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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 15:45:19 GMT -6
"Good leap Harding, but I know you can do better. Let's keep it up!" She said energetically as he crunched down that last fish. She plucked another one from the bucket and held it up as well, just as high as before. "Harding, leap!" She said. To his credit, the neptica seemed to have a lot more confidence now. It took him half the time to square up to where Fiera needed him to be, and just a moment later he surged from the water. With a few pumps of his tail he managed to clear the water completely, deftly snatching the fish from Fiera's hand. He landed back down in the lake with a splash and remained down there for a minute as Fiera stared off the edge, grinning. When he came back, Fiera applauded his victory. "Oh, fantastic work Harding! Great job!" She said. Sure enough, it was another feather in his metaphorical cap.
Fiera 5
Harding 13.0/15.0
Leap 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 15:56:07 GMT -6
The next trick Fiera wanted to teach was a variation on 'leap' that she was sure he would excel in. Just jumping up in the air was one thing, but doing something fancy with that was sure to wow the crowd. All she had to do was teach it to him. Jumping over an obstacle shouldn't be too hard- in fact, it was pretty standard for riding competitions. But for a swimming creature, Fiera would have to get pretty creative. Fiera knew that when she said "leap", Harding would jump to try and get at the treat in her hand. But she couldn't just throw it to the other side of the dock. The mottled neptica would no doubt swim under instead of over to grab it, and that wasn't what she needed. Instead, she needed to hold it closer to the far side so he'd feel the need to go grab it. Fiera 6 Harding 13.1/15.1 Jump Over 1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 16:00:02 GMT -6
To that extent, he had a set of jumping poles that she had received from Jack ages ago, but hadn't used until now. She could set varying heights up, but for now she was just going to try and get Harding to jump over the bare dock. "Harding!" She called, standing at the middle of the dock. She saw the distinctive blue-green head rise from the water and heard some faint clicks to indicate she had his attention. She held the fish just a few inches over the dock where he could detect it with his sonar. "Okay Harding- leap over!" She said, adding the "over" modifier to the command. At first the neptica didn't do it, wandering around the water instead, as if looking for an easier way of doing it. Fiera just kept repeating the command however- if she could get him to do something CLOSE, they could work on it from there.
Fiera 7
Harding 13.2/15.2
Jump Over 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 16:37:53 GMT -6
Sure enough, after a few words of encouragement he leapt toward her, his belly almost skimming the dock before he splashed down on the opposite side. He didn't manage to grab the fish from her hand- he was moving too quickly for that- but it had worked! "Oh, fantastic job Harding!" Fiera said enthusiastically, throwing the fish down into the water as a prize. "Excellent jump over!" She said, proud of her neptica. She heard him eating it from her vantage point, so she quickly started setting up the jumping poles from where she was standing. It didn't take the humanish long to set up either side of it before setting the center one up. They were designed to be easily knocked over if the animal actually hit it, so there was no danger of Harding getting hurt from it- just a little embarrassed. Then, she picked up another fish.
Fiera 8
Harding 13.3/15.3
Jump Over 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 16:41:32 GMT -6
"Harding! Over here! Leap over!" She said, holding it firmly on the other side. There was a part of her that wanted to wave it around, but she knew that she needed to hold it steady so that Harding would have something to aim at. Sure enough, she saw the water of the lake ripple and a wake build up as Harding surged toward the dock. A few flips of his tail and he was up in the air, soaring over. He managed to get it a lot higher this time, and his belly just barely missed that first rung as he sailed over. This time his head struck the treat as well, but he wasn't able to grab it in time before he landed safely in the water, his hydrodynamic body cutting through it like a knife. Fiera laughed and clapped as he came back up. "Good job, Harding! Good leap over!" She cried.
Fiera 9
Harding 13.4/15.4
Jump over 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 26, 2021 16:49:08 GMT -6
Finally, Fiera set up the next two poles. She was sure that Harding could do this. He knew exactly what he needed to be doing by this point, it was just a matter of getting up high enough to finish the job. "Ready Harding?" She said, already getting another piece of fish out from the bucket. She held it behind the poles, on the opposite side of where he was. "Ready, and... leap over!" She ordered. The neptica disappeared beneath the waves, and Fiera waited with bated breath to see where and when he would show back up again. Then, there was the faintest ripple in the water, a blurry shape beneath the surface. He leapt from the waves with the force of a freight train, clearing the top pole easily by a foot or more, and finally snatched the fish from Fiera's hands. She gripped at air as a smile crossed her face. Perfect.
Fiera 10
Harding 14.0/16.0
Jump Over 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 15, 2021 5:59:40 GMT -6
Well. It wasn’t the most orthodox method of getting a pet to the docks ever made, but it had worked. Fiera had gotten up bright and early to try and get Serendipity- one of her new fossil creatures- down to the docks. He wasn’t quite big enough to warrant hiring the transport services that normally brought larger aquatic pets down here. She could have paid for one, sure, but it was a lot of credits for an ultimately very tiny creature. So instead, Fiera decided to get a little clever with it. She had a small wagon- the bright red type that kids liked to drag around. And she had a cooler, the kind that college kids liked to drag around filled with all sorts of creative beverages. A bit of lake water was added to the cooler and voila, she had a home made, one of a kind critter carrier. Fiera 1 Serendipity 0.1/2.1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 15, 2021 8:41:17 GMT -6
It, admittedly, did not work fantastically. Fiera was one of those people however, where when they came up with something they decided that it was the best idea ever conceived and that it would absolutely, one hundred percent go well… or else. As it stood, Fiera shot down at least a dozen pitying glances from well meaning bystanders on her way to the lake who were no doubt wondering what she was trying to achieve. The wagon was unfortunately quite difficult to pull over the various dips and hills on the path to the lake without spilling its contents. She heard more than a couple concerned chirrups from those said contents on the way there as well, but she kept Setendipity carefully contained by taping the lid of the foam cooler down and stabbing some holes through it so he could breathe. Still, it was a bit of a rough ride for him.
Fiera 2
Serendipity 0.2/2.2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 16, 2021 8:54:47 GMT -6
By the time they finally got to the lake, Fiera was exhausted. She’d definitely have to take a bit of a breather before trying to train her pet, she decided. But first, she glanced around for a good spot to let Serendipity out. He was probably feeling a bit cramped and tired as well. Finally she spotted a jagged crown of rocks several dozen feet from her. She dragged the cart to it, using up some more of her waning strength, and thankfully found the location to be acceptable. It was a tide pool, surrounded by rocks so he couldn’t escape (until the tide came back in at least), but just deep enough to let him be comfortable. It was about fifteen feet across- large for a tide pool, but acceptable for the purposes she was using it for. It wasn’t deep enough for her to lose him either.
Fiera 3
Serendipity 0.3/2.3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2021 11:44:12 GMT -6
Once she was sure that the tide pool met her parameters, Fiera was happy to let Serendipity out into it. She brought the wagon as close to the pool as possible, on top of a particularly flat rock at the edge. Then, she cracked open the styrofoam lid of the cooler and early took an aquatic lizard to the face. The humanish yelped and scrambled to keep ahold of her pet as he threatened to slip through her fingers and topple into the water below, possibly hitting something on the way down. Eventually she managed to get a good grip on him despite how he hissed in protest and set him down into the water gently instead. He thrashed around but eventually settled, slipping off into the water. Fiera breathed a sigh of relief as he explored his new surroundings and got used to the temperature. She had managed tog eat him here without killing him!
Fiera 4
Serendipity 0.4/2.4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 17, 2021 12:41:39 GMT -6
As he swam and explored, Fiera took a moment to sit back and relax, watching her pet swim around idly. He was quite a beautiful creature when one took the time to really look at him. He had a pale belly, darkening to dark blue around his sides and with patches of deep indigo on his back, nearly purple for how deep a blue they were. But then his sharp, active little eyes were a bright lime green, adding a dash of a paler color to his dark palette. If Fiera was the one who designed him, she wouldn’t have been able to do a better job if she did it herself. Despite being a reptile he wasn’t sluggish either. Instead, there was a keen intelligence in his eyes when you looked at him. He always gave the appearance of watching you right back. Fiera was hoping that keen eye wasn’t just a trick of the light- there was a lot she wanted him to learn.
Fiera 5
Serendipity 1.0/3.0
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 20, 2022 13:14:41 GMT -6
Serine was a difficult creature, but thankfully Fiera had already gotten through her basics when it came to contest training. Never again would she have to teach that tilvander the meaning of the word "no", and thank the gods for that. But now she was left with a bit of a dilemma. She had her basics done, yes... but nothing fancier. There was a summer solstice contest coming up, and quite closely at that, but Serine didn't have a single thematic trick to show for it... despite the fact that she was capable of swimming, Fiera supposed. But she knew from Serine's parents that she was CAPABLE of doing more, she just... hadn't been taught yet. So that would be Fiera's goal for today- to teach her some more thematic moves. She would start with the water that she was splashing around in now- it shouldn't be too hard to get her to squirt some from her mouth, right? Fiera 6 Serine 8.1/10.1 Douse 1 |
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 20, 2022 13:18:22 GMT -6
Fiera waited around for a while, trying to figure out how she could reasonably get Serine to douse something in water. Eventually however, she found that she didn't have to- Serine figured it out all on her own. That is, after about fifteen minutes of splashing around in the water, the tilvander noticed something- a dragonfly that had alighted on a tree branch overhanging the water. Fiera watched with interest as the tilvander went from happily splashing to quietly undulating through the water, her eyes trained on the insect above. Then, quick as a flash, Fiera watched as she took some water in her mouth and squirted it up at the bug, knocking it from its perch and into the water. Fiera's jaw dropped slightly as Serine pounced upon it, chewing it up and swallowing it before it even had a prayer of escape. "...Oh, good douse, Serine!" Fiera said, applauding.
Fiera 7
Serine 8.2/10.2
Douse 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 20, 2022 13:21:54 GMT -6
Serine looked up, a wing from the ill fated dragonfly still poking from the edge of her mouth. Had she done something right? Serine was always convinced of her own perfection of course but... getting extra treats from Fiera was always a good thing. Sure enough, the humanish was tossing her tiny fish from one of those cans she carried around with her sometime. Serine pounced on those as well. Fiera smiled as she ate and searched around, looking for another target for her. Finally she found a twig on the shoreline, one that still had a fluttering leaf attached to it. It wasn't a bug, but perhaps it was similar enough to work. When Serine was done eating, Fiera held it up. "Serine, douse!" She said, fluttering it around. The tilvander's head swayed from side to side as she tracked the stick's movement, still a little unsure of herself.
Fiera 8
Serine 8.3/10.3
Douse 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 20, 2022 13:24:11 GMT -6
When Fiera held up the can as well however, that seemed to motivate her. Serine leaned down, taking a mouthful of water and spat it with high force at the leaf, blasting it right off the twig. Fiera laughed as she felt the drops of water splash her on the face. Perfect! She let Serine know as well of course, and threw her even more treats for good behavior. If there was one thing that could get the haughty tilvander to cooperate, it was food. "Okay, are you ready? Let's try it again!" Fiera said, and looked around. This time she picked up an even bigger branch. It looked even less like an insect, but perhaps Serine had a good enough idea of what she was supposed to be doing by now that it would stick. She plunged it into the mud, letting it stick straight up in the air before backing away slightly.
Fiera 9
Serine 8.4/10.4
Douse 4
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