Ring Toss

Roseate huffed slowly to himself as he navigated the crowded halls of the museum, scanning the strange, long abandoned human site before him with little wonder and much annoyance. This festival was something unusual, for sure- a strange gathering of creatures of all species; mammal, reptile, sky and land, herbivore and carnivore. Even so, tensions seemed shockingly low. Hunter and hunted passed each other with nary a glance, the peace certainly helped by the free snacks of game and herbs to soothe roaring hunger. This part of the museum was loud- decorated with strange, metal shells of what seemed to once be flying vehicles, dinosaurs gathered all around to participate in strange, silly little games. 

Roseate snorted to himself. Ha. What a joke. Still, eventually something caught his attention- in the corner of the grand room, a much smaller stand. Several tires were scattered around the area, with much smaller, plastic rings lined up against the booth. A purple tapejara was frantically fluttering around, clearing up the rest of them. She perked up when the carnivore approached. “Oh! Hello!” She greeted. “Would you like to join the ring toss?” She gestured with a claw. “The goal is to throw some of these rings into the tires without crossing that white line!” A faded white line was what she was referring to, long ago painted into the ground and barely hanging on.

“Why?” Roseate asked, head tilted ever so slightly. “What purpose do these games serve?” He did not understand- what was the point in this?

The purple tapejara seemed shocked for a moment. “Well, its fun!” She chirped. “Thats the point of all this, you know? To have fun and relax after such a dreadful time.” Roseate snorted. Such a dreadful time indeed. Those invaders thought they could simply throw another party to win back the broken trust of those they scorned? Well, he supposed he could play along- for now.

Lily, the towering golden and black Albertosaurus wandered about the carnival like a lost puppy. Her tail swishing eagerly from size to side, eyes glittering as her gaze bounced from booth to booth- uncertain where to even start the adventure. Ultimately, her eager strides brought her to a small booth, almost tucked away. Her ears 'perking' at the sound of a ring toss. An excellent game for her to try. 

"Monument!" She beckoned hastily, the grey and brown armored beast following less enthusiastically behind. "Yes dear-" He spoke, trying to mask his clear uncertainty on the endeavor, though he listened regardless of his reservations.

"Look, a game! We should play!" Her eyes glistened with the purest joy that seemed to only shine in children. Though her unbridled enthusiasm led to her accidentally bumping into a small Utah who had already been at the booth. 

"Lily look out- please" Monument pleaded, practically biting his tongue as he watched the spectacle unfold. 

Lily looked down at the Utah, immediately apologetic as she bent down to look him in the eyes. "Forgive me little... thing? I didn't see you there!”

Roseate hissed a little as his tail was trodden on, whipping around only to calm down slightly as he was greeted with albertosaurus. Not invaders, then. He forced his feathers to flatten back down along his back. “Don’t worry.” He welcomed them. “Would you like to join in on this game? There is room for many here.” The utahraptor wanted a chance to observe them, how this peace affected even the biggest carnivores here. 

“Ok, this is how the ring-toss works.” The purple and white tapejara fluttered down, landing on the ground in front of them. “You want to try and throw these things into those tires down there! The further back you throw them, the more points and tickets you get!” She demonstrated for them, her ring tinking off the side of one of the tires sadly. “Well, I’m not the best at it, hahah- but I'm sure you will have more luck!” The flyer quickly fetched the ring back, setting it onto the ground near the carnivores before a call across the grounds caught her attention. “Oh, I need to help with a clean up. Feel free to start! And remember, don’t cheat!” Her tone turned serious for a moment before she took off, vanishing across the arena and leaving the three carnivores standing together.

Lily listened attentively to the booth runner, itching to start the game, whereas Monument's gaze seemed to wander with a sense of indifference. Yet, as the tapejara flew off, Monument was suddenly a lot more aware of what was going on than he originally displayed. “Very trusting, that one.” Monument spoke under his breath, though for once a smile curved on his lips. “These days, there are very few who offer such good will to complete strangers.” He finished, grabbing a ring with his small fingers before glancing over at the Utah. 

“Watch and learn.” He boasted, turning to toss the ring and surprising even himself, it landed. With a deep, hearty laugh, Monument looked over to Lily who seemed even more pleased with his success. “There is nothing you cannot do!” She cheered gleefully, looking down at the pinkish Utah and ushering towards the rings. “You must try now! I do believe you'll land it as well!” Lily added, taking a step back to offer him some space to throw. 

Rosette stepped forward slowly, looking at the rings with a curious expression. He found it almost a miracle how the larger carnivore had managed to make a throw, what with his tiny, stubby little arms. Rosettes talons were long and curved, made for grasping- not quite for throwing, however. Still. He would do his best. The utahraptor carefully sorted through the rings, eventually finding one that seemed smaller than the others. Rosette hooked it in his claws, swinging it upward and releasing it. The three watched silently as the ring went up… and up… and up… completely soaring over the tires and landing somewhere in the distant crowd. No noise of pain arose, so Rosette assumed he missed. He sighed. Well. Great.

Somehow, both Albertosaurus's were wholly invested in the Utah's toss- their eyes locked onto the ring like prey, hungry to know the results. But Alas, the ring never hit its mark, flying far beyond sight with a light ‘clink’. “Oh no!” Lily cried, “I thought you would have had it for sure!” She protested. Monument simply shook his head, “harder to throw with longer fingers!” He added, “though to be fair, I think my toss was chalked up to sheer luck!” He laughed as he stepped back to give Lily room. 

“Your turn now to finish us out!” Monument encouraged. Lily nodded, still brimming with excitement though her zealous fire had somewhat dwindled after watching the Utah miss the mark. She stepped forward a little tepidly, two small fingers wrapping delicately around the plastic ring. Lily really wanted to win at this, Monument had made the feat seem so simple she figured they'd all succeed no problem. Now she was having doubts. 

“You're thinking about it too much!” Monument interjected as he watched Lily pause. His massive tail swishing from side to side in anticipation. Lily always did seem to get in her own head once things didn't seem to look so good. He couldn't blame her though, given her history. 

“Oh, yes! Sorry.” She said bashfully, turning her gaze toward the targets once more and taking a deep, long breath. “I can do this! I can do this!” Lily encouraged herself, shaking off the jitters and nerves that had been building up before stepping up to the line to do her toss. Letting loose, Lily released the ring into the air, her gaze never faltering from the plastic ‘flying saucer’. Monument just as locked in watched from the sidelines as the ring began to soar before it bounced, bounced again, bounced a third time around the mark but ultimately didn't land. 

“I missed-” Lily spoke softly, “Indeed you did, but you gave it one heck of a throw!” Monument joyfully added with a little nuzzle on her nose.

 “I did, didn't i?” Lily said, a small smile returning to her face, washing out the pangs of disappointment that had been there not moments prior. 

“Perhaps you just need a game that requires you to be able to throw really far! I think you'd be great at that!” Monument Concluded, now turning to the Utah who had joined them in this little ring toss endeavor. 

“Nice game champ-” Monument said, “Better luck next time, thanks for playing.”