Friends in Research

As much as Kyanite preferred to stay away from the big cities, he couldn't deny that there were plenty of valuable resources to be found in such places. There were also opportunities to be seized for those with keen eye and shrewd persuasion – though Kyanite frowned down upon the use of currency, it was a means to an end he could not always avoid.

When Kyanite wasn't busy with errands (stuffing his bag with cheap junk food counted as an errand), he would sometimes visit the library to do research. Lately, he noticed a sudden abundance of inkaps around his residence and the nearby wooded trails. Kyanite had always been accustomed to seeing imps all over the place – even in his corner of the forest, but this was an intriguing surprise. Perhaps he'd finally cave and try to tame a few for himself, but he needed to learn how first.

Once Kyanite's workload had eased up, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to take some time off for himself in order to really enjoy a day at the library. Dressing warmly in layered coats and a scarf, Kyanite shivered a bit as he left the house.

At least it doesn't snow here... much. But the lack of seasonal variety in the cities is much too dull. Kyanite thought. As he walked along the path through his garden in front of his house, he heard a subtle noise. Turning sharply, Kyanite zeroed in on the source: a... succubun? No, the tail was wrong and the limbs were far too short. Unless Kyanite had found the result of someone experimenting with one too many of Hops's mystery brews, this was likely... an imp?

For a moment, the two stared at each other. The creature didn't seem to be interested in eating Kyanite's vegetables, so there was no reason to shoo the thing away. Giving it a hard look, Kyanite left through the garden gate, wondering how long that 'bun' thing had been there.

It didn't take long for Kyanite to hear more shuffling, as he walked to the train station for the cities. Turning again, Kyanite saw that the 'bun' from before had followed him through the forest. Now that Kyanite had stopped, the imp stopped as well, sitting back on its haunches and twitching the tip of its snout.

This gesture was endearing and almost nostalgic somehow, in more ways than one. Caught up in his thoughts, Kyanite was startled out of them when the imp bounded over to him and lightly headbutted his leg. Scooping the imp up, Kyanite looked the creature over.

“Well, I suppose it might help with the research to have someone like you along.” Kyanite said. “Care to join me at the library, little one?”

The imp tilted its head but made no attempt to escape Kyanite's grasp. Loosening his scarf somewhat, Kyanite fitted the imp into the curve of the fabric, like a sort of sling or hammock. The imp was soft to the touch and surprisingly warm for where it had been – didn't it feel cold in this weather?

Setting off again, Kyanite made his way to the cities – first riding the train, and then some of the metro lines to get to the library. It was still early in the morning, so rush hour had yet to truly begin but the library was peaceful as ever, the occupants here either reading novels or studying for school. No one really questioned the imp in his scarf, and though Kyanite was initially hesitant about bringing his in, the sight of a furdin lounging on the books near the receptionist seemed a good enough sign.

Nodding at the receptionist and exchanging quiet greetings, Kyanite first headed straight for the sciences section. Imps weren't exactly animals per se, but perhaps there was something about them with the biology books? It took some wandering, but Kyanite soon had an arm full of books and settled down at a table to take his time flipping through them.

At some point, Kyanite was deeply engrossed in his readings when his 'bun' companion had slipped out of his scarf and begun tugging at his sleeve.

“Hm?” Kyanite wondered if the creature was bored or had something to show him. Pausing about half-way down the current page, Kyanite looked at his imp – it was waving its arm nubs at something... or someone? Following the direction the imp was pointing, Kyanite caught the glimpse of what looked like a chirop holding a leash. Wait, that didn't sound right. Whatever was going on with that, the little 'bun' seemed awfully curious – and Kyanite could probably do with a break, anyway.

“Alright, I'll go investigate this.” Kyanite said, putting his imp back in his scarf. As he walked off towards the shelves, he wondered to himself: he should probably give the imp a name at this point. As much as he enjoyed the arts through crafting, he wasn't all that good with naming things, living or not.

“Turnip. I'll call you Turnip.” Kyanite said, tapping the imp gently on the top of its head. It sneezed in response.

Turning the corner, Kyanite rather quickly found the owner of the leashed chirop – or rather, the chirop was the one holding the leash, and the owner was the one wearing it. This succubun also had a sceil coiled around one arm and a phloof sitting on their shoulder. They wore glasses and plain but comfortable-looking clothes and their horns were dark and curled in shape, standing out against thick, brown hair.

A rather cute succubun, Kyanite thought – but why was Turnip interested in them? Or maybe it wanted to play with the other imps? Either way, it was likely this person either knew a great deal about imps or was doing a bit of their own research – likely both.

The chirop seemed to take notice of Kyanite, and responded before anyone else could. Flapping about, it lightly tugged on the leash it held in its feet. Nearly dropping the book they were about to pull out, the succubun fumbled with it for a bit before turning to the chirop.

“Ack!! Flick, you really gotta time this better- oh! That's a cute rabebe- ack-” The succubun noticed Kyanite standing a few feet away, fumbling again with their book. Kyanite stepped forward and reached out, steadying the book. The succubun blushed slightly at this, cramming it hastily into a messenger bag they had – overflowing with papers and other books.

“Greetings. I apologize, if it seemed like I was staring.” Kyanite said, dipping his head slightly. “A rabebe – you mean this little one?”

“Yes, yes! They only show up at certain times – around the beginning of the year! Quite curious little fellows, aren't they? It seems like they're just in time for a certain holiday, I can't help but wonder if there's any meaning to it.” The succubun said, speaking quickly as if a floodgate had been opened. They reddened again, stopping: “Oh! Uh, my name is Hutch, by the way. I have my own shop, it's uh, the Imporium. For imps. Big fan of the little guys, and it's my goal to bring knowledge of their nature and care to more buns in Burrowgatory.”

“Your passion is admirable.” Kyanite said, nodding approvingly – it may not be a craft, but it was noble passion all the same. Knowledge and practical skill came in all forms. “I've recently taken an interest in imps, myself – I don't believe I've seen this shop of yours? And if you are willing, I'd love to hear about what you know about imps-.”

Hutch's expression seemed to brighten a hundred fold. They grasped one of Kyanite's hands with their own, seeming to barely contain their excitement.

“A fellow lover of imps? That's FANTASTIC!” Hutch exclaimed. “Tell you what – the library has some great research books on imps, but there's no better learning than seeing the guys in person – and my shop has plenty of those to go around. Would you like to come with?”

Kyanite was a bit surprised by the sudden offer – he had originally planned on just lounging in the library all day and maybe getting boba before going home. On the other hand – he'd be likely getting more specialized information about imps and he had a feeling Hutch had a lot more than a simple overview on biology in store. It was also a field Kyanite didn't have much expertise in, and it'd be an honor to hear more about it from someone who seemed to have made it their career. Kyanite had plenty of time today, anyhow.

“I'd love to.” Kyanite said, smiling warmly.

- - -

The two succubuns gathered their books and collectively made their checkouts – Hutch then led Kyanite to the metro, where the two rode the lines to get to the Imporium. While on the metro, Hutch gushed about rabebes, their seeming ties to the new year, and even succubuns themselves, and their uncanny resemblance to one's bun form. Kyanite listened intently – having been trained by a similarly passionate woodcarver, he was very good at absorbing very rapidly spoken, intense blocks of information. While all this was happening, Turnip was looking at the two succubuns, head switching back and forth until it decided to flop down in Kyanite's scarf for a nap.

“By the way... how long've you had this little guy?” Hutch said, motioning to Turnip.

“I think it may have been hanging around my house for some time, but it decided to show its face today and followed me around. Didn't try to run when I picked it up.” Kyanite said, lightly tapping the rabebe on the head with a finger. Turnip lifted its head to yawn cutely and turned around in place, continuing to nap.

“Wow. Sometimes imps just... know who to trust, you know? It's not very scientific, sure, but I'm sure imps have a sort of sense for these kinds of things, like we can!” Hutch said.

“I suppose that is one way to look at it.” Kyanite said, humming thoughtfully. He knew he normally was a bit off-putting to fellow succubuns, giving an unintentionally cold air – but he didn't think he was a cruel person... probably. He supposed Turnip's 'judgment' was good enough.

“Do you usually have imps around your place?” Hutch said.

“Occasionally, I'll see a few here and there but lately there have been a lot of inkaps.” Kyanite said. “I'm usually up to my neck with work, but I ended up taking some time off to do some investigating at the library. It is quite fortunate that I ran into you – I hadn't known there was an imp specialty shop in the cities.”

“That is some timing, indeed. Oh! We're almost at our stop. S-sorry, I must've talked your ear off quite enough by now-.” Hutch said, flustered.

“I do not mind it. It is heartening to see someone so devoted to their work.” Kyanite said. As the two left the metro and walked along the streets, Kyanite wondered if he should invite Hutch over for boba before going home. After all, Hutch was doing him a favor here – even if they likely also just wanted someone to gush to. Or maybe some mochi, as imps loved the stuff? Or both?

“Here we are!” Hutch said, welcoming Kyanite into their shop. As the door jingled open, Kyanite stepped in: the Imporium was rather lovely, furnished with several play areas for the imps (enclosed with pet fences). Along the walls and ceilings, there were walkways for the furdin to roam about on and perches for corvats. Kyanite recognized several rabebe in their own enclosure, marked with a sign that read 'seasonal'.

There were plenty of toys around as well as containers of what looked like mini mochi-type snacks. On one side of the shop, there was a door to some kennels – possibly for Hutch to care for imps that were sick or had specific needs (could imps even get sick? Or did Hutch set this room up so they could more closely study them?)

“You run this place on your own?” Kyanite said, somewhat floored. This was all incredibly, very thorough.

“Heh, I guess I did go a little overboard with the décor.” Hutch said, blushing. “But enrichment's important! And these guys are my life – I'd do anything to make them all happy. I got plenty of supplies for folks to buy, if they wanna take their own little friend home. A-and advice, on how to care for them! That's what you're looking for, right?”

“Honestly, I had been thinking to research how to tame one, but it seems I've got that somewhat taken care of already.” Kyanite said, giving Turnip a gentle scratch under the chin. Turnip made a quiet honking sound in contentment. “But yes, I'd like to know more about how one raises these creatures.”

“It wouldn't hurt to learn, anyway! In case you want more friends. And um, no pressure at all – but I could always use some help in wrangling more imps.” Hutch said, before stammering out: “I-if you want to of course! And I'm not gonna ask you to do it for free.”

“I'll consider it! No harm in making the suggestion.” Kyanite said, laughing softly. He didn't normally like hanging around others, but Hutch was honestly quite endearing and incredibly devoted to their work.

Hutch proceeded to give a much more in-depth talk about imps in general: how they didn't need to eat, but could 'consume' certain foods all the same, sometimes taking on different appearances. They didn't even need to sleep, which Kyanite found enviable. Behavior and habits varied among the various imp types, but all were capable of being quite clever or even trained. Despite the wider use of phones in the cities, some people still used chirops to send messages, much like with the folks of the rural parts of Burrowgatory. There is also much research being done on the specific magical substance that makes up imps – though their origin is fairly clear, not much else is known about them, or what makes them function the way they do.

The day seemed to slip by without warning – Hutch introduced Kyanite to all the types of imps they currently had in their shop, but gave more specific pointers on imp-raising with their little hutch of rabebes. Watching all of the imps, Kyanite couldn't help but wonder what was going through their little noggins. Surely, they were thinking about things... were they? Regardless, Hutch's explanations were straightforward enough and the imps were not very demanding (some were a bit more of a handful, like the corvats which had a thieving tendency).

Funnily enough, Hutch was the one to notice the 'daylight' outside gradually dimming and shifting colors. Kyanite had become so wrapped up in playing with the rabebes and listening to imp facts that he completely lost track of time. Now covered in several rabebes, Kyanite gently pried them off and set them down in their enclosure before carefully stepping out.

“Well, I really appreciated you coming over here, and uh, letting me ramble a bunch. I hope this information was useful, too.” Hutch said.

“It is! I greatly appreciate your help.” Kyanite said. “It is late, but would you care to join me for some boba or mochi, before I leave the city for now? It'd be my treat.”

“Oh! Um! Oh gosh, I uh-.” Hutch reddened deeply. “I-I'd love to, but I've got some work to do. Perhaps another time!”

“That is fine by me. Until next time.” Kyanite said, winking at Hutch as he left the shop. Today had been quite the success – not only did Kyanite obtain a treasure trove of knowledge, he also had a new place in the cities that he'd like to visit a little more often.