We’d turned back to the mirrormoose when a crash came from inside the building, followed by a creature bleating.
Laina and I looked at each other.
“Something got loose,” we said.
We rushed past Carol and toward the open back door of the facility, the older woman picking her way across the grass, her heels poking into the ground.
The ongoing bleats and bangs led us to the medical supply room and an open cabinet on the lower level.
The larger snugglethorn twin stood inside the cabinet with her front hooves on a box of examination gloves, her back hooves on what had been a neatly stacked row of sterile dressing packets.
She’d scattered half the cabinet in a matter of minutes.
“You,” I said. “How did you get out of your pen?”
She peered over her shoulder at me.
I glared.
She scampered forward, burying herself deeper inside the cabinet.
“Grab her,” Laina said, trying to angle herself forward.
“How did she get out?” Carol asked from the doorway. “I thought you said the creatures were well-contained.”
They were supposed to be but some just…found a way to escape. It was in their nature.
“The gate self-latches but the secondary catch requires a nudge.” Drogar had cleaned the snugglethorn pen and changed their water. The gate must not have fully closed when he left.
Drogar appeared in the doorway behind Carol. He took in the situation and a grin rose on his face. “Ah. The snugglethorn beauty is exploring.”
“She’s inside my supply cabinet,” Laina said.
“Exploringthe supply cabinet. It’s an enclosed space and must offer the stimulation she’s seeking.” He set down the bucket he was holding and came over to crouch in front of the open door, clicking his tongue. “Come, small one. Come out to Drogar.”
The snuggler retreated further. Glass clinked against metal.
“You’re making it worse,” Traig said from somewhere behind us.
“I haven’t touched her,” Drogar said. “I’ve only used my voice.”
“Your voice is very large.”
“I speak in a normal?—”
“She’s going further back,” Laina said.
Drogar sat back on his heels and surveyed the problem. “There’s a small opening in the back, and she’s squeezed herself into the space.” His gaze landed on Carol. “You have small human hands, yes?”
Carol blinked, her gaze shooting to her hands before returning to Drogar. “I beg your pardon?”
“Your hands are smaller than ours.” He lifted his own for comparison, spreading his fingers wide. “A small approach hand will make less fear response in the creature’s mind. She’ll accept you where she would run from me. This is the pattern I’ve observed.”
“I am not crawling inside a supply cabinet. Ask Laina.”
“I believe you’re the proper person for this task.”
“Why me?”
