Show Ring - Working Salonne
Mar 20, 2020 23:04:08 GMT -6
Post by Alma on Mar 20, 2020 23:04:08 GMT -6
Kennel Name: Bone Chewer Den
Houluh Image:
Show Name: Rusted Tin Can
Stats:
Level: 41
Loyalty: 49
Stamina: 2
Strength: 2
Resistance: 1
Dexterity: 5
Mentality: 5
Special Abilities: Wind Immunity, Wind Avatar
Moves: Spectral Bite
Knows:
Tricks- Hunt, Fishing, Guard, Accept Sudden Movements, Quiet, At Ease, Higher, Land, Follow
Moves- Nip, Scamper, Dig
Abilities- Endurance, Swim, Run
Items Used/Props: N/A
Houluh Image:
Show Name: Rusted Tin Can
Stats:
Level: 41
Loyalty: 49
Stamina: 2
Strength: 2
Resistance: 1
Dexterity: 5
Mentality: 5
Special Abilities: Wind Immunity, Wind Avatar
Moves: Spectral Bite
Knows:
Tricks- Hunt, Fishing, Guard, Accept Sudden Movements, Quiet, At Ease, Higher, Land, Follow
Moves- Nip, Scamper, Dig
Abilities- Endurance, Swim, Run
Items Used/Props: N/A
She watched the previous entries with a mild look. The first was a showcase of tricks the houluh had been trained, the second starting with a speech that did nothing to prepare her for the frantic energy of the houluh and its soft-skin as they crammed as many tricks as possible into the length of the song, and the last one, well, she had expected more of the same. The long-eared one surprised her, not repeating the loud music of the second or the simple recitation of the first, and Haix found herself unexpectedly enjoying the way the soft-skin simply showed his, or were patronne’s a her, health and then a show of skill.
It was enough to make her forget about the contest-running soft-skins insistence that, no, she could not show off Tin’s training by killing things, and their assurance that an ‘alternative, but still viable, solution’ would be provided. The showing of the other houluh had certainly proved that drawing blood in a contest would not be allowed, even though it certainly looked as if the last entry had scattered pools of it before their show. But she would trust the soft-skins and their promise of an ‘alternative, but still viable, solution’. They did want some entertainment out of Tin at least.
Then it was her turn, and she strolled out to the center of the ring, Tin following close enough to nip at her heels if the houluh had been so foolish. She turned slowly to get a better look at the viewers, finding the glaring lights did much to hide the audiences features so that she could not have even said if they were soft-skins or ssashirk, considering following the example of the first rather than giving some grand speech. She did not need to explain herself to soft-skins, but the other two had. She would spell it out for them as well.
“Tin, av T-Bone Chewerss,” she said, doing her best to shift into the soft-skin accent, “Verking houluh. No drey can esscate her.” And with that done, it was like the audience, if there was one still behind the lights, was not longer of importance. She did not turn to Tin, the houluh panting as her eyes slipped from the momentarily silent ssashirk to stare at the bright lights, trying to make sense of the scents clogging her nose. Then one scaled arm whipped upright, close the houluh's nose though Tin did not so much as flinch from the sudden movement, one finger pointing at a sand pit filled with shallow holes, something small and furry in plain sight to the audience but hidden from Tin’s sight as it rested against the wooden wall. The command to hunt was called, and Tin took off towards it.
It was a cautious trot, not the speed the others had shown so far, a speed that dropped even further when the scent of something caught in her nose and made it twitch. She walked to the sand, head held low, body following its example as her muscles stood out against her fine fur. The moment she came to the wooden barrier, she paused, nostrils flaring, then she lunged, jaws snapping tight on the tiny furred body and trailing sand as she flung her head up to shake it even as her teeth sunk in deeper-
And deeper, deeper than she would have expected, the body cawing inward as the skin held tight, and a piercing squeak came from it. Tasting no blood, she relaxed her jaws and tried it again, giving it a good shaking as the thing caved and squeaked yet again.
Haix had not followed the houluh, but the loud squeaks emanating from the thing Tin was trying to kill were enough to give away what ‘alternative, but still viable, solution’ had meant. She strode over, meeting the houluh’s wide, black eyes as Tin tried to kill the squeaky toy covered in fur, and yanked it free before giving the command to dig.
Tin planted her hind legs firmly in the sand, sending a cascade of sand behind her as she dug deeper into the sandpit, Haix taking a moment to look over the toy in her hands, a whiff the scent of some prey animal still clinging to it. The toy was then held in one hand as she called for the houluh to hunt once more.
Tin spared a second to glance at the ball of fur in Haix’s hand, then moved around the sand pit, sniffing at the holes as she went, sparing only one more than a single sniff. Into this one she began to dig, this one inter-spaced with a stop as she halted the flying sand to snap at something unseen, then resumed digging as her empty jaws pulled back into view. The second stop was marked with what one might have thought was a shrill scream of pain, if it was not nearly an exact copy to the first. And once again, the houluh pulled free a ball of fluff that squeaked when bitten, but did not bleed or crunch no matter how hard she bit it.
Haix did not bother to take this one from Tin, instead tossing down the first to the floor outside the pit, the ball rolling to a stop a meter away. Now a new command was given, though those who had just seen the previous houluh would not consider it as such. Tin let the ball fall from her jaws as she leapt after the other ball, positioning herself so that she stood over it. She still panted, looking less intimidating than usual as she tried to guard the fluff from the faceless crowd of scents, when a noise reminded her that there was someone much closer.
Tin spun around, careful not to step on the squeaky thing she had tried to kill just a minute before, facing Haix as the ssashirk stared at her with a blank expression. When Haix took a step closer to the houluh, wondering if she should have copied the cat eared soft-skin’s version, Tin began to growl. It was a great deal more intimidating that when she had been a pup, and Haix began to circle the houluh, forcing Tin to turn with her as she moved between the crowd and Tin. Then Haix moved closer, and the growls got louder, the houluh almost seeming to vibrate with their force as she dropped her head and raised her lips, showing off her pointed teeth. Another step closer, close enough to reach out and pat the houluh, and Tin began to bark, legs planted firmly as she seemed to used her full body to make the noise, hair on her back lifting. When Haix slowly reached out towards the ball, Tin snapped at her, teeth clicking shut inches away from Hai’s claws as she sought to drive the ssashirk off.
Then Haix pulled her hand back and the growling once again replaced the barking and snapping, then she spoke to the houluh, another order, and the tension seemed to melt out of Tin’s body. Teeth were once again hidden behind her lips, not so much as a growl towards Haix as she patted the houluh on the head, then crouched down and retrieved the ball.
The ssashirk just then seemed to notice the pool of water, and the dark shapes hiding within. Feeling fairly confident that she knew what those dark shapes would prove to be, she gave the houluh a new order as she stood, an order unaccompanied by any gesture. The houluh’s head twisted one way then the other, ears flopping comically around her head, then trotted over to the pool and it’s dark shapes. There was a moment in which she paused by the edge, eyeing the nearest one, head tilted to one side. She snapped at it, plunging her snout into the water and pulling free something in a spray of water, chomping down on it only for water to gush out of it and nearly make her drop it as the water hit the back of her throat. A second bite brought forth something that was almost the same squeak as the first two, if not for the remaining water twisting it into a squelch.
Haix took this one away from her as well, tossing it back to where the others lay, and gave the command again. This time Tin found no nearby dark shapes to snap at, and so she instead hopped into the water, paddling over to one and squelching and squeaking it as she brought it back to where Haix stood. The houluh was given just enough time to shake her coat, splattering Haix as the ssashirk considered the next set of tricks.
These were simple ones, nothing quite as useful as the others she had shown. She called for the houluh to scamper and Tin did, picking up her feet in a silly prance that brought a few chuckles from the unseen audience. She had the houluh nip at one of the balls, the toy squeaking in protest as the teeth pinched down on it. She called for Tin to guard the pile of balls yet again, but this time demanding the houluh be silent, the clicking of Tin’s teeth as she snapped at the air when Haix came too close the only sound she made. Then the houluh was put at ease again, all wagging and tongue lolling in her mouth.
Then it was time for the last bit. The one that would set Tin apart from the others in a way that would hopefully be worth a few meager points. The first order was a command for Tin to run, and run she did, making wide laps around the stage as her nails clicked against the ground. She ran and ran. Now there were words for the faceless ones, the soft-skins that judged from behind the lights. One finger was jabbed upwards, pointing at the top of a pole that stood at least three times as tall as the ssashirk, or rather the tiny fluffy ball that was perched on top of it. “In the water, in the earth, none esscate.” Now she forced out a ‘grin’, baring her own teeth in a way not entirely dissimilar to Tin when the houluh had been guarding. “Nah eveen in arr.” The last word was drawn out into a growl, and Haix waited a beat as Tin completed yet another lap. Then she chirped out something, and, for a few seconds, nothing happened.
Tin continued to run in circles, making no deviation from her course, no sudden change in her movement perceived at first. Then those in the closer rows would notice that the houluh seemed to grow taller, her back higher in the air as she continued her run. Then it might be noticed that there was no more clicking of claws against the ground despite her run, the sound curiously absent.
Then the houluh was running in the air above them. Paws slapped against nothingness, pushing the houluh up and forward with every kick of her paws, as if she ran on an invisible ramp, body sagging as her legs reached forward and struck the invisible ground once more to propelled her higher.
Haix let Tin run until the houluh was at nearly the same height as the pole and it’s furry squatter, and then called out for Tin to hunt with a point to the pole. Tin skidded on nothingness, paws digging deep into it as she seemed to tilt and risk falling off of the air to plummet down towards those nearest to the stage, but her claws caught and she raced towards the prey.
It was snagged and squeaked as Tin raced by, and Haix allowed the houluh to squeak it a few times before calling her to land, to come back to her. The second turn was more gentle than the first, but the houluh plunged nearly straight down as she ran towards Haix, paws kicking at nothing as it seemed whatever power had bore Tin in the air had abandoned her.
But the slope lessened as she was only her own height from the ground, allowing her to trot to a stop next to Haix, giving the squeaky toy one last squeak. Then the toy was dropped, and with a nod towards the audience, Haix walked off stage with Tin following closely behind.
[Tin showed Follow, Accept Sudden Movements, Hunt, Dig, Guard, At Ease, Fishing, Swim, Scamper, Nip, Quiet, Run, Endurance, Higher and Land as trained.]