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Post by Noa on Mar 26, 2021 13:39:17 GMT -6
And after a moment’s pause, Grunty manifested another big shield around himself. “Much better,” Noa said. There were still patches, so he got Grunty to do little shields around the problem areas a few more times just so he got used to the sensation, and their third attempt at ‘big rock’ was more or less what Noa wanted to see.
From there, it was just a matter of practicing so that Grunty got faster at it. Noa took it slow, since this seemed to be a bit more mentally taxing for Grunty, and it took until a second session the next day before they got to a point where he was satisfied. But they got there, and Noa had to say, it did look pretty impressive once Grunty was all armored up.
It wasn't something that could be used for offense, but Noa figured Avander had that part covered.
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Post by Noa on Mar 26, 2021 13:43:12 GMT -6
And if Avander wasn't enough, well, there would always be Azalea. She wasn't quite up to snuff in terms of the training he had done with her, but she was the type who was eager to please, so Noa figured that so long as he put in a little more time with her, she would come along perfectly well.
"Okay, that's it for today," said Noa, dusting off his hands. They'd caused a bit of a mess with all the rocks everywhere, but rocks were just rocks. It wasn't as if this stuff was going to seep into the ground and poison anyone.
Grunty was just as happy to leave, so they didn't waste any more time. Their progress couldn't have been called quick, since Grunty was accustomed to a slower more plodding pace, but they meandered to the gate, then meandered past it, onto the path they took toward home.
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Post by Jack on Mar 28, 2021 12:13:54 GMT -6
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Post by Noa on Mar 28, 2021 18:57:45 GMT -6
A new day, a new trip to the mansion, to see what the old magicked house would cough up for him this time. And now he came with a creature in tow that Noa had certainly never worked with before. To be honest, he didn’t know whether he was planning to work with this one at all. It technically wasn’t his; the puppy, dubbed ‘Doc’, was actually one of Briar’s. That someone as wary and standoffish as Briar would take an interest in dogs was something unexpected, but that was what Noa liked about Briar. You couldn’t always predict the sorts of thing that guy would get up to. It kept things fresh, and so long as something was entertaining, Noa liked it.
Right now he hadn’t made up his mind as to whether he liked this pup, but he was willing to give it a trial run, at least.
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Post by Noa on Mar 28, 2021 18:58:10 GMT -6
It couldn’t possibly have been any worse than the time he had spent shepherding three different Sarane whelps around at once, also at the mansion, to get them some air. That had been interesting too, but not in a good or sustainable way, which was why Noa didn’t do that anymore.
Well, but maybe there would come a day where he changed his mind. It was hard to say for sure on things like this. Necessity is the mother of invention, or so the inane saying went, and it was a necessity that had led him down that path, certainly.
It had been a whim that led him down the path that set him to walking through the mansion gates with a pup in tow. He had been bored, and his usual pastimes of magical research and bothering his various incumbent beasts hadn’t provided its usual measure of entertainment.
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Post by Noa on Mar 28, 2021 18:59:21 GMT -6
And so he had changed tactics and begun bothering Briar instead, which had promptly led to Briar handing him a leash and telling him he could take some of the dogs for a walk if he was just that bored.
Being set to a chore wasn’t really something Noa liked to do with his time. He had Rhys and the TROD and his magic to do that for him. But he was a little curious about the dogs that Briar was raising. For Briar to spend so much time with them, and on them, there had to be something interesting about them, right? Briar acted like there was danger around every corner, and that Tat-lung of his certainly couldn't have defended him very well, given how little practical experience it had with combat.
If you asked Noa, creatures of this size weren't really the answer to that problem, but maybe Briar knew something Noa didn't.
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Post by Jack on Mar 28, 2021 19:46:12 GMT -6
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 0:31:56 GMT -6
(change of plans, new trip)
The dog thing proved to be a bust, but that was fine. Apparently Briar was getting someone else to take a look at teaching that pup some basics, and basics really weren't Noa's speed anyway. He could do them - after having trained so many creatures, it would be kind of a joke if he couldn't manage something simple like that - but he didn't like to, and he found it sort of inefficient if he was just training a creature to perform a specific job. These days he sort of skipped over it with most of the Sarane he worked with, for example.
Maybe it was bad practice, but hey, it worked. And in the meantime he did also have Rhys to help keep them calm.
Today he was back at the Mansion with one of those Sarane in tow, a reddish brownish sort of drake that he'd broken recently, named Nikolai.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 0:35:42 GMT -6
Nik was a big boy, that much was for sure. He reminded Noa a lot of Albion, actually, which was interesting because they were both second-tier drakes too. Nik was maybe not quite as big as Albion, but Albion had been a strange surprise considering the fact that Avander had been a runt, and Natath, his mother, was only average sized. But despite Albion being the larger, Nik was no slouch either. Even for a second-tier, he was big.
The similarities didn't end there either. Nikolai also had... well, Noa wouldn't have called it a savage temper, but he was definitely snappier than a lot of Noa's other drakes, which was saying something now that they were all broken. Noa had been working with Dustdevil recently, and the difference was immediately noticeable. Not that Dustdevil was anyone's darling by any means, but he was more wary, more cautious and distrusting.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 15:42:42 GMT -6
If Nikolai's breaking had been any indication, he wasn't particularly interested in playing nice. But, well, that was fine. Noa was thinking about trying to get him to dominance, and maybe breeding him to Halogen when the time came. It was kind of a hassle, and he didn't really know how interested he was in Sarane anymore, but it was something to do. And it wasn't like he was losing out on anything if he didn't do it, right?
The first order of business was actually seeing what this guy was all about though, and seeing if Noa could bring him to heel properly. It was probably possible, now that he was broken, but it would take a little time to suss out what made Nikolai tick. He probably should have done this when Nikolai was still a hatchling, but he hadn't really been thinking about any breeding plans at the time.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 15:50:18 GMT -6
It was an odd time of year to come here. Noa knew that he had been here in March before, because he had an item from the gift shop - or rather, he should say the wishing well - to prove it, but the thing was, he barely remembered any of it. Maybe it was just because the theme was so... 'Generic' wasn't the word he was looking for, but a lot of the other months were more dramatic, more over the top, more... crazy. Fireworks or starscapes or ocean transformations, that sort of deal. As he walked onto the mansion grounds today, he took a look around, but nothing really jumped out at him. It looked like spring, green and lush, and he could already spot a few pocketpets running around. A glance at his companion told him that Nikolai had spotted them too, and would dearly have loved to get to know them.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 15:52:32 GMT -6
What a jolly idea that would have been. The pocketpets this month were as ordinary looking as their surroundings, little rabbit things and small birds that darted away at your approach. It was wise of them to do so, considering the kind of creature that was in Noa's company today, but Noa didn't know if it would be enough.
Well, he'd try to keep an eye on Nikolai, but he wouldn't be surprised either if at some point he turned around and found Nik with a mouthful of bloody rabbit or something. It was a good thing there weren't any children around to see it; those types always made a fuss, and then their mothers would kick up a fuss too, and it was never much fun for anyone after that point.
Perhaps he ought to have brought a muzzle, just to be safe. Too late for that now though.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 21:35:31 GMT -6
The only one he had in the house was the one that was a part of his breaking equipment. Fortunately Nik was a drake, and so it would have fit him, but then it would have been harder for him to access any treats Noa might want to use as part of his training... So then again, maybe it was for the better that Noa didn't actually bring the thing along with him.
But it was also true that he didn't exactly have a solid way to control the drake, if push came to shove. There was a rope around the drake's neck, and Noa could have restrained Nik if he really needed to - with magic. But he didn't think that was a very good way to build trust and cooperation, which unfortunately was a necessity when it came to training beasts. And besides, as much power as he had, it wasn't as if Noa was made of infinite magic.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 21:36:00 GMT -6
There was a definitive point at which the energies from his nodes would run out, and he didn't really feel like wasting it just to keep Nikolai from eating the pocketpets.
Watching the bunnies and their brethren scurrying for cover, he said, "You'd better hide well. If he catches you, there's not much I can do for you." If that was the case, then he would just consider them part of the necessary sacrifice to the training process.
There certainly weren't any pocketpets in their immediate vicinity anymore. They probably knew better at this point. After all, the mansion was a popular spot for visitors, even if Noa never happened to chance upon any himself. Really though, it was probably for the best, since this wasn't the kind of place he came to socialize. If he wanted that, he would have gone to a cafe or a bar or something.
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Post by Noa on Mar 31, 2021 21:36:34 GMT -6
And if any unexpected companions were to show up now, well, he was spending time with a drake whose temperament was uncertain at best, so they had best beware.
"Let's take a little turn around the yard, shall we?" he said, leading the drake further in. Nik wouldn't have wanted to walk on a neck lead, but Noa had treats with him, and with a little food, Nik was coaxed into being cooperative. It wasn't as if walking was a particularly demanding thing for Noa to be asking of him, and so as long as he was getting some sort of bribe, he didn't complain.
The yard really didn't have much in the way of points of interest. It was a shame, since by virtue of Nik's size if nothing else, they couldn't really go any deeper inside. Noa had never attempted to venture inside the house himself before, actually.
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