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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 12, 2023 21:30:59 GMT -6
Sure enough, he gently leaned forward and took the ball out of her hand, holding it gently like she showed him when she closed his jaw around it for him. That way, despite his large size, the ball didn't pop. He definitely could pop it if he wanted to, but that wasn't what she was training him to do. She left it for a few seconds, letting him do his job, before finally releasing him from the trick. "Good hold, Harding!" She said. The neptica opened his mouth, letting the ball plop into the water, and turned to Fiera to beg for food. She was more than happy to give it to him, pleased with how well he had done. As she turned back to the cooler however, she realized she was getting quite low on fish. Harding had just finished learning another trick however- they could afford for her to take a break to go get more.
Fiera 10 Harding 18.0/20.0 Hold 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 14, 2023 19:29:43 GMT -6
Fiera was back in the saddle with Harding- metaphorically, considering she was not teaching him how to be ridden. But there were a few more things she wanted to try teaching him for the upcoming contest, and not a lot of time to do it in. Still, Harding was a clever beast- she was sure he would get the hang of it. The neptica swam back and forth in the netted off training pen in the docks, perhaps not quite as confident or enthusiastic. The pen was one of many along a special section of the docks, one that people could use to train their aquatic pets without having to figure out how to transport them to the public park. Not a lot of boats went by this area making it quiet, private, and ideal for learning. Fiera glanced around- there weren't even any other people out today, or at least not where she could see.
Fiera 1 Harding 23.1/25.1 Dodge 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 14, 2023 19:54:39 GMT -6
"Good! All the better for us, eh? No distractions." She said. Harding blew bubbles a bit irritably, but stopped when Fiera shoved the cooler closer to the edge. As always, she had stuffed it full of half frozen fish, and fully intended to use it as much as possible. Harding recognized the cooler by now, of course- it was now on him to perform well enough to earn its contents. "Are you ready, Harding?" Fiera said with a wry smile. Harding circled around in the pool a few more times before slowing to a stop in front of her. "Perfect!" She said before leaning down and picking up her other training tool- a small rubber ball. It was about the size of a baseball, but filled with air. She had several more in a bag behind her- she didn't want to have to retrieve them out of the pool every time she wanted to try the trick again.
Fiera 2 Harding 23.2/25.2 Dodge 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 14, 2023 21:10:48 GMT -6
Without further ado then, it was time to begin. "Hey Harding. Dodge." She said, before beaning him right in the melon with a rubber ball. Harding squeaked angrily, thrashing his head around. "Well! You should have dodged!" Fiera said, picking up another one. "Do better this time! Dodge, Harding!" She said, and moved to throw that one at him too. When he didn't move however, she sighed and didn't actually throw it. "Okay fine, I can slow down a bit. Harding, dodge." She said, and gave it a weak, underhand toss. Harding shook his head and clicked around with his echolocation. She saw him start to move for this one, but it still wasn't in time, and it bounced off his head again. This time he dove into the water, as if ashamed of himself, and Fiera used a pole to fish the balls back out. This was going to take a lot of work.
Fiera 3 Harding 23.3/25.3 Dodge 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 14, 2023 21:17:09 GMT -6
Once Harding was done being mad at himself, he resurfaced and paced along the side of the pool, clicking slightly. Feeling a bit bad for him, Fiera thought it might be beneficial to throw him a bone. Or a ball, as it were. She tossed the ball into the water just to the right of him, missing on purpose, and then put up a big fuss about it. "Wow, Harding! Good dodge!" She said with perhaps a little bit too much enthusiasm and tossed him a fish from the cooler. He didn't hesitate to grab it, but from then on he seemed a bit peppier- perhaps he had a better idea of what to do now. Fiera decided to give it another go. "Ready, Harding? Dodge!" She said, and tossed another ball at him. This time he did manage to move in time, but the ball still hit him on the back (instead of his head where she had been aiming).
Fiera 4 Harding 23.4/25.4 Dodge 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Nov 14, 2023 21:22:18 GMT -6
Still, it was better than before, so she was happy to encourage it. "Good dodge, Harding! Here you go!" She said, and tossed him another treat. This only seemed to encourage him even further, so by the next time she threw a ball at him, he was able to be just barely grazed by it. The time after that, he managed to just barely dodge. The longer she went on for, the better at dodging he got until he was able to roll out of the way effortlessly even when sitting at a standstill- a difficult thing for a creature who lived in the water. Finally, Fiera reached into the bag- and realized she was out of balls. She looked at the pool again. Sure enough, it was full of balls that Harding had all successfully dodged and was now poking around with his nose as toys. "Huh... well, I guess that settles that then." She said, standing up and brushing herself off. If there was one way to know your pet had learned how to dodge, it was that.
Fiera 5 Harding 24.0/26.0 Dodge 5
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