Tea Delivery

Ascending once again up the elevator to the Heavenly Embassy, Zepp was quite nervous, not having Dove to help guide him this time. Primrose required his presence "urgently", so he didn't have the time to locate his cherubun friend. Had he fucked up the seedlings he was supposed to take care of? A portion of the blessed plants and flowers, now dead or diseased, no longer able to be regrown and used? He paced back and forward in the gold and marble box, until it chimed, reaching his destination. 

It took some time for him to find the cherubun, who was in one of the smaller greenhouses, tending to the tea plants growing inside.

“Took you long enough to arrive.” His lip was curled in disdain, but he didn't even glance in the direction of the pride bun, eyes still locked on the plants he was caring for. 

“Uh, shit, what did you need me for? Did I screw the flowers up? Everything completely fucked? I'm sorry, I don't know what I can do but I'll-” Primrose raised a palm, silencing the flustered succubun. 

“No… while your techniques were quite unrefined, the plants will grow without much issue. Harvesting them will require more care, as their roots will most likely weave together more than they usually would, but they will suffice.” He turned, finally bringing his gaze to meet Zepp's. “No, I have a package I need to be delivered to Dove. He picked up a parcel carefully wrapped in brown paper, tied off with twine. “It needs to be dropped off to them as soon as possible, the leaves do not stay fresh long, something about the air in Burrowgatory seems to taint them. They will be able to store them once they have them.”

“Uh, what are they?”

The angelic bun held back a sigh, rolling his eyes and beckoned to the contents of the greenhouse around him. Zepp just stared back blankly. 

“Tea leaves.”

“Tea grows here though, I thought?”

“It does, but it is not nearly as rich as that from the Heavenly Meadows. It's passable, but why settle for its inferiority when there is no reason to.”

“Yeah I guess… I'll get them delivered, no worries!” He practically tore the package from Primrose’s grasp, gave a salute, and darted back out of the greenhouse, back towards the elevator. It was only as he stood inside waiting in for the marble box to descend that the cherubuns' sense of urgency fully dawned on him. How was he going to get there quick enough to prevent them from decaying? Dove and Jackal's shared apartment was on the other side of the city, and at this time, as the lights of the crystals above were just beginning to dim, was the busiest the streets would typically be. 

The second the door opened, he immediately began sprinting back towards the bustling busy streets, determined not to let Primrose, or Dove, down. The streets were hectic, filled with buns and dolls, some traveling to their place of work or home, to one of the many bars and nightclubs, some stumbling, barely able to stay on their feet, clearly after a couple too many drinks. This was going to be difficult, especially if some of his fans recognised him… While usually he absolutely adored the attention he got from buns who loved his music, right now he didn't have the time to interact with them. It took some effort to get his curled horns through the holes, but he pulled his hood up to at least try and somewhat hide his identity. Head down low, he began his trek through the crowds to the other side of the city. 

Evening light turned to darkness. He got most of the way without any issues, until he was going past the entrance of a bar. He didn't particularly recognise anyone in the group sitting outside, but they seemed to light up once they noticed him. 

“Oi, yo, Zepp? Could I get a photo and buy ya a drink or something?”

“Oh I'd love to, but I've got errands to-”

“Hey, could we get another round! Add one extra to that!”

Not really seeing a way he could refuse, he agreed to join the party for one round. What was supposed to just be one round became a half dozen, and the night faded into dawn. The glint of morning light on one of the glasses caught his attention, reminding him of his task. “Shit… shit…” He downed the rest of his pint, shoved his chair back, getting up, panicked. “It was nice but fuck I've places to be, thanks for the drinks! Uh, later?” Without waiting for a response, he picked up the package, got up and began stumbling in the direction of the apartment.

Finally, several hours after leaving the Embassy, he arrived at his destination, finding himself just outside of the building. Too impatient to wait for the elevator, he sprinted himself up the stairwell, almost tripping up a few times, until finally the apartment doorway. Panting, he began hammering against the door, until a soft voice chimed “One moment!” Soon, the door opened, Dove standing in the doorway. 

“Oh, good morning Zepp! Jackal's still asleep, but come in. How are you? Oh are you alright?” Their friendly expression turned to one of concern once they noticed his shortness of breath. “Here, sit down, please.”

“No, I'm fine, I'm fine… just ran up the stairs, uh, shit…” He held the package out to them. “Primrose sent me with them… Sorry they were harvested yesterday afternoon… Got distracted… if they're fucked I'll… do whatever I can to make it up to you…” They took it, and wrapped their arm around him as support, helping him to the couch. “It's okay, calm down, I'll make you some tea.” They disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, returning with two cups and a pot of tea. They sat down next to him, saying “Here, deep breaths, take a drink, it should help.” He followed their instructions, and though it took some time, he regained himself. “What happened?”

He explained himself, the delivery of tea leaves from Primrose, getting caught up and distracted in the city, and how worried he was to have failed the two of them, delivering a tainted package. They patted his shoulder, comforting him. “Hey, don't worry. The tea leaves should be fine, it takes a lot longer than you're thinking for them to start to spoil. Primrose was possibly overestimating the influence of the environment, I haven't had these issues. Here, once you finish that cup, I'll make a pot using the leaves you brought and show you.”

He accepted their offer, and waited on the sofa for Dove to return with the second pot of tea.