|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:48:15 GMT -6
The humanish looked up at her houluh, and saw that she had found a large stick to chew on. It looked like it had been bleached in the sun over time, and was completely devoid of bark. Fiera frowned- she didn’t really want Bubbles chewing on something she just picked up off of the ground. Who knew what was on it! Not to mention the dangers of swallowing wood chips. “Give me that, Bubbles.” She said firmly, and the houluh growled slightly and dipped into a play bow. “No, no. I’m not playing. Drop it.” Fiera said warily, only for Bubbles to dodge out of the way. Fiera sighed and ran at her, thinking all the while about how she was too old for this. After a couple minutes of running around, Fiera managed to snatch the branch from Bubbles, ripping it from her jaws and holding it in the air triumphantly.
Fiera 6 Bubbles 22.1/44.1 Fetch 1
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:48:28 GMT -6
Bubbles began jumping at it right away, trying her hardest to get it back from Fiera. Frustrated, Fiera turned and threw it as far as she could into the field. “There. Now you can’t- NO, come back!” Fiera screeched as Bubbles shot off after it into the field. She groaned loudly, putting her hands over her face. This was a mess. She dragged her fingers down her cheeks, trying to think of a way to salvage this. Then, she remembered the treats in her pocket. Hm. Perhaps she could turn this into a trick while she was at it? “Bubbles!” She called, and saw her houluh’s head pop up above the grass, stick in her mouth. “Come here! Fetch!” She said, holding up a treat to further emphasize the command. Even from this distance, she could see Bubbles’ tail begin to wag with excitement at the prospect of getting a treat.
Fiera 7 Bubbles 22.2/44.2 Fetch 2
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:48:44 GMT -6
The houluh bounded across the field, her head popping up at regular intervals with each leap. Soon she skidded to a stop at Fiera feet, looking at her eagerly and panting despite the stick in her mouth. “Good fetch, Bubbles!” Fiera praised, and dropped the treat on the ground. The stick fell from Bubbles’ mouth so she could pick up the treat, and Fiera was quick to grab it from her. Bubbles turned to try and keep her from it, but Fiera was too fast. The houluh returned to her treat, huffing. Fiera smirked and waited until she was done. “Okay Bubbles, you want it?” She said eagerly, winding up to throw the stick. Bubbles froze, with only the tip of her tail wagging madly to show her excitement. “Go fetch!” Fiera shouted and lobbed the stick again, getting it a good two dozen feet. Bubbles was off like a shot after it.
Fiera 8 Bubbles 22.3/44.3 Fetch 3
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:48:58 GMT -6
Once again, Fiera could see when Bubbles caught the stick. “Bubbles, fetch!” She called, waiting for her to come back. The houluh looked at her and trotted back a couple feet… but then stopped in favor of sitting down and chewing on the stick some more. Fiera sighed- so close, yet so far. Relenting to the houluh’s demands, Fiera held up another treat, letting the gentle breeze carry the scent of it to Bubbles’ nose. “Bubbles, fetch!” She repeated loudly, and the houluh looked up. Carrying the stick, she walked the rest of the way to Fiera and sat in front of her, dropping the stick at her feet and waiting for her treat. Fiera’s lip twitched- hopefully she’d learn to do it without the treat, but this would do for now. For now though a deal was a deal, and the humanish dropped the treat for her to eat.
Fiera 9 Bubbles 22.4/44.4 Fetch 4
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:49:17 GMT -6
While Bubbles was eating, Fiera picked up the stripped stick again and crossed her arms until the treat was gone. When she noticed that Fiera was holding her new favorite toy Bubbles stood up again, shuffling from one foot to the other in excitement- she clearly knew that something good was about to happen. Fiera couldn’t help but smile and lifted up the stick. “Bubbles, fetch!” She said, and threw it into the distance. Bubbles yapped once with joy and took off after it, turning into a grey blur as she followed the stick across the field. Fiera saw her leap up and grab it out of the air before it even landed. Then, she looked back at Fiera and trotted back to her, wagging her tail with pride before dropping it at Fiera’s feet. Fiera couldn’t help but be proud too. She had, after all, learned a whole new trick.
Fiera 10 Bubbles 23.0/46.0 Fetch 5
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:50:22 GMT -6
Fiera played fetch with Bubbles for a while, but soon the houluh grew tired and unwilling to play anymore, and after a certain point refused to run after the stick again. Fiera could only shrug- it had served its purpose. Next up though, she had a trick that… wouldn’t be nearly as fun to teach, for her or for Bubbles. Contests tended to be stressful, and while she had taught Bubbles to accept a couple of things for her debutant show, the salonne show would be a lot more intensive. As a result, she wanted Bubbles to be prepared for anything, whether it was quick movements or raucous noise. It would be busy and bright, and she didn’t want her pet getting distracted, or worse, panicking. So getting Bubbles used to a few more ‘odd’ situations was pretty high on her list of priorities right now, even if the houluh didn’t know it yet.
Fiera 1 Bubbles 23.1/46.1 Accept Noise 1
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:51:21 GMT -6
With that in mind, Fiera had brought a little device with her. It was small and black, with a bit sticking out of it and a small red light that was currently turned off. It was an alarm for those that travelled at night or in shady areas, and Fiera knew that the second she pulled the pin out, the alarm would start up with a terrible shrieking noise. It was ear piercing for anyone who heard it (especially those with above average senses of hearing, such as Fiera and Bubbles), but that was sort of the point. She needed Bubbles to get used to loud noises, no matter how irritating. She fidgeted with her pocket first, making sure she had enough treats on her to make this worthwhile for Bubbles. Satisfied, Fiera brought Bubbles over to where she was and gave her a couple of initial treats, then took a deep breath…
Fiera 2 Bubbles 23.2/46.2 Accept Noise 2
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:51:47 GMT -6
And pulled the pin. It immediately began shrieking like a banshee, and Fiera knew her ears would be ringing soon. Bubbles leapt straight up in the air, and just a moment after Fiera pulled the pin, she stuffed it back in while knowing that neither she nor Bubbles could take much more of that. It was only on for a second or two, but Bubbles was already flipping out, barking wildly and jumping around. “It’s okay, Bubbles! It’s okay!” Fiera said, her voice muffled a bit in her ears. She put a few treats in her hand and offered them to the houluh. “Shh, shh. It’s okay.” She said, trying to catch the pup and calm her down. Eventually Bubbles circled around and came over to Fiera, putting her head under Fiera’s arm to eat the treats. The humanish took the opportunity to give her a hug. “See? We’re fine!”
Fiera 3 Bubbles 23.3/46.3 Accept Noise 3
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:52:06 GMT -6
Fiera kept saying comforting words like that until the houluh calmed down some, her tail wagging weakly as Fiera fed her seemingly endless treats. After a few minutes, she seemed to be back to her old self. Her owner stood up and brushed some of the houluh fur off of herself. Time to try again. Fiera lifted the alarm up and got a grip on the pin. Bubbles looked at her with concern, but to her credit didn’t run away. It looked like now that she knew what the alarm did, she was at least a bit more confident. Without further ado, Fiera yanked the pin out of its casing, her ears folding back instinctually. The alarm began its tinny, piercing wail and Fiera forced her to count out a few more seconds than before. Bubbles looked at her, legs atremble, but had to duck out after about five seconds of it.
Fiera 4 Bubbles 23.4/46.4 Accept Noise 4
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 27, 2020 16:52:37 GMT -6
Fiera shoved the pin back in, instantly relieved to have some silence. Bubbles seemed to appreciate it too, and collapsed to the floor, whining quietly. Fiera offered her some more treats and comfort, and the houluh soon seemed more perky. With every repetition, she seemed to bounce back faster and accept the noise for longer before she had to stop. Fiera kept it going like this, and each time she turned the alarm on, both she and Bubbles were able to take it for longer and longer, until they reached a full half a minute of head splitting shrieking. Fiera breathed out as she put the pin back after that one, and tossed Bubbles (who by this point had stopped yelling or running around) a few more treats. She had reached a point that Fiera was satisfied with, both because she doubted she’d need to deal with a sound as loud as that for any longer periods of time… and because her ears couldn’t take much more of that.
Fiera 5 Bubbles 24.0/48.0 Accept Noise 5
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 28, 2020 16:08:17 GMT -6
The next trick was similar to the last one, in that it would help Bubbles accept odd and stressful situations better… hopefully. Fiera couldn’t really know until she tried to train it, after all. Still, whereas the last trick was intended to teach Bubbles to be calm when faced with loud noises and irritating sounds, this one was to teach her to be unbothered by flashy, distracting movements. The salonne show would be filled with moving audiences after all, from the audience moving around to other houluh trying to get her attention. It would be quite overwhelming for a lesser beast. The only thing she needed to focus on was Fiera however, and so it was the humanish’s goal to train her for that. Luckily, Fiera had trained this before with other pets and so was feeling quite confident in her ability to get Bubbles to pick up on this.
Fiera 6 Bubbles 24.1/48.1 Accept Sudden Movements 1
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 28, 2020 16:08:40 GMT -6
For this trick, Fiera had brought the most distracting object she could find in her apartment- a fluffy, brightly colored feather duster. Fiera didn’t use it as much as she claimed to or as much as she should, so it would likely be getting more use if she used it to train Bubbles. It was everything the houluh would find interesting- bands of color, a vague resemblance to a piece of prey, and an airy fluffiness that ensured that all parts of it moved tantalizingly. Fiera held it behind her back right after she got it out of the bag so Bubbles wouldn’t notice it before she could begin training. “Bubbles!” She called sweetly, getting her attention. Her other hand was inside the pocket of her pants, getting ready to pull out a treat. Once Bubbles looked up at her, Fiera pulled out the feather duster- it was time to get started.
Fiera 7 Bubbles 24.2/48.2 Accept Sudden Movements 2
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 28, 2020 16:09:13 GMT -6
Bubbles seemed to perk up the moment Fiera got out the duster, and began barking. Fiera sighed- that was to be expected from a playful, prey driven species. Still, she hoped that she could convince Bubbles not to pay attention. For the time being though, she let the houluh get out her energy. The more she learned about the duster, the less interested she would be in it. She Fiera waved it around, letting Bubbles chase it in circles, barking all the time. Fiera was glad they were in an empty, open field- otherwise they could end up bringing over a lot of unwanted attention. Still, the humanish kept waving it around until Bubbles’ began to flag, running after the duster more and more slowly with her breath becoming more belabored, until finally she stopped and flopped on the ground, exhausted. Fiera tried to wave it around her face but she completely ignored it.
Fiera 8 Bubbles 24.3/48.3 Accept Sudden Movements 3
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 28, 2020 16:10:05 GMT -6
“Good job, Bubbles!” Fiera praised. She had finally done the action that Fiera wanted her to do- she ignored the distraction completely. As a reward, she threw the houluh more treats than she would usually give, just to add extra emphasis to the fact that she was doing the right thing. After she was done eating, Fiera waved the brightly colored duster above her head again. The houluh’s tail thumped against the ground slightly, but it appeared that she was still too tired to get up and chase it again. Once she stopped moving her tail, Fiera threw her even more treats. The houluh was happy to accept them, but did still seem a little confused. Fiera figured that if she kept it up though, she would eventually get the picture. So despite Bubbles’ exhaustion, she kept on waving the feather duster, trying her absolute hardest to get her pet’s attention.
Fiera 9 Bubbles 24.4/48.4 Accept Sudden Movements 4
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 28, 2020 16:10:38 GMT -6
After that though, Fiera just couldn’t get Bubbles to react the same way again. She seemed completely ignorant of the duster. Fiera fed her a couple more treats just to make sure, but even without them she seemed disinterested in it. To test her a bit more, Fiera went and grabbed a couple more objects. Waving her water bottle over the houluh’s head got the same response- or lack thereof. So did a nearby stick, one that was quite similar to the one that she had been playing with not too long ago. Even when Fiera gave her some time to rest and Bubbles stood back up again, she didn’t seem surprised by the quick movements and flashy colors that Fiera kept waving through her periphery, no matter how frantically she moved. Satisfied, Fiera stuffed the feather duster back in her bag, proud of Bubbles’ progress. Not to mention, her arm was starting to get tired.
Fiera 10 Bubbles 25.0/50.0 Accept Sudden Movements 5
|
|