Reluctant Learning

She didn’t know why she was in this situation.

Well, she did - but she didn’t like it. Eyes narrowed with her disapproval, her gaze flit over to the nervous looking pride-horned doll before her. Hutch. They fumbled with their round glasses, readjusting them for the millionth time since she’d been there, and Jackal didn’t even bother hiding the roll of her eyes. She wasn’t there for the spoiled, she reminded herself, she was there for one of her envy-horned littermates.

A littermate who had been jealous of the succubuns around them who were enjoying the company of imps, and so they’d asked Jackal to come with them to learn about how to get their own.

“Even though imps don’t need to eat - and aren’t designed to, in fact! - they still have needs. Take Miss Hiss here, for example, this lovely little sceil-” they lifted the imp so that Jackal and her littermate could get a clearer view- “even if Miss Hiss isn’t as affectionate as, say, a phloof, she still needs plenty of attention! I often let her coil around an arm or leg so that she doesn’t feel left behind. Sesame, on the other hand, often comes to me to be pet.”

As Hutch rambled about the social needs and preferences of varying imps, Jackal exchanged a glance with her littermate. They both knew a thing or two about craved attention.

“So these things don’t eat at all?,” Jackal interjected. “Feel like I’ve seen enough rummage in the trash to doubt that.”

“Oh! They can eat, but they don’t need to!” Hutch readjusted their glasses - again - and gestured to some of the more colorful imps in their care. “In fact, it can be rather interesting when they do! You see all imps start off this inky black color you see on most of them, but the more colorful varieties are a result of imps eating! There seems to be a direct correlation to the type of food eaten and the resulting appearance of the imp. One of the most popular foods to trigger these changes are dango, I’ve heard of many a succubun going to Dan’s to get an imp of their preferred color.”

Jackal stole a glance at her littermate. Unfortunately, they seemed to be intrigued and possibly excited. Well, maybe that was for the better. It’d be much more grating to have to sit around and listen to this rambling in the name of emotional support if her littermate was only going to end up hating it. Ideally they’d come out of this with an imp of their own.

Oh, wait, then they could just leave.

“Is that all, then?,” Jackal asked.

Hutch seemed taken aback by the question. “About their colors? It’s the very simplest of my understanding, but if you mean if that’s all there is to know about imps as a whole - well! There’s a lot more to say about these fascinating creatures! The trainability of an imp varies from type to type, and imp to imp of course, but there’s a lot that can be done-!”

Jackal sighed. She recrossed her arms, and leaned back a little. She was going to be there for a while, as Hutch rambled on about the training opportunities for imps. Their rambling was only aided by her littermate, who’d finally found the courage to ask their own questions.

Well, at least that.

She’d successfully helped them out and, if she ever really wanted, Hutch might be willing to give her an imp of her own.

Great.