Next to Godliness

It was undeniably strange, seeing such a large, singular cloud mass hovering above the skies just outside of the city. Eden looked up at the elevator tower that rose from the earth towards the massive cloud that housed the entirety of the Heavenly Embassy, and fidgeted nervously with the cuffs of his dress. He had been resolute and full of confidence on the walk to the embassy; it was early in the day, and with nothing but his thoughts and the gentle light of a new morning—the crystals overhead glowing in the warm colors of a sunrise, lighting his way—to keep himself company on the long walk to the outskirts of the city, the little nun was able to talk himself into a sense of calm. Alas, he was anything but.

As a nun to the Church of Sulfur, Eden was among the first to learn of the cherubuns when Dove made their presence known—truly known, without the cloak to hide their angelic features. They were immediately popular; like Jackal, they were keen on helping their kind adjust to a new life, and their halo, strange ears, and adorably fluffy tail had quickly endeared them to most of the clergy. The sight of Dove had made Eden a little jealous, but overall excited. Like him, they were new to Burrowgatory, and had to find their way in this brave new world. And like him, they wouldn’t be doing it alone… He had a feeling that Dove would be much more successful in getting others to befriend them, though. The cherubuns who would come after them would be very lucky, indeed.

And it wasn’t long before they did start to come.

While the Heavenly Embassy functioned similarly to the church in terms of providing social services for newly-arrived cherubuns, the embassy head was still a cherubun, themselves. In order to see the sin that they would be welcoming into their lives soon, the few cherubun arrivals that left their home above sought out the Church of Sulfur in order to learn more about the succubuns and their lifestyles. 

It was there at the church, as Mercy was touring the first few cherubun arrivals around the grounds, that Eden saw them: a gentle, demure-looking cherubun who’d been trailing behind the rest, lingering as they took in the appearance of everything around them. Eden had been in charge of cleaning the nave that day, and couldn’t help his curiosity when the group came into view. Hiding behind a column, he watched as Mercy gestured towards various parts of the interior, explaining everything from the architecture to the services hosted as the cherubuns nodded, rapt. 

In hindsight, all of those cherubuns were all quite gentle-looking, their expressions soft and movements refined—no doubt due to their upbringing at the hands of a strict angel. But there was only one cherubun in the group who had managed to spot Eden lurking about, and when they saw him….

Well. Eden wouldn’t say he knew what love at first sight was supposed to feel like. But he knew what it was like to be shown genuine kindness, and he saw that same kindness in the squint of the stranger’s eyes, and the soft dimpling of their cheeks as they smiled at him. His face had felt as if it’d been set on fire.

The moment only lasted for a second at most before Mercy began to guide the cherubuns elsewhere, and then they all left… But not before that lingering cherubun had shyly waved and mouthed goodbye, following after the rest soon afterwards.

Eden knew he had to see them again. On his next free day, he would go to the embassy and seek them out, no matter how long it took.

+++

The elevator ride up to the Heavenly Embassy was nerve-wracking, and by the time the doors opened, Eden’s hands were cold and clammy. He took a hesitant step out of the elevator, and then another; after a brief look around, he assumed that he was in the main hall of the embassy. Going by the spaciousness and opulence of the hall alone, the entire building was doubtlessly grand beyond compare, but this early in the morning there was practically nobody around. 

The little nun took the time to calm his nerves once more, smoothing his hands over his dress as he took in his surroundings. The Heavenly Embassy was beautiful: the hall was awash in white marble and gold as far as the eye could see, from the chandeliers down to the perfectly polished floors underfoot. The glow of the crystals shone even brighter through the windows of the embassy due to their closer proximity to the cavern’s ceiling, and not a speck of dust could be seen floating through the warm light cast across the room. Eden never did truly get over his feeling of otherness within the church after becoming a nun, and that feeling of not belonging only grew in intensity as he stood around. He was a dusty rose, unfit for the cleanliness of these hallowed halls; he was probably an eyesore. He should leave before a cherubun walked by and took offense to his presence. He should—

“A guest? This early in the morning?”

Eden flinched. Too late to run now. He looked at the newcomer who addressed him and felt his mouth go dry. It was a cherubun—of course it was a cherubun, he was in their embassy after all—with a less-than-pleased expression on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave the shorter bun a once-over, lingering briefly on Eden’s horns.

“Are you here for leisure? Most of our shops aren’t open yet,” the man said, the suspicion in his voice barely hidden. It made Eden lower his head in shame. “And I’m afraid if you’re looking for a tour of the embassy, it’s too early for that as well. Come back in a few hours—”

“I’m here for neither,” Eden blurted out before the stranger could finish. The withering look he was given in turn made him shrink back, and he lowered his head further, unable to meet the cherubun’s gaze. He couldn’t possibly tell this stranger that he was here to find a cherubun, not when he was already being regarded as if he were here to cause trouble. He really should just leave. Eden was thinking of the best way to excuse himself from the embassy when he began to speak again, his heart pushing him to action in a way that his brain would not. 

“My name is Eden. I’m…a nun at the Church of Sulfur. The other day, the first new arrival of cherubuns came to pay us a visit, and I…” Kinda sorta maybe might’ve fallen in love with one of them. At the very least, I’d like to be their friend. Eden couldn’t continue his sentence; he almost got dizzy from how quickly blood rushed to his face, and hesitated before lifting his head up to look the stranger in the eye. For a blessing, it looked like the stranger’s expression did soften a touch—presumably at the mention of Eden hailing from the church. It gave Eden the courage to continue, and he racked his brain for a way to proceed. “I…might have lied a little. I would like a tour of the embassy and to see everything up here, but I know I’ve arrived very early. Waking up around this time is just a force of habit for me. It’s…I start my chores early at the church.” Was he rambling? He felt like it. But the stranger seemed to approve of whatever he said, for he nodded and hummed.

“Chores, you say? I’ll gladly extend some goodwill to the church and give you a thorough tour of the embassy if you’re willing to help me with some tasks.” The cherubun tilted his head up imperiously, his brows raising. “Far be it for me to shun someone in need of work to pass the time. You know what they say about idle hands.”

Eden looked at the cherubun in confusion. He did not, in fact, know what they said about idle hands—but what was this about helping around the embassy? His brows furrowed. “I…okay,” he acquiesced. “I’ll help.”

“Perfect. Follow me.”

+++

The cherubun—who introduced himself as Primrose shortly into their walk—led Eden through a quick series of hallways into a conference room that looked just as immaculate as the main hall. He gestured toward a janitorial cart off to the side.

“You’ll be helping me with cleaning. I’ve already finished the main hall, but the office spaces could use some work.” Primrose’s words earned a baffled look from Eden.

Eden was used to cleaning, but this place…was there even anything to clean? He certainly didn’t see anything that needed to be spruced up. The floors were polished so well you could use them as mirrors, and there was no dust from what he could see. Still, Primrose had spoken about the embassy as if it was in dire need of tidying up, and Eden followed along in fear of earning another unkind look from the prissy cherubun. He grabbed the tools he’d need and set to work.

The cleaning passed by in relative silence, with Eden diligently wiping down tables and filing cabinets of all shapes and sizes after Primrose gave them a careful pass with a feather duster. After dusting and wiping, the two would straighten out furniture and do some vacuuming, then mop the floors. Wash, rinse, repeat.

“You’re not too bad at this,” Primrose said at some point, snapping Eden out of his cleaning-induced trance. They had to have gone through just about all of the rooms in the wing at this point, and were currently mopping the last of the offices. “To be diligent is a noble thing; it’s a bit of a relief to see that some of your kind are capable of upholding the heavenly virtues. Maybe there’s hope for us stranded cherubuns yet,” he added dryly.

It was a compliment, kind of. One that was definitely backhanded, and definitely showed just how Primrose felt about succubuns, but it was a compliment nonetheless. Kind of. Eden’s face flushed and he stammered out, “I-It’s nothing,” before he resumed his methodical mopping, taking a step back every few passes. “...I like cleaning. It’s calming, and it gives me time to think.”

Primrose hummed in agreement. “Time spent cleaning is an invaluable period for self reflection, something you should keep in mind if you’re to embody more of our virtues.” He sounded a bit too enthusiastic when saying that. Eden had a feeling he was eager to lecture someone on being virtuous, and he wasn’t keen on being that someone. Thankfully, as he stepped back onto the threshold, Primrose’s attention seemed to be drawn back to the room that they’d just stepped out of.

“Would you look at that? We’re all done here, and faster than I thought we would. Very well,” Primrose said, depositing his cleaning supplies back into the cart that had been accompanying them. “I suppose some gratitude is in order. Let’s straighten ourselves up and do a tour, shall we?”

Finally. Eden realized that he’d been so lost in cleaning, he didn’t even know what his next step would be after the tour was done. He would have to think about that during their excursion. “Yes,” he eagerly said. “I would like that.”

On the off chance he was lucky, maybe he wouldn’t need a next step. There was plenty of time left for the day to be kind to him—perhaps he’d run into that cherubun during the tour. 

“Maybe…” he muttered to himself as he trailed behind Primrose.

Only time would tell.