-- [earlier that day] --

“Let’s try this recipe today, Umbra,” Addai took an old notebook from the nearby drawer. “Hm… take the butter, would ya?”

Umbra turned to the shadow form and swiftly took the warm butter beside the baking tools holder. Meanwhile, Addai portioned the flour, caster sugar, and light brown sugar in two big bowls.

After beating the butter until smooth, he added the sugars and beat the mixture with the whisk until the color was almost white. Then, he added the wheat little by little and continued beating the dough with the whisk until his arms got tired, as the recipe prohibited any use of magic. The dough, already homogeneous and good-looking, was portioned into other bowls.

“Now we can try the flavors we wanted, look,” he showed the portioned dough to Umbra, who attempted to steal a bite if it wasn’t for her owner’s fast action to avoid her stealing.

So, he chose some of the flavors scribbled on paper and tested them one by one, from the two disastrous attempts to make a salted caramel to the successful attempt to add the sprinkles and incorporate the dark chocolate into the dough. Also, he made two safe biscuits for Umbra to try, who was very much pleased by that.

“… it’s too much even for me...” he muttered, seeing how much dough he had done. “Hm…” he thought for a second.

He remembered how someone's face lit up with happiness after eating a few sweets.

“…” he slightly blushed, and Umbra approached, tickling him with her twitching whiskers. “Why are you looking at me with this ugly face?” he looked at her.

“Meow meow,” she meowed, grinning.

“… Since when did you learn how to grin that obnoxious way?” he touched the tip of Umbra's nose. “But you’re right, I should give some to him,” and blushed a little more, “stop weirdly grinning at me!” but Umbra didn’t stop grinning until Addai filled his hands with water to throw at her.

Finally finishing baking the biscuits, Addai waited for them to cool down and took a paper bag he found among the many things in his office. He took several smaller plastic bags and filled each with a cookie flavor, sorting them out and lacing a few with a blueish and purplish bow.

When he finished closing all the small plastic bags, he carefully placed them inside the paper bag, making sure they didn't crumble or were smashed by each other. Umbra watched him closely - well, on his lap, since she wanted a bite, but he didn't give it to her.

"/Hey, where will you be today?/” Addai texted Mine. "/I have something to give to you. It's not much, and they're leftovers, so don't get too excited/" he texted again.

One hour passed, but no replies.

“/*annoyed emoji*/”

One more hour passed, but no replies.

“/It’s food, hurry up and reply before it spoils/”

One more hour passed, but no replies.

“Umbra, track him. I’ll deliver this shit myself, and I don't care if he's busy," Addai grumbled, carefully taking the paper bag and his keys. “Ite eum invenient,” he ordered, and Umbra turned into a shadowy matter, vanishing in the air as Addai followed her tracking.

"Shit, I forgot it's entrance tests day," Addai muttered to himself, while walking in the shadows with the paper bag in his hands. "Umbra, is he really here?" he asked the cat, and the shadow he was following nodded.

He didn't even pay attention to his surroundings, it didn't interest him anyway. When Umbra finally stopped walking in the shadows, he also stopped.

“... who’s that?” Addai asked himself, and Umbra turned into a cat again.

Mine was happily talking to that person. He had never seen him at such ease and laid-back posture. Of course, he already saw him smiling, but sometimes it felt like he only smiled because he had to, and, other times Mine was nervously trying to hide his grim expression.

Seeing him that way felt like a sin to spoil that smile with his presence, and oh… it hurt.

“I’m nothing more than a nuisance for him,” he muttered to himself, looking at the paper bag and carelessly stepping on the gravel, making some sound even though he was hidden in the tree’s shadow.

His presence would surely turn that smile into frowning and bitter words. He didn’t want to be a nuisance for the meeting with that red-haired guy, nor be an awkward random encounter that spoiled their quality time.

"Let's go, Umbra. I'll eat them at home," Addai called the cat, turning his back to Mine… but where was Umbra?

He turned again, and the red-haired guy was already at the arena. Addai noticed his own hands felt too light and… where was the paper bag?! He quickly looked at Mine sitting back on the bench and Umbra heading towards him.

"UMBRA!" he desperately called, feeling his cheeks wildly blush. "You- come back here!"

When Addai grabbed the cat, she almost made him into pieces by how much she scratched his arms and almost hit his cheeks. The (unfair) move for her owner to not take her.

“Meow,” Umbra meowed.

“... Umbra?!” Mine gasped.

“Oh shit,” Addai blushed. "I'll have to take her in the shadows and be discreet,” he decided.

... but the spell failed, and so his intentions.