Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She had lived in the jungle all her life. She knew it well, knew every path, every plant, every creature. And she knew she doesn't know the one sitting across from her. It's small, much smaller than her loyal butter tiger companion. And the coloration is like nothing she's ever seen, the blueish-white looking incredibly out of place among the vibrant greens of her home. The thing just sits there staring up at her, with its big, bright red eyes.

She’d practically fallen onto it, her tiger having stopped dead in its tracks whilst they’d been running. She’d crashed into the beast, sending them both flying forward and when she looked up, there it was.

Now they were in a sort of staring contest, both seeing who would move first. She doesn't know how much of a threat it posed, if any. It’s small stature gives the impression of it being harmless but it might be hiding sharp claws, or a powerful bite, or venomous teeth. She narrows her eyes and broadens her stance and is about to snarl when the creature suddenly darts past her. It pauses for a moment, turns to look at her, and then runs into the undergrowth. She lets out a grunt of surprise and then gave chase after it, her companion on her heels. She has to at least get a better idea of what it is before she lets it get away!

When she charged into the next clearing it's sitting there licking its paw. It looks up, sees her, and then turns tail and runs. She once again follows after, more than happy to run it down. This continues for a while; her catching up to it, it running, her following in hot pursuit. Soon it begins to mix it up, darting through her legs and back the way they came, or running in circles around her.
After a while she realizes something. She was… enjoying herself? It's fun to chase the strange creature around the jungle and to try to predict its next move. And it looked to be having fun too, if she was reading its body language right. It’s not bounding away in a way that suggest fear for it's life but in a way that suggest joy and excitement.

Eventually the chase leads them to the river where it dives right in. She pauses and it turns towards her and flicks water at her with its poofy tail. She growls in response and jumps in after it, slinging water with her arms. Her butter tiger jumps in too, its much larger body sending huge waves. The other creature lets out a surprised yelp as it’s over taken by a wave and she lets out a little giggle.
The three of them play like that for a while and by the time they drag themselves out of the river and on to the bank they’re all thoroughly soaked and exhausted. She slumps against her tiger and watches the unknown creature. It shakes itself dry and trots up to her before sitting down a few feet away. Now that she can see it better she realizes how skinny it is. She considers trying to find some food for it at some point but she isn’t sure how long it’ll stick around.

It relaxes into a lying position, staring at her the whole time. She too relaxes sure that it won’t try to attack. She’s very tired after all that running and swimming and she feels her eyes close and her mind drift off to sleep.

When she wakes up it’s dark out and the strange creature is gone. She stands up, stretching her limbs and walking around the clearing. There isn’t a single trace of it and she can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. She rouses her tiger and heads back to her cave. On the walk back she thinks about the odd little thing and how out of place it seemed. She had seen nothing else like it in all of the vast jungle. She supposed she felt a sort of kinship with that, after all she had never seen anything else like her either.

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To her surprise, the strange creature was there the next day, and this time it was waiting right outside of the cave she called her den. It must have followed her home, but how? Nothing was ever able to follow her without her noticing. She would have to keep an eye out for it.

The little creature dashes over to the underbrush, clearly wanting to play chase like yesterday. Unfortunately she can’t right now, she has to hunt for food. She heads back into her cave, rouses her tiger, and grabs her spear. When she turns around it’s somehow managed to sneak up right behind her and she jolts in surprise. Her tiger lets out a low growl but she pats it head and it backs down. She will definitely have to figure out how it moves so silently.

She heads out of her cave and into the dense underbrush, tiger following behind. Just before she enters it she pauses to look back at the creature, mimicking its actions from yesterday. It tilts its head at her but she swiftly runs into the plant matter before she can see it do anything else.

…

After stalking through the undergrowth for a while she comes across a sunlit clearing where fat little blueberry birds were pecking at the ground. A perfect catch, if she could get them. She motioned for her tiger to head around the other side of the clearing in order to ambush them from both sides. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a flick of silvery-blue. Perhaps the little creature had followed her.

She inches closer to her prey, and watches her tiger do the same. Closer, closer, closer, aaaand leap! She and her tiger launch themselves into the clearing. She throws her spear, pinning one to the ground and her tiger takes out another two with swipes of its mighty paws. The rest are flying away when, with a flash of white, the creature has leapt into the air and pinned one down. It wrestles with it for a few seconds before the poor bird lays still.

Four birds! Quite the catch, this should get her through most of today, especially if she forages for berries. Two for the tiger, and she and the creature can both eat the ones they caught. She looks over the creature who is preening proudly at its catch, trotting around it and letting out triumphant little cries. It goes to pick up its prey only to find that the bird is far too large for it to carry in its little muzzle. It immediately drops to the ground looking defeated and turns to look at her with a pitiful gaze, whimpering a little.

She giggles and grabs both its bird and her own, and her spear while she’s at it. The creature perks right back up, running up to her and butting its head against her leg. She smiles down at it and heads back to her den with both creature and tiger in tow.

Once back home she gets right to preparing the meat, skinning and cutting at it. She carves off several scraps and tosses them to the creature, but, to her surprise, it shakes its head and refuses to eat. She’s never seen an animal refuse food, normally they devour it. This little thing really is strange. But that’s more food for her she supposes. She prepares the rest of the meat, eats as much as she can, and what she and the tiger can eat she sets aside to use as bait. Food goes bad quickly and she's discovered that bad meat smells much more and attracts all kinds of things. Good for traps, less good in her small, enclosed cave.

Next she heads back out again for berries and roots, as she’s also discovered that she feels ill if she goes too long without them. She brings a woven basket and tells her tiger to stay home for now. But the creature comes with her, trotting along at her side. It watches her for a while observing the different plants she picks from or pulls up, and then vanishes, only to return pulling a root plant by its stem, clearly proud of itself. She takes it from it, and, hesitantly, pats it on the head. It looks surprised for a moment, and then darts away only to return with another plant and an expectation for more head pats.

…

They settle into a routine; she wakes up and sees the creature waiting outside the cave, they go for a morning hunt, come home and eat, leave to forage for plants, come home to eat again and store their findings, and then, of course, play for a while, before finally settling down to sleep.

The little creature is a good companion in all things. It’s clever when they hunt and while it’s too small to take down larger prey it’s good at startling them and scaring them right into her spear. It quickly learned what plants were good to eat and what parts of them and could get into smaller spaces that she couldn’t. She even made it its own basket, a smaller one that went across its back. It had looked so pleased when she first brought it out.

It’s always fun to play with, always surprising her with new tricks and games. They liked to chase each other around and splash in the river, and she had discovered that it liked to retrieve little things she threw like sticks or balls of moss.

When they went to bed in the evening it was always gone by the time she woke up again. She didn’t know where it went but it always returned in the morning. She also never managed to figure out how it snuck up on. She’d thought that it would be easy to find with its bright white coloring, so at odds with the greens of the jungle, but was surprisingly sneaky, never making a sound.
They had grown very comfortable with each other, she could always pet or scratch the little thing and it had recently taken to resting on her lap at night. When it did so, she could really take a look at it. Its fur was soft and fluffy and rather springy and was two different shades, a white and a blueish white. When the moon shined on it just right it was the prettiest thing she'd ever seen. It was still concerningly thin though, and she never saw it eat, no matter what she offered it. But it never seemed weak with hunger so she guessed it must eat when it disappears at night.

One day, when she wakes up, it's nowhere to be seen. Normally it pops up only a little while after she emerges, and sometimes it’s waiting for her, but today she can’t find it. She hopes it’s alright but figures it can take care of itself. She calls her tiger and sets off on her morning hunt.

It’s a successful one and she’s dragging her prey back to her den when she’s overcome with the feeling of being watched. She freezes, eyes darting around, hand drifting to her spear, when she’s leapt on from behind. She lets out a yowl of alarm as she and her attacker tumble to the ground. She has enough time to register limbs and a torso that are… like hers? Before she’s rolled flat on her back and looking into a pair of familiar bright red eyes.

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With a powerful motion in her legs she pushes her attacker off of her and springs into a standing position. The attacker rolls away and then also jumps up. Now that they’re both standing she can get a better look at them.

It’s not just their eyes that are familiar but also the bluish white hair that hangs down their head in two long twintails, as well as the tail that she could see dart out from behind their skirt. The little creature? But how? And why did it look so much…like her?

…

Kumiho Cookie was thrilled! Finally, finally, finally! She was a real cookie! Well almost. She still had her tails, but those could be hidden. And her whiskers too, but those could be explained away as face paint. After so long watching the cookies she knew just how to walk and talk like one. She just couldn’t wait to head to the nearby kingdom and talk to all the cookies, and see all the goods for sale and oh, the food! It had been so long since she’d had anything but flour and butter. But first, she decides to visit a certain jungle-dwelling cookie.

Unlike most other cookies she had encountered, this cookie, who she’d dubbed “Jungle Cookie”, didn’t chase her away while she was still in her fox form. Instead she’d played with her, and offered her food, even if she couldn’t take it. She thought she ought to show her appreciation by letting Jungle Cookie be the first to see this new form of hers.
Now they were both standing there. The look in the others eyes was priceless, a mix of shock, bewilderment, and the beginning of understanding.

“Why hello there sweetheart~, don’t you recognize me?”

The other cookie just stares at her. Of course she wouldn’t understand language, Kumiho Cookie doubts the other has even seen another cookie before, much less heard one speak. The turquoise haired cookie makes a little motion, lowering her hand to about the height of Kumiho’s fox form and the points at her.

“Yep, yep!” She nods. Hopefully if she talks enough the other will eventually pick it up, because as fun as charades looks, she doesn’t want to have to constantly play it with her.
Jungle Cookie grunts and the points at the watermelon buffalo she’d been dragging behind her and walks over to pick up one end. Getting the message well enough Kumiho goes to pick up the other end and together they carry it back to the cave Jungle Cookie resides in. Once there Jungle Cookie takes out her knife and begins to skin the buffalo. Leaving her to her task Kumiho looks around the cave. Sure she’d seen it as a fox but she had a totally different perspective as a cookie.

Jungle Cookie’s butter tiger is sleeping in the back and Kumiho tiptoes over to it. She crouches down next to it and it startles awake. It begins to growl at her but quickly recognizes her as the little fox it liked to play with. She pats its soft head.

“Who’s a good kitty?” She giggles. She can’t help but cuddle up to its big warm body laying there until she hears Jungle Cookie’s loud yowl. She quickly hurries to the front of the cave to find the wild cookie with a meal all prepared. Kumiho feels a grin spread across her face. Fresh meat! Oh how she had missed it. She immediately drops to the ground and begins scarfing her portion down. Jungle Cookie eats her portion more slowly, watching the fox-like cookie intently.

After they both finish eating Jungle Cookie makes some sort of gesture, pointing to where Kumiho’s fox form would be then to Kumiho herself, repeatedly. As best as the white hair cookie can gather, she’s asking for an explanation. Unsure how to convey the means as to how she acquired her current form through body language alone, she makes a motion for Jungle Cookie to stay put and then runs outside to fetch a stick. When she returns she drops to the sandy cave floor and begins to draw.

She thinks back to how she had so desperately wanted to be a cookie, wanted to laugh and play with them. But cookies just saw a fox, and chased her away thinking she would steal their chickens or hurt their children, or bring down a curse on the village. She had heard tales from other foxes, that if you wished for something hard enough and sacrificed enough, your wish would come true. And so she ate nothing but flour and butter for days. She had no idea how long it would take but she kept track of the days. It had been rather miserable and in the end it had taken 999 days, but when she had woken up this morning she knew it had all been worth it.

She draws all this the best she can, which isn’t very well. When she’s done she sits back on her haunches and observes the cookie across from her. Jungle Cookie stares at the drawings, clearly thinking hard. Kumiho had no idea how much she would understand. What symbols did she grasp, having had no prior knowledge of any of them? Finally she looks up, her wide eyes unreadable. She cocks her head, and then nods, before swiftly standing up. She walks out of the cave, making a gesture for Kumiho to follow.

They exit the cave, and enter the little clearing outside. Jungle Cookie bends down and picks up a stick. Oh! She wants to play fetch! She isn’t quite sure how that will work in her cookie form but she’s happy that not too much has changed, nonetheless. Jungle Cookie reaches back, winding her arm up, and then lets the stick fly. Kumiho jumps up after it, and clamps her muzzle around it, before landing on her four paws. Muzzle? Paws? With a flash of shock she realizes that she’s reverted back to a fox.

Panic sets in. Was the cookie form only temporary, then? Would she have to wait another two agonizing years? With all her heart she thinks back to her cookie form, wishing to turn back. Please, please, please! With a slight pop she feels her limbs lengthen and her face flatten, until she is crouching on the ground on four cookie limbs. Thank the witches! Though, she quickly realizes that holding a stick in a cookie mouth is a rather awkward experience. She spits it on the ground and looks up at the other cookie. Jungle Cookie has a very confused expression on her face.
“Sorry sweetheart, I'm still figuring out my capabilities here. Be patient with me alright?” She says to the other. Jungle Cookie just reaches a hand out, asking for the stick back.
Kumiho throws it over, still remaining on all fours. So she can shift back and forth? That’s…rather useful. She didn’t mind her fox form at all, and it was most definitely better for running through the forest with. Hesitantly, she tries to shift back into a fox. That works, and so does going back to a cookie. She repeats this several times, noting the differences in senses between the two, until a grunt makes her look up again. Jungle Cookie has sat down, and is watching her with a rather bemused expression. Kumiho grins up at her.

“Well, sweetheart, it seems that I have a lot to learn about this new body. Would you help me figure things out?”

Jungle Cookie just stares at her. Kumiho sighs. This is going to be difficult, isn’t it? She looks around for a stick and a bare patch of ground. Once she finds some, she gestures the other cookie over. Then she does her best to illustrate what she wants; for Jungle Cookie to help her practice shapeshifting. The other seems to get the gist of it. To Kumiho’s surprise, she picks up a stick of her own and begins drawing. She draws her fox form, and then her human for, with a long line between them. Then she draws them again, but with a shorter line, before circling the one with a shorter line.
Studying the drawings for a bit, Kumiho thinks she gets the gist of it.

“I need to get faster huh?” She says, with a nod of her head. Predictably, Jungle Cookie stares at her, before going at it with her stick again. This time, it’s an image of Jungle Cookie throwing a stick, with a shapeshifting Kumiho jumping after it. She’s right, that would be a good way to practice her reflexes. She nods again, and Jungle Cookie lifts her stick up, prepared to throw.

They end up spending most of the afternoon like that, figuring out Kumhio’s capabilities and limits. She gets very good at shifting between her forms, able to do it during any action, a skill that will surely come in handy. She finds that she can summon aspects of her fox form while in her cookie form, like her tails, just one or all nine, and also her ears. The ears in particular are useful, as the fox ones have much better hearing. She also finds that she can summon little blue flames that don’t seem to do much beyond float there. No heat, but also no need for fuel. It’d probably make a good light source.

Soon the sun is setting, and they head back to the cave. After another excellent meal, she decides to depart for the night. Jungle Cookie is great, and she’s sure that knowing the full extent of her powers before really putting this body to use is good, but she wants to, well, put this body to use! The whole point of being a cookie was to go into cookie towns, and talk with other cookies. So with a quick goodbye, and a promise to return, she dashes off into the night.

…

The thing-that-was-like-her had gone, chattering something she couldn’t make sense of, leaving her with a head bursting with thoughts. She had recognized that blueish white fur, and those striking red eyes instantly, but the how and why had been a mystery. She was able to somewhat figure out what had happened, the other had gone without food, which caused the transformation, but what was most shocking to her was what the little thing had turned into.

They looked like her. Sure it didn’t look like her nearly as much as say, two blueberry birds looked like each other, but the long, smooth limbs, the round face, the long fur on the head, the placement of mouth and eyes, it was all so familiar. It was what stared back at her when she looked down at the river.

For much of her life, she had not even realized she was different from the tiger that had raised her with its own cubs. Her young mind had simply dismissed the different color of her skin, the flatness of her face, the position of her ears. But one day, the river had been very calm, and she had seen her reflection for the first time. It was quite the shock, and left her in denial for a few days, but reality had come crashing down on her as she realized she was not a tiger, but something else.

It would have been harder to deny as she grew, anyways. As her limbs lengthened, crawling on all fours became harder, and she was forced to walk on two. Her hair grew, until its turquoise was very visible. As her brain developed she became more aware of how long her hands and feet were in comparison to her tiger’s big, round paws. She grew and lengthened until she was very much alone in her uniqueness. Until today.

She was not sure what to think, if she was being honest. While she was glad to confirm she was not alone, this was also a big change in her identity. She was not the only one of her kind! That fact would take a while to settle in. And while she wasn’t alone, she felt a barrier between her and the other.

For one thing, she could not make heads or tails out of anything the other said. She knew that all creatures had ways to communicate with one another. She could easily get her point across with her tiger. But the other had such a wide variety of noises that she felt like she should know. There was a specificity to them that was very different from the simple grunts and growls of her own. She wished she could understand them better, but the picture in the dirt method would have to do.

She’s tired now. It’s been a long day, so she curls up next to her tiger, and tries to sleep, mind still full of questions.

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Kumiho runs down the dirt path, as quickly as she can. She knows that across the bay lies Hollyberry Kingdom. Although she has never been, she has overheard tales of a grand market, selling all manners of goods. It sounded like the perfect place to practice her being-a-cookie skills. That was something Jungle Cookie couldn’t help her with.

She was nervous. Although she had watched the cookies for longer than she could remember, studying their mannerisms and speech, actually interacting with them would be different. She isn’t completely confident in her ability to shrug off centuries of being a fox. But hey, who knows? Maybe her animalistic behaviors will make come off as mysterious and intriguing.

The end of the jungle comes into view, and she can see the great bay, glistening in the setting sun. The trail leads to a small pier, with a single gondola. (maybe describe the gondola)It’s one of the few ways across the bay, and the main reason she has never visited the Hollyberry Kingdom. The ferryman had not taken kindly to a fox trying to sneak aboard, but now as a cookie, she should have no problem. However, as she approaches, she suddenly remembers; the ferryman charges a steep price, and she doesn’t have a penny to her name.. Not willing to be deterred, she marches right up. Perhaps if she plays it up enough, he will take pity on her and allow her to cross for free.

“Hello my good lady! Looking to cross?”

“Why yes, I am!” She says, giving her brightest smile.

“Lovely! Now, I assume you have some coin?”

“Aha, well… I’m afraid I’m a little lacking in that department. Surely you can give me just one ride though, right?”

“I’m afraid not. No coin, no passage.”

“Oh but please! I would be just so grateful… don’t you want to help a girl out?” Please, oh please work. Doesn’t he want to help a lovely lady? Let me cross, she thinks, as hard as she can. Suddenly, something seems to wash over him. A dazed look crosses his face.

“Of course my lady. Please, come aboard.” He says, voice sounding reverent. Well, that's new. She daintely steps aboard, sitting down on one end of the boat. The ferryman pushes them off with his paddle and off they go. Kumiho looks at him curiously, had she done this? His eyes are somewhat unfocused, yet keep darting to her. She knew she was quite a charmer, and this new body was quite the beauty, but this was on the extreme. It seemed more like she had somehow cast a spell on him. If that were the case, then the next few hours would be very, very fun.

As the boat progresses she can see the marketplace come into view. And it was spectacular, a sight she will never forget, There were so many cookies. Vendors advertised their shops, workers unloaded crates of goods, and cookies danced in the streets to lively music. While the day was at its end, it was clear festivities were just beginning. The boat comes to a halt at the dock, bumping against it slightly.

“We're here.” The ferryman says.

“Oh thank you so much!” Kumhio says gleefully.

“Of course my lady. If you need anything else, anything at all, please let me know.” He says, that same reverent tone in his voice. Oh she could get used to this. But she is acutely aware that she doesn’t yet know the limits of this new power. Does it wear off? Will she need to worry about an angry ferryman having the guards hunt her down? Is it always this extreme? He seems very dedicated to her, and while it’s quite nice she doesn’t need an entourage of admirers, especially since she intended to just use this to get free stuff. Eh, she’ll figure it out later.

Bidding the man goodbye, she dashes off into the crowd. There are so many lights and sounds and smells that she feels rather overwhelmed. She spins around trying to take it all in. Flocks of people bustle by. Women rolling on top of wine barrels, transporting them to another location. Burley men carrying crates of berries, and other night time visitors, arriving from a myriad of boats.

She decides to head to the shopping area first. The delicious smell of frying meat and vegetables fills the air. While she had a good meal back in the jungle, she could definitely go for seconds, especially since this food will be spiced, instead of the plain meat that Jungle Cookie prepared. She approaches the first stall she sees, one selling long rods of shish-kabobs.

“Come to buy?” The shopkeeper asks.

“Why of course! But oh! I’m afraid I’m lacking in coin at the moment. You wouldn’t mind helping a poor girl out and give me some for free, would you?” She says, trying to focus that same want that she had earlier. It works. That same dazed trance washes over the shopkeeper, and Kumiho feels a grin stretch across her face. The shopkeeper wordlessly nods, and hands her her prize.

“Ah, thank you!” Hm… she decides to try something. “That's all I need now, you can go.” The shopkeeper lets out a little gasp and clarity returns to her face.

“Oh.. I feel a little faint… er, thank you for your patronage.” She says, sounding a little wobbly. Oh good! So she can easily release people from the spell, and they don’t seem to realize they’ve been charmed. With her chest bursting with glee, Kumiho shoves the Kabob into her mouth, and dashes back off into the market. She was looking forward to having an exciting night, enchanting people to her heart's desire.

She isn’t sure how long she stays there at the market, among the bright lights and colorful people. Using that same trick, she stuffs herself with food, acquires several small bracelets and charms, and has her hair done in an elaborate braid, among other things. At some point she decides that relying entirely on her charm spell, as she’s decided to call it, might not be very sustainable. She is still unsure of the longtime effects, and the limits of how much she can ask for. So she goes around charming strangers into giving her a few of their coins. (Definitely not theft, she would never. Just a little charm here and there.) After a few dozen cookies (which is still only a fraction of the market's populace!) she had herself a hefty bag.

After that decision she decides to join the dancing that had been going on the entire time she's been here. The steps are pretty simple, and soon she’s whirling around like an expert. It’s exhilarating, being this close to cookies without hiding in a bush. She switches partners so many times she loses count. Men, women, neither, she doesn’t care, she just twirls herself around in their arms. She must spend hours like that, because when she breaks out of the crowd the moon is round and high in the sky.

Her next choice may not be a wise one but she simply can’t resist the temptation of trying some famed Hollyberrian wine. It’s easy to find a vendor and even easier to “convince” them to sell her an entire bottle at a reduced price. She proceeds to spend the next thirty minutes drinking the entire thing, and everything after that is a blur of sensation.

She wakes up as a fox in an alleyway, with the sun shining far too brightly down on her. She stretches her four furry legs and flicks her tail. Ah, she’d been having such a lovely dream… Now where is she? She’s in some city…but the architecture doesn’t look too familiar. Except for her dream… A sudden flash of realization hits her and she jumps into a standing position. She focuses hard, and there! She was a cookie again! It hadn’t been a dream then.

She stumbles forwards, but still feels woozy. That wine hadn’t been a good idea, had it? She’s still tired, and she really wants to curl up and sleep somewhere. But where? She thinks of the little tree hollow she’s been staying in but that just doesn’t seem right. She wants to curl up next to something warm and soft, preferably in a nice dark cave…oh. Why’s she thinking of her right now? Whatever. But it’s probably about time to go back now, the Jungle Cookie must be worried. Wait, what? Why does she care what the other cookie thinks? But what if Jungle Cookie thinks Kumiho abandoned her? Why does it make her feel guilty?! Letting out a loud groan, she walks out of the alleyway and into the street, where it’s even brighter. She has no idea where she is. Or where the docks are for that matter. Maybe she can ask. Plenty of cookies are walking around, going about their business.

After asking a pretty young lady about the general direction of the bay, she quickly walks through the streets, trying her best to avoid collisions. In the bright daylight the market is very different. All the colors are somehow brighter, and everything shines with a magnificent glow. She pities all the poor cookies it must take to get this place so squeaky-clean. Judging by the position of the sun, it’s late morning, and her stomach certainly feels it.

She makes a small detour to a stall selling berries, and after the delightful discovery that her coin pouch is still attached to her hip and mostly full, she walks away with a small basket of fresh strawberries. Eating them makes her feel a bit better, and she continues on her way. For some reason, everytime she stops to look at something a pang of guilt flashes through her. It’s not a feeling she’s used to, even though she’s done much worse things than being late to a not-even-official meeting. But something about the way Jungle Cookie has no way of knowing she’d return digs into her like nothing else ever has.

She finally reaches the docks, and bustles past all the busy workers. She easily spots the ferryman and walks towards him.

“Hello again~,” She coos at him. He smiles brightly, but it seems to be genuine, and not the dazed grin that comes from her charm. So it wears off on its own, huh? Good to know.

“Welcome back, my lady. I sure hope you have coin this time! I can’t make a habit of letting passengers ride for free, now can I?” He says, not a trace of hostility in his voice.

“Ah, of course.” She responds, handing it over. She steps aboard, and immediately sits down, legs tired and wobbly. She decides to check the pouch attached to her hip and finds something that she definitely doesn’t remember buying; a salt shaker. She thinks back to last night, trying to figure out when and why she got it. It’s coming back to her…she was…going to give it to someone. Jungle Cookie! Now she remembers that she had thought that Jungle Cookie’s meat had been very plain, and could use some seasoning. She’ll be sure to give it to her. It’s such a strange feeling, wanting to give someone something, for no other reason than to be nice…

The ride is soon over and then she’s back onto the jungle shore. She hops off the boat as the ferryman bids her goodbye. Back down the path she goes, and into the dark, dense world of the jungle. It’s quiet and comforting compared to the hustle and bustle of the market streets, and it's .. nice. huh, how strange. She isn’t used to it, she realizes, all the noises and sights, and cookies.

The trees all look familiar now, and then she stumbles into the clearing with the cave. Jungle Cookie is there, tensed up with spear in hand, but as soon as she sees who it is she relaxes. Kumiho walks a few more paces, juts her hand out offering the shaker to the other, and as soon as it’s hesitantly taken from her hand, collapses onto the ground, fast asleep.

Chapter Text

When she awoke in the morning there wasn't a trace of the other,and when the sun had risen to signal mid-morning, there was still no sign. Now the sun is high in the sky, and she still isn’t back. She isn’t sure why she’s expecting her to be. She’s probably run off to be with the others of their kind, which is understandable. After all, the jungle cookie did not speak the other’s language and did not know any of her customs, so why would she stay when she could easily find those who could?

She herself had often thought about seeking out her kind. She had seen a long clearing of trees before, with pressed down dirt that looked like it had been made, and not formed by nature. If she were to follow it, she was sure to find them. But for the same reasons as before, she knew she would be an outsider. And she was happy here anyways. Really!

Disregarding that trail of thought, something draws her to the back of her den, to a medium sized rock. Her tiger pads along besidesher, and watches as she lifts the rock up and retrieves a small bundle of cloth from underneath. It’s a small, dark turquoise dress, heavily torn and stained. This is what she was found in, and what she wore for her first few years in the jungle. It is her only connection to the place she used to live, and, until recently, her only connection to her kind at all.

She has spent hours looking over it, memorizing every frill and ruffle. She has no idea how it was made or what it is made of, although she can see the strings of fiber interlocking with each other. Her best guess is a much more intricate version of the baskets she makes for gathering. She presses it to her chest and leans back against her tiger, a wave of sadness washing over her. Seeing it had given her an odd sense of sentiment.

Suddenly her tiger jolts up, its ears pricked to the side, having heard something. Soon she hears it too. Something is crashing inelegantly through the forest, heading straight towards her den. She grabs her spear and rushes out the front of the cave, tiger bounding behind her, ready for a fight. The leaves to the side rustle and out pops…the other!

Her heart soars. She came back! The other stumbles towards her, nearly losing her balance. She rushes forward to catch the other, wrapping her arms around her slim frame. What’s wrong with her? She seems disoriented and normally she’s as silent as can be, but just now she was making so much noise the whole jungle could probably hear her. Where did she go? Has someone hurt her? She’s ready to throw caution to the wind, to chase after whatever had caused the other to behave so strangely, when the other pops her head up with a huge grin. She says something and then presses a small, round object into the jungle cookie's hand before dropping down, like a pile of rocks.

Alarm shoots through her, and she lowers the other to the ground. After checking over her, she comes to the conclusion that she’s just sleeping. Taking care not to drop the thing she had given her, she drags her to the cave and lays her down on the ground. Her tiger comes up behind her and sniffs at the girl’s pale head, before curling up around her.

She settles down besides the sleeping form of the other, and inspects the thing she had been given. It’s a clear container made of some sort of hard material that makes a clinking sound when she taps it. It has a top made of a shiny gray material dotted with little holes. Inside is a grainy white substance. Curious, she shakes some out onto her hand and gives it a sniff. She can faintly make out…something. It smells kinda like the patches of earth large animals dig up and lick. Hesitantly, she gives it a lick of her own, and recoils at the taste.

She doesn’t think it’s meant to be eaten. Perhaps you put it on something? But what? Setting it to the side, she decides to leave it for now and wait for the one who got it for her to wake up and explain. Speaking of her, she turns to look at her resting body.

She’s a mess, but sleeping soundly. She’s still a little worried about the other, because something had clearly been wrong with her. But nothing is visibly amiss. Watching her, she has the sudden urge to go to the other.

She decides to crawl over, and gently places the white-haired head on her lap. Then she leans back against her tiger. Sighing, she looks down at her. Now that she’s closer and paying better attention, she can see that her hair has been taken out of the two parts it had been in earlier, and put into some sort of intricate weave. It’s pretty messy though, and she hesitantly moves to undo it.. Threading her fingers through it, she untangles the many layers of soft, fluffy hair. Once it’s all out, she continues running her fingers through it, not really wanting to stop.

There’s a strange feeling in her chest right now, a light, fluttery one. She’s mesmerized by the other and feels her hand come down from her hair to trace her face. Her fingers glide over smooth skin and hard ridges. She isn’t sure how long she would have stayed like that if it weren’t for a pair of bright red eyes snapping open. She jerks her hand back, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. But the other girl just smiles at her and sits up.

She puts a hand to her head and feels her newly undone hair. Had she wanted it to stay braided? She feels a wave of embarrassment wash over her, but the other’s grin only widens and she makes a light sound. So she doesn’t mind? That’s a relief.

Then, the pale haired girl makes a motion to her stomach and then her mouth. Was she hungry? Fortunately, the jungle cookie had a bit of leftover meat from lunch that would hopefully still be good. She prepares it by roasting it over the fire, and when it’s done she hands it to the other. The white haired girl looks around, searching for something. Her eyes land on the small container sitting a little ways away. Realizing she probably wants it, she reaches over and hands it to her. She sprinkles a generous amount on, and then takes a large bite. She feels herself recoil in disgust, but the other seems to enjoy it. The white-haired girl notices her watching, and she must have a funny expression on her face because the other chuckles lightly to herself. She then reaches the hand holding the meat out, offering her some. She stares at her, unsure if she should take it. It had been pretty gross, but the other didn’t seem to mind it…

She decides to go for it, grabbing the meat and biting into it. To her surprise, it isn’t awful. In fact, it’s much more flavorful than before. She hurriedly devourers the rest, before realizing she had just eaten the others food. She looks up with a sheepish grin, but the other just seems amused. They stare at each other for a moment until the other bursts out into laughter, and she soon follows.

They fall into a new routine after that night. The other leaves during the day, and returns around sunset, often bearing gifts. She knows for sure now that their kind must live somewhere nearby, for her to be able to make daily trips. She doesn’t plan to go find them, but it’s kind of nice to know that they’re so close.

The other’s gifts vary greatly. She’s received braided wreaths of flowers, muddy brown pots made of who-knows-what, and a great variety of powders and plants that the other likes to toss on their food. Sometimes it works and they have a great feast, other times she has to go out and catch an emergency meal after their previous food became inedible.

Throughout their time together, the other is always making noise. She doesn’t seem to care that she can’t understand her, she just keeps chattering away to herself. But as she does so, she begins to notice patterns. She repeats certain sounds, especially when referring to specific objects. It’s something that she thinks she can figure out, so with hope in her heart, she decides to try something.
One day, after the other has returned, they sit in her cave, looking over the flower circles she brought back. She decisively points at one of the blossoms, wanting to see what noise she makes. The other looks at her for a moment before making a noise that sounded like,

“That’s a flower.”

Unsure of what she’s doing, she picks the flower from its stem, holds it up to the other and repeats.

“Th..ats…ah…flow…ear…?” She can't quite replicate the sound, but it’s enough for the other to understand, judging from the shocked expression on her face. She quickly nods and says.

“Yeah, a flower.”

Well that’s odd. She made a mostly different sound, but repeated the ‘flower’. Is that specifically what it’s called? She tries again, holding it up again.

“Flow…ear”. The other rapidly nods. Excitement building in her, she sets the flower down and points at a nearby stone.

“Rock.” The other says, understanding dawning on her.

“Ro..o..ck”. Another nod. She jumps up in excitement, startling her tiger, which she proceeds to point at.

“Tiger.”

“Ti..i..ger”. She runs outside, both her tiger and the other bounding after her. She begins pointing rapidly at almost everything around her.

“Grass”

“Tree”

“Stick”

“Berries”

“Pot”

“Sun”

Finally her finger lands on the other, and she waits expectantly.

“Kumiho Cookie”

“Ku..mi.o.. Co..kie.” And then, anticipation coursing through her veins, she slowly points at herself. The other just shrugs. She points again, and the other, no, Kumiho, shrugs again. She growls in frustration, and Kumiho makes a sympathetic face.

But the excitement of this new discovery soon overrides her disappointment. She can learn this language. She knows she can, and the urge to run through the jungle and point at everything is overwhelming. But she knows that she won’t really learn anything that way, as she’s already struggling to remember some of the sounds she’s already been told. Maybe she can just take it slow and memorize a few things at a time.

She lowers her arm and smiles at Kumiho. She smiles back, clearly also excited. She points at something she’s already learned, grass, she thinks it’s called, just to make sure she has it right.

“Grass.”

“..Grass”

They continue like that, her pointing at things and Kumiho answering. Sometimes she repeats the sounds, and she hopes that she's getting more accurate in her pronunciation. They decide to quit once the sun goes down and they can’t see, and head back to the cave to sleep.