[Carnival3] Bring on the Carnival Pt 3

The morning after the traps were set, Horacio returned to the carnival grounds, eager to see what the day had brought. His long ears perked at the sound of small howls and he found himself amongst several Isomara looking down at the sprung trap, a tarp and a few small bits of debris, hiding what had been caught. 

“It worked!” he cheered. He moved forward to remove the tarp that was covering it, only for Thyme to materialise out of nowhere and stop him. 

“I think it would be best if I handled this.” 

Horacio frowned, the enthusiasm drained from his sails, and stepped back to allow the more experienced Isomara to deal with the captured creature. Thyme carefully removed the debris and, with some help, removed the tarp from the trap. Horacio looked down at the small creature with curiosity. The fluffy dark furred creature appeared to be frightened, soft howls emanating from it. With a shake of its fur, a zap of lightning scorched the earth. Horacio jumped back, skittering on his claws and almost tripping over himself in the process. 

Shaking off his surprise and the light tingling in his paws, Horacio bent down in front of the cage, careful not to get too close. The creature was frightened, not aggressive. 

“Hey now, buddy. Ain’t no need to go round doing that. We aren’t here to hurtchya.” 

He lay down, long ears perked. “You’re all good here. We can just chill and be friends, yeah?” 

The young creature’s ears flicked forward for a moment at his voice, still trembling and crouched as far away as it could get while still in the cage. 

“That’s it. Ya don’t need to be scared. It’s okay.” He slowly reached out a hand and laid it on the ground just outside the cage. 

As he continued to mutter soothingly to the creature, it slowly stopped shaking. Growing calm, it became more curious and hesitantly approached the edge of the cave and sniffed at Horacio’s hand. 

He grinned. “See, nothing to worry about. We’re all just buddies here.” He slowly turned his hand over to show that he wasn’t holding anything dangerous. “You’re gonna be okay.” 

Carefully he reached a claw through the sticks of the cage to gently scratch at the creature. It gave a small noise and leaned into the touch. “Ya didn’t mean to be causing so much trouble, did ya, little guy?” 

With the creature now calm, Horacio glanced up at Thyme, suddenly aware of eyes on him. “Uh, how was that?” 

Thyme grinned. “I think you did alright. Thank you.” 

He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, ya welcome.”