[Carnival3] Bring on the Carnival! Part 3

The following morning after they agreed to help out at the fairgrounds, Aporro and Paradoxus found themselves returning. As… unusual and cruel as it was, Aporro’s trap seems to have caught the culprit of the lightning strikes! And what should the two have found, as Thyme called them both over…

but a small, shivering, frightened animal. Of the trap’s bait, it seemed to be most interested in the boar meat… which was lucky for everything that wasn’t itself, as that was what was holding the rope that dangled that stone over its head down. It wasn’t distracted enough to notice when that stone was about to fall, if the fact that it was blown to pieces in front of the trap was any indication. It shrank back, eyes locked on the two Isomaras as its dark fur bristled threateningly, pathetic whines being its only response to their presence. What would they do?

The two Isomaras exchanged glances with Thyme, then each other. “Poor thing,” Paradoxus remarked, “Thyme was right, you went overboard with rigging this thing. It’s probably scared to death!” Aporro did not respond right away, instead sighing in disappointment. Looks like the trap didn’t work as planned. “Maybe next time, it’ll think before it causes any more trouble.”
“Paradoxus is right,” Thyme interjected. “Whatever this is, it’s still pretty rattled. Why don’t you two try to calm it down before it zaps anything else?”
Once again the two exchange glances… before Paradoxus wanders over to the ball-tossing game he set up the night before.
“What are you doing?”
He produced a ball from the game before coming back to Aporro’s side. “If this creature is the cause of the lightning, what if it’s just got energy it needs to let out?”
Aporro looks to the scorched stone, then to Paradoxus. “…Clearly it has no trouble discharging excess energy.”
“I know that,” Paradoxus retorted. “I’m saying I’d like to try to give it a more constructive way to let loose.”
“Suit yourself.”

Paradoxus slowly bent down, cautiously offering the ball to the creature. “It’s okay, little guy, we don’t want to hurt you. We just want you to stop zapping things, okay? Look, I brought you a toy.”
The creature’s whines died down after a moment, its ears perking as it sniffed at the ball. Paradoxus moved it around a bit, trying to get its attention—which he did, if its wagging tail and soft barks were any indication.
“Careful,” Thyme warned, “we don’t want it to get out of the trap until we’re sure it’s calm!”
“I don’t intend to let it out, I promise!”
It pawed at Paradoxus’s hand, prompting him to drop the ball. As soon as it made contact with the sand, it pounced at it, batting it around within the confines of the trap. It did seem to be feeling better, at least.
“Oh wow, you really like that, don’t you?”
It was then that Aporro approached the trap, his shadow immediately catching the creature’s attention. “…Actually, could I have a try with this… thing?”
Paradoxus looked up for a moment. “…Uh, sure?”
But the moment Aporro came closer, the creature’s fur began to stand up on end again. It’s almost like it could tell he was the one responsible for its near dinner date with demise that night…

Before he could try to assure it in the same way Paradoxus did, the creature let out a piercing howl.

ZAP!

Paradoxus and Thyme just barely avoid managing to get zapped along with Aporro by that sudden strike. Within a moment, he found himself knocked back, away from the trap… and most importantly, away from the creature. The two unscathed Isomaras sigh, with Thyme offering one last remark as Paradoxus tried to calm the creature back down again.
“Sometimes, experience just can’t save you from making a bad first impression.”