curiosity... put the bun to sleep?

When Kohara sees Pedigree Pets', they're instantly captivated by the colors and brightness of the shop. 

On the window to the shop, xe sees some of the most adorable and uncommon imps sleeping, surrounded by tons of pillows, blankets and toys.

Bruno follows behind them, his tiny paws not making any sound as they hit the ground.

A sign on the window beside the automated doors guarantee 'A healthy mix of treats that will turn your beloved imp into a fancy, one-of-a-kind companion!'

They look down at their impup, Bruno, excitedly wagging his tail as they wait for Kohara to keep walking, and pictures him in a wildly different form, while still maintaining his sweet, easily excitable personality.

It's a no brainer, xe walks into the shop, Bruno hot on xyr heels.

The doors make a soft ding! noise as they automatically open, letting them both in. The air conditioning is on, and so is soft music in the background that Kohara can't quite recognize.

"Be right there with ya!" Says a voice coming from the back, followed by some heavy huffs, and a few thuds.

While they wait, Kohara looks around, browsing the shelves. There's dozens of different imp houses, special pillows, toys, blankets. There are fur trimmers, horn shiners specifically for imps, shampoo and conditioner, along with perfume occupying an entire corridor by themselves. Imp potty training sprays, and even home decor, like mugs with "Impy's favorite daddy!" and "#1 Imp fan!", and other silly phrases printed on them.

Heavy footsteps come from the same direction the voice had come from before, attracting Kohara's attention.

Xe turns, walking towards the counter, and watches as an incredibly buff and tall bun smiles brightly at them. A sweet orange phloof is perched on their head, dozing the day away, and Kohara sees the fluffy fur of something very pink follow the bun, but due to the height of the counter, they aren't capable of making out what exactly it is.

The bun clears their throat, "Hello!" Their voice is loud, but not uncomfortably so, and strong. It reminds Kohara of Dan, if he wasn't so quiet and gruff. "Welcome to Pedigree Pets! I'm Quince, sorry for the mess but I just opened the shop so I'm still fine tuning things," She laughs, carefree, "How can I help you?"

Quince, quite frankly, looks like she could bench press three Koharas at once without breaking a sweat. It's an incredibly attractive look.

"I saw the sign in front, what do you offer exactly?"

Quince beams, becoming surprisingly even brighter than before. "I'm glad you asked!" She says, and opens a small passage on the counter that allows her to move from behind it. Kohara finally spots what the fluffy pink thing was.

Xe tilts their head, and the pink fluff does so too. Its snout twitches, and its tail slowly starts wagging fast as it notices Bruno, half hidden behind Kohara's leg.

"Ah, don't mind Mademoiselle! She's very friendly! She used to be an impup too, actually, much like your little buddy there." Quince says, and reaches down to pat Mademoiselle's fluffy head, avoiding the big red cherry in it. "She's had quite a few cherry foods though, and eventually grew up to be this adorable pink explosion."

Quince straightens up, her smile is still wide and friendly, "This is partially what Pedigree Pets offers! I specialize in developing recipes for imps that are able to offer certain appearance changes in them!" She directs Kohara to one of the corridors that showcase several different pre-made packages of treats. Both Mademoiselle and Bruno seem keen on becoming quick friends, given by how both their tails excitedly wag. A sign beside the shelves indicate that they're all made daily. "Don't worry, it's all very safe for the imps, and us buns can enjoy them too actually, just with no side effects!" She clarifies.

The snacks offered all appear to influence different traits on imps, but they're mostly minor color changes in their appearance.

"I can also custom make a special snack, but that takes longer and costs more as well. Although, if you're looking for a really unique companion, like Mademoiselle here, or any of my little buddies there on the front window, then that's something you'd be interested in."

Kohara hums, and looks down at Bruno, already picturing how cute he'd look I'd he was at all similar to the black starry sheep they had seen, only to realize that xyr little imp is nowhere to be seen.

Worried, they turn fully around, calling out for the small impup, "Bruno? Where are you?"

A tiny huff is heard from the back where Quince had first come from. They turn, shooting Quince a look, one that only the owner of a baby imp knows. A look that all but spells oh-oh.

In quick strides they both reach the counter once more, following what seems to be the soundtrack of two mischievous pups.

"Oh no." They say, noticing first how the door to the back had been left open.

If Quince's store is anything like Kohara's own hole in the wall shop, or even Dan's Dangos, then the back is most likely where the raw ingredients and sensitive items are.

Quince is quick to hop to the back of the counter, Kohara hot on her heels.

"Oh sweet Murmur…" She gasps.

From behind her wide and muscled back, Kohara peeps, and sees as how both Mademoiselle and Bruno desperately try to open a box. Around them, a few cardboard boxes have been toppled, their contents luckily weren't food related.

"Bruno Otto Oliveira Batista!" Kohara says, in a stern voice, stepping around Quince and startling the small impup and Quince's Mademoiselle, making them turn to their owners. "What did you do?!"

The most sweet, guilty eyes meet Kohara's gaze. Xe holds their stern stare for about three seconds (an improvement, all things considered), before their shoulders sag and they let out a deep sign.

Kohara turns, and has to creak xyr neck up to meet Quince's amused eyes. "I'm- We are sorry, Quince. We'll both help you clean up." 

Two small whines reach their ears, coming from both Bruno and Mademoiselle.

Quince chuckles, "I'd love the help, but uh, I didn't quite catch your name?"

Kohara stretches out a hand, "I'm Kohara. And, as you may have guessed, that's my Bruno, full name Bruno Otto Oliveira Batista, but I just call him Bruno, or Boob."

"Well, Kohara, Bruno, let's get to it, shall we?"

—

It doesn't take as much time as Kohara thought it would take, even with the two pups distracting them.

Quince talks about how she started Pedigree Imps. She talks about her past job as a farmer, and about how Hutch taught her all about imps, and her own tentative and careful research into imp treats and their effects on the magical shadowy creatures.

With heart eyes, Kohara spent an embarrassing large amount of time listening to Quince as she described how she made the more generic snacks, and the intricate ones, going as far as showing xyr as well.

"...Alright, good! You're great at this, Kohara! You're doing a really good job! I might just hire you part time at this point!" She exclaimed with a boisterous laugh, one that Kohara decidedly did not blush at.

Suddenly, their Sweeter Than Mischief (as Quince was determined to call them) cookies were baked and iced, and Pedigree Pets was closed.

Sitting on the ground with Quince and munching on the cookies, Boobie and Mademoiselle cuddling at their feet with Peach nestled comfortably on top of them, crumbles mingled in their faces, Kohara counted the day as a major success.

It was further proven a success when Quince started softly petting their hair and ears, gently combing and scratching the skin below.

Xe didn't even notice when they fell asleep against her shoulder, snoring softly, and didn't notice the soft chuckle Quince let out.