Diligence 4

“Do you know where in Burrowgatory you want me to take you to yet?” Taffy poked as she followed Primrose to some special place in the Embassy gardens he wanted her to see. “You need my top 10 list again? Let's see, there's-”

“You seem to be mistaken,” Primrose interrupted, looking over his shoulder back at the succubun, “I never agreed to going down there with you; I said that I would think about it. It is very rude and presumptuous of you to take consideration as a firm yes.”

He had a point. It seemed like Taffy had gotten ahead of herself, not that such a thing had never happened before. 

“...Right! Sorry.” A bit embarrassed, Taffy looked around to busy her mind with anything else. She noticed that the path that they were taking was very much out of the way from the rest of the greenhouses, like it didn't belong to the Embaasy gardens in the first place. “Where exactly are we going? I know you said it was special, but you kinda skimped on the details a bit there!”

A sigh came from Primrose before he responded. “We are going to the area where coffee beans are grown. And then, you will deliver the recent harvest to the Paradise Café.”

“COFFEE?! YEEEEESSSSS!!!” Taffy's enthusiasm reverberated throughout the area, including Primrose's eardrums. Any and all buns in the area immediately turned to the pair, expressions ranging from concern to fury.

The cherubun pinched the bridge of his nose, holding any semblance of wrath perfectly in place. “This. Is why. I wanted to wait. Until we got there. To tell you.” He exhaled, attempting to let go of the desperate want to take out his agitation on something. “Please control yourself, if that is something you are capable of doing.”

Taffy took in a deep breath and held it. This was her go-to for keeping her excitement at bay, since it would leave her winded even if she did get so excited she had to break it.

From there, the two were able to make it to their destination without further incident. When they stepped inside, Taffy no longer had to use a trick to be rendered silent. 

The greenhouse hosting the coffee plants didn't appear different from the other greenhouses from the outside, but the difference between the plants made the contrast feel like night and day. A delectable aroma wafted throughout the space, filling it with foggy memories of warmth gently easing you out of dreams after waking up. The other greenhouses had lovely scents as well, but Taffy had no personal connection with the scent of the heavenly flowers. This was different, this smelled like comfort itself to her.

Dreaminess toning down her energy like speaking behind a handkerchief, Taffy mused her thoughts aloud. “I didn't know the Heavenly Meadow had coffee…”

“It doesn't,” Primrose stated matter-of-factly, cutting straight through Taffy's breakfast-scented haze. “They are only here at Beanny’s insistence. Growing them in the blessed soil here supposedly makes them resonate better with us cherubuns, but I hardly see how dirty Hell bean soup can ever be enjoyable.”

Taffy jumped and quickly whipped around to face the other bun. “You’ve NEVER had coffee?!” A rhythmic thwipping sound drummed as Taffy's wildly waving arms continuously struck the leaves of the poor coffee plant next to her. “It’s not dirty Hell bean soup, it's great! How do you know you don't like it if you’ve never tried it?”

“Do you want to try every single food that exists, even if you have never had them before?”

Taffy was about to answer, but the thought of vegetable juice flashed in her mind. She quietly pouted instead.

A self-satisfied ‘hm!’ marked the end of Primrose's thoughts on the matter.

Taffy defiantly shot a little ‘hm!’ of her own before continuing to look around the greenhouse. After a bit of marveling at how coffee plants actually looked—she assumed they were just little bushes with the beans growing off of them—she finally caught sight of some sacks of coffee beans stacked next to the back wall.

“Are these the beans I’m delivering to Paradise Café?” she inquired.

“Yes. Allow me to fetch you a cart to carry them in-”

“Nah, I got it!” Taffy said confidently as she lifted up one of the sacks onto her shoulder with ease.

Primrose stared blankly for a few seconds, blinking exactly twice. “And what of the rest of the stack? Unless you are planning on making five trips, which… Oh, please don’t make five trips, I couldn’t stand it.”

“Don’t worry, I can carry them all at once! I’m strong!” the succubun replied, lifting a second sack onto her other shoulder.

“...You have three more to go.” An amused look began to light up Primrose’s face.

Realizing that she’s out of shoulders, Taffy looked back and forth between the coffee beans on the ground and the ones she was carrying. With a little bit of fumbling, she managed to double up the load on each shoulder, grinning triumphantly.

“You seem to be forgetting one,” Primrose pointed out. Those who are rather observant may have been able to notice a forced-back chuckle in the cherubun’s voice as he spoke. “I will get the cart. Please refrain from trying to put the last one on your head.”

Taffy huffed, both out of disappointment that she wasn’t able to pull off carrying the beans herself and from Primrose correctly guessing what she was planning on doing next.

With all the coffee bean sacks on the cart, Taffy cheerfully bid Primrose adieu and set out to Paradise Café, the scent of the beans only exacerbating her enthusiasm.

Eventually, she arrived with a good amount of her energy lost to the trek. Mustering up her usual playfulness, she knocked a jaunty little rhythm on the back door of the café.

A few beats passed before Beanny opened the door, looking pleasantly surprised once they recognized Taffy. “Never seen you using this door to get in!”

Taffy beamed back. “Yep! I’m helping out with Embassy stuff today!” With a flourish, she stepped aside and held out her arm towards the coffee-stacked cart. “Delivery for you!”

“Perfect! Just got done with a big morning rush, so things were getting a bit dicey with supply. You can wheel that in so it's easier to unload them.”

Unfortunately, Taffy was already encumbered with coffee bean sacks on her shoulders again. “I got it!”

With a chuckle, Beanny shook their head. “Why do I get the feeling this isn't the first time today that you’ve done that?” They opened the door wider for Taffy to push the cart through it already. “You're overdoing it. Just use the tools at your disposal. You’ll get more done that way.”

Taffy, begrudgingly, placed the sacks back on the cart and wheeled it through the door. “Where do you want these?”

“Anywhere along that wall over there is good. I can help, here-”

“No! I gotta prove myself!” Taffy interrupted, fire in her eyes.

“...Okay. All yours, then.” A bit puzzled, they watched as the succubun unloaded the coffe beans alone. “I figured you were the stubborn type, but not this stubborn. Is something going on with you?”

“I’ve been proving my diligence to Primrose by helping him out with things!” Taffy's movements slowed as she thought a bit deeper. “It’s really more of an excuse for him to hang out, but I do still want to win the argument, so…”

An ‘Ah!’ punctuated Beanny's hands being placed on their hips. “That explains it. Primrose definitely can pull the bullheadedness out of people, even if he doesn't mean to.” They leaned their head back as they reminisced. “I bet I seem like the most headstrong bun in Burrowgatory whenever I try to get him to venture out of his comfort zone.”

Taffy dropped the coffee bean sack she was holding, luckily missing her hoof. “You too?! I’ve been trying to get him to come down and see my favorite places in Burrowgatory with me!”

Eyes closed, Beanny nodded. “Yup. I’ve been working on that one for a while now. He’s interested, but…” Their eyes opened, but were pointed away at something distant. “...Melangel's teachings still have a steel grip on him. He thinks what he wants is irrelevant compared to what Melangel would want. He may not even be the person he wants to be right now.” 

A pause thick with heavy words filled the space between them for a few moments.

“So, it's probably gonna take a good bit of time!” Beanny continued, snapping their gaze back to Taffy with a smile. “Don't stop nudging him, but if you push him too hard all at once, he might think it’s not worth it to doubt.”

While Taffy had at least an inkling that Primrose's issues stemmed ultimately from the strict care of Melangel, the reality of it was difficult to grasp until now. From her limited perspective, the angel’s influence on cherubuns was flavor that was important to their pasts, but nevertheless behind them. The way Beanny spoke about the situation, even Taffy could tell that fragments of what they had to go through were still embedded in them. This wasn't as simple as goading someone into trying a new food; it was more like convincing them to trust that the food they were told over and over was poisonous can't hurt them. Not everyone could take the risk as easily as Beanny or Dove were able to.

Taffy gave a nod. “I think I get it now… Thank you!” She flashed a smile.

Beanny smiled back. Satisfied with the conversation, they looked down at the coffee bean sacks against the wall. “Other than the one you dropped, it looks like you’re all done unloading.” With their thumb, they pointed back to the main café area. “I can get you your usual when you're done. Free of charge in exchange for your diligence.”

After the word ‘usual’, Taffy’s body darted, and the last sack was stacked against the wall before Beanny finished speaking. “Yes, please!”

With Taffy's work done, she sat at one of the café tables, contemplating what to say to Primrose. Good thing she had a full cup of overly-sweet coffee to help her think it over.