Late Night Snack

When Quince approached Shibani about taking care of one of the breeds she raised at Pedigree Pets, he wasn't exactly sure if he was the right candidate. His sleepy nature would lead to him being a bit forgetful at times. He would hate to accidentally neglect any creature that would be relying on him for proper training. 

That is, until Quince arrived to show him the ball of fluff in her arms. She called it a Stellaram. It's body was entirely covered by wool, and it's dark colours were very easy on the eyes. It was almost as perpetually sleepy looking as Shibani, and that was a feat to be achieved by few else. When he got to hold the little Imp, he couldn't help but bury his face into the immense wooly plume. It was as soft as the pillows he slept amongst in the pile. 

Quince had one request for him. "These little guys are a bunch of day dreamers. People love to snuggle with them, and usually, they love to do the same. But this little fella is having a hard time staying still around bed time. I have tried to train it the normal way, but I ain't used to taking naps with my stock. I want you to keep this little trouble maker in place for a night. Get em comfortable snoozing." That was something Shibani could do just fine. 

Their first night together, Shibani took little time to begin cuddling with the Stellaram. It's body being the perfect pillow to hold on these particularly tired nights. Zoning in and out of consciousness, he felt the Imp wiggling in his arms. It seemed to be antsy staying still for too long. Even the sleepiest of Imp couldn't sleep as much as he could. 

It seemed that more time had passed than the Imp was comfortable with, and a pang of hunger plagued the hollow space in his stomach. Sleeping didn't quite keep you fed, and he knew exactly what to eat in this situation. Letting the Imp down onto the floor, he crawled out from the pile of pillows. Creeping out into the empty dango shop, he made sure to stay as quiet as possible as to not alert Dan to his late night antics. 

The large refrigerator in the back of the store held a collection of Dan's best mochi, ready to eat and organized to order. Hopefully he wouldn't mind if just one went missing. While Shibani stared longingly at the yellow glow of the fridge, the Stellaram had snuck up behind the hungry bun. It seemed drawn to a specific mochi, bumping it's head against the sweets softly as if to signal it's selection. A container of Glittery Mochi sat off to the side. It was an out of season treat, but perhaps one going missing wouldn't hurt. 

He pulled a single mochi ball from the pack, splitting it straight down the middle and sitting on the ground to hand feed his wool clad companion. It consumed the mochi greedily from his palm, although he couldn't quite pinpoint how, and it seemed satisfied with the morsel. He then took to snacking on the other half, scratching at the fluff near the Imp's neck as he did so. 

All of a sudden, a gruff 'Ahem' sounded behind the bun. Turning, he saw Dan with his arms crossed watching the two of them eating his mochi on the floor of the shop. "You do realize that light shines all the way to the windows of the shop. I don't want anyone to think I'm being robbed." He moved to push the fridge door closed. His tired eyes squinting in the darkness as he looked down at the Imp in Shibani's lap. "Don't feed it too much, you still have to give it back to Quince tomorrow. If you keep feeding it my mochi, you may alter it's biology even more than her experiments did. My confectionary skills are much more potent." 

Shibani looked back down at the Stellaram, happily resting in his lap. Content with the sweet dessert it had chosen. "Awe. Can't keep it?" He leaned into the fluffy wool and hugged it to his chest, causing it to make a quiet squeak before cuddling up to him. "I'll name him Nibble."