Pursuit of Diligence: Ch 3 [Ari]

“Thank you for bringing me along, Ari. I know I probably won't be able to help much with whatever Primrose has planned for you today, but…” 

“But it's been a couple of weeks, and you feel like you're missing out.” Ari guessed at what his littermate was trying to say. “It's okay, Mose, it's easy enough for you to come. We got this backpack for a reason, after all.” 

He looked over his shoulder at the navy blue Gluttony bun nestled safely in said backpack, his front hooves hooked over the top as he took in the view. Mosaic didn't get out much; his disability made it unsafe for him to go out alone, and there wasn’t always somebody free to accompany him. 

And no matter how many times Ari, or their other littermate Manis, or Mosaic’s partner Drukyul, told him that none of them thought of him as a burden, Mosaic apologized almost every single time.

So when Mosaic mentioned wistfully that he wished he could be more involved in the ‘research’ Ari was doing by helping Primrose out with the ambrosia harvest, Ari immediately invited him along. 

And now here they were, riding the elevator tower up to the Heavenly Embassy. Mosaic had his eyes glued to the glass walls, watching Burrowgatory get smaller and smaller. 

“We're so high up, I can't even see our house any more…” 

“You'll be seeing something better than our house right away, just hold on.” 

As if on cue, the elevator slowed to a stop, a gentle ding sounding as the doors slid open. 

Ari heard Mosaic inhale sharply as the Embassy proper was revealed to him. The buildings that were so alike, yet so different than the ones in Burrowgatory. Plush cloud bed that absorbed the sound of Ari’s heels instead of exaggerating it. And the Cherubuns themselves, heads lit by their halos instead of shadowed by horns. 

“This place is amazing…” 

Ari chuckled softly at his littermate’s astonishment. “Just wait until we get to the greenhouse.” 

They didn’t talk much the rest of the walk. Ari could feel Mosaic shifting as he looked left, and right, and left again, trying to take in as much detail as he could. Ari glanced over his shoulder at Mosaic as the greenhouses came into view, only to see the Gluttony bun locked on, his eyes glittering. 

Ari went to the front door of the greenhouse he planted the seeds in a few weeks ago and pushed his way inside. “Primrose, I’m here! And I brought a friend~” he called out in a singsong voice. 

He spotted the Cherubun almost immediately. Primrose was wearing what seemed to be a more casual version of the outfit he usually wore.

“A short sleeve shirt?” Ari gasped, putting a hand to his mouth. “Primrose, I can see your elbows, how scandalous.” 

Primrose immediately whirled around to look their way, hands flying to opposite elbows as he tried to hide the bare skin there. “Are elbows erotic in Succubun culture?” His voice was little more than a horrified squeak. 

Ari couldn’t hold back his laughter, leaving it up to Mosaic to lean around the back of Ari’s head and explain. “No, he’s just teasing you… Primrose, was it? Hi.” 

Primrose scowled at Ari, making him laugh harder. “S-sorry,” he managed, brushing tears from his eyes. “I didn’t think you’d react like that. You should’ve seen your face!”

“How am I supposed to see my own face…” Primrose grumbled, but he came closer, shifting his attention to Mosaic. “Hello, who are you?” 

“My name is Mosaic, I’m Ari’s littermate. I - Ah, I guess he told you to call him Reverie, didn’t he. Sorry, Ari…”

“It’s okay Mose, don’t worry about it.” Having calmed down from his sudden laughing fit, Ari turned his body slightly so Mosaic didn’t have to lean so much to see Primrose.

“I have some difficulties getting around; Ari has been helping you on my behalf, and telling me all about it when he gets home. I … Was just having a good energy day today and thought it wouldn't be an issue if I came along…” Mosaic trailed off, uncertainty clear in his voice.

Ari watched Primrose carefully, but the Cherubun showed no signs of judgement or annoyance or anything else that Ari had half expected.

“No issue at all, Mosaic. Even if you were in doll form and teasing me about my elbows like somebody, I wouldn’t send you away.” Primrose turned - finally, Ari noticed, taking his hands away from his elbows - and gestured at the Succubuns to follow him, leading them towards the back of the greenhouse. “We’ll be watering the ambrosia plants today.”

When they got to the back of the greenhouse, Primrose pointed out a complicated series of glass tubes that looked like they were growing straight out of the cloudbed. “We use these to pull water from the cloudbed itself, as it purifies all dew that collects in it. This water is extremely pure, similar to what we had in the Heavenly Meadows; there are no chances of trace minerals, unlike Burrowgatory rainwater which may collect impurities from the crystals I’m told grow at the top of the Burrow. Therefore, it’s the safest water to give to the ambrosia flowers.”

Primrose grabbed an empty watering can from a table nearby, held it under a curve of one of the tubes, and held a button down. The tube quickly began depositing water. Once the watering can was full, Primrose handed it to Ari. “Could you go to that flowerbed there and wait? I’ll be there in a moment.” 

Ari nodded, taking his holy water over to a flower bed that had tiny stems of varying colours just poking out of the soil. He knelt down, leaning so Mosaic could see better. “Look, not all of them are green. The seeds were weird too; some were shiny, I think I even remember a translucent one. I’ll make sure I bring you when they’re ready to harvest, if Primrose asks me to come.” 

“Everything about the Heavenly Embassy is incredible…” Mosaic sighed wistfully as Ari stood up again, no doubt wishing he had a way to grow his own ambrosia plant back home.

“I’m happy to hear you say that.” Primrose had rejoined them, carrying what appeared to be…

“Is that… for me?” Mosaic sounded completely taken aback.

Primrose looked down at the clearly bun-sized watering can in his hands. “Is that alright? You seemed eager, I thought I might help you… If I’ve overstepped, though, I apologize.” 

“I… would love that.” 

Ari’s opinion of Primrose was quickly shifting, his respect for the Cherubun growing. Maybe Primrose gave off the vibe that he didn’t make friends very easily, but at the very least he was being considerate of Mosaic, and that was the fastest way to win Ari’s approval. They’re kind of cute together, aren’t they? Just a pair of awkward nerds.

“May I?” 

Ari could tell that Mosaic felt the way his whole body tensed, by the way his littermate patted his hair gently with his hoof. Ari was immediately on guard, wanting to snap at Primrose as the Cherubun set the watering can to the side and mimed picking Mosaic up… But ultimately it was Mosaic’s decision, and soon enough Ari felt Primrose lift Mosaic gently out of the open-top backpack Ari had been carrying him around in. 

Cradling Mosaic close to his chest, Primrose looked down at the small watering can he’d placed on the floor; Ari was quick to go grab it, not giving Primrose any opportunity to drop his beloved littermate. Once the two were set up, Primrose continued.

“It’s fairly easy to determine if the soil is dry. Simply put your finger - or hoof - in like so.” 

Ari copied Primrose’s demonstration. “It’s completely dry.” 

“Exactly. Once you’ve determined if a bed needs watering, make sure to do it slowly; too much water can kill a plant just as easily as not enough. The soil will tell you when it’s had enough.” 

Ari raised an eyebrow at Primrose’s personification of the bed of dirt, but did as he was told. Supporting his watering can with one hand, he poured water slowly into the bed, moving it back and forth as he did so to make sure more than just one ambrosia sprout got its fill. Once he noticed that the soil wasn’t actively absorbing the water as it had been before, he stopped. “Oh. I see what you mean.” He nodded, looking over at the other two just in time to see Primrose relieve Mosaic of his watering can. “One bed down, only another…” Ari looked around the greenhouse and sighed. “Can’t you guys rig those tubes to water the ambrosia themselves?”

“We could, hypothetically. But the ambrosia plants are extremely important to us, as we use them to make medicines, and we can’t go back to the Heavenly Meadows to get more if we somehow destroy our harvest. So I don’t leave anything up to technology alone.” 

“Makes sense. So, uh… We’ll be here for the rest of the day, won’t we?” 

Primrose looked down at Mosaic, who was standing on the wooden edge of the flower bed but had Primrose to lean against for balance. “Only as long as you’re able.” 

“Well Mose?” Ari met his littermate’s eyes and knew the answer. “Alright, next bed it is~” 

~

The two littermates managed to get most of the greenhouse watered before Ari noticed telltale signs of exhaustion in Mosaic’s body language. He took the backpack off and Primrose frowned for a moment before nodding in understanding and wordlessly helping Mosaic get into the backpack. In moments, the Gluttony bun was asleep. 

“Sorry we couldn’t finish.” Ari said softly to Primrose as the dolls went back to the back of the greenhouse, Ari handing his doll-sized watering can to Primrose and taking the bun-sized one to put away. “But if he pushes himself too hard, he’ll be bedridden for days.” 

Primrose shook his head, waving dismissively at Ari. “I’ve done this completely alone before, Reverie, I’m not about to ask for a stranger to sacrifice their health for me.” He refilled his watering can, then looked back at Ari, cheeks tinged a light pink. “He’s welcome to come back any time, as well…’

Ari raised an eyebrow, thinking back to his observation from earlier. “Alright, I’ll let him know. See you soon, Primrose.” He turned to leave, then glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh and, you can call me Ari.”