pounding mochi

For the most part of his recent days, Grim had been generally keeping to himself, either tending to his garden, caring for the little Sceil he had adopted, or browsing through the internet. The last one of these was the most dangerous–for a pride bun that still had some bits of his vice ingrained in him, it was hard to see other buns seemingly living their lives happily and luxuriously while he…well…

He had mixed feelings about the spotlight. The runway. All of the cameras and eyes on him, admiring, adoring, envying. He wouldn’t be able to go back to that though, not for a while at least. If the general public nor even his fellow models knew, the execs would’ve heard of it. Mocked him for not allowing himself to be their plaything–they practically raised him the moment he joined Burrowgatory. He could feel himself bristle at the thought. Well, time was both fleeting and permanent to buns, so it was less a matter of time being wasteful but more of how long he must remain in this present.

In his absentmindedness, he hadn’t noticed Paroli slithering towards him until he was on top of the counter, eyeing him with big white eyes.

“Oh, sorry, Paroli.” ever since the Sceil came out of his shell, the little imp has become fond of attention. Unfortunately, after Grim had brought home a treat for himself, the bun found that the snake was also fond of something else.

After giving him some pets, the imp hadn’t moved. Ah, it had been like this for a couple of days now ever since he managed to take a bite out of his food. Grim was told that imps didn’t even need to eat, so he half wondered where it would go and if it was safe to continue feeding him. He did also hear about sweets often changing how they looked in interesting ways.

“You want a treat, don’t you?”

The imp’s were still wide; his tail twitching ever so slightly ever so often.

Grim let out a sigh. “Alright, alright, I suppose I can get you something. Something sweet, right? Mochi perhaps?”

Of course, the Sceil wouldn’t know what these are, but he did seem to note the idea of getting something, so he looked rather content. “Okay. Stay here and be a good imp.”

✲

When possible and practical, Grim would travel in his bun form so that he didn’t need to wear a face mask. However, he could never stop the stares that he would sometimes get–his grand pride horns were not a common feature, after all. The mochi shop that he planned to go to was located somewhere in the city’s center, so it took some time to commute there. It was not a hurried trip by any means, but the bun was not too thrilled about the increasing possibility of being recognized, so his steps eventually became a little faster.

After some time, no longer enjoying the scenery, he finally made it to the shop. It looked quaint, almost like a home. This wasn’t his first visit; he had to admit that he fell in love with the mochis here at first bite. Upon opening the door, he was immediately greeted by a pleasantly sweet scent and a sleeping bun; face covered by the wooden counter. If he recalled right, this bun was named Shibani, and he was pretty sure that he was in a relationship with the owner.

Err, should he wake him up though? He seemed like he was deeply in dreamland.

Thankfully, the owner, Dan, had heard the door open and peered out of the back area. “Oh, had a feeling it was too quiet.”

In his doll form, Dan was large and imposing, moreso as Grim had not shifted and was still a very tiny bun. As per bun etiquette, he quickly transformed as well, finding it a little safer to be in his other form here compared to outside on the streets. Thankfully, Dan did not seem to be the type to watch modeling shows.

“Sorry, didn’t want to disturb him.”

“S’alright, Shibani does this all the time.” he rubbed the white bun’s head affectionately, making him stir just a little but still deep in sleep. “Here to buy some mochi?”

“I thought to treat my imp to some for the first time, and I wanted to give him the best mochi in my book.”

“I’m flattered but also concerned.”

Grim chuckled. “He’ll only have a little. Hopefully. I plan to eat most of it myself. I wouldn’t want to miss out on eating your mochi.”

Dan’s chest swelled with pride; he was looking obviously pleased. Grim had to avoid staring at his bare chest. “Actually, you look like somebun who would appreciate the finer aspects of mochi making. Would you like to see more of the workshop?”

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“Mmm…mochi…” Shibani sleepily mewled. Grim thought he saw Dan want to do something to the other bun, but he was likely holding back for the sake of him. He appreciated that–he didn’t want to be a one bun audience to PDA.

“I need a change of pace and my clerk is not awake to attend to me. You know how it is.”

Grim nodded once; the weight of his horns prevented him from moving too suddenly. “If attention were a dish, it would be the most decadent.”

✲

The workshop proper was spacious enough to allow doll form buns to walk around without having to squeeze themselves through. Most of the space, however, was taken up by rows upon rows of ingredients, resting doughs, and shaped mochi that were just missing a few more finishing touches. The fixture that demanded the most attention was the large mortar at the center alongside a large mallet that was sitting at the side (resting on a rack). Dan was eager to show off his mochi pounding skills, though he also explained to Grim that usually, the process was done with two buns: one would pound the dough with the mallet while the other would turn the mochi with wet hands. The repeated process would eventually create a dough that could be cut into tiny pieces, forming the little spheres of edible goodness.

Because Dan was alone, the process was much slower, though it also meant that he could be sure that the mochi would turn out exactly how he wanted. However, Grim found watching Dan pounding the mochi to be rather…nerve wracking..? While there was no danger of a hand accidentally being squished under a mallet, he couldn’t help but let some thoughts fly with his grunts and muscles…

He made sure to drop compliments about it (he knew the game of the pride bun, and it was also easy to see how they affected him), but as a distraction, Grim thought it might be an interesting idea for him to try holding the mallet. Surprisingly, the shop owner looked even prouder at someone stepping forward to attempt it. Maybe a means to prove how difficult his craft was? (And by extension, how skillful he was?) Or maybe he was just really passionate about mochi making and liked others taking an interest in it?

Whichever the case, Grim hadn’t expected he was going to exercise in this little excursion and found himself sweating profusely as he lifted the mallet and let it hit the dough. He made sure to give Dan ample time to turn the mochi before striking it where he was instructed to. More than once he was afraid of losing his grip and hitting something (or somebun) else, but his nerves managed to keep a hold, even if his claws were digging into his skin.

The rest of the tour mainly involved purviewing the ingredients and watching Dan put some of the dango together. In the end, he allowed Grim to take home some of the mochi he had pounded for free, but the bun made sure to buy some more for stock. He did not go to the city often and did not want to make a habit of it now; his heart would likely not be able to take it. Still, if it were to visit Dan again, maybe he could steel himself to do so. He also thought that one of the mochi packs here might make a good gift for that one bun he had been visiting lately. Normal did like sweets…

The trip back was uneventful, thankfully, though he did get a face full of angry Sceil when he got home and opened the door. He apologized about taking longer than expected and set the bags down before pulling out the mochi he had made. It happened to be coated in black sesame, but he wondered if imps were very particular about the dango flavors they ate. In the end, Paroli was absolutely thrilled with his treat and ate the rest of the spheres in succession. For a couple of moments (before the imp obliterated the food), Grim thought it amusing and rather childish of him that he looked like a sex toy. Maybe one sphere at a time would be best…