[Gift] The 11th Hour | Cinnamon

The mug of cocoa cooling on the counter would not have ordinarily caught Persephone’s eye. Chocolate, by the time it was made into cocoa, was too inorganic. It didn’t taste of the bitter cocoa plant, not the way that herbal teas often recalled their roots with extreme clarity.

And one could forget any silly dairy additives like scoops of cream, a pat of butter, or a splash of milk. Such things were not for her!

However, there was a conspicuous curl of cinnamon poking out of the ceramic mug. Persephone sidled closer, took a deep breath, and felt the tinge of spice at the back of her throat. She licked her lips in anticipation, wondering how quickly she could consume every last part of cinnamon stick.

There were steps, harsh. Persephone looked at the stick of cinnamon, made a series of quick calculations, and leaped into the air, just grabbing the end of it when she heard someone yell, “Hey! Off!”

Persephone, generally inclined to be generous and forgiving, lost all goodwill at being ordered like a dog.

She flew up with her prize and stuffed the end of it in her mouth, ensuring that the meddlesome human wouldn’t even want it back if they could wrest it from her, and she took off, zipping out of the kitchen with wicked speed, landing hard in some quiet space where she could break off pieces of cinnamon until she’d safely consumed the entire stick, even the bits that had been dipped in cocoa.