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Post by Emery on Mar 10, 2024 20:28:14 GMT -6
After several more agonizing minutes however, the timer went off, ringing loudly from inside Emery's shirt. She dropped the lead so she could pull it out, and Moxie took that as permission to immediately collapse, flopping to the ground with enthusiasm. Emery let him- he was done for now, after all. She turned the timer off, and threw the last of the meat in front of Moxie's head. That revived him enough to at least lay down properly on his belly, feasting on the meal that had been dropped in front of him. "...Good job, Moxie." She said, and sat down next to him. She gently pet his neck. She wasn't normally one for physical affection- it wasn't an effective training measure. But just this once, seeing as he was being calm, she supposed she could throw him a bone. They both had time to take a break now- might as well enjoy it.
Emery 10 Moxie 24.0/24.0 Stamina 15
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 8:25:32 GMT -6
Another day at the training gym. Emery had returned once more with Moxie in tow, but this time she had no aims on training his stamina. She figured he had gotten about as good as she could reasonably expect him to with that. It was time to train up his other natural capabilities as well. Namely, his resistance to damage. He could hit hard, and he could withstand more damage now, but the other creatures he was going to face off against would be able to hit just as hard. She wanted him to be able to simply shrug it off easier instead of tanking through it. Thicker skin, better armor... she ran a hand down his flank. Kito didn't have much in the way of natural armor, not like the plates of a PHIL or even the thick, leathery hide of a thundergug. She was going to need to fix that. Emery 1 Moxie 24.1/24.1 Resistance 1
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 9:23:00 GMT -6
He seemed used to the training gym by now, and to her pleasure, didn't seem afraid of it. After how rough training his stamina was, she was expecting Moxie to develop an aversion to the gym. It would appear however that he didn't seem to mind it just so long as he had time to recover afterwards- and, of course, so long as Emery fed him. He stood patiently while Emery got him checked in for his third training session. She wasn't sure how many of these they'd have to do- they only had so much time before the tournament began. For now though they weren't off track- Emery just had to keep up a solid pace and they'd be fine. She placed the pen back down on the paper and slid it back across the desk before tugging gently on Moxie's lead, walking him further into the facility's depths.
Emery 2 Moxie 24.2/24.2 Resistance 2
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 9:45:27 GMT -6
She walked through the halls once more, with Moxie just behind her. The training gym was a lot emptier today, though that was by design. Emery specifically picked a time and day of the week when she suspected most people would be at work, giving her the time and freedom to choose whatever room she wanted. Training resistance could be a... specialized affair, and many of the rooms in the resistance wing of the gym were single occupancy with very unique equipment. If there were even just a couple other people around and training, she could be sitting there for hours waiting for one of them to open up. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case today- several of the rooms stood empty, and Emery apparently had her pick of the litter. She drummed her fingers on her thigh, wondering which one should should pick. Finally, she came to a stop in front of one of the doors.
Emery 3 Moxie 24.3/24.3 Resistance 3
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 9:51:21 GMT -6
"Sandblasting" it read in large letters on the door. It was an evocative name, though she was familiar with the process. An individual grain of sand flicked onto someone did nothing, but the sensation of being caught in a sandstorm was a painful, stinging experience. It was a room unnecessary for creatures already used to a life in the desert, but could be brutally punishing to a creature not used to it. The idea of resistance training however, was to impress upon a creature an experience that was challenging and difficult to push through, but not actually physically damaging. That would be... bad. Emery wasn't in the business of actually hurting her pets, that was for sure. It would sting, but it would toughen him up and make him more likely to shrug off other blows in the future- that was what she was here for. To KEEP her pets from getting hurt.
Emery 4 Moxie 24.4/24.4 Resistance 4
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 9:55:12 GMT -6
She opened the door, leading Moxie inside. The room had two parts to it- one was the actual training floor. She felt the grit of the leftover sand crunch under her feet as she walked in. She supposed that no matter how hard you cleaned, you could never truly get rid of all of it. There were small holes in the opposite wall where the sand was blown out, and similar holes in the floor for it to fall back through to be recycled. The floor itself was made out of a material she couldn't quite place- tough enough to not get ground away, but not concrete like the ground outside. And then, there was a door on the wall that led into a glass observation chamber. Emery would be standing there, guiding her pet through this while staying safe from the sand herself. That was important- small bits of abrasive material and sensitive electronics didn't mix.
Emery 5 Moxie 25.0/25.0 Resistance 5
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 10:49:26 GMT -6
Moxie sniffed around the room carefully, and almost immediately sneezed as he took in a lungful of sand. Emery sighed as he wretched awkwardly, not having a good time about it. "Careful, Moxie." She said. "Let's not have you down for the count already." She hummed. Still, she took the opportunity of him exploring the room to enter the observation chamber. It was about the same width of the room, about twenty feet, so she could easily walk back and forth across it. The whole expanse was made of glass as well, so he could hear her the whole time. In addition, it had "talking windows" on it, small holes in the glass that were then secondarily covered by some sort of thin plastic so she could still give him orders through it. Finally, the door had a slideable slot on it, which would allow her to deposit treats through it.
Emery 6 Moxie 25.1/25.1 Resistance 6
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 10:55:32 GMT -6
The treats she had plenty of. She had stocked up on frozen bits of meat before starting Moxie's tournament training in anticipation- and because it was cheaper to buy in bulk. She got out the cooler and opened it, observing the treats within. Then, she heard a bonking noise- and found Moxie's head pressed against the glass, staring at her eagerly. "For goodness' sake. You can't even smell it from there." She said, but he simply drooled in response. Perhaps by now he had learned to recognize the sound of her getting the cooler out, and knew what it meant. How interesting that he could be so perceptive, but only when it came to food. She sighed, and checked the controls for the sand blaster. It was easy enough, having an intensity setting and a timer along with a big red emergency stop button. It was so easy a child could operate it.
Emery 7 Moxie 25.2/25.2 Resistance 7
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 13:55:49 GMT -6
She wasn't a child though. She knew she was going to have to take careful note of Moxie's mood and condition to make sure he was handling this well. Again, the name of the game was not to actually cause him any harm, simply discomfort that he could learn to resist. She didn't want him getting sandblasted to the point of bleeding. To get started, she turned the machine on to the lowest setting. She immediately heard machinery whirring to life, a humming in the walls and the flow of air. From the far side of the sand room Emery could see a few grains start to skitter across the floor, and Moxie turned that way to investigate the source of the noise. Emery didn't want him to do that though- she could easily imagine sand getting in his eyes right off the bat and ending this whole venture early.
Emery 8 Moxie 25.3/25.3 Resistance 8
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 13:58:21 GMT -6
Instead, she called out to the occasus kito through the wall. "Moxie, follow." She ordered, and started pacing back and forth across the wall, slowly. Obedient as usual, Moxie followed her, though he didn't really understand why. As they walked, she could see grains of sand pinging off of his hide and sliding down to the floor below. It was only a couple, though she noticed that he started blinking a few times before his nictating membrane slid across his eyes to protect them. Emery briefly wished she had one of those before she remembered that she wore an entire helmet at all times. Regardless, the sand didn't seem to be bothering him- yet. On the third or so loop back and forth she popped a piece of meat out through the slot and praised Moxie for his good work while she walked back to the sand room's control panel.
Emery 9 Moxie 25.4/25.4 Resistance 9
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 14:07:59 GMT -6
For a moment she worried that it might not be good for Moxie to eat that much sand, but glancing back it looked like he had managed to grab the meat before it had even hit the ground. So that wasn't something she needed to take into account. Now that he was ready for the next step however, she cranked up the sandblaster to its next setting. The flow of sand was definitely visible now, and Moxie noticed it pelting his hide immediately. He hissed at the wall loudly and swiped a leg out to try and hit the sand out of the way, but it was of no use. It just kept coming. He tried to huddle up in the corner, making a displeased sound in the back of his throat, but Emery tapped on the glass to get his attention. "Moxie. Follow." She commanded, and began to pace back and forth once more.
Emery 10 Moxie 26.0/26.0 Resistance 10
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 14:19:28 GMT -6
She needed to keep him moving- to accept and become toughened by the sand instead of simply putting up with it. It wouldn't do if only his haunches were toughened up and the front of his body was still baby smooth. He whined for a while, but Emery simply repeated the command until he finally got up, pacing back and forth in front of constant waves of sand. His eyes seemed to be fine with the help of the membrane, but she couldn't help but notice that he was keeping his mouth tightly shut for once. She merely had to shrug at that- it wasn't like she could sandblast his organs to toughen THOSE up as well. She kept going back and forth like that, rewarding him every few loops just to keep him moving. She looked for signs that he was getting used to it- signs that she could then use as an excuse to turn it up more.
Emery 11 Moxie 26.1/26.1 Resistance 11
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 14:42:10 GMT -6
It didn't work quickly, though she wasn't expecting it to. Slowly but surely though, Moxie stopped reacting to the sand as much. His posture straightened out, his steps were more confident, he didn't seem like he was cringing as much. Emery gave him extra food for his good behavior, and he only improved from there with the extra motivation. Eventually it got to the point where she felt the need to crank up the sand to the next level, clicking the knob up one more. The vents on the far wall started kicking out even more sand, lending the entire room a yellowed tint. She could see it piling up in the corners before sliding into the holes in the ground. Every single grand pinged against Moxie like a bead made of pure irritation, sliding against his skin in a way that couldn't be comfortable. Once again Moxie groaned with displeasure.
Emery 12 Moxie 26.2/26.2 Resistance 12
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 14:51:24 GMT -6
To his credit though, he did not stop. Cringed, yes, hesitated, also yes, but Moxie kept walking to follow his owner as she paced back and forth behind the glass. The sand covered every inch of his body, toughening up every exposed part, which was to say, all of them. She could hear him making unhappy noises, albeit muffled from the glass, but he kept up his steady pace. Emery, wanting to help him out at least a little bit, made sure to keep feeding him chunks of meat to make sure he kept going. He accepted each one of them gracious, grabbing them right from the slot as she fed them through. It made sense to her- if they made it into the room proper, by this point they would instantly be covered in a thick layer of inedible sand, or even worse, would get lost in one of the drifts on the ground.
Emery 13 Moxie 26.3/26.3 Resistance 13
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Post by Emery on Mar 11, 2024 14:53:57 GMT -6
After several more minutes of this and who knew how many paces back and forth along the wall, Emery finally felt the urge to turn up the sandblaster to its final, highest setting. She clicked it over, and the whirring of the machinery became almost deafening. It must have been even louder for Moxie, who was now being pelted with hurricane force winds in addition to the sand. She was glad that he had already gotten the pattern of their walking together down, as she wasn't sure he would be able to hear her if she gave a command now. His eyes were squinted as close to shut as possible too, with his nictating membrane slid over what little sliver was left to protect them. His legs pounded through thick dunes as they walked back and forth, his nostrils closed to slits. Even his leaves he kept pressed as tight to his body as possible.
Emery 4 Moxie 26.4/26.4 Resistance 14
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