Hazebloom Celebration - Beautiful Bloom

Now that everything with Mercy and the church of sulfur was squared away, it was time to go make it for the blooming of the hazeblooms. All three buns headed for the casino and bar. Nixie eyed Jackal, looking at her horns. They were unique to anything they had ever seen. Very pretty, but almost like a Freign’s antlers. Envy, Mercy had said, is what causes those horns. Nixie wondered if Jackal was envious of anything else, or if her envy had died down since getting help at the church. 

Jackal saw Nixie eyeing them. “Something you need?” She asked with a tough tone. She had softened a little since Nixie had accidentally hit them with the net, but she still was cautious and had her walls up. 

“Nothing, just checking you out.” Nixie replied, seeing if they could get a reaction from Jackal. “Your horns are very cute.” Nixie added. Jackal harrumphed and looked away. Whether it was embarrassment or anger, Nixie couldn’t tell. Either way, they got a reaction from Jackal, and that was their goal. They liked Jackal. She had a cool aura about her. They would have to remember to invite them to the church sometime, although remember to tell them about Oleander and his ‘hands on’ approach to preaching. 

About this time, they had reached the garden of hazeblooms. The daytime bioluminescence hadn’t quite started glowing yet. It would be a few minutes still. This was a perfect chance for all of the buns to sit and chat. The Hazebloom Seeds were still buds. There was a strange sound coming from around the garden though. Nixie couldn’t place it. It was kinda like a buzz though. A really low hum of a buzz. 

“So.” Jackal had started to talk before trailing off. Both Hops and Nixie turned to her quickly. This was the first time she had started a conversation, if you could consider a single word the start. “About your horns. Mercy said that our horns were because of envy. What are your horns for?” She asked. 

Nixie beamed. “My horns are pride. Im very proud of myself physically. Not many buns have a body type like mine, so its easy to be proud of!” Nixie showed off their belly, which was larger than most dolls or buns, and their markings, which he thought were quite unique. Not to say all the buns didn’t have unique markings, but they though that they had extra special markings, and were quite proud of them. Not to mention the simple amount of time he takes in the morning brushing his fur to make it extra smooth and silky. On top of all this, since drinking the glowjitos they became fond of, their eyes, cheeks, and parts of the markings had started to glow. They put their hands on their hips and stood up straight with a big smile. 

Hops looked kindly at Jackal, still feeling bad about the whole stakeout situation. “My horns are gluttony. I like to drink. A lot. So working in the rabbit hole is kinda a dream come true.” Hops had said. This was true despite the fact that they were working it involuntarily. 

“Hmm… thanks for the information. I’m just curious about this whole city living.” Jackal responded to the information both of the buns had given. 

“Its time!” Hops said excitedly. Her eyes were large and sparkling in the bioluminescence of the coming day. As it lit up, the buds started to open. The beautiful purple bulb opened to show a bright blue center, with leaves the color of the bud. They were beautiful to say the least. The air started to get hazy as the hazeblooms had started sprouting. “This must be where their name comes from.” Nixie said to himself, low under his breath. This was the first time he  had seen the hazeblooms blooming. Thinking back, this was his first time in the city during the Hazebloom Harvest. 

As the haze filled the air, Nixie could feel their head start to swim and get dizzy. This must be the intoxicating effect of the flowers. They looked around for a mask or something to cover up their mouth, so they could enjoy the blooms more. Hops had three rags, thankfully, and handed one each to Nixie and Jackal. All three buns stood there, covering their mouths and enjoying the hazeblooms. The buzzing sound that had been low had started to grow louder.  

All of a sudden, all the bushes around the flowers started to shake, as a bunch of imps poured through the garden. Nixie wasn’t sure what type of imp this was, but whatever it was, it sure liked hazeblooms. At that time, Hutch happened to walk buy. His eyes lit up as he caught sight of the imps parading through the garden. “Little wings, stripes, around hazeblooms!” Hutch was practically vibrating with excitement. “These are Bimbles! They only come out when the Hazebloom Harvest is going on. Its rare to see them, especially in such numbers.” Hutch had to sit down for a second to catch his breath. 

“Bimbles, huh?”Nixie said aloud. “They’re kinda cute. I wouldn’t mind having one for a pet.”

“They are very easy to tame, and quite friendly.” Hutch threw in. 

As they were talking, Nixie was walking toward the group of bimbles. They came to the closest one and bent down near the flowers. A little bimble came floating over, seeds dropping from it from where it was in the flowers. Nixie put a hand out and waited for it to come closer. The bimble approached slowly, and started buzzing around Nixie’s hand, as if smelling it like an animal would. It floated up Nixie’s arm and hovered around their head for a short time before landing on their shoulder. Nixie giggled and pet the imp. 

It was clear this imp wanted to be with Nixie, so Nixie had decided to keep it. Although they didn’t have a name for it at the moment. Resting on Nixie’s shoulder, there was an eerie semblance to the color of the glowing marks on Nixie, and their glowing eyes, and the glowing eyes of the bimble. “It was fated. All hail Murmur.” Nixie said, chuckling. He knew it wasn’t fate, and was just coincidence, but he was thankful nonetheless. Nixie had been looking at getting an imp ever since helping Hutch capture the lunell and doing some knowledge training with the imps. 

Jackal and Hops both came near Nixie to see the bimble up close. The two swooned over it, as Hutch stood back, wanting to check it out, but kinda shy near everyone. “Come on over Hutch, check it out up close.” Nixie said, loud enough for Hutch to hear. Hutch looked started, but their curiosity got the better of them as they went over to Nixie and the group anyway. They all crowded around, looking at, listening to, and touching the bimble. It didn’t seem to mind the attention at all. 

As all four enjoyed the hazeblooms, the bimbles eventually filtered back out, and the haze slowly dissipated. “Anyone want to come in for some hazebloom cocktails?” Hops offered, walking up and taking some hazebloom flowers for the cocktails. Everyone nodding in agreement and went into the bar, eager to try the drink that they fought so hard to make happen.