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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 20:51:38 GMT -6
A contest entirely dedicated to flying creatures, eh? Now there was something Fiera could find interesting. She had plenty of options to start with. There was a whole flock of harachiu she had to pick from… well, with the exception of her Brownie, Langley. They didn’t have wings. But they were all pretty busy with their own things right now, and weren’t exactly the most IMPRESSIVE flying creatures around. And then there was Tenmei, her lapis tat-lung, who was very showy… but had already been entered in a contest recently, and Fiera figured she wouldn’t be up for another one quite so soon. That still left her with plenty of flying creatures that she owned to choose from, but none felt as deserving of the audience’s love and fame as Orpheus, her crested alurook… even if he couldn’t actually fly yet. But that was her mistake, not his, of course. Fiera 1 Orpheus 17.1/17.1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 20:52:12 GMT -6
It had been most manageable for Fiera to train Orpheus while he was restricted to the ground, and she kept telling herself that she would teach the alurook to fly eventually. But as time went on she taught him more and more tricks and pushed off actually getting him to fly for longer and longer. Especially as he got bigger, the more likely he was to fly off, the less likely she was to be able to catch him again. Except now her alurook was fully grown and perfectly obedient (if a little grumpy), but he still didn’t ah… know how to fly. It certainly got Fiera a few funny looks as people watched him walk around awkwardly on his massive, taloned feet. A little embarrassing, in fact- which was something she would have to rectify. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too difficult however, even despite his now massive size- enough for the humanish to easily ride on his back.
Fiera 2
Orpheus 17.2/17.2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 20:52:26 GMT -6
After all, with Fiera giving the commands, she could get her pets to do just about anything. Orpheus wasn’t lacking the wing strength either. Fiera made sure that he grew up good and healthy, and thus could now flap his wings with the best of them… he just had to figure out how to catch the air to make him actually… go up. Fiera could empathize with his difficulties, however. It wasn’t like she knew how to fly, either. Still, that was something that they could figure out together, and Fiera had a few ideas on how to make it work. After all, she had plenty of meat scraps and a lot of gumption. She had trained plenty of creatures to fly by this point, and had taught many more difficult tricks besides. Orpheus would be simple in comparison… though flight wasn’t the only thing she wanted to teach him today.
Fiera 3
Orpheus 17.3/17.3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 20:52:42 GMT -6
Yes, learning to fly was important, but she was also preparing him for a CONTEST. The audience wouldn’t want just ANY random animal flip flopping its way through the air, they would expect only the BEST of aerial techniques. Well… considering Orpheus was pretty rough still with the whole “getting airborne” thing, Fiera might not be able to guarantee the BEST techniques, but she could guarantee some pretty damn good ones. After all, there was a chance she wouldn’t even have that much competition this time around anyway. After all, the last contest she had entered hadn’t even gotten enough people in it to start. She supposed, on some level, that she couldn’t really blame them- “love” was a very vague concept after all, and the idea of a contest demonstrating that love with not one, but TWO trained creatures was… a bit of a big ask. Not to Fiera of course, though.
Fiera 4
Orpheus 17.4/17.4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 20:54:43 GMT -6
She was one of the few that had entered that February contest of course, with two of her harachiu (or, harachiu crosses in the case of one of them), Aspen and Langley. They had had quite the big crush on each other for a while and Fiera thought that the contest could be a sweet little date for them... but for some reason they seemed relieved when Fiera told them the contest was off. She couldn't imagine why- who wouldn't want to show off their love for their significant other in front of a crowd of screaming fans? Fiera loved having people get all mushy over her, it was pretty much her favorite thing. Oh well- she at least got some consolation points, and now she had time and energy freed up to focus on other creatures- namely Orpheus, and getting him up to speed on this whole "flying" business.
Fiera 5
Orpheus 18.0/18.0
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 2, 2022 21:28:00 GMT -6
First though, she had to find a good place for it. The weather had been getting warmer, but only barely above freezing. Orpheus was fine; the wind that bit savagely at Fiera's nose was barely a gentle ruffle against his blackened feathers. Them and his downy undercoat kept him well insulated, to the point where Fiera wondered if he noticed the cold at all. She certainly did, and the humanish realized with a sinking feeling that that "gentle" breeze was going to be ten times worse once they actually got up into the air and her face was right in it. A chill went down her spine, but it wasn't due to the cold... yet. Still, at least Orpheus being in weather that he liked meant that he was most likely going to behave well today, despite his usual grumpy nature. Maybe then, she would be able to train him, get it all done, and go home in quick succession.
Fiera 6
Orpheus 18.1/18.1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 9:13:39 GMT -6
Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to start quite yet. She and Orpheus were stuck in a long, straight path that led under several tall trees in the public park. She could see the occasional clearing off to either side, peeking through the trees. They were about what she needed to make this work- long, rustling grass, flat land. But with her luck, they were always either too small for her and Orpheus to be able to use them, or already had some people either sitting in them or playing with pets, chattering away. And she doubted they would be willing to share their space with an enormous ornery owl. So they kept walking, with Fiera using the excuse internally that she was just allowing Orpheus to stretch his legs a bit before they got started. Chances are they would get tired soon though, so she needed to find something fast.
Fiera 7
Orpheus 18.2/18.2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 9:21:09 GMT -6
Up ahead though, it looked like there was hope. A gap in the trees showed blessed sunlight, and Fiera couldn't help but up her pace, shuffling through the tattered fallen leaves with a bit more spring in her step. Orpheus picked up on her improved mood as well and also picked up the pace, walking with the awkward high step that predatory birds often had to use when forced to walk on the ground. He flapped his wings a couple times excitedly as well, practically clearing the path ahead of them of its leaves and reminding Fiera of just how powerful those wings were- hopefully he would be able to put them to good use today. The gap in the trees got closer and closer, and Fiera soon found herself shielding her eyes from the light. Even the weak winter light was blinding if you had been standing in the shade for a while.
Fiera 8
Orpheus 18.3/18.3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 9:28:47 GMT -6
As her eyes adjusted to the light, a sense of relief crept over Fiera. It was perfect! She glanced over at Orpheus- she could see his pupils shifting size as well, and he flicked his head in annoyance. He would get used to it soon enough. Sure enough though, the path they were on swept down and wound across a wide open field, dotted with the occasional tree and switching between long, untamed grass and cropped lawns. In the summer Fiera was sure people would come out here to play sports and have picnics, but for now the plants were dry, dead, and most importantly, free of people. She and Orpheus had plenty of space to learn today, and wouldn't be bothered by anyone else. And even if anyone did come walking through here, they would have plenty of room to go around the humanish and her alurook instead of bothering them.
Fiera 9
Orpheus 18.4/18.4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 9:32:50 GMT -6
"Well, let's get to it then!" Fiera said with a laugh, hustling her way down the hill. She wasn't about to run, but her excitement was palpable. She almost immediately veered off of the beaten trail, wandering off the path and into the grass. Orpheus stayed in tow, glancing around the field and taking it in himself. She heard a few approving clicks come from his throat- the closest he usually got to happiness. She kept going until she found a spot in the long grass that had been beaten down in the shape of a rough circle- perhaps from where some sort of festival or event had gone on in the past couple of seasons. Either way, it gave Fiera a good "home base" to start from. She set down her bags, happy to get everything off of her back- it wasn't like Orpheus was going to carry it- and started sorting it.
Fiera 10
Orpheus 19.0/19.0
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 11:15:04 GMT -6
The first thing she wanted to teach... wasn't flying, actually. Orpheus would be an excellent flyer of course, she knew that, but she needed him to get a bit more comfortable with taking directions from her before she took him up into the air. She could only imagine how terrifying it would be if she got him flying, only to realize that she had no way of directing him, leaving them just... soaring away into the horizon. Goodbye Fiera, we knew you well. So first things first, she needed him to learn directional cues from her. Thankfully, she had plenty of training items she could use with him. The first was, of course, chunks of meat. Orpheus didn't like a lot of things, but food was something he responded quite well to. And the other was... a stick with a string on it. Long enough that she could hold it out past Orpheus's head. Fiera 1 Orpheus 19.1/19.1 Turn Left/Right 1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 12:41:08 GMT -6
Hopefully she would be able to use that to get him to turn in a particular direction and, when he went that way, pair it up with a command before giving him the meat. That was her plan, at least... it would take time to see if it worked out in practice. Still, she decided to not waste any of it. "Orpheus, lay down." She ordered quickly, using one of the tricks she had taught him last time. He crouched down as she put on his saddle, a fancy thing she had won from a training challenge. Once she got herself settled, she released Orpheus from the command. "Good boy, Orpheus." She said, and the crested alurook stood up again, fluffing his feathers to re-orient himself. Soon though, he found a piece of meat floating in his field of vision, before it moved off to his left, drifting through the air as if from magic. Fiera 2 Orpheus 19.2/19.2 Turn Left/Right 2 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 12:43:48 GMT -6
"Orpheus, left!" Fiera said, bouncing the meat tantalizingly. She watched as his whole head bobbed to follow it, and soon his whole body began moving, walking forward and turning left as he reached out and tried to grab the meat. Fiera smiled- it had worked! "Oh, good boy Orpheus! Good left!" she said, pulling the stick in so the meat was closer to Orpheus's face. He wasted no time in lashing out with his whole neck, grabbing the flesh from the loose loop Fiera had tied to it. The humanish wasted no time in pulling it in. As he ate, she reached into a parcel to her right, pulling out another chunk of half frozen meat. It was a little gross, but Fiera had trained so many carnivorous pets by now that she was plenty used to it. She tied another to the string and got ready to swing it out again.
Fiera 3
Orpheus 19.3/19.3
Turn Left/Right 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 12:51:06 GMT -6
To Orpheus it must have seemed like magic, she thought with some amusement. Meat was just summoning itself out of thin air and floating itself in front of his face. "Orpheus, right!" She called this time, letting him pace around to the right for a while just to hammer it home while repeating the command. When it looked like he was starting to get frustrated with not being able to grab the meat however, she pulled the stick in and let him have it. He'd eat while she reloaded, rinse and repeat. She did this several times on each side, repeating the command with smaller and smaller chunks of meat, weaning him off of them so he would, hopefully, respond to the command alone when she was done. After all, she wasn't planning on bringing a stick and some meat along with her whenever she rode him- that would be ridiculous.
Fiera 4
Orpheus 19.4/19.4
Turn Left/Right 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 3, 2022 12:53:37 GMT -6
After nearly three quarters of an hour, Fiera decided to give him the final test. He was just sort of ambling around absent mindedly, and Fiera didn't have any meat to offer him. But if he followed the command anyway, she'd know she had done her job right. "Orpheus... go left!" She said, waiting with bated breath. Sure enough, the alurook turned his huge body to look to his left, as if expecting a piece of meat to materialize there. "Oh, good boy!" Fiera said, ruffling the feathers on his back. Now for the other way... "Orpheus, go right!" She said, calling a bit louder this time. His response was even quicker this time, and his whole head and shoulders turned to the right, taking a tentative step in that direction. "Perfect!" Fiera said with a laugh, patting him on the back. It had taken a bit of work, but he had gotten the hang of it.
Fiera 5
Orpheus 20.0/20.0
Turn Left/Right 5
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