#Yall I'm sorry Wildflower/Dandelion Jelly Cookie for putting you in the apocalypse but it had to be done

[lolo3hwriting]

Oneshot: In the Shadow of Penance

Summary: Wildflower Cookie and her mother Dandelion Jelly Cookie, both working as mercenaries, notice some strange things going on. It becomes apparent that something is deeply wrong when they receive word of a town in need of help and go to check it out.

Words: ~2.5k

Additional Notes: Based on the Beast Ancients AU bu @/cuppajj. Vague mentions of Dragonberry Cookie but mostly focuses on Saint Vanilla's mission to cleanse everyone and the broader effects of it.

Wildflower Cookie wasn’t sure when she noticed something was wrong. It was all a series of small, yet concerning events that she didn’t realize were connected until it all but smacked her in the face. Looking back on it, the first thing she remembered was the strange shift in demand in the markets. The town that she and her mother lived in was a trading outpost part of the Hollyberry Kingdom, whose economy heavily relied on trade. Changes in supply and demand were only natural, but something about the recent change seemed off. Any capable cookies were being demanded for work by the royal family for some undisclosed 'labor' at the royal palace. At a glance, it seemed like a great opportunity for her and her mother as they were always looking for jobs. But for some reason, her mother refused to get involved, saying that she didn’t want to work for the royal family. Wildflower Cookie thought it made sense, they had never been ones to like authority, and working for someone as big as the royal family could lead to their exploitation and abuse. Plus, the whole situation reeked of a scam, they were asking for anybody willing with no requirements of specific pay listed. But besides all of that, Wildflower Cookie trusted her mother to look out for both of them, so if she said that they wouldn’t take up the job then they wouldn’t. 

And then even stranger, a few weeks later after the massive wave of monster hunter demands, there was a rumor that the Hollyberry kingdom was being attacked by invaders. Wildflower Cookie was deeply confused. Who would want to incite a conflict against one of the most powerful kingdoms, an economic superpower filled with some of the best knights and duelists? 

The rumors became even more concerning, cookies being more frequently attacked by fierce monsters, cookies entering the Hollyberry palace and mysteriously disappearing, and the most bizarre of all was a new cult going around, calling for the end of times. Wildflower Cookie didn’t believe any of it as all of it could be just some wild speculation. The jungles of the Hollyberry kingdom were notoriously filled with creatures of all kinds, so a spike in travelers would mean that there would be a more likely chance of some unfortunate cookie getting attacked. The hollyberry palace was massive and it was practically an open secret that the noble houses conspired against each other. It was inevitable that some cookie would get caught in the crossfire. And that cult? That must have been a complete lie, probably borne of some cookie’s drunken delusions. 

But as the days passed by, more and more monster attacks were reported and cookies went missing. It steadily raised Wildflower Cookie’s doubts about whether or not this could all really be a lie. It wasn’t until a particularly disturbing sight that truly convinced her. 

One day as she was buying some supplies from the market with her mother, Wildflower Cookie heard some shouting down the road towards the town square. Worried that there might be some bandits or monsters, she rushed towards the scene of the commotion. She pushed through the crowd of other cookies, all staring and whispering amongst themselves, and saw what they were all looking at. It was a one cookie dressed in waffle patterned robes, ranting and raving to those around them.

“This world is a dark, corrupted place, filled with sin and deceit. But fear not, for there is a path to salvation, a way to cleanse your soul and be reborn in the light of purity. 

Penitence is the key that unlocks the door to salvation. To truly repent, you must acknowledge the truth of your sins, you must lay bare your soul before our Saint. It is only through this sacred act of humility and truth that you can reach salvation. Repent! Our Saint calls for all of us to repent!

This cleansing is a profound transformation. It is the shedding of your old, tainted self and the embrace of a new, pure existence. Give yourselves to our Saint and he will give us his love and guide us to eternal purity!”

Wildflower Cookie stood there befuddled, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What nonsense was this cloaked figure spewing? Sins? Penitence and cleansing? And what was this about a Saint?

“There you are!”

Wildflower Cookie whipped around to her mother’s voice and saw her standing a few feet away from the crowd. She immediately started wiggling her way out of the sea of people, making her way to her mother. 

“I was worried about you. Is this where you have been?”

“Yeah, I heard some noise and wanted to check it out.”

Her mother sighs, though her daughter notices it’s one out of mild irritation and not real anger. 

“Well I’m glad that you’re okay at least and I won’t force you to do anything, but can you please tell me if you’re going somewhere?”

“...Okay, I will next time. Sorry.”

Her mother gives a small smile in response and puts a firm hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright. You got everything we need, right? Let’s go back home.”

Wildflower Cookie nodded and started following her mother back as she turned around, but she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder to where the cookie was still preaching to the crowd. She sincerely hoped that this wouldn’t be the start of more nut-cases coming into town.

Ever since that strange day, something shifted in Wildflower Cookie. She was glancing over at every noise, meticulously counting and organizing all the supplies she had, glancing over at any loud noise, always with her guard up. She could have a lot of different excuses to explain her behavior, but the thing that affected her the most was her mother’s own behavior. Wildflower Cookie could tell that she was trying not to act so worried, but it started slowly seeping into her behavior. Constantly asking her plans for the day, if she was sure she wanted to go to the town square alone, if she had her knife on her. Just in case. 

But despite how many precautions the two of them took, her mother still refused to let her guard down. It seemed the rumors were getting to her, but Wildflower Cookie would hesitate to call her paranoid as they could both tell that the world was getting stranger and stranger. 

After a few weeks, a message was put out for someone for help at a nearby village, an hour away by foot. When her mother took the job, Wildflower Cookie was relieved, there were only so many times she could stand working as a guard in taverns. She was deeply thankful that there was still some employment locally, but she would admit that she was getting at least a little tired of breaking up drunken bar fights. 

When Wildflower Cookie walked through her town to exit, she noticed something strange real quick. Despite it being the early afternoon, there was barely anybody around, the streets practically empty. She swirled her head from side to side, straining her neck to peer into any corner that could possibly have anybody else. The cookies that she did see, which were in the single digits, were strange as well. They all kept their heads down, not a single friendly greeting or even a glance. They were all just keeping to themselves, not trusting anybody else. Wildflower Cookie couldn’t blame them, but she did find herself getting concerned at the tense atmosphere. Perhaps going out of town was a good thing.

She and her mother walked quietly beside one another, with the only words being exchanged was a curt “be aware of your surroundings” from her mother. Rationality, Wildflower Cookie knew that most likely nothing eventful happened. The two of them had walked this path dozens of times before, and none of those times were they attacked by monsters or even highwaymen. Even though both of them were capable, it would still be a problem if they were caught out on the road like this, relatively far away from any outside help. And with how strange the world seemed it looked like anything could happen, so she refused to fully let her guard down. 

After ten or so minutes of walking in silence, Wildflower Cookie couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a deep sigh. The past couple of weeks had been weighing heavily on her, and the constant stress and anxiety were starting to get to her. She had really hoped that going out would have helped her in some way, but the silent tension between her and her mother was starting to wear her out even more. She understood that her mother had a lot of responsibilities in order to keep them going, but would it really be too much to ask to just have a conversation with her daughter?

Feeling herself become more irradiated, Wildflower Cookie diverted her attention to the forest scenery surrounding them. Although most others would just call it a bunch of trees, she saw more to it than that. Some trees were towering over the heads and seemed to touch the sky, while others were still short little saplings with only a few leaves. Others had fallen over, being decayed by colorful mushrooms and fungus that stood out from all the browns and greens of the surrounding forest. A few facts popped up in her head about the trees she was looking at. Some knew flowered brilliantly during the spring, while she recognized others as particularly good for making paper. 

Others said that being around plants helped relieve stress, but Wildflower Cookie couldn’t say she was calm. More like…entranced. She has had a keen interest in plants ever since she was young, constantly reading anything she could related to them. Each one had their own unique characteristics, their own story to tell. 

“Hey, are you with me?”

Wildflower Cookie snapped her attention to her mother’s words. She had caught her not paying attention, but she sounded more concerned than annoyed. 

“Yes, I’m here. Do you need something?” 

“Just making sure you’re fine. Are you tired? Do you need a break?”

“I’m fine, I was just looking at the trees.”

“Well we’re nearly there, be sure to get yourself ready.”

She nodded at her mother’s words. The dirt path got smoother each step they took and the forest was becoming less dense, a sign that civilization was not too far away. The growth of the forest abruptly ended, allowing for a clear view of the village. It was a quaint little thing, a collection with a few dozen buildings surrounded by a low cobbled wall. With the afternoon sun shining overhead, the town seemed to sparkle in the light. 

They approached closer and made their way to the entrance gateway, stopping at the opened doors. Both of them looked around to see if there would be anyone patrolling there, but there was no one in sight. Wildflower Cookie thought that even a skeleton crew would have at least someone assigned to the entrance, but even as they both arched their heads to search, they couldn’t find anybody. 

Wildflower Cookie glanced at her mother, silently asking her what to do. She only shrugged in response and continued through the gate, to which her daughter followed closely behind. 

It was unnervingly quiet. All the usual hum of life was gone, replaced by a heavy and oppressive blanket of silence. There were no footsteps other than their own, which echoed unnaturally loud against the stone streets.

Passing by what they could assume to be the central square, they notice the market stalls, all of them still having items sitting on their surfaces. Fruit, wood carvings, jewelry, all of it sat abandoned as if the stall owners had simply gone on break all at once. 

Her mother abruptly stopped in her tracks, eyes furrowed in concentration and contemplating what to do, which left her daughter to think. Now that she was still, she couldn’t ignore the strange atmosphere. The silence was one thing, but focusing on it further she realized it wasn’t all it was. She was more attuned to magic than her mother was so she wasn’t sure if she could sense it, but the air was charged with energy, as if moving too fast would cause everything to ignite and explode. Were all the glimmering lights in the air a part of it?

Taking in her surroundings, Wildflower Cookie noticed all of the sparkles in the air. Her eyes jumped to each one, quickly realizing how numerous all of them were. 

Something else caught her eye amongst the countless sparkles around her, a bed of flowers growing conspicuously out of the stone walkway. Wildflower Cookie wearily stepped towards it and crouched down, inspecting the plant life. 

“Is this… a vanilla orchid?” she mumbled to herself.

They were still in the Hollyberry Kingdom as far as she was aware, and vanilla orchids monthly grew in the namesake Vanilla Kingdom. She read that they grew better in more temperate areas, not in the hot and tropical climate of the Hollyberry Kingdom. 

But maybe they weren’t real vanilla orchids. From what she could remember, most illustrations depicted these flowers with their eyes closed or at least half-lidded, giving them a serene, dreamlike quality. In stark contrast, these orchids had their eyes wide open, constantly watching and observing their surroundings. She couldn't deny the captivating beauty of their sparkling blue eyes, which glistened much like the other sparkles in the air. The sight of this new and possibly undocumented plant filled her with a sense of wonder and excitement. But her fascination was tinged with a creeping sense of dread, as their unnerving, unblinking stare seemed to pierce right through her. The orchids' gleaming pupils fixed directly on her, and Wildflower Cookie could swear there was a glimmer of intelligence lurking beneath those eyes, as if the flowers harbored secrets they were just on the brink of revealing.

“Wildflower Cookie! We’re leaving.”

She blinked and broke eye contact with the mysterious flowers, her head snapping to her mother. 

“Yeah I’m coming.”

If it were any other situation, Wildflower Cookie would be tempted to bring some of the flowers back home. She was curious as to how they were growing and if they could continue growing in their climate, but her rationality told her not to even try pulling it up, or to even touch it.

As she stood back up and walked back towards her mother, her eyes lingered on it for a few moments more before looking away and hurrying towards the exit to the town.