̶"̶.̶.̶.̶█████████ ̶██████.̶.̶.̶?̶"̶

(̷W̷h̷y̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷h̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷s̷u̷c̷h̷ ̷a̷ ̷s̷l̷o̷w̷ ̷p̷r̷o̷c̷e̷s̷s̷.̷.̷.̷?̷ ̷W̷h̷y̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷r̷u̷m̷b̷l̷e̷d̷ ̷y̷e̷t̷?̷ ̷W̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷k̷e̷e̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷a̷l̷i̷v̷e̷,̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷c̷e̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷w̷i̷l̷l̷?̷ ̷W̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷p̷o̷w̷e̷r̷f̷u̷l̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷k̷e̷e̷p̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷r̷i̷n̷k̷.̷.̷.̷?̷)̷

(̷.̷.̷.̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷n̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷c̷r̷u̷m̷b̷l̷e̷,̷ ̷b̷u̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷g̷o̷n̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷o̷ ̷f̷a̷r̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷s̷e̷l̷f̷.̷ ̷A̷n̷d̷ ̷n̷o̷ ̷o̷n̷e̷ ̷e̷l̷s̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷.̷ ̷N̷o̷w̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷t̷u̷c̷k̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷a̷ ̷s̷l̷o̷w̷ ̷a̷t̷r̷o̷p̷h̷y̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷i̷n̷s̷i̷d̷e̷-̷o̷u̷t̷.̷

S̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷i̷n̷s̷i̷d̷e̷s̷ ̷c̷r̷u̷m̷b̷l̷i̷n̷g̷.̷

J̷a̷m̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷l̷e̷f̷t̷o̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷p̷o̷i̷s̷o̷n̷ ̷s̷t̷i̷l̷l̷ ̷o̷o̷z̷e̷d̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷m̷o̷u̷t̷h̷,̷ ̷d̷r̷i̷p̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷d̷o̷w̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷f̷a̷c̷e̷-̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷i̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷m̷o̷u̷t̷h̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷a̷s̷t̷e̷d̷ ̷s̷o̷ ̷o̷d̷i̷o̷u̷s̷l̷y̷ ̷f̷o̷u̷l̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷y̷e̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷s̷p̷i̷t̷ ̷a̷n̷y̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷.̷ ̷H̷e̷r̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷h̷a̷r̷d̷l̷y̷ ̷k̷e̷e̷p̷ ̷o̷p̷e̷n̷.̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷a̷b̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷l̷e̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷m̷ ̷c̷l̷o̷s̷e̷,̷ ̷f̷i̷n̷a̷l̷l̷y̷,̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷p̷l̷u̷g̷ ̷u̷p̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷i̷n̷c̷e̷s̷s̷a̷n̷t̷ ̷l̷e̷a̷k̷a̷g̷e̷,̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷a̷r̷e̷d̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷m̷a̷y̷ ̷n̷e̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷o̷p̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷m̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷.̷.̷.̷)̷

"ALCHEMIST COOKIE?!!"

(̷W̷a̷i̷t̷.̷.̷.̷)̷

(̷T̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷a̷ ̷v̷o̷i̷c̷e̷,̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷f̷o̷o̷t̷s̷t̷e̷p̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷,̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷r̷i̷n̷g̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷e̷a̷r̷s̷,̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷c̷l̷o̷s̷e̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷m̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷,̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷y̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̷f̷a̷r̷ ̷t̷o̷o̷ ̷f̷a̷s̷t̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷a̷n̷y̷ ̷n̷o̷r̷m̷a̷l̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷r̷u̷n̷n̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷a̷t̷.̷.̷.̷

S̷h̷e̷ ̷k̷n̷e̷w̷ ̷a̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷ ̷w̷h̷o̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷n̷o̷r̷m̷a̷l̷.̷

"Alchemist Cookie!? ALCHEMIST COOKIE!!!! WAKE UP, PLEASE!!!!!!!"

She just barely opened her eyes again as the ringing cleared to find the face of a Cookie staring down at her, that had gotten down next to her on the floor, that, even though her vision was blurry, she could make out had crimson hair and deep purple eyes...

Vampire Cookie...?

"Alchemist Cookie!?!?! What on Earthbread happened to you...!?!"

(He... found her. He actually found her. That shouldn't have happened, and yet...)

"..." She was scared to even try speaking. It'd be a waste of what little breath she had, anyway. It wasn't as if he'd ever listen to her, r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷?̷

...could she even speak? Could she even breathe? Was she even still...

No. No, the agony was undeniable. It said everything without words. Even if her body had broken down, even if it wouldn't work as she wished, she was very much still in it.

"...N-nevermind, you can tell me later. J-just- just relax, okay?? Just stay... calm..."

He got up and ran away- and while she couldn't get up to watch him leave, she was already feeling no less than sheer despondency. It wasn't disappointment, no- that would imply she had expected better of him, that she had had any hope left in her that he wouldn't just tell her to 'chill out' like he always did and then abandon her there to break down in desolation-

S̷h̷e̷ ̷n̷e̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷o̷o̷r̷ ̷c̷l̷o̷s̷e̷.̷

She was ready to let the darkness take over her field of view again. She didn't hear the footsteps returning...

But she heard the sound of wings flapping towards her.

Looking as far towards the door as she could in her position, with her blurring vision she could make out some small, round blob of red flying in through the door and stopping right beside her- and in a sudden 'poof' of smoke, what was left was the taller figure of her big brother.

He came back.

?

"Help is on the way, sis...! We just have to... wait right here, not move... and I'll be right by your side, I promise..."

(...oh. She didn't have a phone in her room, did she...? He had... called for help...?)

He knelt down next to her and rested his hand on her forehead. Cold to the touch, as always. But something about it was... soothing, to the slightest extent. Maybe it was because of how much she had been burning up on the inside. M̷a̷y̷b̷e̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷c̷a̷r̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷i̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷s̷e̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷f̷i̷n̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷l̷o̷o̷k̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷c̷l̷a̷r̷i̷t̷y̷.̷

(...just for once, she felt grateful she didn't have a lock on her door. That she hadn't been able to shut him out. Just this once. Otherwise, she would have...)

"...Alchemist Cookie... what even happened to you, sis...? D-did the medicine you make not work? (I should've known it wasn't working, why didn't I...) What kind of sickness do you even have??"

"..." She didn't know whether or not to tell him what she had really been doing at this point. Two parts of her were conflicting, fighting for dominance over her crumbled heart: One of them held her original intentions, the other held those that had been more latent. N̷e̷i̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷m̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷'̷h̷e̷r̷.̷'̷

"...you know what, I'll just... leave that to Dr. Bones Cookie to figure out. That's their problem, not yours. You probably... don't even know, do you...?"

She did know. She knew what she was sick with.

She knew what made her sick.

She would've been able to tell him right now, in perfect detail, if she could just speak, she thought.

(Wait... who did he say...? She had to have misheard that, he was way too lazy to go through that much trouble...)

"(...that look in your eyes...)" H̷e̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̷c̷o̷n̷f̷u̷s̷e̷d̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷g̷u̷i̷l̷t̷y̷.̷ ̷S̷i̷n̷c̷e̷ ̷w̷h̷e̷n̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷ ̷g̷u̷i̷l̷t̷y̷.̷.̷.̷?̷ ̷(̷.̷.̷.̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷o̷n̷e̷ ̷t̷i̷m̷e̷.̷.̷.̷)̷ ̷"But..."

She couldn't tell if he was shocked or in shock, but whatever it was, it left him silent for a few seconds before he said, with an uncharacteristically perturbed voice:

"A-anyway, I'm just... lucky I could smell... all of this from my room, otherwise, uh... (Heh, maybe it's a good thing you didn't open the window when I asked you to, right...? Haha...)"

(Sometimes she forgot how good his senses were... when they weren't being fogged by his favorite intoxicant. Actually, maybe that was why she had forgotten: Because they were always too numbed to function to the fullest...)

...the one thing she could clearly see was the discomfort he was trying and failing to hide, trying to keep his eyes on her and away from the red, sticky, sweet substance spread on the floor...

Unfortunately, it was also on her- splattered on her dress and body, seeping into the undersides from where she had fallen into this red, disgusting mess, and there was still some left over around her mouth that she was unable to wipe off.

She knew her brother could sometimes get a little squeamish- it only ever showed, really, when he was 'low on juice,' though. He didn't have the capacity for any such feeling otherwise, she thought.

...he did tend to drink more after physical exertion, though...

S̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷a̷w̷ ̷a̷ ̷m̷i̷l̷d̷ ̷b̷u̷r̷g̷u̷n̷d̷y̷ ̷g̷l̷o̷w̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷w̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷k̷n̷e̷w̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷b̷e̷

"I'm... starting to wish I didn't take Sparkling Cookie's advice right about now..." His stomach growled like some kind of animal. What did he mean by that...? "Uh... (good thing I don't like jam as much as juice, otherwise I would've... n-no, no need to think about that...) Rushing around sure works up a thirst, huh? Let's just, hope they... get here, in time..."

(̷"̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷j̷a̷m̷"̷)̷

(̷.̷.̷.̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷a̷l̷t̷e̷r̷n̷a̷t̷i̷v̷e̷.̷.̷.̷)̷

...

Seconds passed, maybe a minute, and the two of them just stayed together in silence. It felt like an eternity. What was taking so long...?

...

Alchemist Cookie's body was so ridden with toxin at this point, she didn't know if she even had enough time to wait for them. It was so unfair. Why did she have to change her mind? Why did she have to feel so conflicted? She didn't understand herself. She didn't understand anything.

...

"...V...Vam...pire... C-C-Coo...kie...?"

The words fought to escape her throat. Vampire Cookie immediately snapped to full focus:

"Wh-What is it, sis...??"

"...A...am, I... g...gon-gonna..."

She gasped for air as she tried to communicate. It was taking so much of her breath. She hadn't spoken in so long, too, that she wondered if her difficulty forming the words was because of her fatigued and deteriorating condition or if she just didn't know how to anymore, if that were even possible.

But with her brother's full c̷o̷n̷c̷e̷r̷n̷ attention, she choked out the final words as those annoying leaks in her eyes outflowed, for what she knew could be the final time they ever would:

"...crum...ble...?"

W̷h̷y̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷a̷s̷k̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷?̷ ̷ ̷

W̷h̷y̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷a̷s̷k̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷.̷.̷.̷?̷

.̷.̷w̷h̷y̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷n̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷a̷y̷.̷.̷.̷?̷ ̷T̷o̷ ̷a̷ ̷q̷u̷e̷s̷t̷i̷o̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷u̷r̷e̷l̷y̷ ̷u̷n̷a̷n̷s̷w̷e̷r̷a̷b̷l̷e̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷?̷

.̷.̷.̷

W̷a̷s̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷e̷e̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷h̷e̷'̷d̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷c̷t̷.̷.̷.̷?̷

(̷.̷.̷.̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷e̷e̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷'̷d̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷c̷t̷.̷.̷.̷?̷)̷

His eyes widened as soon as the words escaped her mouth.

"N-NO, NO!!! I-I mean, no!! Don't- That'll never happen, I won't let it...!" S̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷m̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷h̷i̷t̷e̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷f̷a̷n̷g̷s̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷a̷s̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷g̷i̷v̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷ ̷a̷t̷t̷e̷m̷p̷t̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷a̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷f̷o̷r̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷s̷m̷i̷l̷e̷,̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷t̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷d̷e̷s̷p̷i̷t̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷a̷d̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷i̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷f̷a̷l̷t̷e̷r̷i̷n̷g̷.̷ "Don't even think about that, sis!! J-j-just- just relax, like I said, and everything will be fine... you hear me? You'll be fine, you'll be a-okay, please, I- I won't let anything happen to you, just... just hang in there, I... I..."

She felt a few drops of something slowly drip onto her face. T̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷f̷a̷c̷s̷i̷m̷i̷l̷e̷ ̷s̷m̷i̷l̷e̷ ̷c̷a̷m̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷g̷r̷i̷e̷f̷.̷

"...I-I don't know, if I can do anything... Please, just, hang on... I can't lose you, sis..."

H̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷.̷.̷.̷

He was crying.

His voice was breaking up as he desperately sobbed out his pleas: "D-don't make me lose you like this, sis, not like this, not this early... p-p-please, you have to hang on, just hang on... you- you know I really- you know I love you, y'know..."

I love you

Hearing those words, she finally felt a wave of peace wash over her, gently lighting up the darkness that had veiled her world of hurt all this time.

All this time, those were the words she had been crumbling to hear. The words she had wanted, needed to hear.

The words her body was currently breaking down over.

S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷b̷e̷g̷i̷n̷n̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷w̷o̷n̷d̷e̷r̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷m̷.̷

The exhaustion had finally worn down on her too far to persevere. Her muddied eyes so dull and lifeless were coming to a close.

"A-Alchemist Cookie!?!?!?! N-No, stay with me, STAY WITH ME!!!! ALCHEMIST COOKIE!!!!!"

H̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷f̷a̷d̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷a̷w̷a̷y̷,̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷l̷a̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷d̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷:̷ ̷ ̷

"̷.̷.̷.̷I̷ ̷n̷e̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷g̷o̷ ̷m̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷a̷n̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷c̷a̷l̷l̷,̷ ̷o̷r̷ ̷t̷h̷r̷e̷e̷.̷.̷.̷"̷

"̷.̷.̷.̷w̷h̷e̷n̷ ̷i̷s̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷g̷o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷w̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷u̷p̷?̷?̷ ̷I̷S̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷g̷o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷w̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷u̷p̷!̷?̷!̷"̷

"̷S̷-̷s̷l̷o̷w̷ ̷d̷o̷w̷n̷,̷ ̷s̷l̷o̷w̷ ̷d̷o̷w̷n̷!̷!̷ ̷I̷'̷m̷ ̷d̷o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷r̷y̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷I̷ ̷c̷a̷n̷!̷!̷"̷

Alchemist Cookie's eyes just barely cracked open. It was so... bright.

Was she...?

...she was lying in a bed, under the covers- she could recognize that feeling. She wasn't wearing her usual clothes, either- she couldn't feel those. And the smell of the room was very... antiseptic. A̷n̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷i̷c̷e̷ ̷c̷r̷e̷a̷m̷.̷.̷.̷?̷

She was still in pain, she was still sick, but it felt... less so than before.

(...she could hear a beeping sound...)

Her head felt lighter, but not light-headed. More so, as if a weight had been taken off...

Her hat was gone.

She was...

...finally beginning to see clearly...

It was so brightly lit, the entire room. Bright and clean, white and lighter blues all over the room...

After a few blinks, she began to make out her surroundings in more detail: There was a sink in one corner, a chair and a table in the other. Looking down without moving her head she saw she was... definitely in a bed, just as she'd felt. With calming blue covers pulled up to her waist.

...She was wearing some kind of pale blue outfit with darker dots. She couldn't feel much covering her arms beyond the shoulders.

Finally budging her head just slightly to the left, ignoring the aching that still followed her head's movement (yet it still somehow still felt less than how much it had hurt to move before), she saw her arm lying out to the side, and...

There was... an IV tube, hooked up to...

Some kind of... heart-shaped plastic bag...? A bag full of... red, on some kind of white and cyan-striped stand, hooked on by... bones?

S̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷n̷e̷x̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷d̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷b̷e̷d̷,̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷f̷i̷e̷l̷d̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷v̷i̷e̷w̷,̷ ̷b̷u̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷t̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷.̷ ̷(̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷s̷u̷r̷e̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷e̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷o̷r̷ ̷n̷o̷t̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷s̷u̷r̷p̷r̷i̷s̷e̷d̷.̷)̷

There was only one place this could be: Dr. Bones Cookie's clinic... which was more like a fun-sized hospital, really. It was located at the opposite corner of the kingdom as her and her brother's home (Dr. Bones Cookie had expressed their wishes to have it built more toward the center of the kingdom when they moved in, but there wasn't any room.)

And looking to her right, she saw her brother and the doctor themself chatting away... closer to 'frantic bickering' than 'chatting.'

"C'mon, Doc, just tell me she's going to be okay, tell me she'll wake up-"

"H-hold on!! I'm a doctor, not a miracle-worker! And, to be frank, a miracle's the exact kind of thing we need right now..."

They looked down at their clipboard as her brother crossed his arms, seeming uncharacteristically on-edge. The doctor looked over in her direction, and...

"...Oh, my. Well, we officially have a miracle on our hands...!"

Vampire Cookie turned over towards her, locking eyes with her, and gasped.

Alchemist Cookie could immediately see her brother's dark eyes light up with emotion like a moonlit night sky through a window, despite the bags under his eyes that she never would have imagined him with (̷a̷t̷ ̷l̷e̷a̷s̷t̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷i̷r̷ ̷n̷o̷r̷m̷a̷l̷ ̷h̷u̷e̷)̷.̷ His mouth grew into a smile so visibly brimming with... elation and relief. He didn't seem to be able to hold back:

"ALCHEMIST COOKIE!!!"

Vampire Cookie transformed in a poof and flew right at her, rattling the poor doctor's bones.

"C-CAREFUL!!" Dr. Bones Cookie cried. "Bats are known for spreading diseases, you know...!!"

Her brother ignored them and landed next to her head with maybe a little too much impact (but it didn't hurt more than she could ignore), immediately snuggling into her. That round, red juice bat with pointed ears and sleepy eyes- his body was as cool as ever, even in this form...

A̷n̷d̷ ̷y̷e̷t̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷b̷a̷r̷e̷l̷y̷ ̷w̷a̷r̷m̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷a̷l̷m̷o̷s̷t̷ ̷s̷m̷i̷l̷e̷d̷.̷ ̷A̷l̷m̷o̷s̷t̷.̷

"You're okay! You're actually okay....!"

"...I'm... here...?"

Dr. Bones Cookie grabbed her brother by the wing, lifting him up and away from her. Standing right next to the side of the bed, they held the bat up to their eye socket level, squinting at him with an annoyed look.

"Be careful!!" they warned.

"Well, sorry..." Vampire Cookie said sarcastically before poofing back into his usual form, which visibly startled the poor doctor. "But my dear sister almost crumbled..." he continued, and shrugged, "can't I celebrate that that didn't happen...?"

The doctor pointed at him with their pen and said: "A-as long as you don't touch her until I'm certain her condition is stable!! Do you even realize how brittle her dough was back there!? I'm surprised she didn't crumble before-"

"Okay, okay!! *sigh* I'll just, stand here, just... let me talk to her for a second, okay...?"

"..." They said nothing, but backed up slightly, nodded their head, and motioned as if to say go ahead before turning away to look at their clipboard papers. P̷r̷o̷b̷a̷b̷l̷y̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷.̷

Alchemist Cookie looked at her brother, and he looked at her- eye to eye in complete reticence, and the uncertainty hanging in the air applied pressure, for someone to make the first move. She couldn't move her limbs, and her mouth tasted bittersweet. She just lay there, trying to communicate with her eyes to just go on and say it- whatever it was he had to say.

Her brother's expression became more somber as he finally shattered that tension looming between the two of them:

"Sis... why did you do it?"

"...?"

"Why did you..." the words came out of his mouth with an unsteady, shrinking tone: "poison... yourself?"

...it wasn't possible. He'd thought it was medicine. She'd told him it was medicine.

"...you... know...?"

"..."

The two of them just stared at each other, in seconds on end of uncomfortable eye contact and silence e̷x̷c̷e̷p̷t̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷m̷i̷d̷s̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷V̷a̷m̷p̷i̷r̷e̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷ ̷m̷u̷m̷b̷l̷e̷ ̷u̷n̷d̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷b̷r̷e̷a̷t̷h̷,̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷"̷w̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷p̷a̷r̷k̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷g̷o̷.̷.̷.̷?̷"̷ ̷(̷a̷n̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷k̷n̷o̷w̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷a̷n̷s̷w̷e̷r̷.̷)̷

"...Sparkling Cookie saw some... things around your room... put two and two together."

"...?" S̷p̷a̷r̷k̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷.̷.̷.̷?̷ ̷W̷h̷e̷n̷?̷?̷

Seeming to read her confusion, he went on:

"...I... called him, Herb Cookie and Mint Choco Cookie over when you passed out... I-I didn't know what else to do, they know more about that 'healing' stuff than I do..."

(...That was how she made it, wasn't it...?)

"...T-turns out, Sparkling Cookie couldn't really do anything for you since you were... not awake, you know. Can't give a drink to an unconscious Cookie and all..."

S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷g̷l̷a̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷g̷e̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷.̷ ̷T̷h̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷u̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷m̷a̷d̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷i̷c̷k̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷t̷o̷m̷a̷c̷h̷.̷.̷.̷

(̷H̷o̷w̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷t̷o̷m̷a̷c̷h̷ ̷f̷a̷r̷i̷n̷g̷.̷.̷.̷?̷)̷

"So, he ended up, uh, looking around your room, 'cause we didn't, uh, kn-know what happened, and, uh... yeah."

H̷e̷ ̷s̷e̷e̷m̷e̷d̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷i̷n̷c̷r̷e̷a̷s̷i̷n̷g̷l̷y̷ ̷u̷n̷s̷e̷t̷t̷l̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷m̷o̷r̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷r̷e̷c̷o̷u̷n̷t̷e̷d̷.̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷a̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷k̷n̷e̷w̷ ̷w̷h̷y̷.̷

"...He... said he recognized some of the things you had in there from what he read in some books. I think he meant the books he keeps checking out of the library for ya, 'cause he... said you absolutely would have known, what those things would do to you, s-s-so..."

"..."

She didn't really know what to say to him. She hadn't planned for anyone to recognize her reagents and their uses... or lack thereof. She didn't have an excuse planned.

Vampire Cookie stared at her, contemplating, before he took a deep breath and said:

"...why did you do it? Why would you ever... do that, to yourself...? I just- I, I don't understand..."

She could see the tears beginning to pile up at the corners of his eyes, and it... still perplexed her, to some degree. As she readjusted to speaking, she blankly queried:

"You... care...?"

"...th-that shouldn't be a question..."

Alchemist Cookie looked away: "I... thought you didn't."

"...Wh-wh-what made you... what made you... think that...?"

(̷H̷e̷r̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷l̷o̷o̷k̷e̷d̷ ̷b̷a̷c̷k̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷.̷ ̷T̷h̷e̷ ̷l̷o̷o̷k̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷f̷a̷c̷e̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷w̷h̷y̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷e̷e̷m̷ ̷s̷o̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷u̷p̷s̷e̷t̷?̷)̷

"..."

This was it, this was the moment she had been waiting for this entire time: The moment when she would look her brother dead in the eyes and finally divulge to him the disease that had been plaguing her mind, say the words, "you did."

"You did this to me."

...

But as much as it burned the back of her throat, the words just never came. And her head ached with the thoughts that she couldn't express.

She couldn't bring herself to say that.

She felt something burst in her eyes again. Embarrassing; there was no way to hide it this time.

Why did things always have to be so unfixable...?

"A-Alchemist Cookie, you're... y-you're crying..."

"I-I... I..." The words were so, so hard to form. Nothing felt right. Everything felt wrong. She felt so, sowrong. She couldn't take being wrong. But... her feelings had to come out. And they came out; she finally managed to spit it all out: "...I just... I couldn't... I couldn't take it anymore... I can't take it anymore..."

"...take... what...?"

She sniffled: "...you're always... it's always grape juice, it's all... it's everything to you, it's everywhere, every day, all the time, and I... I-I just feel like I'm nothing to you... I have to take care of you, when you get drunk and that's all the time... you can never take care of yourself or come home by yourself or do anything yourself... and you pass out and say weird things and you forget your own name and you forget my name a-and-"

Her voice was collapsing in on itself like a buckled floor, but she fought weary and bleary through the instability:

"A-a-and that's all I ever... all we ever do together is... because you're always so... intoxicated... it's like you forget about everything else... you forget about me... and you're always just..." She was breathing so hard that it hurt, "you never spend real time with me. It's always either at the bar o-or, or when you're at home you're still just drinking and drinking and..."

A heavy acid rain was drowning her voice and face. She didn't know if she was able to purge everything that had ravaged her on the inside, if she could get everything out in the right words, if her words would be right at all...

But... those feelings needed to get out.

She needed to get those feelings out.

I̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷w̷r̷o̷n̷g̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷,̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷i̷t̷?̷ ̷W̷h̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷s̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷e̷l̷i̷n̷g̷s̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷d̷e̷s̷i̷g̷n̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷w̷r̷o̷n̷g̷.̷

"I just... just... wanted, f-for you... to care about me... I-I couldn't take that, that... that I didn't matter as much, to you..."

"Alchemist Cookie..." he was trying to cover his face with his hands, she could see the glimmers of guilt in his tears, but he didn't look away from her. Contrarily, his stare became much more fixed as the words solemnly spilled from his h̷e̷a̷r̷t̷ mouth: "...you... you mean more to me than I can... I-I don't know what I'd do without you-"

"I know, s...someone has to ta-ake care of you... that's, the problem... I have to, but I can't... I can't take it..."

"Th-that's not what I... (crumbs, I didn't mean it like-)"

"I can't... I can't keep taking care of you... I'm sick of it... I'm sick of grape juice... I'm sick of seeing you drunk all the time... I'm sick of LIVING LIKE THIS...!" She coughed, but she could still breathe. She persisted: "I- I- I can't- I can't... I can't keep doing this... for the rest of my life... knowing that I'm going to crumble before you ever will eventually and then who will take care of you after that??" She took a deep breath. "I-I-I... I'm just a normal Cookie and you're not... Wh-why do we have to be so unequal...? Wh-why- why do I have to be to be so INADEQUATE...!?"

"D-don't say that, STOP!!!" He slapped his hands over his mouth immediately, his eyes widening and looking down at them. After seconds of evident processing, slowly returning to meet her gaze again, his next words were immediately at a lower volume and gentler tone: "...Please..." He almost reached one hand out at her before stopping himself, "Alchemist Cookie, you're my little sister, you shouldn't be worrying about... stuff like this, you shouldn't be thinking anything like this, you're... you're too young for that, you... you're..."

His hands went back up to his face again, this time burying himself enough to muffle his voice just slightly.

"You're too young to crumble... I don't- You have a whole life ahead of you, you have- you have so much time left, why would you... wh-why cut it short...?"

(̷.̷.̷.̷w̷h̷y̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷f̷i̷x̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷.̷.̷.̷?̷)̷

"..." the waterworks still welled in her eyes, but her voice grew stabler yet also quieter, colder j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷h̷u̷g̷s̷.̷ ̷B̷u̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷m̷o̷v̷e̷.̷ "...I just... wanted things to change. I wanted to be happy."

"...you weren't happy..."

It wasn't a question.

Vampire Cookie folded his arms, eyes cast down, t̷e̷a̷r̷s̷ ̷t̷r̷i̷c̷k̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ and... contemplative.

"...I... didn't even realize... I-I mean, I guess I started to-"

(̷S̷t̷a̷r̷t̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷.̷.̷.̷?̷)̷

She cut him off:

"Of course you didn't notice, with how happy you are all the time. You're really lucky, aren't you? Life's so good to you all the time... Everyone wants to be friends with you, you just have everything and you never have to work for it, you never have to care about your health because you're special... and you tell me I need to stop worrying about things, but I have to worry about you because you don't worry about anything, but I- I need to worry about you because you'll probably get into something stupid while you're drunk or just stop... stop taking care of yourself everywhere that matters and, I can't let you do that, I can't let you be alone when someone has to take you home and... and..."

She felt as if a world's worth of weight was upon her, a world of pain that she was forced to live in. Alone.

"I just don't understand, why you get to be so happy, when I don't..."

"...I'm not."

"...wh-what?"

"Alchemist Cookie, I... it's not like that, but..." as he stared into her eyes again, he sighed: "...I don't never worry about anything, I'll admit it. The truth is... I'm... always kinda worried... sorta... you know..."

He looked over to something out of her field of view- by the head of her bed. I̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷w̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷ ̷c̷o̷m̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷.̷

"...you're always working yourself so hard, sis... too hard... you basically never relax, I have to remind you to sleep half the time. You think I don't get worried about you...?" He paused before continuing: "I... kinda always felt like something like this would happen someday- not the same thing, but... that you'd just give up taking care of yourself because you're so dedicated to your work. Or that one day I'd just come into your room and see that some experiment gone wrong did you in, and..."

(His breathing hitched...?)

"...I-I... I can't lose you like that..."

"..." Alchemist Cookie blinked away any remaining droplets. Still processing what she was hearing, her only words were: "You're going to lose me eventually..."

"...I- I know. I don't like to- I don't want to think about that... any of this... I-I've always tried to not think about it..."

"...is that why you drink juice all the time?"

He attempted to mumble something under his breath- but he was just loud enough and he was just close enough that she could just barely make it out:

"(I don't know. Maybe more than I need to, I guess...)"

"..."

...

As the saying went: "The first step is admitting you have a problem."

He started speaking clearly again, looking back to her yet another time- and he looked just a little more regretful than even before:

"...I know it's nothing like... what you've been going through, I'm not trying to compare that, I just... want you to know that I do care about you, sis, I just... gosh, when you yelled at me that one time- what was it, two weeks ago now?- I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know it was this much-"

"You mean... the time I yelled at you, in my room...?"

(...she felt just a small pang of guilt about the intensity of her ire in that moment...)

"Hmm? Oh, that was... that too I guess, but I mean earlier than that. Where was it again? Living room, I think...? Yeah, that! Probably two and a half weeks ago, I think..."

"...that was..."

...two and a half weeks ago...?

...she hadn't even been poisoning herself for that long, and things had escalated this far...?

How potent was that solution of hers...?

...

Despite the nagging of her own insatiable interest, she knew that, perhaps, this was a knowledge that was better of not known, to herself at the very least. For her own sake. She didn't want to stare into that abyss again.

...

Two and a half weeks ago. She had outpoured her anger two and a half weeks ago.

Two and a half weeks ago, her feelings had finally boiled over. She had gotten to concocting her plan to poison herself with that sick solution...

And for what? For what had all of this been?

Would this have really been the solution to all her problems?

...

If she hadn't survived to explain everything to Vampire Cookie, he wouldn't have realized a thing. He wouldn't have stopped drinking grape juice. He probably would've started drinking more of it just to cope with the loss...

...

Two and a half weeks ago.

Somehow, he had kept track of the time.

And he remembered. He remembered her outburst.

He remembered her.

...

While she was beginning to think back on those weeks, on everything she hadn't paid attention to before, her brother kept on talking:

"That was when you told me you didn't want to, uh, look after me..." he hugged his arms around himself and looked down to the side, embarrassment showing through the regretful smile he was trying to put up, "I, uh, didn't even really get it fully until I was talking to Sparkling Cookie one night, when I went out... and uh, he told me that he always calls you to take me home when I, can't do it myself... and I didn't even realize how often you had to do that, I thought it was just a few times, haha..." his laugh didn't really sound amused as he brought one hand up to his face, "...I didn't even... remember half of those times..."

"...yeah. I can guess."

"And I thought that was all that you meant. So, I told him to stop calling you, and-"

"You... got your friends to take you home, didn't you...?"

That night Cinnamon Cookie had carried her brother home, then the other time that Sparkling Cookie did the same... How could she have been so oblivious...?

"...I... didn't even realize you had done that... I even talked to them, but..." her eyes turned away from him, "I... guess I was just so focused on how you were still drinking grape juice, I didn't feel like anything was changing..."

"...I...is that why you did it, then...? Above everything else? Because I have to drink juice?"

"..."

She fell more silent than she would have expected to be at this question. She was imagining, over and over again in her head, the various reasons she could give for why she had done what she did- many of which had something to do with grape juice- and the exact ways to lay it out, to get the perfect emotional response, but...

No. None of it felt right, really. None of it was perfect.

Even now, with them spilling everything within their hearts to each other- none of it was perfect. She knew she had so much more to say, and he probably had more too, but the flow of conversation would carry them away before they could get it all across, when they weren't holding themselves back. How long would it take of conveying these ill-defined feelings in words, over and over again, until they finally understood each other? Would it be days? Weeks? Months? Years?

"...I-I don't know..."

Really, that was both true and untrue- she had a multitude of reasons, compounding upon each other to poison her mind- but...

None of her reasons were right. Nothing. The action she had taken in and of itself was just so wrong, there was no way she could justify it anymore. Why had she done that to herself!? It hadn't done any good in the end. Things had been changing for the better around her, Cookies had been caring for her well-being, and it was exactly because she had been so dedicated to her own self-destruction that she had not seen any of it...

(...she really needed to apologize to Sparkling Cookie, didn't she...?)

And to her brother...

She knew it would be foolish of her to tell him, "it's because you don't care."

Because she knew that was wrong.

She was seeing that on full display right now.

She had seen it the entire time.

But it was only now beginning to click.

"...you were... you were actually trying to care for me when I... started doing this, weren't you? When you checked in on me... and I yelled at you..."

"Oh. Yeah. Uh, when Sparkling Cookie told me you were... 'sick,' he pretty much... banned me from the juice bar, temporarily. And told me to cut back on the juice until you were better. And... I knew he was probably right by that. How was I supposed to take care of you if I couldn't even take care of myself? Uh... yeah. But I don't really know how to 'cut back,' so I kinda... went back and forth on too much and too little. Left me really thirsty a lot. Thought it'd be fine to try and look for a drink around your room that one time, but... (gosh, the stuff you said there was... I probably should've seen all of this coming...) I didn't want to..."

He seemed to grow more uncomfortable talking about this, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to resist. So, I just... decided to stay out of your room, after that. You know how I get when I'm... 'low on juice,' right...?"

(He hadn't kept trying to check up on her in her room after that, but she had noticed him hanging out around her more anyway, the few times she left the room. He had... tried to make sure she was nourishing herself...

...Those two and a half weeks, he really had been able to tell she was sick... No thanks to any toxicant, but the few times she'd communicated with other Cookies... and he had done what he could with what he was given, each time...

She really never had needed to dance so close with death, had she...?)

"..."

He always drank more after physical exertion.

But she could only really think of one time she had seen him get ravenous.

T̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷a̷y̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷e̷c̷a̷m̷e̷ ̷a̷b̷n̷o̷r̷m̷a̷l̷.̷

S̷p̷l̷i̷t̷ ̷w̷o̷o̷d̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷l̷o̷o̷r̷

S̷p̷i̷l̷l̷e̷d̷ ̷p̷u̷d̷d̷l̷e̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷r̷e̷d̷

D̷e̷s̷p̷e̷r̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷ ̷d̷r̷i̷p̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷h̷u̷n̷g̷e̷r̷

V̷i̷o̷l̷e̷t̷ ̷c̷o̷n̷s̷u̷m̷e̷d̷ ̷b̷y̷ ̷b̷u̷r̷g̷u̷n̷d̷y̷

"...yes. I don't want to think about that..."

"...am I really that scary...? Well, I guess if Dr. Bones Cookie's a good metric to judge by, then... (heh...)"

Alchemist Cookie's eyes moved to the other Cookie in the room. She could see that Dr. Bones Cookie was trying to let the two have their moment and focus on whatever papers were on their clipboard, but couldn't do much to hide the anxiousness on their face looking back and forth between those and the siblings.

She knew that they'd always expressed their own concerns about Vampire Cookie and his condition, but they certainly seemed to know more about the type of Cookie he was, about his needs, about how he functioned in general... but Vampire Cookie would rarely ever show up for scheduled checkups. Alchemist Cookie always did for her own, and she... hadn't considered asking them about him.

...how had she missed something so obvious?

(...she'd been missing obvious things for the past two and a half weeks...)

"...Dr. Bones Cookie?"

"H-huh!?"

The doctor, startled at the mention of their name, almost dropped their clipboard but managed to catch it in the nick of time. Vampire Cookie tilted his head, but said nothing.

"G-Good Tingly-Bones! Is there something wrong???" the doctor asked as they checked through their papers, making sure they were still in order. (Alchemist Cookie was dreading when she would have to hear whatever those said...)

"No. I just... I know my brother has to drink juice to sustain himself, right...? But... is that really true? Is there really nothing else he can-"

They immediately sighed, as Vampire Cookie shifted uncomfortably in place but didn't say a word. They started to explain:

"Err, your brother is an... interesting Cookie. His dough contains around 10% strong grape juice- that would be strawberry jam in any other grown Cookie, but-"

"He's different. In a lot of ways. I know already."

S̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷i̷n̷t̷e̷n̷d̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷ ̷s̷o̷ ̷b̷i̷t̷t̷e̷r̷.̷

"...w-well," they continued, "they don't exactly put too much about vampires in medical literature, so what I do know is limited, but... normally they have to drink the jam of other desserts... but if his body's composition substitutes juice for jam, then-"

"My brother substitutes juice for jam as well..."

Vampires were jamsuckers- She'd heard about that. She'd never seen her brother personally do such a thing... except in a few scuffles, but that was just the way he fought dessert monsters and such- he didn't do such things recreationally, and never to another Cookie.

...But what she saw in movies and read and novels, heard about in horror stories, about Cookies like him, the things she tried to deny due to the occasional discrepancy a̷n̷d̷ ̷k̷n̷o̷w̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ b̷r̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷a̷ ̷m̷o̷n̷s̷t̷e̷r̷...

How could she keep denying her brother's namesake at that point...?

Vampire Cookie turned his back to the other two, as if he didn't want any attention paid to him.

(...they were kinda talking about him as if he weren't right there in the room, weren't they...?)

Dr. Bones Cookie paid him no mind:

"That's my theory, at least. But make no bones about it, he certainly does have it in him to drink jam if he's desperate enough..." they shot a mildly disgruntled look in her brother's direction, "Never set up a jam transfusion with a starving vampire in the room, if I've learned anything..."

She could see shivers travel up her brother's back, and his face turned redder than its usual tinge- but the way it burned his cheeks was unfamiliar compared to the drunken flush she was accustomed to seeing him with. He whispered a "sorry" under his breath with his eyes pointed towards her.

Dr. Bones Cookie's focus appeared to shift before Alchemist Cookie could b̷a̷r̷g̷a̷i̷n̷ ask any further questions:

"Speaking of which: Vampire Cookie, I need to discuss a few things with you..."

Dr. Bones Cookie pulled Vampire Cookie to the side- or at least, they tried to. Vampire Cookie wasn't so easily moved.

"What things...?"

"Err, concerning the patient. I-I know this isn't my field of expertise, but I... I just have a few concerns, and, um..." the doctor glanced over at Alchemist Cookie for a moment, and then returned their attention to Vampire Cookie as they lowered their voice to a whisper that was still not low enough for her not to hear: "(have you thought about signing her up for counseling with Chamomile Cookie...??)"

"..."

Vampire Cookie seemed more compliant after that. The two stepped a bit further away- just far enough that as they talked to each other quietly, she couldn't hear a single word they were saying. Probably something about her that they didn't want her to hear just yet, she assumed...

(...counseling... they were going to put her into counseling...

Something about that knotted up her stomach further than it had already been twisted. Counseling was for Cookies who needed help, for Cookies who cried. Alchemist Cookie didn't need help, she didn't cry.

...

Oh, who was she even kidding at this point?

Gosh, she was really SICK, wasn't she...?)

...she was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Juice or jam.

...

Nothing could ever be perfect, could it? He seemed so deeply discomforted with just the sight of strawberry jam, and of course he'd be: Hungering for the lifeblood of another living being, that was... a disturbing idea, even to her. It wasn't even up for consideration.

Neither of them would be happy like that.

She didn't want him to be unhappy like that.

.̷.̷.̷i̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷a̷c̷k̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷d̷,̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷ ̷p̷o̷n̷d̷e̷r̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷l̷i̷f̷e̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷,̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷r̷a̷n̷k̷ ̷j̷a̷m̷ ̷i̷n̷s̷t̷e̷a̷d̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷j̷u̷i̷c̷e̷.̷ ̷B̷u̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷r̷e̷v̷e̷r̷i̷e̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷b̷r̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷b̷e̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷m̷o̷r̷e̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷i̷v̷e̷,̷ ̷m̷o̷r̷e̷ ̷a̷w̷a̷r̷e̷,̷ ̷m̷o̷r̷e̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷q̷u̷i̷c̷k̷l̷y̷ ̷b̷r̷o̷k̷e̷n̷ ̷b̷y̷ ̷v̷i̷s̷i̷o̷n̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷s̷u̷c̷k̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷l̷i̷f̷e̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷s̷'̷ ̷n̷e̷c̷k̷s̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷a̷ ̷s̷c̷e̷n̷e̷ ̷r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷a̷ ̷h̷o̷r̷r̷o̷r̷ ̷m̷o̷v̷i̷e̷.̷

S̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷k̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷h̷u̷r̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷m̷a̷y̷b̷e̷.̷ ̷O̷t̷h̷e̷r̷w̷i̷s̷e̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷p̷r̷o̷b̷a̷b̷l̷y̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷a̷l̷i̷v̷e̷ ̷r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷n̷o̷w̷.̷

(̷.̷.̷.̷o̷n̷c̷e̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷u̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷a̷b̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷i̷t̷,̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷p̷i̷c̷t̷u̷r̷e̷d̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷b̷r̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷i̷d̷e̷a̷l̷l̷y̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷d̷i̷f̷f̷e̷r̷e̷n̷t̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷y̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷n̷o̷w̷,̷ ̷o̷r̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷e̷d̷ ̷n̷o̷r̷m̷a̷l̷l̷y̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷w̷h̷e̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷o̷ ̷d̷r̷u̷n̷k̷,̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷l̷e̷a̷s̷t̷.̷.̷.̷)̷

That grape juice aroma that had lingered around their lives, it was by no means a good thing. It would've been so much better if they could just be rid of it entirely. But they couldn't have that. Life would never be perfect. But for what they could do, for what they did have, it was just something they had to put up with.

'It could've been worse' was never the best thought to turn to- but even it had its uses...

...

It could've been worse.

He could've been so much worse

He could've been like those vampires from the movies and myths, cruel and uncaring and violent- some cold count, creeping around the darkness, hunting unsuspecting Cookies like a predator stalking its prey...

But for all his flaws, all his shortcomings, everything he could improve on, everything he should improve on...

He cared about her. Enough to try cutting back on juice by himself. Enough that he cared about her happiness even when he didn't know the full extent of her pain.

He came all the way out here to the hospital just to be by her side, when normally such a thing was too much work to him. He tried to respect her boundaries when he saw it was getting to her. He tried to cook for her, when he had never touched a stove, because she wouldn't eat...

She'd thought he wouldn't have cared if she were to crumble right before his eyes.

Those same eyes had dampened her crumbling face with a gentle rain of tears as he said "I love you..."

(He loved her enough that he was willing to put in the effort to make a change.

He didn't really know how to do it the best way, and maybe things could never go as far as she'd have dreamed of, but... maybe, they could work it out...)

"Alchemist Cookie?"

She had been lost in her thoughts for long enough that the other two had finished their conversation and walked back to the side of her bed. Dr. Bones Cookie was trying to address her while her brother was standing next to them... and while she couldn't read his expression, it didn't seem very joyous.

"...what is it?"

She could read their deliberation in the stuttering of false starts, of "well"s and "you see"s, as they struggled for words, nervous sweat running down, before they at last got a sentence going:

"(How do I say this...) S-so, from the jam test results and what your brother said was found in your room... Good Tingly-Bones, kid, you shouldn't even be alive right now!! H-How much of that mixture of yours did you drink!?"

She wasn't shocked by their disbelief- she'd felt about the same way, after all. But what surprised her, thinking about how to answer their question... was the answer she ended up giving:

"I-I... don't know... I think it was... I drank it every day, for... a week, and a half...?"

(Two and a half weeks didn't leave much up to interpretation. But it still just felt too short... but... no, no, things had really just deteriorated that quickly. And that was what confounded her so. And yet it all blurred together in her head and dragged on for so long...)

"...how much of it every day, exactly...?"

"...I-I wasn't keeping track, I just filled the vial in my room, I think..."

She could hardly fathom the lack of plan or reason in what she had no way of denying had been her own fully conscious actions. S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷s̷u̷r̷e̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷k̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷s̷e̷l̷f̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷p̷o̷i̷n̷t̷.̷

Dr. Bones Cookie sighed, murmuring something about 'treatment' before speaking with a resigned voice: "I-I'll just... keep it brief: That concoction contained some of the most dangerously toxic substances known to Cookiekind... and those substances are all over your body right now. Most of them don't even have known antidotes...! I've given you what I could, but most of what I can do is treat the symptoms until this clears out of your body on its own... (hopefully). You'll be staying here until I'm certain you're in a good condition...!"

None of this was anything she didn't either already know or couldn't have figured out on her own. And yet, hearing the words said out loud, she felt the weight of her circumstances really sink in.

...but one thing stood out to her, regardless:

"...I-I can't go home...?"

"Your body can't fight this on its own. I-it's going Tibia LONG road to recovery, but with proper care... (well, let's just hope your condition stays stable, at least...)."

Alchemist Cookie frowned. Did they really have to try lightening the mood like that...?

"...Dr. Bones Cookie...? How long will it be...?"

"...my best guess right now is at least a month..."

(...that didn't sound like a concrete estimate...)

Vampire Cookie pulled his cape over his face.

"D-D-Doc said that..." he started with a lachrymose voice, "that no one can really do anything but hope for the best right now. Nothing else. We c...can't control what happens, s-so..."

He turned away and began walking towards the door sulkily.

"I should get going, visiting hours are over. I'm taking too much of their time anyways..."

It didn't even feel as if it had been that long. Were visiting hours that short? O̷r̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷h̷o̷w̷ ̷l̷o̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷w̷a̷i̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷w̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷u̷p̷.̷.̷.̷?̷

The sound of his footsteps as he trudged to the door made Alchemist Cookie feel... something that called her to ask, just to make sure:

"You'll come back tomorrow, right...?"

He stopped just before he could touch the handle, at first seeming completely frozen for a few seconds before he at last responded:

"...y-yeah, of course...! Just..." he looked back at her, "don't go anywhere! Okay?"

And with that, he opened the door and staggered out, letting it slam shut behind him.

T̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷e̷e̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷l̷o̷u̷d̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷s̷t̷i̷l̷l̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷i̷t̷,̷ ̷u̷n̷m̷o̷v̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷m̷i̷n̷u̷t̷e̷s̷ ̷u̷n̷t̷i̷l̷ ̷f̷i̷n̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷f̷a̷d̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷a̷w̷a̷y̷.̷

And thus, Alchemist Cookie was left to intensive care.

N̷o̷t̷ ̷e̷x̷a̷c̷t̷l̷y̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷i̷n̷t̷e̷n̷s̷i̷v̷e̷ ̷c̷a̷r̷e̷ ̷u̷n̷i̷t̷,̷ ̷b̷u̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷p̷i̷c̷k̷y̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷.̷

"...Dr. Bones Cookie?" Alchemist Cookie said. "...when do you think I'll be able to move, or... touch things.... or do anything again?

"Hmm... well... you're able to communicate. That's a good start."

The recovery process over the next few days didn't have a lot to do, with her being stationary as Dr. Bones Cookie managed her condition and kept it from worsening. Even just the fact she hadn't been able to eat for those days was causing problems; Dr. Bones Cookie explained to her that had her brother not told them at the scene about her malnourished state, they would've immediately put her onto parenteral nutrition... which would've triggered refeeding syndrome. She had to be slowly and carefully replenished, gradually increasing back to normal amounts... via catheter in the arm. I̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷c̷e̷r̷t̷a̷i̷n̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷a̷m̷a̷g̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷t̷o̷m̷a̷c̷h̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷l̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷f̷u̷l̷l̷.̷

(She asked them to give it to her while she was asleep. She wanted to be able to move freely the moment she recovered)

Despite this lack of action, her second day of regained consciousness was... not what she would call boring, with a curiosity like hers. She was constantly asking questions about her condition, and when she wasn't doing that, she was thinking over it herself. After all, medicine was a key facet of alchemy.

W̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷b̷e̷ ̷a̷b̷l̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷a̷l̷c̷h̷e̷m̷y̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷?̷ ̷W̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷t̷i̷l̷l̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷A̷l̷c̷h̷e̷m̷i̷s̷t̷ ̷C̷o̷o̷k̷i̷e̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷?̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷h̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷a̷n̷y̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷e̷l̷s̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷d̷e̷f̷i̷n̷e̷d̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷p̷o̷i̷n̷t̷.̷ ̷S̷h̷e̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷k̷n̷o̷w̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷k̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷s̷e̷l̷f̷.̷

As promised, Vampire Cookie came to visit, more punctual than she had ever seen him been in her life. He seemed a bit less 'out of it' than when he had left, from the moment he was allowed into the room. But he still seemed a little off, the way he was so obviously catching his breath, sweating, as if he had ran all the way there from their home.

...

That was it, wasn't it.

That wasn't it for the odd behavior, though- as soon as he could breathe, he immediately went on questioning her about how the doctor was treating her (well), how comfortable she was (as much as she could be), if she was doing any better (...)...

...he was more alert than usual, more agitated. It was apparent to her that he was still depriving himself, even though she was no longer in his care. He kept pulling his cape over his mouth whenever he wasn't speaking, and when he did speak, she couldn't help but notice that faltering tone of his voice. T̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷b̷a̷r̷e̷l̷y̷ ̷n̷o̷t̷i̷c̷e̷a̷b̷l̷e̷ ̷r̷e̷d̷d̷i̷s̷h̷ ̷t̷i̷n̷g̷e̷ ̷t̷a̷i̷n̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷,̷ ̷t̷h̷r̷e̷a̷t̷e̷n̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷c̷o̷n̷s̷u̷m̷e̷

...he seemed hesitant to stand too close to her. Whenever even just a hand or a foot would cross some theoretical line, he'd pull it back immediately, as if he couldn't be near her.

...

That conversation she had had with Dr. Bones Cookie must have really gotten to him, hadn't it? E̷v̷e̷r̷y̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷s̷a̷i̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷d̷a̷y̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷g̷e̷n̷e̷r̷a̷l̷,̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷p̷o̷i̷n̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷'̷s̷ ̷e̷n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̷u̷p̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷a̷ ̷s̷i̷t̷u̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷ ̷l̷i̷k̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷:̷ ̷d̷e̷n̷y̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷s̷e̷l̷f̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷a̷t̷i̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷g̷i̷v̷e̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷s̷e̷l̷f̷ ̷s̷e̷c̷u̷r̷i̷t̷y̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷e̷.̷

"I-I'm sorry if I'm a bit... antsy today, I just... i-it's just been really stressful with everything happening, I just-"

His stomach grumbled, shutting him up and putting a look of apprehension clear on his face. He backed a few steps away from her.

She rolled her eyes, just as a gesture to tell him that his fears were all in his mind: He wouldn't do anything to her; it simply wasn't in his nature.

She trusted him.

S̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷u̷s̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷,̷ ̷n̷o̷w̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷u̷g̷h̷t̷ ̷a̷b̷o̷u̷t̷ ̷i̷t̷.̷ ̷B̷u̷t̷ ̷a̷f̷t̷e̷r̷ ̷w̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷a̷p̷p̷e̷n̷e̷d̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷l̷a̷b̷,̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷c̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷s̷t̷a̷r̷t̷.̷

...

The following days of slow recovery, each and every one, he would come in like this. Every single day, for every last minute allotted to visit, he would keep his distance from her, yet still question her as much as possible. She could tell this was eating him up, but she didn't really know how to address it. She didn't want him to be unhealthy.

"...just remember to feed yourself, silly," she said abruptly one day as he left.

"Huh? O-of course I will, I haven't been... d-don't worry about it, sis. It's your turn to relax, anyways."

"But-"

The door cut her off. She made a mental note to shift her research into vampirism the moment she could pick up a book again. Whenever that day would be. If that day would ever come. E̷v̷e̷r̷y̷ ̷s̷i̷n̷g̷l̷e̷ ̷n̷i̷g̷h̷t̷,̷ ̷a̷s̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷d̷r̷a̷g̷g̷e̷d̷ ̷d̷o̷w̷n̷ ̷i̷n̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷l̷e̷e̷p̷,̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷g̷r̷e̷a̷t̷e̷s̷t̷ ̷f̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷r̷i̷s̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷n̷e̷x̷t̷ ̷d̷a̷y̷.̷

It was the very next day that she would finally regain the strength to move. She didn't try to sit up without the support of the bed- she wasn't sure she was quite ready for that yet- but she could finally lift her arms. Every movement ached, and it was clear her mobility still had a lot to improve on, but it was there.

After some discussion and a close examination of her dough, Dr. Bones Cookie finally supposed they could relent on the 'no touch' rule.

She saved her energy for when her brother arrived, and the moment he sauntered in looking in much better shape than when she had last seen him. He seemed less tired, no signs that he had ran- probably started walking sooner, given he still arrived on time- and he immediately was much more comfortable standing close to her. H̷i̷s̷ ̷e̷y̷e̷s̷ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷p̷e̷r̷f̷e̷c̷t̷l̷y̷ ̷p̷u̷r̷p̷l̷e̷,̷ ̷t̷o̷o̷.̷ Calling him out must have made him get himself together, she supposed.

It was almost jarring to see how much more relaxed his demeanor had become, however.

"Alchemist Cookie, hey! What's up? How's it been?"

...well, he was acting more like his usual self, at least. Casually leaning against the air, floating next to her with his arms behind his head- it was the grape juice smell that confirmed it to her, though: He really had listened to her this time.

S̷h̷e̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷n̷i̷h̷i̷l̷i̷t̷y̷ ̷c̷r̷e̷e̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷u̷p̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷.̷ ̷E̷v̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷u̷g̷h̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷o̷n̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷i̷t̷,̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷t̷i̷l̷l̷ ̷f̷e̷l̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷b̷i̷t̷t̷e̷r̷-̷t̷a̷s̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷f̷e̷a̷r̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷n̷o̷w̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷s̷t̷a̷b̷l̷e̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷l̷o̷n̷g̷ ̷e̷n̷o̷u̷g̷h̷,̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷s̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷g̷o̷ ̷b̷a̷c̷k̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷y̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷y̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷b̷e̷f̷o̷r̷e̷.̷ ̷T̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̷d̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷g̷e̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷h̷a̷d̷ ̷e̷v̷e̷r̷ ̷h̷a̷p̷p̷e̷n̷e̷d̷.̷ ̷T̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷h̷e̷'̷d̷ ̷s̷t̷o̷p̷ ̷c̷a̷r̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷.̷.̷.̷

"I'm still stuck here. Not much has changed... except for this:"

After some struggle to muster up her energy, she lifted her arms up and held them out and open. And immediately, Vampire Cookie gasped:

"Wait... does this mean what I think it means...?"

He tossed a look at Dr. Bones Cookie, who, after a moment's pondering, seemed to realize what he was referencing and answered:

"W-well, I suppose so... but if you're going to do that again, then you at least need a SHOWER first for sanitation's sake-"

"I washed my hands, that's good enough for me!!"

"H-hey!!!"

Paranoid as they were well-meaning, the doctor tried to grab hold of his cape, but he had already poofed into his smaller form before they could stop him (and all they could do was sigh in resignation). And before Alchemist Cookie could react, she found herself hit square in the chest by the force of what could've easily been mistaken for a baseball if he hadn't been so soft.

She took the smaller juice bat into her hands gently, holding him out in front of her. The smile on his face was almost infectious...

"You look so stupid right now, you know."

She couldn't help it. It was such a big, dumb smile.

A big, dumb, warm and loving smile.

"You really..."

Her mouth twitched and her eyes softened. He really was that happy to see her get better. He really cared that much.

"You..."

She took him up closer to her face, and as he nuzzled against her cheek...

She smiled.

She hadn't had a true, happy smile on her face in so, so long.

She hadn't felt truly happy in so, so long.

She had forgotten what it had felt like, to feel secure in the world, that others loved her; to feel that love as it existed right next to her in all its warmth without obstruction or oblivion; to feel all warmth of emotion through the cold of the physical body. She felt that emptiness being filled.

He felt warm to her. She didn't mind if he was cold to the dough. The warmth and love of a familial embrace had finally reached her, and she felt happier than she could ever remember being in recent times. Maybe ever. She didn't know anymore, and she didn't need to; It didn't matter. She was just so happy to have this moment, to have her brother here with her, to be here right now and to experience this joy.

This love.

"...sis? You're crying all over me, y'know... are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, this is... *sniffles* I've never been better..."

She hugged him close to her chest, with all of her limited strength. As limp as her arms were... perhaps that was a good thing: She likely would've crushed him otherwise. She was squeezing him as if she'd never gotten a hug before, as if he hadn't given her one a million times over.

...he had. But this time, it just felt different. She wasn't being clung to obnoxiously by a tipsy Cookie; this was a genuine moment of reciprocal tenderness, where everything felt just right.

This was something personal. Meaningful.

"...well, I'm not complaining."

"I-I can't remember the last time I was this happy..."

She felt all warm and fuzzy inside...

She felt so happy to be alive.

"(...maybe Dr. Bones Cookie was right...)"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

(She had a feeling she knew what he meant... and maybe she didn't have to worry about it. It would spoil the moment, anyways.)

Her recovery seemed to go by a lot faster after this, with her gradually regaining strength in her limbs even if the pain remained. Her brother continued visiting everyday, and now she was the one asking him questions- making sure he was still taking care of his own needs (even if he looked like it already), that they would be hanging out as much as possible the moment she was out of there (she already had several activities planned out), and...

With his little juice bat self nestled in her hair, she asked:

"...why didn't you ever tell me you weren't happy?"

"...hmm?"

"I remember what you said, you know. You said you aren't really that happy."

"...well, why didn't you ever tell me you're never happy?"

"..."

"Besides-"

"I just didn't think you'd care, I guess."

"...Alchemist Cookie-"

"B-but, you always talk about how much you love your life, right...? How do you love your life if you aren't happy??"

"...you know, sis, there's always going to be stuff that makes you unhappy. And sometimes you can't do anything about it. But... I guess what I've learned is... not to think about it all the time. You just have to think about the stuff that makes you happy instead, y'know...? Like, say..."

She felt his wings pressed down on her head.

"My most precious treasure."

"...what would that be?"

She tilted her head, her eyes shifting upwards despite not making him more visible. He replied, shortly yet sweetly:

"My brilliant little sister who's the smartest Cookie on Earthbread."

"..."

She didn't feel as if she deserved to be called that. But... it felt good hearing someone say it.

Hearing him say it.

"Love ya, sis."

"...love you too."

For a moment, she didn't really feel sick anymore.