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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 15:13:06 GMT -6
Fiera had designed her garden to be as relaxing as possible, thick with flowers and fruits. Mango might end up eating some of them, but that was fine by her. He wasn't likely to eat many though- likely just out of curiosity more than anything else. After all, repointe were primarily carnivorous despite their cervine appearance. There wasn't much here that would be palatable to him here, though his desire to learn more was always strong. Fiera wouldn't mind though- a leaf taken off a bush here or there didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Keeping his horns from ripping things apart though... now that might be a bit more difficult. She made a mental note to keep him away from the more densely packed areas, so he wouldn't get his antlers caught on low hanging tree branches or decorative strings of light. He wouldn't like that as much as she'd dislike those being demolished.
Fiera 17 Mango 80.2/32.2 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 15:24:53 GMT -6
The journey to him getting those antlers had been quite difficult. Fiera thought back at some of the bizarre training sessions she had to undergo to get Mango combat ready. Ugh. Some were pretty straightforward. She had taught a million pets how to bite an opponent or to not be scared in battle. But teaching him to manipulate the elemental alignment of his attack, so he could summon lightning bolts with his horns or put the force of an earthquake into his kicks was... well, nearly impossible. It was something that all wild repointe were capable of, but knowing that a creature could do something in THEORY and actually teaching it to them were two entirely different things. He was past that hurdle now, but Fiera was so happy to finally be done with training him all of his more complex, borderline magical abilities. It made everything that came after so much simpler.
Fiera 18 Mango 80.3/32.3 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 15:30:06 GMT -6
After a while, Fiera had taught Mango all of the things he should be physically capable of, all of the attacks, all of the physical movements (such as dodging and defending). From there, all Fiera had to do was train him... more generically. Increasing his speed, his strength, his ability to resist blows. That had taken many, many sessions at the training gym. She made her gym license earn its keep, that was for sure. It had been a grueling several months, but here they were, finally able to relax. In some ways though, that was just as important. If Mango was kept at a heightened state of stress at all times, he'd be exhausted by the time the tournament actually started. And then where would she be? Not on the winner's podium with Mango, that was for sure. Sometimes, having some time to decompress was just as important as the actual training.
Fiera 19 Mango 80.4/32.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 17, 2024 15:33:17 GMT -6
Well, she would prove that she could RELAX harder than anyone else, too. That was a thing you could do, right? Either way, it was certainly the perfect day for it. It had rained the previous day, leaving the air fresh and moist, but the ground was no longer soaked or muddy. The sky was still cloudy, keeping the sun from sending any baking rays down on her head. The air wasn't too hot, and a light breeze rustled the leaves on the trees in her garden. It was honestly perfect. Mango seemed to be enjoying himself too, closing his eyes slightly as the wind ruffled his mane and tail. When standing like this, he sure looked majestic... though Fiera knew how quickly that could change if he was presented with anything that could spook him. She smiled a bit at the thought of him once mistaking her shoelace for a snake.
Fiera 20 Mango 81.0/33.0 5
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Post by Silver on Mar 17, 2024 19:23:36 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:28:06 GMT -6
That was how she found out that a repointe could jump higher than she was tall. It was amusing at the time, but it made her realize just how physically powerful Mango could be, despite his appearance. As they passed by a cluster of bushes, Fiera couldn't help but notice the bees buzzing around them. Winter had tried to deny it, but spring truly was in full swing by now. All of the plants had finally pushed through the soil now that the final freezes were over with. It was still cold most days, but no longer so cold that it would kill the plants, and so they were slowly but steadily reclaiming their ownership over the earth. It was invigorating to watch, and Fiera couldn't help but feel her own energy coming back as well. Plus, the insects- normally she didn't care for them much, but she had to admire their sense of opportunity.
Fiera 1 Mango 81.1/33.1 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:31:03 GMT -6
The moment the plants arrived back, so did the insects. They were always the first to take advantage of the bounty of spring- or in the case of pollinators like bees and butterflies, assisting them in their return to glory. Wherever there was any useable scrap of food to be found, bugs would be there to take advantage of it. Even now, Fiera could see a few caterpillars gnawing on the fresh green sprigs coming out of her bushes. She frowned a bit- hopefully those were butterfly caterpillars, and not anything that would cause a problem. While she could respect the hustle, at the end of the day Fiera felt the need to prove that she was the top dog around here. She wasn't about to let her garden get pushed around by a couple of insects. For now though, her garden was in balance, and the colorful, blue winged bees were just another pretty thing for her to look at.
Fiera 2 Mango 81.2/33.2 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:34:51 GMT -6
There were other blue things around as well. As Fiera passed a tree, she saw a bright blue flash on one of the trunks. She leaned in closer- a bunana. She sighed. These things could get annoying. They did have a function, technically. You could sell them for just a couple credits or, more frequently, use them in orbaru breedings to manipulate the colors of the offspring. Unfortunately, Fiera didn't do orbaru breedings too often. And in fact, she hadn't been doing many breedings at all as of late- she had been too busy with tournament training. So bunanas tended to build up in her inventory, technically helpful but in practice going unused. She'd have to find something better to use them on. In addition, the vines they grew off of could be annoying as well. She didn't know where they came from- she certainly hadn't planted any seeds for them.
Fiera 3 Mango 81.3/33.3 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:38:37 GMT -6
They were more like weeds than anything else- they'd curl up and around more robust plants, putting out tiny little leaves and much larger fruits, leading Fiera to finding the bunanas simply shoved in among more intentional plants. They could damage her other plants too- if an existing plant wasn't big enough to really stand on its own, a bunana vine could simply choke it out of existence. So while the fruits of the bunana vine were useful, it could be outright invasive in her garden if she didn't clamp down on it. With that in mind, Fiera plucked off the bunana but ripped the vine out as well, making sure to pull up the roots as well. These trees were still young- she didn't need a vine getting hopelessly entangled in them. She quickly glanced around the other trunks and didn't see any more signs of vine growth... for now.
Fiera 4 Mango 81.4/33.4 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:40:38 GMT -6
Fiera walked away, casting a careful eye back over her shoulder at the grove of trees. Hopefully that was the problem solved for now. While she loved coming out to enjoy her garden, she had to admit it was a lot of work keeping it looking nice. Nature didn't like being kept in little boxes at sharp angles, so she was always cutting and pruning and maintaining it back into shape. She pulled out weeds that decided they should be the main focus instead, gave careful percentages of fertilizers to crops that were otherwise too delicate to survive on their own, and scared off animals that would take too much for themselves. The reward was great though- she got something beautiful to look at and, more importantly, she had something truly impressive to brag about. She doubted anyone else in the Labs City had a garden as full and fanciful as hers.
Fiera 5 Mango 82.0/34.0 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:45:01 GMT -6
She and Mango kept walking through the garden. Already there were a few early bird fruits on the bushes- no doubt to bring back the animals that had migrated away and welcome them to spring. In Fiera's garden though, most animals were kept out, with only a few songbirds being able to weasel their way back in. Well, and weasels, she supposed. She plucked a few of them off and shoved them in her pocket. A small harvest was still a harvest after all- she could easily do something with that. Mango sniffed at the bush as well, curious about it. Fiera had shown interest in it after all- maybe he should be too? Fiera chuckled and gave him a pat on the back. "You do what you want with those, bud." She said. Mango reached out a bit further and plucked one of the fruits off, curious to see what the hullabaloo was about.
Fiera 6 Mango 82.1/34.1 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:47:00 GMT -6
He almost immediately spat it back onto the ground, gagging. Fiera couldn't help but laugh. First things first, repointe were carnivores- it was a rare fruit that WOULD taste good to him. Second of all, the berry he had picked out for himself wasn't even ripe- the rims of it were still bright green, and it was much smaller than the others hanging on the bush. Not that he would know what a good fruit looked like, of course, but she was surprised it even caught his eye to start with. And then finally, these specific fruits weren't even for eating anyway. It was an ornamental species, meant to look good hanging on the bush and not smell terrible when it began to go off. If picked, it was used in dyes or as decoration, not for eating. The ripe ones weren't poisonous mind you, but they weren't something she'd make a meal out of.
Fiera 7 Mango 82.2/34.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 8:54:13 GMT -6
In fact, they didn't taste like much of anything. But still, that was a lesson learned for Mango- even after he had learned so much, there was still so much in this world he had yet to figure out. It made Fiera smile a bit- even though he was all grown up now, there was still some parts of him that were a baby at heart. Needless to say though, he was done with that bush, and he even shot Fiera a dirty look. It was as if she had trick him into eating off of it, instead of her grabbing fruit off of it, putting it in her pocket, and him deciding completely independently that he had to get some of that. What a fool. Still, she allowed him to move on, happy to follow his lead and go do something else in the gardens. This was his day out, after all.
Fiera 8 Mango 82.3/34.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 9:04:40 GMT -6
Overall, Mango was enjoying himself. They later passed by a pond with a little bridge over it, and rather than go over the bridge, he happily splashed through the water... until he realized that it was still freezing cold and dashed back out again, bleating loudly as he sprayed water everywhere. Fiera took shelter as he shook himself off, but later played a game of catch with him to help the repointe warm up. Soon the sun was hanging right overhead as she tossed the ball she had brought with her at him. The weak rays of the sun were feeble, but enough to finally dry his thick fur out after half an hour or so of play. Or at least, it seemed to be dried out when she ran a hand through his tail. It was good enough at any rate. With Mango's excess energy worked off, the pair returned to their walk.
Fiera 9 Mango 82.4/34.4 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 18, 2024 9:08:41 GMT -6
Now that Mango had gotten his zoomies out however, he seemed to be slowing down a bit. Fiera checked her watch- they had been here for longer than she though, almost an hour. With that in mind, perhaps it was time to return home. There was no need to rush though- home wasn't going anywhere, and it wasn't like Mango was completely exhausted. Instead they took the scenic route through Fiera's garden, enjoying the clusters of blossoms, the stone pathways, the humming of insects as they went about their business. It was nice to not have to work for once- to simply enjoy the fruits of ones' labor. When they got to the front of the garden, Fiera tossed the spent bunana vine into the garbage can. It was the only thing she had had to change about the garden this whole time. Much better than her normal grueling gardening sessions.
Fiera 10 Mango 83.0/35.0 15
(Fiera takes Mango and leaves the garden.)
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