Barrels of Fun

Soft snow crunched under heavy footsteps as a trio of large carnivores slogged their way through the frozen world around them. Soft grumbles and complaints were traded as they made their way, hissed between shivering teeth that gleamed in the clear moonlight. Kinich was the one to catch sight of it first, a clear bark splitting the air. “There!” He pointed with a long, dexterous claw, the other suchomimus and albertosaurus following it with their gaze. There, nestled among the other buildings of the long broken down city they were traveling, was a much grander one, broken down as it was. It would normally be of little interest to the prehistoric creatures, but, tonight, strange events were happening.

The once abandoned building was alive with the sound of laughter and the trampling of huge footsteps as ancient creatures wandered in and out of the building. Tapejaras swooped in and out of windows, merrily chirping, while a herd of parasaurolophus gossiped by the entryway. Some clutched various prizes, bits of food, rare human artifacts, and even boxes. 

The three stared at the building for a moment, the minds of the three carnivores struggling to comprehend the unusual peace before them- they could smell the scent of other meat eaters within the building, but the chaos that usually came after was missing. “It's like the rumors said…” Awilix murmured, eyes wide as she blinked like she couldn't believe what was in front of her. And to be fair, it was an unbelievable sight, especially in the winter where both carnivores and herbivores became desperate and hungry. 

The three continued to linger on the outskirts, until a snort from Nasaku broke the silence. The albertosaurus tossed his head, before stepping forward. “No use staying out here, my tail is starting to freeze off! Come on, let's go.” He set off at a steady pace towards the building, Kinich and Awilix followed a bit more hesitantly. Of course, it was understandable that the albertosaurus was a bit more hasty, as he lacked the thicker feathers of the two semi-aquatics.

Despite the lack of an actual heat source, it was somehow much warmer instead the museum- holiday cheer, perhaps, as creatures of all shapes, sizes, and time periods bustled around. There was little reaction to the approach of three large carnivores- even so, Kinich, Awilix, and Nasaku were quick to stick to the walls of the large room, slipping away through one of the larger hallways widened by time. It was a bit of a cramped journey, made even harder by both the presence of other creatures and partially collapsed sections of the hallway. However, it eventually widened into a much bigger room, the wall and ceiling made of strange metal panels that the other rooms lacked. It seemed to make the room much more sturdy, however, time had still worn holes in the wall and the roof. The great metal beasts inside the room were in much worse condition, long have collapsed into rubble. The air still had the faint tingle of gasoline if you sniffed hard enough, but the fresh winter air helped chase it away. Kinich stepped closer to one of the great machines to study it, sniffing curiously at the strange planes that came out of its side. They almost looked like wings; if bald and made of pure steel. Could they even flap?

But much more interesting than the strange machines themselves was the rest of the room. Dinosaurs and reptiles of various species were gathered around specially set up booths, made from bits of the shattered machines and items dragged from outside. Laughter and cheering filled the air, along with the banging and clattering sounds of various games. “Thats more like it!” Nasaku grinned, swishing his tail in excitement and moving forward again. Once more Kinich and Awilix rushed to keep up, hurriedly apologizing to those that almost tramped in their haste. They passed various games as they traveled; some seemed extremely simple, a pair of raptors were throwing ring shaped items into buckets, cheering each time one made it in and booing when they failed. A small obstacle course had been set up for hatchlings, two styracosaurus giggling as they darted around and ducked through the metal pipes set up. Eventually, the two suchomimus caught up to their third member, and the game he had seemingly chosen. Another suchomimus was running this stand, a bit younger than them. A large crate of water was standing before her, various fruits bobbing inside of it. “Welcome!” She greeted warmly. “Welcome to the fruit bobbing station! Step right up, step right up! Can you catch a fruit in your teeth? Those who manage get some of these!” The suchomimus waved grandly at some tickets, only to slump a bit at the three blank reactions. “They, uh, get you prizes?” 

“Say no more!” Awilix grinned, an eager glimmer in her eyes as her feathers fluffed out in excitement. “Im going first!” Nasaku huffed but graciously let it be, and Kinich was unbothered by not going first. The warm colored suchomimus carefully approached the tin, grasping it in both claws. It was fairly large, larger than any barrel she had come across before, and any leaks had been expertly sealed up. Fruits of all shapes, sizes, and colors bobbed around the water, some even having teeth marks from near misses. Awilix lowered her long snout, opening and closing it a few times. It was long enough she would have no trouble reaching the target, but grasping it? Would be harder. Her teeth were made to grip narrow fish, not fruit. Still, it couldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was wait for a small enough one to pass her by. Awilix carefully posed, snout still above the water as if she was waiting for a fish to pass underneath. A cough behind her made her aware of the rapidly shrinking patience of the others, but she wanted to win! 

Eventually, a yellow fruit bobbed just right under her nose, and she struck. Quick as a flash she darted her head down, teeth burying themselves into the fruit and splashing a large amount of water out. Awilix raised her head, soaked but prideful as she revealed the fruit in her jaws. It was bitter, but the win? It was sweet. 

“Great job! Here are your tickets.” The staff suchomimus handed Awilix a clawful of red tickets. “You get to keep the fruit too! Although… I don't know if you want to eat that one… next!”

Nasaku rushed forward next, big grin on his face. He wasted no time in diving in, sending up a large splash of water that would have soaked Awilix’s tickets had she not blocked it with her body. “Hey! Watch it!” She snapped, stepping away out of the splash zone. Nasaku grumbled an apology- or at least she assumed, as his head was underwater. He eventually pulled up, apple grabbed in his teeth- and a large amount of water came with him, splashing onto the ground and causing the fruit to lower. “W-well done, I suppose.” The staff suchomimus stepped forward, quickly hading Nasaku his tickets to take in his tiny arms. The suchomimus only seemed to happy to shoo him away, looking a bit sadly at the pooled water. “Next!”

Supposed it was his turn, then. Kinich stepped forward, carefully observing the water below him. The level had dropped quite a lot since Nasaku had gone, being only half of what it was before- which meant the fruits were now much further out of reach. Even with his long snout, he had to lean down much further to even touch the water. The edge of the barrel dug into his chest in an uncomfortable way, causing him to grit his teeth. Unfortunately, this meant that every shift he made only sent the fruit drifting further and further away, causing him to hiss lowly. Kinich just had to be patient, he knew- but still, that was hard to do when every time he so much as moved the fruit tilted away from him. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore- the suchomimus leaned fully in, putting his whole weight on the barrel while reaching for the fruit. With a snapping sound the barrel broke, flipping itself over his head and spilling all of its contents over the poor suchomimus.

Nasaku and Awilix watched the soaked and bucket covered form of their friend, torn between laughing and going to help him. However, before they could move, Kinich kicked the barrel off and stood; drenched, sore, but with a large fruit between his teeth.

“Con..congrats.” The yellow suchomimus spoke weakly, looking at the barrel mournfully and shoving tickets Kinich’s way. “Now please get out.”