Galdor's Pursuit of Diligence: Chapter 1

Looking at the list of tasks he held in his hand, Galdor sighed to himself.  “What am I even doing…” he thought as he pondered what brought him to the Heavenly Embassy.  He had heard from Mimosa about how her and other succubuns had been helping out the cherubuns while learning about virtues and diligence for themselves.  The thought amused Galdor - wasn’t trying to embody virtues a futile effort when vices were already so ingrained into society?  Still, something in the back of his mind kept nagging at him to volunteer, so to the embassy he went to assist in their gardens.

He was surprised to find how little would be expected of him - Primrose only required a bun to show up once a week for a simple task.  The first thing to be done was to plant seeds.  He had questioned the need for a cherubun to be present, but was told that it was non-negotiable.  Thankfully, the person Mimosa had recommended was available today.  His ears twitched at the sound of a door opening, and he turned to see that this person had just arrived at the greenhouse as well.

“Oh!  You must be Galdor!” exclaimed a voice that rang like heavenly silver bells.  “Mimosa told me about you - my name is Dove!”

Galdor glanced down at the cherubun, who was noticeably shorter than himself.  Their smile and general aura of cheeriness was almost unnerving.  “...A pleasure,” Galdor stated matter-of-factly.  “I probably should have assumed that a friend of Mimosa’s would be… similar,” he thought to himself.  

Dove tilted their head to the side.  “Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no, excuse me,” Galdor replied, “I’m just not quite used to such… excitable people.”

“Wow, it’s amazing that you know Mimosa, then!”  Dove said with a giggle.

“Yes, quite… I met her at an art show.  She said she came to see sculptures of ‘hot naked dudes’, then decided that I was ‘neat’, and has continued to message me since.  I really should have asked another young succubun to help me with my phone…” Galdor shook his head in exasperation.  “Regardless, she had nothing but glowing praise in regards to you.”

Dove blushed.  “Aww, she’s so sweet!  Well, a friend of hers is a friend of mine - I’m happy to help you with whatever you need!’

“Well, about that…” Galdor reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a few packets of seeds that he was given.  “I don’t mean to cause offense, but… Do we really need to be supervised while planting these?”

“Ohh gosh, be careful not to crush those in your pocket!!” Dove suddenly cried out.  Seeing that Galdor was taken aback by their outburst, Dove sheepishly looked down.  “Ehh, sorry about that… I know it’s silly, but we can only collect seeds from the few flowers that we’ve grown here…”

“A-ah, my apologies - if they are of such importance to your culture, then it makes sense that a cherubun must be present.”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Dove perked up a bit.  “We know that you know how to plant seeds, really we do - we just want to be eeeextra careful for now, until we know we have lots and lots!  Plus… gardening is fun to do with others!”

Galdor smirked.  “I suppose it is… Well then, Dove, feel free to lead the way - where shall we plant these for optimal results?”

“There’s a plot over there that’s been prepared already!” Dove said as they skipped forward.  “Here, we’ve already got the tools ready and everything!”

Galdor met Dove at the plot and raised his eyebrow in confusion.  “With all of the effort it took to prepare this, it’s a bit strange that you even need assistance at all…”

“Eheh, well… We’re starting to get the hang of things ourselves… But so many of you all still want to help us!  We don’t want to say no… Plus, ummm… Some succubuns really do need all this set-up…”

“Now that’s-hmm…” Before he could finish objecting, Galdor thought of several sloth succubuns he had met - including a certain orange-haired bespectacled one - that have had absolutely zero practical life skills .  “...You know what, I understand completely.  Alright, I see a trowel.  How deep do these seeds need to be planted in the soil?”

“About an inch, so the roots can get in deep for a good foundation,” Dove explained with a nod.  They first watched Galdor dig into the soil with intense focus, but after seeing that he could sufficiently plant a seed at the right depth, their eyes began to wander elsewhere.  Without realizing it, Dove had been staring at the gilded tips of Galdor’s horns.

“Alright, so now we should…” Galdor looked up from the soil to find Dove staring at him. 

“EEP!” Dove squeaked in fright as Galdor’s gaze met their own..  “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude!  It’s just that… they’re like Jackal’s…”

Galdor closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  “I suppose that saves me from an explanation, then…”

Dove’s face fell in sadness.  “I just can’t help but think of how unfair it is… You, Jackal, and every other envy succubun should’ve had someone there for you growing up…”

Galdor scoffed.  “Oh please - I’ve already known for years that life is unfair.”  He went to pick up the watering can, but stopped himself for a moment.  “But you… That kind of pain is still fresh for you, isn’t it?”

“I know it’s different, what Jackal went through with Gremory, and what I went through with Melangel…” Dove said with a sniffle, “...but it gets easier, right?  I just thought to ask, since, um, you look older than Jackal and I…”

If not for the tears in Dove’s eyes, Galdor would’ve let out a chuckle at the remark about his age.  Though the mental scars from his upbringing sometimes still felt as fresh as when they were inflicted, he could not bear to say this to the sad young cherubun.  Instead, he put his hand on their shoulder reassuringly and smiled.  “It will get easier,” he said, “You will continue to live, experience new things, meet new people, and find that you are more than what lies in your past.”

Dove wiped their eyes and smiled back.  “Thank you for that… Okay, now we just have to make sure the soil is at the proper moisture!”

“Lead the way,” Galdor said, handing Dove the watering can.

After the two buns sufficiently watered the plot of land, they began their farewells.  “It was so wonderful to meet you, Galdor!  Come back soon - you’re welcome anytime!” Dove said in their sing-songy voice.

“The same goes to you,” Galdor replied before leaving the greenhouse and heading to the elevator back down to Burrowgatory.

—

As he descended downward towards home, Galdor thought about his day, and what he had said to Dove.  “To do more, and to be more than than the past… is that what I’ve been trying to achieve?  And why I’ve decided to do these tasks?”  He pictured Dove smiling back at him after nearly bursting into tears.  “Such a kind soul, despite everything they’ve endured… Perhaps there’s something we really can still learn from cherubuns, after all…” 

Before checking his phone to let Mimosa know that everything went well (as well as to see what inane things she had messaged him in the meantime), Galdor crossed out the first task on his list given to him by Primrose.  He had the feeling that he’d end up learning much more than just diligence during these next few weeks to come.