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Post by Emery on Jun 15, 2023 9:12:28 GMT -6
Klik was a curious beast. One quite unlike most creatures of the lab, in terms of appearance and origin. She had spent a little bit of time with him already during a fishing trip however, and felt like she had a good idea of his behavioral patterns up until this point. He was as of yet undisciplined, however. Unpracticed. She couldn't exactly blame him- his mind and actions appeared to be simplistic and difficult to control even by himself, with even simple concepts confusing him... or not even being worth his time at all. He would be a bit difficult to train, but hopefully some basic concepts wouldn't fly over his head. First and foremost, his name. Emery could easily see the importance in a creature being able to respond to its own name, though only time would tell if he would come to realize that the noises she made were something worth listening to. Emery 1 Klik 4.1/4.1 Name 1 |
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Post by Emery on Jun 15, 2023 9:38:33 GMT -6
For that purpose, she had acquired some treats for Klik. He seemed equally prone to eating food from both plant and animal sources, but her studies had found he had a particular fondness for mushrooms and other fungi. Sure enough, even has she held one up she watched as he tasted the air and suddenly scurried over to her leg, attempting to climb her pants. His lack of coordination made him fall over however, and Emery took the opportunity to quickly shove the fungi back in her pocket. "Klik." She said, as he struggled to right himself. "Klik." She repeated as he finally flipped himself over and turned to look at her again. She supposed that counted as paying attention- even if he was only updating his information on what she was doing. Either way, she had to start somewhere. "Good job, Klik." She said, and got the mushroom out again. Emery 2 Klik 4.2/4.2 Name 1 |
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Post by Emery on Jun 15, 2023 10:40:13 GMT -6
Klik waved his feelers around eagerly and Emery dropped the mushroom at her feet, watching as he rushed over to devour it. He worked surprisingly quickly, stepping away in mere moments to reveal not even a single crumb of fungus. He then slowly started to explore their area- a little paved plaza in the public park, where Emery had a park bench to rest on if she needed- which she did. She carefully settled down on the edge of the bench, watching the creature fidget around. She had tied a string to one of his legs and tied that to her wrist, so thankfully he couldn't get far. "Klik." She tried again. He didn't respond, and she sighed, clicking the volume of her vocalizer up a few notches. "KLIK." She said more loudly and finally the creature turned around again, startled by the sudden noise. "Good job." She said, and dropped another mushroom for him.
Emery 3
Klik 4.3/4.3
Name 3
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Post by Emery on Jun 16, 2023 11:57:22 GMT -6
He ate that one just as fast and scurried around her legs, looking for more. Still, she didn't yet have any evidence that he was responding to his name, or just the food. She'd have to keep trying- specifically, she decided to try some other words first. She began listing random words- anything she could think of really. To her disappointment, Klik immediately perked up, trying to prove that he could pay attention to get food... but for the wrong words. As no mushrooms were forthcoming as she spoke however, he quickly lost interest, returning to scuttling around the immediate area. Ideally, once she said his name again he would perk back up and pay attention to her after hearing his name, but she was almost afraid to try it. If he didn't respond, then they'd be back to square zero. Still, it was all she could do to try- "Klik." She said, finally.
Emery 4
Klik 4.4/4.4
Name 4
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Post by Emery on Jun 16, 2023 12:01:26 GMT -6
There was a pregnant pause, the silence after the word hanging in the air. Then, Klik raised his feelers and rushed back over to Emery, practically begging for food. "Perfect. That was an ideal response, Klik." She said with an internal sigh of relief. She dropped another mushroom down for him and he rushed over to it with glee, and she could hear the gentle munching as his mandibles made short work of it. Klik was a rather difficult specimen to work with, but she had managed it well enough this time. And if he could manage basic tricks like this without too much effort, then perhaps she would be able to put in the effort to teach him more complex commands sometime. But that wouldn't be today. "Come on, Klik." She said, heaving herself to her feet with the use of her cane. "It is time to return home."
Emery 5
Klik 5.0/5.0
Name 5
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Post by Emery on Jul 14, 2023 10:15:50 GMT -6
The public park saw a new creature stumble into its bright light, with Emery close behind. She had brought Argos with her for a day that would hopefully prove to be educational. He was a recent acquisition for her, and she was finding that she knew very little about gargoyles, despite her general knowledge about most creatures. To a degree, this was not her fault. if there was one fact about gargoyles that WAS generally known, it was that they were very rare, very reclusive, and if you got your hands on one you were very, very lucky. They were one of the most elusive denizens of the caves that pockmarked the mines below the Labs City, and were intelligent enough to avoid people with ease. As a result, Emery had practically leapt on the opportunity to take this one into her care (albeit, not literally- jumping wasn't something she was winning any awards at.) Emery 6 Argos 0.1/0.1 |
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Post by Emery on Jul 18, 2023 9:39:58 GMT -6
Gargoyles were quite unusual creatures in addition to being elusive. Made entirely of stone, but with discrete organs that somehow flowed and moved like regular flesh, only coalescing into regular, brittle, inflexible rock once they died. Or so the studies Emery read had said- and they didn't exactly have a large sample size. You only found them by exploring the mines, delving deep into the earth and dragging them out by force. But, there was a reason for finding such creatures that didn't want to be found. Apparently they were some of the best mining familiars you could get, searching out gemstones like a shark searches for blood. Perfunctory and intelligent in their function, you didn't have to wrestle the gems out of their mouths like you did with more primitive mining familiars like gem drakes and tunnel worms either. Plus, their slow and considerate nature made them easier to guide and cheaper to fuel.
Emery 7
Argos 0.2/0.2
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Post by Emery on Jul 18, 2023 10:01:04 GMT -6
However, Emery found something about that a bit depressing. They were such fascinating creatures- was their utility as expensive mining equipment all really anyone saw in them? Especially considering that while the winged and guardian gargoyles were supposedly just animals- if intelligent ones- the runic gargoyles were meant to be sapient. She glanced back at Argos. She hadn't seen any sign of that from him, admittedly. He followed behind her dutifully on all fours, looking at the ground. She had attempted to give him books, counting devices, artistic supplies, but he showed no interest in any of it, instead preferring to stare into the corner of the room, still as a statue. A statuesque quality was a known feature of gargoyles, but it wasn't what she was trying to get out of him. There was so much she could learn from him- did gargoyles have a culture? A language only they could speak?
Emery 8
Argos 0.3/0.3
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Post by Emery on Jul 18, 2023 10:03:16 GMT -6
But if there was, Argos was refusing to show any sign of it. Or perhaps their intelligence was an emergent trait. Something they only picked up after being introduced into a sufficiently complex environment. There was little to know about caves- no. That wasn't correct. Emery immediately stopped that train of thought. There was little that humans sought to know about caves, but she was sure there was plenty of interest to the local fauna. Patches of dead air, what gems were the best for eating, where best to find them, how to identify unstable areas of rock. This sort of knowledge would be excellent to have in her corner when Emery finally went down into the mines, but it wasn't something that lent itself to developing language and art in a form that she knew it. Perhaps after adapting to surface life, Argos would find a way to open up to her more.
Emery 9
Argos 0.4/0.4
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Post by Emery on Jul 18, 2023 10:05:53 GMT -6
But that was only ideally. For all she knew, the tales of sapient gargoyles were no more than myth, and she was wasting her time. But luckily, patience was one thing that Emery had in spades. He was likely used to a less intense life, and Emery was more than happy to sit and wait for him to catch up. She glanced back at him. Dappled skin in shades of grey, brown, and bronze, with dappled runes arcing across his body. If there was no intelligence in him... then how did they get there? She supposed that complex patterns arose in nature all the time- the nests of birds, the stripes of tigers. It would be easy to read such markings as the act of an intelligent hand, but that would be anthropomorphizing. Emery turned forward again, an hourglass on her screen turning itself end over end to indicate her swirling thoughts.
Emery 10
Argos 1.0/1.0
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Post by Emery on Jul 21, 2023 11:51:21 GMT -6
It would certainly be interesting to see what Argos was capable of. That was part of why she brought him to the park- to see what he could do. You were supposed to train pets here after all, and she had heard of gargoyles being capable of a variety of acts. Despite their rarity and appearance however, they weren't as intensely magical as one might guess from looking at them. Instead, they seemed to be blank slates, as evidenced by the grooves in their eye sockets and forehead. As if they were waiting to be filled, completed by some hand of fate. Well, Emery was happy to be that hand for Argos. Perhaps they could complete each other. She would imagine an order crystal would go quite well in that socket... though she would have to find some first. That was something that would have to come next after this training session.
Emery 1
Argos 1.1/1.1
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Post by Emery on Jul 21, 2023 11:55:37 GMT -6
Emery had been wanting to get into the mines for quite some time. They were an excellent place for those starting out in the Labs City. She was no newcomer, but her recovery had been long and hard, and... well, she was never going to get better past this point. Not all the way. So now she was left in quite a hole with no way to dig herself out. Ironically though, she could alleviate the situation by digging around in the mines. Being left without money was easily solved when there was a big hole full of gemstones for the taking right under the city. But unfortunately, Emery's medical situation left her without the general strength needed for mining. She could buy the best tools for mining that money could buy, but it mattered very little if her arms and hands trembled too much for her to actually use them.
Emery 2
Argos 1.2/1.2
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Post by Emery on Jul 21, 2023 11:59:22 GMT -6
But Argos could. She glanced back at her pet again, still following dutifully. Runic gargoyles were the most advanced of their clade. Where the other gargoyles had claws or wings, Argos had both, but also the grace and dexterity to spend time walking on his hind legs. His front claws as a result acted as crude hands- three fingered, and more like talons than anything else, but capable of holding and manipulating tools. She could train him to simply do the mining for her, and be given a cut of the profit in turn. She wasn't unfair about this of course- he was having all of his room and board paid for by her, all of his food and medical care, and all he had to do was mine for her. As far as she was concerned, it was a perfectly even split between them- perhaps even more beneficial on his side.
Emery 3
Argos 1.3/1.3
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Post by Emery on Jul 21, 2023 12:03:48 GMT -6
Besides, he had very little knowledge of awareness of how the sapient races of the world operated. If anything, she was protecting him from the stresses of the modern world and bringing him back to something similar to the life he knew back underground. She was helping. Or she would be- first she had to teach him certain words so he would be able to follow commands more easily and to understand the function of the tools she gave him. She didn't imagine it would be too difficult, given the reputation runic gargoyles had. If anything, she was curious to see what quirks of personality he had. She was also... admittedly a little excited to have some help. Certain tasks were difficult for Emery given her physical condition, and even having someone that could open a door for her would be a relief. She had a few other pets, but none that could assist her to this degree.
Emery 4
Argos 1.4/1.4
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Post by Emery on Jul 21, 2023 13:05:35 GMT -6
Indeed, in Argos she seemed to have the perfect mining companion... though perhaps not a general use one for helping her with other things. He seemed... stressed by the light. Unused to the outside world. And perhaps he never would be, belonging to a troglodytic species. Emery would likely have to find a more adaptive assistant for more day to day tasks. Shouldn't be too difficult though- there were always creatures to be obtained in the Labs City. It was just a matter of finding a suitable seller. And raising the funds for it, she realized grimly. One step at a time, then. Argos first, then mining underground, then getting gems, then selling them, then getting the equipment and creatures needed for other tasks. It would take time and effort, but hopefully she'd be able to persevere that long. After all, she had the equipment and funds to keep her body maintained, at least.
Emery 5
Argos 2.0/2.0
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Apr 24, 2024 0:28:20 GMT -6
Apr 24, 2024 0:28:20 GMT -6
