Hutch and the freign

The dark trees surrounding were oppressive, smothering even the crunch of the snow under their shoes. Hutch had heard talk about the freign somewhere around here, but the constant silent snowfall made it difficult to track any prints that may have been left by the creature.

Truly, they were one of the least prepared succubuns for this sort of thing. They were unaccustomed to seeking imps out in their natural habitat, especially when the weather was this heavy. It wasn't a snowstorm, but even the gentle, constant fall of snow chilled them to their bones. They had grown too accustomed to the typical temperatures of their shop and their home, rarely leaving except to get something for their imps. Unsteady though they were, they were eager to see if they could find the freign.

They stuffed their hanging leash into one of their pants pockets. The bottoms of their long pants were tucked into their boots, they wanted to do everything they could in order to stay out in the snow as long as possible, hoping to better their chances of finding the freign.

The freigns were rare, and highly sought after. Hutch suspected that that may make them a target for poachers, or other buns and demons who may simply want to capture the freign to use as a status symbol. Hutch wanted to care for it properly, or at the very least, make sure it goes to a good home.

They used their hand to brush some snow out of their hair. They had heard that the freigns were small, but Hutch knew that if they had to traverse this snow in bun form, they'd be walking chest deep in snow for hours. They were great with imps, they just had to hope that their larger size wouldn't frighten the small creature. Maybe the talk of their tiny size was simply exaggeration? Maybe they weren't as small as-

A soft crunch of snow broke the silence over to Hutch's right side.

They froze, slowly turning their head to face the source of the direction. Thus could be it, they did not want to risk spooking the imp and making it bolt. Their ears pivoted ever so slightly, searching for more sounds that would give away the position of the creature. Hutch fought back the thought that maybe this was not a freign, but something dangerous that they were not equipped to handle.

Their eyes scanned the treeline, straining against the darkness. Yet, it was not through the treeline that they spotted it; Hutch noticed four black points, pressed into the white snow.

The freign was indeed as small as everyone had been saying it was, smaller than Hutch would have been in their bun form. Its dark body blended into the trees, but stood out against the snow, like a silhouette to a light. Hutch slowly dropped into a crouch before beginning to approach, their footsteps thunderous to their ears. They hoped that the freign was not scared.

It turned its deer-like body towards Hutch, hooves spearing the snow. Hutch extended a single hand, wishing that they had just used their bun form, but knowing that it was too late now and the sudden transformation would definitely spook the freign.

The imp took a single step towards Hutch, ears twitching and flicking, snow powdering its back and antlers. It pushed its head forwards, stretching to sniff the succubun in front of it.

"Easy, hey there," Hutch whispered, barely audible over the soft sound of the breeze rustling the surrounding trees' leaves. “I’m not gonna hurt you, yeah?” Hutch crept forward, letting the imp sniff their hand.

The freign’s body moved smoothly, gracefully, easily hiding how skittish it must be. It took another step closer to the succubun, and Hutch took the opportunity to gently stroke its neck ruff. Its tail flicked and it accepted the touch. Hutch recognized that its body language was becoming calmer. This was their chance.

“Here,” They took out a spare collar, a lovely black leather with a gold buckle. “I’ll take good care of you, okay? You just have to let me…” They undid the clasp on the collar and carefully extended their arms, holding the collar delicately in their hands.

The freign sniffed at the collar, inspecting it. Its long tail trailed a thin line through the snow. It was not easy for Hutch to stay as perfectly still as they were, but they could not risk scaring it off now. Their glasses slid down their nose bridge, yet they did not move. The freign looked up at Hutch, and remained still.

With one fluid motion, practiced hundreds of times, Hutch slipped the collar onto the freign’s thick neck and secured it with a click. The freign did not budge. Hutch wondered why they had been so concerned in the first place, imps were their specialty, after all. If anyone were to be able to tame a freign, it would be them.

“What are the other buns gonna say when I walk you into town?” Hutch mused, chuckling lightly to themself. They clipped a leash to the collar, making sure it was secure enough that if the freign were to bolt, they’d be able to stop it without hurting the imp.

Hutch was often one to avoid the attention of other buns. They weren’t usually someone people paid attention to unless they had questions about imps which, in all fairness, Hutch was more than happy to answer. Despite that, they almost looked forward to the attention they’d get when they bring the freign back home.