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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:21:11 GMT -6
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:21:33 GMT -6
Likely, Ivaylo wasn't going to be a 'bloodied hen' - apparently that's what the folk at the pits were calling them now that hen tournaments were a thing. Leth hadn't been looking for anything more than another fat broodhen, but as she grew larger Vay became more restless, picking bloodless fights with the other hens her age and making a general nuisance of herself in the henhouse. Surprising for a hen that visibly didn't hail from dominant bloodlines. The youngling had been driving her broodmother up the wall, being quite more bold and testy in response to a dominant hen than Leth had ever considered possible at a young age. Vay was getting big, but she wasn't even quite shedding in her stripes yet. Esti's bitter snarls and snapping went completely ignored by the impervious tween, prompting Lethalia to separate the two lest she had any more fire property damage. Lethalia could only be grateful for Esti's maternal soul keeping her from wanting to harm one of 'her' babies, but Ivaylo was going to get told off one day. Ivaylo lv|8.1 ly|8.1
With hopes Vay would grow into more social conventions with other adult hens, for now the least she could do is make sure she wasn't burnt to a crisp before she was even fully grown. The satyr had been bringing her inside the house to give Esti a break, but the red was a bit too intense for that to be feasible forever. As means of expending some of that energy, Lethalia decided some honing of it may benefit the hen. Those claws wouldn't be wicked enough to maul something just yet, but laying the foundations would be useful if she proved to be as much of a handful as an adult. Naturally hens were made to be easier to handle, but enough creatures had taught Lethalia to never take the labs' descriptions of a beast as gospel. She'd owned and observed enough outliers to know creatures didn't always come out like the Lab or it's recipient had intended. And Ivaylo was a handful and a half even at this age, even as a hen, so Lethalia wasn't taking any chances of the hen becoming several hundred pounds of terror as an adult. Laying the foundation to get her accustomed to learning things while she was young should hopefully help keep her in check as she grew. |
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:22:19 GMT -6
Because, uh, she should probably figure out the red's shoulder-checking of other hatchlings and would-be prey before it caused a problem. It felt like the only boon the satyr was going to have, was the fact that Vay was getting 'thick' enough to stand going out into the cold for training, though being a desert-dweller she didn't seem all that pleased. Lethalia set up her magically warmed blanket on the ground. Vay took full advantage of meandering around this unfamiliar area of the farm while having some warmth to return to. "Vay. Ivaylo," Lethalia called, snapping her fingers to try and garner the hen's whole attention. "Hey, got somethin' for'ya!" Vay was getting too big for mere morsels of meat to be a decent enough reward, turning Lethalia to fat grubbles that the hen went mad for. Though she had handled plenty of animal hides as part of making a living for her entire life, even if she was a hunter herself... there was something disgusting about a bag of prekilled rodents. The hen would enjoy them even more thoroughly if they were still moving, but Leth had no interest in wrangling live bait for her. |
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:23:52 GMT -6
Dropping one of the lifeless forms to the ground, the red picked it up in an instant and tossed her head back, swallowing it whole after a few attempts. Ugh. Maybe they'd need to move onto rabbits. Lethalia was happy to not have to raise any feeder rodents personally, but she may have to start considering it. Bleh.
"No more, gotta' work for it now," Lethalia told the expectant gaze up at her. Now, she'd seen Vay chuck the other hatchlings with a pretty brutal shoulder-bump - which probably shouldn't make her giggle, but it was pretty cute and harmless this small. It was simply a problem if she didn't take care of it before they were... no longer quite such a harmless size. Ivaylo or one of the others would definitely end up getting hurt. But how did she prompt Vay to do it? Without convincing a hen that, long-term, it was okay to try and body-slam her?
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:24:29 GMT -6
It wasn't much of a natural move creatures tended to make, at least as far as Leth had observed. They might use their body mass to overpower or do even more massive damage with their real weapons, with their entire body weight put behind it. It was impressive, but thanks to Vidarr, not something she was keen on witnessing again. Ivaylo could never do as much damage as a drake anyway, even using her whole mass. Obviously fine, considering it wasn't a hen's job to pack as much of a punch as drakes did. Still though. A bear-sized broodhen who minded her was a lot more manageable than a bear-sized hen who wouldn't. The outcome of a trained hen was the goal, not the damage she could deal. Vay would never see the brutal sands of the pit, enough that this was basically just fun and games. Which... come to think of it, gave Lethalia an idea. Ivaylo lv|9 ly|9
bash|1
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:25:58 GMT -6
It would be horribly stupid of her to try and get Vay to do it to her, but she... was probably going to do it anyway. Not that all sarane were the same, but most didn't seem keen on doing work from what she'd noticed. If she could convince the hen it was just play, she could probably get more out of her. "Hey Vay," she sing-songed, as the hen wiggled in anticipation of another easy morsel. The satyr scooted her hoof forward, touching the hen's front claws. Ivaylo's paw sprung curled up against her chest, glowering at the woman for her transgression. "Oh yeah?" The other toe was touched, garnering a full bodied hiss from the hen as she crow-hopped back. No more toes touching. There it was. Smiling, Leth took a large step to feint a lunge at the red, garnering more upset squeaks as Vay jerked her front half away, ready to run. Upon whirling around and finding no hoofsteps behind her the hen paused, thorn-budded tail swaying.
bash|2
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:26:18 GMT -6
"There she is!" Leth crowed with an energy that caused Vay to square up against her again. Perfect! "C'mon, Vay-vay. Do it!" Stomping forward but not making the first move garnered a funny noise from the hen, something almost like a rook. That was all the warning Lethalia got before Ivaylo charged forward, aiming less to careen headfirst and more just aiming to land - well, the rest of her newfound bulk and thorns first. The hen looked down to tuck her head safely out of the way, apparently having done this enough during roughhousing to know to do so. Taking the opportunity to sidestep out of the way, the satyr avoided getting her knees bashed in by her young hen. Instead the red went sailing past her owner's legs, impacting with a dull thud on an old mattress the woman had placed herself in front of and propped upright on a fence. Better than nothing.
bash|3
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:26:31 GMT -6
Ivaylo's landing, if it could even be called that much, didn't 'stick it' as much as she went more 'ass over teakettle'. Her lowered shoulders hit the mattress first, her rear end continuing it's trajectory to flip and slide the hen over in an impressive somersault down the mattress. It might not have gone very well for her,, in comparison to using it as a weapon against the other sometimes-smaller hatchlings. Karma sucked, apparently. "Good bash, Vay!!" She wasn't even going to try to not laugh, especially since Vay hopped right back up looking as though she was scowling at the whole world for the indignity. "Maybe this'll take some'a th'pain away," she teased, throwing the hen a grubble for her efforts. That may not be the most effective form to use against something, but she wasn't counting on Vay having the need to. For now, it was nice just all being fun and games for a youngling who needed to burn some energy.
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:29:06 GMT -6
In interest of not performing a somersault, she'd probably figure out a better stance on her own. "C'mon Vay!" Lethalia chimed again, keeping the hen's focus on their game while she had it. Between getting her riled up with a willing playmate to roughhouse with and fat grubbles as bribery, hopefully it would keep her present. "Let's see'ya do that it again!" The hen had righted herself and dizzily knocked back the grubble, looking back to the woman for either more food or plays. Rounding back on the hen Lethalia reached out to box her head gently, pushing her already-square muzzle between her flat palms. After the initial pap-pap Ivaylo growled, gaping her teeth and groaning like a dog as she reached for her owner's hands without serious malice. Her owner dodged it anyway; play-bites from 'dragons' were still no joke. This one still wasn't quite aware of herself and how big she was getting, either. "Y'so cute, Vay."
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:30:11 GMT -6
Lethalia backed away slowly, luring Vay away from the mat to set her up for another pass. The hen followed her playful boxing with joyous growls and funny sounds as her maw gaped in a false threat. Once the satyr had brought the hen back around so she was facing the mattress, the hen had already been more than adequately worked up, tail twitching and bristling as if she had already grown her additional weaponry. "C'mon, Vay, y'gonna getme?!" Lethalia goaded as Ivaylo's head lowered. If she didn't know any better, she might think the hen was lowering those puny horns to use. She was pretty quick to use her 'trick' of slamming into things; it was by far the most decisive way to get her upper hand in a hatchling scuffle, ingrained as a simple solution to things annoying her. To be fair, it's probably solved a number of problems for her. Ivaylo lv|10 ly|10
bash|6
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:30:30 GMT -6
Flicking dirt with one hind claw, then the other, Vay surged forward - and Lethalia could bring herself to admit that the sight of even a small hen barreling towards you was plenty unsettling. If she didn't know she was faster on her hooves than any hatchling, it might've given reason to stop egging the red on. Though Leth side-stepped her with little effort, it didn't stop Vay's tail from lashing out as she passed. Not enough to change her trajectory, but she'd take any shot in she could get. This time she managed to avoid a tumble against the mattress, but still ended up staggering off of it. With Vay adequately hyped up the satyr was able to keep their game rolling for quite some time, getting the hen to chase her back to a position for another row at the mattress. Every pass the hen was doing better; cleaner, faster recovery. Lethalia had no choice but call it quits when Vay found her form enough to bounce off the mattress, keeping momentum to pursue her off-guard owner.
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:31:38 GMT -6
Lethalia's faeron plushie collection had been mended and replaced so many times, she didn't even think twice about grabbing them for training anymore. They were still cute as a button, a little larger than palm-sized, and a decent size and weight for playing with smaller creatures. An adolescent hen didn't exactly seem like she would... qualify. Not that the poor plushies were going to be put to any sort of, uh, normal use. The fact that a sub-adult hen would have absolutely no interest in them didn't matter much for this purpose. "Y'see?" Lethalia asked, letting Ivaylo take a sniff of the stuffed animals out of courtesy. Vay had as little interest in them as was expected, taking a big whiff of the pile of fabric and beans in her owner's hands and snorting, turning her tail to it. That wasn't food and therefore, not anything interesting; how was she expected to work with this?
danger sense|1
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:35:22 GMT -6
"Hey, hey, Vay," the satyr chanted, not wanting to catch the hen too off guard to start out with. Likely, she'd need to see what was coming. Once Vay's eyes were on her, Lethalia cried "Watch out!" as though a hen would heed her warning. As usual for these things... Ivaylo stood stalk-still and bristled for all the good her budding thorns would do against a gold faeron bouncing off her face. "Tol' you," Lethalia drawled, a grin spreading when Vay's glare turned to her. While the hen learned to pay more rapt attention to her, the satyr pelted another plushie. Vay's mouth gaped as she hissed at the projectile, side-stepping after it hit her in the shoulder. "Vay. C'mon, dude, do more'n stand there!" For the time being, it was simply too unbelievable that her owner was attacking her to respond to it, overly busy being dramatic with her gaping teeth and small noises to let her owner know she was unhappy.
danger sense|2
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:35:34 GMT -6
Another 'faeron' went soaring through the air - only to be snapped up by Vay, quickly opening her mouth to let the soggy plush fall to the grass. Leth began to wonder if she might end up running out of ammo before Vay moved an inch. "Not quite, babe." At least sarane were hardy enough they could keep at this for some time; the red was getting big enough that she could take a bit of a workout. Maybe she'd even remain one of the more trim adult hens, if she was more prone to exercise. (Then again, that hadn't done much for Esti.) Taking aim at the hen's forelegs, Lethalia pelted another stuffed animal Vay's way. This one was easier, the hen snatching her paw away before it could be viciously attacked by the flying object. "Good, Vay! Good!"So she didn't think she was still being attacked, Lethalia gently rolled a grubble over to Vay, who looked perplexed to get a reward for it all the same. She hadn't - what had she done, exactly?
danger sense|3
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Post by Lethalia on Feb 10, 2021 19:37:27 GMT -6
Lethalia gingerly picked up the next plush and bounced it's weight in her hand, unable to help but smile as Vay gaped her mouth at the mere appearance at another beanie. She was going to grow into such a tremendous creature, it was a bit charming to see her on the defensive over a little inanimate faeron. Leth would have to make sure she loved on the hen plenty later, make sure there were no hurt feelings over being assaulted. Vay squaring up and keeping a keen eye on her throwing hand meant she'd quickly picked up into the game she'd been goaded into. Good, perfect. It's not as though Lethalia thought she was teaching Ivaylo any sixth sense, but more to watch her opponent and learn something about how creatures telegraphed the way they were going to move in more subtle ways than she was doing right now. With luck the training early on would stick, give Vay that sort of thought process as she got older. Ivaylo lv|11 ly|11
danger sense|4
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