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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:07:48 GMT -6
He's fighting not to just charge in there by himself to go fish the puppy out but Flare's well aware... well aware that he doesn't know how to swim. The water is like a wall to him. Insecurity. The wet 'splat' of plopping a sopping wet animal on his feet as Shabh, his body heaving from the exertion, releases their charge. Like a cub who doesn't want to be nosed around, the puppy's paws flail a bit as he's plopped down, and they both get more covered in mud then already. Then he sees the humanish crouching in front of him. uh oh... But where he expects a scolding, a gentle, if not very rough, hand scratchs his ears.
{You are trouble on four legs.} the man with the tail makes a comment he doesn't know what it is. Relief. Reward. He opens his other palm and offers him a meat snack. Percy's stomach rumbles and he takes the snack. Swimming is hard work! While he plants his square between his paws to tear at it, Shabh gets a whole strip of jerky. {Thank you Shabh. I wouldn't have reached him in time if he had trouble.} The rakai sneezed out some excess water from his nose before taking the strip. He'd jump in first if it made his master worry less.
14
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:15:02 GMT -6
They rest for a while, both dogs tired from the initial jumping into the water, and using muscles they don't typically use. Flare has a wound up spring feeling inside his stomach he can't quite get rid of as they all sit, watching the lazy undulations of water go down the stream to wherever the delta meets up. Its thankfully slow enough that Percy had no real trouble navigating. His hands absently paddle at air as he watches the water. His body type is considerably different with longer limbs, can a human...ish learn how to swim still? If a ssashirk or a regular human can, he could... right?
The warmth he starts associating with his magical 'outbursts' pulses inside. Like a push forward from within. If he could join them in the water... the tumaian would have a much easier time supervising the man's dog and his own dog. A few clumsier motions of shirking off his vest to lay it up on an overhanging branch of the tree that clung itno the muddy bank, the now half bare tumaian stands up, the sparse amounts of scaling visible on his skin. He's still darker then a Genevian, but more of a tan. Shabh puts his head up from his resting pose, what is he doing?!
15
14.20
44/52 Shabh
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:23:45 GMT -6
Although he's still tired, Percy also looks up when he hears splashing. Big splashing. The man with the tail is going in the water too? Tired forgotten, he jumps to his feet to go too, but the spoilsport of a big rakai who has similar but brighter stripes like he does blocks his way. Move! Wanna go! The big dog growls at him, a warning. Stay put. A huff of annoyance before he tries to see around the big dog's legs. He's like SO BIG. Will he be that big when he's big too?
The muddy water sloshes around his bare feet as Flare touches the liquid. Its COLD. Not ice water cold, but cold enough to send shocks to his skin. to his human leg, the prosthetic isn't affected whatsoever. Slowly, the water gets deeper as he wades, his pants floofing around his skinny limbs. A human would remark how damn skinny he looks, because from behind you can almost see a bony indent of his spine, between the healed knots of skin on his shoulder blades. 'Mud is earth, and earth is my friend... mud is earth, earth is my friend.' he chants to himself. The mud of the bank is hardening a bit under his feet, so he doesn't sink. Welcoming an elemental to a new source.
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:35:28 GMT -6
This isn't the muddy soil of the city after being rained on a long time or when watering in plants. This soil has been 'here' and 'there'. Traveling earth. He closes his eyes as he stands there, letting the water drift around him, up to his waist. Something brushes his living ankle, like a passerby's brushoff. Fish maybe? The stream doesn't react to having an elemental standing there, half naked. Its cold. Its not like having a bucket bath. Prickles on his skin are lifting up on the back of his neck when a breeze drifts over the water.
BARK BARK! Before he can turn around, something moderately sized splashes into him from behind, because he doesn't know to watch the shore at all times, and sends Flare face first into the deeper portion of the water. The shock of water past his waist freezes him briefly as he sinks a bit, opening his eyes against the kicked up silt.
Something is looking back at him. A creamy mixture of mud brown and chocolate brown, with skipping stone gray eyes, and creamy white fins. Thrashing briefly, Flare struggles, he doesn't recall which way is up! Panic! Until something noses his bare chest, and its about as big as he is.
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16.20
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:44:15 GMT -6
His head breaches the water's surface, Flare gasping in air. His arms hook into whatever just nosed him upwards as it pushes him back onto a shelf of earth in which he can stand. He takes deep breaths of air, finally finding clearance for his feet. Something breaches in front of him, and squirts him full in the face. It looks like a fish, as the humanish splutters, reaching up to clear water from his eyes. Disapproval. Trying to drown? {Learning to swim} he expresses, blinking at the rather bland looking thing. It squirts him again, lower down from full in the face. Disapproval. The eyes rove, and he turns with it. Splashing about in circles, once again, is the young Percy, having the time of his life. Loud. Rude. Noisy. Disapproval. There's a lot emotion in these eyes. 'Child of sand and earth...' that catches his attention. Its a brushing... like when he could 'hear' the dryad or the giant tree snake in the harvest grove of the mansion. Except not with his ears. 'You are lucky to not drown.'
More barking, and he can hear the deeper snapping bark of his oldest companion, who is clearly distressing that he's in the water, and theres something with him that isn't him.
{Brought my dog and another dog to learn to swim...and myself.} he expresses to the 'noise' he can hear.
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 5:58:28 GMT -6
'Claw... kick... claw... kick...' the noise he can hear whispers. The gray eyed breach lazily swims around him, not getting higher up then just their face. Was it the distortion of the water or did the edges of the face inflate every now and then, like a flap. Was this a fish? 'Even babies can swim... its instincts... embrace it...' Wait, there was motion to its movement. Strike with forward, strike with back. 'Claw... kick... claw.... kick...' They're looking at how Percy is kicking himself in circles. Claw with paw, kick with leg. Claw with paw... kick with leg. He lifts his hand out of the water, examining it. Curling it into the 'claw', he places it back in the water, and reaches forth to pull back towards himself. It feels like a forward motion. 'Right... claw first, then kick. Keep your head up to breathe... you are not a fish' It pulls away. Kick with foot. He does. Claw, kick, claw, kick. Its not hard, is it? Slowly, he pushes off of the shelf again, and claws sharply with his curled hand, kick with foot. It doesn't push him forward like the fish though, and more in a sideways motion. 'Dont' stop, claw, kick, claw, kick'
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18.20
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 6:06:29 GMT -6
Percy's just going in circles, kicking and clawing his way. There's teeny tiny webs between his toes, helping him propel, but he doesn't know direction specifically. Its like going in circles of his bath bucket at the big tower. Go go go go... and man with tail was going too? He sees the plastered down fiery fur kick off of the shelf, where he could barely touch the bottom himself if he sank, and the fire... starts circling like he is, but in deeper water. Something's going around him too. Yelp! He's interrupted in his kicks and claws and starts splashing. But something much larger comes up around him, and grips at his scruff, holding him above water. The older rakai is hauling him to shore again. No! I wanna swim! He kicks and struggles but coughs up a bit of water, sneezing. Being dropped wetly on the shore. He sneezes, and shakes the water from his fur. He can hear growling. Protective 'I'm going to protect my alpha' growling, as the other rakai, also about as new to water as his master, strikes out, and heads for the fire moving in circles. He snaps his jaws angrily at the breach in the water. Get away from my alpha!
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45/53 Shabh
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Post by Flare on Jun 3, 2021 23:36:18 GMT -6
The breach that has eyes ducks away as the snapping jaws come a bit close for comfort. Something large drifts past Flare as he is kicking and clawing in circles. Struggling to get himself turned around, the rakai starts nosing his alpha towards the shore again. Go that way. Go that...way! Finally, he starts heading for shore. Its less kicking with both legs, but he's trying to swipe the water with his tail as well. Finally, he reaches the shelf of the shallows, and splashes ashore. His fur dripping, Shabh trots out of the water, shaking himself out and nosing the wet strands of fire. He's breathing, hard, but still. Occasionally coughs up a bit of water. Tired. Surprise. Inspiration. {I swam...} he mumbles... a splayed hand slowly curling into a fist of triumph. {I swam...} The mud felt warm against his skin after the chilling water feeling. Not a fire elemental, and the water has leeched his warmth, something that's been there forever. Slight tremors are present from his chilled body. Concern. Cold. Shabh shuffles himself closer and lays down against his alpha, sharing his warmth. Because what are Rakai but four legged warmth generators. Right? Right? Right.
Unwilling to be left out of the cuddle pile that he never gets to do with the other creatures in the big tower, Percy wanders over and snugs against the big form of the winged male, as he's kinda cold too. and wet.
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20.20 lv 87 Flare
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2021 4:17:24 GMT -6
  A cute fish seems to be playing with a shell over there! |
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Post by Flare on Jun 4, 2021 7:13:19 GMT -6
The 'fish' breaches the water again once all the warmbloods are snuggling, even unwillingly. The smooth surface of a 'forehead' and big wide skipping stone gray eyes that could resemble stones themselves. Not many foolish earthbound got into its water willingly. It learned much from teh short period of time of those who had been splashing around, rudely kicking up silt and stirring up the streambed. Traveling earth wasn't wrong. From the tiny starts of brooks farther inland outside the humanmade city, slowly growing larger and stronger until they met 'the river' and flow through the canyon where dragons of yore flew still until reaching the ocean. And every year, some species would swim the great journey to go and spawn their eggs. Thankfully these species werent' so stupid as to lay their eggs so shallow as to allow humans to distrub them.
An earth elemental... how curious; one of sand and earth; even MORE curious. Very few of sand were present this far west. Water is a secretive element, one of giving life, one of taking it away. It can sense things. The great sense of trust that bound the large dog to the tailed elemental. The puppy is unnecessary, but still bound. It just opts to watch before slipping beneath the surface again. The elemental would need to learn to take stride when approaching another element.
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87 2.20
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Post by Flare on Jun 4, 2021 7:35:43 GMT -6
The warmth of two bodies against his own warms Flare's chill up without too much trouble as he rests, feeling the occasional drip of water come off his stringy locks to drip into the earth under his hand. Where it isn't thick and packed down like normal earth, its loose and gritty under fingers. No... silty. Its much finer then putting his fingers through typical dirt. Filtered? Would that be the right term? He opens his eyes to find a large brown-black figure snoozing close by to him. Sigh... he'd established that Shabh was too big for snuggling in the barrel, thank goodness, but the warmth from the pair helped revitalize him. Carefully waking to the world again after too much time of laying around, he eases himself up, sitting there, still damp but no longer chilled. Waking. Realization. Thank. He runs his fingers through the coarse fur that makes up the thicker portion of Shabh's mane, with a smile. Thankful. The long dragonoid tail of his companion thumped once, a big crimson eye laid upon him. Safe.
{I wish I'd knew that you already had the instinct of how to swim before I started this...} he says to himself, drawing his knees, evenly, to his chin, watching the lazy water. He could hear small snorts of the puppy waking up too.
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Post by Flare on Jun 4, 2021 7:42:24 GMT -6
Its not like the rakai could open his mouth and say words to his master; which he'd have so much to say, but the link says a lot emotionally. Body language isn't that deep. The man with the tail is grateful, and wistful. Wistful why? Its not a 'pop up one day' instinct, but Shabh doesn't remember specifically jumping in a body of water to learn how to swim. But its stalking the prey. Claw, kick, claw, kick. Keeping his head above water. His body shape might've made it easier for him vs for his master, who has longer limbs then he does, and a shorter neck. Would help if he had muzzle, but he does not. Humans have flat faces. and have to work harder to stay above. He shifts away from his master, jowls splitting in a big yawn as he stretches, a few kinks popping in his limbs before shaking himself out and trotting around to his master's other side. Carefully not nosing too far deep to injure him by nosehorn to get up. It spurs a sound of happiness as the man gets up slowly, using Shabh's back for support. The woody smell of his leg smells wet but not swollen sick wet. They look towards Percy, who is waking up too, his ears flopped inside out and blinking awake. What to do with you...
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4.20
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Post by Flare on Jun 4, 2021 7:55:58 GMT -6
The man in the hat's request by mail remains the same, to teach his puppy how to swim. They'd established the puppy knew 'how' to swim, it was the problem of being so interested in jumping in each time he approached the water, that he's gonna scare off all the fish. Looking out over the lazy water again, the tumaian humanish sees no sign of the breach with eyes. Must've gotten bored or spooked away.
What if he taught him to swim when it was appropriate? And if he was not allowed near water, he wouldn't go. Would that work? Can you just 'swim' on response? It shouldn't be that difficult to teach him how to 'stay' until allowed into the water. He looks to his companion, who looks back. Did they have the same idea? Where did the treat capsule thing go... Flare reaches into his pockets, and finds... nothing. Uh oh. Worry? No find? Woof. He looks up, and Shabh is nosing at his discarded vest, sniffing at the pockets, the distorted pockets. Aha. Right. He'd stuck them in his vest, not his pants pockets. Otherwise might be chasing his treats down the river. Or calling them for naught. The puppy is awake now, and looking ready to cause trouble.
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46/54 Shabh
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Post by Flare on Jun 4, 2021 8:05:15 GMT -6
A lot of children learn by watching their parent perform a task, and monkey see monkey do. So convincing the pup to stay put when he was supposed to by example... at least by a bigger animal. Shabh is a young enough rakai that he has no puppies. Fishing out his ball, the object catches Shabh's eye. He hops up and down, suddenly acting like a puppy again. Percy, not wanting to be left out of the fun, sees the ball too. BALL BALLBALLBALL! He yips loudly, bouncing up to snatch at the fingers holding the ball. GIMMEBALL! But the man with the tail does not give him the ball, but holds him and turns him around. He points the ball at big dog, and makes a noise, and throws the ball. There's another noise in there, and the big him rushes the water, his wings clacking along as they fold inwards along his spine and the big him splashes into the water, clawing and kicking forward with power and precision that wasn't there with trying ot rescue his master. It takes a few tries for him to snag the floating offense of a ball before coming ashore, shaking himself and bringing the ball back to him.
Begin stay, swim on command
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6.20 |
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Post by Flare on Jun 5, 2021 4:29:40 GMT -6
Bark bark! He's much too small to try and take the ball away from big him, or from anything really bigger. But the man with the tail turns around and holds a treat over his nose. Ooooh. Before Percy knew what had happened, his butt hit the ground. The man came closer, and gave him the treat. Positive sounds. He was good. He repeats the sound... and backs up a step, making sure to have Percy's attention on him when he moves away. He starts to get up but the man turns away. Huh? Whine... what'd he do wrong? Turn away is bad... he barks again but the man does not look around. Unsure, he looks to the big him, still holding the ball in his jowl. What'd I do wrong... He puts the ball down... and before Percy can jump forward and take it, the big him exposes a few teeth with his paw on the ball, growling. His shoulders do that fall back that scared ones do... and sits on his butt again.
{That's not necessary to scare him...} Flare tells Shabh, even with his back turned. Tell off. No. A deeper grumble from behind. He won't learn unless told. The puppy whines but hasn't tried to come up to either of them... after the word is happened again, Flare waits a few pulsebeats and turns around slowly. and gives Percy his treat.
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