mission imp-possible - alice

“Bit of a—hicc!—nerd, aren’tcha, Hutch? I have some tea that can help you calm down. Lots of people like it, so don’t be afraid. It might make playing with the imps funner, too.”

Hutch’s face warmed and flustered under their glasses, enough that Alice could see it fog against their lens. She’s sure they would’ve fumbled, if it weren’t for the adorable little imp they held in their hands. They seemed like the type to have dropped something from shock, or perhaps nerves, but it was a different case with imps. They seemed pretty damn passionate about imps. 

“No—um, no thank you, please, Alice. You’re here to learn about imps, right?”

Hutch looked a bit nervous standing across from her, a little creature dangling in their arms. What fluttered there was what Hutch had called a Chirop, its wings making distinct noises in the open air as it struggled to get over to where Alice was.

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m here to learn about… oogh,” Alice hiccuped again, her vision swarming for a moment before she giggled, holding her arms open to welcome the imp into them. “Imps! I’m here to learn about cuuuute little imps. Hey, let ‘em go, they look like they want to meet their new mama.”

Despite Alice’s clear intoxication, most certainly a result of the very strange tea (?) brewing in the little pink tea kettle she carried around with her everywhere, Hutch’s shoulders loosened up, not as tense when they were able to see Alice’s clear affection for the imp. After a second, they released the sludgy black critter from their grasp, and it fluttered its way into Alice’s, settling there perfectly after just a moment of wiggling its body around.

“This here is a Chirop, like I said before,” Hutch started to speak carefully, a hesitant but small smile coming to their face as Alice cooed, running her fingers over the top of the creature’s head, listening to it chirp in response. “They’re the most standard type of imp. Um, they’re good for beginners. And really talented, too…! If you train them enough, they can even carry little letters and messages across Burrowgatory to other buns! Even though they’re “common,” they’re full of personality and life, and you won’t ever regret having one around! Oh—uh—...!”

Had Hutch caught themselves talking too much?

Alice couldn’t help but smirk at them, though not out of malice, her hand stroking from the Chirop’s head to it’s little forked tail, where she pinched at it before releasing it to wiggle around again. The creature gave a happy little noise, seemingly approving of Alice’s pets. She repeated the motion as she talked to Hutch.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. I can totally see the appeal in these little guys.” Tilting her head down towards the imp, perhaps to give Hutch a moment to recollect themselves, she addressed the Chirop directly instead. “And huh, what’s that? Hutch said you can carry messages? Huh? Is that right, pookie? You can carry messages?”

The Chirop squealed again, as if it could understand her.

“Ah… ahaha,” Hutch rubbed the back of their head, looking bashful when Alice looked back at them, but they were overall more relaxed than they’d been just minutes before. “Sorry about the… uh, going on and on. Just thought you’d wanna know more about them.” Pausing for a moment as they looked at the Chirop nuzzled in Alice’s arms, Hutch spoke up again. “I’ve got lots of other species of imps here. Corvats- those are also imps, they have wings too, just like Chirops. They’re noisy though, and uh, they steal a lot. They’re still great though, honest! And there’s also Furd—”

“Hey, hey, Hutch?” Alice said.

“Oh, uh, yes?” Hutch responded.

Alice picked up her little black Chirop, holding it above her head, right between her horns. The thing gave a quiver, twitching its wings with pure delight. It’s as if both of them were making a point to Hutch, as if to say, “Look at us, we’re already happy together!”

“You really think I can—hiccup!—give this cutie away now that we’ve gotten to know each other? You’ve sold me on him! And he’s sold me on him! Isn’t that right, little guy? You’re soooo, oogh, cute! I’m your new mama. That’s right, I’m your mama!”

Removing her Chirop from between her horns to squish it close in her arms again, she could see Hutch give a relieved smile from the corner of her eye. 

Alice was glad she’d managed to somewhat sober up for the first time in a long time to visit the Imporium. She’d been wanting a little buddy for a long time, and she had a feeling that she and Hutch would be good friends from this point onward, too. 

She smiled wide, giving one last hiccup. The creature seemed to mimic her, squeaking along, making both Alice and Hutch laugh.