𝙰 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚍𝚢 // 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙻𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎 - 𝙲𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚗

2 | Back With a Shroomie | 2

I'd like to thank the people who did more than just read! (Vote, comment etc.) Even though I only write this for fun, it's nice to know people like it :)
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word count (excluding A/N): 1063
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"P-Poison Mushroom Cookie?!"

Poison Mushroom smiled widely. "..Yes, that is me...!"
Licorice inhaled slowly, embarrassed that he got scared by the little poisonous cookie. He grabbed them by the shoulders and said louder than he meant to "Where were you this time, you imbecile?! I was worri—... I got stuck in a net searching for you!"
Instead of replying, they stared at the sky in deep thought.

Licorice shook them out of their trance. "You there?"
"I was... Eating cakes," they answered, still not looking at him.
"Eating cakes?" he repeated. He assumed they weren't talking about the cake hounds, that would be messed up.
"Y'know what? I don't care if you're lying. You'll be prohibited, as in 'not allowed', from ever going outside anymore after this!"
He pulled Poison Mushroom's wrist to go back, but they resisted.
"Come on! What's with you lately?!"
"..Not... Allowed..?"

He was going to drag them, until he saw their frown. Little sparkles of sorrow were in their normally soulless eyes.
"..Awh.. Friends won't like that.." they murmured.
Licorice wished he didn't notice how downcast they were, but it was unusual for them to act this way. He could've left it as it was, but his hidden pity removed that option. To be honest, he would've been outraged if he was banned from ever going outside. No way to impress his master, no trying to take over things, plotting would be boring and he would never meet Clover again.

The situation minutes before had been buried into his brain. It was unexpected how Clover helped him, knowing he was a bad guy, and they had never encountered each other before. There was something unique about that cookie.

He sighed. "Geez, okay- fine! I still bet your 'friends' out here are the spores. Nonetheless, you are allowed to go outside if you just tell me first! Now we go back!"
"..Allowed? ..Yay!" Poison Mushroom cheered in their woozy voice. "..Does your new friend want a 'shroomie...?"
"No way! By the way, Clover Cookie's not my friend!"

Licorice was still holding Poison Mushroom's wrist tight when they both went inside.
"You used a rather long time to find them, Licorice Cookie."
Licorice sneered "Greetings to you too, Pomegranate."

Poison Mushroom waved at Pomegranate, who was sitting on a couch with a book on her lap (presumably about spells.) She didn't pay Poison-M any attention and had her focus on Licorice. "You have grass in your hair," she remarked.
He groaned and wiped it off his hair, making his hood fall down. The leaves must have stuck on the net and fallen down on his head. If not then it was the grass he fell in after stumbling on that dumb rock.
When he put his hood back on, he spotted one last leaf hanging. Instead of removing it, he inspected it and almost dropped it in shock.
It was no plain leaf.

It was a four-leaf clover.

"Licorice Cookie, I'm only gonna ask you one more time," Pomegranate warned him.
He hid the clover in his hood. "When did you ask me a question in the first place?"
She closed her book. As she got up, the pomegranate-drops' sounds could've been mistaken for chains. "Are you not listening?" She crossed her arms. "Where have you been? Showing up with weeds in your hair, there must be an explanation."

Licorice glanced in different directions, then at Poison Mushroom. Their staring didn't help at all, nor did the thoughts of Clover that filled his mind. He couldn't tell Pomegranate about how helpless he was, inside that net. It was humiliating. Until a stranger was nice enough to free him, with shiny, turquoise eyes and —
He shook the flashbacks out of his brain.
"It's none of your business! What if I just fell in some grass?" he retorted.
Pomegranate's eyelids closed half-way, "You seem to be provoked by a simple question. Something happened, didn't it?"

Licorice couldn't think of a good comeback, but found a way to change the subject.
"What is that letter on the floor? I thought Valentine's Day was months ago," he questioned.
There was a card on the carpet, full of hearts and writing too fancy for Licorice to read. The colors were the warm shades of red and pink.
Pomegranate instinctively kicked it underneath the couch. "It's... merely an old paper. It's 'none of your business' either."

"..If Clover is not a new friend... Is he a valentine?"

Licorice choked on air when Poison Mushroom said that.
"What?! We just met! He's not a friend or whatever, just another one of those feebleminded kingdom cookies!"
Despite his statement, he felt his cheeks heat up.
"And as I said, Valentine's Day was months ago! Anyways, there's no doubt he fears me like every other cookie from that kingdom!"
"..You were friendly.."
"No! Only he was— Were you behind me the entire time?!"

"Who is this 'new friend'?" Pomegranate interrupted the two.
The wall was less uncomfortable to look at than Pomegranate or Poison Mushroom at that point.
Licorice tried to make a clear sentence, but all that came out was "Well- uh- he- in forest- I- just- so- um-"
He turned around. "I am retreating to my room!"
Pomegranate glared at him with suspicion as he walked away in haste.

While escaping the awkward conversation, he checked if the clover was still in his hood. He had a feeling that he would hold on to it for a long time.

The next day was also eventful.

Licorice was hiding behind a tree, watching Poison Mushroom as they wandered through the forest.
What did they really do in the woods alone? His question had led to secretly following his little sidekick, he wouldn't really call it "stalking."

A loud step on a twig ruined the investigation. Poison Mushroom sprinted and Licorice went after them.
"Poison Mushroom Cookie! Get back here! Where are you running off to?!" he shouted. They didn't say anything.
After a bit, his legs started to hurt. He was glad when Poison-M suddenly stopped.
Licorice almost fell over when he too, stopped the chase. "When did.. you get so.. fast?!" he asked, out of breath.

Poison Mushroom stopped for a reason. That's what Licorice understood when he listened closely.

The faint strumming of a lute.

Music was coming from nearby.