Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:10:39 GMT -6
She was beginning to learn what was expected of her, though it wasn’t an especially fast process. She wasn't incapable of learning a new process, it just took her a bit longer than more curious creatures.
When they got to the end of the poles Nina had set up, they turned around to do it again the opposite way. A cleverer creature may be able to figure out the pattern, but she didn’t think she had to worry about that with Laputa. They continued that process back and forth a few times until Nina was satisfied with their progress.
“Great job, Laputa, now stop. Stay here.” She instructed very clearly. This time, because she was not at full sprint, Laputa was able to come to a gentler stop and plopped her bum into the dirt without issue. Perhaps she was becoming more graceful afterall. Nina was pleased with everything they had done so far, but it was time to make it even more difficult.
[13.5, 18]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:11:06 GMT -6
While she was arranging the poles for her to weave between, she noticed that some of them allowed for a pole to be set up sideways for jumping over. Now it was a bit naive of her to think that Laputa could compete in a hurdle race, but she could set some low bars for her to jump over and some high ones for her to duck under. Between the two, it should be a challenging enough obstacle course for the next stage.
Nina floated from pole to pole setting up the cross beams. It was nice how everything was modular and clicked together easily. She appreciated all of the fine craftsmanship that went into it. She made a mental note to do something similar for her own academy, though perhaps to a lesser extent. The training gym was here if she needed it, so she didn’t need to replicate everything they were doing. Just enough to enhance her own abilities as a trainer.
[13.6, 18.2]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:11:20 GMT -6
“Are you ready, Laputa?” Nina asked, landing next to her. She patted the golem again and gave her arm a gentle hug. She wasn’t too sure that Laputa liked being hugged, but she appreciated it, so she did it anyway. She wanted to treat Laputa just like any of her other creatures, and not be prejudiced against her lack of expression. If Laputa indicated that she hated it, well, then she would do something else, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
This next stage would require a bit more encouragement than the last two. Laputa had figured out how to follow her and how to speed up when goaded into it, but she was not yet familiar with jumping and ducking. Nina called her over a ways away from the hurdles to give them room to speed up. Then she did the same thing as last time to get Laputa to follow after her. She flew backwards until she was about to bump into a pole, then she stopped.
[13.7, 18.4]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:11:42 GMT -6
Nina slowly hopped over the cross-pole and back again. “Up and over, Laputa, up!” she called. She demonstrated again, and called Laputa toward her. Laputa still didn’t get it, obviously, because she charged forward and smashed through the pole. Thankfully it just fell over without breaking into a million bits. It was designed for that. Of course it was. Sigh of relief number six.
“No Laputa, up and over!” she said. She set the pole back up again, flew back to the starting line, and tried again. They repeated the action a few times until she seemed to get the idea. She slowed down and stepped over the pole delicately. Well, that was better than smashing into it at least. Nina considered that a win and praised her accordingly.
The two of them spent some time hopping over the same two low hurdles again and again until Nina thought she had the right idea. Good. Now it was time for ducking.
[13.8, 18.6]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:12:02 GMT -6
Nina flew under the first hurdle. It was just shorter than Laputa herself, so she would at least have to lower her head to get under it. Instead, she bumped it with her head and looked confused.
“Under, Laputa, like this,” Nina said. She flew under again, exaggeratedly ducking her head. Laputa looked like she wanted to jump over the hurdle but couldn’t figure it out. She knew she couldn’t jump that high, but the idea of going under was still a bit lost on her.
Nina landed and ducked as low as she could to the ground. She clapped her hands and asked for Laputa to come over. Would she get it then? Laputa looked at Nina on the ground and ducked her own head to mimic it. “Good Laputa, now come through, come Laputa!” Nina called.
Finally, Laputa ducked under the pole. It finally made sense! She looked proud, or at least Nina thought she did. Though she would admit that she was probably imagining it.
[13.9, 18.8]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:12:16 GMT -6
Just like they had done with the jumping hurdles, Nina patiently practiced the motion again and again until Laputa could do it on her own with little encouragement.
Now it was time to put the two together. This would be the ultimate test of seeing if Laputa could put the concepts to good use. This would eventually lead to her being better at catching her opponents as well as dodging their attacks. The ability to think on her toes and react to something as it was happening. She might not ever be as fast as a Mosca, but this should help greatly, Nina thought.
Nina called out to Laputa once more, encouraging her to get a running start before reaching the first hurdle. Straight up and over it. Perfect. The way she jumped was more like an awkward climb and flop, but it worked. Then it was the next one, and another before they had to duck. Laputa paused for a brief second before ducking and continuing on.
[14, 19]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:12:55 GMT -6
She hadn’t been running the entire time, but that was okay. She could keep going with just brief pauses at first, and they could practice to make it more seamless. Nina had been at it for so long that she didn’t even notice when the outdoor lights kicked on as the sun faded away behind the horizon. They had been training for ages, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet, and as far as she could tell, Laputa wasn’t either. Plus, they had taken plenty of breaks, right?
Under, over, over, under. There was a pattern to the ducking and weaving, but Laputa was clearly reacting instead of memorizing it. She paused for less and less time with each pass, no longer thinking about what she must do but reacting by instinct. Finally, she looked ready for the next and final phase of the agility training. Even though it was the last task, Nina knew it would be the most difficult as well.
[14.1, 19.2]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:13:10 GMT -6
“Good girl Laputa,” Nina said, patting her again. It was odd to pat a creature made of crystal, but it was also pretty odd to be made of metal, so she hardly thought anything of it.
When Nina first noticed the ball throwing machine, she wanted to laugh. It was what her and Marta had been doing for an entire afternoon! Now she would be able to compare the progress between last time and this time. She really hoped that Laputa had learned a few things out here. She couldn’t think of a better way to end the day than bookending it with a tennis ball dodging session.
First, she allowed herself and Laputa to take a short break. She wasn’t panting and sweating or anything, but Nina could imagine that she was probably tired. If big piles of magical rocks even got tired. The more she thought about it, the odder Laputa was.
[14.2, 19.4]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:13:25 GMT -6
No wonder Marta had so many questions about her. It made Nina really appreciate the weirdness to be so immersed in it. Next time she met a strange creature, she promised to treat it with the same enthusiastic curiosity - and she certainly thought there would be a next time, considering her lifestyle.
“Are you ready for the last exercise, Laputa?” Nina asked. She had been sitting next to the golem, leaning her head against her. When she was spoken to, Laputa turned her head, making Nina slide off her shoulder. She caught herself on the ground and said, “I guess that’s a yes.”
“C’mon then,” she said, leading the golem over to the fenced area where the ball throwers were.
The fence made that section feel very small compared to the big open track. Nina assumed that the fence was to keep the balls relatively contained, which she could understand.
[14.3, 19.6]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:13:42 GMT -6
She had lost countless numbers of balls and toys out in the public park. Sometimes she found one again way later, all sun faded and waterlogged. They had to keep track of things, or else they’d have to constantly buy new ones. That would be a lot of trouble, for sure.
“Stay here Laputa,” Nina said. She instructed the golem to stay outside of the fence while she tested the machines. She went inside and turned one on by flipping a few switches and turning some knobs. The ball shot out almost instantly, and since she was standing in front of it, bounced right off her leg.
“Oops,” she said, stepping to the side and adjusting more settings. She noted that these balls were very spongy and soft compared to the ones she was used to. Laputa would be fine either way, but she imagined that some pets weren’t up for being pelted with anything harder.
[14.4, 19.8]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:14:01 GMT -6
When she threw them by hand, she could control how hard they hit, but the machine was a little tougher, she reasoned. It was best to air on the side of caution and safety.
“Alright Laputa, you can come in now. Come, Laputa,” she said. She did as she was asked, walking into the area and standing where Nina pointed. Then Nina went around behind the machines and filled their hoppers with soft balls. One after another, she flipped them all on.
Fwoomp! One of the machines went off, then another. It was totally random which one would go off at any time, each one set to a different delay. Laputa took the first few hits with a confused look on her face. She sort of remembered this, but not really. Why were they throwing balls at her again?
Unlike when it was Nina and Marta, Laputa could not watch for where the machines were to be able to predict where the balls would come from.
[14.5, 20]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:14:20 GMT -6
They would just appear out of nowhere and hurtle towards her. She was a bit overwhelmed by all of it, but soon enough she began to move around in an attempt to escape the barrage.
“Good girl, Laputa,” Nina said. She watched carefully, but didn’t move much. She didn’t want to spoil the lesson by giving away where the next one would be.
Soon enough, they ran out of balls and they had to do it all again. Nina collected them quickly and dumped them back into the hoppers, then switched all the machines back on. There weren’t that many of them, just four, but it seemed like a lot when she was refilling them. No wonder Laputa was having a bit of a hard time.
“I know you can do it, Laputa, dodge!” she called out. Laputa was trying to dodge, of course, but she was still being narrowly hit by most of the balls.
[14.6, 20.2]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:14:35 GMT -6
The ones that did miss her seemed like a fluke, an accident of her being in the wrong place at the right time.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Laputa tucked her arm in and a ball when whizzing past. She dodged it - on purpose! Nina praised her just in time for her to be bonked on the head with another one. Perhaps that was a bit premature. Still, the longer they went at it, the better she would do. They just had to keep trying. Laputa had the right idea, but she needed to practice more.
It got to the point where Laputa was dodging about half of the balls, then after refilling them a few more times, she could dodge most of them. Nina cheered for her the whole time. She was really getting there! She wasn’t so good at stopping things coming from behind, but almost everything else was working just fine.
[14.7, 20.4]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:14:52 GMT -6
Laputa watched the machines, trying to anticipate the balls before they shot out. Nina thought that was a great sign. If she did the same for her opponents, then she could react more quickly to their incoming damage. She was so pleased with Laputa’s progress so far. They had been working really hard for such a long time, and it felt like she was almost ready.
There was just a little bit of time before the gym would close and they had to go home. Nina decided that it was time to do a refresher for everything they had learned thus far. She turned off the ball machines and headed back out into the open field. Before she put all the poles away, it was time to get Laputa to run them one more time.
Would Laputa remember what to do with the poles now that she had been distracted by the dodging exercise? Nina hoped so.
[14.8, 20.6]
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Nina
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Post by Nina on Apr 13, 2024 23:16:14 GMT -6
She called the golem back to the starting line again and led her back to the poles. To her delight and surprise, Laputa jumped over the first hurdle. Then Nina quickly picked up the pole in the middle and headed for the next one.
Laputa made it through all the poles, over the hurdles and under the high bars. Now all that was left was the poles themselves. Nina went back through them, getting Laputa to go around each one one at a time. Perfect, she was still able to weave around them. That confirmed that she could move left to right and up and down without too much issue. Now they just had to go back to where they started - full speed.
Nina put all of the poles away where they belonged, giving Laputa a moment to rest again. Laputa sat in the grass watching Nina move around, since she was the shiniest and most interesting thing in view.
[14.9, 20.8]
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