Diligence Part 1

“If you’re going to loiter, you may as well make yourself useful.” Those words spoken so haughtily are what lead Rubicon to be shoveling in the dirt that day. Primrose’s voice still rang in the succubun’s ears as just far away enough to avoid getting dirty stood the golden haired cherubun. Rubi endured it as he was short on carats after a failed night of gambling, and the heavenly embassy was the nicest place to hang out that wasn’t after his money.
Rubicon was no stranger to hard work, but digging holes felt tedious. He kept at it for a while until his overseer began to squint at his handiwork. Primrose walked over and pulled out a ruler and placed it between two holes that had been dug. Rubi sweat nervously as he always does when inspection day comes, and the disdain on Prim’s face spoke volumes until his mouth did.
“I said they have to be planted eleven and three quarter inches apart, not eleven and a half inches!” Rose the voice of the cherubun. Rubi nearly dropped his shovel in surprise. How could he have been so careless? Primrose marched over stiffly with ruler in hand, and Rubicon closed his eyes expecting the worst.
A few moments passed with nothing happening, so he unclenched his eyelids and looked over to see Primrose simply handing the ruler over.
“You’ll have to start over, but this will help.” He explained, calmer than Rubi had expected. He was more used to working with hotheads like himself, so this treatment came as a surprise.
“Once the flowers bloom they need to be precisely eleven and three quarter inches apart due to the length of the leaves. They should not be touching or else the dew they collect will be uneven. All of the planting spots have to be exact or the symmetry of the garden will be thrown off…” Began Primrose’s preamble to how the design must go accordingly. Rubicon could understand wanting things to look nice, but the attention to detail seemed nigh on obsessive. Perhaps he could admire that passion someday, but for now he was the one doing the dirty work.
With ruler in hand he made sure every hole was the exact desired depth and the correct distance from the others.
“...and furthermore it ensures the light reflected off the petals is dazzling but not blinding. We can’t have a repeat of-” Primrose is only paused by feeling a tug at his pant leg.
“Every hole, four and five eighths of an inch deep, eleven and three quarter inches apart, and at seventy-two degree angles off from each other.” Rubicon said, proud of his precision. Primrose looked doubtful and wiped the dirt the bun had gotten on his pant leg before taking back the ruler and checking each and every hole. Rubicon admired how gracefully he moved between them, hardly disturbing the soil at all. He enjoyed his little break, and eventually Prim returned.
“Indeed.” Was his only praise.
“Now onto planting.” He said before going into a shed nearby the green house. He gestured for Rubicon to wait outside, which didn’t bother the bun at all until he heard the sound of a key turning. Then it was the sound of a safe being opened. It was followed by a heavy latch moving, and then a few more security measures until Primrose came out with a sack full of seeds.
Rubicon reached up and eagerly tried to grab some and then remembered his little hooves were aflame. He sighed deeply thinking this would be a set back. “Don’t worry.” Prim interjected. “These flowers need the heat in order to bloom. They’re used to blooming after wildfires.”
Rubi felt a surge of joy at being helpful, followed by a tinge of annoyance at being singled out for this job. “He used me for pyrocentric cultivation.” Rubi grumbled as they went back to the garden.
Now it was time to put those precisely dug holes to good use. Primrose carefully handed the first seed to Rubicon who then took a moment to bask. This little seed was unlike anything he had held before. He only worked with metal and flame to make what he wanted, but this seed was neither strong nor intense. What could come of it? This wondering was interrupted by the clearing of Primrose’s throat. “We don’t need the seeds to get too toasty. Into the ground with them.”
Rubi shook out of it and got right back to work. Each seed got placed gently into the soil and covered over, but the care made it take a good deal longer. Rubi was already thinking about where he’d go to dinner after all of this and needed a distraction or else he’d drive himself hungry.
“Hey Prim…rose.” He said, unsure how well a nickname would go over with the uptight bun. “What kind of flowers are we expecting to pop out from these?”
“Ah I thought you’d never ask.” Primrose perked up at the chance to keep explaining things.
Primrose talked about the cone shaped seed heads and purple petals these flowers will have. The chatter kept away any hungry thoughts for Rubi, and it was nice to get a taste for what’s to come.
The time still passed slowly, and during a breather an idea came to Rubicon as his spade shaped tail idly dug into the dirt. With renewed vigor he’d plant on seed, spin around, and cover it with his tail while planting the next seed. It was a whirlwind of activity, but he was working double time. Primrose looked slightly befuddled at him, but the work was over much quicker. Rubi looked proudly over the freshly planted plot and turned to Primrose. The heavenly bun was closely examining everything, arms folded behind his back, until everything seemed satisfactory.
“Well done.” He says simply. “That’s all for now, but soon we’ll work together again.”
Rubicon turns to head back down from the embassy but then calls back. “You know, if you’re hungry too there’s a nice place downtown.” He offers to Primrose. The heavenly bun takes a long moment before realizing the question was aimed at him. “Oh. No thank you. I’m far too busy.”
“Ah. Alright. See you later.”