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Licorice Cookie stood at the edge of the water, the soft winds blowing through his cloak as the black, mucky darkness lapped at his feet.
It was always calm, when he was concerned. Always seeming to bend to his will. He knew why; but it still affected him, occasionally. Knowing what he knew.
The bitter, cold air never seemed to bother him, not like the others. It hadn't needed to in a long time. Not since he had fallen in.
Licorice cookie kneeled down, letting the murky water run through his fingertips. Like he was greeting an old friend.
Absentmindedly, he moved his fingers, watching as the water clung to his dough, almost lively in its shape.
Licorice cookie hummed, the sound reverberating through his throat.
“You’re just as cold as I remember,” he whispers, as he pulls his hand away. If he focused- he could almost hear its screams. The way the sea called for him, the way it clung to him.
He stood, leaning on his sickle as he stared out into the water.
“Licorice cookie,” a voice calls from behind- and he was broken out of his stupor. Dark Choco stood behind him, tall, dark and stoic. Licorice cookie stood up, and stepped out of the sea’s grasp- again, he could feel it grasping at his feet as he walked away from it.
“Yes?”
“Pomegranate is calling, we’re leaving.”
“..ugh, okay.”
…
Licorice cookie walked through the walls of the City, overlooking the dark sea as he hummed.
He was turning twelve today, the age most wizards entered the Parfaedia Institute.
He was excited. Even though the other children laughed at him- and his mother scolded him when he attempted magic, he knew he was destined for greatness.
He’d become a great wizard- he just knew it.
Licorice cookie shook his head- no time for daydreaming when there was important information to be given.
He had walked here from the Licorice Village, fighting the cold and avoiding the monsters, but he was determined. He had left a note for his parents- detailing his plans, and left a goodbye.
His plans meant they probably wouldn’t be talking anymore- as he was going to the Institute.
He would be talking to Lord Dark Cacao cookie today, asking for a good word and convincing him to allow him to go.
It was his one way ticket out- really.
“Hey! Kid!”
A voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned around- only to be met by a Cocoa Guard, a concerned look on his face.
“You can’t be up here! It’s unsafe!”
Crap.
In a quick motion, Licorice Cookie turned heel- bolting towards the inner walls.
No no no no! This was his only chance at getting out, he couldn’t let it be taken from him- he couldn’t let this slide.
Licorice Cookie was running out of breath, his legs were getting tired; stiff. But he kept on. He couldn’t let himself get caught, not when he was so close to-
Licorice cookie ran into the railing of the wall.
He stumbled, his feat failing to keep him upright as he flipped over the edge of the wall and fell deep into the Sea.
…
Cold. The first feeling he felt was cold. Deepset in his bones and through his dough. A cold he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to be rid of, a cold he could never feel.
Moreover- the second feeling he felt was something different.
He was.. floating. Something was rushing around him- his clothing moving against it as it surrounded him.
Licorice cookie opened his eyes- only to be met with nothing. Darkness. He couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t hear anything.
The truth settled in his bones as his eyes widened; he was underwater. He was under water and he couldn’t swim and he was going to get soggy and he couldn’t breath and he was going to die-
He started to thrash, desperately attempting to escape the clutches of the sea as he tried and failed to surface. The sea itself seemed to respond to him- becoming wild- thrashing in response to his panic.
He sucked in subconsciously, waiting for his lungs to fill up as he met his end… only to pause. He wasn’t losing consciousness. He wasn’t soggy. He wasn’t breathing.
At all.
Licorice Cookie’s thrashing was pulled to a halt. He was still for a moment.
He wasn’t breathing.
The sea surrounding him seemed to calm as he did, its water flow slowing to a halt.
What?
Licorice’s initial panic gave way to confusion. To.. uncertainty.
Why had he stopped breathing?
The sea still surrounded him, beckoning, almost calling out to him as he looked around.
The current moved with his line of sight.
…
Licorice Cookie looked around the wall, crossing his arms.
“I spent years trying to get as far away as possible from this foul sea. But where have I ended up?”
He looks around, before throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.
“Back here! Ptooey!” He huffs, shaking his head in annoyance, “Anyways..” he mutters, kneeling down to the ground.
This could only work if he was close enough to the water, but this wall was all he was able to use.
“…rise, creatures,” he whispers, starting a mantra as an unyielding warmth blooms in his chest. “Rise as I summon thee, rise to give haste to the world..” his nails scratch at the brick as a gentle rumble emerges from the sea down below. His companions all stumble, but he doesn’t.
No, he knows what will happen next.
“Rise, creatures of the dark, beasts of the sea..” the rumbling grows, as soft splashes of dark, gooey water starts to
“I summon thee!” He throws a hand up in the air, standing as a roar of beasts emerge from the sea.
He wipes his cloak, a smug expression on his face as his companions stare in awe.
Dark Choco speaks up first, tapping his chin as he approaches the railing of the wall, looking over it.
“A great host of beasts, will I be able to witness these walls finally crumbling?” He ponders- but Licorice is more worried about him tipping overboard. The sea would not be as kind to Choco as it was to him.
His thoughts were interrupted by two tiny arms wrapping around him, as Poison Mushroom hugged him.
“Woah! Licorice cookie..! That was.. woah! Awesome…!” They praise, stars in their eyes. Licorice can’t help but feel proud, he was awesome, and he knew that.. but to hear it from them, well.
It boosted his ego.
“It seems even you have your uses, Licorice Cookie.” Comes the third voice- Pomegranate Cookie.
Licorice can’t help but blink at that- Pomegranate, praising him?
He can’t help the absolute shit eating grin that pours onto his face. He huffs, standing proudly.
“Ha! Within the depths of the seas, I can make anything possible,” he boasts, and he can feel her eyeroll.
“But.. ahem.. with one caveat.”
The group looks to him, and Licorice cookie can’t help but look away. “They’ll.. turn to dust at sunrise. They aren’t built to last outside the sea.”
There’s a short silence.
“Hm. These numbers will suffice,” Dark Choco assured, before making the trek off of the wall.
Pomegranate gave him a look. “The citadel will be ours before sunrise. There is no room for failure.”
She then stepped forwards, grabbing Poison Mushroom's hand and following Dark Choco.
He laughed awkwardly, before stepping forwards to the sea of monsters.
“Alright! Let’s get this party started!” He calls out to the sea, which vibrated in response. “Go! My minions! Wreck licorice havoc upon the Black Citadel!”
And with that final note- he hurried after the trio.
…
Licorice cookie pulled himself onto shore- with no help from the sea itself.
It had.. followed his lead for a while, but… as he tried to swim up and out- it had started to pull him back.
He probably wouldn’t have survived if he had to deal with fatigue.
Speaking of that,
Licorice cookie had expected to take a big gulp of air when he had surfaced, to be able to breathe again. He had thought the sea had somehow stopped him from breathing and as soon as he surfaced he’d be able to, but.. it hadn’t.
He hadn’t.
As he lay against the snow, which.. wasn’t cold, he was coming to terms with the fact that something had changed in him.
And he didn’t know what it was.