𝙰 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚍𝚢 // 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙻𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎 - 𝙲𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚗

3 | Music's in the Wind | 3

To people who skipped chapter 2: It's alright, I know you came for the Cloverice moments, I see you! However, this is not a one-shot book and you might have to turn back later to understand some things.
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word count (excluding A/N): 1213
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Licorice listened to the music in awe.

It was mesmerizing, in such a way that it was pulling him towards it.
All his wonders about Poison Mushroom's doings were forgotten. The music became clearer as he followed its direction.
The one playing was in a small, circular area, like a spotlight. It only had plain grass, in contrast to the rest of the forest, filled with trees.
Licorice crouched behind a bush and peeked through the sticks and leaves. The figure playing the instrument wasn't unknown.

"Clover?" Licorice didn't mean to say out loud, but his voice was quiet enough not to make any difference.
Clover seemed so calm. With closed eyes, playing his grass-woven guitar, sitting on a tree stump. His music not only attracted Licorice to it, but little critters of all kinds surrounded him.
Licorice didn't want to disturb his playing. It was beautiful, and wasn't like anything he had heard before. He could have stayed in that bush forever, listening to the tranquil melody.

That was, until some of the tiny animals' ears pointed upwards and they all dashed away.
Leaves rustled, loud enough to have frightened all the critters out. Poison Mushroom had caused noise by going through and out of the bushes.
The music stopped abruptly.
"Poison Mushroom Cookie! Why did you do that?!" Licorice scolded them.
They held a mushroom in their hand. "..I was gonna give them all 'shroomies.. ..New friend is still there though.."

"Hello there."
Hearing Clover's voice again made Licorice stiffen.

"..Want a bite of this..?" asked Poison Mushroom and stretched their arms out to Clover, showing him the mushroom. Licorice got a bit out of the bush for a second to slap the mushroom out of their grip.
Clover wasn't sitting on the tree stump anymore. "I could already see the tip of your scythe, Licorice Cookie," he said as he went to them.

Licorice got out of his hiding spot and brushed dust off his rags. "Ah, so we meet again!" he tried not to stutter. He had been acting off ever since he met Clover, so he had to snap out of it before the others noticed.
"We met again sooner than I expected, I'm glad!" Clover bent down to Poison Mushroom's height. "Who are you, little one?"
"..I am Poison Mushroom Cookie... You are Clover.."
"Has Licorice Cookie told you about me?" He had a slight smirk on his face.

"Psh, I never said anything!" lied Licorice. "When did I even mention his name?"
Poison Mushroom's eerie stare was at him now. "..Once.."

"Now come, I'd like to show you something," Clover almost sang and grabbed both of the villainous cookies' hands, leading them to the tree stump.
The second Clover wrapped his hand around Licorice's, the fuzzy, pillowy feeling from yesterday came back. Licorice fidgeted with his right sleeve, attempting to ignore it.

Clover sat back on the tree stump and Licorice sat down beside him, while Poison Mushroom was chilling on the ground.
"Wha-" "Shh.." Clover silenced Licorice and strummed the guitar once, creating a short harmony of notes.

Then he played, starting off where he was last time.

Licorice put his scythe down. He rested his chin on his hand as he watched Clover pull the strings.
The melody was so soothing it could almost hypnotize someone. The whole world was blocked out, and all that mattered was listening.

As the time passed, an apple-like bird flew from above and landed on Clover's hat. A squirrel resembling an acorn climbed down a tree. A peanut butter-bunny hopped around the tree stump.

Soon, the area was full of little creatures, all there for Clover's music.

Poison Mushroom had fallen asleep, along with a rat looking like a radish lying on top of their mushroom head. Licorice held in a yawn.
All worries and doubts were gone.

Clover reached the end of his pleasant tune, and the tiny beings went back into the
woods.

"You're... Amazing," Licorice whispered.

He then realized what he just said.
"I-I mean your playing was amazing- I mean it was decent! Average!" He tugged his hood down to hide his reddened face.
Clover laughed softly, "Thank you."

It was quiet for a minute. The only sounds were the trees being blown by the wind and Poison Mushroom's faint snoring.

"..Why are you doing this?"
"Hmm?"
"We're cookies of darkness. All I've done is threaten you," Licorice pointed out. "Instead of leaving me in that net to fend for myself, you cut the net. Now you're letting us listen to your music. What's in it for you?"

Clover looked down at his guitar.
"Being kind to others brings me joy. Even if they don't return the favor, I'll know they're at least a little grateful. I'll know I made someone else's tale maybe a little better... And I do prefer sharing this peaceful experience with other cookies over being alone."
Licorice was staring at him with visible interest. "Heh.. I still don't get it, but I would've been stuck in that ridiculous net longer if it weren't for you."

Their eyes met, yellow and turquoise, fire and ice.
It was like the gaze from the day before, but not as tense. Licorice was at peace, staring into Clover's eyes.
Licorice then looked away, flustered, but could still feel the cosiness tingle inside him.

"Thanks for freeing me from that trap," he mumbled.
"Say that again?" Clover moved closer to him, causing him to freeze up. "I s-said- I-"
Clover's smile was now almost as warm as Licorice's red-tinted cheeks.
"You're welcome."

"Meow! You didn't free me from 'that trap'!"
A winged silhouette appeared above them, ruining the moment.

"Bat-Cat!?" Licorice exclaimed.
"Meowster, how could you forget me?! Everyone forgets I exist nowadays!" Bat-Cat hissed. "I got trapped! I was left inside there for hours on end, then a cookie with four legs found me and let me out! I hated it!"

Clover didn't bother to ask who the hybrid was and commented "A cookie with four legs? They sound familiar."
"Wait! There's more net tra-" Licorice was cut off by Bat-Cat. "I don't know who this leaf peasant is, but meowster! You're ordered to get back as soon as possible!"

Licorice heaved a long sigh and was about to stand up, but then sat back beside Clover.

The peaceful feeling that made him forget the hardships in life? No other cookie or melody had made him feel a feeling like that up to now. Especially not one he so recently met.

"I know we met just a day ago, but.." He bowed his head to avoid looking at Clover.

" — Would you like to hang out like this again? Like... friends?"

His hair covered his squinted eyes as he waited for an answer. He didn't know why he was so nervous, he was simply asking to spend time with someone.

"I'd love to."

On the way back, he was too caught up in his thoughts to remember what he was doing to begin with. He could barely listen to what Poison Mushroom and Bat-Cat were talking about.
Once again, he looked at the clover hidden in his hood.

He would never forget this day.