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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 16, 2024 20:56:49 GMT -6
Fiera let him have it. She offered him encouragement just as before, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. As set in his pace as Mango was, his eyes were trained straight forward and she wasn't sure he could even hear her. So instead, she just let the minutes tick away, too tense herself to even pace around waiting for him to finish. Ten minutes... fifteen... the time passed by so quickly and yet somehow still so slow. Fiera was amazed at how far Mango had come in such a short time- from only being able to run in short sprints to being able to maintain a brisk pace for so long. He had managed it though, and it would be to his advantage. After half an hour, Fiera decided to finally call it quits. She couldn't imagine him needing to run for much longer than that, and to be honest- she was starting to get bored.
Fiera 10 Mango 77.0/29.0 Stamina 15
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 8:00:09 GMT -6
One more time. Fiera had done a, if she said so herself, fantastic job of training Mango the past couple of months. He was now far stronger and faster than the average repointe, and she was glad to see it. But he still wasn't completely done. The tournament was looming, and Fiera wanted to be sure he was as ready as possible for it. She had increased his resistance and dexterity as much as she could, but his stamina still left something to be desired. Oh he had improved it to be sure, but Fiera knew he could push his limits a bit further. So here they were at the training gym, Mango peering up at the broad façade of the massive building. Fiera was sure it used to be a warehouse for some machinery or another, but it had been refined and transformed for a new purpose- much like the creatures that trained within it. Fiera 1 Mango 77.1/29.1 Stamina 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 8:10:37 GMT -6
It was an unusually cold day for spring, so Fiera was glad to step inside and out of the cold, feeling the warm air on her face. Mango hardly seemed to notice it however, as thick furred as he was. Her goal for today then was to further improve his stamina. She had a few ideas on how to do so. Last time, she had him run- or, well, trot- continuously for as long as he could stand until he was exhausted. That was a good way of doing it, but she didn't think it would work twice. There was more than one way to skin a cat- or train a repointe, as it were- so it wasn't like she was out of options. The training gym was a huge place with a wide variety of tools, so she had plenty of things she could try to get the job done.
Fiera 2 Mango 77.2/29.2 Stamina 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 8:31:08 GMT -6
It didn't take long for Fiera to sign in. She had been here dozens of times before, and the desk worker was one who had seen Mango multiple times as well, so it was trivial for Fiera to quickly sign the waivers and move on. Normally Mango took some time to sniff around the front area, but Fiera whisked him off right away this time. The sooner they could get this done the better- they were so close to the finish line for his training, she didn't want to waste any time. Mango followed after her at a brisk pace, her enthusiasm apparently infectious. She quickly made her way towards the wing of the gym assigned for stamina training- a whole lot of open spaces, treadmills, and tracks. Everything in here was geared towards smaller creatures though, or exercises that could be done while standing in place. Fiera had no interest in those.
Fiera 3 Mango 77.3/29.3 Stamina 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 11:35:16 GMT -6
Instead, she kept going towards the back of the building. There were things better geared towards larger creatures like Mango outside, so that was where they were going to go. Fiera reached the double doors and pushed them open- and a rush of cold air blew against her face. Ah, yes. She forgot about that. So much for getting to train in the warmth, she noted with a frown. Mango didn't seem to care though- he much preferred to be outside as opposed to trapped in the strange, sterile environment of human buildings. He snorted happily and put a little spring in his step as Fiera looked around. The tracks out here were much larger and longer, with heavier equipment for stronger beasts. She even saw the tire field where she trained Mango's dexterity last time. This was definitely the place. She started walking towards one of the tracks, an idea already percolating in her mind.
Fiera 4 Mango 77.4/29.4 Stamina 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 11:44:03 GMT -6
She stopped at one of them. It was a classic oval shaped racetrack, with several lanes, but luckily she was the only one on it today. And if anyone tried disturbing her, she would shout at them until they left. With that in mind she dropped her bag, shoving Mango's treats in her pocket before she did. Then she looked around- as expected, there was a series of weights on a rack next to the track. Not weights for human weightlifting, of course (though she was sure you could find those around here for the more human shaped pets) but strapped weights. You could attach them to your quadrupedal creatures to make moving that much more difficult for them, as opposed to having to train them to pull a cart. It helped them better exercise all of their body too, instead of just the muscles needed to pull a heavy cart.
Fiera 5 Mango 78.0/30.0 Stamina 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:11:21 GMT -6
She picked one up- it was very heavy for her, but Mango was stronger than her as well. He'd need a few of these to weigh him down enough. Ideally, she'd strap all of these on to him and then walk him around the track slowly. The goal here wasn't for speed or nimbleness like in his dexterity training, it was so he could build up stamina, letting him last longer in a fight. Well, this was an easy way of doing that. Without further ado, she tossed the weight onto Mango's back. He bleated with surprise, but soon settled down as Fiera started tightening the straps. He didn't seem to know what was going on, but he knew Fiera wouldn't hurt him, so he put up with her weirdness... and the odd object she was tying to him. Each individual one had no effect on him- he was several times larger than her, after all.
Fiera 6 Mango 78.1/30.1 Stamina 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:17:04 GMT -6
But over time the weight she placed upon him built, piece by piece. By the time Fiera finished, he had what was likely over one hundred pounds of weight on him. It was enough that he could still easily move around, but the effort it took was far greater than before. He would likely tire quickly, but the goal of this was to make it that even if he slowed down, he wouldn't stop. The repointe shifted from side to side, getting used to the new center of gravity on his body. Mango looked back and forth between the weights and Fiera uneasily, wondering what it was she expected him to do with these. Luckily, the answer to that was simple- all he had to do was walk. Fiera took his leash and started walking on the track. "Follow me, Mango!" She said, using a command that he knew quite well.
Fiera 7 Mango 78.2/30.2 Stamina 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:27:39 GMT -6
With Fiera actively commanding him to move along with pulling on his leash, he felt he had no choice but to obey. He started walking forward slowly. That was fine by Fiera- she didn't need any particularly level of speed from him, and she figured he would have to take some time to get used to it. He stepped carefully, his flanks twitching as he took the new weight into account. Fiera didn't let him slow down enough to actually mess with it though- she didn't need him trying to turn around and pull it off with his teeth. Instead she just kept giving him soft, soothing praises, pulling him forward as much as she could. Slowly but surely they rounded the loop, with Mango staring at her with confusion the whole time. She could understand that. Other than walking, there was no particular task she was trying to get him to accomplish here.
Fiera 8 Mango 78.3/30.3 Stamina 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:43:21 GMT -6
As they continued moving however, he slowly seemed to realize that there WAS no other task they were trying to accomplish here. Walking in a big circle was all they were doing. In fact, when they got back to the start of the loop, Fiera even gave him a treat just for walking! Mango seemed to perk up at that. If that was all she was asking him to do, then he could easily perform. The weights did make it a bit difficult though. Fiera knew that they were only going to get worse, but he was just going to have to push through it. He seemed in a better mood as they began the second loop, even picking up a bit of speed. Fiera let him get up to a pace that was more comfortable for him, but didn't let him go too fast. She didn't need him wearing himself out.
Fiera 9 Mango 78.4/30.4 Stamina 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:49:06 GMT -6
Still, it meant that this loop went by faster than the last. Fiera gave him another treat for it- a particularly large one this time. He accepted it happily, feeling like he was finally getting the hang of this. "Come on Mango, follow!" Fiera ordered again. She needed to make sure he wasn't supposed to slow down or stop at any point- keeping an easy but constant pace was the name of the game. He had kept it up so far, but Fiera noticed the sweat starting to bead on his short fur. It definitely wasn't hot outside (though the exercise kept Fiera from getting too cold), which meant that that was from exertion, not heat. Mango was starting to feel the effects of the weights, which meant he would likely start showing external signs of exhaustion soon too. It was Fiera's job to keep him from succumbing to it, then.
Fiera 10 Mango 79.0/31.0 Stamina 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 12:55:31 GMT -6
Sure enough, after his next loop she heard Mango's breathing start to get heavier and heavier, and he chewed his treat slowly to make room for his breaths. "You're doing a good job, Mango. Keep going!" She encouraged, though she felt the leash become a little more tense. He did his best to keep going at the same pace, and the tension slackened again. Good. He just needed to keep going, that was all. His footsteps became less delicate and more like a hard march as he strove to keep going at the same pace, his eyes narrowing with determination. She was lucky- he knew what needed to be done as well, and cared enough about following out her orders to at least try and perform well. She had had more difficult to train pets than this, that was for sure. Donner came to mind- that seeker would STILL bite her hand off if she let him.
Fiera 1 Mango 79.1/31.1 Stamina 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 13:01:30 GMT -6
There was no such issue with Mango though, who seemed to want to improve as much as she did. He had come a long way from the shy, scared of everything baby she had first brought home a few months ago. He still had his moments of timidity of course, but he overall appeared to want to push past that and become something better now that he had the body to make up for it. He might have started out scared, but he refused to stay that way for long. Fiera had given him the tools he needed to overcome that and become a force to be reckoned with. He huffed with effort and put on another burst of effort, returning to his usual pace instead of slowing down again. As they rounded the loop once more, Fiera offered him another treat for his efforts, assuring him that he was doing a good job.
Fiera 2 Mango 79.2/31.2 Stamina 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 13:08:05 GMT -6
It only got more difficult for him to keep walking, however. Fiera checked her watch- they had been walking for nearly forty-five minutes, and she hadn't exactly been keeping track of the number of loops they were doing. She popped a hand in her pocket. The bag of treats felt significantly lighter than when they started, and she supposed that if she ran out they'd have to stop anyway. So either one hour or once she ran out of treats- that would be the point that marked the end of their training session. To her delight, Mango was still going strong. He was feeling very tired by now to be sure- each footstep was plodding and his pelt shone with sweat. His breath came in great, ragged gasps. But he hadn't tried to stop once this whole time, doing his best to make Fiera proud. And, of course, she was.
Fiera 3 Mango 79.3/31.3 Stamina 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 13:11:06 GMT -6
"Come on Mango, you can do it! We're nearly done!" Fiera said. Even her own legs were growing tired by this point. Even at a somewhat slow pace, an hour wasn't an insignificant amount of time to spend walking. She would be just as glad as Mango to be done. She offered him another treat and while he took it, his rate of eating was very low by this point, as he was trying hard not to stop. Each leg was practically groaning with effort by this point, and Fiera noticed in spite of herself that he had slowed down quite a bit. And yet... he had not stopped. She egged him on further- just a little longer, just a little more, she knew he could do it. He had come so far, there was no point in quitting this close to the finish line. He did his best to obey, but it was clear that the repointe had limits.
Fiera 4 Mango 79.4/31.4 Stamina 14
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