Lily Flower

Pure Vanilla: Hypocrite

no TW, I think?? Pure Vanilla has a conversation, cleans his room, and angsts.

In case y'all haven't noticed, I really like PV. His whole personality is so very huggable. I want to squish him like Hollyberry did (cuteness aggression lel). I didn't make the Dark Enchantress huge to vicariously live through the eeee of holding a smol person in my palms, totally not.

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"I can't believe I got saddled with the new guy." Licorice complained. "Really! Everyone showed up at this meeting, but somehow I'm still the one doing the dirty work." He had been the one who ended up showing Pure Vanilla around his former castle, likely pushed by one of the other cookies. The cookie of darkness dragged him around the halls, not recognizing the healer's apparent ability to navigate the winding corridors.

Pure Vanilla's staff gave his "guide" a look. He was right here. "Well, you are the one who recruited me. They probably believe you know best when it comes to my talents."

He felt a sense of amusement as the reaper puffed up like a peacock. It was so easy to make him happy. He probably didn't get complimented much. Pure Vanilla noticed that none of the other cookies seemed to have much respect for Licorice.

"Well, of course. I found you, after all."

He was actually the one who found the reaper. He had been trying to flee all reminders of his previous life, and had come across Licorice bragging about the Dark Enchantress's new brilliant schemes to his small mushroom companion. After following them for a while, Licorice was ganged up on by a group of enraged jelly bears. While usually very passive creatures, they have the capability to be cruel when threatened. And the cookie had spoken very loudly to the candy worms around the area about his plans for the bear village, causing enough of a ruckus that a bear had overheard him.

The rest was history.

"This is the central hall! Ignore the broken statues, no one has bothered to clean them up so there are some sharp pieces lying around." He kicked the broken head of a statue lying on the side of the hall. Pure Vanilla winced as his likeness crumbled into a few more pieces.

"So," he ventured. "What is it like serving the Dark Enchantress?"

"Wonderful!" came the too-bright reply. "Our Mistress is the most powerful sorceress in the world. She brings us plenty of books and allows us to work on achieving her grand vision of Earthbread."

There's no way he truly feels that way. His answer was too automated to be genuine. "Is that all?"

"Yes. You'll be able to see her greatness in time. We are the chosen! We deserve to be revered as her mistress's right-hands."

The reaper's usage of 'we' flowed smoothly into the conversation. It was more unconscious than a deliberate attempt at manipulation, and the blonde felt almost endeared at how quickly he included him in his daydreams of grandeur. The topic of conversation, though, quickly dimmed any smidge of positive emotion he experienced.

Licorice did not dare speak negatively of White Lily. He supposed he shouldn't do so either- she was technically his superior and surely would not overlook insubordination. Even so, the situation grated on his heart. They were once friends. The distance created by Pure Vanilla's lack of power drove him farther away from her, and every unfamiliar gesture and cold smile of hers tore at his nerves. Would her jam still have that faint flowery scent?

When he called her his master, the title burned at his tongue like acid.

Well, if the other man won't speak about his boss, perhaps the other cookies of darkness would work.