As soon as the door closes behind Dr. Ellison and Blankenship, Gabriel lets out a breath like a deflating balloon.
"What's in the box? Given your nerves, I figure it can't be anything good."
"Dr. ., I promise it's no big deal, I just wanted to talk with you about it first, and seeing Dr. Blankenship really surprised me, I didn't know—"
The scrabbling from the box crescendos. The flaps pop open. A rounded snout pokes its way out of the box, followed by a head haloed in curved spines that shade from bright purple at their tips to the darker color of a fresh bruise nearer its body. The spines continue the length of the creature's body. The lime green threads connect to its body.
"Hey, no, shh, it's okay," Gabriel croons to the creature. "Dr. . is a friend."