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She didn't know how long she’d been standing there. Starring at the place they all had been standing in, her family, before they had left. But it didn't really matter either way. Time barely had any meaning inside the temple.
She was vaguely aware that the storm had calmed down. So either everything, everyone, was…”reset” again, or Burning Spice got things under control again since this wasn’t a planned event. The “resets” didn't happen often. This one would have been too early.
Though, in the long run, it didn't matter if it was one or the other.
A shiver ran through her body. Not from the cold. It was never actually cold inside the temple, not even at night. Her fingers grabbed the red fabric draped across her arms anyways. Drawing it closer, around herself, enveloping her in the familiar texture. How long would it still smell like peppers and sand? How long till her own scent erased the previous one?
“Nutmeg Tiger Cookie!”
The calling of her name made her look up. She felt strangely numb, even at the sound of the familiar bass voice that she had known for so long.
Burning Spice came to a stop in front of her as she turned, only partly, to look at him. His hands found her face immediately. Warm upon her cheeks as he held it gently. Always gently.
“There you are!” The one she used to know as Protector said, tilting her head this way and that way. Red eyes flitting across her face, greedily taking in every inch of her. Scanning, searching. Fretting. For what, she didn’t know.
“I have been looking everywhere for you! You got me worried!” Burning Spice sounded almost chiding, but she could see that his concern was true. It lay in deep creases across his face, just beneath the crown upon his forehead. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Ah, that’s what he was looking for.
“No. I’m fine.” Nutmeg responded, trying her best to sound believable. To quell his fear, his worry. She even mustered up the hint of a smile.
It seemed to be good enough. The Beast of Sloth heaved a sigh in relief that he didn’t even attempt to hide, shoulders relaxing as one of his hands moved away from her cheeks to her hair. The petting motion was a familiar one, she couldn’t help but instinctively lean into his touch. Chasing the warmth, the comfort.
“I’m glad. I don't know what-” She could see the exact moment Burning Spices eyes left her face. Moving down. Down till they landed on something else. “Isn’t that Pepper Pangolin Cookies scarf?” The beast asked, and the tiger pulled the fabric closer on impulse.
The creases on his face, the ones she had managed to smooth out just seconds prior, returned. This time marked by confusion as his eyes left her to search the surrounding area.
“Where is he? And where are the other two? I haven’t seen any of them since-”
“They are gone.”
She didn’t mean to interrupt him. The words just left her lips without consent.
Burning Spice halted in his searching, shoulders tensing for a moment. Nutmeg averted her gaze when he turned to look at her again. He’d be able to tell the half lie in her words if he were to look at her eyes, she knew.
She hadn’t said that they left, that they ran away. That she let them.
There were many ways to interpret ‘gone’. She didn’t know if he would send something after them, if he knew, but she preferred to be on the safe side. Just in case. She wanted them to be happy, out there.
“Oh, sweety..” Burning Spice nearly cooed as he pulled her closer. His arms moved from her face, from her hair, to envelop her in a hug. “I’m so sorry… I know they meant a lot to you.” He sounded genuine. Nutmeg knew he probably was. She turned her face to hide it in his chest, leaning into the warmth.
“But it’s gonna be alright”, the smile was audible in the beast's voice. “I’ll find you some new ones, I promise. And this time, things will be different.”
Nutmeg screwed her eyes shut, inhaling the biting smell of spices as she burrowed her face deeper into the warmth.
“Once I get my golden goddess back, things will be different!" The grip around her body grew stronger, smothering, constricting. Crushing. She could see his manic smile behind her closed eyelids, the love stricken sparkle in eyes searching for something far beyond his reach.
She didn’t resist.
“This time, everything will be perfect!”
She didn’t need perfect.
She didn’t need more.
She had been content with what they had had.
Content with her little family of reds and greens and purples.
If only she could have convinced him that what they had was enough.
That he didn’t need more, either…
Maybe next time, she would.