A Taste of Home

Every cherubun knew that making tea took a lot of work—it was one of their most cherished drinks, after all. While gardening was normally a simple chore that was completed without much thought in the Heavenly Meadow, the cherubuns made sure to take special care of their tea plants. Each type of tea required their own special kind of care; some needed more water than others, while others had different needs in terms of soil and nutrients.Then there was one of the most essential steps to creating a good tea: harvesting. Most teas could only be harvested a few times a year, and the early spring harvest produced the most coveted tea leaves. After months of remaining dormant in the wintertime, the first of the tender buds that grew in the spring were practically overflowing with nutrients and flavor. One was lucky if they were able to savor more than a cup of the first harvest of the year…

…So to see an entire package of first harvest tea set aside for one person was a bit baffling, to say the least.

“Pre-Qingming,” Primrose corrected with an arch of his brow as he handed the package to Vanna.

“Pre—uh, what?” Vanna blinked, caught off guard. Had he made that comment out loud without realizing it…?

“The first harvest goes by different names depending on the tea you’re referring to—darjeeling  tea’s first harvest, for example, is called the first flush.” Primrose handed the package over to Vanna, who gently took it. “This specific type of oolong tea’s first harvest is called Pre-Qingming. Not much of it is harvested since there’s very little oolong in comparison to the other teas we grow here. Their climate requirements are a bit too specific to justify allocating more than a small amount of space for their growth.”

“Oh…” The smaller cherubun looked down at the package in his hands. Didn’t that just make this tea even more precious? Who could it possibly be for? Chewing his lip, Vanna cast an inquiring look at Primrose. “If I may ask…who will I be delivering this tea to…? They must be very important. I’ve never seen so much special tea go to one person before.”

Primrose didn’t answer immediately. He pursed his lips and hummed, as if he was perplexed by something that Vanna had said. The other cherubun was expecting him to start lecturing him about one thing or another; instead, he simply answered, “The tea is for Dove.”

Vanna’s eyes widened. “Oh! That Dove?”

“Yes. As I’m sure you know, they live down in Burrowgatory with the succubun that first took them in.” Vanna could practically see Primrose trying his hardest not to curl his lip once the word succubun had passed his lips. He really hoped that one day he’d get over his hangups with them… “The quality of the tea in Burrowgatory is not the same as that from the meadow or those grown here in the embassy. It must be something with the composition of the soil I suppose—but you’d be better off asking Beanny about something like that. All I know is that it tastes different, and while Dove doesn’t mind the tea down there, you can’t beat the taste of home.” Primrose lifted his head up, and smiled with pride. “Although Dove doesn’t reside in the embassy, they continue to work alongside us, and they do much for the cherubuns that come down here. I’d say such a small portion of tea couldn’t even begin to represent the thanks that they’re owed for what they’ve done…but I digress. If Dove wants embassy-grown tea on occasion, then who are any of us to deny them? It’s the least they deserve.

“Now please, deliver that tea as quickly as you’re able to. It might already be processed, but it still needs to be stored properly to maintain its freshness.”

Vanna nodded in understanding and clutched the package close to his chest. “Of course!”

---

Vanna really should’ve gotten a snack or something before he made his visit to the embassy. All of that talk about tea was starting to make his stomach growl, and he wished he could stop to grab a bite to eat. The route to Dove’s place of residence had taken him through a commercial district, and the plethora of restaurants and cafes that he walked past was really starting to get to him with all of their enticing smells. It didn’t help that cherubuns were still rare within Burrowgatory, either; while Vanna was normally happy to stop and chat with anyone that called out to him during his more leisurely walks around the city, the succubuns around him who tried to stop and converse with him were only delaying his delivery. With a multitude of “sorry, maybe next time!”s and “I’m busy right now, please excuse me!”s he sped towards his destination as quickly as he could, and was thankfully left alone after he asked to be.

After making it through the gauntlet of restaurants, Vanna had finally arrived at his destination. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he knocked on the door. He’d never personally met Dove while they still resided in the meadow, so meeting them now—the sole reason why cherubuns were able to make such a life-changing decision all on their own—was exciting, to say the least. Vanna’s wings quivered anxiously as he waited, and he shifted from side to side until the door opened.

A cherubun dressed in all white, pretty as could be, peeked their head through the crack in the door. It was Dove, and they looked the same as Vanna remembered they did when they made their stand against Melangel in the meadow. It left him a little awestruck…Upon seeing Vanna, Dove’s look of curiosity morphed into one of delight, and they opened the door fully. “Hello there. Are you a friend from the embassy?”

“Y-Yes, I am!” Flustered, Vanna hastily nodded and presented the package of oolong in his hands to Dove. “A few variants of tea were harvested recently, and Primrose set aside some oolong for you. He called it pre…um…pre-something—”

“Pre-Qingming?” Dove giggled as they took the proffered package. Vanna felt his face grow hot, and he smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah, that! I didn’t know that tea had different names for their harvests before. I just knew that first harvests were the best.” Rubbing the back of his head, Vanna looked at the package that had now been successfully delivered. He had so many things he wished to talk to Dove about, but now that he was actually here he found himself a little too starstruck to think of anything meaningful to bring up. And now that the tea had been delivered, he didn’t have much of a reason to stay, either…

“The tea harvesting season has only just begun,” Dove said, drawing Vanna’s attention away from the package he’d been staring thoughtfully at. “This will be the first time since leaving the meadow that I’m able to enjoy the tea of a first harvest. I would be thrilled to share it in the company of another cherubun. Would you like to come in for tea?”

Vanna perked up, the smile on his face growing wider as he asked, “You’d really let me have some with you?”

“Of course! Tea is always better in company…and with snacks. But first, I’ll need one thing from you before you can have some.”

“And that is…?”

“Your name, silly.” Dove laughed, and Vanna slapped a hand over his face.

“Ahh… I knew your name but never introduced myself—how rude of me! My name is Vanna. It’s…it’s really nice to finally meet you, Dove!”

The gentle smile that Dove gave Vanna in reply put his heart at ease. “And it’s nice to meet you, Vanna. Please, come in! We can have a nice chat while we wait for the tea to brew—”

Vanna’s once-forgotten stomach growled in protest, and Dove gave the other cherubun a knowing look as they then added on, “...and some food too, of course.”