Returning to my snoots

Smoked Cheese knew something wasn’t right the moment the Radiant Queen went off to fight that monster. He insisted on joining her for the fight, but she refused, insisting that he kept hidden away from the battle.

He should have disobeyed.

Now he watched from the cliffs as Golden Cheese was in the clutches of that Beast’s claws. Her golden wings flapping helplessly, trying to get away, the previous Soul Jam holder tightened its grip around the golden avian’s neck, earning a pained gasp and groan. Her claws reached up to grab the Beast’s arm, jam trickling down as she attempted to get him to let go.

“That was too easy..” The Beast said with disappointment, “All this time I’ve endured, for this?!”

It roared in anger as it violently shook her around, coiling its fingers around her neck even tighter, causing the avian to let out another choked grunt.

“My Queen!” Smoked Cheese shouted; he got up and was about to sprint out of his hiding spot to help aid Her Radiance, but something stopped him.

Golden Cheese looked at him with pleading eyes, telling him to stay out of this; that this was her battle and hers alone, not her general’s. And he stayed put, what a foolish decision.

She snapped back at the monster that held her captive; it scoffed out of boredom.

“I truly thought I’ve met my match. Turns out I was wrong,” It bemoaned, “It’s time to put an end to this bird hunt and claim my prize.”

The beast’s smile grew to show its jagged teeth at the last part he said before using his other hand to wrench Golden Cheese’s wings before stripping them off with ease.

*RRRIIIPPP!!*

“YOUR RADIANCE! NO!”

Flesh and feathers were torn off in an instant, followed by an agonizing cry of pain as the Soul Jam holder nearly went limp.

“This power was never yours to behold. Thief.” The Beast uttered that last word with dripping malice before tossing the golden avian cookie off the cliff.

Smoked Cheese stood there, motionless as he watched Her Radiance fall headfirst to the ground, a loud CRACK filling the spiced air as the impact kicked up even more spices.

Silence filled the spice ridden air soon after, he felt his chest tightened as the Dark Flour War played in his mind again. Watching as his own family fell one by one like he was now. 

Move you idiot, MOVE! 

The general finally took action as he jumped down from the cliff’s edge, digging his talons into the rock as he quickly tried to make his way down safely towards his queen. 

Golden Cheese Cookie had faced many impossible odds that should have killed her, this..this was nothing. Surely she’d be okay, she always found a way out. 

But the way that..monster had her made him think that this wasn’t the case, not this time. And the way she landed…she wasn’t..she can’t be…

‘No No! Focus Smoked Cheese cookie!’ Smoked Cheese tried to calm himself, he couldn’t risk panicking at a time like this. Not when Golden Cheese’s life was in danger.

 The moment he managed to slide down the cliff, he sprinted to where Golden Cheese had fell. He ignored his now aching legs as he continued, fear driving him forward. 

By the time he made it to Her Radiance’s location, his eyes shrunken in fear.

Golden Cheese lay limp upon jagged rocks and stones, jam leaking into the sand as the mineral hungrily drank the red substance. A struggling groan was heard on top of the sandy hill, her bloody arm sticking out to where he could see.

Smoked Cheese didn’t hesitate to climb up the makeshift crater, quickly removing  the rocks and sand that covered the golden avian. 

He nearly gaged at seeing the Golden Queen. Her condition was worse than he thought; aside from her torn wings, her ribcage was completely broken, with some of the bones protruding from the skin. Jam leaked from her agape mouth as her bloodshot eyes pierced the sky.

Was this how her Radiance found him on that tragic day?

Golden Cheese weakly tried to inhale as much air as her pierced lungs could allow, a pained and shocked expression painted on her face as she looked at her advisor in desperation. 

“It-it’s going to be okay your Majesty. You’re going to be okay I promise.” Smoked cheese assured, trying his best to hide the fear and uncertainty in his voice as he tried to pick her up as painlessly as possible

Adrenaline coursed through Smoked cheese’s jam as he carried her down as best he could, jam staining his chest as he laid her down once more to try and treat the wounds. 

A simple healing spell should help; if he could just stop the bleeding, he could be able to temporarily stop the pain and get Golden Cheese to safety without damaging her more. 

The amber avian grabbed his staff before quickly waving it over Her Majesty’s body, smoke gently blanketing her as it settled. He expected the magic to heal the wounds, but to his surprise the wounds and gashes stayed. 

‘What?’ Smoked Cheese’s slit eyes widened seeing Golden Cheese still in pain, he performed the spell right, why wasn’t she healing?! 

With shaky claws, he performed the healing magic again and again, each wave of his staff being more desperate and rushed than the last. The former queen’s breathing started to sound weaker as he continued. 

‘No no no! This is not the time!’ Smoked cheese thought 

Soon enough, he threw his staff to the side and kneeled down. Ripping part of his hood to cover up any gash he can manage.  

“My Queen wake up! This is not the time to fall asleep! Keep your eyes open!” Smoked cheese commanded seeing Golden Cheese’s eyes start to close 

His hands still trembled while he bandaged the wounds to the best of his ability. 

‘The sun was starting to set.’

He cursed himself as he tried to keep his hands steady, praying to the witches above that he could save her.

‘There was nothing I can do to stop it.’

More jam started to leak from the body as he used more of his hood to bandage his queen. 

‘I can’t fail, not again, not like last time.’

“There! Come, Your Radiance, we have to leave before the beast finds us.” Smoked cheese informed as he tried to stand her up, but something wasn’t right, she was heavy. 

Too heavy. 

“My Queen, please get up. We have to go.” 

Silence. Not a single shaky breath was heard from her.

“Your Radiance this isn’t funny. We have to go now!” 

“…”

Oh witches no…please no! 

“Golden Cheese Cookie come on, get up!” The avian violently shook her, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, no response. 

Smoked Cheese barely stifled a cry as reality had set in. He was too late, he should’ve known better than to expect her to survive a fall like that, let alone getting her wings ripped off. 

Her body lay limp once more on the ground as the general followed suit lying down on her chest. Tears finally poured down his face as he tightly hugged the former queen. Jam staining his arms and face as he buried his face into her broken chest. 

“Please mother…” 

His mourning was cut short as the Beast’s voice howled with laughter. He whipped his head around to see the towering cookie before him and the corpse. Its glowing red eyes being the only thing he could see, its assistant not too far from him as her tail waved in amusement.

“Well, seems like the thief’s pet couldn’t save her in time.” It taunted shaking his head in mock shame 

Smoked Cheese’s feathers puffed up upon instinct as the Beast got closer, his wings unfurled as an attempt to cover Golden Cheese, to try to protect the treasure that always looked out for him even after everything he’s done to her. 

“Aw, is the little fledgling scared?” It asked mockingly 

“Look how puffy his feathers are, he reeks of fear!” The assistant joined in with a laugh

The avian’s head screamed at him to do something, anything to get away from the Beast that killed his mother, get away from the very thing that threatened his kingdom. But he couldn’t, he was paralyzed by fear, his talons barely budged as he looked into the monster’s eyes with his own shrunken ones. 

Before he could try to mutter anything out, it raised its giant axe high into the air and struck.

  -[…]-

Golden Cheese let out a yawn as she made her way out of the kitchen and into the sparkling halls where her quarters resided. Her golden eyes were dulled from exhaustion from the tasks she had to deal with earlier today. 

She had decided to wake her kingdom after she and her son returned from defeating Burning Spice as a way to celebrate their victory, and to see her precious treasures again. However, there were things that she still needed to do to ensure the safety of her subjects, so she had to deal with running parties in her glory and Mozzarella’s endless instructions on how to store the cheese souls better. 

She didn’t know how Hollyberry was able to manage parties and daunting tasks at the same time in her kingdom, it was tiring. 

Before she could reach her bedroom, the golden Avian’s ears perked up to hear an ear piercing scream that echoed in the halls.

“AAHHHH-!!” 

She whipped around to where the sound came from, down where her children’s sleeping quarters were. From the sound of the voice, Golden Cheese knew who it was. 

Sleep now out of her system, she turned and rushed to where the scream came from with a flap of her wings. The thought of what could have made her child scream made her feathers ruffle.

-[…]-

Smoked Cheese shot up with a blood curdling scream, his wings unfurled and sprawled uncontrollably as an attempt to get away from the imaginary threat. His breathing quickened as he looked around with wild shrunken eyes to try and find a way to escape. 

It only took him a few moments to realize where he was. He was back in the Golden Kingdom, in the palace where his quarters resided. Having registered he made a fool of himself, the general sighed and wiped the sweat and tears from his face, the desert breeze cooling him down as his feathers contracted back into place.

Another nightmare it seemed, worse than the last. It was merely a few weeks ago after Golden Cheese defeated that beast and yet those moments still haunted him. After everything he and his siblings went through, this was the thing that kept him up at night? 

He was a war general for crying out loud, he’s supposed to face dangers like this! For him to scream like a little fledgling in the middle of the night over a mere illusion was beyond embarrassing. He prayed to the witches that his siblings didn’t hear him however, he didn’t want to disturb their rest over something so childish. 

His prayers came unanswered when his ears perked up to the sound of faint, rapid footsteps coming from outside. Oh great, now he attracted an audience, and from the sounds of it, it could be either Rich Cheese or Mozzarella. 

Smoked Cheese’s bedroom door opened ajar, allowing the hall’s dim golden light to creep into his room and onto his bed. 

To his surprise and embarrassment, the Radiant Queen herself came into view as she slowly opened the door further, a worried expression painted on her face as she let herself in. 

“Smoked Cheese? What happened? I heard a scream and wanted to see if you were okay.” 

“I-it’s nothing your Radiance, I was just…startled out of my sleep is all.” Smoked Cheese assured “You should get some sleep, I apologize if I gave you a scare earlier.” 

“My beauty sleep can wait, I’m more concerned as to why you screamed. You look terrified.” 

“I assure you it’s nothing I can’t handle on my own. Please just leave me in my quarters. I’m fine, it was nothing but a silly dream.” 

The golden avian wasn’t convinced, she could tell in his weary eyes that something was bothering him. Ever since they returned home, he grew tired by the day, bags started to develop under his eyes not long after. For her to just ignore her child in a state like this was a terrible thing to do.

The queen softly scoffed as she crossed her arms “Oh no, you’re not doing this mister. That ‘silly dream’ is clearly bothering you. Your wings sprawl out and your feathers ruffle whenever you’re stressed.” 

Smoked Cheese looked in slight surprise before quickly folding his wings back in place, a red hue dusted over his face as he looked away from the queen. 

“And why do you care so much? I am the Golden Kingdom’s best war general, a mere dream is nothing to me, and it should mean nothing to you too.”

A weight was added to his bed and his face was gently cupped into Golden Cheese’s hands, her claws gently stroking his cheek, he nearly sunk into her grasp had he not kept up with the facade. She held his head up to look at her, worried golden eyes were met with dull weary ones as she continued to wipe the tear marks from his face.

“Because you’re my son Smokey, to see one of my precious treasures suffer, makes mesuffer. I don’t want to ignore my subjects like I did so long ago.“ Golden Cheese explained 

“So please, talk to me.” 

“…fine.” 

Satisfied with his answer, Golden Cheese got up from the edge of his bed. 

“Good, but I think we should go somewhere private. I know how you are with your siblings.” The golden sovereign huffed before lifting her son out of the bed and into her arms

Smoked Cheese, not expecting the sudden action, let out a small squawk while the queen adjusted herself to carry him bridal style. 

“Y-your Radiance, there’s no need to carry me like—“ 

“Oh no, you’re sad and you cannot walk in a state like this.” 

“I can walk on my own! You’re being ridiculous!” 

“I’m being ridiculous? If I let you walk now, your legs would turn to jelly and melt onto my golden floor. We can’t have that now can we?” Golden Cheese winked playfully at her son, who was obviously unamused 

“I’m not a fledgeling anymore.” 

An amused chuckle was all he got.

-[…]-

The trip to the Queen’s room was a lenghty one, since Golden Cheese had a tendency to fill her palace with corridors and halls to showcase her radience and wealth to all to see. All the walls covered in gold, red and cyan colors, her favorites as she says. Eventually they reached her room. Golden Cheese used her wing to push the door open revealing her room. It had a small artifial waterstream attached to it, flowing through the entire room, with a few walking bridges to reach the, of course, queen sized bed towering in the middle on it’s suspended platform with a snail starcase attached to it.

“Still as flashy and exragovent as always huh?” The copper avian asked with a slight cocky smile, earning an eyeroll from the godess.  

This earned a smirk from Golden Cheese. “Real wise behavior Smoked Cheese.” She made her way over to the raised platform’s stairs, Golden Cheese could have used her wings to fly and get it over with, but there was something familiar with walking up the old stairs carrying someone in her arms. Once they got up there, the queen placed the amber colored bird in the middle of the nest like bedding, slightly dipping in the softness of it.  

“Careful treasure. We wouldn’t want you falling off the bed, like you usually do.” Her radience laughed at the silly joke she made, in reference to his regular sleeping position when he was younger, but instead of the usual eyeroll and exhausted groan, Smoked Cheese froze. His face turned blank and his breathing hitched.  

When the goddess finished her amusement she glanced over, only to notice Smoked Cheese staring past her. 

“Smoked Cheese? Is something the matter?” No response. 

She moved her hand to his cheek trying to caress it, earning a flinch and him to look at her again. They stared at the other, before he broke the contact by turning his head against her forearm and nuzzling into it. 

“Forgive me, mother. This…’joke’ feels a bit too much for me.”  

Golden cheese was shocked. How long has it been since her cheeseling called her mother? A millenium? Possibly longer. Now she was certian something was incredibly wrong. Just what sort of nightmare plaqued his mind to result in him referring to her in such a nostalgic way.  

“Smoked cheese… my greatest treasure.” The Golden Queen placed another hand to the Avian’s other cheek. 

”Tell me, what was your dream about? Do you remember it’s events, or only the feelings left by it?” She slowly caressed his scarred cheek, trying to comfort him.  

He took a few moments before looking at her, almost as if debating whether he should tell her the truth. Eventually he took a deep breath. Pulled her arms down from his face and began. 

“It was… about Beast-Yeast.” Golden Cheese winced, hard. This was… a difficult topic to discuss, even after all the time that passed.

“I… understand. You may continue…” The goddess put a hand on her leg, to prevent it from shaking, although she too was still recovering from the events, Her treasure needed her more, and it would not do any good if her child saw her afraid as well. 

Smoked Cheese resumed.

“It begin with…’that’ cliff.” 

Golden Cheese’s icing started to melt. 

“Everything went as they did, but… ‘he’ wasn’t playing anymore.” 

She didn’t like where this was going.  

“I-I tried, I really did! But I couldn’t get there in time, he- no, ‘It’ torn your wings off like papyrus and discarded you like trash. And-and you..” 

Smoked cheese’s eyes began to well up as tears streamed down his face without the avian even knowing. He paused, trying to calm himself before trying to continue on. However, just seeing her son in this state was enough to understand what happened in this dream. 

Before he could continue with his dream, Golden Cheese lifted her hand, signaling her fledgling to cease. 

“That’s enough Smoked Cheese.” The Golden Avian started, “I think I understand where your dream goes from there.”

“I-I wasn’t strong enough to save you.” Smoked Cheese continued, earning a worried expression from Golden Cheese “I was helpless, just as I was during that wretched war.” 

The mention of the Dark Flour War made Golden Cheese’s feathers ruffle, the war was another heavy topic no cookie dared to talk about, especially in the cheese kingdom. Their ruler knew all too well of that day when she had returned only to be met with the remains of what used to be her kingdom. 

“I couldn’t help my people nor my siblings as they died one by one by our enemies, all because I was hesitant.” The darker Avian’s claws tightened their grip on the soft edge of the bed as he continued 

“Even when I tried to avenge my people, it still wasn’t enough.” He shakily wept as he unfolded his wings to gaze at the golden feathers wrapping around the base of the pair. A reminder of his failed attempt to stop Dark Enchantress’ forces. 

“And now…now I fear that it might happen again in this next war. That I may not be able to stop the enemy again and…lose everyone. Lose you.”

Golden Cheese had remembered that fateful day when Dark Enchantress was defeated, she lost more than her friend after the war. She lost everything that was dear to her, the kingdom, her people, her dearest treasures. It was as if that evil woman knew just what would get under her skin before she presumably crumbled. 

Seeing her own children in such a mangled state nearly made her vomit had she not been so devastated and angry. As much as she wanted to hunt every member of Dark Enchantress’ forces and crumble them slowly just as they did to her people, she still needed to save her loved ones. And so she carried their bodies and stored them until she found a permanent solution to bring them back. 

The Golden Sovereign was angry yes, but she was never angry at her own for trying to defend their kingdom. After all, both didn’t know that Dark Enchantress’ forces would strike that day. 

So seeing Smoked Cheese beat himself up for something that was out of his control was heartbreaking for the mother. 

“Oh, Smokey…”

Without hesitation, the golden avian gently pulled the war general closer to her. 

“Know that whatever happened back then was never your fault, it was nobody’s fault, but mine.” Golden Cheese said “I would have stayed behind had I known they would attack.”

“Your Radiance..”

Before he could complete his thought, a pair of golden wings surrounded both him and his mother. The linings of them were adored with a beautiful teal, as if an artist personally worked on the wings just for her.

The general felt his mother pull away just for a short while so he could see the wings better. 

“With these wings, no destruction will come to you nor this kingdom,” Golden Cheese smiled softly “Not while I’m still alive.” 

She extended the wings to further her point, causing some moonlight to hit some of the feathers and causing them to shine. Even in the darkest of nights, she still managed to radiate her gloriousness. It was something he and his siblings admired for a long time. 

Smoked Cheese snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something soft brush up against his arm, gazing down to see the Golden Sovereign’s wing. Confused, he looked up at Golden Cheese who still worn a soft smile, as if encouraging the amber avian to feel them. 

He obliges, his claws carefully caressing the feathered appendage while giving it a  closer inspection. The feathers were just as beautiful seeing them up close, each feather almost reflective as the golden flakes that decorated her wings shined like the sun itself. 

As he messed around with her wing, the golden avian gently pulled him into a hug. 

“Tell me,” Golden Cheese started, looking down at her son “What do you feel?” 

“Your feathers,” Smoked Cheese began, “As soft as the sun’s rays.”

“Good, now what do you see?”

“I see the Great Golden city from one of the windows. Thriving as if nothing had ever happened.”

“Where are you now?”

“In the Golden Cheese Palace.”

“With who?”

“Our mother.” 

“And she’s still here.” 

The tears Smoked Cheese once held back now flowed free as Golden Cheese wrapped her arms and wings around her eldest son in a firm but gentle hug. His form shook with every hiccup as he buried himself deeper within the Golden Goddess’ own feathers, tears soaking through her silk gown and golden feathers.

Not that she minded anyway, with the close encounter they dealt with she couldn’t blame him for acting this way. So she made sure to hug him tight as long as he wishes to ensure that she was still there. 

And ensure she did. The two avians stayed like that for a while until the eldest prince stopped crying. Golden Cheese rubbed circles on his feathered back as he began to finally calm down, she gently pulled away to rub away any tears from his face.

“Are you okay now?” She asked with a gentle smile 

“…I will be.” The prince responded with a small sniffle

That was an answer Golden Cheese didn’t want; though it would take him a while to fully recover from the encounter, she didn’t want him to go back to slumber and still be haunted by those nightmares. That was when she remembered a certain thing she had done for her eldest children to  lift their spirits when they were still fledglings. Though it had been some time since then, she had hoped the reaction was still the same. 

With her best effort, she raised an eyebrow at the prince’s answer pretending to be upset. “Really? That doesn’t sound too convincing to me.”

“Well I just got done crying, what did you expect?” Smoked Cheese answered 

“When I comforted you lot, you all would give me a smile for my troubles! Now you won’t do even that for me!” Golden Cheese complained dramatically, flopping on her bed before laying her forearm on her head “I expect to at least be paid for my efforts!”

That got a small chuckle out of Smoked Cheese seeing how ridiculous his mother was acting, he smirked slyly as he leaned back. 

“Well, I’ll have the others pay for me. I’m way too old for that.” 

“You’d walk out of here without paying your dear mother?!” Golden Cheese gasped siting back up  “Treason!”

“I’d rather pay a scarab than the likes of you. At least they’d make use of the coins instead of polishing them all day.” The avian sassed playfully sticking his tongue out to make the queen even more irritated 

“Oh you’ve done it now! Come here!” 

She waisted no time launching herself towards Smoked Cheese, earning a surprised squawk from him as he tried to escape his mother’s clutches. Unfortunately, she was faster as her claws grabbed him. 

Before he could mutter out anything, fingers started to slowly spider against his sides, causing him to jolt from the sensation.

“Gh—! Pfft..!” He sputtered, feathers fluffed as he tried to fight the laughter bubbling in his throat “N-no!”

“Don’t try to fight it Smokey, I’m getting those giggles one way or another.” Golden Cheese teased, racking up the tickling to prove her point, earning another jolt

Unable to hold it in any longer, Smoked Cheese gave in to the feather like sensation 

“Gahahaha! Hahahahahaha!” Smoked Cheese chortled squirming in her hold with little success of escape “S-stohohop Your Radiance!”

“My my, it seems like you are still ticklish!” Golden Cheese observed as if the information was new to her “Looks like I am going to get my pay!” 

Her claws started to make their way up towards his ribs, causing another octave of laughter to erupt from him.

“Ahahahaha! Thihihis is ridiculous! Hahahahaha! I-hehehe! I don’t need to be cheered up hahahahahaha!” Smoked Cheese protested only for a shriek to escape his mouth as Golden Cheese went for his stomach next

“This is the best way for you to get rid of those nightmares, I’m just helping you out!” Golden Cheese responded playfully kneading the soft dough “Hm, there seems to be a lot of giggles in here, I’ll have to squeeze every one of them out.” 

“W-waihihit! NohoHO! HAhahahaha! *snort!* AHHAhahaha!” The young avian threw his head back as the tickling continued, his squirming starting to get excessive trying to get away from the sensation 

He almost succeeded had Golden Cheese not grabbed him from the edge of the bed on time. She had him lay his back against her as she continued her tickly onslaught. 

“Mmph! Still as wiggly as a jelly worm aren’t you?” 

“EHhehehehahaha! Sh-shut uhuhuhup!! Ihihi’m way too old for thihis! *hic!*” Smoked Cheese tried to argue, another shriek came from him as Golden Cheese started to squeeze his ribs 

“Nonsense, you’re never too old to get tickles from mama.” She said cheekily

They continued to play this little game for what felt like hours to the amber avian was only mere minutes of Golden Cheese switching from skittering her fingers up to his ribs to his hips and stomach and back again. The golden avian couldn’t help but smile fondly as she saw her son’s bright face; it had been a long time since she saw him genuinely smile like this before the war. 

She had always saw him cheer up his siblings and while it was sweet, he always pushed others away when he was hurt. It was especially hard for him to genuinely open up for comfort after the war. So seeing him being able to not only open up to her, but also smile was very heart warming for the Golden Sovereign.  

Wanting to get a few more giggles, Golden Cheese used her wings to brush against the sensitive dough, eliysiign more laughter from the war general, causing his own wings to unfurl to try and protect himself from the playful assault with little success 

“Hahahahaha! Plehehease! *Snort!* Thihihis is so humiliating!” Smoked Cheese chortled 

“Aw, such a beautiful color of amber,” Golden Cheese admired “You always had such beautiful wings.” 

“Nohoho they’re NOHOHOT!” 

At the critical moment, his wings shot up from his body and managed to smack the Golden Sovereign’s face, causing her to let out a surprised squawk of her own and releasing Smoked Cheese from her hold. 

The amber avian took the moment to breathe and recover from the tickling, he only realized his mistake when he looked at his mother, jam going cold at the sight of a cold expression . 

There was only one rule whenever Golden Cheese was tickling someone and that was to never talk down about yourself, especially if you were a loved one of her’s. Insulting yourself meant insulting her also, Smoked Cheese and his siblings quickly understood this rule quickly. But there were times where they slipped up. 

This was one of them. 

“I’m sorry, did you just say they ‘weren’t beautiful’?” Golden Cheese questioned, brows knitted “Because I can assure you that they are.”

“T-that was just a slip up!” Smoked Cheese tried to reason, a wobbly smile creeping up on his features as he tried to scoot a good distance away from his mother “I-eheheh- I didn’t really mean it!” 

“‘Really’ isn’t assuring enough. You just committed treason against me,” Golden Cheese stated “And I must have you punished properly!” 

Before he could make a run for it, Golden Cheese quickly tackled him back to the bed before she dove for his wings. The reaction was immediate as he let out a shriek before he was submerged in his own laughter once more, wings flapping uncontrollably as they tried to avoid the tickles. 

“AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” He guffawed “ST-STAHAAHAHAHAP!!”

“Absolutely not! You’ve committed a serious crime: calling your own beautiful wings ugly!” Golden Cheese said sternly “That is similar to calling mine ugly! And I know my wings are not ugly.”

She made emphases on the statement by tickling the base of his wings a little harder 

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Or my scars,” she took one of her claws to poke and prod at the scars decorated on his ribs and stomach again, occasionally skittering them behind his back “Which there are a lot of but I still love anyway.” 

“PLEHEHEEHAHAHAHA!!” 

However, there was a small part of him that didn’t want it to stop. Call him childish, but he had missed the days where he could laugh and smile like this freely. Having to comfort and protect the others for so long made him feel like he had no choice but to close off from giving himself comfort at dire times. But being able to freely laugh felt nice, freeing even. He wanted more. 

Golden Cheese stopped abruptly for a moment, allowing Smoked Cheese to gasp for air. “Now then, are you doing to keep talking bad about yourself or do I have to teach you another lesson?” 

“I…”

Don’t say it, don’t even think about—!

“I’d rather say it a thousand times than listen to you.” Smoked Cheese challenged 

He regretted everything at that moment, watching the Golden Goddess gasped dramatically before she quickly had him in her grasp again, a playful glint in her eye knowing just exactly what to do. 

Before he could try and escape her grasp once more, she dove her head and blew against the base of his wings, a scream following from the tickly sensation as his feathers puffed up.

“AAAHAA!” Smoked Cheese shrieked throwing his head back “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! *SQUAWK!!* GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! *SQUAWK!!!* *SQUAWK!!!*”

His legs kicked wildly as Golden Cheese continued to plant more raspberries against any surface she could reach, while also continuing to scribble her claws against tickle spots that she wasn’t giving raspberries to. 

“PFFFFFFFFFBBT! PFFFFFFBBBT!”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MHAHAHAHAHAA! MOHOHOHOHOM!! *SQUAWK!!!*M-MERCEHEHEHE!! PLEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAAAA!!! *CHIRP!!* TOHOHOO MUCH!!” Smoked Cheese finally yielded, tears of mirth flowing from his sealed eyes as he slowly ceased his squirming 

Seeing that he was now at his limit, she ceased the tickling, allowing him to go limp. He greedily gasped for air as he slowly recovered from the attack. The avian didn’t fight back as he was pulled towards his mother again for another hug.

“Do you feel better now?” Golden Cheese asked 

“eheheh..ugh.” Smoked Cheese giggled weakly “You nearly crumbled me, but it did help. Thank you.”

“Anything to help my children.” She smiled before giving one last hug, letting him go “But I suppose that you’d want to go back to your chambers, you are dismissed!”

“Wait!” 

“Hm?” Golden Cheese hummed 

“I-I want to rest here.” Smoked Cheese stuttered, his feathers starting to settle down again nervously “Just-just in case anyone tries to harm you.”

For the amber avian, it was a bit embracing to ask such a thing from his mother. But to her she didn’t mind such a request, it had been too long since her children came to her for cuddles when they had a nightmare. 

Golden Cheese chuckled at his excuse to stay in her chambers, only scooting back to allow her son to crawl back onto the bed. She draped the blankets on both of them before using her wing as a second blanket for Smoked Cheese.

“Rest now, you’ve had a very hard week.” Golden Cheese whispered before kissing his forehead and settling back down.

It didn’t take long for both of them to fall back into sweet slumber, the echoes of loud laughter and squeals were replaced with soft snores and trills. Smoked Cheese instinctively cuddled up closer to the Golden Goddess who unconsciously smiled at the action. 

Though her children were far too big to fit completely under her wings now, she will always welcome to take shelter under them. For that was a promise as the bearer of abundance and their mother. 

Fin :) 

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆˚࿔

A/N: Hello again! I know I’m extremely late with this fic, but you can’t help it when life decides to make your schedule extremely busy ^^;. This was one of the last two fics I had said I was going to post before I stop fic making for the foreseeable future, I had almost cancelled this due to lack of motivation and burnout, but I managed to finish it! Thank you all so much for being patient with me on this, writing isn’t easy and can get extremely hard when you’re at your limit, so I hoped you enjoyed the angst! :]

Alright that’s all for now! Buh bye! :3c