Shiny

There’s a jewel thief on the loose, and while some bunnies hold grudges, no one with any animosity towards Emerald would be in their bedroom this early. The shelf that showcases their gem collection usually has them arranged in neat stacks, sorted by color - but the purple stack of amethyst, tanzanite, fluorite, chalcedony, spinel, and iolite has transformed into an unseemly pile with the iolite missing. Thank the demons that the green stack was undisturbed, but who would do such a thing?

Suddenly, a strange noise comes from the window, left open before bedtime so that the curtains would billow in the warm breeze. On the sill sits a corvat, and though it’s made of Hellish energy, nothing more, it possesses an annoying smugness about it as it clutches the iolite chunk in its beak. Before Emerald can grab the troublemaker and give it what for, it flies off, cawing and cackling. Emerald traces its flight with their eyes until it fades out of sight, a mere speck.

Few people in Burrowgatory would be able to help, but Emerald knows of at least one.

When Emerald arrives at the Imporium, it’s surprisingly open. If Hutch was a reasonable rabbit, they would surely be asleep at this hour, but it’s lucky that they’re a bit of an eccentric. Shocked by the presence of a customer, he stammers a hello.

“W-welcome to the Imporium! How may I be of assist-”

Before Hutch can finish his sentence, Emerald interjects with a crazed request to track down the rude stray corvat, retrieve their stolen iolite, and firmly discipline the creature. The request comes out as a demand, and comes out in a single breath. 

Hutch looks completely incredulous. 

“But that would be unfeasible on so many levels, there’s no way we’d find a single corvat in the whole of Burrowgato-”

Once again, Hutch is cut off - this time, by the arrival of a corvat with something purple glimmering in its beak. It lands directly on his head and drops the stone into his hands as it reaches up to pet it. 

Emerald’s eyes grow wide and flood with frenzy. 

“You! You fucking thief! You and your little imps steal shit, from even the most sinful succubuns, I bet! Do you sell it for carats? What the hell!” 

In doll form, Emerald is much bigger than Hutch, who cowers at their feet. In the weakest voice, they apologize profusely, sweating bullets. After several minutes of panic, Hutch collects himself and hands Emerald the iolite chunk.

“There’s definitely been a misunderstanding. No, I… maybe there hasn’t? I mean that what this corvat brings me is usually nothing of value, pretty rocks and such, plants maybe? Intelligent an imp as it is, it doesn’t realize that value can be monetary and sentimental, it’s just drawn towards shiny things as is its nature, and yes, yes, I agree - it needs discipline,” 

“Hutch. Firstly, pretty rocks have value, as you can clearly see. Secondly, you said usually.”

“There’s been… the occasional carat or two… or five…”

Emerald shakes their head. “Clearly, the corvat is not the only one who needs discipline.”

Hutch blushes a stupid amount at the suggestion and Emerald blushes too, as they think about how awesome it would be to have a pet that brought them pretty rocks and carats. They stare at each other in silence and Hutch eventually joins Emerald in doll form. The corvat sitting on Hutch’s head lets out a confused squawk as it suddenly shifts position vertically. All at once, the tension between the two succubuns dissipates as if it were never there. 

“About that,” Emerald says, twirling their hair, “do you think you could teach the corvat to fetch items? On command, I mean?” 

Hutch was expecting a completely different proposition. They blink at Emerald in confusion, but nod their head. “Do you want to try, since you were so keen on… the discipline? Here, let it sit in your hand, easy there,” 

As Hutch passes the corvat from his head to Emerald’s hands, he also draws a carat from his pocket and wiggles it so it catches the light of the shop’s interior, and then walks back a few paces. The corvat caws, but stays put. Hutch explains that this corvat knows some basic commands like “fetch”, and that what he’s really trying to teach it is to mimic succubun speech. Their eyes light up as they start digressing regarding the science of how imps make noise in the first place. Emerald actually finds it fascinating, but interrupts with a “fetch” to watch the corvat fling itself at Hutch with a flurry of wings. Just as quickly as it left Emerald’s hands, it returns to them, and places the carat down. 

“Wow! That is incredibly cool, honestly. I’m sorry for accusing you of being a thief. I was angry, and the truth is that if I had an imp that smart, I’d let it bring me presents all the time. You’re not a bad guy at all for enjoying that.” 

Hutch smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. Emerald smiles back, all teeth.

“D-do you want to see the other imps? I can’t quite place why, but I feel that a sceil would suit you. They’re a bit less hassle than corvats, but I’m sure you could take care of a corvat one day too.” 

As if to agree with its owner, the corvat still in Emerald’s hands begins to chirp.