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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:21:48 GMT -6
It gave her reason to take out a learned companion, for once! Foggy could help her scope out the place, and at most bite the ankles of anything that gave them trouble. She wasn't taught how to do that just yet, but Leth figured they could manage just about anything on the fly. It was kind of her thing - she'd make everything work out in the end. Letting Foggy jog next to her, unleashed, nearly made the satyr feel as though she was doing something wrong with the houluh. But - Foggy had the best recall out of any of her pets, perhaps only short of an overprotective drake heeding her call. It was fine. Such a difference from the first time she'd dragged the pup here, too! Instead of fighting her to merely walk in a straight line, a mere request to heel with a snapping of her fingers at her side materialized a Foggy right there.
June|3
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:22:06 GMT -6
Leth hadn't even realized she had been doing it when training, but the houluh picked up on the snap the same as she did the spoken word. She'd apparently been doing it every time she asked for a heel. Dogs were just too good. Surely not her usual pick, she was coming to appreciate these friends of mankind. At first the hounds had felt like they were a side project, a kind of tangeant compared to what she normally did. As time went on she'd began toying with the idea of putting more towards houluh. Foggy and Gold were a delight, and even the more 'difficult' pups couldn't hold a candle to the trouble of difficult pre-monstrous whelps of any kind. Having her head in the clouds had managed to render the woman silent for a few moments, the realization making her pipe up "Righ', Foggy?" as if the canine had been listening in on her stream of consciousness.
June|4
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:23:39 GMT -6
Lucky for the houluh they didn't share a ribbon, or she would have been subjected to even more constant chatter. Foggy obligingly looked up at her owner with a wagging tail, only too natural to respond to her person's voice. "Lookin' kinda boring ou'here again, huh?" Lethalia remarked, wistful for the times she didn't have to go inside the mansion. Funny how months that normal folk began celebrating the outdoors in spring and summer, were the same that the place decided to corral inside. Ah well, it might be nice to get out of the heat, depending on what the place had in store. Lacking any command following up her name, Foggy caught her owner's line of sight to the building cresting it's own rolling green hill. A glance back to her owner's face - still looking at the building as if it were about to tell her something - and again to the mansion with an insatiable drive to understand what the satyr was up to.
Foggy lv|19 ly|38
June|5
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:24:17 GMT -6
Lethalia didn't want to mistake the hounds for cleverer than they really were, but the slow realization of their potential gave her reason to ponder it more seriously. One of the few 'lesser' animals that could follow a person's line of sight or a finger pointed - not a lot of critters could claim the same unless their intellect was far beyond a dog. Leth found herself enjoying them more than she'd expected to. Soon as the satyr moved, so did her dog. Gaining curiosity as they went, Lethalia let the pup gain a bit of ground so she couldn't see her owner in the corner of her eye any longer. When the satyr stopped dead, Foggy only made it a few jaunty paces before an ear perked at something amiss. It wasn't entirely hard to notice a lack of hoof steps at her side. The houluh glanced over her shoulder, whirling around at seeing her person stationary.
June|6
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:24:32 GMT -6
Tail beginning to wag uncomfortably, Foggy couldn't tell what her owner's stare was about without any demands to go along with it. She whined a question, pitch going higher and tail motoring harder as the satyr merely leaned forward, whining back. Whining turned into a few yips as she collapsed down in a playful bow, the last of her vocalizations leading into a howl. Just what did her lady think she was doing? Lethalia let out a snort, undoing her effort of keeping quiet and giving way to a cackle, clapping at Foggy to ensure she knew it was all just a game. "Hey, g'girl!" she told the pup grinningly, patting the houluh's side as she wiggled her way over, half-whining and half grumble-growling all the while. Leth wondered if she'd be getting (even more of) an earful had the dog been capable of it. "Okay, okay. I'll stop messin' wit'cha, aight?"
June|7
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:24:46 GMT -6
Lethalia refrained from starting up a boxing match with the pup, knowing full well they could easily dork around outside, nowhere in particular, and lose track of time. If only there was a creature out there capable of helping her with her timeliness, but that was something of a lost cause. They wouldn't get much exploring done out here - instead of engaging Foggy further, the satyr headed to corral her to the nearby gate. Sometimes it was plan and simple twists of iron, others like today's were richly decorated. Flat iron plates on the topside of the gate was blooming with several different firework patterns, each cut out in tiny clusters of stars cascading down from the center of their starburst. Stained glass glowed inside of each one, casting a shadow with pinpoints of color on the sidewalk. Leth could've sworn - was the shadow moving? A tiny fireworks show in broad daylight...
June|8
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:25:00 GMT -6
Foggy too watched the ground, but that proved nothing more than the houluh paid attention to what her person was. Shocker. Lethalia pried her eyes off the wee light show; she had indeed come here in the hopes of 'finding' fireworks, but these weren't the sort she'd had her mind on. No - she needed the real kind, or at least real enough to crackle out like a gunshot. That the entire reason she got the odd idea to bring Foggy here this month; to get her used to loud sudden noises. It sounded easier to do as opposed to having a neighbor come checking out what the hell she was firing so many shots at. (Oh you know, it's nothing, just firing into the air to desensitize the dog. 'Normal' stuff. Most ordinary folk were much less pet owners in this kind of capacity - teaching them to guard something was one thing, but most wouldn't be arsed to go to the contest hall with them.)
June|9
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:25:19 GMT -6
Lethalia ushered Foggy into the gate before following herself, trying to keep from lingering on the glittering display on the ground. They ought to have much more interesting things ahead of them than a paltry amount of shadow and light. Like last month, the lawn was short and manicured to a point where if it wasn't magic, someone had been on their hands and knees trimming it with shears. Watching her houluh wind around the new grass to explore without straying too far, Leth's smile was absentminded as she dwelled on how nice it was. No surprise that her untrained collection took up an ample amount of time, while having at least a few creatures who could be trusted to not flatten the property as soon as she was off of it. And okay - it was nice to not be done with a critter when she decided their training was adequate enough to not kill her.
Foggy lv|20 ly|40
June|10
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:25:33 GMT -6
Hadn't it always been great to be able to employ her more well-mannered pets to help her train newer ones? Like it was how she justified still playing with critters that no longer needed 'work'. This was the enjoyable part she tended to keep away from herself, pushing onto the next project instead of enjoying what she'd already put energy into. Where she came from, an idea of taking a pause was the sort that would leave you behind. It would take more time yet before she could entirely leave those kinds of habits behind. Going to the mansion for almost nothing? This was a good start. "O'er here, Foggy," Lethalia chimed as she stepped onto the porch and the canine veered off to the side to stay in the yard. "I know, I'd rather stay ou', too," she reasoned, reaching out to ruffle the pup's ears once Foggy ascended the few stairs to meet her at the door.
June|11
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:26:17 GMT -6
It was never the best indication when she opened the front door to darkness, though. Leth glanced back at Foggy, dubious about handing the mansion the opening to mess with them more readily. Last time she'd 'readily' gone into an unlit cavern because she was too busy trying to user Juniper in to even notice; being able to stare down the void beforehand was providing her with too much time to rethink it. "Whatd'ya think?" she pressed to her companion instead. Foggy met her glance with a whine, sideways wagging tail unsure of why they were stopped all of a sudden. Foggy didn't really go in the house at home, but she knew the human-dwellings for what they were. Why was her owner smelling so worried over another two-legged critter's home? Normally the humanoids seemed to get along well enough, strange her person was worried about this particular place and not the ones they passed on the way here.
June|12
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:26:28 GMT -6
Foggy gave a cursory sniff into the darkened room, wondering if there was something her owner wanted her to be worried about. It was the woman's idea to come up to the porch anyway! There were more than enough smells out here to make up for the lack of sight-seeing for the houluh, especially now that her owner was making her wary of the house. "Well," Leth blurted as if it was an announcement, but no further encouragement found it's way past her lips. Instead she sighed, stepping into the doorway and squinting into the dark this way and that, as if she could clear the place before she committed to going inside. Foggy had ambled in to join her, claws clattering on the flooring. Apparently Leth didn't have her hoof as far out the door as she thought, for it swung shut and forced her to yank the hoof out of the way in a hurry.
June|13
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:27:08 GMT -6
The mansion had given them its' input. If she'd decided to turn back, it was a little late now. Lethalia swore colorful curses under her breath as she felt her hoof to ensure the door hadn't caught it. "Fuckin' asshole house," she managed to bitterly try and get the last word in. Somewhere nearby, Foggy whined and bumped into her leg "Yeah, m'still here girlie," Lethalia reassured her houluh, reaching down to give her side a pat. Just as dark as last time, but this time there was no convenient torch hanging nearby. Still could've believed this place was a cavern, as if the place repeated it's tricks from month to month. Still, the room pressed down on them as if the dark had weight of it's own, so large moving air was the only noise. No water this time around, so that was a better sign - also since she hadn't brought a swimming hen this time.
June|14
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:27:18 GMT -6
About to twist and dig in her backpack like usual, a distant noise caught the satyr's ear to give her pause. Foggy whined and Leth reached out for the canine while shushing her, still straining to make out what she heard in the room along with them. It almost sounded like footsteps - they never got louder, but travelled from one end of the room opposite them to the other. A low pop and hiss, and a match flared alive over there. If Leth had to guess, she'd hedge her bets on their company being around an acre away. Not easy to see, and yet the tiny flame should have definitely illuminated the hand holding it. Instead the tiny flame floated in place, as if waiting for something. "Hullo?" As if her voice catalyzed the room, the match swiped down violently to catch something on the floor alight. It hissed low and dangerous, filling the room with it's promising crackle.
Foggy lv|21 ly|42
June|15
accept loud noises|1
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:28:41 GMT -6
Too stumped to react to it immediately, both pet and owner watched as the flame sparked and cackled along a languidly serpentine path. As it passed forks in it's venture, smaller offshoots caught and too glittered down their own sporadic directions - a few straight into the air. One such sparkler disappeared behind a dark object, sighing almost like it'd been extinguished, only to renew with a red shower of sparks falling to the ground, illuminating the body of the firework it led to along with it's many companions. All around them, several more offshoots 'fizzled out' before the room was wholly illuminated by the simultaneous cascade of sparks from dozens of sources. One of them - hard to tell which - began to let off a whistle. Shit.Well, she had been looking for some fireworks, hadn't she? "S'okay, Foggy," she soothed pre-emptively, even as the houluh's ears perked. Still calm enough for her to be curious.
June|16
accept loud noises|2
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Post by Lethalia on Jun 24, 2021 23:29:24 GMT -6
There was enough light to just barely make out the forms of rockets, their mismatched sizes casting menacing shadows all around. Feeling the need to warn Foggy, the satyr muttered "Settl'dn, y'ain't gonna be a big fan." While she'd originally conceptualized the idea of getting Foggy used to bangs and pops with a firework show, she hadn't quite had this in mind. The mansion had a way of doing that. Lethalia sucked in a breath and looked around the room, unable to find any source of cover even with the newly provided light. Foggy hadn't been too worried over the noises, but the way her person was acting was becoming concerning. Not enough to do anything about, but she was giving her houluh the barest inking something was about to go wrong. The grey dog's eyes remained glued to her owner, tail wagging encouragement to her stressed person. She was helping!!
June|17
accept loud noises|3
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