Prized Pets

There was a soft scent of something baking behind the doors of Pedigree Pets, carrying a sweetness that had both buns and imps turning their heads in favor of where it was coming from.

Even standing beside Quince in her kitchen, Spice was still enthralled by that tempting aroma of baking imp treats. She thought it was a bit silly after all, these were treats for the imps, but looking at the delightful shapes of treats cooling from an early batch, she had half a mind to try one. She wouldn’t of course, but she did give her compliments to Quince as a baker. The bun knew what she was doing.

“Are you sure it’s alright I bought all of my imps?” Spice asked, shyly ducking her head down. “I don’t want to take too many of your treats.”

Quince scoffed loudly, her smile wide as she shook her head firmly, “Don’t you worry, having more taste tasters helps me. I can see what different types of imps think about them.” She crossed her arms, laughing, “Now why don’t you introduce me to each of the pets you bought with you? You didn’t tell their names.”

Spice brightened, her eyes practically sparking with excitement. “Of course.” She turned around, “Come here, my babies, Quince wants to meet all of you.”

There was a small clamor of little tapping feet, something sliding and even the small sound of something floating as Spice’s imps appeared at her feet.

She leaned down to pick one up at random. “Now this sweetheart is my mamoo, Milk.” The albino imp wiggled happier in her arms, making a sound suspiciously like a moo. “I got him from Hutch’s imp shop. Oh gosh I can’t remember the name right now.”

Quince chuckled, “The Imporuim?”

“Yes that’s the one! Oh that place is just lovely.”

Spice smiled to herself as sehe gently set Milk back down on the floor and picked up two more imps: one fiendish, one albino. “Now these cuties are my candyls Oven and Romantic Lighting, RL for short. So cute too, they never leave each other’s sides for long.”

Quince nodded, looking the two over. “A healthy looking pair, did you get them together?”

Spice nodded, “I actually found them in an alleyway, tucked away in a cardboard box. Oven, the fiendish one, was doing their best to protect RL. It took a lot of treats and coaxing to get Oven to trust me, but now they’re my babies.”

Oven seemed to glare at Quince, before they snuggled against both Spice and RL. As for RL, they seemed curious about Quince’s kitchen, looking around as they cuddled to Oven.

Quince looked pleased, “I can tell you’re a good owner, Spice.”

Spice blushed as she set her beloved imps down, “Oh hush you’re too sweet.”

Again she stood up with a different imp, this time one that shyly peeked out from its shell. “This little one is my egghel, Egg, aren’t they just precious? I found them hiding under one of the fruit boxes at the cafe. Right next to the watermelon.” Spice giggled, “Imagine my surprise when he hatched into a sunny side up color!”

Quince smiled, reaching over to delicate pet the egghel’s head, much to Egg’s delight. The imp was almost dancing under Quince’s palm. “You have some beautiful imps, Spice.”

As if on cue, another imp floated by and bumped into Spice’s ear, holding onto it as they made happy sounds.

Spice gasped, “Oh! I almost forgot my sweet erose, Flour!”

The albino erose twirled happily, seemingly unbothered as they played with Spice’s ear. Her imps never took it personally when their master was absentminded, after all the bun never meant to be forgetful.

Quince reached a hand up to playfully tap the erose, chuckling as the erose made a soft sound. “A fine bunch of imps, Spice.”

Spice was practically glowing with happiness, she loved her imps and she also loved any chance she could get to show them off. “Thank you.”

Quince nodded, before looking over at the cooling racks on her kitchen counter. “You know I think it’s just about time for the treats to have cooled down long enough to give them to your imps.”

She turned, collecting five treats in her hands. “If you don’t mind me giving them the treats.”

Spice shook her head, “Oh not at all! I’m sure they would be happy to get treats from you.”

As if to prove her point, each of the imps surrounded Quince’s feet and patiently. All except Egg, as Spice had to step forward and set the imp gently on the ground.

Quince whistled to get their attention and with caring detailed, she gave each imp a treat.

There was a moment of silence as the imps tried their treats, before with a rush of energy, the imps started to eagerly devour their treats.

Quince looked satisfied as she turned to look at Spice. “Now that’s exactly what I wanted to see. This was a new recipe and I was worried imps might not take to it.”

Spice admired her imps, delighted to watch their sweet faces as they enjoyed their treats. Although she did spy Oven trying to give RL a piece of theirs, they might be fiendish but they were sweet for the other candyl. “You’re a wonderful baker, Quince, I was confident they would love any of your treats.”

“You’re very kind, Spice, I’m glad I invited you over for this. Some buns don’t trust my treats as much as they would Dan’s dangos.”

Spice scoffed playfully, “Oh nonsense, I trust you completely. You have some of the prettiest imps in the burrow.”

“Thank you, I admit you take great care of yours. You can tell by how friendly each of them are.”

“You think so?” Spice blushed once again, she was happy to be recognized as a good imp owner.

The rest of her time at Quince’s was spent laughing and playing with her imps together. The other bun truly had a heart of gold when it came to imp care and Spice hoped this experience bought them closer together.