Impup Training

Valentine sat cross-legged on the floor of the Imporium, patting her thighs and beckoning for the impup to join her. It seemed unsure, wagging its tail and staying firmly in place. She clicked her tongue a few times, trying to warrant any sort of desire for the impup to come and see what the fuss was about. It cocked its head, panting and spinning in a circle before sitting down directly across from her. She spared a glance at the doll behind her, Hutch, who motioned for her to try again with a gentle wave of their hand. Turning back, Val whistled and patted her thighs again, earning an excited bark from the little thing. It sprang up, howling as it ran full force at her and slammed into her chest. She held it tightly there, grinning and peering down at the little thing. It was practically shaking with enthusiasm, its tail waving like a glow stick at a concert. 

“I think that deserves a treat, right?” Valentine beamed at the doll behind her, snapping him out of the trance they seemingly had watching the impup. They jumped, fumbling through the pockets of their shorts and sheepishly grinning back at her.

“Right! Right, sorry… It’s just so interesting to me how easy it is to get an impup to listen compared to, say, a bonezo.” He found what he was looking for at last, procuring a bag of treats and fumbling to get it open while Valentine watched. Her hand slid over the impup absentmindedly, scratching behind its ears and causing its tail to wag all the more furiously. Finally, he succeeded in opening the bag and procuring a bone-shaped treat, which Valentine graciously took. She held it in the general direction of where its mouth might have been, watching the treat disappear with a shower of crumbs.

“Oh, no, you’re fine! I know how it is, I just love seeing these little guys…” she trailed off as the impup nudged her hand, reminding it to continue her gentle strokes. She chuckled, peeking back at Hutch again to ensure that they had seen. Their face assured her that they had, and their own hand joined hers as they knelt down to pet it, too.

“Yes, they’re very sweet. And very well-behaved! It’s why I suggest them so often as first-time pets, you know. Easy to train, very friendly… They’re the ideal for most buns,” Hutch continued, scratching the imp behind the ears as Val did. The reaction was immediate, its leg lifting up to scratch at its own fur and its tail beating wildly against Val’s legs. With a quick stretch, Valentine pulled her hand away to reach for Hutch’s bag of treats.

“Mmhm.. I think they’re the cutest things… Well, I think every imp is the cutest thing. They’re all just so sweet… I don’t see how anyone could hate them. Say, do you think we could teach it to roll over?” The treat bag was relinquished to her, dropping into her hand with a soft pat. She moved it from the palm of one hand to the fingers of the other, shaking it just a little ways away until the impup had crawled from her lap to the open floor underneath where it hung.

“I’m sure we could, since it's already shown its penchant for tricks… Here, let me try.” With that they had retrieved a treat from her bag hanging at Val’s fingertips, their body lowering to be next to Val’s as they held out said treat. Before the imp could eat it, Hutch directed it down until the imp, too, had followed. They held it where its nose might have been, then moved it to their shoulder until the imp had rolled onto its side obediently. Then, they moved the treat to be level with its backbone. The impup followed along just as well, rolling onto its back and being rewarded the treat with a victorious smile from Hutch. Valentine’s own face mirrored the grin, her hand reaching out to rub the top of the imp’s head.

“Good boy!” she turned to Hutch to continue, the words exiting before she even registered Hutch’s face, “oh, you did great, Hutch! That was so qui-” she stopped, the words falling to a stunned silence upon seeing the state Hutch was in. Their face was shockingly red, their hands fumbling with each other and their eyes downcast and shamefully staring at anything besides for Val. A few seconds ticked by of Hutch’s stunned silence in response to the odd shift, though Valentine was quick to regain her composure.

“Aw. I was talking to the imp… But…” she extended her hand while she paused, ruffling the top of Hutch’s hair and playing with their ears, “you’re a good boy, too.”