Quiet

My, what a deep sigh seemed to resonate from within the otherwise quiet garden.

While Mynte would be lying if they said they hadn’t had any kind of fun attending the Fairy Masquerade, they really were only able to handle actually being inside, in the ballroom, for short bursts at a time. Sure it was some kind of fun watching others enjoy themselves, but at the same time… Simply watching wasn’t really good enough, as shameful as that was to admit to himself. He wanted to be able to dance and talk and have fun like the others, too, but… Kind of felt like a tall ask for one such as himself.

Out here, in the garden; among flowers and other such greenery. Here was where the sloth bun found himself significantly more at home. Trying not to focus too hard on what they were missing out on as the music from inside could still be heard pretty clearly out here, as well as some of the chatterings going on. And instead, at least for a little bit, focus on what the garden had to offer.

Of course he recognized every single flower that grew here. Nothing too special going on out here. And yet crouched down, he couldn’t help but stare at the blooming Azaleas before him. Lightly touching one of the flowers’ petals.

Hmm… They were relatively well taken care of, and yet… In this much too fancy outfit he was wearing, Mynte absentmindedly found himself going into ‘gardener mode’ as he started doing some light pruning. Maybe a bit of an odd sight, but it certainly helped keep his mind off of things.

~~~

Haruspex nodded politely to the bun he’d just finished a dance with, turning away from the dance floor. The priest had been socializing practically nonstop for several hours now; while he wasn’t necessarily against meeting so many new buns in so short a time, the frivolity of the setting was tiring. He took the champagne flute that was handed to him - it would be rude to decline a gift, after all - and headed out the open glass doors that lead to the venue’s gardens. 

Once outside, Haruspex took a deep inhale. The smells of healthy soil, growing plants, subtle florals… The Pride doll let out a satisfied sigh and began to take a slow stroll through the gardens. 

It wasn’t long before he came across a doll he originally assumed to be a gardener, but this one was very well dressed, with the hint of a mask visible even from Haruspex’s position behind them. 

“Hello?”

~~~

Hands moving on autopilot - wholly lost in his own world - what started off as fairly light pruning steadily became more intense. That is, until a voice shocked them back to reality. The sloth bun quickly turned to look in the direction the voice came from, looked up, and froze. The calm he’d felt mere moments ago quickly making room for his usual brand of panic.

Was he in trouble? He felt like he might be in trouble. After all this was a ball; not some kind of gardening activity. Was he going to get yelled at? He really hoped he wouldn’t get yelled at. Though if he were to get yelled at, maybe that would have happened by now? So maybe he wasn’t in trouble… But what if he was??? Ah, but hadn’t the other said something? A-a greeting? So…maybe not? But now he was just kneeling here with two fistfuls of dirt and just staring and being all kinds of rude and say something already, Mynte!

“H…h…hi’msorry?”

Great job, Mynte.

~~~

Haruspex immediately backed a step away from this mysterious gardener and lowered himself into a crouch to get closer to their level. He also averted his eyes; not that the other bun would be able to tell, of course, apart from the new angle of his head, but the thought was there. 

“My apologies, Child, I did not mean to startle you.” His voice was soft, as was his chuckle. 

“Ah, I suppose outside of the Church some may find it inappropriate to be refered to as such, so I apologize for that as well.”

~~~

While Mynte continued to remain quite tense even despite the other bun’s position change, considering the fact he was not, in fact, getting yelled at… Yet? Ah–

Wait… Ch…child?

Oh… So… They were from the Church? So… That…maybe, probably meant he wasn’t in any kind of trouble, right? No need to be panicking? About being in trouble and getting yelled at, at least. There was still the fact that this was a whole ‘nother bun that had approached him, and socializing was not exactly his strong point, but that was better than his initial worries.

“N-no, it’s…it’s okay. Y-you don’t, uhm…” Softer, “Y-you don’t…n-need…to…apologize.” Fingers fidgeted nervously around the dirt in his hold. “Didn’t…” Softer still, “S-sorry f-for…” For…what, Mynte?

The sloth bun’s nervous fidgeting increased as he honestly had no clue where he meant to go with that last sentence. And then a new kind of panic started to set in. He couldn’t just leave it at that, could he? What else, what else… “F…fresh air?”

~~~

“I came out to put some space between myself and the party itself; out in the garden sounded like a better option than getting lost down any one of the random hallways.” Haruspex glanced up through his wraps at the other doll. They still looked extremely anxious… “I can leave, if you’d like me to.” He put the still full champagne flute he was holding down on a stone bench nearby. “I have no desire to drink this, so if you’d like it, you may take it as well.” 

Haruspex didn’t necessarily want to go back inside, or feel like a part of the gardens was off limits to him for the remainder of the time this other doll felt like being outside, but of course, the Haruspex could always be counted on to do what they could to make life easier for others over themself. 

~~~

“N-no!” The unexpectedly loud sound of his own voice startled Mynte, the exclamation having tumbled out of his mouth without thinking. 

The sloth bun also suddenly found himself with a face full of dirt as, because of said sudden outburst, his hands reflexively flew up to cover his mouth. The same two hands that were full of dirt he'd nervously been fidgeting with mere moments ago. Pth-pth-ptooey.

Still, despite his awkward embarrassment he tried to keep speaking, between trying to get his face clean, which wasn’t working and in fact he was just making it worse. “S-sorry, w-what I meant–” Pth. “W-what I meant is… Y-you don't…need…” Pth. “...to go…” A short pause. “Un…unless you want to leave, o-of course. It’s… T-this isn’t my garden, s-so…”

While things like the offered drink had not escaped him, considering the bit of a mess he’d made of himself, as well as trying to assure the other bun it was okay for them to be here, er… Mynte was…a little distracted, to say the least.

~~~

“Oh sweet Sulfur,” Haruspex stood and moved to the other doll’s side. He pulled out the extra set of wraps he always kept on him and held them out towards the Sloth. “Here, let me help.” 

If he was at the Church, he likely would have just done so before waiting for the other bun to give express permission - and therefore hopefully reduce any damage - but this was not a place where it was assumed he could be trusted without question, so he simply held the soft, translucent fabric and waited. 

~~~ 

There was some hesitation from Mynte when offered help. Not necessarily because he didn’t trust the other, - though that probably should have played a role - but more so because he really didn’t want to be a bother. But…what if not accepting help was what made him a bother. He wasn’t getting cleaner by himself, and…

…and there was the dread at the thought of having to navigate through the building the way he looked right now - which honestly wasn’t even that bad - in search of a restroom.

Okay…okay fine.

Keeping his hands balled up on his lap, Mynte simply nodded– No, wait. A soft, “O-okay…” A pause. “T…thank you.”

~~~

Of course, this would’ve gone a lot easier if Haruspex had some water to wet the wraps with, but alas, this would have to do. He reached out and gently began to wipe dirt from the other doll’s face, focusing on their eyes, nose, and lips before wiping the rest of their face. “There, that’s better.” 

The priest moved on to cleaning off the doll’s hands, keeping his gaze focused down as to not startle them again, especially with how close he was now. “Are you alright?” 

~~~ 

Whether Mynte’s darkening cheeks was due to embarrassment or how close the other doll was to him was anyone’s guess. Closed eyes be damned. Being real here though, chances were that the answer to that question was ‘all of the above.’

Having thought they were done and could move on from all of this, Mynte slowly opened his eyes. Grateful for the help. He was pretty quick to tense up a little upon learning they were not, in fact, quite done yet, it would seem. Not having expected the other to also clean his hands. Not that that was a bad thing, just… Unexpected. And definitely led to the touch shy sloth bun blushing just the slightest bit harder.

“Y-yes, I’m…okay. Uhm…” He glanced to the side. “S-sorry…for the trouble.” No wait. “T-thank…?” But he already said that earlier. … He was gonna shut up now.

~~~

"It was no trouble to help you, Chi- ah," Haruspex cut himself off before he could call this doll 'child' again. "Would you like the champagne, to wash away the taste of the dirt?" 

Haruspex stood, taking the soiled fabric in one hand and holding out his other to help the stranger up. "I could go fetch some water, if you'd prefer?" 

~~~

Would…would it be weird to admit that they didn’t really hate the taste of dirt all that much? Or, no, that wasn’t really the point here, Mynte thought…maybe? That, and Mynte was a little wary about introducing any more alcohol into his system, knowing just how bad their tolerance was and the fact they’d already had a drink or so. And while it was said that it was no trouble, er… He’d do his best not to fuss, but there was still that pesky feeling of being trouble, so then…

Mynte carefully took the offered hand to get up, still stuck in his thoughts a little longer before finally answering. “I… I’m okay, t-thank you.” A pause, a glance at the soiled wraps, then up at the one who helped him. Gosh, there was so much on his mind, but… “C…can I…help?”

~~~

“Help?” Haruspex tipped his head slightly, looking down at the other doll thoughtfully. “Help with what?” Looking at the Sloth a little more closely, Haruspex noticed that he’d missed a little bit of dirt that had fallen into their Angora-furred ears… But they finally seemed to have calmed down a little, and Haruspex wasn’t about to push anything.

~~~ 

Oh dear… Mynte could feel a bit of a panic coming on at the question. Needing to explain himself. Surely he could manage that much, though? Not rely on others hopefully understanding what he was trying to say and just saying actually saying it with proper words himself.

…and yet, what Mynte managed was to meekly point at the fabric in the other’s hold. After all, it was his fault that it was dirty. He could…help…clean? Though that might be dumb. And now he felt dumb.

~~~

Haruspex followed the other doll's point to the soiled fabric in his other hand, and chuckled softly. “Oh no, it's quite alright.” The extra set of wraps he'd sacrificed to clean the dirt from the other's face hadn't been one of the sets his littermate had made him, simply a backup. “I can ask for a bag to keep it in until I return home and am able to wash it.” 

Haruspex's gaze drifted to where the other doll had been kneeling, noticing for the first time the small pile of yellowed leaves and other plant material that they had clearly been pruning from the bed. “Is that what you're doing out here, ‘helping’ instead of enjoying the gala?” 

~~~

“...mm.” Mynte nodded. That…that made sense, he guessed. It probably would be more convenient to wash something like that at home than in some restroom or something. He, uh, probably shouldn’t spend too much time focusing on how silly he felt right now.

Thankfully that feeling was pretty quickly replaced by one of feeling self-conscious when his earlier activity was brought up. “N…no. N-not quite, just…” If their hair had been in its usual braid, this would be the point where he’d awkwardly be playing with it. Alas, he’d have to find some other part of his outfit to fidget with while he spoke. “B…break.” C’mon, Mynte. This wasn’t that one…friend? Of yours. Full sentences. “W-was taking…a break… Got…a little…c-carried away.”

~~~

“Ah, same as myself then.” Haruspex could relate to needing time away from others; he could also relate to needing to busy his hands even when he was supposed to be resting. “Would it be alright if I took my break here as well?” 

~~~

“O-of course!” Mynte… Well, it wasn’t quite a squeak, but it was pretty close. “Y-you…c-can take a break here, I-I mean.” Full sentences. And after all, this wasn’t his garden. And even if it was? It’s not like he’d chase the other bun away.

~~~

“Thank you.” Haruspex smiled down at the other bun, letting go of their hand and moving away to sit on the stone bench beside his abandoned champagne flute. He looked out over the garden, specifically the bed the Sloth had been working on. “You’re quite good at that,” he complimented softly, gesturing at the immaculate flower bed.

~~~

“N-no, I didn’t–!” Do much. However a quick glance to the flower bed did tell Mynte that maybe, just maybe, he’d done a little more work than he thought he had. N-not that it was needed! Just… Nervous fidgeting.

Accepting compliments was… Hard.

A part of him wanted to go back to what he’d been doing, but… Would that be rude? Maybe he should actually take a break. Take a seat… B-but would that be rude? Uncertainty.

~~~

Haruspex smiled gently, encouragingly. “Regardless, please don’t mind me. If you’d like to go back to what you were doing, I’m happy to stay out of your way. You’re welcome to sit beside me as well, if you’d prefer.” 

With that, Haruspex closed their eyes and settled into simply existing. It was often difficult for him to do so, but the feeling of needing to in order to make the other doll comfortable gave him the motivation to try. He took another deep breath, refocusing on those scents he’d noticed earlier, and found solace in the relative silence compared to the party proper. 

~~~

Nervous fidgeting, followed by… Acceptance? Albeit still a little reluctantly. It wasn’t like Mynte had anything in particular he had to say to the other doll though, right? And…they seemed perfectly at ease, s-so…

Exhale.

A careful, quiet approach after plucking one of his homegrown flowers out of his hair. A gift in the form of a daisy. From him to the stranger. For the little bit of kindness, and patience, he’d been shown… Before awkwardly returning to what he’d been ‘caught’ doing earlier. 

Just…a little longer, please?

~~~ 

Haruspex opened his eyes as he heard the stranger approach, and looked down at their offering. A fresh daisy… He smiled and accepted it gratefully, tucking it into the top of his wraps so it wouldn’t fall away. 

And the night went on, two quiet souls brushing together, if only for a moment.