[Comm] Diligence: Chapter 6

In the kitchen, in the backrooms of the embassy, there was a floral scent wafting from numerous soaking bowls, sweetening the air as Nutmeg turned to the cherubun beside her.

There were almost no words to describe Primrose’s expression, that stern scowl lost as he inspected each collected plant. He was looking for imperfections, anything that could ruin a batch of ambrosia. 

Or rather that’s what Nutmeg assumed as she approached the counter, keeping her steps quiet so as not to interrupt the cherubun. It was one part of being polite and another of wanting to avoid one of Primrose’s famous lectures. She had gotten one on her first visits to the embassy and she swore the ringing in her ears would never go away.

Primrose eventually cleared his throat and turned towards Nutmeg. “They should be soaked enough now, for how dirty they were.” Something the cherubun still wasn’t happy he had to do, as Nutmeg and Dove had given him the plants with a noticeable amount of dirt on them.

Nutmeg decided to keep any comments to herself, there was no point in griping about things when it would only end in an argument. No matter how prickly the cherubun was or how much she wanted to snap. “What’s next?”

Primrose scoffed quietly before he gestured to his side. “The stems and leaves will be used for medicinal ambrosia, but they have two separate processes. The petals for flavored drinks. However, I will be using at least half of the plants for the more complex ambrosias.”

Nutmeg looked curious, but just as quickly as she opened her mouth, Primrose interrupted her, “I will be the only one working on the transformative ambrosias, I will allow you to do the prep work for the others.”

Nutmeg rolled her eyes when the cherubun wasn’t looking. “Yes, I can do that.”

Primrose nodded, moving forward to begin draining the flowers. He wanted this to be done effectively and there was still part of him that didn’t want to trust a succubun with ambrosias entirely. “Come here.”

Nutmeg raised an eyebrow, before slipping in next to Primrose. “Yes?”

He handed her a bowl full of half of the stems and leaves. “You will begin boiling the stems, that is to remove the sap. They will need to boil for at least an hour, maybe two. While it is boiling, you can pat the leaves dry before placing them in the dehydrator.” Which he hated to admit was one of the most fascinating technologies he found in the burrow, even if he wasn’t pleased that it was from a succubun.

Nutmeg nodded, “Understood.”

Primrose huffed, “Don’t interrupt I’m not done.”

Nutmeg gave him a withering look that the cherubun clearly ignored.

He continued, “Take this bowl of petals too, once you dry them off, you will make them into a paste. I’ll tell you what to add to the paste once you’re done.”

Nutmeg did her best to put on a smile, even if she was starting to get a bit annoyed. This wasn’t the time to argue, she was actually quite curious about the process of ambrosia making and wouldn’t ruin the chance to learn. “You’re going to work on the other ambrosias then?”

Primrose nodded stiffly, “Yes, but that process is secretive. I will be the only one working with the nectar, you must not touch that.”

Nutmeg waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t worry. I have my own secrets for the recipes at my café, so I’m not going to force you to tell me yours.” She also didn’t think anyone could force Primrose to tell them something he didn’t want to.

Primrose seemed settled, if not relieved, but there was no telling what he was thinking. “Very well, then we should begin. I would prefer to get this done before night.” He would also never admit he didn’t want to make the succubun walk home when it was late, it could be dangerous.

Nutmeg wanted to ask why that mattered, but she chalked it up to a mysterious reason from the cherubuns. They did tend to do things she thought were different, like caring about the virtues they held themselves to. “Alright let’s get this done.”

She held the bowls in her arms and made a place for herself in front of the stove. It seemed everything was ready for her with the pots on the stove, they were just waiting to be filled with plants and water. “Are you going to work on the ambrosia in here?”

Primrose leveled her with a stare. “Yes, but I will be expecting you to behave yourself and not try to look over my shoulders.”

Nutmeg laughed, “You really don’t trust me huh? Listen, I wouldn’t look. I already said I wouldn’t, so I won’t.”

Primrose didn’t seem convinced, but he wasn’t about to argue. “Very well.”

Nutmeg counted that as a win, maybe Primrose would learn to be comfortable with her yet. There weren’t high hopes for that, but maybe everything would work out if she thought it would. “Did you already cut any thorns off?”

Primrose scoffed, “Of course I did, I prepped everything the day they were collected.” The very thought that he could leave things like that to the last second, was ridiculous.

Nutmeg did her best not to laugh. “Right, of course. You’re very diligent like that.”

Primrose paused, before he begrudgingly admitted, “You might be diligent yourself, given you kept helping.”

Nutmeg barely held back a smirk. “That hurt to say, didn’t it?”

Primrose openly ignored her as he set to work with making ambrosia, he also ignored her loud laughter.

Nutmeg didn’t always understand cherubuns or their way of thinking, but they did seem similar to succubuns. Just buns that were trying to live their own lives and do their own work, that was something she could appreciate. Even a stuck up cherubun like Primrose had his moments. Nutmeg was sure the ambrosia they were making together would be one of the best batches.