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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:09:02 GMT -6
Once they were off the main path Sevyrn unhooked Spot's leash from his collar and called for him to follow behind her, knowing that the young houlou could be trusted to do as he was told - that had been the main purpose of Sevyrn giving him his basic training in a safer place than right beside moving water. Spot followed along happily, though how much he wanted to run around, check out the trees to one side and the water to the other, was visible in his body language. Everything was okay - pretty soon they would be at Sevyrn's spot and once they had settled in, Spot would have the chance to run around and check everything out.
"What do you think, little guy?" Sevyrn said as her spot came in to sight, devoid of any other life. That big slab of rock would make a great jumping point to hop in to the water.
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:14:34 GMT -6
Sevyrn set her backpack down where she usually did and gave Spot the go ahead to check the area out - he immediately did just that, running to the tree line and off a bit in both directions. The little pup just wanted to get his bearings! There were no other creatures here, not even any people... why were they off on their own anyways? The park was so bright and vibrant and full of noise and life - this place was so quiet.
As Sevyrn changed her bottom half in to a pair of shorts and some sandals - she knew that she was going to be going in to the water, no point in getting her pants wet - Spot came back to her and stilled close by. He looked up to her with a cocked head and a wagging tail, wondering why in the world she had brought him here. It was pretty nice though.
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:27:50 GMT -6
Sevyrn moved towards ths river's edge and sat on top of her usual rocky outcrop, sliding herself towards the edge to that her feet touched just the surface... it was a wee bit chilly today, hopefully Spot wouldn't mind. The pup had never been around large bodies of water like this, so seeing Sev get so close piqued his curiosity - the pup ambled over to her side and nuzzled up to his girl's side with a wagging tail before getting curious about the river itself. He moved towarsa the edge, his toes so close to the edge that they almost hung over, and he lowered his head to investigate.
Spot was nervous about it, backing up and moving forward several times before he finally dared to lift one paw from the stone and press it hesitantly to the surface of the water. He'd had baths before so water itself was no stranger...
80 Spot - 10
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:33:53 GMT -6
The pup could test the waters for as long as he needed - Sevyrn wasn't about to bother him when the next part of their training together would require him to be in the water. Sev never pushed her creaturws like that, they would always have the opportunity to be comfortable with their surroundings before getting to work - they needed to be able to trust her and feel safe - and comfortable with what she was doing with them, if it required her having to manipulate their bodies a bit. Luckily the latter part of that had been worked on... Spot would probably appreciate her help during his first little bit in the water.
Eventually he lost interest, though - he wanted to run around! It was probably a good idea to let him run off some of that early morning excess energy, so Sevyrn simply kept a watchful eye on the pup.
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:49:14 GMT -6
Play, play, play - it was all that Spot seemed to want to do today! Eventually Sevyrn figured that she should get up and join him, it could at least be a bonding experience between the pair. Any time that she was out with her creatures she always brought some of their favorite toys - at least the ones small enough for her to pack up in to het backpack. Luckily Spot really loved his ball, so Sevyrn dug through her bag to find said multi-hued ball and then clambered to her feet.
"You really wanna play, eh buddy?" Sevyrn said, catching the pup's attention. Only once he was looking did she gently toss that ball and it handed just feet from where Spot stood. He went mad for it, chewing at it and then running around with it once he had secured the ball in his mouth.
"Okay, come back here!" Sev said to him. "You gotta come back, or I can't throw it again."
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 7:59:34 GMT -6
Yeah... he didn't understand fetch yet. It was something that Sevyrn had taught Sweetie, but so much more of Spot's training required being down here at the river that he likely wouldn't learn it as a pup unless the goddess did not approve of his work and he needed further training in order to reach his potential. Eventually the pup did run back to his girl, but it wasn't to give her the ball - in fact the fought against her when she tried to take it like they were in the middle of a game of tug of war.
"No," Sev said to him, and she had to say it two more times before Spot realized that she actually wasn't just trying to play tug of war with him. He dropped the ball in to her hand and nipped at the air between them, wanting the ball back. Why did she take it?
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:05:25 GMT -6
And then - suddenly - that ball was off in the air again! Spot was filled with as much excitement as he had been the first time she had thrown it, and chased it through the air until it landed, at which point he batted it around with his paws for a few minutes before snatching it up and running around like he was showing it off to the whole one person around. Look what I have! Isn't it so cool?
Hopefully the pup was wearing himself out a bit running around like this, but not so much that he would struggle to swim... Sevyrn was ready to move on to the task at hand, and maybe keep him as a fishing buddy for the rest of the day after they had finished up. Heading down to the houlou hall could wait until tomorrow as long as all of today's tasks were handled.
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:09:24 GMT -6
Sev, at least, was done playing. The woman sat back down by her bag, figuring that Spot would come along once he was ready to, and instead of throwing the ball a third time, she would stash it away - the ball could come back out after they had finished up today's work. It wasn't long before the pup noticed that his girl wasn't standing up and seeming like she wanted to play any more, so the houlou ambled over to her, dropped the ball beside her, and smiled towards her with his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth and his tail just wagging away.
"You ready to get to work, Spot?" Sevyrn asked the pup, who barked at her in response. "You and I are going to go swimming, okay? I will be right there with you, and nothing bad will happen to you, I promise. It's just like a really big bath."
85 Spot - 11
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:13:59 GMT -6
Sev encouraged the pup to move towards the water's edge and investigate a little bit more, gently splashing his feet and dipping her own hands in to show him that it was safe. Spot had baths before - he knew what water was. He liked it! He always ended up so soft and clean... Mom, baths. The water was relatively shallow going off the left side of the rocky outcrop and about knew deep if one were to leap straight off the end, so Sevyrn pulled his attention to the side edge where he would be able to simply walk in when he feel ready.
She stood shin deep in the waters to encourage him, but Spot stood at the edge of the water with only his front feet getting wet for quite some time. "It's okay, buddy. I know the water gets deeper than you're used to, but I'm right here. "
86 Swim- 1
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:19:36 GMT -6
Sevyrn's encouragement seemed to help Spot's confidence, as the pup took his first few tentative steps in to the deeper water shortly after the woman had called to him. One his back legs were ankle deep he stopped moving, and looked towards his girl with pure concern written on his face- she had been walking away, trying to lure him deeper. He had never been in water this high before! Bath time only ever had a few inches in the bottom of the tub at the kennel, this was entirely unfamiliar to him. He whined, at which point Sevyrn moved in towards him.
"It's alright," she cooed in her sweetest tone, giving the pup a good gentle rub along the top of his head. It seemed that he needed his buddy right beside him - that was okay. He would need to get used to being in water this deep before he would be comfortable moving farther on.
87 Swim - 2
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:24:05 GMT -6
The hardest part of this was going to be once the river got so deep that Spot couldn't keep his head above water shole treading along the bottom - but Sevyrn aas prepared for that, and ready to swoop in and help hold him up. From what she had heard houlou tended to be good swimmers, so Spot would likely just have to figure out how it worked and then be good to go relatively quickly. After that... fishing time! Sevyrn was excited to be training a new fishing buddy, as much as this was meant to be part of his regimen rather than for fun.
Slowly Sevyrn encouraged Spot to walk deeper, just a step or two at a time - with his girl at his side, Spot seemed much more inclined to move along. As the watet hit chest level he started to feel panicked, and looked to his girl who soothed him with ease.
88 Swim - 3
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:30:37 GMT -6
There they were.. the moment of truth- Spot took a step and he had to crane his neck to stay above the surface of the water, so Sevyrn crouched down and lifted his feet off the bottom with two arms hooked under his abdomen to keep him securely held. There was no denying that the poor thing was panicking - not only was the water so deep that he couldn't both touch and breathe, but now his feet weren't even on the ground. His awkward paddle splashed up tons of water but Sevyrn wasn't phased - he just needed time to get used to it.
"Everything is going to be okay - I have you, Spot," Sevyrn assured him, showing immense patience as she carefully held him above water until his paddling became less panicked. Only once he showed comfort with swimming motions would she give him even an inch of give, let alone leave him to swim solo.
89 Swim - 4
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:34:45 GMT -6
He seemed to catch on pretty quickly, a natural in the water like Sevyrn had expected him to be. Moments like this left Sevyrn proud of her creatures, who didn't even need to fully grasp a concept for her to be able to see their intelligence in full swing. Very carefully she let go of the houlou's sides but kept her arms still under him, supporting his weight and moving along with him as his little paddles moved him forward and steered him around.
"What a good job," she encouraged. Once they were back on land, he was going to be getting a very good treat from her for doing such a good job swimming around. At this point she needed to build up her own confidence in him... As much as Sevyrn trusted Spot and his capabilities, the last thing she wanted was to let him go too soon.
90 Spot - 12 Swim - 5
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:38:15 GMT -6
Baby steps, there was no better way to go about this. Sevyrn had alresdy let go of Spot's body and he seemed to be having no trouble paddling around with someone holding him up. The next little baby step was to drop her arms a few inches and see if he had developed the right level of talent to be able to keep himself afloat with Sev still close to catch him if he sunk. Really... that would be the moment if truth. If not, Sevyrn would not be considering him ready to go on.
At this point the woman was more scared that her pup was - now that he was used to it, Spot seemed to love swimming around! She swallowed her own fear and dropped her arms about six inches below Spot's belly, giving the houlou the opportunity to show her whether or not he could float on his own.
91 Swim - 6
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Post by Sevyrn on Sept 26, 2020 8:43:08 GMT -6
Her worries were for naught - Spot was just as much of a natural as he seemed to be, and losing her touch gave him so much more freedom! Sev moved with him as he paddled around for a few minutes just to make sure that he actually could hold his own in the water, but eventually it was time to step away.
She was like a scared mama in that moment, knowing that her young one would be fine yet not wanting to take the chance of them getting hurt. She fought against her own anxieties as she let Spot know what she was about to do, and then took the leap of faith.
Spot actually loved the freedom that it granted, and he swam along the river's surface like a pro. Sevyrn watched how he did for a few minutes before backing away to the water's edge, and once she had reached land she called for him to get out.
"That was great buddy," Sev said to the houlou.
92 Swim - 7
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