63: Meeting of the Buns

** Cream’s Perspective **

Our Lady kept giving us funny rocks to pile up in the big tree burrow. So many rocks. As the matron of the big burrow, it was my job to oversee the moving of the rocks to the places she told us to put them. Since we were running out of room in the big tree burrow, our Lady had made it go down as well as up. She was so smart.

Many days had passed since we had been created, many days of confusion, but as the sun went up and down and up and down those many days, we began to understand ourselves. Our Lady went to another place when she disappeared. Another land of trees and buns. The revelation had shaken our understanding of the universe, but in the end it didn’t matter, because we had food here and things to do. Plus the people liked to pretend groom us, and it felt good.

We were learning more things too, people things! Our Lady was a people, and so were all her friends. Sometimes they weren’t very good at their own people things though. They didn’t wash themselves properly, for one. Not a single lick, except when our Lady’s lady was making her cry out very loudly. Very confusing. One day I needed to figure out how to instruct the people on how to clean themselves properly. They also did not know the proper ways to express their joy and excitement, they remained stationary! No full bodied expressions of happiness or enthusiastic gambolling. They seemed to just get… louder.

One day after our Lady’s lady made her yell very loud at night, we began to get so many things to put in the big tree burrow. So much space was being taken up in the burrow that we had to prepare for the worst. A great many carrots and bananas were stockpiled away, other things too. We felt bad for hiding things from our Lady, but we wanted to make sure we had enough treats. 

She always forgot about the treats, because she was funny and burned them before she ate them. Sometimes she made us burn them before she and the other people ate them. The big hairy one was teaching us to burn things in the correct manner for people to eat it. Very strange.

It was the night before our Lady had said that the people were going to leave the Millowburrow and go somewhere else, and it was time for our weekly bun report. This was when we all flopped around the big stone and talked about what had happened that week. I liked this time because it let me learn about all the things happening in our land of trees and buns.

“Sprinkles, you’ve been having problems with the quiet person, so let’s hear what has happened,” I said bundling into a loaf. Loafing was a good position for report time.

“My quiet person has been getting quieter, it is quite unsettling,” Sprinkles said, shaking her head with worry. “I have been asked to cuddling many times more in the sleeping times than I used to be.”

“That is not good, much cuddling is a warning sign with the people,” Wrestlebun said, the bun who had been assigned to the biggest person. “The biggest person does not cuddle often, he is strong with his feelings, and his hands. He is teaching me how to fight!”

“Good,” I said, bobbing my head low in agreement. “One day you will lead us in defending our Lady’s land. Please though, Sprinkles… continue.”

“The quiet one has also been crying,” she said sadly, ears wilting. “He has been saying things like, ‘I wish I was a braindead male isekai protagonist. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with emotions. Why can’t I make myself care? I dreamed about this, but I still don’t care. It’s just people dying or people trying to kill us, and I can do nothing. I am so worthless.’ It is very worrying, because I do not know what some of those words mean, but I hear the pain.”

Around the room, many buns ground their teeth together in sympathy and sadness. A sad person was a failing on our part, we had to do better.

“This is not our fault,” the unnamed black bun said into the silence. “I heard the people talking, sometimes there are things they get sad about that are not things we can ever fix. It is something the people must do for each other. All we can do is make life for the quiet one just a little happier, that he does not despair too deeply.”

“I could learn to burn food better, bring it for him. The people liked burned food!” Sprinkles said, sitting up.

“My person has said that he wonders about the quiet one,” Buddy the bun said, personal bun to the wise strong person. Troy, I think they people called him, but we did not have mouths that could make that noise. “Says that the quiet one is very sad, a sad that is deep.”

I bobbed my head and flicked my ear in agreement, “Keep an eye on the quiet one please, Sprinkles.”

“I shall,” she replied with a bob and flick of her own.

With the matter of the quiet person settled for the moment, I turned to the next bun I wanted to call upon. “Gardeningbun, tell us how the caring for the plants and trees goes.”

“Well, as usual,” he said simply. He did not spend much time with the humans, only earning his name when the Lady had noticed how dedicated he was to caring for the plants. He closed his eyes sleepily before he continued. “The Lady was wise when she made the caring plants. Practically do all the work for me.”

The meeting continued on after this, until our sense of the land of trees and buns told Sprinkles that the quiet person was looking for her. Soon everyone was hopping off to continue their duties and I left to make sure the Lady was happy.