[Fair '24] Alowyn - Petting Zoo

Alowyn was at the fair on her own, she wandered the grounds she’d become fairly familiar with. She took in the lights and fluttering banners as she moved through crowds of other reoseans. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do until she remembered seeing a petting zoo close to the entrance of the fair. Alowyn quickly turned and made her way to where she thought she had seen the small petting zoo. Sure enough, it was right where she thought it was. She stepped up and looked around at all the animals wondering which one to pet first. 

To start, Alowyn sat on the ground just inside the enclosure, letting the animals come to her. She patiently watched as the various critters from various places ran around playing with each other. After a while, Alowyn was convinced she wouldn’t be able to play with any of the animals. She shifted herself further into the fenced area and continued to wait. Her patience was rewarded when a knobby-kneed qirin wobbled its way over to her. 

The pale-coloured qirin had skin and scales that shimmered as the lights from the fair reflected off the small creature's body. At times Alowyn thought the young qirin was a light pink, but a shift in the lights, and suddenly the qirin looked blue. The qirin continued making its way over to Alowyn. Once it reached her, it slumped down to the ground and leaned against Alowyn’s thick tail. 

“Are you cold?” Alowyn asked softly. 

Alowyn looked around and wondered if the Roenden air was too cold for the Vilatus native creature. She watched the qirin snuggle deeper into her tail, so she gently wrapped her tail around the small creature. She went a step further and rested one of her wings over her tail and the qirin to block any wind. 

The pair remained in that position for nearly half an hour when the qirin suddenly stood up and jumped over Alowyn’s tail. Alowyn jumped slightly at the unexpected action but relaxed into a laugh when she saw the qirin race around her. Now that the qirin was warmed up, it had this urge to run around and use its energy. When the qirin became bored of running, it would head butt Alowyn’s wings. The size of the qirin made the action cute rather than scary or dangerous. 

“Are you trying to get me to play with you?” Alowyn laughed as the qirin stopped what it was doing and tilted its head in an attempt to understand what was asked. 

Alowyn continued laughing and stood up to see how the two could play together. She first tried picking up a little snow and throwing it at the qirin. The first snowball landed on the confused qirin. Alowyn chuckled and tried again. The second snowball arched through the air and the qirin aimed before it launched itself into the air to head butt the snowball. The ball of snow broke apart and fell around the proud little creature. 

The qirin huffed and then gave Alowyn a playful bow. Alowyn smiled and then threw more snowballs for the playful young qirin. The pair continued this for a long time, so long Alowyn wondered when the qirin would be tired again. Anytime Alowyn attempted to stop, the qirin would huff and stomp the ground. It was like a pint-sized tantrum and only caused Alowyn to laugh. 

“Come on, you have to be tired soon,” Alowyn sighed as she sat on the ground. 

“Unfortunately,” A reosean said as they approached, “That qirin has an enormous amount of energy.”

Alowyn jumped at the unexpected answer, but she turned to say, “They were tired when I first got here.”

The qirin huffed when Alowyn stopped throwing the snow to talk to the stranger. Alowyn smiled and absentmindedly threw more snow as she listened to the stranger.

The stranger laughed, “That was because this mischievous one got loose and caused a ruckus with everyone trying to catch them.”

Alowyn shook her head and focused back on the qirin for a few more minutes before she stopped to stand up. She thanked the reosean and then told the qirin she needed to go. She said goodbye to both and began to walk away. 

[711]