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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 18, 2019 16:47:20 GMT -6
Zazzle recoiled, stunned. Fiera breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting about 15 feet away. "Good boy, Zazzle!" She said. "Come here!" Zazzle crawled over, grumpy but not about to turn down his prize. She gently tossed it to him, and mulled over his progress as he munched it down. They were so close- just a bit more, and he'd have it down pat. She just needed to get him to stay without hesitation. After all, she couldn't having him edging away 'just a little bit' if he was in danger or trying to escape. Still, she figured he was getting the idea, and decided to give it one more shot. "Zazzle." She said, standing over him once more. She pulled out another bamboo stalk. "Stay, ok?" She backed away, watching Zazzle. He lifted a leg- no!... But merely tapped it on the ground impatiently. After a few feet, she stopped. "Good boy, Zazzle! I-" Before she could finish however, Zazzle had already launched himself forward, grabbing the stalk out of her hand. Well. At least he knew how to listen when it counts.
Fiera: 5
Zazzle: Lv. 5.0/Lo 5.0
Stay: 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 19, 2019 16:03:49 GMT -6
Fiera sighed, looking at Zazzle as he clung to her leg. She only had one trick left to teach him today- how to fly. Unfortunately, it turned out that Zazzle hated being picked up, and immediately grabbed onto Fiera's leg. It turned out he was a lot stronger than he looked too. She supposed she should have taken it seriously when her research said that inkrum were cliff dwellers. "Zazzle, look." She said, trying to pry him off. Ow, those legs were sharper than they looked! "I promise you'll thank me for this. You have wings! Let's use them, ok?" She groaned with effort, and finally managed to pop him off her leg. She rolled up her pant leg, and found long red welts on either side. She sighed. It was too darn hard to make this guy do stuff. Still! It was time to get to work! She had brought a step ladder just for this!
Fiera: 6
Zazzle: Lv. 5.1/Lo 5.1
Fly: 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 19, 2019 16:12:00 GMT -6
With much fussing and flapping of wings, Fiera managed to wrestle the Zazzle onto the top of the step ladder. The idea was that she'd get him to jump off increasingly high vantage points, so he'd be forced to use his wings to adjust. Just like fledgling birds, he'd get to learn through experience. Not to mention, inkrum were quite... ungainly creatures, so it would be difficult for him to get off the ground (or off the step ladder for that matter) in any other way. After she was sure he wasn't going to fall off with all his struggling, Fiera let go, leaving Zazzle tottering on the top of the step ladder. Thankfully it was only about two feet tall, but the legs could be expanded further. "Ok Zazzle... come! Fly!" She said, sitting about five feet away. With any luck, he'd jump off and into her arms, and then she'd keep backing up and increasing the leg lengths. Yep, any minute now...
Fiera: 7
Zazzle: Lv. 5.2/Lo 5.2
Fly: 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 19, 2019 16:33:36 GMT -6
Ok no, Zazzle wasn't going to jump. He didn't look pleased up there, but those legs were stuck fast. Maybe he just needed a bit of motivation... she got out a stalk of bamboo for the poor creature. "Come on Zazzle, jump! Come! Fly!" His eyes widened and his ears perked at the sight of it. He lifted his legs toward it, but seemed unwilling to move... until the stepladder started tipping over. "Oh, crap!" Fiera cried, but Zazzle didn't quite fall. Instead, he flapped his wings madly, and half flew, half fell into Fiera's arms. He landed stunned, but not necessarily scared. Fiera put the bamboo stalk to his mouth. He happily chewed on it, still not willing to get up. "Well that wasn't... so bad!" Fiera lied. "Let's try again!" She quickly cranked up the height on the step ladder, about a foot higher, and put Zazzle on it. He was still happily munching his bamboo, but seemed more engaged.
Fiera: 8
Zazzle: Lv. 5.3/Lo 5.3
Fly: 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 19, 2019 16:55:05 GMT -6
"Ok Zazzle... come!" Fiera tried again. Zazzle started moving, but hesitantly. Still, it was a great improvement from last time, when he was too terrified to even let go of the ladder. He flapped his wings haphazardly, kicking debris up off of the ground, but still kept his legs on the top of the ladder. "Come on, you can do it! Fly!" Finally, he launched off, flapping madly- but actually managed to gain some lift! Fiera watched as Zazzle fluttered up and over her head, before landing face first behind her. "Oh, dang it!" She said, spinning around. "Sorry! I was supposed to catch you!" But instead of being shocked, Zazzle simply shook off his wings and crawled back over to her. "Huh." She said. "Flight instincts kicking in, then?" She gave him another bamboo stalk for a job well done, and went back to the ladder, extending the legs once more.
Fiera: 9
Zazzle: Lv. 5.4/Lo 5.4
Fly: 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 19, 2019 17:33:48 GMT -6
Now, it was about six feet tall- hard for Fiera to get Zazzle onto! But, when she stood about ten feet back, it wouldn't be too difficult for Zazzle to break into at least glide off of. Fiera cupped her hands around her mouth to shout. "Zazzle, fly!" Zazzle opened all four of his wings again, more sure than ever before. Then, with only a little hesitation, he launched off. His flight was weak and ungainly, but Fiera wasn't sure if that was due to Zazzle being inexperienced, or from inkrum just being awkwardly shaped. Still, even though he dipped and quivered in the air, he made it all the way into Fiera's arms. Fiera squealed happily and spun him around. "You did it!" She cried, overjoyed. Zazzle didn't seem quite as amused, trying to push off of her. However, after a few more tries, his flights got even more consistent, and soon he didn't need to be guided to Fiera at all. The instincts had finally settled in, Fiera realized, watching Zazzle loop around over her head. They were just a bit stubborn to get going, like he was.
Fiera: 10 (Level up!)
Zazzle: Lv. 6.0/Lo 6.0
Fly: 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 20, 2019 21:48:29 GMT -6
Another day, another pet, another trick to train. This time, Fiera had brought her new whelp, Algol, to the public park. She had found a shallow ravine for them both to sit in, shaded by overhanging trees. The ground beneath their feet was covered in soft fallen leaves, with more occasionally falling from above. While it was in the midst of summer, the moisture in the ravine made it nice and cool. Algol was, of course, her new brown Sarane, freshly bought from Zoological Imports. She had never owned a Sarane, and was frankly nervous about it. She knew full well how dangerous they could be, but that was why she wanted to get started on his training now, while he was nice and young. Right now, he was the size of a small dog, running around and nipping at Fiera's heels. "Algol..." She called sweetly, but Algol payed no attention.
Fiera: 1 Algol: Lv. 0.1/ Lo. 0.1 Name: 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 20, 2019 23:05:57 GMT -6
Yeah, she should have guessed it wouldn't have been that easy. Sarane weren't known for their agreeable nature on the best of days, and she knew Algol would be no different. Thankfully, she had brought along her trusty cooler. She had used it before to train her rakai sarane, Fern, in a variety of tricks. Today she was going to use it to train Algol. Inside, she had chocked it full of ice and dozens of chunks of meat, about half the size of a ping pong ball each. Not enough to fill the whelp up, but enough to reward him for good behavior and incite him to pay attention. She cleared her throat again. "Hey! Hey buddy! Sarane! You!" She called. Algol continued harrassing various insects that were fluttering around the bottom of the ravine. Fiera smiled and cracked the lid of the cooler, and took out a chunk of meat. Fiera: 2 Algol: Lv. 0.2/ Lo. 0.2 Name: 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 20, 2019 23:09:52 GMT -6
"Algol!" She called, holding up the chunk. The sarane's head turned slowly, taking in the sight of Fiera holding the chunk. She could see his nostrils working, taking in the smell as well as the sight. Good, that was just what she wanted. And...there he went! Bounding down toward Fiera, Algol skidded to a stop just as Fiera lowered her hand. She made sure to keep her fingers flat as he opened his jaws wide- sure enough, he dove forward for the meat and if she had been holding it differently, he could have ripped up her fingertips. She didn't think he was big enough for her to lose a finger quite yet, but... it certainly wasn't a good idea to encourage the behavior. She watched as he wolfed it down, as if he had never eaten before in his life. Well, he was quite young. Maybe he actually hadn't had that many meals yet.
Fiera: 3 Algol: Lv. 0.3/ Lo. 0.3 Name: 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 20, 2019 23:14:58 GMT -6
Fiera made sure to close the cooler again with her foot. She didn't need him getting into that and eating the whole bucket. Before she did though, she actually had TWO chunks of meat in her hand. One had just been devoured by Algol, the other was currently palmed in her other hand, where he couldn't see it. "Hey buddy..." She said. "Sweetiepie! Sugar!" She repeated, giving Algol multiple words that weren't his name. The point was that he'd hopefully get used to his name being associated with good things... and thus associated with himself. It was all about getting the sarane to make that connection. "Algol!" She finally said, and opened her palm again. Algol leapt up again, grabbing her hand before she could even lower it all the way. "Easy, Algol!" She said, but it came out as a laugh more than a scolding. He was just a baby, after all.
Fiera: 4 Algol: Lv. 0.4/ Lo. 0.4 Name: 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 20, 2019 23:19:42 GMT -6
She let Algol wander off for a little bit, as preparation to make sure he got the idea. With any luck she'd say his name and he'd turn around, regardless of whether or not she had a treat ready for him. Soon, he had wandered about ten feet away, and she started speaking casually. "Hey uh, dude. My friend. Little guy." She started. No response. The fresh leaves were far more interesting, as he jumped on one that was skittering along the ground. "Lil' chubby. Uhhh. Chocolate milkshake. Tiny terror." No response but a further savaging of the leaf. "Hey, Algol!" She said. He stopped. And perked up, tilting his head curiously. "Oh, good BOY, Algol!" Fiera praised, squatting down. The sarane squeaked and bowed down, taking the action to mean play rather than food. It wasn't what Fiera had come here to do, but... screw it, she could afford to reward him for a job well done, and tore off after him.
Fiera: 5 Algol: Lv. 1.0/ Lo. 1.0 Name: 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 21, 2019 8:37:04 GMT -6
The next trick was an important one. Algol was likely going to get harder and harder to control as he got older, eventually resulting in Fiera needing to 'break' him. As brutal as it sounded, apparently that was just how things worked for sarane. They could be good pets, but they needed heavy discipline, or else they'd be impossible to control. Fiera enjoyed bucking the status quo... but not if doing so got her eaten. As it stood, the earlier she could get it in his head that there were some things he just wasn't allowed to do, the better. Furthermore, if she had to power through getting bitten now so that he'd never do it later... well, so be it. Needless to say, 'no' was an important trick to learn. She was well prepared, with her cooler full of meat, but the big question was whether or not Algol would listen to her.
Fiera: 6 Algol: Lv. 1.1/ Lo. 1.1 No: 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 21, 2019 14:36:42 GMT -6
First, she carefully cracked the lid of the cooler and took out a piece of meat, closing it before Algol could see where she was getting all these tasty treats from. She shuffled over to a large tree root that had burst from the earth, winding along the bottom of the ravine. It was wide enough that Fiera decided that she could use it as a little 'table' of sorts for this exercise. Algol was already making his way over, having already sniffed the air and caught the scent of the treat his owner was holding. She placed it on the root just as he came close. "Ok, Algol-" She said, preparing to say "No", but the meant chunk was already in his mouth and down his throat before she could even finish her sentence. Ah. Fiera supposed she'd have to be quicker than that, and silently dragged the cooler toward her.
Fiera: 7 Algol: Lv. 1.2/ Lo. 1.2 No: 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 21, 2019 14:42:47 GMT -6
Thankfully, she didn't think Algol could shove his head into the cooler faster than she could get treats out of it. He was on one side of the tree root and she was on the other, creating a nice little barrier between the two. If he tried to sneak over while her back was turned, she'd certainly hear it first, what with how clumsy he was. Still... she decided to stay facing him, keeping one eye on the little hatchling sarane while she got out another treat. Sure enough, he tried to scramble over the root, but slipped and fell back down. "Ok, Algol." This time, she put one hand on his chest, keeping him at arm's length before she put the treat down. She placed the chunk on the root and pointed at it, speaking over his little gasps and cheeps of desire. "No." She demanded, and then waited a moment.
Fiera: 8 Algol: Lv. 1.3/ Lo. 1.3 No: 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 21, 2019 14:49:42 GMT -6
When she was sure she had restrained him for long enough, Fiera finally let go, saying "Good boy, good no!" at the same time. Algol rushed forward, scooping the morsel into his mouth and chewing loudly, open mouthed. It was kind of gross to be honest, but a little endearing too. Like seeing a little kid completely fail at eating an ice cream cone. While he was working on that, Fiera slipped another treat out. "Ready, Algol?" She said as he licked his chops. She set the next one down gently, and when he lunged for it, she shouted. "No!" The sarane hatchling stopped, mid lunge, and eyed Fiera warily. When he moved to chow down again, Fiera pushed him back by the chest again, repeating. "No, Algol." Once again, she held him for a moment, but this time he seemed to be paying more attention to Fiera than the treat. Finally, she released him, giving him praise as permission.
Fiera: 9 Algol: Lv. 1.4/ Lo. 1.4 No: 4
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