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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 3:49:52 GMT -6
Morgan felt like Shigeru was already a little mess, but they knew enough about children not to say anything to him about it. Children tended to be little self-revealing prophecies, whatever they were told they were tended to mold their future attitudes, and Morgan really didn't want to mess Shigeru up this young. Morgan was slowly learning how to work with younglings, and it was a lot more difficult than they thought it would be, that was for sure! However, Morgan felt like they needed to afford the tat-lungs with the level of respect that was to be given to a dragon, and Morgan was more than qualified to do that, at least. Teaching the tat-lungs was going to be a lot of work, but Morgan was ready to do their best and put all of the work in that would be required! They were quite determined to do so, in fact.
[5]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 3:56:19 GMT -6
Morgan made it to the docks without too much more explaining to do, because it would seem that Shigeru was actually a bit pouty and mad at Morgan. It was honestly a little cute, like a child that was told that they needed to eat their dinner before they got dessert. Morgan was sure that there would be trouble if they weren't careful, since it was possible that Shigeru might refuse to work on the teaching today if he was angry enough. Morgan hoped that he would get over it soon, as soon as possible of course. "Alrighty Shigeru, alley-oop!" Morgan said this time, using the tool that they had made to transfer aquatic creatures delicately into the loch. They chose the same area that they had in the past, one that was specifically marked off for smaller creatures, so that he wouldn't get lost or get hurt. "It's time for school, Shigeru. Short lessons today."
[6]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:12:05 GMT -6
Short lessons indeed; Morgan had two in mind for today, and for the last one, they were probably going to wait until a day that Shigeru was not so frustrated. Shigeru being frustrated would only be worsened by any sort of dodging training, after all. Morgan had to be very careful with creatures as intelligent as the tat-lungs, in fact. Especially when they were young and still in their formative years, after all. Shigeru was trying to pay attention to Morgan while still making it very obvious that he was angry at them. Well, that was acceptable, Morgan thought. There was no need for Morgan to make him feel bad for being angry. It would probably only make him angrier, in the long run, and less accepting. "Okay, the first lesson today is the signal for following. In the future, we may get into some sort of danger! It would be best if we could communicate quietly for you to follow me." Morgan said.
[7] - [Start 'Follow']
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:17:14 GMT -6
Follow was actually one of those really annoying 'lessons' that tended to annoy tat-lungs and Morgan alike, but it was really useful in keeping them out of trouble. Morgan didn't want to insult the tat-lung's intelligence by going over this too much. They simply waited until the tat-lung gave a quick 'yes' across the understanding to Morgan, so that Morgan knew that the tat-lung understood the basic concept. Out of the three, Shigeru was probably the most curious, with Ryuusei being the most accepting surprisingly enough, and Seimei was the most sullen but clever. Morgan was easily able to pick the three's personality traits out from one another. "Okay, then we need to come up with a signal for you, right? And then we'll need to do some practice." That was generally how Morgan tended to go about 'training' tat-lungs, though Morgan preferred the word 'Teaching' when it came to tat-lungs.
[8]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:28:32 GMT -6
Shigeru begrudgingly came over to Morgan, and sat there carefully. He was still watching Morgan, but it was obvious that he was still angry, and still annoyed with the lesson. Morgan sat down, trying not to look annoyed theirself, on the dock, legs dangling over the loch. "Shigeru, I want to have a conversation with you about this problem. Problem-solving is very important for social bonds, and social bonds are useful for gathering information. Okay?" Morgan wasn't going to let this sit, teaching Shigeru how to properly deal with emotions would be very important. When Shigeru finally gave what felt suspiciously like what Morgan would translate to a human 'sigh' though not quite, and then an affirmative, Morgan continued. "I understand that you are upset with me about not giving you information right away. I would like to be able to give you more competent information by reading to you from a book. Plus, we are currently at the docks, where you take your lessons about living situations you may encounter as a mature tat-lung. Do you understand why I made the decisions I did?"
[9]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:37:07 GMT -6
Shigeru seemed to understand a little more, and though he was still a tad sour about it, he gave an affirmative. "I don't want to accidentally give you any false information because I'm busy. I am sorry about that. But I also want you to be able to tell when you have an emotion, and understand what made you feel that way, and whether or not it will help you in the future." Shigeru loosened up a little bit, and then Morgan smiled. "So this is the signal we will be using!" Morgan continued on giving a hand signal. "And that means that I need you to follow me. Okay, let's practice!" Morgan didn't want to put too much emphasis on the tat-lung's outburst, and he seemed to be doing better anyway. Morgan gave the hand signal, and then walked down the dock, with Shigeru following in tow.
[10]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:44:17 GMT -6
This was the repetition part of the training that typically bored both Morgan and the tat-lungs, but it was very required- regardless of the intelligence of the creatures that were being trained/taught. Morgan continued on, giving the command, and being followed by the tat-lung, and then giving him a small low-quality gemstone as a treat. Then they would continue on, giving the command yet again, and being followed by Shigeru again. Then of course another piece of treat was given, Morgan was trying to alternate between gemstones and tiny fish as treats, and then they would start all over again. Shigeru was getting quite bored with it, but was getting it pretty quickly. Morgan made sure to start mixing it in with other commands, to make sure that the other commands were being remembered as well. Soon enough, Morgan felt like he got the following behavior, and all of his other behaviors previously, memorized.
[11] - [End of 'Follow']
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 5:57:14 GMT -6
They were nearly done, today, but they weren't quite done yet. Morgan stopped for a moment and sat back down, stretching. They were honestly pretty tired today; they hadn't slept well the night before and honestly just wanted to have a moment to stretch for a moment. The morning sun was just so bright now, and it was frustrating. "Well, you are doing a great job, Shigeru." Morgan said, signing, speaking, and conveying through the ring. "I'm glad that you are learning so fast, we aren't going to stay much longer. Then I'll read you that book, how does that sound?" Morgan said, flashing a toothy grin. Shigeru seemed pretty happy about that, shedding the last of his grumpiness, and looking much more eager. "Well, I'm glad that you seem to be feeling a little better. We also need to feed you once we get back to the house, y'know." That was also true.
[12]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 6:03:30 GMT -6
Shigeru made a fake-angry glare at Morgan, making the human chuckle a little. "Hey, I didn't say we'd have to feed you first. Say, how about you tell me which you want to do first once we get home after this? That way if you are really hungry, you can eat first." That was a good idea, and Shigeru agreed as it was conveyed to him. Morgan was pleased with how today was going, in all honesty. "Alrighty, let's get a move on then." Morgan said, knowing that they needed to work on the next thing as soon as possible, so that they could get home. Morgan had other things to do today, especially since Ryuusei was starting to look like he was going to metamorphose very soon! Morgan wanted to be at the house for that, so that they could make sure that it went over well.
[13]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 6:06:46 GMT -6
"Alrighty Shigeru, this lesson is going to be about searching for things. As a being that loves shiny things, I am sure that you will agree that it may be useful for you in the future to search for shiny things to collect. In fact, it may be good for you to learn to do this, so that you can learn to forage for your own food as a mature tat-lung. What do you think about that?" Morgan felt like they were trying to sell every idea to the tat-lungs when teaching them, which was always quite hilarious. Training for normal creatures was so different than 'training' for sentient beings. Shigeru did seem intrigued by this idea, however, and seemed to dance a bit at the idea. "Alright, so this will be really easy. I'll give you a signal, and when I do, I need you to go down to the floor of the water, and find something, okay?"
[14] - [Start of 'Search']
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Post by Morgan on Aug 25, 2019 6:11:36 GMT -6
Morgan waited for the 'affirmative' reaction from the tat-lung. Shigeru, like Ryuusei before him, seemed to be really excited about the idea of getting to explore the floor of the loch in his little partitioned off area. Morgan was just glad that they were getting this sort of training out of the way when he was young, and not trying to teach him this stuff when he was older. Older tat-lungs had a way of being a little high-minded, perhaps a bit too high-minded for something this simple. It was best to teach this sort of thing when they were babies, Morgan decided. Future tat-lungs would be trained carefully, of course, depending on their developmental ages. "Alright, one two... Here we go!" Morgan said, and then gave the same command that they used with the other tat-lungs for the search behavior. Immediately, Shigeru assumed this one to be the command for it, and then rushed off into the depths.
[15]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 26, 2019 3:53:04 GMT -6
Morgan was certainly going to have to wait for a bit on Shigeru to get done finding something. Logically, the human knew that the loch was made to be blocked off here specifically for baby pets, so he couldn't go far, and Morgan was super anxious for him. Morgan hadn't noticed until Shigeru, but they were really protective of the youngest of the creatures, especially with little Shigeru. He was very young, and it would be very easy for him to get hurt and scarred for life, like Seimei had been... Though at least with Seimei it was from a previous owner, and not from something accidental. Still, Morgan felt a bit of apprehension as Shigeru disappeared from their sight, and went looking for something or another below the waves. It was going to be okay, Shigeru would be fine. Don't freak out, don't be overprotective. Morgan had to give theirself a mental peptalk of sorts.
[16]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 26, 2019 3:56:55 GMT -6
Morgan waited, and waited. Of course, it wasn't a very long wait in reality, but it felt like ten approximate forevers to the bespectacled human as they waited. Perhaps because Shigeru was doing it on purpose, or perhaps because he was dappled with a blue color, but he was able to sneak up on Morgan, surprising them a bit. "Oh, there you are Shigeru! What have you got?" Morgan tried not to look too relieved of course, coddling the tat-lung would be a terrible idea for his future development, but for now, it was going to be okay. Shigeru could probably take care of himself decently enough, all things considered. Not against something like a pliathor, but for now... Shigeru held up something closer to Morgan's hand, and Morgan took it. It was certainly shiny; a pretty sugar-stone rock. "Oh, this is very nice, good job!" Morgan said, putting the stone on the dock.
[17]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 26, 2019 4:12:53 GMT -6
He had done excellently, in all honesty, and Morgan was quite pleased with it! "Very good job, we're going to need to keep practicing, Shigeru." Morgan nodded to him. Then, after a second, Morgan called out that same command for search again, and Shigeru immediately disappeared beneath the waves. Another bout of anxiety later, and the small blue tat-lung moved upwards yet again from where he had disappeared below the water. This time, Morgan could see the shimmering bit that Shigeru had brought; ah, so he liked shiny things, huh? "Good job, Shigeru!" Morgan took the item, noticing how reflective it was, and then called out the command again. Shigeru dropped down again to go find something else, and came back much quicker this time. "Great job Shigeru, what a nice piece!" Morgan placed this reflective thing on the dock as well, and then called out the command yet again.
[18]
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Post by Morgan on Aug 26, 2019 4:29:23 GMT -6
Shigeru dipped down into the water again, beneath where Morgan could see of course, and then after a short wait, he returned with something quite a bit less shiny. That was probably a good thing, Morgan thought; people littering the loch frustrated Morgan, and a lot of the things that Shigeru had managed to find thus far had been discarded pieces of trash. "Oh good job Shigeru!" Morgan praised yet again, and then took the item. "Just a few more times and we'll be done." The command was called out three more times, and each time Shigeru dropped down to find something else. Over that time, Morgan also peppered in a few of his other commands, to make sure that he was properly remembering all of them. Soon, Morgan was convinced that he had learned how to properly search when given the signal to search, which meant that they could go home.
[19] - [End of 'Search']
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