LET'S CELEBRATE: PROMPT

The short, pleasant tinkling chime of the doorbell sounded, signaling the arrival of yet another customer in Cottontail Toys, the newly opened toy store in Burrowsgatory. With encouragement from Velveteen after this year’s Toy Fair, Peter returned to his plush-making roots while collaborating with Velveteen on their fashion lines as a side hustle. In doing so, he shut down Cottontail Couture, his fashion design store in favor of opening Cottontail Toys. Despite being one of the current hot talks of the town, business in the toy store has been a little slower lately, given the upcoming celebrations of All Sinner’s Day, where citizens were encouraged to indulge in their vices to their heart’s content.

Despite the holidays and what his horns indicated, Peter was not deterred from work in favor of lazing around; instead, he was busy channeling his creativity into a series of sketches. A Pampki plush for the imp's enthusiasts and toy collectors for the upcoming harvest month? That was genius! Peter hummed quietly as he tidied his sketch, fully focused on his work until the sound of the door bell snapped him out of his trance. The curious look on his face morphed into one of recognition when he noticed a familiar face - one he hadn’t seen since the Toy Fair last month. He became acquainted with Mckenna a few weeks ago when he encouraged them to try plush sewing, seeing that they were rather nervous and uncomfortable with the crowds. Hiding behind Peter’s booth to learn how to sew a simple plush eased their anxiety at the time. While bonding through plush making, he learned that they live away from Burrowgatory City, which explained their nervousness with crowds. At the end of the event, while both buns left on friendly terms, Peter had not seen them since… until today.

“Hello, Mckenna!” The seamster greeted the brown bun kindly, hopping off his chair to appear from behind his desk, alerting the other to his presence. The uneasy look on their face seemed to melt away instantly upon hearing his voice. Peter might not have realized it, but he did have a calming effect on buns thanks to his gentle tone of voice. Coupled with his warm presence, even distant buns like Velveteen and Mckenna, were drawn to him. “Hi, Peter, I brought you something! Lend a hand, would you?” Mckenna responded with a lighthearted chuckle, uncomfortably shifting the large picnic basket in their arms. Mckenna was in a way the opposite of Velveteen - Peter was certain that he had never seen them in their doll form before.

Mckenna’s mention of a gift caused him to raise his eyebrows inquisitively. He easily picked the basket up and placed it on the counter, immediately shifting back to his bun form after, so he wouldn’t be looming over his visitor. This seemed to ease Mckenna up, their tensed arms dropping slightly. The khaki bun looked over towards the basket curiously, quietly wondering what was in it before Mckenna spoke up again. “I brought you apple pie and some cider. Made the pie this morning with apples from my orchard… still learning how to make cider though.” They explained. “To celebrate All Sinners’ Day.” They added and ruffled their bangs. Peter caught a glimpse of their gray eyes gazing at their feet while they spoke rather shyly. “Well, maybe not just for All Sinners’ Day, but mainly for that. It triples as a thank-you for teaching me how to sew, and congratulations on the new store.” Mckenna chuckled dryly before turning their head away to look around the store. 

“Oh! So that’s what all this is about! That’s so sweet of you to remember me.” Peter chuckled heartily. “I’m sorry you missed the store’s opening, Mckenna, but I know you wouldn’t have been comfortable. There were a lot of buns on opening day.” He said and gave the other bun a pat on the shoulder, in an attempt to cheer them up slightly. Mckenna mentioned they weren't the sort to join celebrations, so it was unsurprising to Peter that they missed it. “I appreciate the understanding, Peter.” The greed bun said, adjusting their collar slightly and returning the smile. After all, his smile was infectious. “Help yourself to the pie, Peter!” They exclaimed, nodding towards the basket. They did not have to ask Peter twice, the promise of homemade apple pie and cider seemed to have summoned his appetite, previously suppressed by his creative process. He had been working hard all morning, he deserved a little sweet treat and a drink. It was All Sinner’s Day after all, he deserved to indulge himself.

Slowly and carefully, Peter removed the contents from the basket, admiring Mckenna's work. Something that he noticed about Mckenna during the Toy Fair was their attention to detail - while not used to sewing, they were meticulous with where they placed their stitches while making that beginner teddy-bun. He was now holding onto a silver pie dish, still warm as if Mckenna brought it here straight out of their oven. Immediately after removing the cover, the smell of baked apple and cinnamon filled the air. The top crust was beautifully baked, and the criss-cross folding of the pastry perfectly done, giving Peter a glimpse of the pie filling inside. He swallowed the saliva that began to collect in his mouth, not wanting to cause an unsightly scene of drooling on top of the pie.

“Mckenna, this looks and smells amazing! I can’t wait to try it, thank you so much for making this pie!” Peter finally turned back to gaze at the farmer bun, offering them a sincere smile. They stuck a hoof into the basket as Peter set down the pie, digging around to retrieve the wooden utensils they packed as well. “Figured you wouldn't have cutlery in the store, so I brought some along with me.” They exclaimed, waving a set around for Peter to take before they took out two plastic wine glasses as well. Taking extra caution, they filled one glass close to the brim with cider, and handed it over to Peter after he had cut a generous serving of apple pie for himself. 

Even though Mckenna insisted that the pie was solely for Peter’s enjoyment, the sloth bun argued that they should have some, too. Ultimately, they relented and the pair ended up sitting on the countertop, away from any of Peter’s ongoing projects or the multiple plush toys that lined the shelves. As delicious as an apple pie-scented plush toy sounded on paper, the idea of dropping bits of dessert on a plush was something neither of them wanted to see happen. The two ate in silence at first, with the occasional compliment from Peter regarding the quality of Mckenna’s apples and their baking skills. If Mckenna were a bit more prideful, they would have puffed up their chest just by hearing such compliments; instead, they occasionally smoothed down the fluff of their ears shyly. It was truly a self-esteem building experience to be around such a humble bun like Peter, though Mckenna would agree that having some vanilla ice cream to go on top of the pie would be a great idea. Soon, the topic of food slowly shifted to a discussion regarding All Sinners’ Day. 

“To tell you the truth…” Mckenna let out a soft hiccup, wiping their mouth with the back of their hoof as they swirled the contents of their drink around in the glass. Next to them, Peter was already helping himself to his third slice of pie. “I usually stay on the farm during All Sinner’s Day. I already told you I don’t like crowded places, and clearly the city gets busier during the holidays.” They grumbled. “Well, it’s the holidays, after all, everyone’s out here indulging in their favorite pleasures!” Peter retorted with a lighthearted chuckle, stabbing the fork into his slice of pie and scooping up a generous bite. “If you think about it, we sort of are right now, just with fewer people.” He said, gesturing to the bun sitting beside him with his fork.

“Well, yeah, most buns flock to the city, along with my part–” Mckenna stopped themself and cleared their throat before continuing. “My farmhand and the other workers would leave for the city, and it’s just me, by myself, on the farm. If it weren’t for Devona’s invitation to her booth at an event tonight, I would be alone at home right now.” They talked about their friend and business partner rather fondly. “I thought it would be great to visit you since I was going to be in the city already. I’m just surprised…” They took a moment to correct themself. “Actually, no, knowing you I would have assumed that you were still at work. Continuing business as usual?”

“I have been seeing a rise in sales lately, thanks to Velveteen just like before when I was designing clothes for them. It gave me a leg up, even after I switched careers.” Peter said, gesturing towards the plushies that surrounded them. Familiar characters and imps turned into their most marketable and cuddliest forms were at the heart of Cottontail Toys. “I’m just blessed that so many take an interest in my work, some of them have even become collectors’ items. Just yesterday, a Greed bun bought out the entire Impup and Loafki plushie stock! They must be really fond of those imps, they were very enthusiastic about their purchase even as they were leaving.” Peter rambled, stuffing another forkful of pie into his mouth before he looked down at his plate. It was now empty, aside from a few crumbs.

He turned his head to look at the pie tin beside him, blue eyes staring at the remaining pastry longingly and wishing to scoop one more slice onto his plate, yet resisting for he was already stuffed. Instead, he turned to look at Mckenna who was still listening to him, still on their first slice and taking their time to eat it.

“You know, you and I are pretty similar, and no, it’s not because we are both fluffy.” The sudden comment caused Mckenna to perk up, tilting their head curiously, which primed Peter to continue speaking. Peter chuckled at the confused look the other angora as giving him before he let out another sigh and continue his thought. “I was thinking about vices and what you said about me working even though it’s All Sinners’ Day. Most sloth buns are rightfully associated with their laziness. You would have assumed that I would be in the back room, comfortably napping my day away. Instead, you found me here, working. I’ll tell you that the constant flow of creativity gives me something to do, not letting my mind wander.” Peter explained. “Meanwhile, as an owner of an established farm, you have so many valuable resources in your hooves, yet you choose to share them with others, for free. Take this pie and cider for example. At the Toy Fair, you could have very well just said ‘thanks’ and gone your separate way, but you went through the trouble to bake me something so delicious. It does show your generosity.”

“I see what you mean.” Mckenna was smiling now as well, having set down their plate in favor of the half-full glass of cider. “I guess the horns on our heads don’t fully determine our vices, or how we choose to act once we grow up. You may grow these horns and still be the most hardworking bun during a holiday meant for you to be lazy.” The brown bun chuckled to themself, clearly becoming more immersed in the debate and starting to feel more comfortable talking. They looked much more relaxed now that they had some food and were now enjoying the conversation more. “Indulging is fun, but we can always express ourselves differently. As long as we enjoy ourselves I think that’s what matters most.” Mckenna replied with another light chuckle. “Even if we are just having pie together, instead of celebrating out there in the city.”

“You know, I think I can get used to one-on-one celebrations, too. This is rather nice.” Peter nodded, turning around to pick up the bottle sitting next to him. He refilled their glasses with fizzy apple cider before turning back to Mckenna, offering them their glass back then holding his own up high. “Happy All Sinners’ Day, Mckenna!” He cheered, waiting for Mckenna to join the toast. “Happy All Sinner’s Day, Peter!” The brown bun replied and happily clinked their glass against his.