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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:29:57 GMT -6
Lionel seemed a polite little creature, if one… incapable of much movement. His perpetual illness made movement incredibly difficult for him, with even basic walking seeming to take monumental effort on his part. Fiera supposed he could be quite unruly, but he just had no way of expressing it. Well, she wasn’t about to teach him to act out on her… or was she? She had heard of an… interesting little trick that for ninety percent of pets would have no conceivable use. For Lionel however, it might be his one opportunity to move around a little. Stretch his legs, as it were, and put them to good use. Even if he couldn’t walk well, at least this was something he could do on command easily enough. ‘Squirm’ she was pretty sure it was called. He could do with the exercise, that was for sure. Keep that heart healthy… ish.
Fiera 1 Lionel 2.1/12.1 Squirm 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:30:20 GMT -6
She checked her supplies. She had plenty of soft pieces of meat, carefully cut into pieces small enough for him to eat- especially after how he had nearly choked on one last time she taught him a trick. Didn’t want a repeat of that, that was for sure. There was at least enough for several more tricks, after which… well, she supposed they’d go home and get some more, likely wrapping up on training for the day. For now though, Lionel was curled up in the tree stump, right where she left him. At least she didn’t have to worry about leashing him, he wasn’t liable to go anywhere, really. “Lionel…” She said, quietly and encouragingly, getting his attention as indicated by a flick of his ears. She reached out and grasped his limbs gently, causing him to shift to ‘look’ at her. “Good! Pay attention now, Lionel!” She chirped.
Fiera 2 Lionel 2.2/12.2 Squirm 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:30:44 GMT -6
The humanish then proceeded to move his limbs in a gentle wiggling motion, trying to replicate what she wanted him to do. “Squirm, Lionel! Squirm!” She said. The ghaenelt squeaked quietly and tried to pull away, arching his back and pulling at his legs. Fiera let him go. “Yes, good job, Lionel! Just like that! Good squirm!” She said, and held a piece of meat close to his snout so he could smell it. Almost immediately, he perked up and stopped struggling before taking it in his few intact teeth, chewing it up. Fiera smiled as he ate- a good first effort! Granted, she thought she’d be able to get him to mimic the motions she was making him do, but squirming to try and get away from her worked just as well. It was all the same movement in the end. When he finished eating, she learned forward, ready to try again.
Fiera 3 Lionel 2.3/12.3 Squirm 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:31:03 GMT -6
Her hand fell upon his legs again and he groaned, immediately pulling his limbs away. She went for his tail and then his ears, and he pulled both away in turn. “Good job, Lionel! Good squirm!” She made sure to say after every movement. This was a lot easier than trying to get him to mimic something he couldn’t even really see! She continued this for several rounds, letting him wiggle and squirm in response to uncomfortable (but not injurious, of corse) touching, praising him for the action and feeding him chunks of meat while reiterating the command. She’d probably need to teach him to tolerate her touch eventually, but this worked well for her as of right now. Eventually, he was set off by even the slightest brushes, and almost seemed to anticipate her touch in order to get treats. Fiera found it charming really- he didn’t seem all that upset, and maybe even thought it was a game.
Fiera 4 Lionel 2.4/2.4 Squirm 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:31:51 GMT -6
After multiple rounds of this back and forth, Fiera decided to give her ghaenelt one last challenge. Could he perform the trick without Fiera even having to touch him to get him to do it? It was time to find out. “Lionel!” She said, getting his attention again. “You ready, little guy?” She said again, mostly for her own benefit more than anything. She had to entertain herself somehow. “Ok… squirm!” She finished. He ‘looked’ at her blankly for a moment, and her face fell a bit… before he broke into movement, flailing his limbs weakly and throwing back his head. She giggled and clapped, despite the macabre looking display. “Oh, good boy!” She said, and he immediately stopped at the praise, tail twitching in… happiness? It was hard to say from her perspective. Did ghaenelt even wag their tails? She knew that he appreciated the petting that he got right after, at any rate.
Fiera 5 Lionel 3.0/13.0 Squirm 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:32:17 GMT -6
The next trick Fiera had in mind would be plenty easy, she thought. Stagnant ghaenelt were well known for their unhealthy appearance and sluggish demeanor when they were babies, spending most of their time sleeping and convalescing. Lionel was no exception, and in fact was even worse than the average ghaenelt, having a venomous bite that made his breath have the most horrific stench. She didn’t know how to get him to use it to his advantage, but Fiera preferred it when he kept his mouth closed, to say the least. Still, that made this trick very easy for her- ‘play dead’. For most active pets, like Vulticus for example, it was a cute, silly trick for them to roll over with their tongue out. Maybe with some noises and dramatics first. For Lionel, it was… well, just his normal behavior. He wasn’t exactly an active mover and shaker.
Fiera 7 Lionel 3.1/13.1 Play Dead 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:32:38 GMT -6
Well, there was no time like the present to get started. The cat woman hunkered down in front of Lionel, tail twitching, and stroked his head gently. “Lionel…” She said quietly, waking him up from his nap. He opened his eyes, filmy and white, and yawned, stretching. Well, if that wasn’t the cutest thing Fiera had ever seen. She almost felt bad for waking him up! He smacked his mouth a couple times and looked in Fiera’s direction, ears pricked and ready for action… or at least as much action as he was capable of doing. “Ok Lionel… play dead!” She said. Predictably, he did nothing, and tilted his head slightly, still looking at her. She chuckled slightly. He wasn’t often this perky, but she bet he’d enjoy the trick once he figured it out. All he had to do was nothing- literally! She reached out, ready to start teaching.
Fiera 8 Lionel 3.2/13.2 Play Dead 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:33:07 GMT -6
“Ok Lionel… play dead!” She said, and gently pushed him back down. He squirmed for a moment, but she scritched behind his ears to calm him down a bit. “It’s ok! Shh, shh!” She comforted. “Play dead!” Eventually, he stayed down, and sat there, looking at her. She moved to gently close his eyes and open his mouth, which she managed with only a little struggling. Eventually, he looked like the pure essence of… well, a corpse. Legs splayed and awkward, head tilted, eyes closed, and mouth open, tongue out and drool dribbling. It was disgusting. It was perfect! She tittered with joy, and moved to get him a scrap of meat. “Good job, Lionel!” She praised, and by the time she looked back, he was perked up again (as perky as he got), ready to receive his prize. She happily tossed it to him, and then cringed as his reaction kicked in a moment too late.
Fiera 8 Lionel 3.3/13.3 Play Dead 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:33:26 GMT -6
It left him snapping weakly at thin air with a scrap of beef on his face. “Haha, oopsie!” She said awkwardly and wiped it off, letting him eat out of her hand instead. “Maybe we shouldn’t do anything that requires too much agility out of you, huh?” She said. Once he had finished eating however, it was back to ‘work’. “Ok Lionel, play dead!” She said, and went to move him again. She couldn’t help but note that it was easier to do now, and he got the idea faster. That was good. It showed that he was learning rather quickly, though it probably helped that this wasn’t hard for him to do. Once he was laid down and ‘dead’, she let him sit there for a moment. Once she decided he was done, she clapped and praised him. He immediately blinked and closed his mouth, looking up at her expectantly.
Fiera 9 Lionel 3.4/13.4 Play Dead 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:33:50 GMT -6
She was more than happy to supply him with his treat. This last round however, would be done without a treat AND without her moving him, to make sure he had the idea straight. First however, she waited until he ‘woke up’ a bit, coming to a more upright sitting position, eyes wide and ears up. Once he seemed sufficiently perky, she gave the order. “Lionel, play dead!” She said, and could have laughed at the result. Lionel simply flopped over, tongue lolling and legs limp- even when she picked one up and dropped it. “Good job, Lionel!” She said after he sat like that for a minute… only for him to not look up again. “...Lionel?” She queried, a worried tone beginning to creep into her voice. In a brief moment of panic, she checked his neck for his pulse… when a loud snore erupted from him. Oh. He fell asleep like that. Oh well- if the training worked, it worked.
Fiera 10 (Level up!) Lionel 4.0/14.0 Play Dead 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:34:12 GMT -6
The next, and probably last, trick she decided to teach Lionel was another simple one. He was a simple creature, of course. Small and frail, there wasn’t a lot that he could really do. Frankly, she didn’t want him to do it anyway. Pushing him too hard could prove hard on his already fragile constitution. Simple tricks, somewhere between cute and creepy were as much as she wanted to teach him, at least for today. All the little ghaenelt really needed to do at the upcoming contest was flop around in such a way that the audience would realize how freakish he was anyway, as mean as that sounded. She head that the freak shows were quite popular however, so it couldn’t be as bad as she was thinking, could it? Still, with any luck, this would be a crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience member’s motivation for coming was.
Fiera 1 Lionel 4.1/14.1 Grin 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 8:34:30 GMT -6
That trick was, of course, ‘grin’. In cuter pets, it would be an adorable, open-mouthed expression, like the kind you’d try to get a nice dog to do at a camera while getting their attention. For Lionel however, it was pretty different. He had disgusting breath, for one. Fiera would probably be keeping her sweater pulled up over her nose for the entirety of this trick. Something about him having venomous fangs caused it? Second of all, Lionel didn’t really… have much in the way of teeth. There were a couple of short meat eater’s fangs, that was for sure, but they were oddly spaced around his mouth and frequently rotted out despite Fiera’s best efforts. They usually grew back in, but infrequently and at odd angles. As a result, Lionel’s mouth was a bit of a mess to say the least. But hopefully, a charming and/or freakishly impressive mess!
Fiera 2 Lionel 4.2/14.2 Grin 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 16:40:47 GMT -6
To start with, she’d have to do a bit more man handling of her pet. He usually hated it, but it always got him to perform the behavior she wanted. She stroked him gently, getting his attention. He leaned into the scritches behind his ears, but still regarded her warily. “Lionel.” She said as she slid her fingers from his ears, down his jaw, to his mouth. She poked gently at the corner of his mouth, next to the hinge. “Grin!” She said, pressing gently- not enough to hurt, just to be somewhat uncomfortable. She didn’t want him to retaliate too hard anyway- he had a venomous bite, after all, and she didn’t need to go to the hospital today. He squeaked irritably, and moved his head away. After a few more insistent tries however (with her repeating ‘grin’ each time), he opened his mouth to squeak at her instead of moving.
Fiera 3 Lionel 4.3/14.3 Grin 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 16:41:06 GMT -6
“Good boy, Lionel! Good grin!” She said, and popped a piece of meat into his already open mouth. He squeaked with pleasant surprise and bit down, smacking noisily as he ate. She couldn’t help but smile at his response- Lionel was awfully cute when he wanted to be. They had one instance of the trick down though, and they couldn’t stop now. “Grin, Lionel!” She ordered, and gently tapped on the side of his mouth again. It only took a couple taps and no need for pressure until he got the idea and held his mouth open again in a somewhat creepy fascimile of a smile. He was, of course, rewarded with another chunk of meat for his good behavior. This was good- she was able to slowly wean him off the physical contact needed to get him to carry out the trick. Soon they’d be able to do it hands free!
Fiera 4 Lionel 4.4/14.4 Grin 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 6, 2019 16:41:25 GMT -6
They tried it a few more times like that, each time with Fiera touching her ghaenelt less and less, until he only required the barest brush along with the verbal command to get him to open his mouth. Every time, Lionel was quicker and quicker at obeying the command too, grinning bigger and wider each time. Soon, it was time for the final challenge, with no touching at all. “Ok, Lionel!” She said, making sure he was watching and listening. “You ready, buddy? Grin!” She said. He looked at her, and almost immediately his face spread into an open-mouthed, snaggle-toothed smile. It would have been cute, if not for the rank breath, the missing teeth, and the long string of drool that dripped out of his mouth. Fiera didn’t mind though- to her, Lionel was absolutely perfect. In fact, he was even met with a big, toothy smile of her own.
Fiera 5 Lionel 5.0/15.0 Grin 5
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