Pursuit of Diligence: Chapter 3 | Watering the Blooms

Busy, busy, busy… Or at least this particular week seemed to be!

There was the constant research that Mynte did on the side ever since a particular greed bun entered his life, though that was a - understandably - fairly slow going project… Because that’s what plants did; they took their time.

Just like the many fruits, vegetables, and flowers that Mynte grew in their garden.

Just like the various plants that grew up in the embassy…

Taking it just one day at a time.

And while Mynte did continue to find joy and relaxation with these various responsibilities of his, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t starting to feel the slightest bit overwhelmed. It wasn’t like he could just take a break either; these were living things that needed at least some kind of attention on a day to day basis. 

That, and it certainly didn’t help that he needed to get orders out to Poppy on a pretty regular basis. Usually that’s not that much of a problem, but this week in particular the orders the sloth bun received were… a lot.

Like a lot a lot.

Mynte normally wouldn’t stress too much, but not only did the sloth bun have to somehow manage to get an unusually large order of bouquets and the likes done before Poppy arrived. Today was also the day Primrose specifically told him to come up to the embassy. Not that Mynte needed reminders or anything; if anything it seemed like the hermit probably went to check up on his batch of ambrosia flowers a little too often, maybe? They certainly seemed to grow in an interesting way anyway, which was to be expected honestly. And he was looking forward to seeing what the next task was! He just… needed to remain calm. And get these orders done first.

One step at a time.

Thankfully, or well initially not so thankfully, Poppy arrived at the hermit’s shack to pick up the order she’d sent him. Reason for initially not being so thankful was because Mynte, well, hadn’t been done yet, which normally wasn’t that much of an issue, but the hermit was feeling a little more frazzled than usual all things considered. There was still so much to do and, while Poppy wasn’t in much of a hurry, it wasn’t like it was a short walk from his place to the embassy. Mynte didn’t want to go late, or worse, not show up at all, but…

But he had a responsibility with Poppy, too.

Dilemma… which Popuri seemed to have caught up on fairly quickly upon starting to make herself comfortable within her friend’s place of living.

“Hey Mynte, you… seem more anxious than usual. Anything you wanna talk about?” She asked as she helped the lovedrunk erose make itself comfortable atop her head as tended to be the norm when she came to visit.

A short little back and forth later and Poppy knew all she needed to know and was fairly quick to offer up her help… in more ways than one! But… not before first apologizing to her friend for getting a little too carried away with this round’s orders.

With an extra pair of hands helping him out, the two buns managed to finish the remaining bouquets much faster than if it were just Mynte doing them all by himself. Even better than that, though? After having mentioned his plight about making it to the embassy in time after this, Poppy oh-so graciously offered to give him a lift. After all, she had a car she took to get here… and it was the least she could do after sorta kinda overloading the poor bun with so many orders in one day.

On the car ride to the elevator that led to the embassy, Poppy couldn’t help but ask the shy sloth bun several questions. How were things going? Was he having fun? Had he learned anything interesting so far? Was the gardening really that much different? And, “...think I’d be able to help out one of these days, maybe?”

Mynte took a moment to think over that last question; could she? It wasn’t like succubun were banned from helping out. Clearly. Would… would Primrose be bothered if he brought a friend with him to help out, though? Hmm…

There really was only one way to find out, wasn’t there?

“I… I can ask?” Mynte replied carefully after giving it a bit of thought. A terrifying thought really, and not just because it was Primrose he’d be asking, but… He’d much rather ask and be sure than assume and, potentially, get yelled at for doing something he wasn’t allowed to.

… Though… who’s to say that simply asking wouldn’t get him yelled at, too?

No no, no…

No going down that path now, Mynte. Positive attitude. Hopeful attitude.

And if it turned out to be okay to bring Poppy along for some of this whenever she had time to spare, then… Then maybe also…?

Potentially something to look forward to, probably.

Maybe.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the hermit bid his friend a quick goodbye before shuffling out of her car with Beebee, Thyme, and this time also Bloom in tow. Waving her off as she drove off before heading towards the elevator.

To the Heavenly Embassy.

While Mynte was by no means late, the sloth bun couldn’t help but apologize to Primrose for just that upon arriving at the gardens. An act which seemingly surprised the cherubun, especially considering, ‘S-sorry I’m late!’ were the first words out of the sloth bun’s mouth upon spotting him. Seemingly in the process of inspecting one of the blooming flowerbeds.

“Late? You’re not… Nevermind.” The cherubun replied as he started to get up from his spot near the flowerbed.  “There’s no need to apologize. That being said, are you ready for your next task, or… do you need a moment still?” He questioned, referring to Mynte seeming… a little tired.

“N-no! No, I’m… I-I’m okay. I-I’m ready!” Mynte quickly replied, though wincing a little as he felt that he may be sounding a little… overeager? Not that he wasn’t eager, just… Mynte wasn’t that excited either. Hmm… Maybe it was the nerves about the question he was thinking to ask the cherubun later hitting him early? That was possible…

Regardless of why Mynte was a little antsier than usual, Beebee took a moment to lightly bump against the sloth bun’s face. One of the many ways the bimble did their best to calm down and ground the hermit… And an act which said hermit appreciated.

The little exchange between succubun and imp hadn’t escaped Primrose, but seeing as he still wasn’t particularly familiar with this succubun and his ways, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do or say in the moment. Besides, things seemed handled as well as they could be, so… “Very well… Follow me then.”

It was… curious, really.

While Mynte had noticed that the heavenly embassy was built upon what seemed to be a solid cloud, which was already a curiousity of its own, he had never once stopped to think about whether or not said cloud played any kind of role in the gardening process. Could you blame him, though? Still, he now knew better, or rather… He was learning better.

Mynte was a pretty attentive listener. Especially when it came to topics that interested him greatly. So it was pretty safe to say that the sloth bun hung onto every word that Primrose spoke as he led them to one of the sheds to retrieve a pair of watering cans.

So even the water here was different than in Burrowgatory… That was…

“...kinda cool…” The sloth bun muttered softly to himself.

“What was that?” Primrose asked, pausing his explanation.

“N-nothing!” Mynte squeaked out nervously as if he’d gotten caught doing or saying something he shouldn’t have. “I-I’m sorry, p-please… P-please g-go on.”

Primrose simply stared at the sloth bun for a couple of agonizingly long seconds - for Mynte - before sighing lightly and continuing where he’d left off. He would’ve said something like appreciating Mynte not talking under his breath like that, or speaking clearly, or about not interrupting others… Many things really, but after having spent some time with the succubun, the cherubun… thought better of it.

Small hiccup aside, Primrose finished up his explanation while filling up two watering cans with water and handing one of them to Mynte. The sloth bun found himself very, very, very tempted to take at least a small, teeny tiny sip of water straight from said watering can, but…

But Primrose was right there…

And, oh right! He still had something he’d wanted to ask the cherubun. Couldn’t risk making him mad and having that work against him at least until after asking that question of his, but before that?

Watering time.

Once the two buns made their way back to the flowerbed, Primrose took the time to explain, and show, how to water the flowers that were now starting to bloom. There, admittedly, wasn’t a whole lot different in the watering process compared to how he normally watered the various plants in his own garden back home, but that didn’t stop the sloth bun from paying attention and carefully mimicking the way Primrose watered the flowers.

Careful, slowly… Not too much or he’d drown the flowers, and not too little or they’d dry out and wilt. A perfect balance one could only strike through paying very careful attention to not just the blooming flowers, but also the soil. Once he thought they were done, Mynte did a quick soil check just to be sure. Once confirmed, both by himself and Primrose, that the flowers were adequately watered, Mynte… smiled. First at the flowers, then at Primrose.

The cherubun couldn’t help but smile back at the sloth bun. “You did well. Good job.”

Mynte actually started a little at the praise, before blushing slightly and glancing away. “T…thank you.” Nervous. Nervous shy nervous fidget nervous. “Y…you’re very good at… at explaining?” Mynte tried, because, well… Primrose deserved some kind of praise in return too, right? Mynte was… fairly certain at this point that he was far from the only bun that he took the time to walk through this process, and that…

That deserved its own kind of praise, you know?

At least, that’s what Mynte thought anyway.

While Mynte was too busy looking away due to shyness, if he had turned to look at the cherubun again he would’ve noticed that he seemed… surprised? Like he wasn’t expecting to hear those kinds of words in return. Though whether that was because it was surprising coming from Mynte or something else… was anyone’s guess, really.

Regardless, Primrose regained his composure fairly quickly and… The two buns found themselves mostly sitting in a kind of silence for a little bit. Taking in their handiwork for the day.

Mynte still had a pretty important question that he wanted, needed to ask… And he would! He’d definitely ask before going home, just…

Not yet.

Soon.