Madeleine Grows a Pair

6 - Budget Madeleine

Madeleine was seated in a rocking chair with a bowl of rice. The whole group went to the living room after the rice had finished cooking.

Espresso was sitting on the couch next to Latte with a massive bowl of his own. His feet were tapping on the ground, and he had a bright look on his face.

He paused and looked around. Both Latte and Madeleine were staring at him.

He cleared his throat, "So we got him in heels, now what? We can't exactly practice inside the house."

Latte gestured to the front door, "We can go outside. The kingdom is surrounded by forest for a reason."

Espresso grabbed the bowl in his lap and brought it closer to his face, "I'm not sure if that would work though."

He took a bite of his rice and resumed his foot tapping.

"Why not? There aren't many cookies who venture out into the woods." Latte asked.

It was Madeleine's turn to talk. He stared down at his bowl, tightening his hands around it. "If there's even a chance of someone seeing me, I don't think I can do it. Not yet, at least."

Espresso hummed and nodded, still chewing his rice.

Latte leaned back on the couch and looked at the swirly textured ceiling.

It seemed they were at a stand-still. The room turned quiet aside from Espresso's tapping.

Madeleine took a bite of his food. His wings were leaning on the armrests, taking up any space he didn't. They felt bigger than they were.

Still, though, he had to come to terms. They were his.

Latte gasped and stood up abruptly. She pointed to Madeleine, "What if the cookies watching aren't necessarily watching you?"

Madeleine tilted his head.

Latte rephrased, "We can put you in a disguise!"

Espresso choked on his rice and started coughing. After some struggling he breathed out a,"...what?"

Madeleine in disguise?

Several things wouldn't work out. Notably, his hair was incredibly long, his voice was incredibly loud, and that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he glowed, which Espresso doubted could be easily covered up. All of those traits were very recognizable.

Another series of coughs bubbled up.

Espresso begrudgingly set the bowl of rice down on the table.

"We put him in a disguise! I came up with the idea when I thought about what a mess Espresso's room was."

"Hey!" Espresso defended while crossing his arms, "It's still functional."

"Functional? Do you even sleep in your bed?"

"...In my defense, I didn't buy it."

Madeleine took a bite of his rice.

Espresso covered up another cough by clearing his throat, "Okay. About Madeleine's disguise... What were you planning?"

"Oh," Latte said, standing up, "I've got that covered."

She grabbed Espresso by his arms, pulling him out of the couch. He was dragged to the doorway to his room. Great. He had to take in the full view for himself.

The room was, to put it lightly, an absolute mess.

There were clothes littering one of the back corners.

Another corner of his room had a desk littered with half-open books he had started and never finished reading. There were some papers with written notes layered between the covers. A bookshelf next to it had gaps where books were never returned, and some spaces were filled with assorted pens and other items. The walls were occupied with notes that were taped on and curling from age.