Taking Back What's Ours || Cookie Run AU

Chapter 1

The heat of flames is carried by the wind, burning the already crispy doughs. Houses and inns have collapsed, cracked, and crumbled to the ground. The crumbs of cookies have been buried by debris big and small, stains of jam leaking to the floor.

The screams of agony can be heard in the field, cookies are running in different directions in a haste, mostly towards the forest. Clover can only back away, hands trembling, and stare at the chaos in horror. Everyone is too busy running away to notice Clover, or maybe they didn't even notice him at all.

Maybe when they are all running for their lives, Clover is staring at a lifeless cookie pierced with an arrow through the core, or maybe a silhouette of an arrow is lunging towards him at high speed, red eyes glowing just behind it. Clover tries to run away from the arrow, but his heel is stopped by a sugar cube pebble, tripping him. The arrow lands on the ground just above his head, missing him.

"Clover?"

He saw a glow of purple in front of him emanating from a silhouette of a cookie with wings, readying an arrow. Clover can only slide back, shielding his face with his arms to brace for the impact of the arrow. Just as he hears a swoosh that could only mean a firing arrow, he feels a firm grip on his shoulders that's shaking his whole body.

"CLOVER!"

♧CLOVER'S POV♧

Clover lunged up, letting out heavy breaths, trying to calm himself down from whatever he just experienced in that nightmare. Soon after, he feels an embrace, and he can tell that they're trying to calm him down when he felt a hand rubbing his back.

What was that nightmare? Clover can only wonder from the shock. He starts to calm down and pat the cookie's shoulder who was hugging him earlier.

"I'm fine now, you can let go, Herb," he says reassuringly before he felt the hug loosen. Now Clover can see that Herb is worryingly staring at him.

"Are you sure? You were sweating like crazy!" Herb's hands are swinging around the place, to which Clover let out a chuckle at how dramatic he's making it seem. Clover shifts his legs to the edge of the bed, swinging it.

"Yes, I'm sure. You know it happens before, you shouldn't worry too much." he motions his left hand toward Herb to assure him further. Herb took a big sigh of relief before standing up and grabbing his beloved potted succulent from the bedside table.

Also looking over at the bedside table, Clover reaches and grabs his grass lute to tune it. Herb opens the balcony doors and feels the fresh air flowing into the room, taking it all in. Clover enjoys it too, hearing faint happy chatters and laughter.

"Good morning, Mr. Sunshine! Good morning, little sprouts!" Herb exclaims, grabbing a watering can from the corner, and waving at the sun and the potted sprouts decorating the handrailing.

Clover decides to stand up from bed, put on his hat, and step out to the balcony. He is immediately greeted by Herb watering every potted plant on the balcony. And by every potted plant, Clover counted 20 hanging over the handrailing, 5 on top of the railing, and 2 big ones in the corners.

Clover adores that his friend is a plant freak. He saw how packed his greenhouse and garden were the last time he visited. To help him out a little bit, Clover offers space on his balcony for a few of many of his plants. And now here they are. Now he wonders if Herb got himself new plants to fill the already overcrowded greenhouse, he can't wait to visit it again someday.

"You're going to the forest again, right?" Herb says as he puts the watering can back to where it was. "I will. But before that, I promised the kids to play for them. They seem very excited when they asked me yesterday." Clover giggles at himself before stepping back into his room, Herb following shortly after while closing the balcony doors.