Little Plum Riding Hood [Halloween Special]

Part 1: Plum and the Two Beasts

[✧] Once upon a time, a long time ago, a cozy cottage rested near a forest filled with sweet-smelling flora along with some friendly and not-so-friendly fauna. In this cottage, lived a beautiful, teenage girl named "Astra Rose Castellanos," who always wore a silky plum-colored cape that her cousin, Amy Rose, had made for her, thus giving her the nickname, "Little Plum Riding Hood." She lived with her mother, "Mrs. Castellanos," a hard-working mother who did anything to keep her daughter safe, even going as far as to gift her a Chaos Emerald talisman.

[✧] "Little Plum Riding Hood," called her mother. "Coming, Mother!" said Plum/Astra, before hurrying to her. "Your cousin is not feeling well. I've prepared a basket full of fruits, cakes, honey, and other delicacies; would you like to bring it to her?" Mrs. Castellanos asked Little Plum. "Oh, of course, mother! I'd love to help!" Plum eagerly said. "Good; your visits always cheer her up," said Mrs. Castellanos, before Plum put on her hood and went to the door to take her leave. "but be careful. Stay on the path going through the forest and don't dawdle on the way."

[✧] "I won't, Mother," nodded Plum, waving her mother farewell. "Goodbye!" "Stay safe, Little Plum! Cousin's expecting you, and don't talk to strangers!" called her mother. 'I do hope that the Chaos Emerald talisman keeps my daughter safe...' thought Mrs. Castellanos, worried that Plum might not make it out alive. Meanwhile, Little Plum/Astra Rose was skipping along, openly singing a French song that had been stuck in her head for some time now in fluent French, hoping to kill the sickening silence.

[✧] "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour, souris à nos ivresses. Nuit plus douce que le jour, Ô belle nuit d'amour! Ô belle nuit d'amour! Ô souris à nos ivresses! Nuit d'amour, nuit d'amour. Ahh~ Ah~..." Plum sang with all her heart's delight. However, her singing didn't attract any birds. Instead, it attracted two beasts; one of them was made of metal while the other, was of darkness. This spooked Little Plum as she squeaked with an "Eep!" as she backed away by a few steps. "Oh, please don't be alarmed on this fair morning." said the metal beast, sensing Plum's distress.

[✧] "Where you off to, dollface?~" asked the dark beast with a smug, unfriendly look. This unsettled Plum as she explained, "But... my mother told me not to talk to strangers." Confused, the two beasts ask her, "You have a mom?" She nodded. This unknowingly makes the metal beast feel pitiful, as he never had a mother when he was created. "In that case, allow us to introduce ourselves. Ladies first." declared the metal robot, being a gentleman to her. The dark beast was unamused by the gentlemanly tone of the metal beast.

[✧] "I'm Astra Rose," said Plum/Astra. "but since I wear my plum cape all the time, I'm nicknamed 'Little Plum Riding Hood.' And you two are..?" "Please, refer to me as 'Cobalt;' 'Cobalt the Robian.' The dark beast is named 'Hunter Elliott.' He can be... predatory... but ignore him." The metal beast, now known as Cobalt, said as he held her hand to kiss it softly. The dark beast, Hunter, got jealous and retorted, "Oi, back off, Cobalt! Astra's mine!" Cobalt sighed, annoyed, "At least I'm not the reason shampoo has instructions." This made Plum chuckle a bit.

[✧] Hunter snarled, angry that Cobalt told the truth, and left without a word. "I'm so sorry for that, Little Plum. Allow me to accommodate this by accompanying you where you're headed." Cobalt declared, softly smiling despite lacking a mouth. "Oh, thank you, Cobalt. It sometimes hurts to go alone to my cousin's house, so having some company would be refreshing." Plum replied, thankful for his offer. "It's for the best, my friend." Cobalt chuckled, blushing slightly as his mechanical heart skipped a beat; this indicated that he found love.

[✧] As Plum and Cobalt got to know each other, they walked together to Amy's house, chatting a bit; Plum was sharing some basic information about herself as Cobalt listened and respectfully exchanged his fair share of basic information. However, since she was an organic girl, he didn't want to scare her because his real name is feared by many. She then explained how Hunter's name felt familiar to her, and he was shocked and disgusted learning that their past relationship was as toxic as nuclear waste. He had every right to feel disgusted in this context.

[✧] "Well, that guy's sick to my stomach!" exclaimed Cobalt, with a sickly green hue burning on his cheeks. "Oui," Plum nodded. "I broke up with him as soon as I did, which I'm glad for." "At least that's good. No words can express how much Hunter's actions disgust me..." Cobalt said. The more they continued with their journey down the path to Amy's house, the more his feelings for her intensified, and before Plum knew it, she began to develop feelings for him. She somehow felt safer around Cobalt compared to Hunter, which made sense in a spiritual sense.

[✧] After all, comfort and safety are Cobalt's top priorities. After all, Mrs. Castellanos wanted Little Plum Riding Hood to be safe, did she? Well, she got what she hoped for, just not in an expected way...