Holding a Candle to the Sun

The Heavenly Embassy was bumbling with unique and foreign sights. This first year in Burrowgatory had taught the Cherubuns many things that were inconceivable before their descent from the Meadow, and the most recent holiday to discover was known as All Sinner's Day. This was fascinating, watching Succubun indulging in their vices and enjoying their eternal life. This behaviour frightened and confused many Cherubun, while invigorating others to join in as much as they could with the debaucherous activities. Parties, costumes, decoration. But while most were awestruck by the event, one Cherubun stayed far away from the disgraceful and improper behaviour that the Succubun were infecting on their fellow children of Melangel.

Primrose spent their day in the gardens. The tables scattered across the grounds were placed central to the greenhouses, set up to properly enjoy the muted fall colours and the subtle earthy smells of the seasons ambrosia. This was the only place untouched by the sinful design of the All Sinner's Day crowd, and a peaceful reprieve from all the obnoxious Succubuns that preyed upon the curiosities of the embassy. Here, he could simply ignore it. 

A soft scuttle in the grass behind him perked Primrose's ear. He gently placed his teacup down on the table before gracefully standing and turning to face his company. "Hello there, how can I-" he paused briefly, his lips twisted into a confused and almost disgusted sneer before he fully recognized who the Succubun before him was. "Ah. It's only you. Welcome back Icarus. What have you got there?" 

Icarus had gotten into the gardens with fairly little effort. While most of the time a Cherubun would have to escort a Succubun through the gardens, as to make sure they didn't try to poison the ambrosia, the duty of overseer was placed solely upon Primrose for the time being while the rest of the embassy 'played dress up with the demon spawn' as he put it. Icarus stood quietly by, a small red candle held between their hooves. They raised the dim beacon to Primrose, offering the Sinner's Day staple of natural candle light. 

While Primrose hated anything to do with the overall culture that Succubun had developed, not all of their traditions were too heinous. Candles were much more sustainable than filament bulbs that dimmed and faded into a waste product by their end. Candle wax could be reincorporated into a new mold for further reuse. A small victory, even if it's just a pipedream to assume these sinners would know how to recycle. "A candle? I know that you would usually light these to welcome demons to Burrowgatory. But I don't believe it will have any effect here, this place is far from welcoming to any demon." He reached down, gently plucking the candle from Icarus and placing it on a small collection dish at the center of the table. "Would you like to sit with me while I enjoy my evening tea?"

Icarus nodded slowly, moving to a chair adjacent to the one Primrose was sitting in. With a helpful lift to the seat, Icarus settled into the chair and began shuffling through their index cards. Primrose went back to sipping his tea, keenly watching the bun pluck one of the special golden cards they'd developed. 'I like fire'

Primrose remembered that one. A curious interest, perhaps a symptom of Pyromania. But still the mute bun had always seemed harmless otherwise, so he'd just taken the card at face value just like the rest of their interactions. "Hmm. So you must love this time of year then, so many candles and tiny fires littering the streets. I could assume it's a very pretty sight in the darkened areas. Your kind have developed a very gothic and labyrinthian city system, I could imagine some would find the atmosphere delightful and even somewhat frightening. Not that I would know." He took another long sip of the tea. 

Icarus shuffled through the cards again. Pulling out a few different options before settling on three. 'Do you' ’Like' ’Burrowgatory' Primrose read over the cards, and shook his head quickly. "It's too much. Sex shops, liquor stores, clubs and casinos littering every street corner and back alley. I'd be worried about catching a second hand buzz just by walking by one of your many drug dens." Icarus cocked their head to the side, unscrambling their thoughts before looking back to the index cards. 'Succubun' 'Scared' 'Too’

Primrose read over the cards several times. The words crossed his vision over and over as he tried to reason the meaning of them. "Wait. I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean that you're scared too?" Icarus looked down through the cards. They placed down four cards in a pyramid shape. 'Too much' was placed at the top. Below read. ’Noise' 'People' 'Party' This made Primrose think deeply once more. He could swear, every conversation with this specific bun made him question exactly what made their kind so different. They could clearly think with the same compassion and hold the same guilt. Why wouldn't they too fear the same sinful vices that Cherubuns do. It wasn't a stretch to say that the complexity of the individual could make even a creature born in demonic image into a virtuous and proper being. 

"Perhaps... I misjudged. I'm sure it isn't every street corner. But still, I'd rather avoid going down there as much as I can for my sake. Lest I actually get tainted by the filth of those that live faithlessly." Primrose crossed his legs, pondering on the holiday and his own home. "You know. I don't think you lot know too much about the world above. About anything above the burrows. In the Meadow. The clouds and sky. The sunlight. You would have loved the sunlight."

Icarus made a soft squeak as their face turned in a look of confusion. Their card shuffling was dense as they failed to come up with the proper words, perhaps they didn't have the cards necessary to ask because they never knew they needed them. 'Explain' Primrose read the card, and paired with the pained expression of frustration on Icarus face he couldn't help himself but laugh. "It's okay, calm down. I'll explain what I mean. Think of it like this, you are here in the dirt and rock that confines this place. Above the crust, the upper atmosphere is covered in a thicket of cloud that allows for rain and snow on the lands below, and above even that is the sun. A massive ball of fiery gasses that is perfectly self-sustaining for many millennia. It's warmth is radiant and everlasting through every hardship. No matter the weather, the sun will keep shining on. Eternal and magnificent." Primrose felt pride in his monologue. He was fond of the time he spent in the Heavenly Meadow, and things like this made him long for home even more. When he looked back to Icarus, there was a look on their face that took him by complete surprise. Awestruck bewilderment, Icarus was mystified by the prospect of such a beautiful sight. The expression they made left them wide-eyed and their mouth agape. Primrose had never seen such emotion on their face in all of their encounters.

Looking back to the candle, Primrose couldn't help but smile. Perhaps the love of fire was a bit strange, but he could understand the beauty of such warmth and brilliance. Things like this were the closest that he would ever get to seeing the sun again, small victories. "You know. There are some things I like about Burrowgatory. While I don't condone the things your kind allows, I do think you have... Interesting fashion." A shade of red covered Primrose's cheeks as he admitted this, Icarus barely noticed at first, still pondering what a sun would look like. But the blush that the Cherubun couldn't contain was obvious. Shuffling through the cards again, Icarus slid forward one card that Primrose had definitely not helped them write. 

'Kinky'