Couldn't Care Less // Espresso x Madeleine // CRK

chapter five

Espresso adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath. After the breakfast with Madeleine, Espresso's day went horribly wrong. First, he'd gone home, but ended up wasting almost an hour to search for this glasses- which turned out to be perched atop his head the entire time. Then, he'd ran into Alchemist Cookie, who hooked him into a conversation that lasted far too long for Espresso's liking. And Latte had chosen to bother him especially today, asking about how his day went and constantly distracting him.

Now, he stood in front of his full body mirror, preparing for the expedition. The time in between the breakfast and the current situation had seemed to slow to the point where it'd felt like days had passed. Espresso knew he was exhausted, but it was too late to back out now. Gingerbrave had been confident in this expedition, especially the people involved.

Black Raisin Cookie had been dragged along last second as backup, but other than that, Gingerbrave wasn't planning to change anything anytime soon. So, despite his exhaustion, Espresso would go nonetheless.

Espresso left the small bedroom space and removed the cup from the coffee machine. He took a long sip and groaned.

Great, another splitting headache.

He checked the clock. It was a quarter away from 5:00. He figured that he should probably head out early, in case there was another problem that would make him late.

Espresso opened his door and covered his eyes from the bright light. It made him feel dizzy, especially with the pain in his head. Madeleine seemed to have already left, which struck Espresso as good news. Maybe he wouldn't have to interact with the cookie more than he had to. Maybe this expedition would be peaceful.

Oh, he sure did hope so.

When Espresso finally reached the start of the woods, everyone else was already there. Sorbet Shark waved and called a greeting. Madeleine bowed politely. Black Raisin and Lilac gave an acknowledging nod.

Espresso greeted them back and they took off without a word, Madeleine in the lead. The formation went like this: Madeleine, Black Raisin, Sorbet Shark, Espresso, and Lilac.

Espresso struck up a conversation with Lilac. Usually he wouldn't care for Lilac, but Sorbet was busy trying to communicate Black Raisin, so Espresso didn't have much of a choice. Plus, Lilac had polite manners and knew when to speak, which was already 2 points ahead of Madeleine.

"Do you know how long it will take to get to our destination?" Asked Espresso. His head pained with every word. "I'm afraid Madeleine forgot to even tell me where we are going."

"It will take 3 hours, at the least," Lilac replied. He brushed a purple strand out of his eyes. "Assuming we don't run into any other trouble, of course. I've been told we'll take a camp half way through the journey. I estimate we'll be back at morning tomorrow."

Espresso muttered a curse underneath his breath. This was taking valuable time away from his studies. So much for getting back on track. He regained his composure. He thanked Lilac and they continued on the road.

The sun began to set after a few minutes. Every second felt like an hour, and Espresso dragged his feet to keep up with everyone, Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to the expedition in a condition like this. He'd be in no condition to fight, much less protect anyone...

Espresso shook his head- confusing Sorbet, who clung to Espresso's hand- and blinked his eyes tiredly. His energy would have to last him through, at least until the group could take a break.

The first wave of enemies appeared almost half an hour later. The group of cookies had been taking a rest that was meant to last for only a bit- just so that they could consume a stamina jelly- when the first forest druid appeared.