Gardening in the Embassy

Citron fidgeted, swaying back and forth in the elevator. Once again she cursed that the Embassy floated so high up above Burrowgatory. Surely it wouldn't have been a problem to put it lower down... or just set it on the ground altogether. But it's not like Citron knew what went on in Melangel's mind, and for all she knew the height could actually be necessary for the cultivation of ambrosia.

Marshmallow and Fluff squealed in excitement as she swung her bag particularly high up, the two Phloofs having snuck in at some point when she was leaving her burrow and by the time she'd noticed it wouldn't have been worth it returning home to drop them off, so she just brought them along and hoped Primrose wouldn't mind their presence. She'd actually never gotten the cherubun's opinion on imps, but it definitely wouldn't be possible to hide the two troublemakers from him, so she supposed she would find out soon.

The soft chiming of a bell told her that the elevator had reached it's destination, Cici straightening her posture and stepping out once the door slid open. The golden entrance hall was as clean as always, not a single speck of dust in the vicinity. Cici situated herself close to the wall and out of the way to wait for Primrose, having gotten last the last time the cherubun hadn't been around to guide her through the Embassy.

As she waited, she played with Marshmallow and Fluff, the two of them happy to be tossed around and juggled. She wasn't sure what it was about being grabbed and flung that made them squeal and chirp in delight, but once she'd gotten over the fear of accidentally catapulting them into a wall it was fun for her as well. It was almost like playing fetch, but with another imp instead of a ball.

Eventually a door was pushed open and Primrose strode through, pausing at the sight of Citron juggling two chirping puffballs. Using a kind of straight-laced confidence she had practiced and perfected at this point, she kept eye contact and acted as if she had completely meant for him to see her doing this rather than her just not having noticed him in time to stop and look more professional, throwing and catching the Phloofs a few more times before bringing them up to rest on her shoulders and speaking, "Good afternoon, Primrose. I hope you are doing well?"

The regally dressed bun cleared his throat and smoothed out some of the ruffles on his shirt, answering as he gestured in her direction, "Yes, thank you. And these are...?"

"Marshmallow and Fluff, my imps. They snuck into my bag and I didn't notice until I was already in the elevator" That was a lie, she noticed when she got out of the car just outside the elevator. But she felt it would be more sympathetic to say she didn't a choice in bringing them up here.

Primrose hummed, but didn't spare the chittering Phloofs more than a glance before turning on his heel to go back through the doorway he'd entered from. "Very well. Follow me"

Used to his attitude by now, Cici did as told and trailed after him, hooves clinking against the tiled flooring. She was dressed differently than she usually was, having worn something appropriate for gardening but not "shabby and too showing" as Primrose had put it when inviting her to help with tending to the gardens. A nice pair of brown overalls over the top of a short sleeved buttoned shirt had been the outfit she chose, and that seemed to be good enough for the judgemental head of the Heavenly Embassy.

Stepping into one of the greenhouses, Primrose stopped in front of an empty flower bed. "This is where you will be planting the seeds. I will be guiding you, of course, as the plants are delicate and must be planted properly as to ensure the plant grows properly, as well as keep the perfect aesthetic of the gardens. I've already prepared the seeds for you-" he handed Citron a bag of small glowing seeds "-and can get you gloves if you wish, and I suppose I could fetch a trowel though the soil is soft enough to be moved by hand. Any questions before we begin?"

Citron thought for a moment, but didn't think she had anything she needed to know that she wouldn't be told in a moment anyway. "Nah, I'm ready. Don't think I'll need a shovel or anything"

Primrose gave a sharp nod, moving out of the way to sit on the fanciest folding chair Cici had ever seen. It matched the rest of the Embassy- golden supports with white cloth to sit on. Surely that must be a pain to clean. Either way the inconvenience of the furniture wasn't her problem, so she knelt by the flowerbed to feel the soil, which true to Primrose's word was incredibly soft and surprisingly pleasant to the touch.

"The seeds must all be precisely eleven and three quarter inches apart, to make sure their leaves do not overlap and prevent each other from absorbing light once they're grown. Here's a ruler to make sure you can follow those guidelines properly"

Citron still wondered how he seemed to procure whatever he needed from thin air, as he had no pockets and certainly didn't carry a bag, but she wasn't sure how to ask about it, so she just took the tool without complaint and started measuring out where she'd need to plant the seeds, still paying attention to Marshmallow and Fluff to make sure the two of them don't cause any trouble as they bounce around the greenhouse, having so far stuck to the stone paths.

She marked out where the seeds had to go, also making sure the small holes she made were deep enough, "ideally you should plant them two inches down- about the size of your thumb", it was a simple task, mostly just repetitive rather than anything actually requiring too much effort.

She was mostly surprised at how well behaved her imps were being as she carefully inserted the seeds into the holes she'd poked in the dirt, covering them back up with the unusual dirt. It could be that they were somehow aware of how important the plants around them were, or were just intimidated by Primrose, who flared at them whenever they got too close to the edges of the path.

It wasn't too long before the flowerbed had three rows of seeds planted and watered, Primrose having briefly gotten up at one point to fetch a watering can, taking the ruler to measure for himself if everything had been planted correctly before watering the flowerbed himself and turning to Citron once that was done.

"Well... you did an adequate job. And the imps didn't disturb anything, so... I suppose you are free to bring them up here if you wish provided they continue behaving. And I will always appreciate any help around the Embassy"

"Aww, thank you. And I'm not sure if I will bring them again, but the approval is nice"

The cherubun just nodded tersely, kicking his feet a couple times against the pathway to shake off any loose dirt from the bottoms of his shoes, waiting for Cici to do the same with her hooves before leading her back out to the entrance hall.

When she got home, Cici got hit by a wave of exhaustion, barely able to take a shower and get on a tank top and boxers before collapsing on her bed and passing out, feeling her Phloofs snuggling up to her.