Pursuit of Diligence: Chapter 5 | A Blooming Harvest

Time sure had a way of just flying by, didn’t it?

It really didn’t feel like it was all that long ago that Mynte started this little journey, this ‘pursuit,’ of his… That he took his first steps into the Heavenly Embassy, and even braved asking if he could be of any help when it came to the gardening aspects of cherubun culture. Mostly out of curiousity about how gardening differed from succubun, as well as the different kinds of things that grew here that simply could not back on Burrowgatory soil.

Talking to Primrose was… difficult, but talking to pretty much any bun tended to be rather difficult for the socially shy and awkward sloth bun in the first place. However, Mynte did over time learn that while yes, Primrose was… quite the cherubun. He also wasn’t that difficult to be around… providing you didn’t try to cause any trouble.

And boy had Mynte seen how other succubun tended to behave while not just in the gardens, but the embassy itself as a whole. Not that every succubun that entered the embassy or ended up helping in the garden were… something. If anything it was equally interesting seeing how some cherubun seemed to be their own kind of… problem, putting it nicely. Just…

The sloth bun did not envy the position Primrose seemed to be in. So many different personalities, cherubun and succubun alike, and Primrose did his best to deal with it all.

Mynte… could never.

Still, general socializing stressors aside, the sloth bun did tend to find plenty of enjoyment… mostly from observing interactions from a distance, or simply keeping himself busy with gardening. You know; the whole reason he came here in the first place?

Not that making sure to follow Primrose’s instructions and keeping to himself was all Mynte did in his time up in the embassy… surprisingly enough, actually. 

Delivering tea leaves and coffee beans to cherubun? Not something that Mynte thought would be part of the gardening experience, but they really weren’t complaining about that. It had been kind of scary, but the hermit did actually kind of enjoy talking to Dove a little bit while sipping on tea. They’d even gotten invited to drink tea again some other time, which Mynte hadn’t gotten around to honouring yet, but they… still wanted to try. Maybe. Probably.

Eventually.

It also seemed to turn into a bit of a habit for Mynte to grab a coffee, and sometimes even a baked good, from Paradise Cafe before heading back home for the day. Not every visit, but often enough since delivering those coffee beans not too long ago…

And also often enough that Beanny seemed to have a pretty good beat on what Mynte tended to order. Sometimes all the hermit did was step in before hearing her call out, “S’that an Angora au Lait to go?”

And she usually wasn’t wrong. 

Usually.

Things had certainly gotten more eventful, more full over the course of a couple of weeks, but despite all of that Mynte hadn’t forgotten the main reason he made the trek to the embassy on a regular basis. And he was pretty curious what today would bring.

There were many parts of gardening that Mynte enjoyed that it was impossible to pick just one thing he loved the most, but maybe kind of secretly pretty high on that ‘impossible’ list? Finally getting the chance to harvest what he’d worked so hard over however many weeks to grow. There was a certain, strange kind of sadness to it, but the sloth bun tended to choose not to dwell on that feeling.

After all, harvesting was just another part of the gardening journey. And while he’d gotten the feeling that the ambrosia flowers were pretty close to that point, Primrose never said anything about it being time to get to harvesting, so Mynte simply… trusted the cherubun. Observed. And waited.

Any day now…

Or well rather, today seemed to finally be that day, actually!

“Oh good, you’re here!” Primrose commented upon seeing Mynte. The way the cherubun seemed to glance past the sloth bun, as if checking to see if they were alone or not… It gave Mynte the feeling that the cherubun was leaving a sentence out when the following words out of the blond buns mouth was, “And you’re alone this time!”

Curious… especially considering Mynte wasn’t truly alone, considering Beebee and Thyme were by his side per usual, but the hermit wouldn’t question it. They… had a feeling they knew what that was about, and that reaction was… Fair. “It’s time to harvest the ambrosia flowers. Come on. Let me show you how that’s done.”

…it was always such a strange feeling to Mynte, being told how to garden. Still, Mynte knew a lot about various plants and knew how to handle them, but ambrosia flowers? Nothing the sloth bun had ever dealt with before, so it would only be wise to follow the instructions of someone clearly more experienced in the matter. Especially with something that seemed to be so… so precious to them.

For a moment, Mynte was a little awe-stunned at the sight of the ambrosia flowers in full, peak bloom. It was subtle, but compared to the last time Mynte saw them, which couldn’t have been more than a day or two ago? Yeah…

They were ready now.

Crouching near Primrose, Mynte listened and observed carefully as the cherubun explained, and showed, the process of harvesting the flowers. It… really wasn’t that different from how one would harvest such a plant, but the way Primrose exhibited the utmost care in harvesting these flowers…

Well, it wasn’t like Mynte had plans about being reckless about it.

More than anything though, the hermit enjoyed the little bit of extra explanations that Primrose gave about what part of the flowers were used for what. Leaves and stems for medicinal ambrosia, petals for beverages, and the nectar itself to brew into a special kind of concoction that could affect a cherubun’s physical form… Mynte would be lying if he said he wasn’t particularly curious about that last part, but really…

The sloth bun would actually love to learn how to make… all of that, really. The medicine, the beverage, the brew…

One thing at a time, though.

Primrose had shown them how to harvest the flowers, and so now it was their turn to do the same. It… was a little nerve wracking, what with the way Primrose seemed to stare at them. Making sure they did it right… and ready to jump in in case they messed it up somehow.

Thankfully, there was no messing up to be had as Mynte harvested his very first ambrosia flower with the practiced ease of an experienced gardener. They’d be a little offended at the way Primrose seemed to let out a breath of relief if not… fair.

“You wouldn’t believe how many succubun and cherubun alike can’t seem to manage this part…” Primrose muttered beneath his breath. Not really talking to anyone in particular as he said that. Then, directed at Mynte, “Good job, Mynte. Think you can handle the rest on your own?” he asked.

And, well… what kind of hermit would Mynte be if he couldn’t handle as much? Mynte simply nodded in response to the question before turning to work on the rest of the flowers. After all, there was a whole plot of ambrosia flowers that required harvesting, and the flowers wouldn’t do that themselves!

After watching Mynte successfully harvest a couple more of the ambrosia flowers Primrose finally seemed to trust the sloth bun enough to leave the task to them and them alone. Saying something about needing to attend to something else, but that he’d be right back in a bit to see how things were going before leaving, which… Was kind of a relief, honestly.

Now, with Primrose finally gone, Mynte could finally let himself relax and really, truly enjoy one of his favourite parts of gardening.

The calming, repetitive rhythm of the harvest.