Importantly, tribulation could be overcome. The green imp knew this thanks to his various experiences and his ability for conscious, intelligent thinking. His companion had the tools but lacked the experience and was therefore downtrodden.

She skulked alongside the green imp having lost her sisters. She was merely an imp, unlike the green powerhouse that walked slightly in front of her. Instinctively she knew that something strange had collided with the fate of her brother, she knew that she was not the same as he. He should not be the way he was. He was unnatural. He was also her best chance at staying alive and despite her depressive state, she still wanted to stay alive.

Looking behind him, the green imp snuffled quietly to get the attention of his companion. She looked up at him. He smiled. She was overcome by the strange expression she was witnessing. His sharp teeth bared and yet completely unthreatening. She felt lifted by his strange facial contortions and although she was not aware of it, her step became a little lighter and she stopped staring at the ground so much.

They stayed close to the ground, shrouded by bush and soaked in darkness. The slightest hint of the daytime was enough for the terrified duo to crawl into hiding. Even a slightly bright moon set them on edge. The memories of their headless sister and the damning pile of bones was still fresh in their minds.

They were following a stream, it was out of sight but they could hear the faint trickle in the distance. It was a necessary source of water and a gathering area for all sorts of vulnerable wildlife. Their constant alertness brought them down the stream safely until it became a river. The trees changed, now large roots protruded from the ground and invaded the water. They unsettled the green imp, he felt like they could move at any moment.

The ground became boggy and they left wet footprints despite being so far from the river. The green imp suddenly struck the ground making the grey imp jump. She watched him slurp up a strange, thin creature with no legs.

Their intelligent eyes, striving in the pitch darkness of the swamp, picked up on a far away light source. Approaching, they found themselves scaling a wooden structure and tramping through orderly plants. It reminded the imps of how they had decorated the interior of their cave. However, it was more sophisticated and the green imp was especially cautious as the source of the light revealed itself.

Unfortunately, the imp, with all his precaution, was caught off guard by something unexpected. The smell.

It rushed into his nostrils and blinded any sense of reasoning, it was more potent and mesmerising than ever before. Hypnotised by the aroma, he walked toward the light and found himself observing the inside of a cave. A draped blanket hugged the undulating form of a being that the green imp could not keep himself away from.

He pressed forward only to be stalled by a clear wall. He rapped his knuckle against the strange barrier and it shattered. The grey imp looked on in shock as she witnessed the green imp smash to pieces the very fabric of reality - the concept of glass currently lost on her.

It would have been lost on the green imp too but he had eyes only for the sleeping creature and all he knew was that whatever was blocking him before was blocking him no longer. He began to crawl in only for the creature to roll over, the blanket fell down to reveal a humongous arm that spanned the length of the cabin and grasped the green imp by the neck. He struggled and clawed at the arm but it was impenetrable even with his razor sharp claws. The lady sighed and was about to defenestrate the imp when she noticed the strange markings that covered his body. The ethereal green that danced across his body, oozing electrical power. She brought the creature closer and observed the bioactive emerald veins.

She traced a finger across the mark with her other, normal sized, arm. She hummed as she considered. Ultimately, she decided to go ahead with the removal of the imp from her abode. It was not interesting enough to warrant interrupting her sleep any further.

The imp was thrown unceremoniously out the window, he launched himself back at the broken window but a barrier appeared from nothing, it was a lot stronger than the first one. He pounded it relentlessly but there was no reply.

The green imp finally gained rationality as the grey imp thumped him in the back for making too much noise. He engaged his constantly developing brain. It was, he decided, an issue of lacking rapport. This lovely smelling creature had no idea what he could offer and therefore was hesitant to provide him with its power. He would just have to show it.

He left with a steadfast goal, to hunt the most impressive prey he could find and offer it. The female imp was surprised by the impromptu hunt but was nonetheless happy to get involved. She was less happy when the male imp dragged the prey away from her and towards the hut that he was previously obsessing over.

She stomped alongside the male imp, any attempt to claw at least a morsel from the carcass was met with a harsh hiss from the extremely stubborn male who was determined to impress the strange creature with a large arm.

This time, he did not try to break the window. He just bashed it to make a noise. He heard a noise and poked his head around the corner to see the subject of his desire exit through a more sensibly sized hole and with a more sensibly sized arm. It looked surprised to see him, even more surprised when he lay his kill at her feet.

It was getting to be day time and the lady gave up on getting back to sleep, she faced the pestering imp who was looking extremely proud of himself in front of the dead creature he had just soiled her doorstep with. Though, it was notable that his presence had not triggered her wards. Not to mention how compliant his companion was.

‘Hello?’ the lady gingerly probed the strange imp. His eyebrows creased in confusion. The lady slapped her face, disappointed that, for a second, she thought the imp would understand. Regardless of the language barrier, she powered on in an effort to gauge the strange creature's potential.

‘Trina,’ she said as she gestured toward herself. The imp jumped excitedly, understanding what she was trying to tell him.

‘Trina!’ He parroted perfectly, surprising her greatly. He then pointed proudly at his chest and made a strange noise.

‘No, I’m not calling you that.’ The witch shook her head. ‘You can be Ivan,’ she said as she pointed toward him, making her intention clear. The imp shook his head violently. ‘You don’t like that? Then how about,’ she thought for a second.  ‘Ohlo.’ The imp seemed more pleased about that one. He then pointed to the other imp and made another strange noise.

‘For that one too? How about… Pill.’ The grey, unremarkable and quiet imp perked up.

‘Fill?’ she said, slowly, her lips struggling to form the word. She tried again after an encouraging look from the green imp. She slowly placed her lip together and looked at Trina who was making the movement for her to copy. ‘Pill?’ she said. The green imp looked proudly toward his companion then back to Trina. ‘Trina, Ohlo, Pill.’ He said pointing at each of them. He then pointed toward the dead creature at his feet. ‘Trina,’ he said, then mimed placing the food in his mouth.

‘Why don’t you come inside?’ she asked. The two imps peered inside her cave. It looked warmer than the one they used to inhabit. It was approaching day time and the smell that Trina was giving off was no less potent.

It was an easy decision to make.

Trina had wanted peace and quiet for as long as she could remember. After obtaining the blissful life of a swamp witch, she was happy. For a couple of weeks. After that, she became incredibly bored. Having complained so much about how busy she was in the Barrow, she was exceedingly hesitant to return with her tail between her legs and give her sisters any sort of opportunity to mock her.

The swamp witch lifestyle had worn her down, indescribably so. Her pursuit of knowledge had slowed along with her drive to gain more power. She received no visitors, made no friends apart from the crocodile she would occasionally throw any left over morsels out the window to. Lost in the haze of losing days to boredom, the shining beacon of two strange imps was irresistible. She flicked through her hand-written compendium detailing the creatures of the swamp. She had filled out each and every name before arriving with the intention of filling out further information upon encounter.

She found nothing that matched the description of the strange creatures. She clapped it closed and got a face full of dust as a reminder that she had slacked on the book's completion. She planned to publish it as part of the huge amount of research she had planned to do. She rested her head in her hand, exasperated and disappointed in herself.

The imps learned quickly, everyday was a few more words, she had to admit that the constant meat supply was a nice change from the vegetable stews she had become used to. Although, she noticed the green male could not keep his eyes off her, not at any point. She did not know why and figured she’d wait and ask when he could understand enough to answer.

The male imp, on the other hand, was becoming restless. His continued offerings had not worked as quickly as he thought they would and although the language learning was useful, he would much rather be harvesting her power. His imp companion had become harvestable only once since meeting the witch but he needed more.

‘Why are you looking at me?’ the witch finally asked after two months of teaching.

‘You have power,’ said the imp. He had progressed further than his friend but was still only capable of broken speech. Trina felt that his answer was not sufficient and therefore asked again.

‘But why does that make you want to stare at me?’

‘I want it. Your power.’ She was taken aback by his request but decided to humour him.

‘Well, how do you plan on getting it?’

‘Show you,’ he said, happy to finally get the chance.