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Careful to watch his footholds, Leukos scaled the small rocky ridge, the sun just beginning to set behind his back. Looking over the edge slowly, he was pleased to see what he was hoping for: a familiar splash of blue and yellow peaking through the foliage. He’d been coming to this spot at the same time for the last two weeks or so, and every time he came with a little something extra. Reaching into the small bag at his hip with a shuddering grimace, he procured a large wriggling millipede, tossing it up onto the ledge as quickly as was humanly possible. Hunting for large insects was not his usual cup of tea, but for cases like this, he was willing to stomach his squeamish nature around the creepy-crawlies.
A few moments of still silence filled the space, until that was broken by the rustling of leaves as a colorful alol scuttled out of the brush towards the millipede that was attempting to slither away. But that dream was quickly dashed as the reptile snatched up the arthropod, crunching away at it as Leukos carefully pulled himself up fully onto the ledge in a crouch. Pulling a chunk of fish meat out of the small bag, he tossed that onto the dirt as well, but this time much closer to himself. As the creature scooped up that offering as well, he inched towards the alol until it was at arm’s length, unwinding a rope from around his waist. But even then the creature did not flee, a tongue flicking up to lick its large orange eyes as it stared expectantly up at Leukos, the many days it had spent in the company of the man making it bold. It was rewarded with another piece of meat, but as it gobbled up that morsel as well, that’s when Leukos made his move.
Lunging quick as a whip, he straddled over the animal and pinned it under his hands, looping the harness at the end of the rope around the struggling alol while it squirmed and hissed in the dirt. Securing the knots and getting the damned thing’s flailing arms into the holes was more than a challenge, but if his years watching and assisting back in the circus had done him any good, the harness would hold fast and do its job. Once it looked secured enough, he moved off the beast, which immediately made to bolt back into the brush. But in an almost comical moment, the rope snapped taught and the poor thing was halted in its tracks, anchored by the other end tied around Leukos’ waist.
While it jumped about to try to get the alien invader off its body, Leukos took a seat in the dirt, crossing his legs and relaxing while the smaller animal struggled against the binds. “Look, I’m terribly sorry about this: that was sneaky and underhanded of me. But I see no better way of getting you used to me in a relatively quick and painless manner. So go ahead and work all that out of your system, it’s fine, I can wait; I brought snacks.” So he made himself comfortable as he watched the reptile, making sure it didn’t hurt itself or get tangled in the rope as the minutes ticked on.
So many minutes. The sun dipped lower and lower behind them, and still the animal struggled, Leukos tapping into his field rations for a fruity snack to pass the time. Slowly its desperate rage turned into quiet agitation, then further still into exhausted resignation, lying motionless in the growing shade. Chucking the fruit pit over his shoulder, Leukos took another final piece of meat out of the other bag, holding it out in front of him. “You all tuckered out now? But see, nothing bad happened; I’m not here to hurt you. I think you might like me if you get to know me. So how about you come over here and we can work on getting better acquainted?” He placed the meat down and pulled back, waiting for the exhausted animal to come to him. And after eying the offering suspiciously for many heartbeats, it did, pulling itself over and chomping up the chunk of flesh.
Leukos couldn’t keep the childlike grin off his face when the alol came over of its own accord, proud of himself and of the animal for its admirable bravery. This was it. The first wild animal he had ever tamed all on his own. He was one step closer to becoming a real Beast Tamer. Picking up the winded creature and propping it behind his neck, he patted its vibrant tail, just a part of the dazzling and gorgeous new creature he could call his own. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
[800 words]
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