Back to the Carnival!

Yunnan wasn’t sure if she had truly wanted to go to the carnival. It wasn’t like she disliked the concept, or having any sort of fun - she liked hanging out and seeing new things. There was plenty to do or eat at the carnival… Which was admittedly splendid in these harder winter months.

But, being away from her territory always made her a bit wary. It wasn’t like she was homesick either - Well, maybe. She just got anxious when she couldn’t be there to watch the colony with her siblings. Cloud was a strong, resilient leader. Ghoul was a fierce fighter, albeit, a bit of an odd one himself. Tarantula was a splendid caretaker within their rankings, too. Especially for Echeveria.

Antheia was a very quick-witted fighter, and agile as ever. That wasn’t where her worries fell, either. She glanced over to the hazel feathered Cryo next to hear. No, she wasn’t who caused her anxiety. It would probably be the other collection of new packmates. Not that they had done anything to bother her - she just couldn’t get over a weird feeling that had been festering in her gut. Aleron, especially.

“You look lost in thought.” Antheia prodded, nudging herself against Yunnan. “Oh, no. I’m just enjoying the fresh air.” Yunnan lied, but gave a playful drag at the air. Inhaling the sharp, cold air deep into her lungs. She held it for a few seconds.

One… Two… Three… She then exhaled, watching her warm breath break even with the chilly air. The snow crunched underfoot, her talons starting to ache from the travel. She tried to take quick steps, in an attempt to negate the frostbite that would soon be nipping at their toes if they stayed out any longer.

Up ahead, Echeveria was frolicking carelessly in the deeper parts. She’d only move in leaps, gazing back with heavy amusement at her imprints. The young Iguanodon made eye contact with the two female Cryolophosaurus, giving a large grin.

“It’s just up ahead! Tarantula took me this way before. I’m so glad you guys decided to bring again! I wish Tarantula could’ve been here too.” She frowned slightly.

“But that’s OK! I’m sure I’ll have just as much fun with you guys!” Veria chirped excitedly. Antheia and Yunnan exchanged glances, shaking their heads and giving out a quick chuckle. “We should probably hurry up, though. The storm is getting heavier.” Antheia warned. A quick glance behind them would confirm that easily. The fog had rolled in all around them, and made it much more difficult to see.

“Let’s race! Whoever’s last is a rotten egg!” Echeveria teased, and before anyone could say a word, the hatchling broke into a speedy gallop. “Echeveria, we didn’t agree!” Yunnan yelled, but it’s not like they had a choice anyway.

The two adults already had started running after her, their talons crunching at the pearly white blanket of snow below them. Iguanodons are deceptively quick on their feet, and that’s something you would not imagine given their general build. Paired with being young and full of energy, It was quite honestly hard to keep up with Veria.

They couldn’t see her in the snow, but they could make out the faint, warm glow of the carnival lights at this point. It’s shape became more and more visible as they got closer, but remained hidden amongst the fog.

“Echeveria!” Antheia scolded, seeing the outline of the iguanodon just in the doorway. She skidded into a halt in front of her, whipping her tail angrily behind her. “Don’t run off like that again! Something could’ve happened to you.” Yunna hissed, narrowing her eyes at Echeveria.

Veria frowned, giving out a dramatic huff. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I understand you’re excited, just… Please don’t run off like that again.” Yunnan gave a soft smile, nuzzling her head over top the smaller iguanodontid.

“Let’s go ahead and get started since we’re here now, shall we? Probably warm up a bit, too.” Antheia urged, nudging the two of them inside more.

Inside, a large skeleton of some sauropod loomed over them once more. Veria remembered this area. “I can’t believe there’s something that big!” She laughed. Posters of animals of all walks of life clung to the wall, peeling and falling apart. Some were of strange human made objects as well, although they weren’t exactly identifiable. Streamers were hung from about every barren spot the host could find it seemed.

A bit much, Yunnan thought to herself.

“Well, where do you want to go first?” Yunnan looked down at Echeveria. “Here! Over here!!! Hurry, we don’t have time to waste!” The Iguanodon seemed like her energy was infinite. She tugged at Antheia and Yunnan, nipping at their heels with her maw. Antheia snorted, but obliged.

Echeveria lead them into a different wing this time, which was as equally over decorated as the lobby.

Large, looming shadows of machinery hung above. One seemed like it was beginning to snap at the rope holding it up - Yunnan made sure to pull her packmates to the side, in case it did start to suddenly snap above them.

Veria pulled them over to a booth, with strange latex balls on them. “I played this with Tarantula last time!!! Let me show you how good my aim is.” She grinned nearly ear to ear as she spoke, grabbing at the sharp, pointy twigs laid atop the counter. An Oviraptor quickly slid over to them, circling around the other side of the counter. “Ahhh, I see you’ve brought some other friends this time!” Cheron laughed, talking to Veria.

She nodded eagerly. “Yes!!! I’m gonna show them how good I am at this game.” She giggled. “Well, I won’t get in your way. If you have any questions, let me know.” The strange feathered Oviraptor laughed.

Echeveria held the twig in her mouth, squinting just like she saw Tarantula doing. She couldn’t really stick her tongue out to focus better like he did though. She’d then toss her had, the twig twirling in the air and landing a direct hit on the balloon.

“I did it!!! See, I told you.” She giggled. “Now, you guys have to try.” She urged the older Cryolophosaurus. “OK, OK. We’re going to!” Antheia laughed. She picked up a twig with her talons. She did a few quick fake tosses, practicing the motion. Finally, she fully threw the twig this time, and it went and popped another balloon. “Ugh! You guys have it easy. You have talons that can grip it. Me? I have just my mouth.” She snorted.

Yunnan would stick her tongue out playfully at the child. “Yet, you still threw it perfectly!” Yunnan shoved her lightly, encouragingly. “I suppose… Well, don’t hold us up! You throw one too! We have more games to go play!” She laughed.

The green speckled Cryolophosaurus would pick a twig up in her talon, gazing at the balloons with full concentration. All she had to do was throw it - it couldn’t be that hard. Yunnan wasted no more time, flinging the twig as hard as she could. It didn’t even make it close at all. In fact, she had thrown it right into the ground. “Uhm, why not you retry that…” Cheron snorted with amusement. He handed her another twig, which she sheepishly picked up. Yunann concentrated, glancing over her shoulder with a sharp glare at the giggling between Antheia and Echeveria. This time, the twig hit a balloon, and it exploded into tiny little pieces. “See! It was easy. I just slipped the first time.” Yunnan declared, holding her head up with pride. “Well, you three did pop all the balloons. What will your prize-” Echeveria had already ran off. “Sorry. She gets really excited.” Yunnan shouted back to Cheron as she ran after the hatchling. Antheia shrugged. “Thanks for the game!” She said, before running after them.

“There’s just one more game I wanted to play! We have to toss these rings over top the bottles! It looked really fun.” Echeveria pointed at the colorful array of rings splayed across the floor. This part of the museum was decorated with stars all across the wall, and a large rocketship pointed high into the sky. Colorful orbs hung above, some with rings hung all around them. Yunnan wasn’t really sure what they were.

Echeveria grabbed a ring in her mouth, looking at the bottles displayed in rows and columns just a few yards away. Quickly, she tossed it without wasting another second. It clanked and bounced between glass bottles, before finally bouncing right back onto one. “I did it!” She exclaimed, doing a small victory dance. “Now, you both try!” She squealed.

Antheia grabbed a handful of rings in her talons, giving a sly side glance to her friends. She threw them all at once, and they all loudly clanked around atop the bottles. “Hey- That’s not how you’re supposed to play that.” Yunnan snorted, shaking her head at Antheia. She shrugged once more, and Yunnan picked up one of the singular left over rings.

Gracefully, she tossed the ring and it landed directly on one of the bottles. “That, is how you do it.” She teased, lightly slapping Antheia with her tail.Echeveria just stared at them, before breaking into a fit of laughter. “Thank you guys for coming with me, I can’t wait to go play more games.”“Well, let’s not take too long. Tarantula might get worried if we keep you much longer!”