Red Velvet x Licorice PG Connected One-Shots

To fill the pages? To meet the strangers? (Unconnected)

Contrary to belief, Licorice loved the great outdoors. His air conditioned room, perfectly suited with everything Licorice could want, was nothing compared to the great outdoors. At least, that's what he put in his job application for park ranger.

So what if none of what he said was true? Licorice could deal with his shoes being a little scuffed if he manages to pay off his future college debt. His grades were far from all A's, meaning any money put into his bank account was a relief.

The sun shines down on him, painfully bright and unobscured by clouds. Licorice scowls as he shoves his keys into his uniform. Just like the woods, it's annoyingly green and even worse, has a stupid little hat he has to wear.

It's a long walk to the station where he has to file 'odd occurrences' or 'delinquent teenagers' as his new boss, Pure Vanilla said. He scoffs. Pure Vanilla is obviously overstaffed, with maybe thirty other apprentice rangers. Licorice is sure that man will be broke within a month. Licorice will probably be able to sue for malpractice or whatever it's called in the park ranger business, and get himself a fat wad of cash.

Naturally, things can never go Licorice's way for too long. His shoes, ones that were definitely not made for hiking, catch on some exposed tree root as he walks. He yells as he raises his arms, bracing himself for a face full of dirt.

It takes a few seconds for him to realize the he's stopped falling. Something, like an abnormally large hand or a paw, is clutching the back his shirt. As soon as Licorice regains his balance, he turns to glare at the stranger. A quick retort dies on his tongue.

The dirt path behind him is empty, save for the few sticks littered in the soil. The forest, usually loud with the sound of rustling leaves and chirping crickets is eerily silent. Licorice nervously chuckles, then calls out,"Is anyone there or am I hallucinating things?"

Licorice stays still, scanning the area around him. The normal noise is a relief to hear. A few more seconds of waiting, and he's back to walking, taking breaks to catch his breath every few minutes.

He's only a little bit late checking into his desk, meaning it won't matter if he lies about when he checks in. Licorice notices a clunky air conditioner in the corner of the room, pathetically spluttering.

"That thing's been broken for a week." Some red-haired woman complains. "Gingerbrave tried to fix it, but couldn't, and apparently we can't afford to fix it."

Licorice resists the urge to roll his eyes as he walks over to the air conditioner. "Has he tried this?" He asks, nonchalantly making a fist and bringing it down harshly against the top of the air conditioner. He ignores how she yells indignantly, and is smug when the air conditioner starts blasting cold air.

"That's definitely original." Chili Pepper says, half-way impressed. "You're the new guy right?" Her face is set into a confident grin. "You need to do rounds at section E-1 of the park at, twelve."

Licorice glances at the clock, gasping when he realizes that it's eleven forty five. "That's half an hour away!" He exclaims as he rushes out of the door, ignoring Chili Peppers guffaws.

This time he's careful about roots, and he manages to reach the corner path in only thirty minutes, though he quickly becomes bored. He reaches for his phone, frowning when his hand comes up empty.

Licorice checks his many other pockets, become increasingly concerned as he fails to find his phone. His keys and wallets are gone as well.

He's distracted by soft footsteps behind him. "You weren't hallucinating things. Early today, if it wasn't obvious," an unfamiliar voice says gruffly. Licorice whips his head towards the voice, wincing at the loud crack it makes, even louder in the silent forest.

The stranger behind him looks vaguely dated, like a character from a 1980's movie, especially with the large belt cinched on his waist. Fiery blue eyes stare back at him, eyebrows raised in an unimpressed way. "Are you going to keep staring?" The stranger asks, slightly affronted.

If that wasn't odd enough, the stranger has a large arm, white and furry. "Were you the one that stopped me from falling?" Licorice's voice is probably more than a little strained. He can't blame himself, meeting a strange, very attractive guy in the woods is not a daily occurrence for him.

The stranger nods, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Are you not going to thank me?" The stranger looks insulted. "Or ask for my name? It's Red Velvet, if you're wondering."

"I didn't ask you to stop me from falling?" Licorice retorts shakily. "I don't really care who you are, as long as you don't get me fired or anything." The stranger- Red Velvet stiffens, before stepping away.

"What with your arm, anyways?" Licorice blurts brazenly. He's genuinely curious. "Are you cosplaying some character?" It's the one thing he can think of that can explain everything in front of him.

"No?" Red Velvet looks baffled, his mouth pulling down to a frown.

Licorice decides that Red Velvet is in character. "You're a good actor." He says idly. The more he looks at the arm, the more he notices how realistic it looks. "I need to get back to patrolling now, though. Have a good day." The last part he adds on to seem polite.

"I'm not acting, nor am I in costume." Red Velvet pauses, the continues quickly. "Do people dress differently now?"

Licorice starts to feel unnerved again. It's uncanny how real the confusion in Red Velvet's voice is. "What do you mean 'now?'" Licorice pries, stepping closer to Red Velvet as his walkie -talkie buzzes.

"Licorice? You need to get back, now!" A new voice says frantically. "E-1 isn't safe, no one's allowed there, didn't you see the warning signs" Licorice glares at Red Velvet, before answering quickly.

"I'll go then." He says incredulously. "Are visitors allowed in this area?" Red Velvets eyes widen in shock before he makes a quick gesture with his hand, obviously pantomiming 'stop.'

"Of course they aren—." The radio beeps once, then starts ringing as the person is cut off. Licorice drops the walkie-talkie in panic, hastily backing away from Red Velvet, who lazily flicked his wrist just as the walkie-talkie went haywire.

"I'll answer everything if you meet me here later today, at five or whenever you leave your work. Red Velvet tilts his head before leaving, walking deeper into the woods.

Licorice scrambles to pick up his walkie-talkie, then runs away from the site. The poison-yellow signs are obnoxiously obvious, like a kick to his face. He can't figure out how he couldn't see them when he entered the gated area. He doesn't remember the gates at all!

He finally enters the cluttered building, gasping for breath. Licorice catches quite the few concerned glances his way. He grits his teeth. He doesn't want pity.

"Did anything happen there?" Pure Vanilla asks urgently. "This forest has a many different creatures, though not all of them are very kind towards us."

"Noth-nothing happened." Licorice straightens his back and squares his shoulders. "Just thought I saw something." He says, keeping his voice steady. Pure Vanilla simply nods, and starts a conversation with another person nearby. The old fool may have been annoyingly good-natured, but he knew when someone didn't want to talk to him.

Licorice will find himself back in E-1 in a few hours, he knows that. He's the type to prod at a bear with a stick if it'll get him answers. He'll just hopes it won't be as dangerous as Pure Vanilla makes it seem.

A/N

I don't have too much to say other than thank you for reading this fic ^_^