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Post by Jack on Feb 13, 2021 9:53:15 GMT -6
The worm hissed as the shovel connected with its head, smashing it against the wall. It reared up again and shook its head before bearing down again, the dragon snarling and stalking forward toward it to see what it could do to help.
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Post by Kadin on Feb 13, 2021 20:34:03 GMT -6
"Fuck." Kadin muttered under his breath. Sure. He'd managed to score a hit, but this god damn worm was so fucking big. He didn't know how long he'd be able to hold it off before it was able to get a hold of him, or something. It was already gearing up for another attack, but Kadin couldn't let it get that far. He couldn't let the worm get past him to hurt any of the familiars who'd just agreed to be entrusted to his care. So Kadin hefted up the shovel and shouted at the worm to "Back off", swinging it at the worm's head yet again, probably trying to hit the exact same spot he'd hit before.
If he could hit it enough times maybe it would stop trying to attack. He had to be careful, though, considering that the gem dragon seemed to be trying to help now. "Stay behind me, but if you see an opening, go for it." He advised, not knowing if the dragon could even understand him or not.
Kunzite crept through the shadows to join the houluh under the cart, sort of checking on it, but also mostly just trying to stay out of the way. This certainly wasn't its fight.
193
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Post by Jack on Feb 14, 2021 5:47:58 GMT -6
As the worm lunged forward, it was hit in roughly the same area as before, and the dragon jumped at it as high as it could, tearing a chunk out of its 'throat'. The worm shrieked and hissed before it slowly slid back a moment, bleeding pretty heavily out of its wound. One final lunge, and it shuddered and collapsed, still alive, but it would need a little help to stop the bleeding, it would seem.
[Congratulations, you've captured and tamed the familiars!]
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Post by Kadin on Feb 14, 2021 9:43:01 GMT -6
Considering the sheer size of this freaking giant worm thing, Kadin had been prepared for a long fight. But he seemed to have forgotten to take into account that the thing he was fighting was, in fact, a really big worm. And what were worms NOT known for? Their stamina. Luckily for Kadin (and everyone else involved), it seemed like one more good whack to the head was enough to put the worm out of commission. Kadin breathed a sigh of relief, leaning on his shovel and staring at the worm in something like disbelief. Yeah. He'd really just, uh. Fought that. With a sigh, he realized that his work wasn't even done yet. The familiar had gotten a good hit in, too, which greatly contributed to the worm's current state. So, with all creatures watching, Kadin needed to find a way to stop the worm from dying right then and there. He hadn't come down here to kill the beast, after all, just sort of. You know. Keep it from killing him. So he walked back to the cart and looked around for some bandaged and other emergency first aid gear he always came here with. Meanwhile, his own familiar and houluh finally poked their heads out from under the cart.
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Post by Kadin on Feb 14, 2021 9:46:12 GMT -6
Kadin rummaged around in the back until he finally emerged victorious with some bandages, medical tape, and scissors. Supplies thus acquired, he wandered back over to the worm and started pressing gauze and bandaged to the wound to help stop the bleeding. Then he started wrapping the whole thing up. He did not think that any of this would stay in place for any great length of time, of course. The worm was not made to hold bandaged well and he didn't have any specialized equipment for healing worms. Damn, did anyone? But he did his best with the supplies that he had on hand. Once they were applied to the worm and it looked like it wasn't about to bleed out, Kadin had to find a way to lug its massive form into the cart so they could all continue on their merry way and he'd be able to keep an eye on the worm and make sure it didn't, you know. Die. Anyway. Unfortunately for him, absolutely not of his pets seemed interested in helping him. Not the puppy, not Kunzite, not any of the other familiars they picked up. So he had to drag. A worm. That size. By himself.
195 *level up
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Post by Jack on Feb 14, 2021 10:43:42 GMT -6
Not a familiar, what?
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:48:41 GMT -6
Well, Kadin was back in the mines again, which, once again, wasn’t surprising. He was here with another drake, which wasn’t surprising, either, even if houluh seemed to be more common outside of the pit nowadays. He was here to train a sarane that’d he’d already broken in the pit even though he hadn’t spent time getting to know him first. Which was. A little more surprising than the rest. Kunzite would hate this, of course. Kadin didn’t even bother walking further into the caves before going up to a rock wall and trying to get Cadmium to pay attention to it. “Rend.” He suggested, not expecting his suggestion to actually work, but figuring that it was worth a shot.
Kadin was right. Kunzite was very much NOT pleased. It wanted to go DEEPER into the mines in order to find rare gems. But where were they? Right at the entrance. Not deep at all. The familiar seethed to itself, squirming back and forth and watching the human make a fool out of himself with that drake. It could be finding hidden treasures beyond their wildest dreams. Instead it was stuck here, but the ENTRANCE to the mines.
Rend: 1
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:49:08 GMT -6
Cadmium, obviously, looked at him like he was an utter moron. Kadin could almost feel like one, too, when a drake was giving him a look like that. The drake obviously wasn’t interested in the slightest in whatever Kadin wanted him to do. Instead, he snorted, and walked away to a different part of the cave, but still with in the same cavern, just to be contrary. He sniffed around at some stones and rocks here and there, eventually reaching out with a claw to scrap away some gravel that he felt was in his way.
It wanted to leave them behind. The stupid human, the more stupid drake. Neither of them appreciated it. Neither of them appreciated everything it went through to find gems and other precious stones. It kept them to itself, sure, but at least it allowed the human to store them for it. It gave value to the relationship, it wasn’t fair that it was ignored and disrespected to their degree. It wasn’t fair at all.
Of course, Kadin had been following not too far behind, practically waiting for this chance. “Rend!” He said, tossing Cadmium some meat without much more warning than that.
Rend: 2
197
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:49:31 GMT -6
Cadmium growled and snapped at whatever was being thrown at him, but his tune sure changed when he figured out it was meat and not something awful that Kadin was trying to hit him with. He ate the offering quickly and then looked around for more, confused as to why more wasn’t incoming immediately. Kadin didn’t give him any clues, however, just watching him and waiting to see what he was going to do next.
It SHOULD go off on its own. That would server the human right. In a fit of rage, Kunzite went down a side tunnel close to where the human was working with the drake. It didn’t go far, but far enough that the human’s voice was an echo and the drake’s snarls weren’t so grating on its nerves. It didn’t WANT to leave. It liked the partnership it had with the human and the system they had in place. It was just so frustrating!
With another growl and a snort, Cadmium turned away and went back to exploring. They continued on like this for a while. Every time Cadmium would use his claws on something, Kadin would say “Rend!”
Rend: 3
198
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:50:01 GMT -6
And offer him some meat for it. The drake was suspicious and skittish, at first, being not used to the human and didn’t trust him as far as he could slap him across a cavern with his tail. But he didn’t want to hurt him and he DID keep feeding him, so he kept accepting the offerings and side eyeing the human as if he expected a trick next instead of a treat.
All it wanted to do was to go further into the mines and properly retrieve items that could be of use! Instead they kept leaving and coming back, leaving and coming back, barely going far enough to find trinkets, much less anything of value. Sure, there’d been that time they found four familiars, but that wasn’t the same. They didn’t count. It was more important that those other familiars, anyway, and the human thought so too.
Eventually, he started to get wise to the pattern. He got meat every time he scratched somewhere, so he started scratching at the rocks more pointedly. As expected, Kadin would keep saying “Rend!” and giving him meat every time he scratched somewhere and actually left a mark.
Rend: 4
199
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:50:28 GMT -6
Despite himself, Cadmium started to get into it. He was moving all around, scratching at walls and the ground and anything that seemed like it needed him to scratch it. Kadin kept following him and saying “Rend” and giving him treats. He was definitely associating the word with getting treats! But after a while, Kadin tried something different.
But then why did he keep doing this? Kunzite moved back down the tunnel to poke its head out and watch the human work with the drake. He always seemed more interested in the pets he brought along then actually digging in the mines. It was infuriating. It wanted to do something about it, but the human was the one who set the pace, for the most part, being the one who brought all the gear. If only it could convince him to do more.
He pointed to a patch of wall right in front of Cadmium and said “rend!” Cadmium had been planning on scratching it anyway, so he did. Kadin gave him a treats and praise for it and told him to scratch the same place again. Cadmium tilted his head and snorted, turning around to scratch at the floor instead.
Rend: 5
200 *level up
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:50:51 GMT -6
No treat. He growled, pissed off that he’d been getting treats all this time but now he wasn’t. Kadin instead just pointed to that same patch of wall and said, “Rend!” Growling and angry, Cadmium swiped at the wall, almost hitting Kadin in the process. But Kadin still praised him and gave him a treat for hitting the right spot.
To stop venturing so little and to actually go further into the mines for all of their benefit. It wanted to find things no one else had ever found before. Was that really too much to ask? The human seemed to know it, too. He’d been cagey when they came here this time. Clearly he already knew Kunzite would be displeased with how far they would get on this journey. And how long would they even be here this time?
They continued this for a while more. Kadin would point out a spot he wanted Cadmium to rend and now Cadmium would only get a treat if he hit the right spot. Then Kadin would up the difficulty and encourage him to keep rending until it was damaged up to his standards and not if Cadmium only half assed it.
Rend: 6
201
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Post by Kadin on Mar 7, 2021 19:52:54 GMT -6
Cadmium grumbled and protested each change, but he was getting into it despite himself. Kadin would point to a different spot each time and something about the enthusiasm in his voice when he called the attack was starting to get to the drake. He was going after the targets more and more quickly, hitting harder each time. It was almost like he was a properly trained sarane! Kadin didn't bring any attention to it, only kept supplying the meat when Cadmium was doing well with his attacks. Even giving him a bit extra for an especially good hit. They continued to practice the attack until Kadin was satisfied that Cadmium would hit where he wanted him to each time and that it would be strong enough an attack to properly rend his opponents.
Clearly not long enough to try and venture further into the mines. Kunzite slunk back into the shadows, sulking and thinking about how unfair this all ways. All it wanted, all it asked, was to properly explore the mines and find hidden riches beyond its dreams or anyone else’s. This human, however, was more interested in training his pets than venturing much further than the front door. It was maddening.
Rend: 7
202
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Post by Kadin on Mar 9, 2021 17:17:27 GMT -6
Once the rending was over, Kadin figured he'd probably take a break and let Cadmium explore a bit. They really came right in here and got right down to it, so he deserved some down time. It took some convincing for the drake to leave him alone, however. Now that it knew he had food on him it didn't really want to leave him alone and kept bothering him for more treats. He didn't have much else to teach him right now, though, so there weren't any treats to earn! Cadmium didn't want to take this for an answer and started following Kadin around, poking him with his nose while he did so.
Perhaps Kunzite really did need to start going off on its own. All it really needed to do was to venture far enough to find some gems and then come back when it was too overburdened to go any further. Granted, being on its own would leave it vulnerable to attack, as it had seen with other familiars that Kadin had ended up taming in the past. It would not be the safest course of action, but it would be the fastest way to accomplish its goals of venturing further.
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Post by Kadin on Mar 9, 2021 17:19:18 GMT -6
It might have been cute if he wasn't a fully grown drake. Kadin quickly got tired of being poked and shoved the drake's head away, trying to scold him for being so insistent. Cadmium just snorted right in his face and seemed generally unimpressed with Kadin's protests. He wanted more treat's NOW. But Kadin just decided to ignore him and walk away. He didn't want to entertain any of the spoiled behavior Cadmium was trying to show. The drake had to give up eventually, too, since Kadin wasn't putting up with any of his bullshit. Cadmium didn't want to, but there was only show much he could follow Kadin around like a hatchling.
But how would it know where the human was at all times if it went too far? If he did end up actually moving around, it would be a nightmare to locate him again, especialyl if it had too many gems with it. It would need to think of something else, it wouldn't be worth the hassel, and it wouldn't want to risk the gems it had in case it ran into anything unfriendly. But it still wanted to go further! It needed to recruit something to help it do just that.
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