Kain & Hutch — How Embarrassing!

“And t-that… is the proper methodology for general chirop training. No extra sweets, just a handful of sesame seeds, a sesame treat or two, and lots of dedication.”
“… I see.”

Kain looked on with an enthusiastically raised eyebrow as Hutch tossed a seed into the air… and the chirop flew right over and caught it in the middle of the air. Kain whistled a low, surprised note as the chirop flew back onto Hutch’s arm, where the bun dutifully handed it a treat.

“Oh, he’s coming along beautifully. Normally they can be a bit more rascally when first starting, b-but… maybe he wants to show off, or something. Or maybe he’s done this before… but I ch-checked, and he has no tags or anything…” Once more, Hutch checked the newly caught (and oddly affectionate) chirop as Kain looked on with a silent nod.

Now… how exactly did an employee of the Church Shop end up helping the proprietor of the Imporium with their new imp training, anyways? Well, every now and then Mercy tasks Kain with running around Burrowgatory to take care of some extra stock for the shop and make good on existing connections between the businesses of the city and the Church. No sweat off Kain’s back, plus he gets paid in extra communion wafers… What's not to like? And on this particular day he’d been tasked with talking to Hutch about sesame treat deliveries. The new faces around Burrowgatory have been good for Hutch’s business, and… well, when doesn’t Mercy wanna capitalize on a good deal? They said—and Kain quotes—to “give Hutch a good impression of yourself so they’ll be inclined to give you favor” which was business speak for “do a pushy good job to get more carats”. So Kain offered, and after an initial test of “how well do the imps react to you”, Hutch begrudgingly let Kain tag along for the training of a new group of chirops. Yay!

“Haha, wow — looks like you’ll get along with any bun who comes across you just fine, li’l guy. Heheh… your glossy coat, pure eyes… Who's a good little guy? Ehehe, yes yes! Who’s a good little guy!” Hutch’s smile was wide as the chirop hopped between their shoulders… and Kain couldn’t help but smile too.
“… you are, yeah. You’re a good boy.” Kain said, looking in the general direction of the training session. The phrase was INTENDED to be for the chirop’s praise, but…
“HYEEEH?” Upon hearing that phrase, Hutch’s voice shot up a couple octaves as they fumbled with the treats in their hands. The surprised chirop on their shoulders took off and fluttered off towards Kain… the loose end of Hutch’s leash that had come unfurled with Hutch’s sudden surprised jump was dragged along for the ride, and ended up in Kain’s hands.

“Oh. Um. Uh.” Carefully Kain approached Hutch as they slowly began to turn beet red. “You… um, well… uh.”
“… t… that was t-t-totally… meant for the chirop, right? Right?” With their hands on their collar, Hutch squeaked as Kain came close — h-h-his face was coming REALLY REALLY CLOSE! Hutch closed their eyes… but quickly opened them when they realized that Kain was simply putting the leash back to its proper place. Though… Kain was STILL holding onto the leash’s handle… that made Hutch’s heart hammer up to their throat.
“Yeah… yeah. For the most part.” Kain scratched behind his horn awkwardly… and that only caused Hutch’s beet red face to become beet-ier and red-ier. For the most part? What MORE PARTS were there?
“U-u-uh-huh. A-a-anyways, come on now. Idle hands make for inefficient work, and l-look — I think this chirop is looking for directions from you.”

Indeed, the chirop on Kain’s shoulder was looking at him expectantly. With an awkward cough, Hutch detached the leash from their collar and rolled it into Kain’s hands.
“Use that. I… I, um… I have plenty of extras.” Was that just to hide their embarrassment? Who knows? As Hutch began to walk off towards another group of imps, Kain waved back.
“Thanks. Really, you’re doing good too. Impressive!” Because, well… that’s genuinely how Kain felt about Hutch’s skills. Kain watched as Hutch paused, turned around briefly, mimed some sort of exasperated action, pointed back to the chirop on Kain’s shoulder with emphasis, and then turned back around… all while still pink in the cheeks.

Huh. Maybe they’re a little more embarrassed about it than Kain thought. Oh well… back to training, right?