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Assistant: Title: Tethered Promises
        Author: LuoBinghez LuoBinghez 
        Chapter: 2/4 
        Summary: Vanilla is not the first scent Shadow Milk wanted to wake to.The air was sickening, waffle cones everywhere – not to mention the blinding light flickering through the cream curtains. His bed sat in the sat in the corner farthest from the door, meaning the light was relentlessly burning his eyes. He growled, pulling the covers over his head, tossing and turning impatiently for a while to no avail. He eventually ripped them back off himself in full and yanked the curtains closed, flicking his cane to darken them entirely.Every puny, scant touch of light attempting to brighten the room was snuffed out and plunged him into the darkness.
        Contents: Chapter 2
    

    


      
        
          
          (See the end of the chapter for  notes.)
          
      
  

  
  
    
    The meeting flew by rather quickly after Shadow Milk’s opening act, but that didn’t help his bad mood, nor did Pure Vanilla’s vacant stare pinning him into his chair.Shadow Milk swung his legs back and forth in the air and heaved a dramatic sigh. His body hovered a few inches above his chair, nestling sideways into the comfortable backing.“I am glad you have finally decided to grace me with your presence, Shadow Milk.” Pure Vanilla’s smile was bright as ever and he wasn’t very good at hiding his intentions. Shadow Milk felt another string of patience burning away with each affectionate word aimed in his direction. The attention wasn’t unwelcome, but it was ever so irritating that Pure Vanilla just so happened to be the one showering him with it. After making a statement he figured the other would have been shaken off and lurching towards another cookie that would better tolerate the nonstop jabbering that had been teetering dangerously back into self sacrificing territory over the last few minutes.Shadow Milk didn’t feel too keen on being the subject of someone else’s pitiful flattery. Even he would shift uncomfortably in his seat. Big fat line between rejecting the truth and self depreciation. Red blaring buzzer. “Yes, yes, blah blah blah, I’m wonderful as ever. I know,” Shadow Milk interrupted impatiently.Pure Vanilla’s hand touched to his own chest and he warmly gestured the other openly towards Shadow Milk. “Since that is the case, perhaps I can interest the great Shadow Milk in playing a game with me?”“And why, pray tell, would I play a game with you?” Shadow Milk lazily checked over his nails, ignoring the extended hand that eventually found solace back on the arm of the chair. His disinterest couldn’t be made any more obvious, but deterring someone like Pure Vanilla quickly proved to be difficult.Pure Vanilla tapped his chin and pretended to think it over, “Well,” his eyes closed, lashes fluttering every so slightly. Shadow Milk focused on the movement. Something about the subtle nature of it caught his attention and he felt a strange warmth in his soul jam that he quickly shoved away. “I thought games were your thing. Am I mistaken on that?” Pure Vanilla’s voice eased into a teasing imitation and he tilted his head, attempting to match Shadow Milk’s voice.Shadow Milk sat up in disbelief and stared. “You stole my joke!”Stole his joke?The words felt foreign to him. Sure, plenty of cookies pirated his hard work; they were jealous of his talents, but this was different.This was Pure Vanilla. And Pure Vanilla was, well – Pure Vanilla. Serious and kind. Seriously, too kind. It was overbearing and annoying. Probably the most annoying cookie on all of Earthbread thanks to his demeaning attitude and prattling on about the “light in friendship and truth” or whatever stupid catchphrase. “I will not falter!”Yeah right.Save that for when he’s crumbling over himself at the hands of deceit. Truthless Recluse would have told it better.A wry giggle and the sight of Pure Vanilla’s hand covering his own mouth snapped Shadow Milk's attention back and brushed away that thought for the time being. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”Shadow Milk gave a melodramatic gasp, grasping his chest in offense and fanning himself. “How dare you! Unforgivable! Oh, Nilly, how could you!”Two sets of laughter intermingled for a while, and, before long, Pure Vanilla had led him over to the balcony, pointing out at the bleating cream sheep that wandered a pasture in the distance. “Oh! Look, they’re laying together, isn’t it lovely?”Everything was – peaceful?No wolves baring their teeth to clamp around their slow little legs.Shadow Milk’s eyes drifted over to Pure Vanilla as the sound of his voice faded to distant murmurs and he traced the gentleness of Pure Vanilla's face. Light blonde hair swept off to either side. Symmetrical. Perfect. Only save for a single strand irritatingly dangling between his brows. Shadow Milk reached out and carefully pulled it back into place with his nail without a second thought.Pure Vanilla stopped talking with his mouth slightly open. He stared blankly for a moment then blinked. “Shadow Milk?”Shadow Milk drifted away from him, half shrinking in on himself unintentionally. He was just bothered by it, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. A furious heat built up in his face and he turned away further. “What? You look terrible.”He didn’t want to see the small smile that was surely creeping up Pure Vanilla’s face right now.After a moment, he thought about it again. Giving Pure Vanilla’s clothes another once over glance, the hem of his robes were on the cusp of breaking and the color had somewhat faded away. That same one must have been worn countless times and suffered plenty over the years, let alone the who-knows-how-many sets that came before it. They’d been through it, that’s for sure. Shadow Milk's petulance suddenly disappeared and he grinned, whirling back around with his usual charm. “Say, Nilly, would it really be so bad to change up the wardrobe? I mean, gosh, your robes are hanging on by a thread!”Pure Vanilla glanced down and pulled the lower half of his coat from the floor, squinting and observing it for a while before shaking his head with an exhausted sigh. “Does it matter that much? They’re just clothes.”Shadow Milk clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “So, so naïve. Tell me, what happens when they give out and expose you right in front of everyone?”Pure Vanilla’s eyes closed as he thought about it for a moment, then a quick burst of pink flushed across his face, dropping the coat from his grasp. Shadow Milk snickered and got closer as Pure Vanilla stepped back. “Oh. Oh my,” he awkwardly breathed out a shy mumble, “That would not be ideal.”Shadow Milk idly traded his cane between his fingers and narrowed his eyes, then fiercely spat, “I distinctly recall – generously, might I add – providing you with a high quality upgrade.” He casually adjusted to rest more comfortably on his side in the air, waiting for Pure Vanilla’s twitching brow and the amusing sound of faint annoyance lacing into his usual light voice. But it never came.Instead, a hand suddenly took Shadow Milk's own and blanketed it with warmth. Shadow Milk found himself being lowered, Pure Vanilla’s soft gaze locked with his. Silence lingered between them, keeping him infuriatingly silent.Ha! Him? Silent?Plenty of witty retorts hung from the tip of his tongue, all just shy of landing. Shadow Milk wasn’t hanging back, he was just saving them for a more opportune moment to make his point clear. There was no reason to rush into using them up all at once. Savoring it, he stared back at Pure Vanilla.Pure Vanilla politely said, “I appreciate that you cared enough to do that for me.”“What?” Shadow Milk’s hair stood on end and he was honestly a bit startled in what some might consider a stutter, a one time slip up that did not happen, “What? No I- Huh?”“Even though you did something I did not like, it was still in thought of me, was it not?”Shadow Milk’s eyes widened and he just stood there.Then, anger quickly followed, gasp that erupted a low growl.The air darkened, chairs clattering against the floor. Banners around them snapped shut and the stained glass windows no longer emitted their glittering colors. The world seemed to crumble around them as Shadow Milk drew closer, narrowing his eyes savagely. Fittingly, for a beast at least. Puppet strings with paper cutouts plunged down violently. Two of which resembled Pure Vanilla; two for Shadow Milk. A story to remind Pure Vanilla of their reason – rather, Shadow Milk’s only reason for being here was overdue. Cozying up and playing “friends” wasn’t on the agenda. Just because Shadow Milk had temporary isolated himself didn’t mean that had changed.“Oh, Pure Vanilla Cookie,” he sighed, ecstatically watching Pure Vanilla twist around cautiously at the new surroundings. Shadow Milk had hidden himself in the shadows and lowered his voice, sarcastic and belittling, “You blind fool. What makes you think I would consider your feelings?”The cutout of Pure Vanilla dangled helplessly, swinging around by the strings while the real one stiffened. Shadow Milk laughed and spun it around, smashing it into pieces with a Truthless Recluse cutout, which was significantly more well made, not a single scratch while the other piled up on the floor. Another hopped towards him, though it was nearly impossible to make out the true identity because it had been taped together carelessly with glue over and over. It was originally meant to be the one person he despised more than Pure Vanilla. Sage of Truth. Even bringing it out made Shadow Milk dim further.He begrudgingly shook them around in a dance for the few seconds he could tolerate, hotly replaying the story in his own retelling, “See, there was a time where a wonderful, perfect cookie mingled with a-” Shadow Milk thought about it for a moment.Could he even be called a scholar?He decided that part of the script had been wrong. Shadow Milk continued with the new adjustment, “A screwup professor.”Pure Vanilla frowned and corrected, “Lovely scholar.”“Unfortunately for him, the perfect cookie preferred deceit over the truth, so it quickly went downhill.”“We got along quite well.”“They did not get along well at all,” Shadow Milk growled, slamming a chess piece into the wall behind Pure Vanilla. “Don’t interrupt me,” he sang, dragging it out to emphasize his point.But... he was bored now and he no longer wanted to waste time, so he begrudgingly slipped from the shadows and angrily yanked him in by the collar. Their foreheads touched, the marks of their faces flitted to gold, followed by the unbearable burning in their dough that made them both groan.It hurt.The Sage of Truth sat at his desk in thought, a quill swiftly jotting down onto the scroll before him. The doors to his office creaked open and he lifted his head, offering a gentle smile. “Oh! What a lovely surprise. If not the Truthless Recluse himself, descending from the Peak of Truth.”Truthless Recluse gave a solemn blank stare. “You know why I’m here, Blueberry Milk Cookie.”A brow lifted. “Well, well, well, somebody means business,” he jibed coolly, setting the quill aside and pushing himself out of his chair. Blueberry Milk floated over and tilted his head in query. One finger adjusted his glistening gold monocle back into place.“You,” Truthless Recluse accused, “are giving cookies false hope. The Peak of Truth holds nothing and you knew this.” He stepped towards the desk while Blueberry Milk trailed behind him with an unwavering smile. Truthless Recluse glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “Why do you continue to preach the truth?”Blueberry Milk laughed, “What intrigue you hold in your heart indeed! Let me ask you this,” he posed, leaning to one side, “Do you believe that truth and lies are inadvertently and entirely correct?”It was less of a question; more of a proposal of debate.Blueberry Milk enjoyed them thoroughly, as life got boring without a challenge to put his knowledge to the test. Knowing everything as the effortlessly praised Found of Knowledge was tiring. Nothing new could be taught if everything was laid out in front of him. Besides, the Witches did not spoil him nor interfere.Many years few by, hundreds of millennia, slugging on boringly in Blueberry Milk’s ever-so important opinion. The Witches had originally created them at the wake of Earthbread’s creation and spared the Primordial Heroes from pleasant first days, later discovering the power that was placed in their hands. They did not ask for this, but nonetheless, they felt a strong sense of responsibility to use the soul jam to provide basic answers and consolation to the cookies of Earthbread.The Primordial Heroes stayed together in the beginning, Wheat Flour Cookie took on a motherly role before the others even fully grasped their powers, watching over them carefully. Fiery Spice Cookie often picked on Blueberry Milk and teased him, shoving a hand in Blueberry Milk’s face every time a lecture went on for more than a minute. Sparkling Sugar Cookie and Paladin Salt Cookie kept the peace – tried to at least.Blueberry Milk knew it would not do them any good to live like this, so eventually, as the wiseman, he proposed they split ways and spread their virtues across Earthbread alone.Wheat Flour and Paladin Salt immediately shut it down, but with a lot of discussing and persuasion, the five all came to a compromise.Journeying was inevitable, but that didn’t mean their bond had to be severed.In the face of Truthless Recluse, however, it was apparent that many cookies on Earthbread had remain untouched by their influence yet. Of course, they had a choice, and many went to the Peak of Truth, but were ushered away before reaching their own conclusion. Blueberry Milk had observed him for a long time, finding more interest in the curious sentiment of Truthless Recluse, who rejected the idea in its entirety. Someone who had been betrayed by the light and came up empty handed. Truthless Recluse had journeyed to the Peak of Truth, finding there was nothing there. Blueberry Milk, who already knew the answer to his own question, still patiently waited.“Why bother asking?” Truthless Recluse placed a hand on the desk and ran it across the edge.Blueberry Milk hummed in reply, snatching a stack of papers and tapping them to straighten out the pile. “Why bother coming here if you have nothing of value to say,” he smoothly countered. He could feel Truthless Recluse slam his fist on the desk out of frustration, but remained entirely unbothered, tapping the papers a second time.Still, as Blueberry Milk settled back down into his work, Truthless Recluse stood and watched in silence. The educated guess Blueberry Milk drew was that he did, in fact, have more to say, though it would hardly be a viable argument against an opponent as clever as himself. Blueberry Milk did want to hear it, so he waited a few more minutes before looking up again expectantly.“You’ve got quite an indignant attitude for a cookie intent on diverting other’s attention from the cultivating of enlightenment, their journey inevitably stopped by you, mayhap you’ll make something of it?” He tapped his fingers against the desk in succession. “Or, will you bask in darkness once more?”Truthless Recluse stepped forward, finally letting the moonlight from the window shine across his figure, his black and gold cloak glittering, two dull eyes vaguely gazing back at Blueberry Milk. “The Witch of Logic,” Truthless Recluse coldly asked, “She is your creator, right?”Blueberry Milk’s tapping came to a pause.Ah. He hadn’t heard that name mentioned in – well, since his creation itself! Nobody dared utter their names because of a foolish rumor that they may crumble. His curiosity grew and he blinked away his initial surprise with wonder. A genuine curiosity sparked in his voice, “You have not disappointed me, dear guest. What a fascinating conjecture, but one indeed. What say you?”Truthless Recluse led him out of his office and they strolled through the halls, their footsteps echoing through the corridors. Sparkles of gold bordered most of the portraits of Blueberry Milk, mimicking an act of dripping down the railings of his many staircases. The walls were milky, elegantly resembling the philosopher that designed it himself. Blueberry Milk skimmed each one down to the millimeter. Little imperfections bothered him. Thus, little was imperfect.“The Witches truth. Your truth,” a small glance to make sure Blueberry Milk was paying attention, “is built on a lie in itself.” Another glance then a sigh. Truthless Recluse bluntly griped on, “You’ll all fall anyways, don’t know why I bother.”Uncertainty. Something Blueberry Milk did not often feel.Intriguing.“An interesting theory. The truth is cruel in twisted ways. It shall not bear change in our favor unless we utilize it. We hold that power in our hands.”Truthless Recluse suddenly grabbed him by the collar with a hysterical combination of grimacing and joy, shaking Blueberry Milk and shoving him down on the floor. Blueberry Milk strained against his grasp, kicking and pulling until he had to use a surge of power to heave Truthless Recluse off him. His arms were shaking from an unfamiliar feeling that other cookies felt, one that he didn’t feel, shouldn’t have felt. In that moment he feared the look in the eyes of that cookie. Savage, hungry, malicious.“Don’t you want us to be one? Blueberry Milk...”Truthless Recluse’s voice distorted as the lines of reality and their connection flickered and blurred, leaving Shadow Milk aching blindly on the floor. His grasp on his surroundings aside from the vague warmth and heavy weight on top of him was hazy at best. He could only assume Pure Vanilla was worse off than himself, especially telling from his desperate clutch digging into the back of Shadow Milk’s cloak.It was far too difficult to get up, not to mention the lingering sting on the right side of his face. Not worth it. He couldn’t even get the pleasure of seeing Pure Vanilla suffering with his own eyes. Whatever.Still, he wasn’t the only one suffering, partially reimbursing the cost of his own pain.Pure Vanilla called out hoarsely, “Shadow Milk...”Shadow Milk snapped, “Shut up. I don’t want to hear you right now. Leave me alone.”Despite saying that, he didn’t fight back when Pure Vanilla slowly eased him into a tight embrace. It wasn’t clear whether he was comforting himself by using Shadow Milk or the other way around – or maybe it was a bit of both, but Shadow Milk didn’t care. It was somewhat soothing the pain.The first time Pure Vanilla had tried to coax Shadow Milk at the spire to play into the whole friendship thing, he touched their foreheads together in an attempt to bring them closer, but he had only made things worse when the memories flooded their minds until they were numb and rolling around on the floor, trying everything in the book to alleviate the unbearable pain that throbbed in every inch of their dough. It itched like crazy and left them helplessly writhing for however many hours passed before Gingerbrave and his friends finally had to work together with Shadow Milk’s minions to find a temporary relief.Neither of them wanted to experience it again, but they couldn’t ignore it either.These memories felt like their own in the moment, yet Shadow Milk didn’t understand how it was possible that they met. Of course it was impossible. He created Truthless Recluse, so why would he know Blueberry Milk? How would he know Blueberry Milk?Shadow Milk had long abandoned that old identity. Only the Beasts knew of it now. No other cookie had lived long enough – nor could have – to know that name. All it chalked up to was the good ‘ol Sage of Truth.So the lingering question remained unanswered. Shadow Milk was curious and he knew Pure Vanilla was too.Annoying, but unavoidable.Pure Vanilla had carried Shadow Milk all the way back to the Vanilla Kingdom after the spire collapsed despite the pleas of all other parties for him to change his mind. The little tiny cookies all grabbed onto the back of his cloak, tugging in a futile effort while they were dragged along behind. Pure Vanilla was somewhat out of it himself, to their credit. But, then again, he would’ve done it anyways despite the connection, and it only furthered his decision being set on doing something for Shadow Milk.That silly, silly waffle cone so religiously believed that there was something -- some stupid, ignorant idea, the foolish belief that a light was burning at the end of this tunnel he started down.A silly sentiment. One that would come back to bite him.Pure Vanilla’s intentions of keeping Shadow Milk sitting pretty in the castle acting good like a testament to his accomplishments. Another trophy. One that Shadow Milk would not let himself be.Once again, a voice more carefully tried to reach out, “Shadow Milk, I have never once forgotten.”Shadow Milk growled, trying to ignore him because the hand gently stroking his head felt rather nice in the moment. He was barely tolerating the edge of annoyance that Pure Vanilla was bringing him. Yet, it seemed that even in the face of enduring the pain they were both in, he managed to be impossible to tolerate, because he just kept talking. Shadow Milk could not comprehend why Pure Vanilla was still talking.“In fact, I- mmph”Shadow Milk had no more patience and covered his mouth. “If you say one more word to me, I’ll do it again.”They both knew that he wouldn’t. Neither of them would be able to handle the pain, but it still held some semblance as a threat because Pure Vanilla didn’t say anything after that.They stayed like that for a while; Shadow Milk reluctantly shoving his face into Pure Vanilla’s shoulder while the other hummed softly, tracing lines down his back and stroking his hair. It was better than being alone, even if he hated it more than anything. It was humiliating being treated so patiently, yet never once receiving a proper apology.Shadow Milk decided that he would get one later. It could be beneficial to play along for just a little bit.He eventually shoved Pure Vanilla off him with the little strength he had left and held his head, which was now throbbing, he noted. Everything was unbearably sore and still suffering from his body being forced to play a part he had neglected to prepare himself for. Preparation was smart for this kind of stuff. Jotting that down mentally for later.Pure Vanilla stumbled to brace himself against the wall. A small sigh, then blindly searching for his staff, having lost it in the mess. It had clattered against the floor some distance away, far from it’s owner and unlikely that Pure Vanilla would be able to find it on his own. Shadow Milk narrowed his eyes and thought about it for a while.Well, he wasn’t in the mood to stay.That blind fool could figure it out on his own eventually.
  
  

    
      
        
        
          First of all, thank you guys so much for the overwhelming support on the fic! I'm super grateful that people are actually enjoying it because I went in thinking only a few people would actually read it, but you guys absolutely showered me with support. I'm glad that my writing entertains you! ♥Secondly, I will try my best to update at least once or twice a week, I am having a lot of fun creating the story and I hope that I can meet your expectations!Lastly, I took some names for the beasts off fan-inspired names, only Silent Salt Cookie was my idea, the rest are not mine, so please go give the original creators some love. I will link them later!If you're stopping by, please consider leaving a comment, I read them all and it greatly boosts my motivation. I love reading what you guys think. Let me know if I'm getting a little too similar to another fic, I'm trying to stay away from that because I don't want to copy anyone and try not to look at others while writing, but it might accidentally happen with the plans I have for the story.'
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