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Post by NPC on Sept 16, 2023 21:13:30 GMT -6
Welcome to the Obedience Trial Show Ring!Please remember to include the following: - A copy of your application from the registration thread in your first post - A list of every item, move, ability, trick, and skill your creature used in a each post Keep in mind that everything you intend to use in the show ring will have to be officially trained. Check the tutorial for any extra information you might need! The following are allowed to show in this thread: The registration deadline is Midnight, September 30th, US Central Time: Countdown
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Post by Zenjesi on Sept 22, 2023 13:10:09 GMT -6
Oh this was bad. This was very, very bad.
This was not what Zenjesi had expected at all. What had they expected? A small room with a judge or two with clipboards. Maybe they would be wearing lab coats. Perhaps they would give Zenjesi a funny look but the focus could be on their Mosca performing a couple of basic commands.
This was not that. Of course, they had not discovered as much immediately. They had arrived via a back door, wandered around some hallways, been pointed in the correct direction... And now, well. Now it was too late.
Spotlights, glitz, golden decor, a red carpet? Zenjesi was frozen in place, mouth even hanging open slightly in what could only be described as horror. Something bumped into the satyr's side and they flinched, snapping back to reality. It was Synkka. She had nudged Zenjesi's elbow with her head. The satyr let out a strange combination of a sigh and laugh, reaching one arm around the large feline and pulling her closer for a moment for comfort. She did not protest, and in fact, her tail swished around, brushing Zenjesi's other side for just a moment. Then she pulled back. That was all the affection she would allow, but it was enough.
Zen: 0.05 Synkka: 4.2, 11.2
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Post by Zenjesi on Sept 22, 2023 13:11:22 GMT -6
Zenjesi exhaled again, then adjusted the sash around their waist with shaking hands. The other contestants were here. They were confident, collected, prepared... Everything from a Wiurn to a... ... what was that? Zenjesi was momentarily distracted by the sight of a... rock wearing a collar? And then they were moving, being pushed ahead onto the stadium grounds. Synkka had fallen into careful step, just brushing the satyr's side. It could not be said that she was thrilled to be here. The bright lights and the crowds of people were far from her favored environment. But Zenjesi was here, so she was here. In the same moment, both hoped this would be over soon. Who knew? Taming a Mosca was no simple feat. Perhaps they would receive credit for that alone. Somehow, Zenjesi had ended up first in line. They certainly hadn't intended as much. It would have been better to go last. Perhaps 30 minutes after all the others... when there was no one left to watch. But that was not what happened. A massive ring of people surrounded them. Zenjesi turned in a slow circle, taking in the sight for just a moment. Well... there was no chance anyone would be able to hear their whispering anyway. Best just to start. It was a good thing Synkka had keen ears and was familiar with Zenjesi's hand commands. " Synkka," Zenjesi murmured, raising a hand, and though they could hardly hear their own voice in this space, the Mosca immediately turned to face them. They found themselves smiling despite their current existence in this nightmare scenario. She was still their cat. They gestured again, adding, " Sit." Immediately, Synkka sank down gracefully, tail curling around her paws. She didn't understand where they were or what the purpose of this was, but Zenjesi gave her a quick pat on back, so she supposed things were going to plan. Zen: 0.1 Synkka: 4.4, 11.4
(Demonstrating: Name, Sit)
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Post by Zenjesi on Sept 22, 2023 13:12:17 GMT -6
Zenjesi nodded. That was most of what Synkka knew. This would be over soon. Just one more trick. They turned and began to pace a bit further across the ring, gathering themselves. Meanwhile, Synkka stood, knowing she had done as requested. Now, looking for something else to do, her eyes landed on a Panilla still waiting to come onstage. Her ears pricked, her attention focused... she dropped into a lower stance and began to creep back towards -- "Synkka, no!" Zenjesi hissed, turning in time to see the stalking begin. The Mosca froze upon hearing the word, one paw still poised. Her tail flicked in annoyance. "Synkka! Come!" This command was given with more desperation than Zenjesi would've liked, but better that than their Mosca devour another pet on stage. Rustling her wings, Synkka turned away from the Panilla with one more swish of her tail, quietly padding her way over to Zenjesi. The satyr, for lack of anything better to do, threw their arms forward towards Synkka, whispering a nearly silent "ta-da" as she approached. And then, with nary another word, Zenjesi turned and fled offstage, the Mosca bounding along behind.
Zen: 0.15 Synkka: 4.6, 11.6
(Demonstrating: No, Come)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:30:53 GMT -6
Standing just outside the show ring, Noa checked over their preparations one last time, a somewhat sour expression on his face. The contest was for obedience, but they had expressly forbidden having the entered creatures simply hit a dummy over and over with the attack commands they knew. Apparently that wasn’t ‘interesting’ or ‘fun to watch’. What was fun to watch about a dog jumping through hoops and the like, he would have liked to know. Wasn’t this type of contest going to be boring to begin with? They had already entered, of course, and with Rhys’s help, he’d managed to devise a routine to get around that while showcasing… well, honestly, not as much of Avander’s capabilities as he would have liked, but enough. He just didn’t care for the hassle and the extra theatrics they’d had to introduce because of it. 1
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:31:22 GMT -6
Avander had been groomed until his scales shone, so his mood was about as good as Noa had ever seen it. Not for the first time, Noa wondered how Avander had ended up like this. He was pretty sure he hadn’t been selecting for vanity when he’d picked out Avander as a hatchling… But so long as he got the job done, Noa supposed there was no sense in quibbling over things like that, especially now.
Once he was sure everything was in place, Noa adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves one more time, then said, “We’re on. Follow my signals, like we practiced.” They had gone over the routine a few times, just so Avander understood what he was doing, and wouldn’t get confused in the middle of the show. He was clever enough, and Noa would be directing him through the ribbon, but he was still just a Wiurn, and he had been trained for combat and defense rather than shows like this.
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:32:21 GMT -6
When the spotlight turned on and lit up a part of the ring, it was on Noa, walking on alone. Although he had given a little speech to open some of his routines, this time he went without. Instead, he snapped his fingers, spoke the trigger phrase under his breath, and a moment later, Avander appeared next to him as his Collar of Bonding activated.
Here he paused for effect: to let the audience take in Avander’s appearance, and so the next bit would land. “Ah,” he said, as though only just realizing something. “This isn’t that kind of show, is it? No, let’s try this again.” He waved his hand as if to shoo the Wiurn, and Avander walked back out of the ring, with a spotlight following him until he had disappeared back into the darkness.
Once he was out of sight, Noa called out to him again. “Avander!”
Avander walked back into the ring, accompanied by the same spotlight, coming to a stop right in front of Noa.
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(Demonstrating: Name)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:33:19 GMT -6
Smirking slightly, Noa said, “Good boy. Now, stay.” With slightly exaggerating, mocking movements, Noa accompanied his words with a hand signal, then walked halfway across the ring. Turning on his heel, he said “Come!” On that signal, Avander ran up to Noa, stopping right in front of him again.
“Good. Follow.” This time, Noa led Avander back to the other side of the ring, the Wiurn keeping pace neatly beside him. Then came another command: “Lay down.” Avander stopped, and flattened himself onto the ground. “Crawl,” Noa said, and kept walking; this time Avander crawled rather than walked alongside him. He couldn’t move very quickly like this, but he was so much bigger than Noa that he didn’t have trouble keeping up with Noa’s walking speed anyway. They reached a part of the stage where a few panels had been set up, and now Noa said, “Find cover.” On his command, Avander crawled behind one of the panels and stayed there.
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(Demonstrating: Stay, Come, Follow, Lay Down, Combat Crawl, Cover)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:34:03 GMT -6
Noa never found these sorts of tricks particularly impressive, especially considering what else Avander was capable of, but it was perhaps a bit novel simply because of Avander’s size. Still, now that the initial shock of Avander’s sudden appearance had worn off, the crowd seemed to be somewhat at a loss as to how to react. Some of it was certainly Noa’s reputation, or perhaps even Avander’s; as a champion in the Pit, they probably hadn’t expected to see him doing cheap tricks like this. They were right, of course, but Noa had wanted to mess with them a little bit. Here he paused again, really let the awkward silence sink in for a beat, before quietly saying, “Roar.”
A rumble like thunder echoed through the arena, and Noa had to school himself so that he didn’t laugh outright at the startled reactions he saw rippling through the crowd.
5
(Demonstrating: Roar)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:34:43 GMT -6
With another snap of his fingers and a murmured word, the Collar of Bonding brought Avander back to Noa’s side. The Wiurn was still making a low rumble, as if preparing for another roar; he watched the crowd, but now his head was lowered, his tail lashing from side to side. They had practiced this too, the pretense of threat. “Thank you, Avander, that’s enough. Quiet,” Noa said, and the rumbling came to a stop. “I think our audience is getting a little bored with this.” Of course, Noa’s intent had been to engineer some of that boredom; if he had to create an ‘exciting’ routine, he was going to justify it by giving them a real taste of something dull first. “Let’s spice things up a bit, shall we?” He snapped his fingers again, but this time, rather than Avander apparating out of thin air, a series of torches were set up -- some on posts on the ground, others lowering from the ceiling. 6 (Demonstrating: Be Quiet)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:36:06 GMT -6
Avander lowered himself, and Noa climbed onto his back, settling between the Wiurn’s neck and the shoulders of his wings. Lifting a smaller torch, Noa lit the end of it with a bit of magical flame. Then, directing Avander with spoken commands, Noa steered him around the ring, lighting the larger torches with the small one one at a time. Avander went forward, stopped, and turned on cue, speeding up in longer stretches between torches and slowing down once they closed in on one.
And once all the torches on the ground were lit, Noa had Avander take to the air, where he urged Avander to go higher and higher until they nearly hit the ceiling, before diving back down to hover on front of the first torch. Once all the airborne torches were lit too, Avander landed neatly in an arena that was now filled with light -- to almost an uncomfortable degree.
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(Demonstrating: Carry Rider, Go, Stop, Turn Left/Right, Faster/Slow Down, Fly, Higher, Dive, Hover, Land)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:40:28 GMT -6
It was on this blinding stage that yet more targets were set up, while Noa dismounted as gracefully as he could -- this having been the part that had taken him the most practice while they were rehearsing. He rode well, but he didn’t have the physical strength to manage a showy dismount like vaulting from Avander’s back. He settled for using a bit of magic to allow himself to drift gently down, his coat billowing around him like a cape, while Avander remained standing at his full height.
Avander was standing, poised, waiting for another command. Once Noa had dusted himself off, he gave one: “Tail strike.” The response was immediate. Avander’s tail lashed out and struck one of the targets, a balloon that popped with an audible ‘bang’, releasing a cloud of colorful confetti into the air. There was no hesitation, despite the over-brightness of the stage, and the Wiurn's aim was as true as ever -- the result of painstaking training.
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(Demonstrating: Tail Strike, Diurnal Spirit)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:41:33 GMT -6
Noa wasted no time and called out another command, and this time Avander struck a different balloon with the sting on his tail, usually hidden by the long fall of mane. Another balloon fell to Avander’s claws, tearing the thing to ribbons. Yet another was burst by a blow from the Wiurn’s wings. By this point, Avander himself was covered in the confetti, and shook his head, scattering more of it in his wake.
“This last bit will be a little dangerous, but bear with us. We’re professionals,” Noa said. “Avander, Wall of Ice, if you would.”
They had practiced this too: Avander glowered at a set of special scaffolding that had been set up for him, and the wall of ice knit itself into existence high up in the air. It had taken them some practice before Avander could do it properly, but here, their practice paid off.
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(Demonstrating: Poison Sting, Shred, Wing Buff, Wall of Ice)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:44:26 GMT -6
Hanging from aloft like a great chandelier, the wall’s characteristic icicles refracted the light from the torches, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that scattered across the stage. Noa stayed silent a moment, to give the audience some time to appreciate the spectacle.
Then, he said, “Sonic blast.”
A rumble built up in Avander’s chest, which was the only other warning the audience had before Avander loosed a thunderous blast of sound right at the wall of ice. It shattered instantly above the Wiurn, and with nothing tethering it to the scaffolding, great shards of ice began plummeting towards him. The speed at which they came at him was almost too fast for thought, but as if he sensed their presence, he dodged effortlessly away from the first. Then, on Noa's command, he blinked out of existence away from the next, hitting the ground running as he reappeared, dashing away from yet more falling ice.
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(Demonstrating: Sonic Blast, Danger Sense, Teleport, Dash)
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Post by Noa on Sept 29, 2023 21:50:21 GMT -6
At one point he seemed to teleport again, but if one was listening to the commands that Noa was giving, they would catch on to the trick: it was merely Avander going invisible and dashing again and again in quick succession, which looked similar but wasn't quite the same. It wasn't instantaneous the way it had been last time, and without real intangibility, there was the chance that he might be struck -- after all, falling ice didn't aim by sight. But here, Avander's training and combat experience served him well, and he escaped the falling ice entirely unscathed.
The icicles had also conveniently smashed most of the torches on the ground. As for the rest, Noa put them out with a subtle bit of wind magic. The stage was suddenly plunged into darkness, which set the stage for their last trick. Avander flew into the air again, finding his way in the darkness just as well as he had done in the blinding light.
11
(Demonstrating: Phase Out, Endurance, Nightvision)
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