Fae Season

The park was barren, even for winter. The high sun beat down upon the cold earth, dead shrubbery began to show itself as the snow started to melt. It was quiet, the only sound being the low whistle of the wind. And not many witnesses were there.

On the outskirts of the park, there sat a small cardboard box propped up by a stick. Underneath it was a singular piece of fried chicken, serving as the bait to the ingenious trap. It was likely that this simple box could trick any creature into letting their guard down.

A few feet away, a grassy headdress stood out in stark contrast against the white landscape. A pair of binoculars peeked out from behind a skeletal bush that clearly revealed the Eldritch creature behind the scheme. Greenery and loose camouflage fabric was pasted all over his body, a highly-advanced stealth tactic. Khlu brilliantly executed this technique in a way that would no doubt lure his prey into a false sense of security.

Slowly, his eyes panned across the hunting ground, on the lookout for any sign of life. Today he was hoping to capture some sort of new specimen and further his research on the Manta Carlos Islands. Thus far, his research had been mostly comprised of academic advances. It was time for more field research to begin.

The trap was set. Khlu’s disguise was working. All that was left to do was wait.
@Boop

Khlu was most definitely not about to fall asleep in the bushes when he spotted movement near the edge of the forest. He quickly scrambled to swivel his binoculars in that direction, adjusting the eyepiece to see the creature more clearly. The sleek animal, a mink, simply stared at the box trap, then examined the surrounding bushes, inadvertently making eye contact with Khlu. The little thing probably didn’t even realize that Khlu was hiding there, watching, waiting for it to make a move on the chicken. It hesitated. Khlu leaned forward and squinted. It wasn’t doing anything...or so he thought, until he realized the chicken was floating towards the animal.

His binoculars dropped to the ground. The scientist scrambled backwards, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He grabbed his notebook and scribbled furiously. That was no regular mink, oh no. It had attracted the chicken to itself; those magnetic properties were only present in a specific, deadly breed. The fact that Khlu encountered one on the island was pure luck--or lack thereof. This was the kind of thing written about in the horror stories of his homeland, not something one expected to find in real life.

He had encountered a furry.

Khlu still had not been spotted by the furry, he was sure of that. There was time for him to get away...but could he really, as a scientist, pass up this opportunity? It was a rare specimen, and the purpose of this stakeout was to gather research materials. Khlu took a deep breath, and he reached for the object next to him--an extremely large net.

Continuing to crouch, Khlu made his way from cover to cover, keeping himself out of sight as he made his way towards the specimen. The closer he got, the more carefully he shuffled between the bushes. He was approaching his destination. The mink wouldn’t even know what hit it. Khlu slowly raised the net.

With a loud battle cry, Khlu leapt from the bush, brandishing the net above his head as he flew through the air and prepared to bring it down upon the unsuspecting animal.
@Boop

His net hit the ground with a loud clap. Khlu stood strong in the face of danger, eyes closed and body trembling as he kept the net pressed firmly against the ground. With the creature trapped and terrified, he couldn’t risk giving it any chance to escape.

A bellowing squeak came from the mink. Opening his eyes, he lifted the net and crouched to take a peek at the animal beneath. He caught sight of its telltale, furry coat and immediately slammed the net down again. It was captured, and it was angry. There was no time to waste. Khlu took a deep breath. Smoothly, he flipped the net and swept the mink up in one smooth motion. Turning sharply, he began sprinting back to base, all the while keeping his eyes on the creature as it bounced up and down like a ragdoll. Khlu couldn’t help but smirk. This beast had been reduced to nothing more than a pathetic shrimp in his presence. Thanks to his masterminded trap, the furry would now be his to study. This might’ve been a sort of scientific breakthrough in and of itself. His tentacles quivered at the thought of his name being attached to the monumental achievement.

Once he arrived behind the bush, he set the net down and began the tedious task of packing up his equipment. First, he shoved the binoculars and notebook into some of his pockets.

After all that was done, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and hoisted the net over his shoulder. All that was left to do was transport the furry back home without harming himself or the specimen. Then the research would begin.
@Boop

The eldritch abomination let out an incomprehensible shriek, nearly jumping out of his skin and at least one foot in the air. His head darted down, and when he found the source of the insufferable pain, his eyes widened. The furry multiplied! The noise that came out of his mouth was akin to that of a damsel in a human horror movie. While he wasn’t looking, the thing must have split its body into two and seeped through the confines of his net. It looked like Khlu was trying to create the newest dance crazy, kicking his feet around relentlessly to get the thing off him. Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and dear Cthulhu shake it all about like your entire life depends on it. The furry was running circles around him at speeds faster than light. He’d already been scratched and bitten. Was its bloodlust insatiable? What purpose did it have -

Khlu stopped in his dance. The clone was still flying around at his ankles, but he kept his feet planted firmly on the ground. He thought the mink would have been an interesting specimen, but now, that wasn’t all he had. With these new wounds, Khlu had transcended far beyond the title of scientist. The marks would provide for useful research and a badge of his bravery in the field. Khlu himself had become the specimen. Of course, that had been his plan the entire time, a plan the dimwitted mink easily fell for.

Something was building deep inside of him. The beast giggled. Leaning back, he let the laughter rip out, echoing through the park. It didn’t stop when he started to run. He bounded across the field, cackling like a madman. His heels ached but he didn’t care. This was science.
@Boop

Luckily, Khlu’s apartment wasn’t too far from the park. Running at the highest speed he was capable of going helped to shorten the trip as well. Heads turned as he darted past. These civilians were clearly curious to see an intellectual in his highest form. His figure was most likely reduced to nothing more than a green blur, speeding through the streets and cutting across busy intersections. The car vehicles honked loudly in appreciation, swerving to make room for him to pass. What a nice gesture.

He was still going strong, even as he burst through the front door of the apartment complex. Totally bypassing the elevator, he went straight for the stairs, the net bobbing up and down as he practically jumped up them. At this point, he didn’t care if the mink creature was damaged. At this point, he was being driven purely by the urge to get to his house and stick some needles into himself. The mink was only a bonus. By the time he arrived in front of his door after about 13 flights of stairs, he was breathing heavily and sweating like a pig. A side effect of the furry scratches, perhaps? He would have to make a note of these symptoms. Fantasies of research notes plagued his brain as he quickly fumbled for keys in his pocket and shoved the door open.

Khlu immediately stumbled past the papers scattered across the floor of his living room, taking off his clunky headdress and throwing it into the organized pile of mess. Oh, how he was itching to start the experiments, but there was one thing he needed to take care of first: the live catch and its clone annoyingly loitering at his feet. He made a beeline towards the back corner of his apartment where a variety of cages were stuffed against the wall. There were big ones, small ones, iron ones, some even hanging from the ceiling. Who knew what he could’ve encountered on the strange island, so it was best to be prepared for anything. Leaning down towards one of the appropriately-sized cages - a pink one of the model “plastic pet carrier” that he picked up from the store, We-R-Toys - he quickly tossed in the original furry specimen. A now empty net in his hand, Khlu began to furiously swing at his ankles where he thought the clone was, aiming to perhaps catch the animal, then smoothly toss it into the still-open cage door.
@Boop