#anyways yah

“Is there anything we can do?” Vanilla asked, and you blinked back to the present world.

“I-uh…well, yes, actually. Where am I? And who are you? Oh! And why on Earthbread did I fall from the sky?!” A frown split your face a moment later. You hadn't meant to say ‘Earthbread’. Just ‘Earth’. But whatever. Not like you cared enough at the moment.

A snort left the golden one, Goldie, “My, you sure do ask a lot of questions!” she stretched her wings out, lazily drifting a few inches above the ground.

“Now now, Golden Cheese Cookie! Don’t forget about all the questions you asked when we first met!” Too-Much-Pink chuckled, punching Goldie, whose name was apparently Golden Cheese Cookie, in the shoulder.

Vanilla hummed from where he stood at the edge of the bed you were in, and you sat up slowly, rubbing at your eyes.

You winced as your entire body protested at the simple movements, so you dropped your hands to your side.

“Well, you’re currently in the Vanilla Kingdom. GingerBrave and his friends had been on their way here when they saw you, so they rushed you to me. None of us have any idea regarding why you fell from the sky.”

You nodded slowly, putting the name ‘GingerBrave’ to the face of the Cookie with the candy cane and beaming smile.

Vanilla continued. “I am Pure Vanilla Cookie. The two bickering Cookies are Hollyberry Cookie and Golden Cheese Cookie.”

You guessed that Hollyberry Cookie was the one with too much pink (at least, in your ‘temporary’ opinion).

“Dark Cacao Cookie is the Cookie with the giant sword,” Pure Vanilla motioned towards Dark Cacao Cookie, formerly known as Gloomy Dude, who was attempting to get Hollyberry and Golden Cheese to stop bickering.

“White Lily Cookie,” Pure Vanilla moved to the side, revealing the Cookie with the lily staff and white braided hair. Ah, so you were close when you called her ‘Lily’.

Just as you called Pure Vanilla “Vanilla’.

“-Is often in Beast-Yeast with the Faerie Kingdom.”

Faerie Kingdom?

Now that sounded cool.

If this turned out to not be a dream, which, rather dauntingly, seemed to be the case, then you would just try to make the best out of all of…this.

“Pure Vanilla, White Lily, Dark Cacao, Hollyberry and Golden Cheese Cookie.” you tested the names on your tongue, internally groaning at the mouthful they were. At least GingerBrave’s name was relatively simple.

“And we’ve got GingerBrave, Strawberry Cookie and Wizard Cookie.” Pure Vanilla finished, motioning to the three Cookies one at a time.

“Nice names…” you murmur, your sharp gaze scanning the room. The crystal thingies that the older-looking Cookies had kept snagging your attention, and you couldn’t help but stare at them curiously.

Here’s another lil part :>:

It was getting noticeably more crowded towards the middle of the market, which you guess made sense. Something shinnily purple caught your attention, and your eyes snapped to the left where an alley was. Another flash of purple had you narrow your gaze suspiciously. Looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to you, you reached behind your head and found a hood attached to the robes you were wearing. Lucky you.

Though the robes were probably what was earning you the weird stares and whispers.

Anyways.

Pulling the hood over your head, it cast a shadow over your face that would render you unidentifiable as you quietly slipped past stalls and Cookies, eventually coming up to the alley. Peaking around a corner, you watched as another flash of purple reflecting light appeared, making you look even closer. Right there, in the darkest corner of the alleyway, was a purple eye. Crystal eye, to be more specific. It was kind of just…floating there. Leaning forwards a bit more, your robes ruffled when a gentle breeze picked up, causing the eye to snap towards you. And…that wasn;t the only eye. A blue one also snapped your way, narrowing at you before-

You yelped as the sunlight blindingly reflected off the blue crystal, sending you tumbling back. You tripped over your stupid robes, falling over. You attempted to scramble to your feet, but only further got stuck in the robes.

Stupid fucking long hunk of fabric.

Head meeting the ground, you kind of just lied there and groaned as Cookies began circling around you, asking if you were alright. Your vision was blurry, and your head hurt even worse now thanks to the impact of the ground. You barely put together the form of a merchant with purple-brown hair adorned with berries appearing from the shadows of the alley, offering you a hand. Taking a moment to accept the hand, you were carefully pulled to your feet as your eyes met green ones.

“Are you alright?” The Cookie asked, a slight frown on his face. Their ski-err, dough, had a slight purple hue.

You tugged your hood further over your face, mumbling a small, “Yeah.”

They tilted their head, and for a brief moment, you could’ve sworn you saw the flash of that damned purple eye in the basket he was holding. Narrowing your eyes at it, you simply dismissed it as your head readjusting to your surroundings.

“Are you sure?” he asked, and you blinked once.

And then twice.

“Uh…yeah.” you repeated, speaking the words more clearly this time.

The Cookie in front of you opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when a female Cookie with blue dough, two different coloured blue eyes and very light blue, almost white, hair stepped out of the shadows behind the merchant Cookie, placing a hand on his shoulder.

You noticed the small, fleeting tenseness in the merchant Cookie’s shoulders at the touch.

You stood where you were as the purple Cookie moved to the side, ushering the gathered Cookies back to what they were doing. This blue Cookie had an air of authority around her, and something in the back of your mind was pestering you. It felt like a pet demanding attention.

“Oh my! I must apologize for my…comrades… behavior! How rude of him to walk straight into you, hm?” The blue Cookie asked, her voice gracefully taking on higher and lower notes.

Ryou was less than thrilled becoming the ‘gift’ for royalty. He preferred to view himself as more than just an object to be given away when convenient, but he didn’t expect that much from royals, no matter who they are. However, despite the annoyance of being treated more like a pet than a person, Ryou was glad that palace life was his cozy home. In fact, he was rather proud of the way he had managed to make it into the palace, even if he was being moved to a different one. He’d always been fascinated in aromas, spices, and smokes, and when he had grown up, Ryou took it to the next level. He had concocted quite a few formulas of pigments and flowers, all of which he used in a mysterious act as an oracle. Apparently, Ryou was good at predicting the future of the townspeople and, unknowingly, had saved a soldier from assination. He was a local hero, and was invited to stay at the palace to advise the Pharaoh himself.

That is, until the Pharaoh needed to make an exchange in order to keep the peace between their kingdom and a neighboring one. One in which a new prince had risen to power. From what they told Ryou, this prince seemed very interested in magic and the mysterious such as Ryou’s occupation of oracle. Really, it wasn’t anything special. So far, it was just a combination of luck and common sense.

As Ryou and his escorts approached the neighboring kingdom, Ryou’s gaze could not be torn away from the beautiful display of flowers that decorated the palace. Yellows, reds, greens, and purples all adorned the windows and ledges of the palace. Ryou smiled to himself. At least his new home would be decorated with style.

Their camels entered the gates, and guards led them inside. Ryou felt his heart beat faster when he stepped inside and waved goodbye to the familiar faces from his old home. He never would have thought that this oracle business would land him in, not just one palace, but two. Ryou followed the guards through the strange, unfamiliar palace, admiring the statues and paintings along the walls.

When he was shown to his room, there was clothing laid out on the bed for him, and he couldn’t help but gawk at his view. His room was big, and, amazingly, running water flowed just outside his window balcony. He approached it, watching the stream fall to the room below and so on, all the way to the ground where it gathered in a fountain pool. “Amazing,” He murmured to himself, but he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. Did he deserve any of this? What if they found out he was fraud?

Ryou supposed he would have to deal with that issue later if it ever came up.

Meanwhile, he decided to check out the clothing he assumed he was supposed to wear. A linen shenti, with a sheer, light blue belt and shaul to go with it. Ryou, not wishing to anger his new prince, whom he was rather upset didn’t greet him at the door, promptly changed clothes before exploring the rest of the room. There were shelves full of bottled flowers, herbs, and spices, fragrances, pigments, and elements. They were beautiful. Some of them Ryou had never even heard of.

As he familiarized himself with the collection, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he called out, preoccupied with examining a bottle of sage. A soldier entered.

“Your presence is requested with the King.”

Ryou smirked, raising a brow as he looked at the guard. “‘King?’ I thought he was just a prince.”

The guard seemed to look uncomfortable, but quickly hid it with a stern expression. “I advise you to do as your told. Talk like that will not hold up well with our king.”

Ryou stared at the guard a moment, biting his tongue to keep himself from smiling more. It sounded like his new ‘king’ was rather insecure. Maybe even a little irrational. Ryou nodded at the guard to show he understood, and with that he was on his way to finally meet this ‘king '.

The guard knocked on a grand pair of double doors. A deep, smooth sounding voice allowed them entry. Ryou hesitantly stepped forward, but suddenly halted. When he saw the man, standing a few feet away from him, his brain decided that staring seemed more interesting than entering the room.

The prince-king- Whoever he was, was certainly not what Ryou had expected him to be. He was tall, rugged, and the way the sun glowed behind him made him look more god-like than any type of human.

“I said come in,” He repeated, and Ryou only moved after the guard nudged him slightly.

Ryou cleared his throat and hastily made up for the time he lost staring, officially making his way into the bedroom. The guard left and the doors were closed, leaving Ryou alone with the man he was gifted to.

“Do you have a name?” The godly man asked. “Or shall I give you one?”

Ryou shook himself out of his hypnotized stupor, frowning slightly at the questions. “That won’t be necessary. My name is Ryou.” He looked the other up and down, deciding it best to ignore the attractiveness of the man in favor of judging him by character. So far it wasn’t special. “Might I ask for your name? From all I’ve heard is that you’re a prince with a temper. Not much else.”

Whether the other was surprised or angered by this, Ryou couldn’t tell, but he took a step back when the man moved closer. “I don’t think you should be talking to me that way. Your Pharaoh told me you were valuable. So far I don’t see anything valuable about a boy with a tongue.” He paused. “And you may call me Amir. King Amir, to you.”

Ryou tilted his head to the side, unable to hide the small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Ah, my mistake.” His nerves were eased by Amir’s reaction. He was just a prince. “I have to say, though, I absolutely love the decor of this place. And-Oh my.” Ryou tore his eyes away from Amir in favor of looking around the room. It was much nicer than his own, and frankly Ryou didn’t think that was even possible. Amir’s prideful grin from the compliment didn’t go unnoticed, though.

“Thank you. I wanted to make a good first impression for my people. Afterall, they had expected my brother to take the throne.” Amir ran a hand through his wild blonde hair. Ryou liked the way it shone in the sunlight. “I was chosen next, though. I believe I’m much better suited for power than he is.”

Ryou raised a brow. “I see. Well, you’ve certainly got me impressed.” He licked his lips, hoping that he wouldn’t be reaching too far with the direction he wanted the conversation to go in. “Although, if your kingdom is so impressive, why do you need me? Not that you care, but I was quite comfortable back home. Why was an oracle such a dire asset for you to have?”

Amir’s grin faded. His eyes narrowed at Ryou. “I can always send you back. I can’t promise you’d go back ‘comfortable’ though.” Amir crossed his arms. “You’re not how I thought you would be. You’re rather annoying.”

Ryou snorted. “I could do worse.” He turned around, walking toward a shelf full of books in the other corner of the room. “I was just-Hey!”

Ryou halted, glaring at Amir’s hand that now gripped his wrist, holding him in place.

“I think you’ve asked enough questions, oracle.” Amir pulled Ryou away from the shelves and shoved him over to the sofa near the window. “Sit.”

Ryou ground his teeth, his nose scrunching with anger and frustration. He didn’t like being forced to do things, but Ryou had to admit, Amir was much bigger, and stronger, than he was. “Fine,” He mumbled, yanking his arm out of Amir’s hold and seating himself on the sofa, his left leg crossed over his right. He folded his arms over his chest.

Once Ryou was where he wanted him, Amir sat down next to him. There was tension between their bodies now. It might have looked the way heat looks during the hot desert afternoons. The two were silent a moment, and then Amir spoke.

“Tell me the future.”

Ryou turned his head to the side slightly, glancing at Amir from the corner of his eye before quickly looking away again. “It doesn’t work like that,” He replied, rolling his eyes to himself. “They’re predictions. Not answers. And besides, the atmosphere isn’t right in here.”

“Oh.” Amir shifted. Ryou could tell he was frustrated. Good.

“Maybe I should go then,” Ryou suggested. He wanted nothing more than to leave this spoiled, angry prince’s room. Amir held his hand out in front of Ryou’s chest, though.

“No. You’re not leaving.” Amir looked as though he was thinking very hard, but about what Ryou couldn’t figure out.

“Yeah? Says who? You?” Ryou scoffed. “Fine. We’ll sit in silence forever, then.”

Amir scowled, grumbling under his breath. “Fine!” He stood up, clearly disgruntled. “Maybe I should have you taken away then.”

“Maybe you should.”

Amir clenched his jaw. “Maybe I will! Maybe I’ll have them throw you in prison! I’m sure you’d be much happier there than arguing with me here.”

Ryou didn’t move from his spot. Not until Amir turned around and headed for the door. A panic overcame him and, from the looks of his body language, Amir was about to be a man of his word.

“W-Wait!” Ryou stood up quickly. “I’m sorry! You don’t-Please don’t do that!” Amir didn’t move. Ryou tried again. “I-I can read you! I’ll read your palm!”

Amir stopped then. He stared at the door for a moment before slowly turning around to face Ryou again. His expression looked weary, almost regretful. Ryou’s expression was panicked and desperate. “Yes,” Amir responded, straightening himself out and taking in a deep breath. “I think that would be best for now.”

Amir sat down and Ryou did the same. It took Ryou a couple of breaths and internal mantras to get himself to calm down after the panic, and thankfully Amir didn’t seem to mind. They both needed cool off time.

“Okay,” Ryou said finally, hesitantly looking up at Amir. He held out his hand. “Um.. Place your hand on top of mine. This won’t predict your future, but I can try to tell you things about yourself. I guess if I’m right you’ll know that I’ll be valuable to you in the future.”

Amir gave a small nod and, unexpected to Ryou, gently, almost shyly, placed his hand over Ryou’s.

There was an awkward silence, and Ryou almost forgot what he was doing. “Oh, um, this is your right hand. It’ll tell me things that have happened to you. It will tell me how you became the person you are today.” Ryou, had he not been threatened with prison before, might have chuckled at that. Surely this was going to be the most boring palm read he’d ever done. Despite being a somewhat fraudulent oracle, Ryou liked to pride himself on palm reading. It was something he was fascinated in and something he had studied and watched others do as a child. It was the only thing he was truthful about, really.

As his fingers lightly traced over Amir’s palm, following the lines, Ryou found himself grow sad. He hid it with a small smile. “Well, this line here,” Ryou traced over it with his finger, “Says that you’re a strong individual. You know who you are and who you want to be.” He looked up. If Amir was happy to hear this, Ryou wouldn’t have been able to tell. He was entirely focused on the lines Ryou pointed out. He cleared his throat. “And, um, this other one here..” Ryou chuckled.

“What? What is it?” Amir looked at Ryou, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Well, it tells me that you’re one to think on the spot rather than carefully or rationally.”

Amir scowled and pulled his hand away. “You’re just saying that because of what just happened. Anybody could tell that.”

“No, no. Come back.” Ryou reached over and gently took Amir’s hand back in his own, tracing over the lines again. “I’m surprised, actually.” Ryou’s smile faded, and he looked solemn. “Because this one here tells me you’ve been through something very hard emotionally. Something that is difficult to get through.” Ryou couldn’t get himself to give Amir eye contact, so he kept looking down, watching his own finger graze over Amir’s skin. “And this one- This one is my favorite to look at.” Ryou tapped Amir’s hand, his smile coming back a bit. “This line here tells me you’re a lover. It tells me you’re sensitive and, wouldn’t you believe it?”

Ryou looked up at Amir then, hoping he was able to lighten the mood in the right way. “It tells me you want to be in love. You long for romance.”

Amir and Ryou looked at each other and, almost at the same time, they retreated, pulling their hands away and dropping their gaze. It was quiet again, but the tension from before was gone. There was a new atmosphere between them. Perhaps one of understanding.

Ryou looked up at Amir again, hesitantly breaking the silence. “Well? Was I right?”

Amir let out a chuckle. Ryou found that he much preferred to hear Amir laugh than yell. “I think so. I don’t see any point in lying to an oracle.”

“Heh. Yeah.” Ryou looked down at his own hands then, letting out a quiet sigh. “Um.. I-”

“Do you think you would let me read your palm someday?” Amir asked, sounding as if he’d been holding in the question for a longer time than he had. “I’ve got a few books.”

Ryou looked up at him, surprised. “On palm reading?” He smiled. “Yeah. Sure.”

“I’m not ready now, but I will be. And maybe one day you could show me how to mix those herbs together, too. I have some documents and writings on plants. And also magic. I know it’s not the same thing but-”

“Of course!” Ryou blurted out. “Amir, why didn’t you just say so?”

It got awkward again when Ryou realized he had said Amir’s name. Was he supposed to? “Ah, I mean.. King, or…”

Amir sighed and shook his head. “No. Just Amir is fine. And I guess I could start calling you Ryou, too.” He smirked a bit. “It has a better ring to it than just ‘oracle.’”