Chapter Text
Impulse yawned stretching as he walked away from his current dig job. As much fun as it was to crawl around like a mole in his tunnels his wings where aching under his shirt and he figured a break was in order. Only- when he finally reached sunlight something smashed at his feet and a dizzing smell splashed in his face and he was out.
Gem gasped from her perch looking down from where she dropped the feral potion ment for doc "oh Impulse!" She yelped gliding down to the slowly growing form.
By the time she landed what infront of her was Not the small, bearded dwarf who's hair was painted in flowers- but instead a large stoic beast who's tusks and horns reached the sky in twisting sharp towers.
Long hook like claws cling to the pebble rode as it stood on all fours, once hidden tail now sliced the air in dangerous arce as the end was tipped with a spined spade.
Gem swallowed nervously as the demon stared her down with small golden eyes that where thin with attention. The long tail flicked and it began to move forward and she stumbled back-
"Gem! I thought you were going to take a break?" Pearl said smiling as she walked up, her own wings flapping happily, then froze at the sight infront of her.
"Pearl!" Gem yelped and the demon stopped, turning to look at Pearl. The two seemed to freeze, staring at each other. Then the demon made a soft noise, a chuff, and started walking again. Gem squeaked and scrambled up pearl, clinging to her shoulder and neck as the demon approached, then-
It stopped a few feet before them with towering statcher and slowly layed on its stomach looking up at them with a soft huff.
"Pearl- What do we do?!" Gem asked as she clung to her friend's shoulder, wings puffed out and fluttering nervously.
Pearl blinked as the demon before her made a soft chirp and nuzzled against her leg, large tusks carefully tucked to her side.
"I think... I think it likes me? That's the feral potion right?"
"Yes. But the potion should make the person act more like their nature- not like this." Gen whispered with her tail tucked, pearl hummed and let her hand lay flat in the air- quickly earning a bump as the demon nuzzles into it "maybe... maybe this is his true nature? Could the potion mess with someones glamour?"
"I- maybe? But that would mean Impulse is a-"
"A demon, yes. A very nice one by the looks of it." Pearl smiled, letting her hand rest on the top of the beast's head as it began purring. It was a deep noise that vibrated the ground around them.
"Maybe he's not- maybe it's the potion. It could be a side effect." Gem muttered as she carefully climbed down her friend, taking a few steps forward with her hands raised- the demon's attention shifted to her and she froze.
"Hey, hey it's okay. He's just like a cat." Pearl cooed, rubbing a finger between the large ears "it's okay. See?"
The demon looked at Gem for a moment, then closed its eyes as its purrs grew louder. Taking a few deep breaths she slowly approached, deer hooves clicking far too loudly for her liking as she knelt.
"Hey. You're still there aren't you Impulse?" Gem said softly, slowly reaching out her hand- and was met with a cold and rough nose bumping into her fingers. She smiled and pet the snout, moving her hand down to the chin and smiling at the rumbles it made.
"You think you can change back?"
At the sound of pearl's voice the beast opened its eyes and looked to her, and she swore she could see a smile-
Then a loud crackle came from the beast's shoulders, followed by a flash of yellow and two huge wings stretched out from the demon's back, knocking gem on her butt and nearly hitting pearl. The wings were bat like, covered in thick scales and ridges, a few even looked like they had been broken or ripped at some point. The fingers themselves where pitch black while the skin was a fadin yellow adorned in light scars and burns.
"What the-" Pearl said and Gem stood, watching as the wings flapped- then folded back awkwardly on the largers back. A gravely whine sounded from the demon, the wings moving like a bird who couldn't quite fold them, then there was a soft pop and a puff of smoke from the demons lips as it rolled over on its side laying its wins out. "Oh impy- gem did you even read the label on those things? They're so old!"
"I'm sorry! I thought the ingredients would be enough! Maybe if we got some more milk- or we could message grian about the side affects, he's who I got the recipe from. Oh, oh what are we going to tell everyone?" Gem rambled, her deer legs wobbling slightly as pearl carefully sat next to the beast who was slowly dozing off.
"Hey, it's okay. We can figure this out, but for now we should just keep this quiet. No need to make him panic over it, we can just say he got sick- a flu or something." Pearl hummed, leaning back against the soft and warm skin as she felt a large arm wrap around her waist, with a squeak she was tugged closer- Gem giggling at her face as the other was pulled onto the other side and cuddled like a pillow.
"Well- guess we'll have to figure out how to get him inside. Can't just leave him here." Gem muttered getting up, searching her inventory something caught her eye making this whole situation just a bit lighter. Pulling out a bowl she held it infront of the demons nose as pearls soup steamed from it. "Hey- you should eat."
The beast snorted and opened one eye, staring at her- then it's long tongue slid out and it slurped the bowl from her hands. It took a second for her to realise that she had no way to get it back, then the bowl crunched and was swallowed like a grape.
Pearl hissed before laughing and patting the demons cheek "you big lug- ya left nothin for me!" She teased scratching behind his ear in a way that apparently shut him off because next second he was dropped limp with a deep purr.
"Well, at least we know he's not gonna starve." Gem muttered and pearl chuckled, getting up.
"Yeah, let's try and get him in. I doubt he'll want anyone else seeing him like this." Pearl sighed and with a groan and a grunt they managed to get the demon to its feet, then-
"Huh...I always wondered why impulses door was so big, wonder what else we missed?" Gem queried as she tapped the back of impulse knees to herd him- which was surprisingly easy given the large stature.
"Thinking about it we should have seen it sooner, no simply Imp has that much power- and I never seen his wings. Wonder if he just hides them? Maybe he's just shy."
Pearl said with a smirk as they approached the door, then paused and looked at each other. "Wow you weren't kidding it's like a perfect fit." She marveled as the demon stood and sniffed the door ways top, demming it safe he walked forward slowly letting the galls see how there was only a foot or two of space as he walked through the doorway. Once in his room he walked towards his bed, then flopped down, and was instantly snoring.
"Well- what now?" Gem asked and pearl shrugged, walking over to the bed and sitting beside the demon.
"I don't know. But he'll wake up eventually, and until then- I'm staying." She said patting the beasts head and Gem smiled.
"You're really taking a liking to this aren't you?"
"What can I say? Big and warm is just my type." She joked and the demon shifted, pulling her close and Gem laughed as she sat beside the other. "I think a list is in order, 1 find out what demons eat before we find out if the mortal sacrifice thing isn't just a myth, 2 ask grian or whoever's been splashed how long this thing lasts and the actual limits of it, 3 exploit this for all the cuteness its worth" gem smirked scratching the demons horn who grumbled, the sound was low and echoey like a wolf in a tunnel. Pearl snickered and leaned against the large chest, feeling a wing pull over her like a blanket. "and 4, make sure we don't have a repeat performance of the feral potion, I think that was enough stress for the week."
Gem smiled and nodded, pulling a book out of her inventory and starting to write. Pearl relaxed with a deep breath, feeling the demon shift to better curl around her-
And then they fell asleep.
"You did WHAT!" Grian yelped, nearly dropping his communicator.
"We didn't know it would do that!" Gem replied, looking around in a panic to see if anyone was near enough to hear. "How was I supposed to know the potions where so old!"
"Gee- I don't know, maybe don't use something that's been sitting in a box at the old castle back from when Ren was King! I can tell you now potions only get more potent the longer they ferment, and you gave him the strongest ones you had!"
"I know I know, I'm sorry. What do we do now?"
"Well- first I suggest getting him in a safe spot he can chill in, I don't know alot about demon but I know impulse and being around a lot of people will stress him out more then needed. Next just stay with him and talk to him, he may not respond well- and no matter what happens do not give him a mirror. Third and final thing, and this is important- if he starts talking to anyone, a stranger or someone he knows, make sure he doesn't say his name.
These potions usually last just a day but with how long y'all's has been waiting I'ma give you some poor maths and say- buckle up. It also might be wise to get skizz in on this because I'm pretty sure their soul bond is still active." Before gem could ask about that bond grian hanged up leaving the fawn to groan and rub her head.
"Oh great- how am I going to tell the others about this?" She muttered, looking around she saw Pearl waving her down.
"Gem- come here." Pearl called and gem jogged over, seeing her friend and the now awake and slightly less sleepy demon. "Hey, grian said we need to get Impulse to a secure location, something about not letting him around people and a mirror? Also, how do we find skizz?"
Gem blinked then shook her head "alright- alright. Uh, I can message skizz and if needed we can ask xisuma about bringing him here to help. But for now-"
She looked at the demon, who was curled up under a large quilt and was snoring loudly- or what would have been snores. The sound was low and gravely, sounding more like rocks grinding against each other then a throaty sound.
"Let's see if we can get him out of bed."
With a hop pearl jumped onto the beast and straddled him, grabbing his face she grinned.
"Alright buddy- wake up!"
The demon snorted and cracked one eye open, looking up at her.
"Come on, you've slept all morning- time to get up. Bubby were going on a adventure!" She cooed not expecting a large talon to grab the scruff of her shirt and drop her off beside the bed like a kitten.
"Oh come on!"
Gem giggled as the demon rolled over, burying itself under the covers.
"You two are hopeless. Pearl go check with skizz, here's his number. I'll deal with our grumpy goober here." She said holding out a slip of paper. Pearl took it and flew off and Gem turned back to the demon.
"Hey, impy-" the demon growled peering at her from under the blanket. Two glowing dots glowered at the nickname. "-sorry. But we need to get up."
The demon stared at her, then closed its eyes and pulled the blanket over its head.
"Hey, no! Come on you gotta help me here." She sighed. After a minute she got a idea and took a moment to look around- what would get impulse out of bed? Then her eyes fell on a cup, half filled and long forgotten.
"Hey- I can get you some hot chocolate, if you promise to cooperate?" She offered, and the blankets shifted as the demon sat up. With a soft sniff to the tiny cup he huffed and layed back down, gem gasped shocked- usually the shorter dropped everything even if just for a minute to get some hot chocolate. Then go back to what ever he was working on, wait- maybe she was looking at this all wrong. She's not dealing with a stubborn impulse, she was dealing with a stubborn demon. Biting her lip she had to think for a long minute before deciding to throw pride out the window and grabbed her sword, finding impulses sheep farm she grabbed a ewe and filled the cup with crimson liquid. Making sure to save her body in a freezing unit before walking slowly to the beast, it seemed to be becoming more apparent she was dealing with a very powerful demon-
The fact was cemented by how it sat up at the smell of blood.
"Hey- here. You can have the rest if you get out of bed." She bargained holding the cup out- the demon leaned forward and took the cup, but didn't drink it, instead he looked at her and she could feel the weight of his gaze as if he was staring straight into her soul. She was a deer hybrid, and deer were prey animals- so the instinctive fear she felt was expected, and yet.
"Go ahead, I promise I won't hurt you. We just need to get you somewhere safe." She promised and the demon tilted his head, then-
He took the cup and gulped it down, the large throat working quickly and smoothly, and then it was gone.
"Grrph?" It asked and she flinched, the voice was deeper then impulse- scratchy and hoarse and echoing.
"Y-yes, there's more if you'll get up. Okay? We just need you to get up, you can go back to bed later."
The demon stared at her, seeming to judge her honesty, then it's shoulders relaxed and with a few cracks it stood. Heavy steps seemed light in the cave like it was built for heavier loads.
Gem smiled and followed as the demon walked back into the room, picking up the empty cup he looked at her- and she was suddenly aware of how much bigger he was. Sure She was short for a fawn, but impulse was normally a nice 5'9 heck even a cool 5'3 with him acting as a dwarf this season.
But the lumbering animal next to her was a easy 10 maybe 13 feel tall- and that was not including the massive wings and horns.
"Gem- I talked to skizz. He's on his way but Xisuma says we have to be with him at all times, apparently he's felling the affect but isn't bad enough to not help" she explained flying over and grinned "Hey! I knew ya could do it, hay big guy! Lookin good!" She teased as the demon gave her a lazy look, the two walked out and the beast sniffed the air.
Pearl was keeping a sharp eye out and occasionally circling the air for any hermits who happened by but all seemed good, that's why it was so weird when impulse froze all of a sudden.
"G-gem." Pearl landed and looked around, the beast growled and its tail flicked nervously as a low rumble filled the area.
"It's okay, I got this." Pearl said, then flew off- only for a few moments later a small crash came and a familiar voice yelped.
"What the- PEARL LET ME GO! GUYS- GEM WHAT'S GOING ON!" Ren screamed as Pearl grabbed him and flew away, the demon growled and backed up, its ears were pinned down and it was growling.
"R-ren its okay. It's okay!" Gem tried and the demon hissed- charging at the sound. She was able to jump back, watching as it crashed through the trees and took off. "IMPULSE- IM- IMPULSE."
She took off after him, ignoring the shouts and cries as the beast ran through the trees, the only sound it made were the thumps of its talons on the ground- and the occasional crash as it smashed through a tree and gem only lost sight of him for a moment, but that's all it needed.
*Rendog was mauled to death by impulse*
Gem didn't see the message but when he made it to the clearing it was abundantly clear. Blood and fur and a broken bow-
Ren's body laid a dent in the grass, blood pooling the blades of green-
Impulse had gotten him.
"I-impulse? Hey buddy, its okay. Ren's gonna be okay. Can you come here?" Gem asked, walking forward slowly. Impulse was panting, blood dripped from his maw- and he was hunched over. His wings were tense and his eyes were darting around, a growl was constant as his ears flicked. Pearl grabbed gems arm, trying to pull her away but gem shook her head. "Pearl- he's scared."
"Gem- he could kill you. We shouldnt go near it-."
"Impulse is a demon- not a thing, and we need to show him we're not scared." She whispered, stepping forward and holding her hands out. The beast froze, and watched her approach. Slowly he lowered his head, letting her get closer and closer, and she kept her breathing even and steady, making sure her hands didn't shake as she reached forward- and pet his muzzle. Hiding her grimiest as blood smeared under her hand.
"Impulse, it's okay." She cooed and the demon huffed, his body relaxing and a whine echoed as he lowered himself.
"Oh, oh impulse- its okay. We're ok" gem soothed, petting the muzzle and letting the beast press his head against her chest, a whimper rumbled his throat and he closed his eyes.
"Woah- holy." Pearl gaped and Gem turned to her, the beast growled and pearls eyes went wide.
"It's okay. Pearl, come here. He's okay, you're okay." She said gently, and the beast lowered his head, letting the fawn hold him. "Pearl- please. If you act scared he's going to think there's something or someone else making you that way. He's scared, and confused."
Pearl bit her lip and walked forward, sitting down in front of them and the beast opened an eye.
"Hi, hey buddy. I'm sorry, I'm just worried. You scared me, and I thought you were going to hurt Gem." Pearl explained and the beast blinked. "But you're not going to, are you?"
A low whine was her answer, and the beast nuzzled the fawn. It was then pearl finally felt the buzz from her communicator and opened it up.
*Skizzleman joined the game*
*Rendog was mauled by impulse*
*Xisuma whispers to you/ What happened!? Send cords we need to get him away from any others right now.*
*Skizzleman whispers to you/ close his eyes, do what ever it takes and keep them shut. Trust me*
*Grian: wow- Ren how rude*
*Rendog: What did I do! I was just walking when he-*
Pearl shut her device rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, gosh. Xisuma and Skizz are on their way, skizz says not to let him open his eyes." She explained and gem tilted her head before nodding.
"Best not ask questions I guess" she muttered and layed her palms over the demons eyes. It seemed to Work, the demon relaxing as the two talked and pet the beast. It wasn't long before they heard the buzz of a elytra and two people landed.