Sleepy Training

A hand halfheartedly groped around the table until fingers clumsily turn down the radio, Axel couldn’t concentrate if his screamo was too loud. It was part of the reason his eyeliner didn’t turn out the way he wanted today, a sick new verse came out and he had been jamming all day.

“Come on, Death, like we practicing,” he grinned, holding up a pet treat for his snell to catch a glimpse of. Okay so practice had only been a few minutes, but maybe his pet did learn something already? Honestly any trick that let Axel continue to sit on the ground and not do much, he was already getting tired.

The snail like imp looked up, his skin rippling as he came closer to his owner. He wasn’t the fastest pet, but he did listen without hesitation.

“I’m still not sure what tricks I’m supposed to teach you, since you know you’re a snell… but ugh Raven won’t stop talking about some stupid doll with trained imps from one of his recent raves,” Axel grumbled, seemingly irritated by his boyfriend talking about other buns. “Like yeah I know, but I bet my imp is cuter than that crap.”

Maybe Axel wasn’t exactly teaching his pet tricks for fun and more to impress his boyfriend, but that wasn’t the important part, what’s important is actually teaching his snell.

“I can’t teach you sit, because I don’t think I could tell if you were sitting, you’re kind of like a blob. Which is sick, but also you’re real squishy.” Axel sighed, holding the treat higher. “Okay how about shaking my hand… uh with your antenna I guess? You don’t really have paws. I mean I know I’ve just been teaching you to come here today, but hey maybe you might just know a trick already?” He held out his free hand in front of his imp.

Death Signal looked up at his owner and tilted his head. He moved forward, getting even close as he pushed one of his antenna against Axel’s hand. The snell couldn’t necessarily grab with this part of his body, but the gesture was there.

“Yeah that’s it! That’s something!” Axel cheered, placing the treat on the ground, watching as Death crawled on top of it and absorbed the treat. “I don’t think it’s like crazy, but the fact you listen like instantly is awesome. I wonder how you knew what to do so fast?”

Axel was unaware that when he slept and kept his tv on at night, Death Signal watched whatever shows came on. It just so happened a pet show about training came on last night and the little snell was rather impressionable. He had watched with big eyes as each imp made their owner happy.

Axel took a moment to think, he wasn’t entirely sure what other tricks he could think up for a snell. Honestly even getting his snell to do a trick seemed more than most people do. “Hmm, oh I know!”

Axel took another treat and held it on the other side of his bent leg. “Go under?”

Death took a good three minutes to inch his way under his owner’s leg, his shell slightly tapping the man’s thigh.

“Hmm,” Axel muttered, giving his pet the treat, “Okay that was good, but I think it’s too slow of a trick for you. Maybe I should try to teach you things to do when I’m right in front of you?”

Axel didn’t blame his pet at all for how long the previous trick took, if anything he probably should have realized his snell would struggle. Death Signel wasn’t an impup or one of those other faster imps.

“Do you think we should take a break? I’m like so sleepy. I don’t know how anyone does stuff like this all the time?” Axel still wanted to impress his boyfriend, but at heart, he really wasn’t anything beyond a sloth bun.

That’s why a snell was perfect for him, he could do as slow as he wanted and Death Signal would be happy to just be included. Especially now as the little imp seemed to agree with taking a break, as he waited patiently to be picked up.

Axel grabbed his pet and grabbed him to his chest, “Yeah let’s go take a nap… ugh that means standing up.” He took a deep breath, heaving forward as he shakily got to his legs. “Okay! Come on, Death, let’s go.”

Axel turned around and immediately collapsed on his bed, it had been barely a foot away from him. “I’ll teach you more stuff later.” He yawned, snuggling up with his imp. “Gonna give you tons of treats later, so you gotta do your best.”

Death Signal looked very content as he continued to listen to his sleepy owner. The snell didn’t doubt his owner would try again, but for now, this training montage was over.