#redrice

Their master's right hand cookie was reporting to them, giving them their missions for the day in her usual silvery, condescending tone. Licorice probably should have been listening, but Red Velvet shifted in his seat, leaning back and slinging his cake arm over the back of the chair.

Licorice watched with fixed eyes as part of Red Velvet's jacket slid down off his shoulder at the movement, and couldn't even find it in himself to care when Pomegranate snapped at him for not listening.

Choco Werehound was still asleep in his cloud pillow bed when Licorice returned to his rooms. Bat Cat was perched on his head, snuggled into a content little ball, and the sight brought an unconscious smile to his face.

At Red Velvet's request, Licorice had been letting up on working Choco Werehound so hard, and as a result, the cakehound had actually been wanting to spend more time with him. Bat Cat had seemed pleased with the lax schedule as well, their usual aggression gradually calming into something as passive as they could get while still being themself.

It was a nice change, and to Licorice's dismay and shock, one that wasn't even noticed by Dark Enchantress. If she hadn't noticed him working less hard than he usually did, then she wasn't noticing him at all. Surely she would have said something to him by now.

He was going to be alone and forgotten, but at least he would be alone and forgotten with Choco Werehound and Bat Cat. He actually liked it better this way.

Kneeling down next to his sleeping companions, he gently shook Choco Werehound's shoulder, careful not to jostle Bat Cat. Upon the lack of response, Licorice narrowed his eyes.

"Choco Werehound, Bat Cat, it's already almost noon," Licorice huffed. "If you don't get up I will resort to violence."

"No you won't," Bat Cat yawned, turning over and kneading the top of Choco Werehound's head. This pulled the cakehound from his slumber, and he yawned long and loud.

"What about violence?" Choco Werehound murmured drowsily, and Licorice took a deep breath, bracing his voice to shout.

"You will be subjected to violence if you don't get up!"

Instead of taking the threat seriously, Choco Werehound simply rolled over and let out a low snore. Bat Cat was dumped off of Choco Werehound's head with an indignant yowl. They didn't seem to be too terribly upset over it though, simply flapping its way back over to the cakehound and curling up with him again with an irritated huff.

"Having some trouble?"

The unexpected voice startled him, making him shoot to his feet and whirl around. Red Velvet leaned against the doorframe, the barest ghost of a smile on his lips. Licorice swallowed, forcing himself to narrow his eyes at the intruder.

"Do you always barge into other cookies' rooms like that?" he snapped, though there was no real venom behind it. The sugar glass butterflies had returned with a vengeance.

Red Velvet had the grace to look embarrassed, scoffing lightly. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't leave your door open so cookies passing by can't help but overhear."

Licorice blinked. "Oh," he uttered dumbly, the fluttering in his stomach moving into his chest.

Red Velvet glanced around him, a gentle smile gracing his face when he caught sight of Choco Werehound and Bat Cat. "You know," the other cookie mused, careful contemplation in his tone. "They look much happier, don't you think?"

"Huh?"

Caught off guard, Licorice turned and looked down at his two companions. They were peacefully snuggled up together, and a small wave of warmth crept over him as he realized Red Velvet was right. They did look happier.

"Yes, well," Licorice cleared his throat. He didn't want to return his gaze to Red Velvet just yet. "It's at the cost of doing our best for Dark Enchantress Cookie."

"Doing what you can is your best, Licorice."

Footsteps crossed the room, and a gentle hand rested on his arm. He tensed at the unexpected touch, abruptly turning his head to see Red Velvet standing next to him. The other cookie's eyes were firm, meeting his pale ones unflinchingly.

"As long as you are doing what you can and taking care of yourself in the meantime, that is good enough. Dark Enchantress Cookie is not an unkind master."

"It doesn't feel good enough," he snapped, startling himself with his own vehemence. Red Velvet looked startled too, and Licorice turned his face away in shame, scrambling for words that had left his tongue. "I-I mean, I do all I can for her. Everything for her. As I should, of course, but I… wonder if there's something I'm missing. Surely if I was doing my best, she would say something to me. She would recognize it, wouldn't she?"

He trailed off in shame. Red Velvet was quiet as they both looked down at the sleeping cakehound and the feline sugar bat together. The silence was deafening, and Licorice internally kicked himself out of frustration. He shouldn't have said anything at all.

"You do good work. You realize that, right?"

Surprised, he met Red Velvet's beautiful, mismatched eyes. As he registered the words, his brow furrowed, and his face twisted, but as soon as he figured out what words he wanted to say to make Red Velvet understand how wrong he was, the other cookie spoke again.

"You are our army's most talented magic user, besides Dark Enchantress herself. Not even Pomegranate is as skilled as you, and she knows it. It is why she debases herself at Dark Enchantress Cookie's feet. You are invaluable to Dark Enchantress Cookie's army, and we all know it."

Licorice couldn't breathe.

"I suppose…" Red Velvet paused, lowering his eyes to Choco Werehound and Bat Cat once again. "I suppose we all thought you knew it too."

"Don't patronize me," Licorice whispered, afraid of speaking any louder for fear that his voice would have the unmistakable tremble of vulnerability. "Don't lie to me. If that were the case-" 

He cut himself off, shrugging Red Velvet's hand off his shoulder. Taking a deep breath to recompose himself, he turned and gave Red Velvet a thin, bitter smile.

"If that were the case, I would have been told so."

"I'm telling you now, Licorice."

Red Velvet stepped closer, and in his shock, Licorice didn't move.

"I'm telling you now, because nobody has seen fit to point out the truth to you. You are an asset to this army," Red Velvet asserted fiercely, so much so that Licorice felt as if arguing against the Cake General was futile.

"I don't believe you," Licorice whispered. Red Velvet didn't seem to hear, or if he did, he simply foraged onwards.

"You are valuable to this cause, and there is not a single soul in this army who thinks otherwise," Red Velvet enunciated firmly, and despite everything Licorice believed and knew, he couldn't find a trace of deceit in those beautiful, different eyes.

"Can you two take this somewhere else?" a drowsy voice interrupted them, cutting off the next words Licorice had been about to say. The two cookies looked down at the resentful Bat Cat, who stared up at them with sleep induced fury in their tiny, purple eyes.

"My apologies for waking you, Bat Cat. It was not my intention," Red Velvet answered softly, in a tone Licorice only heard him use for Chiffon and Cakeberus. With the apology given, the Cake General turned back to face Licorice. "It seems I had gotten distracted. Pomegranate had asked me earlier to make sure you understood your assignment today."

The sugar glass butterflies were dying, slowly but surely. Licorice let out a scoff and crossed his arms, though he was careful not to let Red Velvet see his face. He was sure he was wearing some ridiculous look on his features, their conversation running through his head over and over and over again.

Red Velvet's voice was gorgeous.

"And what assignment would that be?" Licorice asked, because he truly hadn't been paying attention that morning.

"You're being sent out to scout one of the areas in the Pomegranate Forest. The goal is to eventually neutralize the Pomegranate Tribe, but we're not familiar enough with the terrain yet," Red Velvet explained. "You may take whoever you see fit with you, Dark Enchantress Cookie's orders."

Licorice was silent, hugging his arms closer against his chest and already thinking of how best to approach the situation to maximize his effort and results. Red Velvet stepped closer, leaning over to look up at his face.

"This is one ovenfire of a mission to send someone on, even if you get to bring whoever you need with you," Red Velvet pointed out, his voice quiet. "You're scouting enemy territory in an unknown dangerous terrain, and could possibly be engaged by enemies well versed in white magic or by the local poisonous fauna. This is not an easy mission."

"Wow," Licorice said flatly, looking down at Red Velvet with disdain born of anxiety. "Thanks."

"This is not a mission Dark Enchantress Cookie would trust to anyone else but her own most powerful sorcerer," Red Velvet asserted, his voice resolute. "We need the Pomegranate Tribe neutralized to progress through the rest of the Pomegranate Forest, and reasoning will not work, given our own Pomegranate Cookie. Dark Enchantress Cookie not only trusts this mission to you, but gives you free reign to take whoever you need with you. She trusts you that deeply to do this for her, and that you will do it well."

Licorice gaped, lost for words, lost for thought, and lost in the Cake General's adamant, unfairly stunning eyes.

"Ugh, for witch's sake," Bat Cat groaned, pulling the two cookies' attention back down towards the floor. The feline sugar bat stretched itself out, before climbing back up to Choco Werehound's head and perching there. "I'm up now and it's your fault so I'm gonna make it your purroblem."

"You should have been up four hours ago!" Licorice scolded them, ignoring the burning fires his cheeks had become. Bat Cat rolled its eyes, flaring its wings and pouncing itself into the air. They landed on his shoulders, their paws pressing into the fabric of his cloak. He could feel its claws. "You had better not tear holes in my cloak! I just finished stitching it up from last time!"

Rolling their eyes again, Bat Cat purposefully plucked a stitch out with a deft, precise claw, ignoring Licorice's cry of fury.

Red Velvet's laughter interrupted them, and they both turned their heads to see the Cake General covering his mouth with a hand, his shoulders shaking with mirth.

"I think I'll leave you to it, Licorice," Red Velvet chuckled fondly, beginning to make his way to the door. "You have three days to prepare, scout, and come back, same as always. I look forward to seeing you again once you return."

Red Velvet left as swiftly as he'd shown up, leaving Licorice feeling like a melted mess of molten sugar. An unfamiliar warmth rolled through him as he replayed the other's words in his mind, the memory of the velvety, gorgeous voice only exacerbating the heat in his cheeks.

Bat Cat nipped his cheek, and he squawked, more out of surprise than pain.

"Come on Meowster," Bat Cat grumbled, rustling their wings. "We should start getting ready.

Licorice nodded, taking a deep breath. Though he was unable to push the memory of Red Velvet out of his mind, he began preparing for the dangerous scouting mission, starting with waking Choco Werehound up.