Chapter Text
The group edged further into the forest, armored and ready. The earth squelched beneath their shoes, an aftereffect of the rains that had been plaguing the Kingdom recently. Droplets still dripped from the leaves of the trees above so the five took great care in keeping themselves dry. Clover Cookie stood guard at the back, quietly strumming his fiddle while observing the other four ahead of him. Espresso and Chili Pepper stood side-by-side, sandwiched between Clover and the two in front, Madeleine and Princess.
They were nearing the edge of the sea from what Clover could tell. The air was cooler and tasted just a pinch saltier, which was quite pleasant. Even so, the quintet marched on, investigating the area to make sure that it was safe for being cleared later. So far, they had encountered a small pack of Cake Hounds but not much else. Espresso had cleared them out easily with a spell and Princess scared off the stragglers by waving her scepter about.
“There’s no treasure here,” Chili Pepper grunted, dragging her feet. She had her arms folded tightly, shoulders high and tense. “Just a bunch of dogs.”
“The point of this expedition is to simply clear this patch of land. Treasure-hunting was never a part of this plan,” Espresso pointed out, walking with considerably better posture.
Chili tossed back her head, groaning, “I know, but that doesn’t mean that treasure couldn’t still be here. Aren’t old forests supposed to have ruins and stuff?”
“These forests have rivers-a-plenty,” Clover offered, his smile gentle and relaxed. “Treasures found there are good as any.”
“Pfft, like what? Fish?” Chili’s sarcastic laughter came out in barks, and her ponytail bobbed with the movement.
“Fish can be nice! Chef makes wonderful f- woah!” Princess twirled around to offer her own comment, stumbling back as she tripped over her own feet. Madeleine caught her arm and pulled her back up before she fell too hard. “Ah, thank you-”
Madeleine grinned, “It’s no issue. Be careful, your Highness.”
Chili Pepper grimaced, “If we’re not going to find anything interesting, let's walk quicker and get this over with.”
Clover tuned out the complaining that continued for a while longer, blissfully feeling the wind brush against his hair and examining the wildflowers that sprouted up wherever they could. Among the singing birds and the rustling of leaves, he heard a cacophony of barks and growls; it was quite alarming, and he was quick to announce his fears, “There are Cake Hounds; ready yourselves, my friends.”
Madeleine raised his shield and the whole group paused, all taking mental notes in various amounts of detail of their surroundings. As if in silent agreement, Princess and Espresso positioned themselves a little behind Madeleine. Chili Pepper, on the other hand, sidestepped to hide behind a large roll-cake tree instead, brandishing her twin knives and fang-toothed grin. Clover’s hand rested on top of his fiddle’s fingerboard, holding down the strings lest they respond to the sudden vibrations that were sent through the earth a moment later.
The hounds erupted from the underbrush, the sounds of individuals flooding into one river of bounding paws and slobbery tongues. Some similar cakes lined up in the distance, readying boomerangs to be thrown. However, they did not get much of a chance to do so as Espresso raised his hand, magic swirling around his palm in circular symbols. A gigantic mass of dark, bitter-scented magic erupted from the ground, bursting from a ring of shimmering patterns; the Hounds slipped and stumbled over one another as they were pulled into the grinder spell, yelping fearfully as many were felled. Clover could see that the boomerang hounds had also been taken care of as Chili Pepper cheered at the other end of the field. He and his group ran up to meet her, pushing whatever animals were left away.
“I feel kinda bad,” Princess announced, trying to avert her gaze from the cakes.
“The feeling will pass,” Espresso reassured, his usual upright posture lacking as he slowly regained energy. Clover considered playing a song to assist in calming the group but refrained from doing so as he heard another wave approach.
“Behind me!” Madeleine called as a gigantic hound made itself known. It came behind another half dozen or so smaller cakes, all bouncing along with their teeth shining in the morning light. All of the other four, including Chili Pepper, braced themselves for the impact that they knew would arrive. Princess swept her scepter across the line of little dogs, knocking them away just as the big dog charged.
Madeleine yelled as the dog slammed itself into his then glowing shield, knocking him back. The force of the encounter sent a cool wave of air smashing against the trees behind them, though Madeleine’s magic kept him safe. Despite his efforts and the caution taken by the rest of his party, they were all quite stunned.
Their formation broke as more dogs showed up, nipping at the cookies. Clover, panicking, strummed a fast-paced song as he danced wildly to avoid being bitten. Encouraged by the tune, Madeleine recaptured his composure and swiped his attackers away before assisting Princess. She bonked many a dog on the head with the head of her staff, leaving all of them stunned.
However, not even that scared the greater hound away, and it charged again, hitting all of the party backwards. Chili was rammed into a tree, Princess stumbled and fell, Clover nearly dropped his fiddle, Madeleine was forced to his knees, and Espresso was sent into a large puddle of water. The mage spat out vile-tasting mud; it was clearly over seasoned and not a pleasant experience at all. Much less pleasant still was the fact that his cloak was now soaked and made him shiver, and he rose to his feet shakily. Despite this, he managed another grinder spell.
The whirl of swirling magic battered the enemies, and combined with the abilities of the other Cookies, the dogs were sent away. Clover approached Espresso, nervously clinging to his fiddle.
“Are you okay, Espresso? That wasn’t a pretty display,” Clover asked, wincing as Espresso wiped muddy sugar water from his previously pristine outfit.
“I am fine, though disheveled,” Espresso grunted, examining his glasses.
“You need some help there, Espresso?” Chili grinned, not looking too clean herself. She didn’t seem to care, though, and left the cluster of leaves and little twigs in her hair that had fallen in.
“I will be fine. We must continue,” Espresso insisted, wrapping his cloak around himself. He stared at Madeleine as the knight removed his blue cloak and tried to put it on him, only for Espresso to turn it down. “Do not bother dirtying it,” he said as he stepped away, “It is unnecessary.”
“Are you sure?” Princess asked, brushing off her many layers of skirts. “You might get sick.”
“I will be fine. Now please stop dawdling, we have limited time.”
With that, Espresso started walking again, and the rest collectively shrugged and followed after, reassuming formation. The mage lagged behind a little, but Clover’s songs and his own stubbornness kept him going til they reached the end.