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Post by Emery on Mar 12, 2024 20:46:02 GMT -6
She kept repeating the exercise, and to her delight he kept getting better every time. Soon he barely even noticed the tires, flying across them with ease, carefully side stepping or even stepping directly on top of them to launch himself at the food. It had taken him some time, but he had finally gotten the hang of navigating difficult terrain and handling it speedily. Emery was glad to see it- he was going to need that skill in future fights. And admittedly, she was glad he had gotten to actually have a bit of fun doing gym training for once. He had had so many miserable experiences with it so far that it was probably a relief to have a day out where he didn't have to suffer for his skills. It would keep him from developing an aversion to this place, that was for sure. Not to mention- he got a lot of tasty treats for his trouble.
Emery 10 Moxie 30.0/30.0 Dexterity 15
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 8:27:49 GMT -6
This would probably be Emery and Moxie's final time at the training gym together. The deadline for the tournament was drawing near, and Moxie was reaching the peak of his physical capabilities. It wasn't difficult to figure that out by looking at him- it was clear to anyone with eyes that he was more bulked up than your average kito, the muscles on his neck and legs rippling under his skin. She had trained him well, but it was starting to be time to move on to other things. Still, there was one last thing she wanted to accomplish- improving his resistance. She had done it a bit already, but she was sure she could push it even further, making his skin and leaves iron-hard. Or at least, letting him get used to taking more damage. Moxie seemed to be in a pretty good mood today, and that was a good thing. Emery 1 Moxie 30.1/30.1 Resistance 1
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 8:49:39 GMT -6
After all, this was going to be his roughest training session yet. His previous time training resistance was easily his least favorite training session, and had left him quite upset for a number of days afterwards. Unfortunately, she now had to train him in the same field again today. Given that he was that much stronger now, it would probably be even more difficult to push him to his limit too, increasing the amount of time he was going to have to spend here. He was in a good mood now, but... probably not for much longer. It didn't take Emery long to sign him in- though the front desk worker knew Moxie well enough by now to give him a friendly scritch around the frill, which he appreciated. Then, they proceeded further into the complex, with Emery making a beeline towards the resistance training wing as quickly as she could manage.
Emery 2 Moxie 30.2/30.2 Resistance 2
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 9:00:25 GMT -6
The sooner they could get this over and done with, the better. She already knew what room she was looking for- she had researched it in advance this time and had actually booked out the room. She didn't even know that was a thing she could do before, but apparently so. And that was a good thing too- she didn't want to deal with the hassle of waiting for someone else to finish this close to the finish line. Moxie trotted along behind her obediently until she finally reached the room, pushing open the door. A wave of humidity struck her, and Moxie's leaves perked up curiously. She stepped inside and observed her surroundings, a rush of water audible even now. Normally this room was reserved for more amphibious creatures, but she knew it would work well for Moxie as well. A pool of shallow water was set into the floor, about two feet deep.
Emery 3 Moxie 30.3/30.3 Resistance 3
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 9:04:21 GMT -6
And then, towards the far side of the pool was a waterfall that spilled out from an overhang set out from the wall, such that Emery could easily walk behind the waterfall and have her pet close at hand. It wasn't very wide or hard right now, just enough to keep the pipes clear. It was perfect for training Moxie. As it stood, occasus kito were fire based creatures. Boiling blood ran hot under his skin, and while he was enough of a plant to enjoy some water, huge amounts of it were miserable to the part of him that was a flickering flame. He was particularly susceptible to it, and so Emery wanted to train him to resist it- or at least get used to it. Even now he cringed away from the pool, hoping he wouldn't have to go in there even though the waterfall was only a mere trickle right now. But, he would- Emery would make sure of it.
Emery 4 Moxie 30.4/30.4 Resistance 4
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 9:06:50 GMT -6
She quietly tugged Moxie towards the pool, and he croaked with displeasure before finally stepping in, shaking his head as the water splashed against his belly. That was as far as it went though, and Emery knew that even if he laid down fully his head would still be well above the surface- there was no danger of him drowning today. "Moxie, follow." She said as she approached the waterfall. Her kito reluctantly followed after her, loudly sloshing through the water as he did. Using his leash, she positioned him underneath it, the stream no worse than a sink. There were a set of controls on the wall under the overhang however that could make it much, much worse for him- up to a thundering cascade of water. Even that she expected him to resist- to learn to build up his defenses over time. For now though, a trickle was fine.
Emery 5 Moxie 31.0/31.0 Resistance 5
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 10:50:01 GMT -6
He croaked uncomfortably even now. Emery tested the water with her hand- it was perfectly room temperature, not cold at all. Moxie was just being a baby about all of this. "You'll be fine." She said, and pulled out his cooler full of treat. "Here. Have one." She said, rewarding him nice and early for good behavior. He didn't need to do much for this- in fact, ideally he wouldn't move at all, and would sit there and take the force of the water without budging. He grumbled, but still accepted the meat, and Emery let him sit there for a moment longer before turning to the controls. "Alright. Let's get this started properly." She said, and started to fiddle with them. There were options for temperature and force- she would probably just be messing with the latter. He was already used to high temperatures, and she didn't want to risk actually hurting him with freezing cold water.
Emery 6 Moxie 31.1/31.1 Resistance 6
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 10:53:49 GMT -6
Force it was, then. Emery turned the dial up a bit and watched as more water started spilling faster over the top of the overhang. She kept a firm grip on Moxie's lead. Sure enough, he tried to jerk away, but Emery held him fast. "Moxie. No." She scolded gently. Moxie placed his head on the ground next to her. His back and body were still firmly in the water, but his head was peering up at her face with his big puppy dog eyes. "That won't work on me. You know better." She stated plainly. She wasn't going to give him a treat for refusing to behave, that was for sure. She left him at that setting on the waterfall machine for a while, until he finally got bored of staring at her- or perhaps realized that she wasn't going to show mercy, and eventually pulled his head back a bit.
Emery 7 Moxie 31.2/31.2 Resistance 7
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 10:57:21 GMT -6
That was when Emery finally gave him a treat. She popped open the lid of the cooler, grabbed a chunk of meat, and offered it to Moxie. The kito took it graciously, nipping it carefully out of her hand despite his large teeth. She gave him a gentle pat on the head as extra praise before turning back to the dial. She moved it up another notch and the water poured out even more- before it had coalesced into a single stream instead of a sheet, but that stream was now getting wider and wider. Moxie's entire body with the exception of his head and tail were wet now, and the stream probably would feel like a particularly intense shower if Emery stood in it. The kito clearly didn't like it, but knew better than to try jerking away by now- the name of the game was to tolerate it.
Emery 8 Moxie 31.3/31.3 Resistance 8
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 11:45:56 GMT -6
She let him sit like that for a while, and eventually gave him another piece of meat. He accepted it, but continued thrashing his tail in the water angrily. Emery did feel a bit bad about all this, in whatever shriveled depth of her heart that was still capable of it. At least with the other forms of training, there was something for him to do to keep his mind off of the exhausting ordeals he had to go through. This time though, all he could do was just stand there- he couldn't even walk around or investigate an object or exercise. All he had to do was sit there and take it. "...You're doing a good job, Moxie." Emery said, giving one of her rare instances of praise. It probably didn't help much. With that out of the way however, she turned to the dials and turned the waterfall up again.
Emery 9 Moxie 31.4/31.4 Resistance 9
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 11:48:09 GMT -6
The waterfall ticked up even more- now it was a constant stream that spattered against Moxie's back before falling back into the pool. He grunted uncomfortably as mist started forming, coating the parts of his body that were still try in a fine layer of water droplets. Emery zipped up her coat a bit further- she really hoped the humidity wouldn't affect her electronics. But if it did, well... perhaps it was only fair that she suffered as much as her pet. Experimentally, she stuck her cane into the stream, and struggled to hold it upright- the water was coming down with some real force now, pounding against Moxie's skin. He was a lot more muscular than her though, and could probably hand it a lot better. Sure enough, he stood stock still for a few minutes under the stream until Emery finally gave him another treat for his efforts.
Emery 10 Moxie 32.0/32.0 Resistance 10
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 11:50:55 GMT -6
It didn't take long for Moxie to eat his food, and once he was done Emery turned up the waterfall even further. It was truly roaring now- anyone who was walking by the room could probably hear it and know the room was occupied. Emery stepped away a bit further from Moxie as the spatter threatened to soak her pants. She closed a few vents in her helm, not wanting droplets to fly in through them. Moxie didn't make any sound however- perhaps it was because he was getting used to it, or perhaps it was because he was trying to focus. Emery looked down- sure enough, his legs were starting to tremble from the force of staying upright, from resisting the stream. His leaves were all pulled downwards at an unnatural angle from the water, and Emery was glad that they were fixed on well enough to not just snap off outright.
Emery 11 Moxie 32.1/32.1 Resistance 11
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 11:58:00 GMT -6
Emery offered him a treat, but to her surprise he didn't take it. He looked at it with fierce attention, and she saw the muscles in his neck flex, but he didn't lean out to take it. Perhaps his current situation was so strenuous that he couldn't summon the strength to adjust himself- only to resist the water. Emery didn't really want to get herself wet, but... well, there was little other choice here, now wasn't there? She sighed and leaned out, and Moxie opened his mouth in anticipation the second he realized what she was doing. With a little jerk of the wrist she tossed the meat the rest of the way into his mouth and he shut his jaws with a terrifyingly loud snap- though it was admittedly dampened a bit by the ongoing roar of the waterfall. Emery leaned back, already regretting how much water was soaking into her sleeve, but at least Moxie was satisfied.
Emery 12 Moxie 32.2/32.2 Resistance 12
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 12:52:33 GMT -6
She shook off her arm and looked back at the waterfall controls. The dial only had a little bit left to go before it was at full strength. She breathed deeply, reached out, and clicked it the rest of the way up, only stopping when she felt the resistance at the end of the track. The waterfall's roar increased in volume both in terms of sound and amount of water. The roar was such that she couldn't hear her own voice anymore when she tried to speak to command Moxie, and she no longer had any choice in not getting soaked. She kept a firm grip on Moxie's leash, but she felt herself slipping towards the pool as he moved- though the mist was making it difficult to see HOW he was moving, exactly. He didn't seem to be leaving the waterfall- but then, he collapsed, the water finally forcing him down as his legs folded under him.
Emery 13 Moxie 32.3/32.3 Resistance 13
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Post by Emery on Mar 13, 2024 13:17:20 GMT -6
Emery skidded forward a few inches as Moxie croaked loudly. Either he hadn't been expecting the increased deluge, or he simply lost the strength to stand up. "Come on, you can do it! Up!" Emery said, though her voice was drowned out. She tugged on the leash, and she saw Moxie move slightly- or at least his head did, as it was the only part of him left above water. It surged downwards, disappearing beneath the foam, and Emery finally let go of the leash. If she hadn't she would have been pulled in herself and, honestly, probably electrocuted. She looked anxiously at the water, for any sign of Moxie drowning. Her hand hovered over the dial, ready to turn the water off at any time. But then she saw the sign of his stripes from underwater, mere moments before he burst back to the top, having collected his legs under him again.
Emery 14 Moxie 32.4/32.4 Resistance 14
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