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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:10:40 GMT -6
The trip back was uneventful enough, thankfully. Fiera thought it was going to be hard leading both of her pets back, but to her surprise they both behaved. She supposed it was because they both had full stomachs by now- Desert with grass, and Donner with jerky. This left them both fat and happy, able to be led along without too much trouble. Hopefully the walk back to the kennels would wake Donner up some and let him burn off some of that jerky, however. She needed him back in tip top shape in order to train some more today. She still had plenty of tricks she wanted to teach him, after all. Once she got to the kennels, it was easy enough to put Desert away, leaving him with his “sister”, Rhododendron. Fiera hadn’t had enough time to train her, but she was sure her turn would come around.
Fiera 1 Donner 32.1/16.1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:10:58 GMT -6
Once Desert was settled again, Fiera set back out for the public park with Donner once more, hoping that this little break would do him well. She managed to grab something for his future tricks as well, leaving it in her backpack. Desert was wonderfully behaved during the teaching for hardy, and Fiera was plenty glad for it. If her thundergug had chosen to be aggressive, it would have made the training take several times longer than it did. Now that Donner was more comfortable however, it would be a lot easier for them to get through the rest of the training. It was getting a little warmer as the day went on too, which was a relief to Fiera. Donner might be fine with freezing temperatures, but Fiera loathed every moment she had to spend out in the snow with him. The easier this was on her as well, the better.
Fiera 2 Donner 32.2/16.2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:11:17 GMT -6
Donner’s nails clicked against the sidewalk as they strolled, his head flicking around as he gauged his surroundings. Fiera was glad he had stopped lunging at people that passed by them on the sidewalk too- she had nearly gotten arrested for that a couple times. Nowadays he was a lot better behaved, and it was a load off of Fiera’s back. Still, the more isolated she could get him while training, the better. As a predator, Donner was easily distracted and Fiera wanted to avoid that as much as possible. As they turned off of the main road into the public park, the number of people surrounding them dropped off as well, and there was a notable difference in how tense Donner was, his shoulders relaxing, his tail lowering, and his head raising up a bit. Maybe people just stressed him out. That was one thing they had in common, sometimes at least.
Fiera 3 Donner 32.3/16.3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:11:33 GMT -6
The rest of the stroll through the park was pleasant enough. The snow from earlier in the winter had mostly melted, but there were still a couple of icy lumps sitting in shaded areas, surrounded by puddles. Fiera had to pull Donner away from a few of those. Still, the weather wasn’t quite warm enough that one could call it spring yet, and so the public park was still a lot emptier than it was during the peak seasons, giving Fiera a bit of elbow room in her training. She COULD opt to train Donner outside of one of the fenced in areas, but frankly she didn’t want to risk it. It was best to stay with what made them both comfortable and eliminated the chance of him getting distracted, so back to the fenced areas it was. As they crested a nearby hill, a sign saying “training area” came into view. “Here we are!” Fiera chirped idly.
Fiera 4 Donner 32.4/16.4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:11:51 GMT -6
The humanish led her pet back down the hill toward the fenced areas, making a beeline toward the one they were just in. Luckily for them, no one else had taken it while they were putting Desert back. Technically the fenced areas were all the same, but Fiera was definitely the type to sit there and argue about it with you, and with Donner behind her growling and baring his teeth, it was an easy enough argument to back up. The rest of the world was lucky in that no one had stolen her spot though, so she was able to easily reclaim it and skip that part. Donner entered the fenced area without argument, settling down on the grassy ground as Fiera latched the gate shut behind them. “Good. Looks like we’re all ready to go then, eh Donner?” She said, turning back to her pet, who merely blinked at her lazily.
Fiera 5 Donner 33.0/16.5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:12:10 GMT -6
The last thing Fiera taught Donner was how to not be intimidated and broken down mentally by her opponents. It had taken a bit, but he had managed it. This time around? She wanted to teach him how to do that to his own foes. She didn’t think it would be too hard. Seekers were pretty nasty looking creatures to start with. They had lean bodies with mean looking eyes, snarling fangs and sharp claws. They were pretty much the word “predator” personified. They weren’t as big as some other creatures in the labs though, and just because you looked scary didn’t mean you were driving that home with your actions. So she needed Donner to ACT scary as well as looking like it- to become truly intimidating. For a master trainer like Fiera however, she figured it wouldn’t be too hard. Especially with the help of her… “training tool”, she thought with a wry chuckle.
Fiera 6 Donner 33.1/16.6 Intimidation 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:12:30 GMT -6
That training tool was in fact a gemmorn she had gotten from the mines recently while spending time with her tailypo, Snowdrop. It was black with a faint purple sheen, and had the attitude of a creature five times its size. Seriously, this critter tried to claim anything and everything that came within five feet of it, and would squeak angrily at any living thing that tried to take it from them. Fiera supposed that was fair for a creature that was pretty much a miniature dragon, but that didn’t make it any less funny. Still, it was very difficult to convince a gemmorn to move away from its “horde” once it had a grip on it. The only way you could get them to move was by either prying them off with force (which was more difficult than you’d think), or by scaring them off, which was also difficult.
Fiera 7 Donner 33.2/16.7 Intimidation 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:12:46 GMT -6
That made them the perfect test subjects for teaching Donner intimidation, though! If he could scare one of these little bastards, then he could scare just about anything. And it definitely wasn’t moving until he spooked it. First and foremost though, Fiera tied Donner to a fence post. She didn’t want him going at it until she was good and ready for it. The seeker didn’t seem too upset at that right now, but she knew once she got out the treats he’d get a lot more worked up quite fast. Once the seeker was secure, Fiera went back over to her backpack and unzipped the middle pocket, taking out a carefully padded critter carrier. She was careful to not bump around her backpack too much while walking, but the gemmorn inside the cage still stared at her cooly, clearly upset about being shaken around for so long. “Oh, it’s only gonna get worse buddy.” Fiera chuckled.
Fiera 8 Donner 33.3/16.8 Intimidation 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:13:03 GMT -6
She wasn’t going to let Donner actually hurt it, of course. She would be carefully watching the whole scene with protective padded gloves on to make sure the seeker couldn’t lunge and bite down. She’d be keeping a hand on his leash too, and had a muzzle and booties ready to put on him. With that in mind, Fiera set the carrier aside and dug further in the bag to actually get those gloves out and put them on. Then she brought the carrier over to the middle of the training area and set it down, sliding open the side of it. To her surprise, the gemmorn didn’t actually move. It just stayed curled up in the bottom, staring at her some more. Fiera raised an eyebrow for a moment before shrugging. “Suit yourself!” She said casually before digging around in her pocket. All she needed now was a piece of jerky to give to the gemmorn.
Fiera 9 Donner 33.4/16.9 Intimidation 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:14:04 GMT -6
It would no doubt protect it like any piece from its hoard. Of course, Donner would want it more than anything else and would hopefully do his best to get it away from the gemmorn. She went over to Donner and got him dressed up in his booties and muzzle. He hated having them put on of course, but once they were on there was nothing he could do about it. “There. Now you have to use your… fearsome attitude…” She snickered, trying not to burst into laughter at his ridiculous getup. “...Instead of just eating the poor thing.” Then she got up and went back to the gemmorn, pulling out a piece of jerky. She heard Donner rustle against the grass as he realized what she was getting out, but she didn’t offer it to him. Instead, she stuck the tasty treat in the carrier next to the pocket pet.
Fiera 10 Donner 34.0/17.0 Intimidation 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:14:30 GMT -6
The gemmorn immediately sidled up next to it, sizing it up before curling up on top of it. Fiera chuckled- the strip of jerky was about as long as the gemmorn! Now she could hear Donner growling softly behind her, upset at not getting to partake in his favorite food. Now that the scene was set however, she could let him loose. The humanish strolled over to Donner, letting him work himself up (as much as he could while muzzled and bootied) and untied him from the fence post, quickly releasing the knot. The moment the seeker realized he was free, he was off like a shot, trailing the leash behind him. Fiera chuckled and followed after him casually. He skidded to a stop in front of the gemmorn’s carrier, growling. He circled it, but the little creature merely hissed at him, clearly not cowed by the much larger beast above it.
Fiera 1 Donner 34.1/17.1 Intimidation 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:14:57 GMT -6
Then he tried pawing at the carrier with his covered feet, perhaps attempting to claw it open or knock it over. The carrier was surprisingly sturdy though, and with how uncoordinated it was his efforts didn’t bear much fruit and he was soon forced to give up. The gemmorn wasn’t impressed, and it even curled up on the piece of jerky as if pretending to sleep. That incensed Donner even more and he pawed at the ground in front of the pocket pet, growling loudly. The gemmorn looked up but didn’t move, instead just watching Donner’s actions with vague curiosity. Then the seeker backed up and lunged at the gemmorn as if to strike it. Fiera noted with interest that the little creature flinched a few times and hissed at Donner even more loudly, but didn’t relinquish its meaty throne. Donner was headed in the right direction, but he’d need to try a little harder than that.
Fiera 2 Donner 34.2/17.2 Intimidation 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:15:17 GMT -6
And try harder he did. After realizing he was getting somewhere with the false strikes, he began stalking around the carrier again, stopping just behind it. The gemmorn leaned out when it realized he had gone. Was it actually concerned about his presence…? Donner took that opportunity to lean in alongside the gemmorn and let out a long, low snarl, seemingly coming out of nowhere. The creature’s facade of bravado seemed to splinter a little and it scuttled back inside the carrier, but still dragged the jerky along with it. Donner was doing great! It looked like he was taking the time to think about his actions and how he came off, seeing as he couldn’t go for the usual brute force method with fang and claw. The little gemmorn hadn’t been bowled over yet though- Donner still had a little way to go with it. “You’re doing good, Donner!” She called out for encouragement.
Fiera 3 Donner 34.3/17.3 Intimidation 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:15:50 GMT -6
She wasn’t going to give him a treat yet though, obviously. The treat sitting inside that carrier was his reward for this. He just had to get it. It looked like he was well on his way though, as he lunged forward one more time, staring daggers at the gemmorn and letting out an even more intense snarl. The pocket pet finally squeaked and stumbled backwards a bit, but recovered when Donner stuff his nose in the carrier to try and claim his prize. The gemmorn hissed loudly and surged forward, even sneaking a tiny claw in through the gaps in Donner’s muzzle to try and smack him on the nose. Donner retreated, but it was clear that he wouldn’t be gone for good. It didn’t look like the gemmorn could take much more though- it was clearly getting worried by all this. Frankly, even Fiera thought that she should put a stop to this soon.
Fiera 4 Donner 34.4/17.4 Intimidation 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 12, 2021 1:16:12 GMT -6
Whether the gemmorn gave up or not, it was getting to be just about done with all of this, and Fiera would probably remove it before it got too upset. Still, it looked like Donner was gearing up for one last “attack”. He lunged forward, lashing out with his paws without actually hitting the carrier, and making a brassy snarl that sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. Even Fiera felt herself taking an involuntary step backwards, though a smile sprang up on her face. The gemmorn tumbled backwards, trembling… and stayed there begrudgingly at the back of the cage. This dumb jerky just wasn’t worth it anymore. With the pocket pet out of the way, Donner strutted forward and claimed his prize, nudging the jerky strip through the gap in his muzzle, clearly pleased with himself. And as Fiera mentally checked “intimidation” off of her mental list, she was just as happy.
Fiera 5 Donner 35.0/17.5 Intimidation 10
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