All Herb could do was just stare at the stranger, completely in shock at what he was looking at. Why, this must be the wolf Carrot cookie was talking about, he thought as he sat there in the snow. The cookie towered over Herb, casting a shadow on him.
"Get out," they spoke in a stern voice.
"Get out...?" Herb stood up, brushing the snow off himself, "I don't think you understand what I'm here for. I'm not leaving."
As he was speaking, his teeth chattered as he became colder.
"You've confused yourself, you don't belong here. I'll just... you'll hurt yourself," the wolf spoke, turning around to the cave, his back facing Herb.
"Hurting myself is the least of my worries! Where is Snow Su-"
"They're not here!" the wolf barked back.
Herb jumped a bit from the sudden outburst.
"Just go, please."
Herb held himself for warmth, "no, I can't. Snow Sugar came here, and I'm not leaving without them."
"...why do you care so much?" His voice was soft.
"Excuse me?"
"About that kid. No one even bothers to care about that kid, why do you suddenly now care?"
Herb was surprised by the wolf's response, "So, you do know Snow Sugar?"
The wolf faced Herb, "do you?"
"Of course! I've been caring for them for a while, no one's... well... willing to-"
The stranger quickly finished Herb's sentence, "take care of the kid?"
They stared at each other.
"Okay mister, my turn for the questions," Herb stood up straight.
"Is it?" Sass leaked from the wolf's voice.
"Yes! Since they obviously followed you, where are they!?"
"Why should I trust you?"
"How can I trust you!?" Herb snapped back protectively.
"Because I'm making sure they don't get hurt. Go now, I don't want to see you."
Herb called out desperately, "Wait! I can prove myself! I'm trustworthy, I swear. Don't leave yet!"
The stranger turned to him, "Then prove yourself. I'm not handing that kid to just some random cookie."
Herb almost began to envy the pure dominance radiating from him, he certainly was not a cookie to be messed with, but someone who Herb did not fear. He was actually quite glad someone loved Snow Sugar as much as him.
Back to proving his innocence, Herb paused as he came up with an idea. Snow Sugar was holding that cake hound as they ran, surely! If Herb was trustworthy, he would have known about that new little toy Snow Sugar got. Snow Sugar loved that toy to death, so obviously people Snow Sugar trusted got to see it.
"I got it!" Herb shouted, "the toy!"
The wolf tilted his head, "the toy? You know about that?"
"Yes, yes! I know what it is! Snow Sugar always carries it around, so if I know what it is it proves I them well, right?"
The wolf was silent, then responded. "I suppose. What is it then, if you're so confident."
"The cake hound! I remember, they mentioned they got it from a friend!" Herb was practically clapping at his own genius, bouncing around like a child. The wolf gave a suspicious look, then moved to the side.
"Fine, you've proven yourself. I don't like company anyway. Go take them, they're at the end of the cave."
Herb looked into the dark abyss of the cave, then back at the wolf.
"I... can't see in the dark."
The wolf blinked, "oh for goodness's sake, follow me."
He walked into the cave, and Herb tagged along beside him.
While walking down the cave, it began as an eternal darkness and transitioned into a glowing passage of crystals. Along the walls of the cave, crystals lit up the place with a blueish hue, sparkling with the slightest of light.
"This place is so pretty... I don't blame Snow Sugar for wanting to run in here..." Herb gazed at the crystals like stars.
"Glad you think that, just don't let it get to your head. I know how you cookies can be."
Herb frowned, "what's that supposed to mean!?"
"Exactly what it's supposed to mean."
"You're going to need to be more specific than that-"
The wolf stopped in his tracks. "Greedy. That's what I mean."
Herb was appalled, "Greedy!? Why, I'm simply enjoying the scenery! What's so greedy about that?"
"Do you even know what you're looking at?"
"Crystals?"
Wolf waited for Herb's second response, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" Herb tilted his head in confusion.
"Doesn't the city use crystals for currency? You know, to live?"
Herb was silent, then burst out into laughter.
"What!? Am I wrong!?-"
"No no! I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just that I'm surprised you think that I even want crystals! I am certainly not the cookie you assume me to be!" Herb giggled some more.
The wolf sighed as Herb slowly calmed his laughter. Herb was a bit surprised at how detached from reality this wolf guy was.
"My dear friend, I'm an herb. In fact, I'm Herb cookie! Everything I've ever needed lives around my home. I have no need for crystals."
"Fine, fine. I get it, come on," the wolf sighed and continued down the cave.
Herb chuckled to himself, "Me? Greedy? Never."
As they continued forward, they finally reached the end, seeing Snow Sugar appear with a small cake hound toy. Snow Sugar looked up to see Herb and immediately smiled.
"Herb!" Snow Sugar shouted, dropping the toy and rushing over to hug him.
"Hi buddy! Luckily I didn't have to be gone for too long..." Herb patted their back.
"There, you got what you came for, now both of you go," the wolf impatiently spoke.
Herb glanced at him, "very well, we will be on our way."
Snow Sugar let go of Herb and ran quickly over to the toy he dropped. Herb waited as they came back to him with the toy, offering their hand to him so Herb could hold it.
"I'll see you again..." Herb paused, "why, I don't think I ever got your name stranger!"
"Let's keep it that way," the wolf growled.
"No, I insist. Despite your rudeness, it seems you care for Snow Sugar as well. I would like to know your name, just in case,"
The wolf took a breath, "it's Werewolf cookie."
Herb smiled, "I see. Goodbye, Werewolf cookie."
"Bye!" Snow Sugar waved to Werewolf.
Herb made his way out with Snow Sugar as Werewolf watched from the end. Herb was able to guide Snow Sugar out the same way Werewolf guided Herb in, and made it out of the darkness of the cave. That's when the harsh cold hit Herb again.
"Oh my, it's even worse than before..." Herb shivered.
"Can we make hot cocoa?" Snow Sugar added.
"Of course! Honestly, I think I'm going to need it to survive the rest of the day."
Herb followed the foot prints as before, making his way back to the forest entrance. There, Herb saw Clover and Carrot having a discussion where Herb was before.
"Clover!" Herb called out, "there you are! I have Snow Sugar!"
Clover's eyes widen, "oh thank goodness! I am so sorry Herb, I tried my best-"
"I know you did, I wouldn't want to enter the forest either!" Herb walked over, grinning.
"Oh, that's not the problem. I actually did go in, but I ended up getting a bit lost. The snow messed up my memory of where I was," Clover explained.
Herb sighed, "snow's been causing quite a bit of trouble, hasn't it?"
"Indeed."
Carrot chimed into the conversation, "but now there's more to worry 'bout..."
"Like what?" Herb looked to Carrot.
"Your fence, bud."
Herb's mouth dropped, "you're right! I totally forgot!"
"Oh! About that..." Clover scratched his head.
"You know what happened, right?"
Clover nodded, "yeah, some cookie was with Snow Sugar before I arrived. I'm not sure why they were there, but they were spooked when they noticed me. After that, they made a run for it with Snow Sugar following from behind."
Herb looked down to Snow Sugar, "wait, so was that cookie Werewolf? Is Werewolf a friend of yours too?"
"Yup! He didn't mean to break the fence though..." Snow Sugar defended Werewolf.
All of the cookies looked at each other.
"That must of been the cookie that broke mine too..." Carrot whispered under her breath, "didn't even know we had a Werewolf cookie... wonder what ingredient makes that kind of fella."
"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that Snow Sugar is back, and I really could use some warmth..." Herb shivered.
"We all could," Clover added.
They all split ways: Carrot heading back to her farm, Clover heading back into the forest, and Herb taking Snow Sugar back home. On their way home, Herb and Snow Sugar discussed the importance of not leaving the home, and how dangerous it was to follow a cookie like Werewolf into a cave.
When making it home, Herb noticed the frost from earlier had spread to the other half of his garden, causing some plants to freeze.
"That can't be good..." Herb whispered.
"Are they hurt?" Snow Sugar said worryingly.
"I'm afraid so. Come on, help me bring the rest of my friends inside; winter seems to be starting earlier this year," Herb was quiet, "too early."
They took the time to work together to transfer the plants inside that were planted in pots. Herb knew that the others would be fine, knowing that the rest were either bushes that have survived winter before or flowers that flourished in colder climates. One by one, the entrance of Herb's house became more crowded with plants that needed a safer spot to stay in.
Time passed by as the two finally were done transferring the plants, staring now at the crowded space that they had created together.
"That should do it!" Herb announced.
"Can I have cocoa now?" Snow Sugar said impatiently.
"Of course, it's about time too."
Herb entered the kitchen and began to make hot cocoa, specifically a special recipe he got from Cocoa cookie. Herb knew that hot cocoa was probably going to need to be made more often, considering that winter may now last longer with the early start. Nonetheless, he turned on the stove and gathered the ingredients needed.
During the making process, Snow Sugar played around with the stuffed cake hound toy, making it fly around and jump from table to table. They made sound effects for it too, doing a "boing" for every jump performed by the cake hound. Things seemed to have settled down a bit now that everyone was inside for the day.
The cookie kingdom never rests on a busy day though, and quite a stir was caused by a lone wolf walking around in a town he didn't belong in. That is to say, where did the wolf even belong to? All he did was sit in his cave all day, pitying himself in the situation he placed himself in. Werewolf cookie, while everyone else was at ease, kept himself on his toes every second he got; paranoia was all he could think about.
"I just... need to get out of here," he spoke to himself, "it's too cold, and has been getting too many visitors. I'll just end up hurting them..."
He knew he couldn't keep talking to himself, that it would solve none of his problems, but that was all he could do.
"Soon..."
He definitely wasn't leaving anytime soon.