Caroling in the Plaza

Excitedly bounding down the street, Taffy checked her phone to confirm for the tenth time where she needed to go. Dove had invited her to do some Cherubmas activities together, and Taffy happily accepted, having grown more curious and appreciative of cherubun culture with her Embassy volunteer work.

Before she was able to successfully put her phone back in her pocket, Taffy stumbled a bit as her leg warmers brushed past each other in a way she wasn't anticipating. She was fortunately able to catch herself, but not without a good amount of shock, panting a bit as she stood still. After her brain was fully convinced that no, they're not falling and dying and breaking a tooth, Taffy huffed in annoyance as she looked down at her outfit.

It took her forever that morning to get bundled up in a way she was happy with. Being way more a fan of breezy and breathable clothing, she tended to avoid snow-prone regions this time of year. Warm clothing was just so suffocating and wrapped her figure in a weird humid heat. Unfortunately, the Cherubmas festivities Dove invited her to was in a part of Burrowgatory that often gets below freezing during winter. Taffy either had to swallow her pride and dress warm or freeze to death. As much as she hated winter clothes, she hated shivering and turning blue more. At least the leg warmers were cute.

With only a couple more bouts of tripping and stumbling, Taffy made it to the plaza Dove told her to go to. Further down along the snow-dusted brick paths, Dove waved cheerfully.

“Taffy! Over here!” they called out. Their excited waving seemed to have jostled something out of their hair, and they only stopped once they noticed.

Beaming, Taffy rushed over to her friend and gave them a hug. “Hiiiiiii!!!” Once she let go of the cherubun, something caught her eye. “What's that cute little thing in your hair?”

“This?” Dove responded as their hand reached up and touched the item in question. “This is holy holly! It's a plant from the heavenly meadow we figured out how to cultivate down here! Here-” They delicately plucked a sprig off of a nearby garland and offered it to the other bun. “Would you like to wear some?”

Taffy eagerly took the holly from Dove’s hand before she even thought to respond. It took her a second to realize she just snatched it without a word like a child. “...Ah! Thank you! It's so cuuuute!!!” With that, she promptly placed it in her hair and twirled around. “Sooo, what are we doing first?”

“We're nearly done setting up for some caroling! And after that…” they paused as the smile on their face widened before saying their next words, “...Maybe some hot cocoa?”

Dove knew exactly what would get Taffy excited. The succubun immediately began jumping up and down the moment hot cocoa was mentioned. “Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! YES!!!” Her bouncing stopped, however, when the first half finished registering. “Wait. I thiiiiink I know what caroling is, but I don't know any of the songs…”

“Don't worry! We figured that was the case! These are cherubun traditions, after all!” Dove handed over a little carol booklet they were holding. “Just sing the lyrics written down here following everyone else's tune and you’ll be golden! Trust me, once you’ve heard them, they'll stick with you for the rest of your life. ‘Hark the Herald Cherubuns Sing’ has a habit of popping into my head even during summertime!”

Taffy took the booklet and leafed through it. Most of the songs were extremely simple and repetitive, so she was confident she would get the hang of them in no time!

Soon enough, everything was set up for the pair and the other carolers to sing at the center of the plaza. Everyone was standing on a raised platform, booklets in hand, trying to figure out what carol to sing first.

Dove, ever the sweetheart, suggested a slow and simple song to make it easy on the people who don't know the melody. With some deliberation, the ideal song was selected. The group began to sing, with the experienced carolers taking the lead and the newbies following along at a slight delay.

While they sang, regular passerby strolled through the plaza. Some stopped to listen for a bit, others spared a smile as they kept on walking, and still others sang along. Joy and Cherubmas cheer was felt throughout the plaza.

“I wish Primrose could have made it today,” Dove sighed as the group looked for the next song to sing, “I know he really wanted to, but he's setting up decorations somewhere else. He doesn't trust anyone else to do it right.”

“Primrose likes caroling?” Taffy responded, amused at the idea, “I didn't think he would! He’s suuuuuch a sourpuss, and this is so… I don't know, cheery?”

Dove giggled. “Would it be easier to believe if I reminded you that this is a cherubun tradition?”

“...It would, yep! I know how much he likes those!”

The two shared a laugh before getting back into the singing. The group had begun to move onto more elaborate songs, though none of them were really difficult. The challenge was more so keeping up with the unfamiliar tune when you have so many words to recite. Taffy was keeping up very well, though; she was very experienced with blurting out a lot of words at once.

So far, the people visiting the plaza had been succubuns. While some seemed a bit weirded out by the festivities, pretty much everyone was at least somewhat open-minded and receptive. Some succubuns even asked for carol booklets to try and follow along in the audience.

Eventually, a cherubun happened to pass by. They were looking at their phone when they walked into the area, and when they finally looked around, their expression changed to one of… disgust? Shaking their head, they left far quicker than when they came.

Taffy looked on, thoroughly puzzled. “What was that about?”

When she looked over at Dove, they had their hand over their heart, crestfallen. They let out a long exhale before speaking.

“Some cherbuns who come down here to Burrowgatory… really don't like being reminded of the heavenly meadow. I can't blame them, Melangel didn't exactly make it the best place to live, otherwise no one would leave…”

“But you're just sharing cherubun culture with Burrowgatory!” Taffy scrambled to make Dove feel better. “Pleeeease don't feel bad! Me and all these other buns are having so much fun!!!”

After a brief pause, Dove nodded. “...Yeah. No one's at fault here. I just hope that person will be okay…”

“I’m sure they will!” Taffy responded, hoping that her positivity was covering up the fact that she absolutely did not know what to say or do in this situation. “Hoooooow about we go get that hot cocoa? My voice, uh,” a couple fake coughs dotted her pause, “is feeling a bit hoarse from all the singing.”

“Oh, of course! Let's go!” Dove exclaimed, grabbing Taffy's sleeve to guide her and her poor, poor throat to where they can get some hot cocoa.

The smile on Taffy's face didn't last long as she thought. Cherubun matters really were far more complicated than she had thought. She wished that she could be more helpful.

For now, though, she settled on making Dove smile as they enjoyed their warm drinks amid the cold.