[Comm] Diligence: Chapter 5

Through the quiet eaves of the greenhouse’s trees, under the warm stretch of light peeking in through the windows, two dolls stood side by side in front of the flowerbeds. 

Dove hummed, pushing back one of their ears, “Feels like they grew so fast, doesn't it?” Although the cherubun couldn’t say for certain, they had only watched after Primrose and saw him acting more frantic than usual for this harvest.

Nutmeg tilted her head, before she gently knelt in the grass and touched one of the velvet soft petals. “I think they did, do you imagine it’s the soil here?”

Dove only smiled, “Maybe it’s the burrows themselves?”

Nutmeg didn’t respond to that as she didn’t want to discourage Dove from thinking highly of her previous home. After all, it just seemed unlikely that heavenly plants could thrive here in the burrows when compared to the meadow.

Dove didn’t seem offended by Nutmeg's question or the implication. Instead, they reached for a pair of shears discarded on the ground. “I think Primrose must have left these here for us.”

It was a relief too,  given the cherubun had only bought a basket to set the flowers in after they were harvested.

“Do you really think so?” Nutmeg replied, smiling so her words were lighthearted. “I suppose it makes sense, but he doesn’t seem the type to forget things.”

Dove scoffed before they blushed slightly and covered their mouth, “That was rude, it’s just... Primrose isn’t perfect. Of course he can forget things.” They did think fondly of Primrose, but his attitude was something that could frustrate even the kindest cherubun. Not that Dove would ever say so, they weren’t in the habit of upsetting other buns.

Nutmeg laughed, “It’s okay! He didn’t hear it, and I’m certainly not going to tell him.” Everyone has complaints about their friends, even lighthearted ones, it hardly makes someone a bad person for speaking about them.

“Thank you,” Dove sighed, handing Nutmeg the shears. “Sometimes it’s hard to understand him, he fell to the burrows like any other of the cherubuns here. It’s time he learned to accept succubuns.”

Nutmeg grabbed the shears and studied the grown flowers in front of her, before she said, “It might not be that easy. There’s a good bit of succubuns that still aren’t sure what to make of cherubuns either, but I'm sure he’ll get there eventually.”

Dove wasn’t so sure of that, but they didn’t want to continue to bring down the mood, so instead they raised their basket high. “I think it’s about time we started harvesting.”

Nutmeg agreed, “Yeah, there’s a lot of flowers and I don’t think either of us want to be here all day.” Although she did appreciate all the plants in the embassy, she almost wished she could take some clippings home.

She took a deep breath before she began to cut flowers off by their stems.

Dove was quick to begin catching the flowers with their basket. “We should also get most of the leaves too, Primrose mentioned wanting to brew some medicinal ambrosia.”

Nutmeg raised an eyebrow, her expression pinched, “Just to have it or-”

“No it’s nothing like that, it’s just good to have some ready in case it’s needed.” And if some cherubuns should find themselves in trouble with any succubuns, but Dove imagined they shouldn’t say that. It sounded almost accusatory and Jackal had warned them at length that they should never accuse the wrong bun or it could end poorly. Dove still couldn't be sure themselves, even with a bun as kind to them as Nutmeg.

Nutmeg nodded, “That makes sense.” She continued to cut off flowers, laughing whenever Dove struggled to keep up.

“You’re going too fast!” Dove pouted, their hair frizzled as they took a moment to breathe, “We have a lot to do and I’m going to get tired too quickly."

Nutmeg tried her best not to snicker, instead she shrugged playfully, “I’m just trying to get the work done since we have a bunch of flowers to collect.” She leaned back on her knees. “You know... it might be easier if I cut off the flowers and some leaves, then the both of us can collect them off the ground together.”

“If we do that, we better not get caught by Primrose or he’ll try to give us an earful on the right way to do this,” Dove warned, already imagining the lecture they’d be given.

“If there’s a right way to do this, then he should do it himself if he’s so worried,” Nutmeg huffed, “They grew out of the dirt and it’s not going to hurt them if they’re on the ground until we pick them up.” She couldn’t understand how a cherubun, that apparently did so much gardening, could complain about plants touching what they grew from.

Dove couldn't argue with that. They knew Primrose’s cleanliness could be over the top, but they agreed. “Let’s do that and then we can just shake off the dirt when we pick them up.” They would be washed off and checked for any impurities before they even touched the pot to be brewed anyway.

Nutmeg grinned, “See, there we go! This will cut all the harvesting in half.” She also could not avoid missing another day of prep work for her café. She was already dreading the amount of things she would have to do to get ready before she could even consider going to bed.

Dove nodded, setting the basket down in the grass, “I’ll start collecting the leaves while you cut the flowers.”

With their plan in motion, the two dolls continued their work. Every few minutes, they stopped and looked at the greenhouse doors; devolving into laughter when Primrose didn’t come to reprimand them.

Nutmeg had to admit, she didn’t find cherubuns to be all that different from succubuns. They seemed a lot more nervous and unsure, but they were like any other bun someone could find down here. 

Maybe helping in the embassy was giving her a new light to cherubuns and the way they are. To work toward a similar goal and be proud of each other when they finish. 

To be friends.