Troublesome ghoworms

Ghoworm hunting.

It was something Atlas had enjoyed for a long time, especially in the month of October, when the creatures left their caves.

When he was younger he would hop around chasing them through caves and forests with a make-shift net crafted from cobwebs and misshapen sticks.

It was incredibly fun, and allowed him to burn off a lot of energy. 

Now, however, he was older and more experienced in general knowledge, so he knew the best way to successfully catch one. (It would be significantly easier now he had a proper net).

He waited until night, when the worms were most active and his colouring blended in easier, before making his way out with a net.

He traveled through the forest near his home, keeping a keen eye out for any colourful glowing blobs, possibly hanging from strings.

He spotted some in the distance a few times, but they disappeared before he even came close. Hm. Were they leaving when they saw him, or was it just a coincidence?

His first answer would be that it was a coincidence - no creature could see a Cappari of his colouring at night - but maybe the worms had some form of night vision/enhanced senses?

He probably should’ve done his research.

Ah well, no time to dwell on what he should’ve done. He needed to form a plan.

Obviously his natural camouflage wasn’t enough to fool these creatures. And it couldn't be because he wasn’t being stealthy enough, because he constantly checked he was as quiet as he could.

Maybe he still wasn’t camouflaged enough. He thought he had some camo clothing in his home from a fancy dress party not long ago. He could wear that and sneak up on the ghoworms much easier.

….

Emerging from his house, he now traveled in the opposite direction.

He was wearing some camo print shorts (He wished they were longer, so they covered his whole legs. Some shoes would be nice too), A camo print zip-up jacket, and some fake leaves strung together and draped over his head. He looked quite fashionable, if he did say so himself. (Which he didn’t. He actually looked very stupid, and was only trying to make himself feel better. Nobody would see him anyway, so why did it matter?)

He saw two ghoworms hanging from a low tree branch nearby, their thin strings holding their weight surprisingly well. 

Atlas began to slow, and lifted his net (That’s wood he had painted a very dark grey, and it’s string black for extra camouflage) and sneaked forward as well as he could.

But, before he could get any closer than what he estimated was five metres, the worms shot back into the safety of the tree.

Atlas’s posture faltered in disappointment, but he stayed positive.

This was fine. Onto the next plan!

….

Traps.

Don’t worry, nothing that would hurt, or even cause them to panic.

It would simply trap them in a glass container, the glass polished so well you could hardly tell it was there. It was likely the worms wouldn’t even realise they were trapped and, if they did, they shouldn’t panic too much, because ghoworms just didn’t tend to do that.

He wasn’t sure what they ate (He knew he should’ve read up on them first!) so he didn’t really have anything to lure them in. 

He did, however, have the power of fright.

Nothing mean. Just enough to get them to move into the container, so he could close off the entrance.

Alright. Time to get to work.

....

The container was set up in a tree not far from where he had seen some ghoworms, and Atlas had carefully positioned himself just far enough away so as not to be noticed by them.

Positioning his net, he began to approach them. Slowly at first, then gradually getting faster.

If he made it seem as-if he was going to try and catch them, they may be more likely to actually move tree’s, instead of just hiding in the one they were already hanging from.

The ghoworms saw him and began to retreat into the safety of the tree branches, but Atlas was fast.

He jumped above the branch they were resting on and lightly shook it with his tail, just enough to warn the worms of his presence.

They lit up, flashing in a jumble of colours, before dropping to the ground and sliding towards a bush at surprising speed.

Oh no you don’t.

Atlas jumped again, this time landing just before the bush, net raised.

The worms flashed their colours again, and turned in the direction of the container.

Wow. I didn’t expect these things to be so fast. That’s what I get for not doing my research. I usually know better than that!

The worms soon reached the tree, with a bit of steering from Atlas, and began to climb it.

He let them, pretending he had given up and only lightly guiding them with a leaf if they strayed a bit too far from where they were meant to go.

Soon, all of the ghoworm (There were three, now that he counted) were piled safely inside the container, so Atlas shut the door.

Ok. Maybe that was a bit mean. 

Oh well, he could take them home and get them rested, give them some food once he had researched what they ate and make sure they had the best living conditions.

Lifting the container slowly, as not to alarm the creatures inside, he began to carry it back home.