prompt - pursuit of diligence 02

PROMPT - PURSUIT OF DILIGENCE: CHAPTER 02

Succubun - MYO-4927, Aysel + mention of others owned by me
Cherubun - NPC, Primrose + NPC, Dove

“And I really can’t just do it later, maybe? Like… tomorrow?”

“No, Aysel. You’ve made a deal, you’ve got to follow through, and today is the day you will be following through.”

Aysel turned to Will, who had delivered him before the doorsteps of the Heavenly Embassy for his second sort-of-not-quite-volunteer task. For some reason, this one sounded a lot more daunting than tending to the seeds and flowers: he had to deliver tea leaves to a cherubun living out in Burrowgatory. And honestly, he found it a bit of a silly task, too; he was willing to bet there were dozens of perfectly good convenience stores around, and they most certainly sold tea, too! Why would you want tea specifically from a place like this?

Aysel furrowed his eyebrows, plucking his checkered cardigan out of Will’s bag to put on. Wait a minute… Maybe “tea” was another word for ambrosia here. Because, uh, this was first and foremost an ambrosia place for the little angel guys, wasn't it?

“You know, I was going to go out with friends."

Will smiled knowingly. “No, you weren’t.”

“But I was! They were going to come over and—” Aysel sighed when Will interrupted him with a little head pat.

“—So, you were not going to go out,” the brunette said. “When were they supposed to come?”

“Uhh… tonight… after dinner, maybe…”

“.. And it’s ten in the morning right now, fluffy. You’ve got plenty of time to do some work here.”

“Well, yeah, but—uuugh, okay.” Fine then! To be entirely fair, Aysel did suppose he felt kind of good about finishing a big task last time—and maybe if he played his cards right, he could have a little taste of that infamous ambrosia now he would see it up close and personal. He bid Will goodbye for the day after making him sincerely promise that he would not forget about him later, and headed into the Embassy.

“Ah! Aysel. You’re here, splendid.” As expected, Primrose was the one to receive him, back straight and chin raised. He was holding onto a little white-and-gold tea box, and Aysel clutched onto the strap of the fluffy bag he’d brought. The cherubun swiftly approached him, his steps brisk and, seemingly, always crossing the same amount of distance.

Aysel could not walk like that if he tried.

“So—As you may or may not know, our gardens grow all kinds of rather special plants from the Heavenly Meadow, and a friend of mine should like to have a refill on their goodies in question.”

“Uh-huh. You told me that, over the phone, and-”

“Don’t interrupt me. Anyhow, I would like you to deliver these tea leaves to them.” Primrose curtly held out the box.

Ah, surely he meant the ambrosia! “Riiiight,” Aysel said, nodding wisely. He shot Primrose a sleepy smile, trying not to come across as too knowing. “ ‘Tea leaves’. Umm, okay, so, can you put the box in here, please?”

A tad confused by his tone, which, honestly, sounded so suspicious he may as well have added the cheesiest wink ever, Primrose tucked the box safely into the bottom folds of the bag. “Erm, well then,” the blonde said, eyebrows raised. “Do make haste; however, there is no need to report back. Thank you for your time, and… I suppose some gratitude for your willingness to forsake your slumber for this task is in order as well.”

Aysel felt like there might be a bit of a jab at his horn type in there, but it was alright, he normally wouldn’t have expected himself to show up either. He was handed a note with an address as well, and was pretty much left to his own devices then.

Dangit, he should’ve asked Will to wait.

The address did not seem to be too far, but for Aysel and his usual bag princess endeavors, it was a hefty trek all the same. He kept pressing on for the sake of that happy, accomplished feeling that got him through his previous volunteer task, and possibly getting his hands on ambrosia, but—dangit, a pair of wheels would be great right about now!

When he reached the place on the note, Aysel was about ready to crash and not wake up for a week (okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but, you know) and he yawned exuberantly. Alright, time to deliver the goods! He made his presence known with a soft knock on the nearest window and tried to look awake enough, not wanting to give the Heavenly Embassy a bad rap… or something.

A short cherubun with snow white hair opened the door, already smiling kindly at him before either of them had even said a word. “Good morning!” they chirped, the pleasant lilt in their voice betraying a keen singing ability. “Oh, I take it that you are the one bringing me the Embassy tea?”

Riiight, “tea”! Smiling sheepishly, Aysel nodded and held up his bag. “I’ve got it right here, umm, wait…” It was a bit of a struggle to dig up the box, but the cherubun was quick to notice, their pale hands clasping onto his bag to help. The tea box switched owners, and they looked all too happy with their new stock, their face glowing with delight.

Aysel saw his chance when the cherubun didn’t immediately tell him to have a good day and slam the door in his face. “Could I… maybe… have some of that?” he asked meekly.

“Oh, of course! Come in, come in, I reckon you deserve a little reward for getting me this delectable treat. My name is Dove, by the way—who are you?”

“Aysel…” He stepped into the cozy home, following at Dove’s beckoning. They had him sit right at their dinner table, as if he belonged there, and scurried off.

Whilst he waited, Aysel fidgeted with his fingers; just as he had hoped, he was beginning to feel really nice. It was not the same kind of rewarding sensation he got from helping out in the garden, but it was significant to him nonetheless. Something like… being invited for dinner by a friend, with the added bonus of having done something nice for them beforehand.

He wasn’t shy about doing nice things for people when he got the chance (and when it didn’t feel like a task he had to do right this instant or else), not at all! He would just… rarely actually get the chance, given his penchant to stay inside all day. So this felt good.

Aysel perked up when Dove trotted back inside with an entire tea set in their hands. They placed the tray holding everything on the table, and set the tea box by its side. With effortless elegance, they poured Aysel a steaming hot cup, which they placed before him. “One cup of fresh Embassy tea,” they said joyfully. “Please, enjoy. There truly is no better tea than this, if you ask me.”

Yeah, “tea”!

Hm. Actually, it did look like perfectly ordinary tea. Aysel cocked his head to the side in surprise, leaning in to sniff a whiff. As someone who had never seen ambrosia before, let alone smelled it, he didn’t know what to expect, but this really just smelled like… well, tea.

When Dove’s back was turned to him to pour themselves a cup as well, the succubun took a quick peek into the box and—yep, those were most certainly tea leaves. Oh… so it was actually just tea.

Aw, man! No taste of ambrosia for Aysel, but at least he got to relish that nice, accomplished feeling once more. This really did not end up feeling that task-y, either.

He stayed until well into the afternoon, sipping tea and eating Dove’s home-made biscuits. By the time the visit ended, his task completed, well… he was honestly almost looking forward to next week! Almost!