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Once again, Licorice finds himself forced into a corner. Not by any immediate threat nor by a disgruntled Pomegranate dumping work on him that wasn't suitable for someone as powerful as him. Oh no. Worse. The one person he could never, ever legitimately say no to now stared up at him with wide, hazy purple eyes and the brightest smile he'd ever seen even on their face.
Poison Mushroom's big, round, adorable eyes shone brightly and he just couldn't look away. That puppy stare that meant they were going to ask, beg if needed, for him to do something for them. It made his heart lurch. Why did he have to have a soft spot for cute things? Even Bat-Cat knew it and used it's cuteness to it's advantage on a regular basis… With a sigh, Licorice averted his gaze, figuring it might be better to just rip off this bandaid and deal with whatever pain it brought.
“Alright, alright! You win! What is it? Huh? I don't have all day.” The words are sharp and snappish, but he can feel heat flushing his cheeks at the constant staring.
“Can we get some… uh… hmmm…” Poison Mushroom's face twisted, brow furrowing as they tried to recall their request through the haze of purple spores always swimming in their vision. There's a moment of silence where Licorice is just about to press them when they snap their fingers and drawl out, “Flowers! Yeah… and Shroomies.”
The request catches Licorice off guard. Mushroom hunting was a normal request and flowers usually did get picked along the way. But outright asking for flowers was less common. “Flowers? Why do you want flowers?”
The child giggles, “For my… uh, new friends! Pom Pom Dough wanted to see them.”
Ah. The experiments. Right. Poison Mushroom had been trying to befriend them during their many assignments to clean the Laboratory. Shroomies had garnered mild interest but the three experiments didn't seem to outwardly care much. Which was pretty rude, brushing off a sweet kid like Poison Mushroom. Had they actually asked to see flowers or was this something Poison Mushroom had cooked up in their shroom addled mind?
“Right… there's lots of lilies around. Why not get those?” He suggested, but the kid shook their head so hard they actually stumbled back a step.
Once their world stopped spinning, they responded again, “Only red and white ones... We need more colors!” Those shining, excited eyes met his once more…
And that was how Licorice found himself hauling a comically large basket of various flowers and assorted mushrooms through the base while his accomplice skipped happily beside him. He really needed to learn to turn the kid's harmless requests down more often. It must look ridiculous to see him lugging this thing around! Choking back the embarrassment was all he could do though. But soon enough, they found the cells Poison Mushroom wanted. The three cookies inside laid around listlessly, whether from boredom or pain he didn't know. Maybe both.
One lay sprawled on their stomach over a plain cot, long white hair splayed across their back and draping to the floor. One deep plum colored arm, etched with black Dragontongue, and a leg hung off the edges. Their purple gaze stayed fixed to the floor firmly, face devoid of any emotion. Another, much broader, cookie laid flat on their back. Long dark hair covered the ground beneath him, more Dragontongue carved into his grey dough across his chest. His eyes were closed, breathing shallow as he rested.
Closest to the approaching pair was a much smaller cookie. She laid on her belly too, drawing shapes in the dust on the ground. Her plain white gown covered her hands and most of her body, shorter white hair framing her frustrated, pouting face.
“Pom Pom Dough…!” Poison Mushroom's slurred but cheerful tone chirped, earning the other's attention. She raised her head to look at the pair stopped outside the cell. The sudden voice stirred the others, though they didn't move more than just lifting their heads.
“Huh? Oh… it's you again.” She didn't sound nearly as excited as Poison Mushroom did. If anything, she just seemed annoyed. Her tone didn't phase the other at all though, and Poison Mushroom knelt in front of her immediately. “And you brought… the cleaner?”
…Okay, ouch. That stung. He was not a cleaner! Sure, he'd been stuck on cleaning duty quite a bit lately, but that wasn't his actual job! Though, to be honest, he wasn't really sure what his job actually was anymore beyond bringing the Licorice Oozelings here for nautical defense… still! That was pretty important! But he couldn't bring himself to do more than grit his teeth when he saw the other two were watching him closely.
Instead, he set the basket down with a thud, grumbling out, “Here's your flowers. We spent hours picking the nicest ones for you. So you better appreciate it! Now, I'm leaving!” He turns to leave when fists ball into his cloak and he makes that one fatal mistake. Meeting those big puppy eyes again. Really! When was he going to learn?
“Licoo… c'mon…. Let's make some flower crowns for… our friends!” Poison Mushroom demands, tugging at his cloak to make him sit down. He knows he should resist. He has better things to do… well, not really. As far as Licorice knows, he only has some cleaning to do.
He really caves so easily…
“Fine. But just this once, got it? So pay attention and don't forget what I show you!” He says, gently tugging his robes free again. Lowering himself next to the basket, he reaches for a few flowers, only to find a dark hand also reaching for them.
Licorice freezes, looking up at the black eyes focused on the basket and withdraws his hand for a moment. For someone so big, he hadn't heard the guy approach. He takes a few flowers, tucking one pale blue Bachelor’s Button into Pom Pom Dough’s hair. Then he gets up to hand the Aster flower to the other cookie watching them from the cot.
“Thank you Mold Dough.” They say, a small smile on their lips. It feels awkward to watch. Uncomfortable. Like he's an outsider intruding in their lives.
But Poison Mushroom has no such qualms, quickly holding out a Shroomie to Pom Pom Dough with their usual, “Have a Shroomie!” The girl glances back to the white haired cookie, who give a curt nod and states, “If they meant us harm, it would have happened by now.”
“Yeah, but be careful with that mushroom, don't try to eat it. It's toxic.” Licorice warns as the mushroom trades hands, not wanting these guys to hold a grudge if one of them does end up eating it. The last thing he needed was an angry, Dragontongue empowered cookie out for his head because they thought he intentionally poisoned them. Nope! Not dealing with that. At least he can say he warned them.
Their gazes flicker to the mushroom and then to Poison Mushroom themselves so he hurried to add, “They just hand those out to their friends, or cookies they want to be friends with. I swear Poison Mushroom doesn't mean anything by it.” His hand raise in a typical surrender motion as three pairs of eyes bore into him. In a nervous bid to change the subject, he takes a handful of flowers for himself as he add, “Anyway! Mushie wanted to make you guys gifts… hehe… so, how about it buddy?” He nudges Poison Mushroom as they chat animatedly at a confused looking Pom Pom Dough. He takes a handful of flowers and puts them in front of his charge, diverting their attention temporarily.
“Yeah! Uh… how do I do it again?” They ask, picking up the different flowers to investigate. Licorice leads the demonstration, showing his audience how to start weaving the crown or add flowers into it. Occasionally he puts his own down to help correct Poison Mushroom or to fix their clumsy crown. But soon enough, he has a ring of pink, blue, and yellow in his hands. Glancing up he realizes they're all at the edge of the cell now, though only Mold Dough and Pom Pom Dough have crowns in their hands. The third one had a frown on their face, brows furrowed at the pile of withered flowers in their lap.
Pom Pom Dough is the one to hesitantly ask, “Venom Dough… do you want us to make you one?”
Venom Dough just shakes their head, setting their hands in their lap with a dejected look. “No need. It will likely meet the same fate.”
And logically, Licorice knows they're just experiments. They're not cookies the way he and Poison Mushroom are. But the look on their faces makes him think of Poison Mushroom's when he doesn't have time to spend with them and that seems to flick a switch. Especially when he starts to see that look crossing over the younger cookie's face. Heaving a tired sigh, he reaches in and tries to find ones that look like the withered flowers littering the ground. Under his breath, he mutters a spell once he's sure there's enough. Then he thrusts the bouquet towards them.
“... I cannot use these. It would be a waste t-” Venom Dough tries to reject the offering, only to be cut off sharply.
“Just take them. I put a preservation spell on them to make sure they stay like that. Should work now. Just don't ever say I never did anything for you!” Licorice states, leaving no room for argument. Slowly, Venom Dough takes them, gently weaving the stalks together. They are slow at first but quickly pick up on it once they realize the flowers haven't begun to wither and die. Having done his part, Licorice scoots away, content to watch Poison Mushroom passing a finished crown through the bars before starting another.
He doesn't care much for these guys. That much Licorice is sure of. But Poison Mushroom seemed to. Always so friendly, it wasn't any surprise they would try to befriend these experiments. But of course, Licorice wasn't about to mention it. He'd rather pretend the sudden warmth in his chest was his imagination. Not a bloom of affection for his favorite… minion. Or that swell of pride was because Poison Mushroom’s second crown was a massive improvement from their first clumsy one now resting atop Pom Pom Dough's head. And definitely not that the smile on his lips mirrored Venom Dough’s as they watched the other experiments work.
It was all just his imagination.