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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:40:26 GMT -6
More than a savings of effort and time, however, Aster felt that Rhys needed the success, to show him that not everything was a perpetual uphill struggle, if nothing else. Some things, inevitably, would come easier to him than others.
{What are we going to practice on?} said Rhys, latching onto that aspect of what Aster had said. Aster was forced to give the matter some thought in the face of Rhys's question. The easiest target would be another one of his creatures, though of course none of them would find the experience a pleasant one. It stood to reason that they ought to minimize the, well, the live testing with that in mind.
"That can come later," Aster said. "Not that I'm not eager to give up the role of test subject, but I don't think we're going to get a lot of volunteers. We should work on the other parts first.”
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:40:42 GMT -6
As soon as he said this, Rhys took a deep breath and let out the sound again. Aster grimaced. It was just as unpleasant the second time around... Though he noted, even while he recovered from the force of it, that this time the sound’s quality was different. They would perhaps run into some issues with consistency after all.
At least it was still more or less just as loud as it ahd been the first time. That was the important part, when they came right down to it. In the heat of a dangerous situation, a foe bearing down on you wasn’t going to care whether you could make it sound the same every time.
“Let’s... For the sake of my hearing, let’s wait for my signal before you try that,” Aster said. At least then he could prepare himself and cover his ears to mitigate the effect.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:41:24 GMT -6
It would keep him from feeling the full force of the noise, but if Rhys was doing it right, then he would be able to hear something even with his hands over his ears. That was how loud it had to be, especially from a point blank distance like this.
{Oh. Does it hurt very much?} said Rhys, looking at Aster with not insignificant concern. Aster was a little brought up short by this, and Rhys seemed to interpret his slight pause as confirmation. {I’m sorry, I can do it softer, if you like,} he said.
And then Aster had to laugh, because while the concern was nice enough, Rhys’s proposal was completely the opposite of what he wanted. “No,” he said, “keep doing what you’re doing. Make it as loud as you can without hurting yourself. There’s no point if it doesn’t hurt to listen to it.”
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:42:49 GMT -6
{Are you sure?} Rhys still seemed not entirely sure about the idea, but Aster himself was adamant about it. Eventually Rhys did relent, and rested on his haunches waiting obligingly for Aster’s signal.
It was less of a shriek and more of a very shrill whistle, so Aster changed his signal word to better reflect what it was. “Whistle for me,” he said.
Rhys took another deep inhale, during which Aster covered his ears. The shrill noise he made this time was probably the same volume as the others, though fortunately Aster didn’t feel the full brunt of it. Because he didn’t feel the full brunt of it, he couldn’t have said for sure, but now he had a point of reference for what it sounded like when he was covering his ears.
“Good,” he said. It wouldn’t be the technique that posed the problem this time around, it seemed.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:43:20 GMT -6
The only real issue he could see was the speed at which Rhys could prepare himself. Obviously, the faster he could produce the noise, the better--- the more useful it would be. “Let’s just work on making it a little faster. Think you can take less time to brace yourself?”
{I can try.} Unlike the last few times Aster heard those words from him, this time Rhys actually sounded fairly confident. It brought a smile to Aster’s face.
“Let’s see you try then,” he said. “Whistle.”
Aster covered his ears as soon as he gave the signal this time, not knowing how much faster Rhys was going to be able to make himself. The Felusine inhaled sharply, then let loose another sharp whistle. This one, rushed as it was, had a slightly strangled quality to the noise that made it quieter than the ones that had come before.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:48:35 GMT -6
On the bright side, Rhys didn’t seem as though he was straining himself to produce it. He just hadn’t been fully prepared. That was good; Aster didn't want him damaging himself in pursuit of noise-making, if they could avoid it.
“Hmm, not quite, but still pretty close. With enough practice, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it,” Aster said. It was, after all, something that Aster had only begun asking him to do today. Having made this much progress was already good enough, as far as Aster was concerned.
{Let’s keep going. I’m sure I almost have it!} Rhys said. Aster half thought he would make another attempt even without a signal, but Rhys didn’t quite do that. He waited, though with some obvious impatience, for Aster to give him the go-ahead. Aster laughed again, helplessly.
“Well, if you want to, then sure. Go for it and whistle then,” he said.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:49:17 GMT -6
And covered his ears, because he didn’t want to lose his hearing at an early age, though the way his training was going, tinnitus might start becoming an occupational hazard. Even if he hadn't had to do this for a while since the last time.
They practiced several more times after that, before concern for Rhys’s voice--- if it was indeed his voice that was making the noise--- and for his own hearing ability made Aster call a stop to the session. Over the coming days, they practiced a little more at a time. Rhys took to the practice readily, likely because he had shown an early aptitude for it that had given him an enthusiasm for the task. And Aster suffered through these sessions as best he could, telling himself hat it was for a good cause, and that it was a good thing Rhys had such a talent for this particular deterrent tactic.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:49:30 GMT -6
As the practices went on and Rhys grew used to producing the sharp tone, his speed with it improved to the point where Aster felt satisfied. Drilling with the verbal signal meant that Rhys did it almost without thinking after a while, when called upon to ‘whistle’ by Aster. That, too, was useful, in situations where Aster might need Rhys to act as an extension of himself, or when he spotted a danger that Rhys hadn’t yet become aware of.
Now all that was left to do was to try it on a live target, one that wasn’t Aster himself.
By this point, Aster had wisely invested in a pair of earplugs designed to protect him from loud noises. He’d worn them to several of their training sessions already, and he wore them now, as he carried Rhys out to within earshot of some of the older Sarane.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:50:00 GMT -6
It was, perhaps, a little unfortunate to be using his other creatures as a test subject, but he consoled himself in that they would only be suffering the one loud interruption to their day. And he couldn’t very well have taken Rhys out to someone else’s property to do the same to someone else’s; that, if anything, would be worse.
He took them just close enough that they could observe the reaction in the Sarane, then relocated Rhys to his shoulder, where the Felusine could find some better purchase. “Alright, give ‘em a whistle,” he said.
Rhys obliged, letting loose a shrill sharp sound. The effect was immediate and quite visible, with all the Sarane present startling at it. Some picked up their heads to look for the source, while others froze, and one in particular seemed to pay it little mind as soon as he realized there was no immediate threat.
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Post by Noa on Sept 13, 2019 16:52:42 GMT -6
End: Screech
But it had caught all of them off, for a moment. That was good enough for Aster. “Looks like that’s that,” he said. “Anything gives you trouble, you can whistle at ‘em, and buy yourself a little time.”
{Alright,} said Rhys, {but do you really think anyone will? No one has been like that at all so far.}
"That's because I've been keeping you out of the way of our more... colorful characters," Aster said. This was as close as they'd gotten, for example, to the Sarane area thus far, and that was likely going to be the case for quite a while to come. "But I'll introduce you when you're ready."
{I'm looking forward to it,} Rhys said.
Aster regarded him for a moment with narrowed eyes. "That isn't sarcasm, is it?" With Rhys, it was hard to tell. From anyone else, it should have been, but it was hard to imagine Rhys being sarcastic, period.
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:45:28 GMT -6
Poison Sting, Avander: Start Rhys had been getting more restless, and contrary to what the Felusine himself might think, Aster wasn't ignorant of it. He was just… trying to figure out what could be done about it. A compromise, maybe, between what Rhys wanted and what Aster thought he was ready for. To that end, Aster felt that it might be good to work with him on some of his abilities. He didn't know whether Rhys was fully aware of what he could do, or, for that matter, whether he knew how to do any of it. Considering he hadn't known how to fly though, Aster was willing to venture that he probably didn't. Besides that, he had been meaning to work with Avander some more too, and the two things coincided well enough that he decided to just capitalize on it. "Alright," Aster said to his assembled creatures. "Today Avander is going to learn how to inject a target with poison." That was straightforward enough. Avander didn't so much as bat an ear at that. Rhys, for his part, was watching with real interest. It was his first time seeing Aster work with any of his other creatures, and come to think of it, his first time seeing a Sarane up close too. 1
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:46:23 GMT -6
Rhys, Cure: Start
But if any of his Sarane could be trusted to keep his head, it was Avander. Aurelius wasn't as ill tempered as Albion, but Aster wouldn't exactly have called him steady either, and that put both of them out of the running.
Maybe it was because he trusted Avander so much that he was willing to do it this way… But to be honest, the outcome here was more in Rhys's hands than Avander's. Either way though, it was going to be an interesting day.
"You're going to practice on me," Aster declared.
That got him a reaction. Even Avander looked startled. No, suffice to say that Avander looked more startled than Rhys, in whom the emotion was mixed in with a good deal of confusion. Avander, who had known Aster for longer, and who had a better grasp of his character, looked as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
{Practice on you? You can't be serious!} Avander protested. {It's poison. You know that, right? Poison. As in, bad for you.}
“I’m well aware,” Aster said. “That’s what Rhys is here for. He can cure it.” At least, Aster was fairly sure he could be taught, at any rate.
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:47:07 GMT -6
It was one of the things he’d… asked for. But as to whether he would be able to do it before Avander’s poison killed him, well.
{I don’t think this is a good idea,} Avander said. {Maybe we should try it on a dummy first.}
But Aster looked to Rhys, to see how the Felusine felt about all this. Rhys hadn’t said anything yet himself, and Aster wanted to know whether it was because he was hesitating, or if he was just… overawed, or something.
Rhys seemed to be thinking. And while Avander fussed behind him, Aster was content to wait for Rhys to come to his own conclusion, if for no other reason than knowing there wouldn’t be much use in saying anything until he knew what that conclusion was. Eventually, Rhys piped up.
{I want to try,} he said.
{He wants to--- Oh sweet mother of skies,} Avander said. {Look, I don’t have any healing powers, okay? If you die, you die. I can drag your corpse into town, and maybe someone can help you there. That’s it.}
“Fair enough,” Aster said. “So there’s the stakes, Rhys. Still think you can do it?”
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:47:42 GMT -6
The Felusine hesitated slightly, but only for a moment. {I think I can,} Rhys replied. The hesitation didn’t do him any favors in Avander’s eyes, but the drake had resigned himself to the folly that was happening in front of him now, and merely responded with a long dramatic breath.
{Alright then. Let’s get this over with,} Avander said. {What do you want me to do?}
“If you strike me with full force, I might actually be in some real danger, so let’s just keep it to administering the poison for now,” Aster said. “Here.” He grabbed the drake’s tail, careful to keep away from any of the smaller barbs that led up to the largest spade. The lurid orange, in bright contrast to the rest of the drake’s muted coloring, winked at him like the promise of pain.
He pressed the point into the flesh of his arm, and felt the tip prick skin.
“See if you can… well, administer the poison, I guess,” Aster said.
There was a pause, during which Avander might have been making an effort to do what was being asked of him. And Aster waited for it, with a kind of strange anticipation.
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Post by Noa on Oct 27, 2019 11:48:01 GMT -6
He was unsure as to whether anything was happening, or how quickly he was supposed to feel it.
{You know,} said Avander at length, {I really don’t think using yourself as a target was a good incentive plan.}
“You don’t want to hurt me,” Aster said. Right. That had been a miscalculation on his part. “Well, it’s not like I can have you attack someone else.”
{Grunty. He’s big. He could take it,} Avander suggested.
“No,” Aster said. And, taking matters into his own hand, he moved the stinger away--- and just as Avander relaxed, thinking perhaps he had given up, Aster jammed the thing back in, harder.
The drake made a strangled noise, and Aster felt a searing pain traveling through his arm. This time it was different. He could tell. He’d been stabbed before, sometimes in an arm, and this was different.
“Queen’s tits,” he said, clenching his teeth against the pain.
{What did you--- Why!} said Avander, clearly distraught. {I didn’t even---}
“Rhys,” said Aster, cutting off Avander’s half formed protests. “Can you… Can you sense it? The poison.” Aster knelt, though maybe it was more fair to say his knees buckled, and presented the wound to the Felusine.
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