Impup Race

"Alright, this should be the last of it." Eden muttered to himself with satisfaction and, after placing a plank over top of two vegetable crates, took a few steps back to admire his work. Building an imp playground was less challenging than he originally expected, and Mckenna’s idea to upcycle some of the junk was pretty clever. He moved away to stand by the wall of the shed and sighed, brushing his ears back. He couldn't wait to go inside to escape the heat. Fortunately, his Impup found a quicker way to cool off – they leaped directly into the water-filled plastic tub placed in between two ramps made of planks and paint cans. "Everett, you're supposed to jump over it, not into it." Eden called out to them but ultimately sighed and shook his head, amused by his pet's obsession with water. The Impup just stared back at him innocently,  wagging their tail, before they turned back to swim around in a circle.

"This looks great, Eden! Thanks for doing most- I mean, all of the heavy lifting!" Mckenna called from inside the shed, with their bangs pulled back they were looking out the hole in the door to see the finished playground. They soon emerged, followed by their own impup who immediately ran where Everett was, trying to find a way into the tub. "I brought some water with me, here." The brown bun said, offering one of the bottles to Eden, then looked back again at the finished playground. "Maybe it'll keep Ebi from causing more trouble." They wondered, watching as Ebi managed to find a way onto the ramp and braced himself before leaping into the tub to chase after Everett, sending water everywhere. "They seem to really like the pool, guessing it’s because it’s such a hot day today." Mckenna commented, quietly watching Ebi splash water at Everett, clearly enjoying himself.

Seeing the shed door open, Eden made the mental note to board up the hole in it, but it wasn't that pressing of a matter. "Thanks." He took one of the bottles from them and uncapped it to drink some right away. "I hope so. You've got one hyperactive impup." He pointed out once Ebi jumped down into the water. Everett quickly took off to the other side of the tub to run away from him, kicking up waves in his direction. "They're actually meant to jump it, see the ramp on the other side? But I guess it doubles as a pool." Eden gestured to the contraption with his free hoof. Besides that, there were stepping stones made from bricks, hurdles from scrap wood, a balance plank, a pipe tunnel, and weave poles from old fenceposts, all placed around in a circle. "Wonder when they're going to figure out the rest."

"You're telling me..." Mckenna couldn't help but sigh, watching the little gremlin of an Impup chase Everett in the water, very invested in their game. "Oh yeah!" The bun said as they gazed in the direction of where Eden was pointing. "I see what you mean." they gave a nod of approval before stepping back to look at the whole obstacle course again, gulping down some water before speaking again. “I think they'll eventually notice the other stuff you built for them. Give them a moment to cool down first.” Mckenna said, admiring Eden's handywork. They paused to think about something. "I do have an idea though, to help Ebi put that never-ending energy of his to use... let’s have them race through this obstacle course! I even have some imp snacks I made this morning, fresh out of the oven. We already know how motivated Ebi can be with treats…” They suggested, tilting their head slightly as they questioned the pride bun.

"It's always warmer here, I've noticed." Eden said more so to himself than to Mckenna, his eyes still on Everett and Ebi chasing each other in the tub. The marine imp jumped out eventually, shook off the excess water from their body, then ran straight up the ramp again to jump back in. "A race, you say?" Eden turned to the greed bun beside him, curious about the suggestion. "Sounds like a good idea, the treats should be enough to convince them. This would be good practice for Everett before we compete in the city." He added with a small smile, lazily wagging his tail as he waited for Mckenna's decision.

"It's probably because of all the manual labor, tilling the ground in this heat can be unforgiving." Mckenna explained. There was a questioning look in their eyes when Everett once again hopped back into the water. "I guess they just really like being in the pool." They commented as Ebi copied what the other Impup did, running out to hop back in. "Come on, let them splash around a little more." Mckenna said, their hooves on Eden's arm and tugging it lightly, pulling him towards their farmhouse. "Last night I made popsicles from the yuzu I’ve harvested. I will grab the imp treats, but you deserve a treat, too."

---

After a trip to the farmhouse, the two buns returned to the playground with a bag of homemade imp treats. They weren't gone long enough for the Impups to notice their absence, very much preoccupied with each other, but Everett ran up to Eden as soon as they saw him return. They greeted him with excited yips, earning a scratch behind their ear in return. "You two having fun? How about you play on something else now?" He offered and reached into the bag for a treat. At the sight of food, Everett immediately started jumping up on him in an attempt to snatch it from his hand. Eden stopped them with his other hoof and held the treat up higher, shaking his head. "You want the treat, you'll have to follow me." He stated firmly and turned to Mckenna. "Where should we start?"

Upon seeing the treat that Eden produced from the bag, Ebi seemed to completely ignore Mckenna and race to him instead, pawing at his leg before he too began to jump up in an attempt to grab it. Maybe it was smart for Mckenna to let Eden carry the treat bag, they thought as they pulled struggling Ebi away from Eden so he wouldn’t be swarmed by two excited impups. "How about we end at the pool? That way we won't risk the other items getting wet..." They suggested before looking at the obstacles on both side. "We can start at the stepping stones." They said and gestured towards the area, setting their impup down before picking up a stick from the ground to draw a line in the dirt. "It's a good thing there’s space between these, so this would be a good starting point."

Trying to keep the treats out of reach of two Impups was much harder than one, so Eden very much appreciated Mckenna pulling their pet away from him. "Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense." He nodded and led Everett to the starting line drawn by the other bun, letting both them and Ebi settle down behind it before rewarding them. Everything was pretty much set now, all that was left was let the imps loose onto the course. Eden adjusted the bag and put a hoof to his chin. "Hmm. Let's show them what to do first, then have the real race."

"I think that's a better idea, they might go in the wrong- EBI NO!" Before Mckenna could finish, their impup decided to take off in the opposite direction, and they could only sigh. "We are going to be here a while..."
And indeed they were, going through the course on several trial runs for the next hour or so. It was not without hiccups and it took them some time to remember what to do on each obstacle. It was a good thing there wasn’t much work on the farm today. The treats in Eden's bag dwindled fast, but at least the impups were being positively reinforced. "Okay, I think they are set!" Mckenna announced, wiping their face with their hoof as they finished their third yuzu popsicle. "Shall we begin for real this time, Eden?"

"Yeah, I think we're ready." Eden reluctantly got up from the crate he was using as a makeshift chair, still chewing on the stick of his own popsicle. He wondered if the imps even had any energy left to participate in the real race, but one look at Everett wiggling with excitement and trying to bite Ebi's ear dispelled any doubts. He handed Mckenna one of the remaining treats, picked up one for himself, and stood beside his Impup. With everyone at the line, it was time to begin the race.

---

"Ready.. set... GO!"

Ebi was busy pawing at Everett, though the sight of Mckenna receiving a treat did make them focus on it. At the go, they ran straight towards the stepping stones. While he was not as nimble as a Furdin, he still managed to get the jumps right. His owner's cheering in the background and the promise of more treats at the end seemed to motivate Ebi to cross the obstacle with little trouble. After all, even during the test runs he seemed to excel at it. He did turn around a number of times to see how Everett was doing until Mckenna called for him to continue onto the hurdles.

Although Everett leaped forward at the same time, a small stumble at the first brick allowed Ebi to take the lead. They quickly shook it off and continued on with some encouragement from Eden, more confident with each hop. As soon as they were back down on solid ground, they rushed ahead to catch up to Ebi at the first hurdle. The extra speed allowed them to hop over it with ease, then smoothly clear the second one. "You got this! Keep it up!" Eden cheered, waving the treat over the last, tallest hurdle. They were moving a little faster now than during the trial runs, and that helped them practically fly over the last one. However, it looked like the landing came a bit too soon for them and they took a small tumble, voicing their frustration with a whine.

Everett chasing Ebi motivated him to keep pace, although he let out a surprised squeak when they suddenly overtook him at the hurdles. While Ebi was good at jumping long distances, he was not as quick when it came to high jumps, noticeably struggling with the last one. Not confident in making the jump after Everett overtook them so easily, he backed off before charging full speed at the last hurdle to leap across it. "YEAH! Way to go!" Mckenna exclaimed from behind him as he successfully landed on the ground, able to catch up to Everett who stumbled there for a moment. He nudging the marine impup out of concern and like to encourage them to continue.

Fortunately, it wasn't a hard fall and Everett got up quickly, shaking off some dirt. They nuzzled back against Ebi and stretched their paws before returning to the race like nothing happened. "Yeah, that's it boy! Be careful!" The look of concern faded from Eden's face quickly at the sight, replaced by determination when he proceeded to the balancing plank, barely wide enough for an imp to cross comfortably. Regardless, they walked onto it with eyes on the prize in Eden's hold, knowing that Ebi wasn’t far behind.

The sight of Everett getting up made Ebi wag his tail and yip happily before following them to the balancing plank. Unlike Everett, this was another obstacle that he struggled with, and there was no way for him to actually overtake them now. Being rather wobbly on the plank, he couldn’t help but let out some nervous whines. "You're doing great, Ebi! Good job, boy!" Mckenna called to him, waving the treat that was calling his name. While his balancing act was not pretty, he was able to cross it shortly after Everett landed on the other side. As soon as he landed as well, Ebi dashed towards the tunnel, managing to take the lead once again as he ran through the large pipe to pop his head out the other side.

Although Everett remained in the lead up until the end of the plank, Ebi regaining his confidence once on stable ground made them fall behind again, but not by much. They were on the other imp's tail inside the pipe tunnel, their steps echoing through to the other end. It was a bit dark and scary inside the pipe, but they hopped out right after Ebi to see Eden waiting for them beside the weaving poles. "Come on, Everett! Almost there!" He cheered once more, calling them over with a wave. It was hard to tell who would win, but very obvious that their owners were invested now. The marine impup didn't even think of stopping now, slowing down only just enough to get into the rhythm of the repeated turns, brushing closely past each of the poles.

Ebi and Everett emerging from the pipe tunnel made Mckenna clutch onto Eden's free arm, shaking him a little out of excitement as they continued cheering. "On the home run, Ebi! You can do it!" They watched as Ebi dashed out towards the weaving poles, significantly slowing down so as not to bump his head against the pole. Not being the most agile impup around, he took a little longer to get used to weaving between the poles again. "Take it easy, boy!" Mckenna called from the other side, once again waving the treat and swishing their own tail a little more excitedly. Ebi took a quick look to see how Everett was fairing before making his way to the last obstacle.

Due to Ebi struggling a little with his turns, Everett managed to keep the lead. As soon as they were past the last pole, their focus shifted to the ramp ahead of them, where Eden and Mckenna were already waiting. They glanced back at their friend, barking at him as they climbed the ramp. "Let's gooo! You can win this, buddy!" Eden shouted, waving his arms along with Mckenna. Once Everett’s paws touched the edge of the ramp, they crouched down then leaped into the air, and...
Splash!
Eden’s jaw dropped. Everett cleared the jump just fine during the trial runs, there was no reason not to believe in them to do it again.

"We’re almost at the end, don't give up now!" Mckenna yelled, still shaking Eden. Ebi responded to them with a bark and quickly looked towards Everett. The failed jump was unexpected, and seeing Everett choose not to finish the race seemed to have distracted Ebi from the goal as well. He pranced cartoonishly up the plank and at the end jumped off like a springboard diver would. His landing was less than graceful, he splashed water onto Everett and both of their owners who were standing a bit too close. "W-wah? Ebi!?" Mckenna could only look on in shock, water dripping from their fur. The fact that they chose to stop all of a sudden was mind-boggling to them, and they looked over to Eden for answers.

Eden blinked in shock and confusion, unsuccessful at shielding his face from the splash. He looked back at Mckenna, but there was nothing he could offer them in this moment. "I guess that means the race is over." He finally sighed and put away the treat for later, seeing as Everett lost interest in it for the time being. Whatever compelled the impups to do this, the most important thing was that they had fun, and so did the buns. In fact, they enjoyed it so much they almost completely forgot about lunch... almost. Eden was the first to head towards the farmhouse, dreaming of nothing more than tossing some burgers onto the grill. The delicious smell would be enough to draw the imps back to them as well.