The Misadventure of Zephyr & Clifford

Zephyr is taking Clifford the Impup on an afternoon walk while munching on some chocolates that he bought on a discount in the supermarket. He decides to stop at a nearby Imp park to let Clifford run around for a bit while he takes a rest on an empty bench. He keeps an eye on his little Imp in case they decide to do some mischief again like they did back home by hiding under the bed right in the middle. He had a hard time trying to get them out without  using any treats that he's saving up for the walk.

Zephyr checks his phone for a moment before he looks away and sees Clifford, somehow, is on a tree branch, how does he know it's Clifford? No other Imps at the park wear a bright red collar. He just sighs and gets up from the bench then walks over to the tree that's not too tall for him but definitely very tall for a small Imp. He reaches both arms out, trying to get Clifford to jump on him which fails until he gets out a piece of chocolate that he was planning to eat, Clifford immediately jumps into his arms.

Zephyr sighs in relief while giving Clifford the piece of chocolate to eat, he still wonders how do Imps even eat without a mouth. He does bring them to the nearby Imp vet just in case that Clifford got injured from their little misadventure. Once he arrives at the vet, he sees other Succubuns with their Imps in the waiting room as he heads to the receptionist and does the paperworks to get Clifford checked up. He finds an empty seat while cradling Clifford with one arm as he watches the other Imps get called to come into the vet office.

When Clifford's name is called the nurse Succubun, Zephyr gets up and heads into the office with Clifford. Zephyr places Clifford onto the examine table and starts explaining what happened at the park, given how he never saw the Impup even climb up the tree. The Vet Succubun does some check up on Clifford and sees nothing wrong on the Imp, not even a single splinter but there is something wrong: Clifford is slightly more chubby than the average Impups that come into the office. Zephyr admitted that he sort of was overtreating Clifford for a while because of that.

Zephyr left the vet clinic with Clifford back on their leash while he reads the vet order to really cut back on giving the Impup treats often and gives him longer walks twice a day. Zephyr sighs and continues to walk Clifford back to the Imp park because Clifford keeps walking in that direction. He follows along while looking down from his perspective that Clifford does look a bit chubby in their midriff than the other Impups back in the vet clinic. The moment the two arrive back at the Imp park, Zephyr can see why his Imp is suddenly on a tree earlier.

Zephyr can see that Clifford is trying to chase down a Phloof that just so happens to be hanging out under the same tree they got stuck on, now he is just trying to wrap his head around how these two can even climb a tree. Zephyr shoo the Phloof away before inspecting the tree to find out that this tree isn't an actual tree but rather one of those realistic Imp houses with stairs built inside of it, he doesn't notice it at first because he was looking at the wrong angle earlier.

Zephyr let out a sigh of relief after seeing that his lil Imp won't get splinters before he unleashed Clifford while also telling them not to chase around other Imps, it will freak him out again if he sees the Impup stuck on an actual tree. He let Clifford roam free but this time he keeps a closer eye on them unlike earlier. Clifford is chasing all sorts of things, from falling leaves, bugs flying around, and even wild Imps around the park, they practically give both themselves and Zephyr a good running exercise for the remainder of the day.

When the sky starts to darken, Zephyr picks up the now tired Clifford into his arms and begins the journey back to his apartment. Given how tired he is, he opted to take the bus instead of walking back home. Zephyr knows that Imp doesn't need to sleep but Clifford tired themselves out so much that they just passed out in his arms for the entire bus journey back home. He looks out the window while gently petting Clifford, sightseeing the part of Burrowgatory that he never noticed before despite the fact that he has walked down the same path almost everyday.

When the bus stops right at the bus station near his apartment, he gets off and starts walking down the street to his apartment. His pastry job pays him decent enough that he's able to rent a place not too far from his workplace. He takes the lift up to his floor and gets the keys out of his sweater pockets once he arrives at his apartment door. He opens his apartment then locks the door behind him after he turns on the light to the place. He placed Clifford on the Imp bed he got for them so they could rest.

Zephyr heads to the bathroom to wash up and change his clothes before he heads back to the living room to see that Clifford is awake and wagging their tail when they see him. He picks him up and decides to watch some shows on his laptop and munching on some heated up leftover pizza, he is still not sure how Clifford can even eat without a mouth, until Zephyr falls asleep on the bed while Clifford continues to watch funny Imp videos online. Zephyr is tired yet happy that he at least has Clifford as a companion.