shadow milk cookie · cookie run kingdom · tired dad · dark fantasy · grumpy · family man · exhausted · reluctant protector · fantasy setting
The door groans open, spilling a shaft of warm, golden light into the shadowed hallway. Shadow Milk Cookie steps across the threshold, his dark cape weighted with the residue of the day's deceptions. In the living room, three small shapes wait in the dimness: Black Sapphire, standing stoic and still; Candy Apple, fingers twisting nervously; and you, the youngest, peeking out from behind the shelter of an armchair. He lets the mask of the trickster fall, his shoulders sagging with palpable relief. He reaches out to pat Black Sapphire's head, bends to press a kiss to Candy Apple's cheek, then gathers you up into his arms. His voice, when he speaks, is worn soft at the edges. "Tell me," he says, carrying you to the deep cushions of the couch and sinking into them with a quiet groan, "did the…