#I was tempted to just have Mountain yeet the imp into the water

[thelampisaflashlight]

Y’all get a kind of continuation to the imp drabble this morning, because I have ghouls on the brain. Featuring Mountain. Below the cut.

In Hell, natural springs of hot, sulfurous water are abundant, and, for a ghoul, there is nothing more relaxing than a chance to rest in one of the scalding pools without having to worry about being attacked.

Despite the ongoing war in the pit, neutral zones had cropped up across the landscape as a means of preventing civilian casualties, as well as allowing the great deceiver to maintain control over the various factions ever vying for his position on the throne.

Of course, these pools served yet another great purpose to the ghouls on top of providing safety.

No one is really quite sure how or why, but when an imp is exposed to sulfur, its form is able to change, allowing it to return, or perhaps even become for the first time, to a ghoul. 

Even the devil himself has had trouble determining exactly which component in the material causes the transition, and, frankly, he has other work to attend to, and so it remains one of Hell’s great mysteries.

Copia casts a gentle gaze down at the imp in his hands, then back at the large pool of bubbling water before him questioningly, turning to the looming earth ghoul to his left.

“What if it can’t swim?” he asks sheepishly, suddenly worried for the small creature he’s known all of two minutes, feeling it curl its tail tighter around his wrist and coo warily, “What if it doesn’t want to go in? It seems frightened...”

Mountain hums, bending to get on eye level with the imp, who instinctively curls its face deeper into Copia’s palm, trying to hide from him.

“Imps,” the ghoul remarks in a monotone, “are naturally quite skittish. They’re built to flee, to dig into the earth like rabbits and hide... it’s a survival instinct often seen as cowardly among the other demons of Hell, but it works.”

“I sense some hesitation.” he continues, offering a hand to the imp, “I wonder...”

“Wonder what?” Copia asks, helping to transition the imp over into Mountain’s larger hands, heart twinging slightly as the creature gives a particularly pathetic squeak.

“At first, I assumed this must be a new ghoul... Sometimes, our instincts take over after the summoning ritual, and I thought, perhaps, this little one had chosen to flee out of fear, but...” the ghoul examines the imp’s small horns, “...Well, there’s only one way to know for certain...”

Copia half expects the large ghoul to toss the poor thing into the water, and is wholly caught off guard when, instead, he begins to submerge himself in the pool instead. Carefully, he brings his long arm down into the water, allowing the imp to sink in gradually, until its floating on the surface.

The imp keeps its tail wrapped around one of Mountain’s fingers, not wanting to drift away with the force of the bubbles surrounding them, but gives a little halfhearted kick with its back feet, swimming in a small circle around his hand.

“Could you hand me that?” the ghouls ask, gesturing to a blue plastic container sat on the edge of the pool. As Copia examines the bottle, he frowns.

“This is dandruff shampoo.” he blinks, “Why...”

“Read the ingredients and give it a sniff.” the ghoul instructs, watching the imp gain more confidence in the water, noting the way its paws fanned out like little flippers. Copia does so, recoiling almost instantly from the strong, eggy smell.

“You’re definitely a water ghoul, aren’t you?” he hums to the imp, taking the bottle from Copia’s hand.

“You can tell, because of the shape of the paw.” Mountain explains, answering Copia’s unasked question, “Although, the pad seems malformed...”

He picks the imp up, extending its damp paw for Copia to observe. Having never seen an imp paw before, he just nods.

“I have no idea what that means.” he admits, and Mountain laughs, startling the imp.

“Don’t worry about it too much... Now then, Cardinal, I need you to leave the room.” 

Copia blinks, “Is this ritual really something so secretive I’m not allowed to witness it?”

Mountain stares at him for a moment before letting out a shaky chuckle, nearly dropping the imp in the process, “No, no it’s just...”

He gestures at himself and then the imp, “I have the mercy of swim trunks, it does not.”

“Oh. Ohhh...” Copia had not actually thought about the fact that the ghoul would be naked, “Ah, right, I will... wait outside.”