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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:10:37 GMT -6
Next, she wanted him to be able to dig on command. Digging was something that came easily to his ilk- as troglodytic cave dwellers, digging was a way of life. Even the youngest gargoyle could do it... not that any adolescent ones had been found, leading some to wonder if they even existed. But for him to be able to dig a good, stable hole at an efficient pace was something that would take some training. Luckily, there was still plenty of time in the day for it, and she still had plenty of enriched stones to use as treats. "Argos." She said, bidding him closer. He looked up at the sound of his name- good, that was still intact- and watched as she lifted her cane. Gently, she made a couple of brief scratches in the earth, barely scraping the surface. "Dig." She emphasized, setting the word to be used for this command.
Emery 1 Argos 5.1/5.1 Dig 1
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:13:13 GMT -6
Argos looked up at her quizzically and slowly approached, watching the odd movement with her cane. Emery physically couldn't put up a better effort than this, but hopefully he'd get the idea soon. "Dig." She repeated, hoping he would make a similar movement and she could reward him for it. Then she could work up to deeper holes and faster speeds once he got the basic movement down. She continued on like that for a few more minutes with Argos watching carefully. But as she repeated the word and the hole in front of her grew, he only stared instead of leaping into action himself. She sighed a bit. She would have to get a little bit more physical. She leaned down from her position above him on the bench and gently grasped one of his foreclaws. Even from under her gloves she could feel the rough, stony texture of his skin.
Emery 2 Argos 5.2/5.2 Dig 2
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:15:48 GMT -6
To her relief however, he didn't struggle or put up a fight as many other creatures would when having one of their limbs manhandled. Instead he allowed her to guide his claw to the ground, scraping it across the soil. "Dig." She said once more, watching his facial expression for any sign of realization. There wasn't one, but she wasn't about to stop trying. She kept at it like that for a moment, digging with Argos's own claw and repeating the command. Then, when she had made a sizeable scrape in the earth, she reached into her bag and pulled out a treat. The stone she pulled out was marbled with little veins of copper, and Argos DID respond to that, looking up at it eagerly. "Good Dig, Argos." Emery said plainly, and dropped the stone down for him to eat. He wasted no time in yanking his hand out of the whole and stuffing it into his mouth.
Emery 3 Argos 5.3/5.3 Dig 3
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:21:19 GMT -6
She watched patiently as he crunched through it, his jaws effortlessly cleaving through stone. Privately, she was grateful that these creatures didn't seem to crave flesh. She'd likely have to take better safety precautions if they did. Once he was finished with his behavior reinforcing snack however, she returned to training. "Argos, dig." She said. He opened his claw hesitantly... but didn't drop it to the earth to dig. She repeated the command and again he twitched, but didn't seem to full understand. Finally, she gently pressed the end of her cane to his claw, pushing it into the dirt once more. "Argos. Dig." She ordered, and finally he scratched weakly at the dirt, pushing aside clods of it in a new spot. It wasn't a hole worthy of mining, but he was doing it without Emery having to quite literally hold his hand, which was an improvement from before.
Emery 4 Argos 5.4/5.4 Dig 4
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:23:49 GMT -6
She let him work for a moment and she approved of the fact that he didn't stop until she commanded him to. He wasn't digging very well, but he wasn't slowing or getting bored either- a valuable trait for an assistant in the mines. "Argos, good." She said, and he finally slowed down, stopping altogether once Emery threw him another treat. He ate it happily, and Emery prepared to try again. Hopefully she wouldn't have to guide his claws this time. When he was finished, she gave the command again, holding her cane by her side. "Argos, dig." She said. Argos lifted his claw, hesitant for a moment... before bringing it down to the ground, starting to dig yet another hole in the clearing. Inside her helm, Emery smiled. She'd have to fill in all the holes they were making when she was done, but that was worth it if he figured this out.
Emery 5 Argos 6.0/6.0 Dig 5
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:26:09 GMT -6
Now that she had him digging on command, she had to get him to dig... well, better than this. They weren't making more holes than simple scratches in the dirt, and he wasn't moving very quickly. Plus, he kept digging new holes with each instance of the command instead of working on an existing one. It would be much rougher work down in the mines, and she wanted him to be prepared for that. "Argos, stop. Good dig." She said- and dropped the stone treat directly in the hole he had been working on. The gargoyle quickly snapped it up into his mouth, faster than before. He hadn't quite finished eating before Emery gave the command to dig again however, and the suddenness seemed to surprise him- and he leapt into action a bit more quickly than usual, as if he didn't want to be caught slacking off on the job.
Emery 6 Argos 6.1/6.11 Dig 6
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:29:19 GMT -6
She watched as he quickly swallowed the last dregs of his treat and dug faster than before, scooping out bigger handfuls of dirt, sending it launching out behind him. Emery pulled in her feet a bit, not wanting to get her pants dirty- or at least, not that easily. When the hole was about 6 inches deep, Emery threw in two treats. "Argos, very good dig." She said, hoping to reward him for the improved behavior and keep him focused on this particular hole. He plunged his claws in again, ready to scoop out another clod of dirt, only to pause, just now registering the presence of the treats and Emery's praise. He paused for a moment, sniffed, and realized he had more food than usual- which he ate with vigor. Emery bounced her heel on the ground, pleased with his progress so far- he only needed a little more work to get this right.
Emery 7 Argos 6.2/6.2 Dig 7
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:38:29 GMT -6
Once he was done eating, she started again. Repetition was key here. "Argos, dig." She said, gesturing to the hole. She didn't really think he needed reminding of where he was supposed to be digging, but she supposed that adding some extra clarity couldn't hurt. To her delight he actually visually followed her pointing with his gaze, his head following along her finger and towards the hole, and he began to dig again. That was good- if she could simply point where she wanted him to dig, that would be perfect in terms of utility. He was moving even faster this time as well, and every so often would pat the walls of the hole, securing it against collapse. That was also very good. Considering that gargoyles were natural diggers, she supposed it was instinct for him to reinforce tunnels as he went, keeping them from falling down on his head.
Emery 8 Argos 6.3/6.3 Dig 8
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:41:04 GMT -6
After a few minutes she stopped him again, throwing another couple of treats in while telling him he did a good job. She glanced around the clearing for an undisturbed spot before her gaze landed on the cliff behind her. Well. If he could tunnel into that without getting hurt, then that would be a job well done. He wouldn't always be digging straight down into the ground, after all. She turned back to find him already staring at her, having finished eating his treats. It was as if he was waiting for her command. She gestured at the base of the cliff to the right of the park bench she was sitting on. "Argos. Dig." She said, and he followed her pointing finger once more. He got up off his haunches and carefully crept towards the cliff, examining it. Emery hoped he would actually do it- or else they may have to start again.
Emery 9 Argos 6.4/6.4 Dig 9
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Post by Emery on Aug 2, 2023 10:44:03 GMT -6
She was quite satisfied then when he began to dig at the side of the cliff face, having apparently found an ideal spot to get started. He worked even faster than before, quickly cleaving hardened dirt and stone from the surface. Every so often he pounded a fist against the walls as well, compressing the soil for better stability and to test it for potential stress and breaks... or so Emery assumed. It certainly seemed like he knew what he was doing however, as progress was smooth, efficient, and steady, with a huge pile of dirt and stones building up in the center of the clearing. Finally, Emery couldn't even see him anymore, as even the tip of his tail had disappeared into the gloom of the hole he had made. With some effort she managed to lean down and peer into the dark. She saw the spirals from the runic markings on his face glowing back as he looked at her. "...Good dig, Argos." She said, pleased with his progress.
Emery 10 Argos 7.0/7.0 Dig 10
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Post by Emery on Oct 11, 2023 10:12:33 GMT -6
Orpheus was a strange new acquisition of Emery's, and her first meeting face to face with a creature that was considered by most to be... undead. Frankly though, she didn’t believe it. Sure, he was shocking in appearance- stark, dry bone stood out from a mane made of swirling mist that rose up in tufts around his head. His tail reflected the same condition. And yet, with no eyes to his sockets he still glanced around, entranced by his surroundings, clearly unblinded. He flicked his tail with the same ease and grace as any cat despite not having any muscles connected to the bone, his ears flicking to follow noises in the same manner. And if the testimony of the keepers at Emery’s kennel were any indicator, he certainly wasn’t wanting for an appetite. In Emery’s experience, corpses didn’t need to eat, and so the creature in front of her clearly wasn’t a corpse. Emery 1 Orpheus 0.1/0.1
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Post by Emery on Oct 11, 2023 10:13:57 GMT -6
So that meant that he had to be just a normal animal, albeit not like any other she had seen. But weirder things had come out of the Labs City, she supposed. After all, how was one meant to classify the elemental golems on the tree of life? They were incomprehensible in biology and were practically not biological at all, and yet were clearly some form of life. The fact that Orpheus had flesh, had normal large feline behavior, and ate food was a boon by comparison. In her opinion he was just afflicted by some sort of magical mutation, one that granted him abilities beyond those of a normal estharne. She was looking forward to exploring those abilities today, but first she needed to teach him some basics. There was a special contest coming up- one for Vai Min Mur in particular, which required her to train a particular type of creature.
Emery 2 Orpheus 0.2/0.2
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Post by Emery on Oct 11, 2023 10:14:14 GMT -6
Emery was no stylist, but it was easy to tell by looking at him that Orpheus fit the bill. She had it on good authority from the Market business that created him as well that he had… strange powers that would impress the audience as well. Unfortunately, her ability to confirm that was, at the moment, a bit limited. In her experience so far, he was only able to do, well, normal cat things. Stretch, lick himself (an odd experience visually, given that his tongue was made of mist and came out of a bleached skull, tear apart chunks of meat, and lounge around in the sun. Even though he didn’t look “normal”, he knew no difference and was happy to live life as a regular feline. It would take some training on her part to activate that stranger part of himself. Speaking of normal feline behavior, he wasn’t behaving well on the leash.
Emery 3 Orpheus 0.3/0.3
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Post by Emery on Oct 11, 2023 10:14:29 GMT -6
She did her best to tug him along, but the estharne remained parked on the sidewalk. Emery glanced around. To her luck, there was no one else present in this part of the park at the moment, so she wasn’t holding up traffic. But she was sure it wouldn’t remain that way for long. It was the middle of autumn, and a crisp breeze rustled some of the leaves along the sidewalk. The sun was high overhead however, keeping the day above uncomfortably cold. It was perfect weather and people would be out and about to enjoy it. Emery could see people in the distance, sitting on picnic blankets or running around with their pets. Orpheus seemed to be enjoying himself too, rolling over on his back and itching it along the sidewalk. Emery tugged on his lead a bit more but he simply relaxed further, pawing idly at the long trail of the leash.
Emery 4 Orpheus 0.4/0.4
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Post by Emery on Oct 11, 2023 10:14:48 GMT -6
It was as if it were a string toy she was waggling in front of his face, and he was happy she had given him such a fun thing to play with. Emery sighed. At least he hadn’t shown any signs of aggression towards her. She realized that was always a chance with estharne, as they were a notoriously disloyal species mostly derived from large, predatory felines. She should be grateful he wasn’t mauling people’s pets or turning those wicked fangs on her. And yet, she still found it exhausting when he wouldn’t obey. She looked up and down the sidewalk. No one was coming… yet. It was only a matter of time though, so she figured she might as well get to work on training him now. Perhaps her efforts would, at the very least, bore him enough into wandering off to find something else to do, taking her with him.
Emery 5 Orpheus 1.0/0.5
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