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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:42:02 GMT -6
On the far left side however, there was a set of stairs with a gate at the bottom- no doubt to keep pets from taking the easy way up. So Fiera could climb up right to the top easily while Donner had to pick his way up himself- hopefully as fast as possible. This would be perfect. Donner would have to learn how best to orient himself on the uneven hill in order to climb up, or risk stumbling and rolling all the way back down to the bottom. His sense of balance, speed, and accuracy would all be tested in climbing this wall. Fiera was thrilled, and looked at her seeker eagerly. He didn’t seem nearly as happy, giving the humanish a piercing glare. “Aw, come on! It’ll be fun!” She teased as she dropped his leash before traipsing toward the stairs. The seeker refused to budge, clearly not wanting to participate in… whatever this was. Fiera had a feeling she’d be able to convince him, however. After all, she had his favorite flavor of murp jerky in her jacket pocket right now, and it was usually more than enough to convince him to go or do whatever she pleased.
Fiera 5 Donner 19.0/9.5 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:42:47 GMT -6
Fiera was quick to latch the gate behind her once she reached the stairs, not wanting Donner to follow her (even if that didn’t seem too likely right now). Then she sprinted to the top of the stairs, which was… more winding then she wanted to admit. She wasn’t that out of shape, she just… didn’t like stairs. At all. Wheezing a bit and very glad there weren’t other people around to see her, Fiera walked toward the center of the climbing wall, with Donner following her every move with his eyes. He was currently laying on the ground lazily, but Fiera knew she could convince him to get up soon enough. Once she was in the middle of one of the “trails'' of plastic grips, she got the package of treats out of her pocket. Donner perked up almost immediately at that, recognizing the now familiar sound of his favorite food. “Yeah, you want it?” Fiera said, getting out a piece to wave around so he could see it. The seeker stood up hesitantly, his eyes laser focused on the humanish’s hand. “Then come get it!” She said, and placed the piece of meat on the very top of the trail, performing the action with a dramatic flourish so Donner couldn’t NOT see where she put it.
Fiera 6 Donner 19.1/9.6 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:43:12 GMT -6
The seeker growled softly, then put a single foot up on the trail. “That’s it, Donner! Come and get it!” Fiera encouraged, standing to one side. Then, the seeker finally leapt up, scrabbling against the plastic for grip. His momentum off of the floor got him pretty far up- not surprising, considering how strong Fiera knew seekers were- but not nearly far enough. He didn’t seem to plan his move at all either, thinking entirely with his stomach, which wouldn’t do when Fiera was trying to teach him to be more dexterous. He quickly lost grip and slid back down, snarling and screeching. He couldn’t catch himself on the plastic again and was soon unceremoniously dumped onto the padded floor of the gym. Fiera rolled her eyes as he proceeded to throw a temper tantrum, screeching and gnashing at the plastic base of the climbing wall. “Come on, you can do better than that! Come here, Donner!” Fiera shouted down at him, waving the jerky around for emphasis. Donner trained his attention on her again, but just hissed at her loudly with frustration, earning another eye roll from his owner. He paced back and forth in front of the wall, clearly planning out his next move.
Fiera 7 Donner 19.2/9.7 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:43:33 GMT -6
Good. Fiera wanted him to think about where he was putting his feet down a little more carefully- that was what dexterity was all about, in her opinion. And if he wanted that food, he would HAVE to figure this out. After a minute or so (an agonizingly long time in Fiera’s mind, who had forgotten to bring her WATT to pass the time), the seeker finally backed up a few feet away, ready for another try. The humanish perked up at the sudden change, and smiled as he charged right at the climbing wall again. This time, instead of leaping as high as possible, he got himself up to a cluster of “paw holds” that he managed to brace his feet against. Unfortunately, in order to master this wall, you didn’t just have to move smartly- you had to move quickly as well. Without thumbs, the steepness of the hill threatened to dump you off again as soon as you lost momentum, which Donner quite nearly had. The seeker’s legs trembled as he tried to hold on, and pushed himself up just a bit further to the next set of handholds. Unfortunately for him however, he hadn’t planned it quite well enough.
Fiera 8 Donner 19.3/9.8 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:43:52 GMT -6
His momentum didn’t take him quite far enough to reach the first grip, and his claws clattered uselessly against the plastic instead. His second paw managed to hit the grip however and dig in, but his back legs, having left their grips already, were quickly losing traction on the plastic. He had gotten much further than he had before, but once again Donner found himself losing grip on the wall and tumbling to the floor. He didn’t get up immediately. Instead he just laid there and hissed angrily on the ground for about half a minute in one long breath, a feeling that Fiera could sympathize with. Then, he finally got up and shook out his stress, looking at the wall with newfound determination. Or perhaps he was just glaring daggers at Fiera, who was waving the jerky at him again. She’d take either. He tilted his head one way and the other, watching the path up, planning out his moves again. Then, with much less hesitation than before, he ran at the wall again, leaping off the floor toward it. In two leaps, he had made it to the original cluster of grips. This time though, he didn’t hesitate in moving on.
Fiera 9 Donner 19.4/9.9 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 7, 2021 1:44:25 GMT -6
Instead, he immediately leapt toward the next cluster of grips, and pulled himself up. Getting overconfident, he pushed off towards that final scattering of grips that would put him within range of Fiera and his prize… only to overshoot, his jaws snapping shut a mere foot from Fiera. This time, instead of rolling and tumbling, he slid gracelessly back down to the bottom. Fiera didn’t even get the chance to sigh in disappointment though before he backed up again and made another try, his movements concerted and near memorized by this point. Fiera’s eyebrows flew up, impressed. He reached all of his previous checkpoints, blew past the hardest parts with the fewest grips, and finally grabbed on to the grips near the top. He thrashed furiously and finally rolled over the edge, landing on the platform next to Fiera. “Oh, good job, Don- yeek!” Fiera exclaimed as the snowtracker seeker leapt up faster than she was expecting, snatching the treat from Fiera’s hand, nearly taking a finger off in the process. “Yeah… that’s fair.” After that, she lead him back down again and had him go through other parts of the wall for the sake of practice making perfect, but she knew he had gotten the idea down. Move with intelligence… but more importantly, move with speed.
Fiera 10 Donner 20.0/10.0 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:30:53 GMT -6
The day was warm and spritely, perfect for training outside, but Fiera doubted she’d be spending much time in it. The training gym was mostly indoors after all, and she was going to spend as much time there as possible. Fiera casually jogged there, dressed up in her best tracksuit. After all, training a pet at the gym was a lot more strenuous than just teaching them an attack or a trick at the public park. Which meant she had to look the part! ...Even if she didn’t plan on participating in the actual exercise that much. That was Victor’s job. And oh, how lovely Victor looked for this! It was his first trip to the gym, so she tried to make him look extra nice, like a mother dressing their child up for their first school dance, brushing his body, polishing his scales, and sharpening his horns. As a result, he practically gleamed right now, standing tall and proud. She doubted the arcane rakai sarane particularly cared about his appearance, but his cold, calm demeanor let him wear it well no matter what he looked like. Hopefully the receptionist would appreciate Fiera’s efforts as much as she did. They were nearing the gym now, after all. Fiera 11 Victor 36.1/38.1 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:31:21 GMT -6
It looked just as big and imposing as usual. It was a massive structure made out of concrete, steel siding, and thick, clouded glass. Fiera was pretty sure it was a repurposed warehouse of some sort- she had been in a lot of those over the years- that had been converted and upgraded into a factory for lean, mean, fighting machines. It was a little intimidating but boy howdy, if it didn’t do its job. Without further ado however, Fiera pushed open the front doors, proudly walking in with Victor plodding along beside her, looking for all the world to see like a pair of absolute badasses… though only one of them really cared about that. “Hello there!” Fiera said proudly. “Fiera Ferella and Victor, here to do some dexterity training if you don’t mind!” She said, leaning on the front desk. “Is Victor… spelled how I think it is? V, I, C…?” The receptionist said, barely looking up from her papers. Fiera’s eyelid twitched a bit, psychically urging the receptionist to behold all the work she put in, but to no avail. “...Yes. That’s correct. As you can see, he’s an arcane rakai sarane.” She said, gesturing behind her.
Fiera 12 Victor 36.2/38.2 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:31:37 GMT -6
Once again, the receptionist barely looked up. “Yes, so he is. Okay, I’ve got everything written down, you can go in.” She said, gesturing behind her with one finger before going back to her work. “...Okay then!” Fiera said with just barely contained irritation. She tugged on Victor’s leash and practically dragged the nonplussed rakai as she stomped down the hall. “The nerve of that woman, can you believe it!” She vented to her utterly uncaring canine. “I put ALL this effort in, and she doesn’t even glance up! What’s her problem? Can’t she appreciate a work of art when she sees one?” She continued, stomping down the hall. No one was around to see her outburst, but if they had been, they’d probably give her a lot of weird looks. She’d probably just hiss at them in response. Victor of course couldn’t care less, but instead glanced around the hall as they marched, examining his surroundings, passively smelling the area as they walked. It reeked of more types of creatures than he had ever smelled before, though thankfully none of them TOO fresh. He couldn’t see through any of the doors, but a part of him didn’t want to anyway- he’d rather not meet the creatures he was scenting.
Fiera 13 Victor 36.3/38.3 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:31:53 GMT -6
Luckily for him, none of Fiera’s plans today involved the rakai sarane interacting with other pets. Instead, Fiera was looking to train Victor in dexterity- a task he would no doubt excel in. He always went above and beyond in their training in the public park, so why wouldn’t he do well at this? Granted, it was a lot harder to increase a pet’s physical abilities than to train them a move, but Victor was a creature of a much higher caliber than any of those stinky animals. Her animal smelled GREAT. Still, that meant that all she had to do now was find a room that was actually set up for dexterity training… She glanced through the tiny windows set at the top of each door, but didn’t see much that she was interested in. A pool full of water absolutely wouldn’t do for him, and neither would a room filled with weights to be lifted. She might deal with those things later, but certainly not right now. Then, she passed by a room filled with dots of color, far moreso than the other rooms she passed by. She paused at that one, if just out of surprise for a break in the grey monotony.
Fiera 14 Victor 36.4/38.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:32:28 GMT -6
It looked almost like a dodgeball court, with a padded ground painted with boundary lines and colorful, basketball sized rubber balls scattered across the field. Fiera quirked an eyebrow. She wanted Victor to become more swift and nimble, to better avoid his foes in the field of battle. After all, the faster he was, the less likely he was to get hit and the more likely he was to get the first hit in, which could be of vital importance in a fight with multiple heavy hitters. And what better way to avoid getting hit than getting projectiles thrown at you? Fiera chuckled darkly as she cracked open the door to the empty gymnasium, leading Victor in after her. The rakai tilted an ear at her, admittedly concerned about the tone of her voice there. What exactly did she have in mind? Fiera dropped the leash as she worked on closing and locking the door, marking it as occupied from the outside. In the meantime, Victor sniffed around at his surroundings and the balls, exploring them. They too smelled of other creatures, but thankfully the scents were old and stale. He could live with this. The rakai sarane gently tapped a ball with a paw, sending it rolling away.
Fiera 5 Victor 37.0/39.0 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:32:49 GMT -6
Until he was struck in the back of the head by another one. He turned around and snarled loudly, an ominous sound- or it would be, if Fiera hadn’t raised him from a puppy and knew full well he wasn’t going to do shit to her. Instead, she just bopped him with another ball. “You’ve got to be quicker than that, Victor!” She chimed, raising another ball over her head to launch at him. The arcane rakai sarane took the next blow across the shoulder, still confused about what was happening. Once he identified Fiera as the attacker however, he calmed down a bit. He wasn’t being attacked, she was just trying to play with him in the stupidest way possible. The balls hurt, but only a little bit. It was enough for it to be distinctly unpleasant to get hit, but not enough to actually injure him. Great. Fiera launched the next one, a bright blue ball at him before strafing to her right to grab some more. The rakai leapt up and tried to grab it out of the air with his fangs, only for him to realize it was far too big for him to bite down on.
Fiera 6 Victor 37.1/39.1 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:33:03 GMT -6
Instead, it slipped through his grasp and hit him on the nose instead, causing him to land and immediately shake his head to try and clear it. Fiera was still lobbing balls at him, one after the other. He needed a new plan. She wasn’t letting up and he couldn’t grab them, but Victor was hardly a rakai that stood down easily. Instead he backed up, making it harder for Fiera to aim at him. A few of her balls sailed right by him, bouncing harmlessly off the ground and rolling to the far side of the gymnasium, which Fiera was slowly sidling toward by circling the perimeter. “Good job Victor, keep it up!” She said, and reached into her back pocket. She pulled out a meaty treat and lobbed it toward him. Normally she saved these for her houluh, but she wasn’t about to bring chunks of half frozen meat here and shove them in her back pocket. These would do. Victor sniffed at it and snatched it up- only to just BARELY dodge out of the way of a ball a second later. This wasn’t his usual kind of training- she wasn’t about to let him get a break that easily.
Fiera 7 Victor 37.2/39.2 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:33:17 GMT -6
He backed up quickly as Fiera kept lobbing balls in front of him, letting them whizz past him and hit the ground one after the other. The humanish nodded at his progress- he was getting a LITTLE better here. He was learning to dodge a couple of these, but he was hardly predicting Fiera’s next move or anything like that. He was mostly taking the hits as they came, and was certainly getting hit more often than he was dodging them. At least he was paying attention now though, instead of sitting there confused as to why he was getting hit with balls. “Come on Victor, I know you can do better than that!” Fiera shouted as she threw another one, a purple one. She was just about at the opposite side of the gymnasium now, picking up the first balls she had thrown again. Victor managed to quickly duck under the purple ball she had just thrown at him, but it scraped against his horns and toppled over them, hitting him on the back as it fell. It was close! But he needed to keep an eye (so to speak) on his peripheral parts as well as his torso.
Fiera 8 Victor 37.3/39.3 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 13, 2021 18:33:33 GMT -6
The longer she kept at it though, the more he improved. Every time Victor made a particularly fancy dodge, she tossed him another treat, and then proceeded to try and ding him as much as possible while he tried to grab it. At one point, she was successfully fighting him away from his food with just balls, but eventually he managed to figure out her rhythm well enough to sneak in there and grab it without getting hit, dancing away again. He was getting lighter and lighter on his feet, tip toeing around the field and almost never flat footed. She tried to whip another dodgeball at one of his feet, but he quickly picked hit front right foot up, let the ball go through, put it down, and repeated it with the back foot, never even blinking as he maintained eye contact with her. Perfect. With her other hand she launched a shot at his head, only for him to quickly twitch it to his left, horns and all, letting it go ahead and temporarily put the flames on his back out instead. Fiera grinned. He was getting a LOT better at this. She threw him another treat for that.
Fiera 9 Victor 37.4/39.4 9
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