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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 7, 2024 8:57:35 GMT -6
The next trick was going to be... a bit weird to teach, actually. If Zazzle was going to be entered in a contest, he had to know more than just the basics in flight. He needed to be fancy. Or more specifically, Fiera needed him to be fancy. But right now he pretty much only knew how to fly, if awkwardly, and a few basic obedience tricks. That wasn't going to be enough to impress, so she needed him to learn to fly a little more fancily. Specifically, she was thinking he could fall into a big, dramatic dive out of the sky, pulling up- or at least landing safely- at the last moment. It would look extra impressive on Zazzle. After all, despite their ability to fly, inkrum were pretty heavy, so he would fall extra fast and dramatically. It would be perfect. There was just one issue- Fiera couldn't fly.
Fiera 1 Zazzle 18.1/18.1 Dive 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 9:53:16 GMT -6
That wasn't usually a problem with her, because the other flying pets she had she could normally fly on the back of. Orpheus, Algol, both of those were big enough that she could guide them around with the reins if needed. Zazzle was going to be... interesting in comparison. Still, she was sure she could figure it out. She still had plenty of treats and plenty of daylight to work with. For now, she set him up on a picnic table so he could have a platform to jump off of to get him started."Okay Zazzle- now fly!" She said, waving her hands out around her as if to indicate what she wanted him to do. He didn't need to be told twice- despite how ungainly he was, Zazzle genuinely enjoyed flying. He crawled towards the edge of the table, gathering himself up as well as he could and pushing off the side.
Fiera 2 Zazzle 18.2/18.2 Dive 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:03:34 GMT -6
Fiera watched as he fell off the side of the picnic bench, suddenly wondering if that actually WAS enough space for him to move. Still, he gave a few intense flaps, the tips of his wings brushing the ground, and finally managed to get into the air, seemingly dragging himself with each sweep of his wings. Finally though, he was soaring above Fiera's head, above the treeline. He flapped in wide, lazy circles, staying within sight of Fiera but overall not troubling himself too much about staying close to her. That was fine by Fiera- she wanted him to have as much distance from the ground as possible. From there, Fiera decided to start setting up the trick. Quickly, she moved them both to another section of the park. Specifically, between two buildings- bathrooms, currently unused. Between them was a narrow alleyway- only a few feet of space between the two.
Fiera 3 Zazzle 18.3/18.3 Dive 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:17:58 GMT -6
It was even less from above, and would be difficult to fly into. But that was the aim of the game- to force him to fly in at a very particular angle and particular speed that would require a bit of precision from him. It was difficult to teach- especially for a non-predatory species- but she was sure that Zazzle (and Fiera's efforts) would prevail. Fiera leaned out from between the buildings, making sure that Zazzle could see her. "Zazzle- come!" She said, and then filled in a new word. "-Dive!" She clarified. She saw the inkrum respond, flying closer and circling around more tightly... but it was clear he wasn't sure how to approach, moving almost nervously above the roofs. At least if he missed, Fiera knew he wouldn't be hurt- he had a hard shell that was more likely to break off the roof tiles than actually be damaged himself.
Fiera 4 Zazzle 18.4/18.4 Dive 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:35:26 GMT -6
"Come on, Zazzle- dive! Come!" She said, encouraging him. She even held up a big, leafy piece of bamboo- something she knew he'd love. That seemed to push him over the edge- Fiera watched as he did a final tight little spin in the air, then fell straight down. It... certainly counted as a dive, but it was clear Zazzle didn't know what he was doing, and the seaspray inkrum quickly started toppling end over end. He quickly pulled his wings out to right himself, flying shakily away from the roofs that he had come within just a couple feet of, and glided to the ground a few feet away from Fiera. "...Okay! Good enough! Good dive, Zazzle!" Fiera said, jogging over to him. He looked at her warily, but Fiera just plopped the piece of bamboo right in front of him, hoping to quell his fear with copious amounts of food.
Fiera 5 Zazzle 19.0/19.0 Dive 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:44:11 GMT -6
Fiera sat there with her pet for a while, petting him gently while he ate. When he was finally done, he seemed to be in much better spirits from before, the jitters from his failed attempt at a dive gone. "Ready to try that again? Fiera asked, leaning over to peer into the depths of his shell. He looked up at her, but his ears stayed high and happy. "Sounds good!" She picked the inkrum up and stretched as high as she could, letting him climb up onto the roof of one of the bathrooms. "Okay Zazzle- fly!" She said. He obeyed, leaping off and returning to his lazy circles up above. Once Fiera was sure he was high enough, she repeated the command. "Zazzle- dive!" She called- but she could see him hesitating. "Come on, you can do it! Dive!" She said, trying to get him to overcome his fear.
Fiera 6 Zazzle 19.1/19.1 Dive 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:51:00 GMT -6
He seemed to line himself up better this time- Fiera watched as he twitched his wings one way versus the other, using the wind to slow himself down first, then finally folded his wings in neatly and began his descent, spiraling towards the ground. "Yes, that's perfect! Good job Zazzle, good dive!" Fiera called out, waving a piece of bamboo high- only for him to clip the side of his shell on the roof at the last second with a horribly loud crash, sending him ricocheting off to the side. Luckily all of his limbs had already been pulled in, and instead when he finally hit the ground he simply rolled around for a few silent seconds like a coin, cirling around before finally clattering to a stop on the ground. Fiera stood there for a moment, gobsmacked at the sheer comedy element of it, before rushing forward to her pet.
Fiera 7 Zazzle 19.2/19.2 Dive 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 10:55:14 GMT -6
"Hey uh, are you okay? I mean- good job, Zazzle!" She said, putting the bamboo in front of him. He didn't appear injured, though she couldn't help but notice he was quivering. Was he... scared? Even more scared? Crap, maybe she should stop doing this before he actually DID get hurt, there was no point in traumatizing her pet to get what she wanted- but instead all of his limbs burst out at once and he flailed them wildly. Zazzle struck out with every single limb at once, flapping and stabbing until finally he managed to flip himself on his back, spinning wildly. Ah- he was throwing a temper tantrum. Apparently he knew he was quite close too, and was furious that he had managed to mess it up at the last second. "...C'mon. Let's try again." Fiera said, picking up the flailing creature and setting him back on the roof.
Fiera 8 Zazzle 19.3/19.3 Dive 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 11:06:40 GMT -6
Soon Zazzle was back in position in the sky- and Fiera no longer felt the need to stand between the buildings either. She had the feeling that Zazzle knew what he was supposed to be doing by now, without needing the narrow slot to aim at. Right now, she just needed him to be able to get it right, from start to finish. "Okay Zazzle- dive!" She called up into the air, and then watched him work. Just like before he pulled himself into a tight circle, and just when he could go no tighter, he pulled in his limbs and pointed the front of his shell straight down, letting himself fall out of the air like a stone. It was a strange sight to see an inkrum do it, but damn if it wasn't impressive. Fiera watched as he got closer and closer to the ground, praying he'd be able to pull up this time.
Fiera 9 Zazzle 19.4/19.4 Dive 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 11:11:20 GMT -6
Fiera squeezed her eyes shut, fulling expecting another catastrophically loud clatter as he hit the ground, but pried one open at the last moment. Just in time too- to see Zazzle snap his wings out and glide along the ground, only a foot away, before flapping his wings again and regaining his height. Fiera whooped with joy. "Great job, Zazzle! Good dive!" She shouted. Soon he came back down- to claim his bamboo, of course. Fiera gave him plenty of ear rubs and praise as he ate, and the inkrum seemed quite pleased with himself. After that, the pair practiced diving a few more times, just to be safe. After all, it was a tough trick for an inkrum to pull off- Zazzle wasn't very aerodynamic. But soon it became clear that he knew what he was doing, able to go from flying around to diving, to pulling up again with just a single word. A tough trick- but one that Fiera had managed to train into him quite well.
Fiera 10 Zazzle 20.0/20.0 Dive 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 13:23:41 GMT -6
Fiera gave Zazzle a few days' worth of breaks after that. He had gotten a lot of exercise, after all- it was time to let him relax a bit. After that though, it was right back on the horse. Fiera wasn't done training him yet. Although, the next trick was one that didn't require anything fancy on his part. He didn't need to run or fly or leap- all he had to do was sit there and let him mess with her. She wanted to teach him tolerance, so she could better manipulate his body parts for... well, anything. It wasn't too fancy on the tin, but in practice it would let her adjust his stance for more complicated moves, let veterinarians take a closer look at him without him struggling, or would let her put harnesses and decorations on him more easily for the sake of contests. She was quite excited to dress him up in silly hats.
Fiera 1 Zazzle 20.1/20.1 Tolerance 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 13:38:47 GMT -6
"Do it for me, Zazzle." Fiera said. "Do it for the silly hats." Zazzle simply glared up at her from inside his shell, his ears pressed back. He had woken up in a rotten mood today, and as a result had no patience for Fiera or her silly hats. He wasn't sure what designs she had on him, but by this point he knew her well enough to know they weren't any good. Fiera had plenty of bamboo to bribe him with, but hopefully she wouldn't need it this soon. She reached out to touch the inkrum, and... he scuttled away. Fiera sighed. "You really aren't going to make this easy for me, are you?" She said. Zazzle flapped his wings a few times in response, threatening to simply fly away if she tried anything too invasive. That would certainly end the training sooner rather than later- if he just buzzed off into the unknown.
Fiera 2 Zazzle 20.2/20.2 Tolerance 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 15:00:19 GMT -6
"Alright look, I'll start you off easy, okay?" Fiera said, raising her hands in a way she hoped was assuaging. "I'm just going to touch your shell, ok? You don't care if people touch your shell, it's pretty much invulnerable." She said, and it was true. Zazzle was pretty much impervious to physical damage- all he had to do was pull everything into his shell and he'd be fine. Sure enough, he begrudgingly sat there as Fiera skittered her fingers along the top of his shell, tapping gently. He did tuck his legs in under him though, like an angry cat. Fiera ran her fingers through the grooves in the shell, as if cleaning it like she would with a brush, looking for any dents or injuries. There weren't any of course, but this is the sort of thing she'd need to do for a real grooming or healing session.
Fiera 3 Zazzle 20.3/20.3 Tolerance 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 19:08:59 GMT -6
Zazzle put up with it well enough, but he did even better once Fiera put a piece of bamboo in front of his face. "For being good!" She said as means of explanation, though the inkrum hardly cared about the reason- he just liked being fed. Still, it would ensure that he would stay fat and happy while Fiera went about her business- moving on to increasingly touchier parts of his body. Still, he munched loudly while Fiera finished going over his shell. When she had finally rubbed down every last seam, she moved on to his ears. As with most creatures, this body part also needed to be inspected regularly. After all, all creatures could get ear infections that needed to be cured. Unfortunately for Fiera, they were a lot more... mobile than his shell. Every time she went to grab one, he'd flick it right out of her grasp.
Fiera 4 Zazzle 20.4/20.4 Tolerance 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 9, 2024 19:13:30 GMT -6
So she started a little more slowly, instead giving him scritches at the base of his ear. He liked those, and the inkrum relaxed a bit as Fiera worked her way up his ear. "There we go! Good boy, Zazzle!" Fiera said, and offered him another sprig of bamboo. He accepted it graciously and Fiera returned to working on his ears, getting him more comfortable with working her way up them. She gripped them in her hand, squishing down the cartilage, letting them spring back to shape. She peered inside them, poking her finger in there gently to mimic how one might put in a bottle to squirt in medication for an ear infection. She repeated this a couple times, gently, until he stopped trying quite so hard to pull his ears away. Soon, he barely reacted at all- that was good enough for her, and she decided to move on.
Fiera 5 Zazzle 21.0/21.0 Tolerance 5
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