Cheer Up, Get a Chirop

Around the time of Lian’s fourth or fifth heavy sigh, Millie-May actually looked up from her book to where they lay sprawled on her couch. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Lian mumbled; they’d been in a sort of trance, staring up at the ceiling fan and following its rotation with their eyes. They hadn’t been fully cognizant of all the sighing and grumbling they were doing, nor how it was probably distracting Millie-May from reading, even if she was lounging in a beanbag chair a short distance away. The book they had brought with them lay untouched on the sofa cushion nearby. “Oh, yeah, I’m good.”

“You sound like you’re practicing to haunt a cave and lead travelers to their doom,” Millie-May said, closing her book and setting it aside. She was the only person Lian knew who would say such a thing without having to think about it, and it did bring a tired smile to their face. The smile wasn’t enough to dissuade Millie-May from getting to the root of their moaning and groaning routine. “What’s wrong?” She prodded, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hooves.

Lian shrugged, or rather flopped one arm onto the couch cushion in a vaguely dismissive fashion, because a proper shrug would have required them to sit up. “I dunno, everything’s normal. Just tired.”

“Work getting you down?” Millie-May guessed, sympathetic.

She’d said the magic word - or the evil incantation. Just hearing it said dragged another heavy sigh out of the depths of Lian’s chest.

“Yeah,” they said, sinking further into Millie-May’s throw pillows. “I just wish I had like… any motivation to do anything when I’m not at work, you know? Even when I want to do stuff and have the time, I don’t feel like it. I need somebody to hang around and make me do things.”

They realized belatedly that it might sound like they were asking her to fill that role, which hadn’t been their intent. Fortunately, Millie-May spoke up before Lian could get in a mental spin about it and start apologizing for something that hadn’t even been said.

“Have you thought about getting a pet?”

“A… pet?” Lian echoed. (Heh. Echo. Like their online handle.)

(Oh crap, how long had it been since they’d last updated their blog? Their followers probably thought they were dead.)

“Yeah!” Millie-May sat up and reached over to the side table where her Phantomille, Morose, was resting. She gently scooped up the imp’s cup (Shell? Lian wasn’t sure.) and cradled it. “A lot of imps are low-maintenance, but taking care of them is good motivation to get out and be active! For me, anyway. Hutch has some breeds that they specifically recommend for new owners, I think. You should go by the Imporium and take a look - if you think that’s something that would help, I mean.” She turned bashful and patted Morose on the head before setting it back on the table. The imp wobbled(?) in its cup and then sank down, looking content as far as Lian could decipher its lack of facial features.

“...Maybe,” Lian said, adjusting their position on the couch to get more comfortable. It did sound like a good suggestion. Something to liven up their routine a little bit. Still, they knew the chances of actually following through were low. They trusted Millie-May’s advice, but they’d probably forget about it in a week.

So anyway, a day later after slogging through another seven-point-five hours of spreadsheets and meetings, Lian found themselves at the Imporium.

They’d passed by the store countless times just going about their business day to day, but they had never actually set foot inside before. The first impression was kind of overwhelming, as the chirping, rustling, and various other noises of a vast array of different imps washed over them. The shop’s front door jingled cheerfully as they entered, but they paused just inside, glancing around and unsure what to do with themselves.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait for very long. Hutch appeared from behind… somewhere… okay, Lian just hadn’t been paying enough attention to notice where he had been before, so they jumped in surprise when he entered their field of vision.

“Hey there!” Hutch greeted them cheerfully, either not noticing or graciously pretending not to notice their startlement. “Can I help you? Looking for something?”

“Um, yeah,” Lian fumbled over their words for a moment before remembering how to speak and what they’d come there for. “I was thinking about adopting an imp, but I’ve never had one before, so…”

Admitting that they had no idea where to start was a little anxiety-inducing, but Hutch smiled as though he heard that every day. Which he probably did. “Gotcha! I’ve got some breeds that are perfect for first-time owners, follow me!” 

He ushered Lian over to a pen where a few imps were mingling. They recognized the different types, broadly; chirops, impups, and phloofs were all popular, so they had seen plenty of them both out with their owners and in the wild. A few of the imps paused in their play or rest to examine the new bun in their midst, but many took little notice.

“If you didn’t have a specific breed in mind,” Hutch said, accurately intercepting Lian’s next point of decision paralysis, “why not try playing with a couple of them and seeing who you click with?”

“Okay!” Lian had expected it to be more complicated than that, so they readily agreed. Hutch carefully opened the gate to the pen and stepped inside, motioning for Lian to follow him once more. They did so, crouching in front of a curious impup to give it a pat on the head.

A sudden weight on top of their own head startled them again, but Hutch laughed. “Oh, it looks like somebody likes you!” He reached up and carefully removed the imp, showing it to be a chirop. Lian held out their own arm, and the little creature hopped right on with a flap of its wings. They scritched it behind the ears and realized that they’d started grinning rather foolishly.

After a few moments of fawning over the chirop, Lian attempted to set it down and browse some more, but it chirped in protest and clung to their wrist. “Aw, do you like me that much, buddy?” They cooed, petting it some more. The chirop folded its wings and got comfortable on their arm, making it clear that it didn’t intend to go anywhere else anytime soon.

“...I think this has to be the one,” they said to Hutch. “They’ve made the choice for me.”

“That’s how it happens sometimes.” Hutch gave the chirop a gentle pat and stepped back around Lian to exit the pen. “If you’re all decided, come with me and I’ll show you the adoption paperwork and care instructions.”

This too turned out to be simpler than Lian had expected, which was a relief. The care routine wasn’t very intense, but it provided a nice schedule of recommended activities. It seemed like something they could easily fit into breaks at work or the evenings and weekends, even if Lian didn’t have a lot of energy. Anyway, it would be hard to say no to the little guy snuggling their arm.

Soon enough, they were loaded up with a pet carrier, food, treats, and toys, and Hutch happily waved them out of the store. “Well,” Lian said to the imp in the carrier, “what do you think? Do you want to go meet Millie-May and her imps?”

The chirop chirped and flapped its wings in seeming excitement, and that seemed like enough of a confirmation. There was a fresh spring in Lian’s step as they started walking back home.