Bets and Blooms

ACHOO!

Kane sniffs before rubbing his nose with his shoulder for the, uh, who knows how many times he’s done it by now. “Ugh… I didn’t think I’ve ever sneezed so much in my life,” he says miserably, sounding a little nasally due to his sinuses being stuffed up.

“I knew that Succubuns couldn’t drink ambrosia but I would have never thought they could be allergic to the flower’s pollen of all things!” Dove laughs a little. They showed up to the Embassy Gardens around the same time that Kane did that morning to get some more leaves for their tea. Unfortunately, it seemed that Primrose had run a little behind that week though and did not have a batch ready for pick-up. Dove, ever the optimist, just said they would gather some themself… which caused Primrose to ask if they could accompany Kane in his own cultivation.

Thus… the situation now.

“I didn’t think I was allergic either. I mean, I’ve been here so many times already and I even planted the very flowers I’m sneezing at now!” He sighs, reaching down from where he was kneeling to pick another bloom and place it into his basket. “Maybe I should ask Primrose if he has any gloves… or even a face mask.” 

Dove stands at the bushes nearby and picks at their leaves, making sure to grab the usual amount they usually get each time. “I’m sure he has some gloves lying around somewhere! As for a mask… maybe? You’d have to find him first to ask, though.” They point out the obvious: Primrose disappeared as soon as Dove agreed to help Kane out and neither of the two have seen him since.

“Ah… you’re right… Besides, having a mask now wouldn’t really help the pollen that’s already in my nose,” Kane sniffs hard again to hopefully stop his nose from running but it only makes him sneeze again… and again and again. Once he recovers from the onslaught of pollen, he continues, “Y’know, I don’t think he likes me very much…”

Dove hums in response, packing away their leaves into a small baggie that Primrose gave to them. “I wouldn’t take it personally, Kane. He’s a bit… uh… uptight but he means well! He’s probably just busy today. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him be ‘behind’ on work before.” They walk over to Kane to see how he’s progressing despite the aerial onslaught he’s receiving from each flower he’s picking. “I promise that your help means the world to him. It’s a big job for him to run the Gardens by himself… I also think he particularly appreciates when Succubuns like yourself volunteer.”

Kane looks over at them, another picked flower in his hand and eyes red from all the sneezing he’s been doing. “Why do you think that?” He shoves his full hand into the basket again to deposit the flower inside.

“I don’t know…,” Dove pauses to think on how they want to word this. “I think it’s because of our differences. He knows that with the arrival of us and the Embassy, it’s a big change for you guys and Burrowgatory. So for you, and the other Succubuns, to be so willing to help out… Primrose probably feels better knowing that we’re welcomed with open arms.” 

Kane looks away to focus back on the dwindling flower bed. “I suppose you could be right… I never really thought about how hard it must be for him to manage the Embassy basically single-handedly.” He grips at one of the flower’s stems, twisting and pulling up to rip it out of the dirt. “I feel kinda bad now… heh…”

Dove settles down next to him on the grass since they finished their original task. “Huh? Why do you feel bad about helping out?”

He groans and rolls his eyes a bit in embarrassment as he puts the flower he just picked into the basket along with the others. “Well… Originally, I started helping out because I lost a bet with one of my friends… whoever lost had to do whatever the other asked and… he made me come to the Gardens and volunteer. Not much of a ‘punishment’ now that I think about it but I’m kind of upset now that I started all of this on a whim.” Kane looks down at the last flower in the bed and reaches for it. “I should have had better motives, right? I should have wanted to help out from the goodness in my heart.”

The Cherubun goes silent, contemplating what he had just confessed to them. “... Did the bet say you had to volunteer more than once?” Dove asks sincerely.

“Nah, it was just a one-off ‘punishment.’ The bet wasn’t that big anyway so I don’t think he wanted me to do anything long-term,” he replies, finally ripping out the last flower and staring at it a little before putting it away with all the others.

“Then why did you keep coming to help if you only had to do it once?” Dove follows up with another question.

Kane flushes hard in response, realizing they figured him out. “I… well… It was because…” He sighs hard and looks away, “Because I thought it was fun. It’s been interesting meeting Primrose, Beanny, and you… I never really thought I’d like gardening but… here I am I guess! Still at it in the Gardens despite the fact it feels like my nose wants to explode.”

Dove laughs again, a sweet sound despite Kane’s complaints. “I think even if it started as a bet, you’ve redeemed yourself. There’s some Succubuns out there that would never help out or even seem to be put off by our arrival but there’s ones like you that are putting your all into co-existing with us. I think that’s very virtuous.”

Kane coughs awkwardly, unsure what to say in response to Dove’s praise. But before he could even think of what to say, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat which made the both of them turn towards the sound. 

“Oh… Primrose, there you are…” Kane says weakly, his mind racing wondering how much he might have overheard.

The Cherubun looks at him and then to the basket by side and nods stiffly. “I see you’ve both finished.” 

The two stand up together, Kane making sure to grab the basket from the ground. “Yeah, we sure did! Thanks again for the tea leaves, Primrose!” Dove chimes cheerfully.

Primrose sighs quietly, “It’s alright, Dove. I apologize for not having a batch ready ahead of time like usual.” He goes back to focusing on Kane. “Pass me the basket, I can take it back with me for processing next week. It’s lunch time now anyway.”

Kane nods and passes the basket full of flowers over to Primrose who inspects the plants inside before noticing how red Kane’s nose has gotten. Primrose reaches into his pocket and takes out a packet of tissues. “Thank you for all your help, Kane. Use these. I expect you back next week to help process these blooms.”

The Succubuns blinks in surprise but grasps at the packet despite it all. That was the first time Primrose had thanked Kane… and explicitly told him to come back the following week!! “Y-yeah, of course!” He exclaims eagerly.

Maybe the bet wasn’t such a bad thing after all.