A tale of inkap and snel

After the phloof incident, Unknown began to hang around the Imporium quite often. It wasn’t uncommon to see Hutch and Unknown chatting pleasantly every so often at Hutch aided the imps, while Unknown played with Cloud 9. She was quite rambunctious, and very protective of Unknown- she certainly didn’t like the other imps he decided to get after her. Unknown took the time whenever he was at the Imporium to help get her used to being around other imps, and especially to play nicer with them. 

“Hey, ‘Known? Do you think you could help me out a bit today?” Hutch asked, interrupting the pop-star’s train of thought. He looked up from his baby and to Hutch, who was carrying two carriers of imps- one with an Inkap and one with a Snel. “We’re getting overrun with these guys this month- the rain seems to have really drawn them out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many imps come in at once.” They gave a little stressed laugh, before cringing as the door opened for yet another delivery. “Do you think you could take these two and figure out their personalities? Just play with them for a bit and see what they like best. I’ll be getting their adoption sheets written up later today, but I don’t have time to interview every imp.”

“Of course!” Unknown said, lighting up. He was going to get to help out Hutch? They trusted them that much? Unknown almost started to tear up at the thought. “I’d love to- thank you, Hutch.” He gave the unsuspecting doll a quick hug, before taking the carriers before they could react. “I’ll do my best!”

Hutch paused for a minute to process what just happened, before smiling and shaking their head. “Thank you. You’re a great friend.”

Unknown did, in fact, start to tear up. 

“Oh, thank you… I won’t let you down.” 

Hutch smiled a bit more. “I know you won’t. You never have before.”

Hutch rushed off as soon as a second bell rang, clearly stressed about the amount- but thankfully, just a little less stressed with Unknown handling two of the new arrivals. Cloud 9 growled quietly at the carriers, earning her a little kiss on top of her ‘head’. “It’s okay Cloudy. I won’t take them home with me.” 

That seemed to settle the phloof for now, but the more pressing issue was at hand: what were these imps like?

Unknown set down the carriers in one of the interview rooms- a quiet and secluded space, free of anything that would easily startle an imp. It had some mild-flavored treats as well as toys for them to play with. He decided to start with the Inkap, opening the cage gently and sitting on the floor. After a moment of thought, he flashed back into his bun form. Yeah, that was a lot less intimidating. 

“Hey, it’s okay, you can come out now… how are you feeling?”

The inkap peered out at Unknown, leery of the new individual. It slowly crept out of the carrier, looking around the room but focusing mostly on the bun with it. As soon as it was clear nothing was going to jump out, the imp went over to the food, plopped down, and began to nibble. 

“Hungry, huh?” he asked, walking over and sitting next to the imp. When it didn’t react, he tentatively reached out and patted one of its caps. The imp looked up, but didn’t seem to care much. It just kept slowly eating, and seemed quite content to stay like that for a while more. In fact, it was content to stay like that for a long while more. While Unknown attempted to get to know the little guy, the inkap only mildly paid attention, if it did at all. Unknown picked it up, which got no reaction. He petted it, which got no reaction. He took the food away, which only got a small reaction- the inkap looked up at him with pleading eyes. Okay then…

Unknown decided that was enough information on that imp. He wrote down, ‘Likes eating slowly. Doesn’t care about much else. Very chill.’

As he locked up the carrier for the inkap, he turned to the snel. The Imporium never really stocked these, so he assumed that it would be going somewhere else after the evaluation. Unknown opened the carrier in the same manner as before, but this time, the imp did not hesitate to come out. While the decision was much faster than the inkap’s, the movement couldn’t be more opposite. The snel moved slowly, taking its time to go out and greet Unknown. Once it did, all the imp did was curl up and rest against his leg. 

Unknown was a bit surprised at that, but decided to get up to see what it would do. The snel looked a little sad that he moved, but stayed curled up and resting. Unknown began by offering some food, to which the snel had no interest. How strange. He tried throwing a toy a few feet away. It squeaked as it hit the ground, causing the imp to look up, but go back to resting quickly. He tried for several more minutes to see what the imp wanted, before picking it up. 

That seemed to be the right move. The imp snuggled against his chest, gaining some envious glares from Cloud 9, but a little smile from the bun. He sat back down, allowing the snel to cuddle close. He noted down, ‘Enjoys cuddles. Not much interest in play or food. Very, very slow.’ 

Once everything was set, Unknown couldn’t help but rest a bit with the snel. It was what the imp wanted!

Hutch came into the room well after closing time, searching for their missing imps and friend. They couldn’t say they were surprised to find Unknown curled up with the snel against his chest. The two looked pretty darn cute together.

Hutch quietly closed the door, finding it better to just let them rest. Unknown could go back home tomorrow morning.