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Post by Xentus on Aug 6, 2023 18:49:59 GMT -6
Now he tried to cover tenses. 'Give', 'gives', 'gave', 'has given', 'will give', 'giving'. A context and time focused lesson that was a little tricky even for the well-spoken leopard to figure out. They spent quite some time on this together; the leopard speaking, using different verbs, using different tenses, and the gargoyle processing and understanding the meanings behind both the words and actions. It picked up on the tenses of commands Xentus taught it fairly well - 'give', 'take', 'scratch', 'dig'. New words took more time, especially more abstract, sensory actions, 'look', 'smell', taste', 'hear', 'touch'...
Touch was particularly interesting to review. Varus seemed to like it the most and demonstrated his ability to touch by poking at various items - from the leopard, to his belongings, and their surroundings. Xentus would in turn narrate the actions. 'Varus touches this, Varus touched that, Varus is going to touch something, Varus did not touch something else.'
188 Varus: Foreign Language 1; Common - 7
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Post by Xentus on Aug 6, 2023 18:57:18 GMT -6
The interactive lesson seemed to delight the gargoyle. It carefully scoured the area for something new to touch at any given moment, and would look to its keeper to hear his narration. Xentus was just happy seeing how lively the gargoyle could be. While he was rather fond of it, he could never tell if the familiar was much fond of him in return. Something about that stony face didn't give much way to expression. And it didn't act in any particular way, little curiosity, little show of interactiveness, little personality even. A stark stone guardian of the earth it was. This was the most lively he'd ever seen the thing! It continued on touching things, then progressed to grabbing them and handing them to the leopard. He told it what the object was, that it took it, and that it was giving it to him. A fun little game that let Varus hear speech, learn what things were, and what he was doing with them.
189 Varus: Foreign Language 1; Common - 8
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Post by Xentus on Aug 6, 2023 19:02:53 GMT -6
Eventually, the excitement died down as the gargoyle seemed to lack much else to interact with here. Being in the confines of the cavern didn't offer much variety in things. But, it was likely for the better. It narrowed their focus onto things which were relevant to this little exploration trip. The gargoyle would get plenty chances to learn the names of things even after gaining a grasp on the common tongue after all. Overloading it on nouns now might even slow down the process of understanding more complex sentence structure.
The language lessons were given a rest for snack time. Xentus didn't recall when he'd last eaten. And while he did declare a break, the gargoyle was still eager for more words. And so the man had no choice to explain that he was eating, and what he was eating, and even described flavor. He wasn't sure if the gargoyle had a sense of taste, but he offered it a piece of his jerky anyway, which was described as 'salty' and 'meaty'.
190 Varus: Foreign Language 1; Common - 9
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Post by Nadia on Aug 7, 2023 3:32:36 GMT -6
Someone was alive here, once.
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Post by Xentus on Aug 7, 2023 21:19:19 GMT -6
Varus craned its neck forward and nipped the tough piece of meat offered to it. Jerky, salty, meaty. The words echoed in its mind as it tried to associate the meanings with the properties of the dried snack. The fill depth of the words were lost to it however, its sense of taste was not compatible with surface-dweller food. Now, if it were given a gem or crystal, those might be far more flavored than whatever this was supposed to be. The gargoyle released the offered meat and seemed to settle into content posture. "Varus seems uninterested. That is okay", the leopard commented, giving his company a reserved smile before shoving the jerky in his mouth.
After a break and some time to scrape about the cavern to reveal some precious stones and a fossil, the language lessons resumed. "Opal", the man stated and held out the newly-found gem, "Let Xentus read about it, yes?"
191 Varus: Foreign Language 1; Common - 10 (Done)
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Post by Xentus on Aug 7, 2023 21:25:57 GMT -6
After a moment of rummaging through his pack, the leopard pulled out his book on gemstones. Reading some passages aloud would do a great deal of good for the gargoyle's teachings, even if it didn't follow along right away. Eventually, he could teach it to read and write even. "Gemstone book", the warden introduced the gargoyle to the book, then announced, "Xentus reads." He thumbed through the pages seeking a heading on opals. A 'mhm' of confirmation sounded from the man's throat when he found it, then he began to read. In his other hand, he held out the opal to show what he was talking about directly, and even looked up from the pages occasionally to verify what he read about on the gem visually.
Varus listened intently, leaning in to not only hear the man's words more clearly, but to also gaze upon the opal as details were described.
192 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 1
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Post by Xentus on Aug 7, 2023 21:38:53 GMT -6
It didn't quite catch everything, and even lost track of what Xentus spoke about a few times. But every time 'opal' was said again, it could kind of get back on track. Xentus read slowly and annunciated words as clearly as he could, as if he were reading to a child. Part of him couldn't help but to think the gargoyle somewhat like a child - especially now with it seeming to be in awe as he read to it. Chances were that the thing was far older than he was though. He tried not to let the confusing thoughts seep in about the dynamic between himself and the intelligent gargoyle. Things always got confusing thinking about being the guardian over a sapient being.
He solidified his mind on reading, only faltering with a short pause between his words as he regained his focus. The passage he read was heading into more advanced, technical descriptions- going in-depth into the crystalline structure of opals and how light refracted off it. "Ah... This may be a little much", the leopard admitted and scanned the page for a more digestible excerpt.
193 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 2
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Post by Xentus on Aug 7, 2023 23:21:00 GMT -6
Varus seemed... Disappointed. Xentus happened to glance up over the pages at the gargoyle and was almost taken aback at how it seemed rather dismayed that he was skipping over the good parts. It might not have grasped the full concepts oh which he spoke, but the words themselves were interesting to listen to - they were longer and more complex in comparison to the short words and phrases it was accustomed to. The leopard thought for a moment that maybe reading the analysis on the lattice structure of opal wasn't as overwhelming for Varus as he originally felt. The book detailed things even he didn't quite fully understand. It was far too technical in a field he didn't study. But given that the gargoyle was a creature of the earth, it had some kind of innate interest despite the lack of full comprehension. That theory was enough to encourage Xentus to resume where he left off.
194 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 3
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Post by Xentus on Aug 7, 2023 23:30:39 GMT -6
At first, he was reading slowly for the familiar's sake. Now he was reading slowly for his own sake. He would hate to fumble over words and make a fool of himself before his pupil. After a while, he finally finished the chapter on opals. Varus clicked its beak a few times in delight, still seeming keen to hear more. There were interesting words the man spoke, and piecing together meanings was turning out to be fun. Xentus was more than happy to oblige this form of learning and flipped through the book to find an entry on marble, the other stone they'd found recently.
"Marble is often regarded as a quite beautiful stone", the warden commented before reading whatever the book had to say about the rock and held up the green sample, "Xentus quite fancies it" Varus reached for the stone and took it from the man's hands, turning it over a few times to examine closely. Beautiful. It clicked its beak, seeming to agree.
195 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 3
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Post by Nadia on Aug 7, 2023 23:57:32 GMT -6
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Post by Xentus on Aug 27, 2023 10:55:32 GMT -6
The gargoyle had never considered the minerals and crystals of the earth to be beautiful. It regarded them as little more than food, yet somehow precious to land-dwellers. The warden favored the better tasting ones. If marble was regarded as beautiful, perhaps it tasted beautiful too. The stone was nipped at, the gargoyle's sharp beak shearing off a layer to sample. The sound was spine chilling. Xentus looked at the familiar in surprise and confusion, but didn't stop it from whatever it was trying to discern.
"Egh.. What an awful sound", the man murmured quietly, still trying to do his best to expose Varus to words, sentences, and their meanings, now with expression and tone. The gargoyle looked at him with what he could only assume was concern or a apology - it seemed to droop and quietly clicked its beak. Its little taste test seemed to be at the warden's expense. It did learn what beauty tasted like, though.
196 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 4
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Post by Xentus on Aug 27, 2023 11:08:19 GMT -6
And that land dwellers didn't like some sounds. The marble was returned with a shallow layer removed, which exposed some new patterns in the rock. Xentus looked it over, then began to read from the book yet again. "Marble is prized for its color and softness, making it a top choice for sculpting", the man explained aloud, and continued to read details regarding the stone. Its composition, structure, and details regarding its cultural use were the sections for its chapter. He was particularly interested in the cultural use himself. Stone was a common building material in his desert home, but marble sculptures weren't something he was familiar with. It was amazing to think that it could be turned into facsimiles of living things with such detail. "Xentus thinks this quite interesting, don't you, Varus? Seen many carved stone aside from tablets?", the questions were asked as an aside to the chapter.
197 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 5
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Post by Xentus on Aug 27, 2023 13:16:51 GMT -6
The gargoyle took a moment to consider the warden's question. Carved stone. The pictures in the book were shown to help paint a better picture to the familiar. "This one is a vulticus!", the man pointed out excitedly about the marble dragon. From the short time the gargoyle spent in the man's kennel, it had seen a few different kinds of creature, though knew no names. The wolf-beast figure did seem vaguely familiar, though. The warden kept a few, if its memory served correct. Vulticus. Varus clicked its beak, seeming to approve of what it saw. Stone carved to look like life. Somehow, it felt the concept quite close to its very own being.
The leopard continued on reading the chapter, finishing up on the remaining paragraph on carved marble statues. He looked up every few sentences to make sure he still had the familiar's attention, and was relieved to see the stony being looked fairly interested.
198 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 6
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Post by Xentus on Aug 27, 2023 13:32:47 GMT -6
As far as retention went, there was no way to be entirely sure how much of this the gargoyle was truly taking in.. It certainly looked invested in the lesson though, and kept leaning in and clicking its beak to encourage the man to continue. Thirsty for knowledge. Or simply for words. In any case, whatever it heard it seemed to like, and there did seem to be understanding based on the creature's reactions. When Xentus continued to a chapter to a new gem he didn't have on hand, Varus began to look for something around them that matched the description. The warden had been offering a sample for it to review for everything read thus far. Having the trend suddenly stop was almost unacceptable.
"Sadly, there is no example of sapphire here to show, apologies Varus", the man mentioned solemnly upon seeing the dejected gargoyle, "Hmm... Varus may remember the dragon of blue stone this one keeps. It is living sapphire"
199 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 7
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Post by Xentus on Aug 27, 2023 13:40:51 GMT -6
Living sapphire dragon. It did recall seeing that among the man's menagerie. Blue, gleaming, with the appearance of carved gem. The idea struck the gargoyle in the oddest sense. It looked to its own stony hands, turning them over and flexing the digits. What was it? Carved stone? Living stone? It felt... Unsettled. The gargoyle tucked its wings tightly to its body and hunched down.
"Ah, whats wrong dear Varus?", the warden asked, concern thick in his voice. The creature felt a warm palm on its head and perked up suddenly from the touch. Despite its literally stony expression, Xentus felt its expression to be scared, with an uncertain turmoil. But the reason why escaped him. Nothing about the gem dragon seemed to be scary, and with both being creatures of the underground, wouldn't there be some kind of familiarity or kinship between these two?
200 Varus: Foreign Language 2; Common - 8
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