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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:09:53 GMT -6
Not for the first time in a rather short while, he recalls the words of an instructor, who warned about giving one's self over to anger. "Anger in battle is a blinder for your senses," he had prattled on, "It leaves open weaknesses, beckons forth mistakes, misdirects the strategy." And perhaps that was true enough with humans, but humans were used to being the predator.
An angry prey was a different force entirely. A prey was an Inconvenience on legs, right up until it was dead, in which case its actual benefit to the predator began. But an angry prey was a Threat. And a Threat had spine enough to stand up against other Threats. Not just to stand their ground, but to gain ground.
And that meant getting a whole lot more closer, and a whole lot more Annoying, than he had so far. Which isn't something he is looking forward to..
. 15 . Lisan: 26 (3/5) ( Hardy: 14 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:24:59 GMT -6
He checks the piece of paper from the dra--humanish, making sure to double-check a few phrases left on it. Unfortunately for him, 'stop' wasn't one of them (But then, that would have made the job easy, and the gods needed entertainment). Tucking it back in the pocket, there's a heavy sigh as he rolls his shoulders, perched on the fence. All he had to do was be annoying, irritating, even. One could say that's his natural born talent, so it should be easy.
Making it out of things alive could be another, albeit never under these specific circumstances. He hops off the fence and starts walking towards the baakir, closer than he's ever dared to go so far. A whistle between pointed teeth catches its attention immediately and it starts to give those subtle warning calls, but this time he wasn't stopping. The Sense of the Other pressed ever closer to the baakir, and a nervousness subtly crept into its movements as it considered what to do.
. 16 . Lisan: 26 (4/5) ( Hardy: 15 )
( Intimidation: 1 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:31:27 GMT -6
He whistles again, calling out with a strained voice, "Is that all you got? Some trumpets? Do better!" He begins to circle it then, still creeping closer, but angling so the beast's back lines up with the fence behind it. It turns to keep him in front of it, oblivious to the box that it's being put figuratively positioned into. It does not back down, because it's seen the man to be a gnat that leaves if its resolute enough.. But now the gnat is getting closer and being louder, making noises at it, challenging it.
Prey didn't make for very territorial beasts, not the same way predators did. But even they understood a challenge when presented, either over food, water or mating rights. Every herd had a hierarchy of some description, however loose it might have been. And while it didn't consider this gnat to be part of the herd, it none the less understood that it is starting to get very annoyed with it overstepping its bounds..
. 17 . Lisan: 27 (0/5) ( Hardy: 16 ) ( Intimidation: 2 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:38:07 GMT -6
The baakir began to stomp, slow, but deliberate. One didn't need to be a masterful animal whisperer to understand it for the warning that it is. A part of the man is at least a little impressed the beast has the courtesy to warn, before it decided to absolutely decimate him. Either it is still too wary to do anything beyond that, sensing him to be too much of a threat to engage, or there isn't quite enough spine built so far for it to take the necessary step forward.
The face twists into a brief contortion of pre-emptive regret, before he throws his hands out, adding to the thread he is trying to impose, "You can do better!" and as a final nail in the coffin, "Spook!"
Something clicks in the beast's mind deeper within than the man's current attempt at annoying it. Of a different man, of a different time and a different place.. but the same word.
. 18 . Lisan: 27 (1/5) ( Hardy: 17 )
( Intimidation: 3 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:45:18 GMT -6
It doesn't exactly need a second invite - the situation is heated enough that it's more a courtesy to call for it. The baakir stomps forward a step and arcs the neck out with a loud trumped, the sides of its face suddenly folding out three-paired multi-coloured skin folds. In truth, the man had expected a display of something, but even that makes him flinch back, as he's pretty certain he did not see those before (And gods know if the thing ends up spitting at him too).
The baakir shakes them with a bellow, before backing up a step again, still stomping in place otherwise. It takes him a few moments to cover (And several personal notes to do much better research on these types of things in the future), but he eventually shakes it off, glaring back at the beast.
"Now we're talking.." he mutters, adjusting his jacket, "But not close enough."
. 19 . Lisan: 27 (2/5) ( Hardy: 18 ) ( Intimidation: 4 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:49:51 GMT -6
That kind of display can startle a predator for a moment (As it did him), but for a lasting effect the beast needs to step up the game several more steps. The predator has to start out feeling like they might wish to reconsider several choices of existence before they engaged with this sort of prey. The humanish had described the creature as 'snooty'? Well.. He would just have to see how far that could be pushed.
He circles back the other way, getting closer and closer again, still calling to it in less of a strained voice as the distance closes. "Still all you got? You can do better!" The baakir stomps and turns with him, keeping him in front of it. There's a shake of the head, even a short prance forward that flinches him back a step in turn. "Good! Better!" he calls, and still approaches, "Again!"
. 20 . Lisan: 27 (3/5) ( Hardy: 19 ) ( Intimidation: 5 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:58:43 GMT -6
The invite takes more goading than he'd like, but there does come a point where he ventures too close, and the baakir does a forward lunge once more, stamping the ground with its feet. The man quickly backs up, more giving into his own instinct to stay clear of becoming a throw pillow for those hooves, but recover quickly to keep calling, "Good! Again! C'mon"
And there in ends up being the mistake. The goading works, perhaps even a little too well, as the baakir suddenly starts to approach, stamping the ground as it does. Whatever grip of fear this Sense once had is thrown aside as it is now truly, properly, Angry. And when flight becomes fight, the predators best watch out - He should best watch out.
The man backs up, but the baakir does not stop approaching. When he quickens his pace a little in the retreat, the baakir extends it's for continuing after him. Ah faex.. he has a chance to think, before simply turning and bolting for the fence.
. 21 . Lisan: 27 (4/5) ( Hardy: 20 ) ( Intimidation: 6 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 15:09:30 GMT -6
He makes a run for the fence, the baakir giving chase after him, shaking the head and fins in equal measure, while trumpeting now a counter-challenge. Whether goddess-graced luck of merely a miscalculation on the baakir's side, he manages to jump the fence seconds before the first of the hooves strike it. The baakir does not follow, and he ends up landing safely on the other side.
There's one final warning bellowed out at him, before the baakir snorts, turns and ambles back towards its preferred side of the yard.
He breathes out, leaning hands on knees for a second to collect himself. Is all this really worth a pup learning to swim? Probably not. Will be it be worth having a pup who isn't as loud out of boredom? ..Maybe. Unfortunately for him, the courier has a bit of a fatal flaw in this plan - Namely, he's supposed to be a man of his word. And what use is a courier who can't even deliver on what was promised?
. 22 . Lisan: 28 (0/5) ( Intimidation: 7 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 15:20:32 GMT -6
An annoyed groan escapes as he straightens, rolling the shoulders and neck. Hoisted by one's own petard, what sweet irony.. At the very least he can be certain the baakir has a spine to speak of now. Snooty and all.
But the job isn't quite yet done. It's one thing to have a spine and hold ground, another to take it. Or, at the very least, to have an air about you that suggests you wouldn't hesitate to try. That's commonly where most brutes get it wrong - The factor of scariness isn't equivalent to the pound of muscle exercised, but the sharpness of the smile describing it. Of course, being a beast, the baakir couldn't very well use that particular tactic, but given it's gangly appearance, he would make to have do with what it did have.
Which is a lot of confidence, in part helped by him. He'll just have to get it to strut it.
. 23 . Lisan: 28 (1/5) ( Intimidation: 8 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 13:22:58 GMT -6
And, well.. not trample him in the process. Or anyone else, now and in future. It's not quite intimidation if you immediately follow through with it. The catch is to let it simmer and be savoured, really hook the psyche of the opponent (Or whatever poor sod becomes the offending target). He jumps the fence back into the yard and starts approaching the baakir again. "We're not done!" he calls, hands out once more. "You can do better!"
The beast isn't even halfway towards the other end of the yard yet, before it turns around and regards him with a particular kind of irritation, as the head makes a small swing, ears flapping vigorously. This time even the tail gets into the motion, lashing behind it like a fur-tipped whip. "I said," he stops, hands wide, rather regretting the next set of words, "We're not done yet.."
The beast only considers him a second. In the next, it starts lumbering towards him, even picking up the pace in the process.
. 24 . Lisan: 28 (2/5) ( Intimidation: 9 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 13:33:27 GMT -6
There's a deep breath, as the shoulders tighten. Here we go..
The left hand snaps the fingers, to the twinkle of faint hollow magic, and there's suddenly a loud roar coming from his position. It is not his voice, but it lends rather well to something akin to a sarane's roar. The baakir, caught off guard, stumbles a moment as its stride is broken, fins flaring up in its own surprise. But it is still moving, even if slower.
The right hand snaps the fingers as well, to a different sort of arcane force and a polearm apparates in thin air. He grabs the glaive and points it towards the encroaching beast, "Ah! Ah! No!" The beast stumbles further, as it's brain is suddenly having to process several occurrences at once and having trouble. Perhaps its the noise of a well-known predator in the area, or perhaps the sight of a humanoid with a pointy stick reached so far back into its genetic memory as to bring up a vision of its ancestors being chased by said humanoids with pointy sticks - A vision so old, as to be prehistoric.
Whichever the case, the baakir slides to a stop only a few meters from the humanish.
. 25 . Lisan: 28 (3/5) ( Intimidation: 10 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 13:59:15 GMT -6
It's no less happy about the circumstance, but at least it seems smart enough to understand that the pointy stick is more trouble than it's worth. The man's grip on the glaive doesn't loosen, but he merely mutters, "Good." keeping the point square between it and him. "Now let's see if you can be scary without being violent."
The scene has likely escalated him from Irritation back to Threat, but by now it's a familiar presence for the baakir. It's dealt with the Threat before and reduced it to a gnat. Just because a gnat can be still dangerous doesn't mean that it's willing to give ground to it again. Fortunately for him, this is a good thing - The baakir needed to tap into that anger if it ever wanted to succeed in putting other predators on the back foot.
For now, he stands his ground, letting it take in this change of pace, to settle and most importantly, to give its options a strong consideration.
. 26 . Lisan: 28 (4/5) ( Intimidation: 11 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 15:32:57 GMT -6
The verdict, eventually, seems to be that it won't back down. "Good," he grumbles again, "Now let's sharpen that smile. Spook!"
He knows it's coming, and he's prepared to anticipate it, and yet the baakir seems to put his timing off just that small fraction of a second. Blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but with a stamp of hooved feet, a warning trumpet and the sudden flaring of brightly coloured neck frills. Like as not, he still flinches back, cursing to himself.
But no matter, that's still exactly the point - He backs up at the display, and she stays where she is. Except the baakir still stumbles forward to follow him, so the man makes sure the glaive's point remains raised. It's not going to get close to him without having to deal with the pointy end, so it might as well bury any ideas about trying to trample him as he's figuratively fleeing and stick to the proverbial script.
. 27 . Lisan: 29 (0/5) ( Intimidation: 12 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 15:52:54 GMT -6
"Ah! Ah!" he warns again, waving the glaive's point at it. The beast stops the approach, but continues the display for a few more seconds, before finally settling and snorting at him in what he only presumes is disgust mixed with annoyance. A part of him is pretty pleased with that - Means he's doing his job as intended.
Taking it as a sign that the initial desire to murder has surpassed, he takes a step back with an ever-sharp eye on the baakir's movements. It continues to state him down, frills out and ears forward, but does not take a step towards him. "Good.." he murmurs, and takes another step.. then another. Then another. Eventually, he's past the immediate threat range of the baakir and finally allows himself to relax the shoulders, lowering the glaive.
"Good," he calls hoarsely back at the beast. Now, if only it would continue to repeat that.
. 28 . Lisan: 29 (1/5) ( Intimidation: 13 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 15:58:52 GMT -6
Whether the man's approval means much to the beast is unclear, but at the very least it seems to be responding to some commands, even if those were passed down by the owner themselves. He shoulders the glaive, still all the more glad it's far too early in the morning for there to be any living soul to witness this particular scene, and makes a slow loop around the fenced area. He doesn't get close enough to irritate the beast, but he's not far enough for it to be completely at ease either. It's like an ever-present annoyance, that the baakir isn't able to properly shake.
That is not to say its attentions remain solely on him. Other sounds and noises still catch its ears and it still takes in the surroundings from time to time, as any prey would, even trying to nibble up some tree leaves along the way. But it knows he's there, and there's a quiet aura of 'try me' ever present in glimpses, ear turns and heads held high.
. 29 . Lisan: 29 (2/5) ( Intimidation: 14 )
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