiger Festival," Mae said.

Heulin glared at Cholongkkoch. "You're not planning on going to the festival, are you?"

"What festival? I don't want to be surrounded by scary old men. Kai and I are going to stay here and bake cookies! I was thinking of making the mint ones you like."

"Oh, the mint ones are delicious," Kai said, adding flame to Cholongkkoch's fire.

"Those do sound amazing," Heulin said, "and it sounds even better to come home to my daughter baking those cookies for me. Mae, you're right. We should leave as soon as possible for the United Colonies, and then we will return the day after the festival so we are not caught. But sweetheart, I expect those cookies to be nice and warm when I get home, okay? You don't make them nearly as good as I do, but they just sound so enticing."

Cholongkkoch wasn't sure how her mother was playing right into her hands, but she nodded. "Of course, mama. Anything for you."

Heulin packed immediately, but Cholongkkoch was surprised when Heulin took the rope with her, removing it from the door. "Why are you taking the rope with you?" Cholongkkoch asked as Heulin climbed onto Mae's back.

Heulin smiled back at her daughter. "This way, you are safe, my child, while I am gone. Nobody comes in. Nobody goes out." And with that, she flew away.

When she was no longer in sight, Kai flopped down onto the floor. "Goodness. I thought she would never leave."

"That seemed too easy. Maybe she'll be back tomorrow?"

"Oh, she will definitely not be back tomorrow. You remember that charming spell we looked up a few months ago? I'm not very good at it, but I used that spell when I was talking to convince your mother of my words. All she's going to think about for the next week is those cookies!"

And Cholongkkoch had to laugh at that. Who knew that Kai had remembered that spell from that long ago? "Kai, you're the best. Thank you."

"I still don't know how we're going to get down from the tower without that rope." Kai frowned, then waddled over to the big window and looked out of it. "I know Mr. Taehyun can climb up the tower with his knives, but he can't possibly carry us both down. We all know how fat you are."

"Yeah. My mama isn't wrong about that. I would crush Taehyun." Cholongkkoch frowned as she looked out the window. It was the only way in and out of the tower; there were no other secret doors, and magic spells prevented people of magic descent from coming into the tower. Cholongkkoch's mother had made sure of that.

But... "Hey, Kai?"

"Yes, my dearest Cholongkkoch?" Kai smiled and rolled in a circle, as roly-poly penguins are apt to do.

"I know Mama said there is a spell that she casts when she is home to keep people out of the tower. But did we ever test to see if we could leave the tower by using a spell? Nothing can come in except Mama and Mae, but that doesn't mean what is already inside can't leave! You remember the teleportation spell that we were working on?"

Kai nodded. "I do! Do you want me to see if I can transport you to the outside?"

And Cholongkkoch stopped cold. She had been outside many times before, yes, but only on Mae's back, flying through the air to Shinkisoku and then returning the same way. She hadn't ever actually set foot on the grass surrounding the tower. "No, not yet. But maybe you can try to see if you can transport yourself? If you fail, you can use a different spell to get back in."

"Oh, okay." Kai waddled up to the big window, then flapped his little non-flying wings and jumped!

"Kai!" Cholongkkoch yelled, running to the big window, but he was gone, vanished in the air just like that. The spell he had used had taken effect! Cholongkkoch peered all the way down to the ground, several stories down, where a small speck of a penguin suddenly appeared.

"I made it!" he said, waving.

"Good! Now can you get back up?"

Kai pressed his flippers together and vanished again. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the window! Cholongkkoch had to reach out her arms to grab him before he fell back down.

"Next time, you get to teleport from inside the tower!" she said.

"Next time is tomorrow! When we get to travel to the Tiger Festival!"

Cholongkkoch smiled. "I'm so excited, I can't wait!"

--

Asterhythm: I'm so excited as well now! Cholongkkoch gets to go to the festival! I wonder what's going to happen there...

I asked questions like this last year, so I'd love to know: we're all going to the Tiger Festival together, right? What are you MOST excited about? The strawberry cakes? The roasted chestnuts? The blue and purple hair ribbons? The performances? Being near the castle? If you were at the Tiger Festival, what would be the first thing you would do?