Fragments - A Cookie Run Fanfiction

Chapter Five: Meeting

"So, what did you find out, Avocado?" Sparkling asked the bigger cookie, before going, and putting a juice drink together. He looks at the other two men standing there, knowing that they were waiting for an answer too. Herb was lightly touching one of the leaves of the succulent plant he carried around with himself, and Vampire was drinking on juice that he had already been served.

Almond cookie was on the opposing side of Avocado, remaining silent as he had his own notebook out to put some notes into.

"Well, to put it simple, the kiddo woke up for a few minutes. He looked really out of it at first... it was concerning. I had to lightly grab his arm so he wasn't hurting his leg, and he just... stared." the green haired cooke put up her hand, knowing well that at least one of them was going to ask what the problem with staring was.

Sparkling dropped three ice cubes into the juice he was putting together, taking the silence among them as a chance to finish getting the beverage prepared for another customer who was at a nearby table.

"It was like he was lost in his own world for a moment. I know it doesn't feel like much of anything at face value, but- Brave has never done that before. He is a chatty cathy. He talks because he doesn't like silence. The only reason he will be quiet, is if someone asks. That was the first thing I noticed..." the builder remarked.

"What else, Avocado? You seem to sill be highly troubled. I would assume that whatever it is that you just explained is not as bad as whatever was mentioned next..?" he finished writing something down in the small book he was using- leading him to tapping on the side of the paper and covers with the long part of the utencil he was using.

"I'm getting there..." the woman huffed, before adjusting her glasses with a more serious expression. "I did ge him to talk. He seemed to not be able to remember some things- I am not sure how much he may have forgotten, or just not remembered right off the bad, but there was definitely some chunks of his story missing in places." she took a drink of the beverage that Sparkling had supplied her with, before setting the stenograph on the bar counter.

There was a brief pause between all of the cookies sitting in the general area, before the larger cookie regained her bearings and continued on.

"Anyways... he told me something about wandering off into the forest, which I did know about this morning. He mentioned how he went in further than usual- following paths that we haven't bothered taking, on account of the fact that they just lead to fields, and other openings in unpopulated areas." the woman noted, tapping on the stenograph she had plopped down a few seconds beforehand. "He said that he had wandered in and found a field of periwinkle and yellow flowers, accompanied by a pedestal of some sort."

The brown-eyed, plant-nurturing cookie tilted his head, not seeming to remember such a place in has many travels there. However, he said nothing. Sparkling seemed to ponder on the information, also coming up clueless. Vampire remained silent as he had been the entire time, but a somewhat troubled look was present within the knit of his brows and lack of eye contact.

"He said that he avoided the pedestal, as he knew that he should probably ask Tiger Lily or Adventurer cookie what it was. He knows that they like wandering around the forest. So he continued into the forest more. Later on, he decided that he was going to start heading back, but- that is where we started having problems..."

Almond cookie took a sip of the juice that he ahd gotten from Sparkling, who was making some of the more quietly composed beverages while Avocado was speaking. He sighs, before placing his own utencil down on the paper that he was jotting notes down on.

"I am supposing those problems are the main reason why you are worried right now?" the bigger cookie nodded in response to his question, before tapping on the counter. He brought his own hand up to his face, and he grunted, feeling himself grow tired, but more concerned simultaneously. "So... what is it that has you worried, then?"

Avocado took her goggles off her head, before tightening her ponytail in the slightest bit. Not that she could tighten it much, anyways. "He seemed to be having some... memory problems? I am not sure if I am overthinking this or not- because I know some pain-relieving tactics used can mess with the brains of most that are undergoing treatment.. to put it simple, he seemed to be having a lot of memory issues."

"Memory issues...?" Sparkling asked, putting his shaker and ice cubes down on the counter. He leans forward a bit, taking Avocado's beverage, and refilling it. "What do you mean by that? You said he was telling you some of the things that had happened to him- correct?"

The green haired woman nodded, before her brows knit together again.

"That is correct. What I mean to say is that he started to pause when he was talking to me.... he started to stare off into space, and just... forget what we were talking about." she finally grunted, before adjusting her goggles again, mainly out of stress. The strap of them were wrapped around her wrist as she dangled them over the table. "He would ask what we were doing... or just fall silent completley and stare at his lap."

"Memory issues, huh?" Almond cookie thought on it. "I mean... victims of traumatic experiences often experience memory loss... but I don't think it effects them in a way where they get lost mid-conversation... it's more or less them losing memories of the event that contributed to their trauma..." Almond cookie was now more curious about the situation. A really bad combination when paired with worry.

He was a dad, after all. He couldn't help but be worried for everyone, but a child being hurt or even... he would rather not go there. Either way... if there was a problem with GingerBrave's memory, the detective sincerely hoped that it wasn't permanant.

"Did he say how his leg got stabbed?" Vampire finally asked, before tapping the glass he was drinking from on the counter, politely asking Sparkling for another drink as he guides his attention back to the plus sized cookie who nodded,, and let out another prolonged sigh. She was overthinking a lot of things at the moment. Worried. Her mind was racing at a million miles a minutes, trying to find a good answer for herself as to what was going on with her little pal.

"He said that a long crystal spike of some kind went through his leg- it went through the post of a sign behind him, which was strange, in his opinion. I am not saying he is wrong there. He then recalled passing out after crawling a ways." the green haired cookie grumbled. "If I ever find who or what hurt him, I am not going to be having a friendly chat with them..."

Coffee put his hand on her shoulder, before sighing. "Don't do anything wreckless, Avocado. I don't want to have to investigate a crime scene and arrest a friend. Having an injured child is enough on my plate. Let's concentrate on helping Brave get better, for now."

Sighing, Avocado cookie nodded, her body becoming a little less tense. It was then that Herb Cookie decided to speak up.

"He said that he had been in a field with flowers before and when he was coming back..? That... doesn't make any sense..." the green haired cookie became more troubled, bringing his hand up to his face as he recalled where they had found GingerBrave in the first palce.

"Why do you say that, Herb?" Sparkling asked from where he stood with the shaker in his hand.

"I saw the trail where the jam was leaking through his wounds... I also saw the sign he mentioned... but... " he paused, looking more confused than anything else.

"But what?"

Herb shook his head, again, before wrapping his arms around the flower pot he favored.

"There was no field, or flowers ... or pedistal nearby... there was nothing but trees, and vines, and several sets of shrubs. The only thing other than that- beyond the sign, were several tree stumps, and patches of dirt... the place looked absurdly... dead." he stated.

((To Be Continued))