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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 8:24:51 GMT -6
It had been a while since Fiera had trained Lincoln- but perhaps that was for the best. He was difficult to deal with on a good day, and got too bored too quickly for her to have much patience with him. Today seemed to be a good day to try it, however. The air was warm, perfect for a cold blooded creature, and the air was breezy, bringing Lincoln all sorts of interesting scents. He flicked his tail idly as she led him into a sandy field, and she noted that it was fenced off at the perimeter. Good- that would keep him from wandering off. He sniffed at the few tufts of crab grass that managed to grow in the rocky soil- there were few nutrients for them to feed on here, so the earth was mostly thick sand. Lincoln normally ate shards of metal, but would take plants in a pinch. Fiera 1 Lincoln 24.1/26.1 Stone Skin 1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 8:27:28 GMT -6
But he wasn't hungry for it today, it would seem. The copper lamadidron snorted loudly and turned up his nose before looking at Fiera, who was busy lashing his lead to a nearby fence post. Everything had turned out in her favor for what she planned to teach Lincoln today. The breeze, the sand, the field. She wanted to help him increase his resistance and make his skin more stony... though that was admittedly a task and a half. After all, anyone who looked at a lamadidron could see already that they were more stone than skin to start with. But over time Fiera had noticed chinks in his armor- the skin around his face was still soft, along with the delicate folds between his plates. If she entered him in a tournament, it wouldn't take much for a foe to slip a sharp appendage between those plates and... well, she shuddered at the thought of it.
Fiera 2
Lincoln 24.2/26.2
Stone Skin 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:37:39 GMT -6
But today wouldn't be the day he got "got" by a Drej, and if she did her job right, it wouldn't happen in the future either, as her goal today was to toughen him up nicely. She had taught this to a couple of her pets before, toughening up sensitive skin to make them more resilient to attack. Lincoln was already pretty resilient as he was, so hopefully she wouldn't have to do much here. But his stubbornness... that was something she'd have to take into account. She patted her pocket reassuringly- she had brought plenty of pennies with her that would act as his treats. With those squared away, that meant that she had nothing left to do but begin. "Are you ready, Lincoln!" She said, approaching her pet. He gave her nothing more but a flick of his ear as a reaction as she bent down, reaching a delicate hand towards the soil.
Fiera 3
Lincoln 24.3/26.3
Stone Skin 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:41:09 GMT -6
She dug up a clod of sandy dirt and held it up. The wind, which had picked up a bit, easily carried away the loose sand. She adjusted herself such that it would blow towards Lincoln. Slowly but surely, she began loosening her fingers, letting the wind whip the sand towards Lincoln, right at his face. He closed his eyes tightly and hissed like a swan, pawing at his nostrils to clear them. "Oh, don't be such a baby! We've barely started!" Fiera called over to him, earning her a indignant honk in response. She sighed and tossed him a penny for his troubles. Even though he couldn't see, he COULD smell (after a rather large sneeze), and instantly picked up on the coppery scent. He leaned down a moment, searching along the ground with his lip before finding it, snapping the penny up and into his mouth as a small treat.
Fiera 4
Lincoln 24.4/26.4
Stone Skin 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:46:37 GMT -6
Still, Fiera didn't relent with her sandblasting, and made sure to run the sand over all of Lincoln's body to ensure that the gaps between his plates would toughen up too as the sand roughly abraded them. He, quite understandably, hated every last minute of it. Fiera kept rewarding his good behavior however, tossing him pennies every few seconds to help keep him calm. If he freaked out and broke away from his lead after all, that would cause quite a few issues. Slowly but surely he got used to the sand, clenching his eyes shut to protect them but ultimately allowing Fiera to do as she pleased and accepting the irritating sensation on his skin. It took him a while, but it would have likely taken a lot longer if Fiera hadn't taught him tolerance already... though he did flick his tail every so often, just to show her he was still upset.
Fiera 5
Lincoln 25.0/27.0
Stone Skin 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:52:25 GMT -6
She continued with Lincoln in this way for a few hours, sometimes even throwing a pebble or two into the mix. After a while though she finally relented and walked over to him to see how he was doing. She stroked him for a while, giving him treats as she did so. She did this both to give him some time to calm down and relax, but also to check the progress on how leathery his skin was becoming. She scratched around his ears and under his chin before slipping her fingers in between his plates. Admittedly, she felt mostly sand and grit, but she could have almost sworn that he felt a little bit tougher. Still, this wouldn't be such an immediate process- it would take a lot of work over time to get him up to an appreciable level of toughness. "What do you think, Lincoln? Another round?" She said.
Fiera 6
Lincoln 25.1/27.1
Stone Skin 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:54:59 GMT -6
Of course, Lincoln couldn't agree or disagree, but that wasn't about to stop Fiera. She continued on for another few hours, spraying him with sand with the assistance of the wind, and letting him weather the constant "death by a thousand cuts". Not that she'd ever genuinely hurt him, of course- her aims here were simply to roughen him up a bit so his skin would roughen, like developing a full body callus, not to injure him. To his credit, Lincoln hunkered down and took it like a champ, though she had to occasionally rearrange him to get his other side. By the time the sun began slipping past the tree line, Fiera was nearly out of pennies and Lincoln was nearly out of patience, so Fiera decided to leave him be for now. She walked him over to a part of the training grounds where a few hoses were set up for giving pets water.
Fiera 7
Lincoln 25.2/27.2
Stone Skin 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 9:58:36 GMT -6
Fiera quickly shrugged off her backpack and set a bowl down for Lincoln before filling it with the hose, allowing him to drink his fill after a long day of work. While he slaked his thirst she ran the water over him, marveling at how electric sparks arced off of his plates as she ran it back and forth. As the water dripped to the ground in rivulets it carried the sand with it, and Fiera was able to get another "look" at how tough his skin had become. Running her fingers along his sensitive parts again, she felt that he was perceptibly tougher... but not as much as he'd need. Still, they had run out of time on this particular day- they would have to keep coming back for further training. Luckily, Lincoln at least knew what to expect in the future. With that in mind, they walked out of the public park.
Fiera 8
Lincoln 25.3/27.3
Stone Skin 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 10:01:05 GMT -6
And sure enough, they returned over the next month. Fiera didn't space the sessions too close to one another, as she wanted to give Lincoln's body plenty of time to toughen up and recover between sessions. Plus, she had to wait for it to get windy- she wasn't about to bring a fan out here. But once they were there, she didn't let up for a moment. The field was soon pockmarked with holes from Fiera scooping up handfuls of sand to blow at him, and soon she found herself scraping at rock to try and get something to throw his way (which was not great for her nails, she noted.) As time wore on, more and more of the sand was made up of small rocks. Even this he took in stride though, and as time wore on he didn't even notice as he got pelted with gravel that his owner was practically throwing at his face.
Fiera 9
Lincoln 25.4/27.4
Stone Skin 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2023 10:04:39 GMT -6
After nearly two months of training, Fiera had finished what she had hoped would be their final session, spraying him down one last time in a ritual that the copper lamadidron had come to appreciate. She felt between his plates and sure enough, he felt significantly tougher than when they started. She could hardly tell the difference in terms of hardness between his stony plates and the skin itself, with the exception of the fact that the skin flexed and bent when he moved. Even his face and ears were tough, which would reduce the chance of them being, well. Ripped off in a fight. Lincoln hardly seemed to notice the changes, but then again having natural armor was how lamadidron usually operated. It might not be much of a difference to him right now, but Fiera hoped that he would appreciate the difference in the future, when his armor might be all he had to work with.
Fiera 10
Lincoln 26.0/28.0
Stone Skin 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 25, 2023 13:19:54 GMT -6
"So- what are we here for again?" Amber said, perched lightly on Fiera's shoulder. She never stayed for longer than a few seconds before taking off again, fluttering around the humanish's head before returning to her perch. Apparently, Fiera's refusal to tell was getting to her. "Chill out- we're there!" Fiera said, gesturing at a sign on the front of a large glass greenhouse. "Labs City Botanical Gardens- Poisons of the World Special Showing!" Amber read it for a moment, processing the words before breaking out into a grin. "Oh, perfect! I've been bugging you about this for ages!" She said with a laugh. "Yes. I know." Fiera said cooly. She had admittedly been a little behind on her harachius' education as of late, but she was trying to make up for it now with a special trip to the botanical gardens in the public park. She barely had time to get out her wallet and pay for the ticket before Amber dragged her inside. Fiera 1 Amber 30.1/17.1 Toxin Wise 1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 31, 2023 14:55:51 GMT -6
They walked through the halls, with Amber marveling over each plant and the little placard that came with it, her wings humming loudly as she hovered in front of them. "...Don't land on any of those." Fiera said grimly, looking at the warnings in bright colors and large prints for each one. Foxglove, belladonna, delphinium... Fiera knew that most of these were only poisonous if you ate them, but Amber was so small that Fiera never wanted to take that risk. It would only take the tiniest drop of that juice to kill her. "Oh please, I'm not STUPID." Amber shot back before safely landing on the sidewalk. "...Can I see my sketchbook?" She said, holding out a hand. "Sure." Fiera said, pulling a tiny spiral bound notebook and a pencil nub out of her pocket. They weren't exactly ergonomic for Amber's size, but at least she could lift them.
Fiera 2
Amber 30.2/17.2
Toxin Wise 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 31, 2023 14:59:21 GMT -6
The harachiu spent their time at the exhibit carefully noting the plants- sketching leaves and flower shape while making note of the colors and size. She also jotted down equally important information- where they were found, their dosage, what uses they might have, and how to cure them. Fiera admittedly got pretty bored- she realized it was important for her to educate her harachiu, but by this point they were grown and literate. They pretty much taught themselves, albeit relying on Fiera to get them to where they needed to go to learn or acquiring certain books for them. After a few hours, Amber held up her notebook. "Ok, quiz me!" She said, gesturing at the plants. "Okay, what's uhh..." Fiera said, squinting at Amber's tiny handwriting. "No, not like that!" Amber said, pointing out at the rows of plants. "Oh." Fiera responded, slipping the notebook back into her pocket. "Okay then- what's that one?" She said, pointing out a plant a few feet down from them.
Fiera 3
Amber 30.3/17.3
Toxin Wise 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 31, 2023 17:04:50 GMT -6
"That's, uh." Amber said, squinting at it. Her fingers twitched, as if she were mentally flipping back through the pages of her sketchbook. "Lily of the Valley?" She finished, looking at Fiera questioningly. "Oh well don't ask ME." Fiera said in response. "You're the one who wanted to know, so know it." Still, she checked the notebook- she was correct, based on her description and the shape of the flowers. "And what does it do?" She said, leading Amber on further. "It has convallaria- it makes the heart pound harder and reduces heart rate, which is what kills you... but it can be used in heart medication too! For ah, arrhythmias." Fiera leaned over and glanced at the placard next to the plant. She sure wasn't wrong. "That's part of why I wanted to come here." Amber admitted sheepishly. "These can all hurt people, but- some of them can help too, in certain doses."
Fiera 4
Amber 30.4/17.4
Toxin Wise 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 31, 2023 17:10:53 GMT -6
They went through the plants once more, and Amber's recall was stunning, able to name each of them in turn. When there was even a small slip up, a bit of repetition from her journal was enough to get her back up to speed, and she never forgot a fact twice. When they went home for the day, Fiera was perfectly satisfied with what they were able to learn... but Amber wasn't. She thought it was a good starter, but felt like her education could be rounded out- so Fiera was badgered into getting her more books on the topic and, when they were finally absorbed, medical journals. Fiera understood toxins to a degree, but she couldn't make heads or tails of some of the papers Amber ended up asking her for... but Amber did. After a few months, her interest in the topic seemed to taper off, not out of boredom but simply because it seemed that there was nothing else for the harachiu to learn on the topic. Her curiosity had been well and truly quenched.
Fiera 5
Amber 31.0/18.0
Toxin Wise 5
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