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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:51:21 GMT -6
Kadin decided that it would be best to give Chiara some time to consider what she had had just learned and focus a little attention on the hatchlings for a bit. After all, he hadn’t even taught them their names yet! He pat Chiara and told her to practice setting fire to some of the trees and leaves around here. Considering that she yawned right in his face and laid down, he didn’t think she understood him. Kadin shrugged and went over to the hatchling hens.
“Alright girls. It’s about time you two learn you names.” He informed them. They were currently engaged in what looked like a play fight that had turned into a life or death struggle between two equally matched foes. Predictably, they ignored him.
“Keto! Annona!” He called, trying to get their attention and pull them apart. They just started snapping at him rather than only snapping at each other. So, you know, it was going well!
With a growl of triumph, Keto quickly scrambled to her feet and took off to go attack Annona! How DARE she try to get her onto her back! It was funny that it had backfired so spectacularly, but she was NOT amused at being put through all that! She charged at the other hatchling with a snarl, ready to fight.
Annona was also busy scrambling to her feet. That kick had sent her flying and almost damaged more than just her pride. She quickly regained her footing and, snarling, went after Keto right back!
Name: 1
12
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:51:33 GMT -6
She didn’t care if they were supposed to be friendly with each other any more, that ended the moment she’d tried to make a fool out of her!
Chiara had wandered over to some of the trees that didn’t look quite as terrifying as the others. Not that she was afraid of anything here, she was perfectly capable of defending herself against nearly anything! But it didn’t hurt to hang out somewhere safe. She stretched out under the trees and thought about napping, but for now it proved to be more interesting to watch Kadin try to talk sense into hatchlings. Heh. Those had been the days.
“Keto!” Kadin shouted since that was the hen he was closest to. He quickly sprang forward to scoop her up in his arms. Predictably, she tried to bite and scratch at him and generally make his life unpleasant. Kadin sighed to himself and shifted her in his arms so she’d have a harder time trying to attack him. Literally all he wanted was for these hens to respond to their names. That was it. “Keto!” He tried again, jostling her in his arms to try and get her to look at him. By now, Annona had also rejoined the fray. She was spitting and snarling mad, digging her little, sharp claws into his pants leg and practically trying to climb him like a tree to get to the other hatchling.
“Annona! Stop!” He said, gently nudging her away with his foot. Not that it did much good.
Name: 2
13
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:51:47 GMT -6
She didn’t even spare his foot a glance, much less his face. She just went right back to trying to dig her claws into him and get at the other hatchling. This was. Very much not going well. It might be time to take out the big guns. With a sigh, Kadin shifted Keto to one arm and dug around in his pockets for a treat. He held it out first to Keto, waving it right in front of her nose what Chiara looked on in amusement and Annona kept trying to climb him. “Keto.” He said, trying to tempt the hatchling. “Look what I’ve got.” He looked down at Annona, too, not wanting to leave her out. “Annona! Look!” He lowered the treat so that she could see it, too.
Keto did NOT like being picked up. She ALSO did not like being held. She ESPECIALLY did not like her fight being interrupted! All of that changed when a treat was suddenly in her face. All of a sudden, she was looking at the human instead of Annona. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the chance of eating was literally right in front of her.
Annona, too, was hit with sudden hunger pangs that made her stop trying to shred up the human on her way to getting Keto. She lifted her nose in the air, smelling for the meaty treat and grumbling softly to the human and Keto and anyone who would listen about how much she wanted it.
Name: 3
14
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:00 GMT -6
Chiara watched all this, rolling her eyes at the hen’s behaviors. She remembered being that young and trying to kill Aodh, back in the day. She studied her claws idly, scraping them down one of the tree trunks to get a better sheen on them, before side eyeing the human and hatchlings again. She was better at all this than they were, of course.
Finally, some progress. Kadin held the treat in front of Keto again, gently saying her name. He waited until she actually looked at him (with a hiss) instead of the treat before giving it to her. He’d been doing this too much to be tricked by something like that. “Good Keto, good girl. Good job, Keto.” A tug at his leg reminding him that Annona was still there, too. He held out another treat and said, “Annona?” to her, still trying to get her used to the word, too. She whined and growled at him some more, flashing him a glare with her impatience. “Good Annona! Good girl, Annona!” He said the moment their eyes met, giving her a treat, too. This wasn’t so bad. They could do this.
Keto whined at the human some more. She didn’t like it when he looked at Annona instead of her and gave her treats! Keto was the one earning treats here. She tried to reach out and take the treat meant for Annona, but it was too far away. She huffed and wiggled to show her displeasure. She was unhappy about this!
Name: 4
15
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:10 GMT -6
Annona wasn’t convinced that Keto wouldn’t do something horrible and steal her treat. Her eyes kept darting to her and back to the treat again to make sure it didn’t disappear AND that Keto didn’t do anything. She was really so horribly hungry and wanted a LOT more treats so she needed the human to give them to her!
Chiara eventually grew bored. She got up, stretching out languidly, and moved closer to the treat to better sharpen her claws. She needed them good and sharp if she was ever going to face that thing that had been roaring back to her. She rumbled to herself, thoughtful, wondering if it had been just echos or really something malicious.
Kadin repeated the same thing all over again, now that he had their attention. “Keto…” He said carefully, holding a treat far enough away from her that she couldn’t get at it, but close enough that it was near her face. He continued to wait until she finally looked at HIM when he said her name instead of the treat. Then and only then could she get her “Good girl!” and a reward.
Next it was Annona. “Annona!” He said, looking down at her and holding the treat by his face (on the opposite side from where he was holding Keto, of course). Her eyes darted from the treat to Keto then back to the treat. She hissed. “Annona.” Kadin tried again, almost scolding this time. Eventually, after a long while, she DID finally look at him.
Name: 5
16
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:21 GMT -6
Then she got her “Good girl Annona!” and a treat and only then.
Keto thought that all of the attention should be on her, honestly. Every time Kadin switched to Annona she whined about it. She tried to claw at his face to get his attention, but he was too far away for that, too. She wanted him to look at her NOW. Huh. It was almost like how he kept getting HER attention by saying that word.
Annona still didn’t trust Keto. She didn’t like how much she was squirming up there. She didn’t like the look in her eyes. She just didn’t like anything about this! Ok, well. Maybe she was starting to like the human. He wasn’t so bad, especially when he looked at her and gave her a treat. Maybe she should look at him more, too.
Chiara started to wander off. When she’d roared before, it had almost been like something had roared back at her. It was likely just her own sound echoing back, but there had been something… off about it. She sniffed the air, looking around and here and there, wondering if she could figure out exactly what it was.
Kadin kept it up. He held up a treat, called the hen’s name until she looked at him, and then gave her the treat and praise with more repetition of her name. He kept alternating between the two of them, too, as he didn’t want them to get their names mixed up with each other.
Name: 6
17
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:33 GMT -6
They were picking up fast that they needed to look at him for a treat, he was pleased with their progress. The one thing he was worried about was that he wouldn’t be able to get their attention once he put them down. Still, he kept trying and repeating until they were looking at him every time he called their names. It took quite a while (the call of the treats was strong) but eventually he felt comfortable putting them down to try the next step.
Keto KNEW there was something more to this! The human kept giving her a treat when she looked at him. What she really wanted to look at was the treat, but when he said that word and she looked at him she GOT the treat. She picked it up pretty quickly, actually, although she was tempted to just start at the human the WHOLE time so he’d just keep giving her treats. That didn’t work, though. For some reason.
Annona was still distracted by Keto so it took her a bit longer to pick up what Kadin was having her do. Once she did, though, it made a lot of sense. She quickly learned she could watch Keto when the human was working with Keto, but once he said her word and she looked at him she’d get a treat. It was just that simple!
Chiara wandered closer to the mansion. She let out a growl to see if anything growled back at her. That was strange.
Name: 7
18
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:44 GMT -6
Now the area was mostly just… silent. Almost too silent. A spooky silent. Why in the hell did they keep coming here again? She growled to herself more and raked at the ground with her claws, displeased with all she had to put up with here.
Now was the difficult part. They had gotten so caught up in getting treats, they’d forgotten about trying to fight each other. But Kadin was going to put Keto down and try to still get their attention. Just to be safe, he positioned himself between the two hens and placed Keto carefully on the ground. Immediately, he called her name and watched her eyes snap to him. “Good! Good Keto!” He gave her a treat. He could hear Annona on his other side. He turned to her next and called her name, watching her stare at the treat a moment longer before looking and staring at him. “Good! Good Annona, good girl!” He said in relief, giving her a treat, too.
Keto had thought briefly about going over to Annona when Kadin had put her down, but he’d immediately said her word and her attention was on him again. When he was with Annona, she thought about it again, but then he was saying her word AGAIN and that was all that really mattered to her? So that was that.
Annona did not want to fight with Keto anymore. She wasn’t tempted to go over there and set her straight. That would be a waste of her time, really.
Name: 8
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 16:52:56 GMT -6
She did still think it was Keto’s fault that they got into that fight earlier, but she wouldn’t start it up again when there was a chance for getting food right in front of her. That was more important.
Chiara tried snarling this time, but there still wasn't much going on. Just what had that been earlier?
He kept calling their names one after another a bit longer, keeping them bribed and distracted so that they’d forget that they had been fighting in the first place. Eventually, Kadin started to relax, once he realized that their attention was much more on him and food than it was on fighting. “Keto? Good girl!” And another treat. “Annona? Good girl!” And one for her, too. Easy, right?
Keto was certainly happy with all of the treats they had been earning. She had no protests about that and even wanted more. So each time he said her name she looked at him, eager to fill her belly that never ever felt like it was full at all! She could keep this up forever as long as they kept getting treats!
Annona was likely of a similar mind. She still kept her eye on Keto when the human had his attention on her, but most of her attention WAS on the human. Food was just something you could win the heart of any sarane with. It shouldn't be a surprise that it was the way to her heart, after all, since it worked on all of them.
Name: 9
20 *level up
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:02:24 GMT -6
Now that the hatchlings seemed like they were mostly going to behave, Kadin figured that he could turn his attention back to Chiara. Although, this next thing he was going to try and teach her would be a group effort. He just hoped he didn’t end up scarring the hatchlings for life by trying to teach her this.
Kadin carefully scooped up the hatchlings, ignoring the squawks of protest, and carried them over to where Chiara seemed to be growling at nothing.
Keto whined and grumbled in protest when she was picked up AGAIN. Didn’t the human know by now that she didn’t want to be picked up?? Even if he was going to give her more treats for this, it still didn’t give him the right to just pick her up and move her around wherever he pleased! Especially if they were walking towards that adult hen again… she didn’t like her. Especially not the way she looked at her.
Annona hissed and bit at Kadin when he picked her up. She was a lot more proactive about this than Keto was. Sure, Annona was getting used to the human and maybe even liked him a LITTLE. But that didn’t mean that she had to like being picked up! In fact! She did NOT like it and did not want to have to deal with it! The human was really too much like this, making assumptions that she’d just let him bring her over to that scary hen with no protest!
Intimidation: 2
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:05:26 GMT -6
“Hey, Chiara.” He said to get her attention, putting down the hatchlings a few feet away and walking over to her. He put a hand on her side and directed her attention to the hatchlings. “Alright, so there’s no command word for this. It’s not going to be easy. But you need to learn how to scare the crap out of things just by being yourself.” He sighed here, knowing she had no idea what he was saying and was just staring at him blankly. This was going to be more difficult than he hoped it’d be. “We can do this. Look at those hatchlings.”
Ok, he was putting them down now. That wasn’t SO bad, but she still didn’t like how close they were to the other hen now. She liked what they had been doing before when they were FAR away from the other hen and Kadin was with them. Then the other hen could mind her own business while they minded their own business and everyone was more happy that way!
Annona was especially displeased to be here, too. She hissed at Chiara and at the human for bringing her over here, backing up and shielding herself partly with her wings. Something was going to go wrong here, she just knew it, she could just taste it, and she had no idea why she should even stay here like this. Her eyes quickly darted to Keto, wondering if they should make a run for it.
Intimidation: 3
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:08:10 GMT -6
Chiara didn’t seem particularly impressed by whatever Kadin was trying to accomplish. She stared at him, tail flicking slowly back and forth, and pointedly turned back to stare out at the mansion. She didn’t have any interest in him or the small hens that he had brought with him. She thought she had made that perfectly clear, but perhaps he needed a reminder. Bringing those whelps closer to here wouldn’t help the issue, either, she had already quite made up her mind that they were perfectly useless. And she didn't involve herself with useless things, even if Kadin tried to make her.
Keto relaxed a bit when the hen didn’t seem to hold much interest in them. She turned to Annona with a cheerful chirp, wondering if they could start playing again now that they weren’t the center of attention? Clearly the human had something he wanted to do with the other hen, but if it didn’t involve them there was no problem with them just doing their own thing, just like they were doing before!
Annona wasn’t reassured by how the older hen looked away from them. She hissed at Keto when she tried to get her attention, snapping in the hatchling’s direction. Something bad was going to happen and it was NOT going to take her unprepared. Keto was an idiot for thinking otherwise. Annona would not be lured into a false sense of security just because the hen wasn’t looking at them right now.
Intimidation: 4
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:10:59 GMT -6
Kadin signed. He hadn’t really expected much, but Chiara’s attitude just confirmed it for him. The hatchlings seemed off put by her, but they had since the beginning. That didn’t really mean anything. What he needed to do was find a way for her to really change her presence around him. She needed to be… scarier, basically. More intimidating, all the time, just like she’d been afraid of that equillion back when she was a hatchling, he needed her to strike fear into other creatures. But how to get her to understand that?
Keto grumbled at Annona, snapping back at her. She didn’t get why she was being like this! The adult hen was scary, sure, but she was just a hen like all the others they had seen in the kennels. She couldn’t actually do anything to them, not with the human here. He wouldn’t let her actually hurt them, especially since he’d invested so much time in them, too! But how to get Annona to understand that?
Annona hit Keto upside the head with her wing, hissing urgently. Keto wasn’t taking this seriously enough! Even if the human tried to stop her, could he really stop a red hen like that if she decided she wanted to hurt them? No! He was just a human! He couldn’t! Yet for some damn reason, Keto was happy to just ignore the danger the moment she decided it wasn’t there! Idiot!
Intimidation: 5
24
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:14:03 GMT -6
Well. The best way to a sarane’s heart had always been food before. Maybe she just needed a reason to compete with the hatchlings over something. That way, she’d naturally try to project a more intimidating aura. Maybe that would be enough? Kadin reached into his treat pouch and considered the treats he had in there. He wished he’d had something bigger, like an entire carcass of something, but these would have to do for now.
“Hey, Chiara.” He said lifting his hand and showing her the handful of treats.
Keto growled at Annona this time, snapping at her wing. How dare she! Right when they were getting along again she was going to pull this shit? Keto was getting ready to give her a real piece of her mind (and teeth) (and claws) when she saw the human go for some treats that he kept on his person. Immediately, her interest picked up, staring up at him. Was he going to teach all three of them something? That could be exciting!
Annona spread her wings and growled as loudly as she dared while they were still so close to Chiara. She didn’t want to fight NOW, but if Keto gave her no choice she wasn’t going to lose! Still, it would be so STUPID to get into a petty squabble when there was actual danger in front of them. Luckily, Keto couldn’t keep her attention on Annona for long and immediately perked up at the promise of treats. Of course. Stupid.
Intimidation: 6
25
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Post by Kadin on Oct 2, 2020 19:17:43 GMT -6
She immediately picked up interest, sniffing at them and looking at him expectantly as if he was clearly going to ask her to do something next. Which, in a way, he was. Kadin smiled a bit, then he stepped back and tossed the treats on the ground between Chiara and the hatchlings.
Everything was silent for a moment. Then, she acted. A hiss turned into a deep, rumbling growth as Chiara pounced on the area where the treats had been scattered, her eyes narrowed and teeth bared at the young hens.
Ooo treats! The human had scattered the treats ALL over! And there were a lot of them! Keto immediately rushed forward to get some, but she was quickly stopped by the sheer gut clenching terror that was an adult hen guarding treats from what she saw as lesser beings. Keto immediately backed up, eyes wide, as Chiara stared her and Annona down. Ok. Now she did believe that the hen would kill them.
Annona didn’t go for the treats. She wanted them and if it had just been Keto? She would have gone for them. But Kadin had scattered them by Chiara, too, and Annona immediately backed up, not wanting to get in the way of a more dominant sarane going for food. Keto, the idiot, went forward first, of course, but luckily she knew when to back up, too. That was good. Annona hated Keto most of the time, but she didn’t want her to ACTUALLY die.
Intimidation: 7
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