One Step at a Time

Although the chill was still in the air and snow was still thick on the ground, it was a particularly bright sunny day that almost made it feel like spring was right around the corner. Mistletoe was personally glad that that was not the case. Winter was her absolute favorite season, no contest, and while she enjoyed the warm sun on her skin she still was happy to keep enjoying more snowfall before the seasons changed. Her days were made more interesting by the fact that she had been, as of late, the dedicated guardian of a very sweet and curious young Styraco. They had met a few weeks ago and Mistletoe had tried to return Athon to her family when she found the not quite juvenile aged sty in a bush alone. As it turned out it had been the wrong herd, so they'd reconnected and been keeping an eye out ever since with little success. Honestly, Mistletoe doubted somehow they'd be found, but it was just a feeling so she tried not to let it show when Athon asked. 

Today the odd pair, one large brown and white Para and one tiny Grey and white Styraco, were exploring the empty human lands, both enjoying guessing why the long gone creatures made all this stuff instead of just leaving the land how it was. They always had to make the ground flat and change the dirt for stone somehow, and bring in these big metallic creatures that must only have come to life for their humans because they were all immobile now, if they ever did anything before that was. Their nests they built out of wood, stone, or metal, and not all of them were holding up without the occupants to maintain them. Eventually they found a place where more foliage had reclaimed a foothold, and paused to unbury some of the grass from the several inches of snow. The meal was all the sweeter because it was shared in good company. 

"What should we do now?" Athon asked as she munched. Mistletoe contemplated what might be either fun or necessary when all of a sudden another voice rang out from around the corner of a nearby building, "Come one, come all, to the grand carnival!!" Their eyes met and both had their curiosity piqued immediately. 

"Whats a carvival?" Athon asked.

Mistletoe shrugged, "Let's go find out!" So with that the pair set off to investigate.

Exiting the little court yard where they'd enjoyed their midday meal, they followed the echoing voice to a building much larger than what they'd seen so far, stately and built largely of sandy brown stone. Big glass windows offered peeks at the displays inside of every sort imaginable, from fossils to human made objects. Outside there were statues of various dinosaurs scattered around the otherwise empty grounds. At the door stood a feathered oviraptor calling out for others to come and see. When they got closer, they noticed colorful flags hung all around, brightly colored decor that was almost as attention grabbing as the cheerful Oviraptor who was still diligently calling to try and grab the attention of whoever might be around.

As they drew closer, Athon pointed out another approaching party, ducking behind Mistletoe shyly. The little black, white and red Styraco was barely Athon’s age and looked to be alone. “Hello,” Mistletoe greeted warmly, “What’s your name hun?”

He smiled sweetly and replied, “I’m Vulture! It seemed like there was something happening so I wanted to see.” 

“Us too, I’m Mistletoe, and this is Athon.” Athon peered over at the other Styraco but was still debating if she wanted to try and be friendly with him when the Oviraptor at the door noticed the group and came bouncing over.

"Hello, hello! I'm Cheron, and I presume you are here to see my carnival? Maybe play some games, eat some food, or, oh! Maybe display your talent and join in the fun yourselves??" He chattered on almost without taking a breath. Athon eyed him skeptically but Mistletoe kept the atmosphere light, “Wow, sounds like there’s a lot to do! What kind of talents are you looking to see? I don’t know what one usually sees at a carnival.”

Vulture gazed at Cheron expectantly as he answered, “Well well,” Cheron tutted, shaking his colorfully feathered head for a moment, “Why don’t you all come see, we can look around a bit and see what piques your interest? Yes?” He didn’t really even wait for an answer, just began leading the way into the museum and after exchanging glances, Mistletoe, Athon and Vulture decided to follow. Cheron moved at a jaunty trot, wandering through the rooms full of human relics of every sort, displays and statues, maps and charts and everything in between that meant nothing to them really. 

When they entered a room filled with all kinds of displays of metal human contraptions, some suspended in the air, the group took in the bustle of activity as dinos of every sort milled around, going to different booths and activities and playing all kinds of games. There were Dinos tossing rings, trying to dunk someone in a tank of water, pteranodons racing overhead, and more. Vulture and Athon watched all the activity with rapt attention, but when asked concluded they’d like to see what other stuff there was. They could always come back to the games, right?

In the next room it was a lot more eerie, with lifeless animals of all shapes and sizes, and displays of all kinds of bones, some by themselves and others assembled and held up in the shape of the animal they once were. Mistletoe found it all a bit gross but she did enjoy how the place was also covered in different colorful flags and streamers, everything looked slightly festive and fun which was neat to see and several other dinos were waiting to display their talents. Vulture looked around and asked Cheron, “What do you do exactly, what kind of talents?” to which Cheron shrugged and gestured at another Ovi who was sending various colored balls flying through the air and catching them in succession, “Juggling, balancing, feats of strength, whatever you can think of really! No real restrictions!” Athon and Mistletoe looked on as Vulture walked around to look at his options before he became brave enough to try something out.

Eventually Vulture located a large striped ball just about the size of his head on a platform with several stuffed antelopes at the back of it. An iguanodon had a similar one and was balancing it on the end of its tail carefully. Climbing onto the platform, Vulture nosed his prop thoughtfully for a moment. It was red and yellow striped, and slightly weighted. Wanting to show off, he rolled it onto his toes and kept it balanced on the end of his foot as it wobbled side to side, before kicking it up into the air and catching it on his crest. 

“Ooo,” Cheron exclaimed supportively. Athon let out a quiet “wow” before she caught herself and sat back next to Mistletoe, not completely hiding this time. 

Clearly enjoying the attention, Vulture did a few more tricks and finished with balancing the ball on his nose horn which due to his age wasn’t sharp enough to damage the ball yet thankfully. “Tada!” He grinned before letting the ball fall to the ground and taking a bow. The others cheered their support as he descended from his place on the platform. Mistletoe volunteered to be next and quickly looked around for other props. When she found a spot with a sturdy beam between two platforms she gracefully made her way up onto the nearest platform, paused dramatically, and crossed the beam with catlike balance. Every step was perfectly placed, and she never wavered or wobbled. Even when the beam lightly bowed under her weight, she didn’t hesitate or flinch. Athon and Vulture cheered her on, Athon almost forgetting entirely to be shy as she focused on supporting her friend and guardian. Halfway Mistletoe paused and gave a wave of her tail to the observers with all the charisma of a celebrity blowing kisses to adoring fans. Vulture grinned and Athon cheered louder. Once she had made it to the other side Mistletoe offered a deep bow, pleased as punch with herself.

Inspired by Mistletoe and her brave and carefree display, Athon determined she would attempt the same feat. She couldn’t think of a different talent anyway so might as well test herself and see if she could be as poised as her guardian, or at least not take a tumble, it looked like fun. The little grey Sty made her way up a set of stairs onto the platform, bicolored eyes aglow with excitement and trepidation. If she just focused and tried really hard she could totally do this. Probably. She hoped. As she hesitated to take her first step across, Mistletoe cheered encouragingly, “Go Athon, go! You can do it, one foot at a time, no trouble at all!” The support from her plus some shouts of agreement from Vulture helped her get past the block and with a nervous smile Athon began to cross.

It was easy at first when she focused on getting across to Mistletoe, placing one foot carefully in front of the other and making slow but steady progress. Even Cheron offered some encouragement when she began to pause as the beam gave only a hair under her weight as she got closer to the middle. Athon grimaced, and risked a glance down at the ground below which was a mistake cause it looked a LOT further away from up here, oh gosh. She took a steadying breath and tried to keep going but her legs were quaking and she was scared she was going to fall. 

“You can do it, don’t worry!” Vulture called, and when Athon looked for him she found he was standing just below her, a little to the side with a supportive smile. She didn’t know him, but he was kind of cute and nice and that made her a different kind of nervous. Hopefully he couldn’t tell that her face was getting a bit flushed with embarrassment. His silver eyes were full of warmth as he added, “Hey, it’s not that far, I’ll totally let you land on me if you fall.”

That made Athon snort, “Right, and get a horn in my stomach? No thank you.” Her tone was lighthearted and she ended up smiling herself as she rallied and managed to keep her focus back on Mistletoe long enough to complete the journey to the other side and land with a heavy sigh of relief. “Great Job” Mistletoe congratulated her, followed by Cheron’s cheery “Bravo, bravo, you’re all VERY good, perhaps I will let you join my carnival!” to which Athon gave Mistletoe a knowing look. This was definitely not for her, but, all in all it was still fun. Once they’d returned to the floor they decided alongside Vulture to go explore the games and try to have some fun over there for a while after politely declining Cheron’s generous offer. Athon felt like the least talented of the bunch, but she was young and who could really compete with Mistletoe’s effortless grace? Maybe her friend could teach her.