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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:07:34 GMT -6
Emery had returned to the public park with a familiar creature in tow. She had brought Argos here once before, but that was just to get him used to her before their first mining session. The resulting session had gone perfectly, in Emery’s opinion. They had managed to dig up plenty of gems (well, mostly Argos) and it had funded quite a bit of tools and rare items for the tournament she had entered another creature in. That meant that Argos was technically one of her most valuable creatures now. While he wasn’t immediately making her any credits, he facilitated it in a way that Emery couldn’t help but find valuable. However, he was pretty under trained for what she had put him through. So today would be focused on teaching him more tricks and moves- getting him a bit better trained in basic obedience so he’d be a bit easier to command in the future. Emery 1 Argos 13.1/13.1
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:07:48 GMT -6
It was early morning. Argos much preferred it like this. Emery knew that very bright lights hurt his eyes- or the shallow pits that served as his eyes- and so it was best forboth of them to come at a time of day he’d be most comfortable. He slept in short shifts throughout the day and night, but longer when it was bright, actively avoiding the light. Emery… didn’t really sleep that much in general, so any time of day was fine with her for training. So here they were in the public park, well before dawn. As expected, nobody else was here, given that people usually only ever came out at this time if they needed to train cave dwelling or nocturnal creatures specifically. As a result, Emery had her choice of the best areas for training, the fenced off areas and climbing frames. It was all lit by the early morning sky, making the shapes just barely stand out from the gloom.
Emery 2 Argos 13.2/13.2
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:08:05 GMT -6
The runic gargoyle didn’t seem extremely excited about training, but what creature was? Argos was a rather placid beast in general, never showing any strong surge of emotion. Allegedly he was sapient, but Emery hadn’t seen much interest in language or culture from him yet. She’d have to force him into it sooner or later, if just so she could give him more complex commands. For now however, more simple tricks would do him just fine. She guided the gargoyle into a training pen. It was an area kept separate by a tall fence- too tall for most creatures to jump over, but made of enough slats that they could still see their surroundings. The ground was covered in soft sand, and Argos found it comforting, quickly running his fingers through it. There were a few tall stones scattered about- they’d make good props for the tricks that Emery wanted to teach.
Emery 3 Argos 13.3/13.3
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:08:18 GMT -6
Emery set her bag down, checking its contents. She had plenty of tools. Some targets, little signs and colorful rings for him to aim at for tricks that required that sort of thing. Folded up boxes that expanded to multiple sizes- good for teaching him to operate in small spaces. That would be especially useful in the mines, where he usually worked. Finally, she had a bag of treats for him- soft stones, usually sedimentary stones, that he had seemed to find tasty before. She couldn’t imagine enjoying eating rocks, but he didn’t seem to eat anything else. It was much cheaper than buying him real food, that was for sure. With all of these, she was sure she could ply him into obeying her commands- or at least figuring out what it was she was asking of him. She also had for herself, of course, a bottle of water and a nutrient packet.
Emery 4 Argos 13.4/13.4
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:08:33 GMT -6
Had to look after her own health as much as his, after all. With that in mind, all she had to do was pick a trick to train him. There was a contest coming up- perhaps she could teach him to fly and perform various tricks related to that to impress a crowd. Maybe throw in some battle moves on top of that. She would get some much needed contest points out of it (provided that he performed well in front of the audience), and Argos would learn some tricks that might help him down below in the mine. It gave her something to focus on, at least- a direction to go in. She watched Argos pace back and forth for a few minutes, waiting for him to settle down. He’d have to pay attention to her eventually. Sure enough, once her pet looked her way, she clapped to get his attention.
Emery 5 Argos 14.0/14.0
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:09:05 GMT -6
“Argos. It is time to learn.” She said, and made her way over to one of the larger stones. She had already taught Argos a lot of the most basic tricks. He could be told to stop doing something, or to follow her around an area. She could now nudge that behavior into slightly fancier things. The least fancy of the fancy things she could think of was “leap”- a simple little jump in the air. It was easy enough to teach- so long as you were taller than your pet. Emery wasn’t tall enough for her to have confidence that she could teach it to Argos as she was, so a bit of a higher perspective was useful to her. She clambered up on top of the rock, and Argos stared after her blankly, not understanding what she was doing quite yet. To be fair, it probably did look rather silly.
Emery 6 Argos 14.1/14.1 Leap 1
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:09:29 GMT -6
Then, she reached a hand into her pocket. She had stuffed it full of soft rocks- perfect for him to eat. Argos was good at mining gems and seemed to want to hoard them just like Emery did, but his main diet seemed to be limited to things he could crack open with his blunt beak. Sedimentary stones seemed to be his favorite. When she pulled one out sure enough, Argos tilted his head at her. “If you want this- you have to come get it.” She said, and held the stone down below her. It was just about at Argos’s head height where she was holding it, and he quickly walked over to her. He reached up a small, clawed hand and snatched the stone right out of Emery’s own gloved hand. She let him take it- it was best for him to get the idea of what he was going to need to do.
Emery 7 Argos 14.2/14.4 Leap 2
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:14:07 GMT -6
His mission was to obtain the stone. Now she needed to make that a bit harder for him. Once Argos was finished devouring the first rock, she held out another one- just above his head. She wasn't going to jerk it out of his grasp, she wasn't cruel, but she WAS going to hold it where he couldn't get at it to start with. The gargoyle reached up, trying to grab it like before. It didn't work however- he just wasn't tall enough. "Argos, leap." Emery said, setting up the command word for him. His swipes at the stone became a little more insistent, and his normally crouched, curled body was now stretched out as far as it could manage, with even his wings held tense. Eventually, he realized he had no chance of reaching it on his own and had to make a jump for it. He crouched down for a moment before hopping up.
Emery 8 Argos 14.3/14.3 Leap 3
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:18:18 GMT -6
Emery released the stone as soon as he touched it. "Good work, Argos." She said, offering rare verbal praise. "Good leap." She continued, reiterating the command. His eye socket remained tilted in her direction as he ate, considering her words. At the very least he was likely picking up on the repetition of the word 'leap'. It didn't take Emery long to get out another stone. "Argos, leap." She said, but this time she held the rock at her side. Argos looked at her and tilted his head slightly... before hopping up in the air briefly. It wasn't nearly as high as before, but it didn't need to be- it was the action she was training for, not the height of it. He had jumped on command- albeit with a bit of bribery. "Good leap, Argos." She repeated, and threw the stone to his feet. He was quick to grab it, and Emery reloaded her hand for another try.
Emery 9 Argos 14.4/14.4 Leap 4
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Post by Emery on May 1, 2024 20:22:46 GMT -6
She tried it again a few times like that, giving Argos an order and then tossing him a stone. He didn't get any more enthusiastic about the task, but he did perform it dutifully. This final time however, Emery didn't pull out another rock, leaving her hands empty. "Argos, leap." She said, wanting to be sure he understood the idea without the benefit of food. His eyes narrowed briefly, but he did crouch down... and leapt up in the air, using all four limbs to propel himself up to eye level height with Emery on her perch. It was his highest jump yet by a long shot. After he landed back down on the ground and straightened himself out again, Argos looked back up at her expectantly... and held out his hand. Emery was surprised, but she understood the request, and tossed him another stone from his pocket. A hard day's work deserved some pay, after all.
Emery 10 Argos 15.0/15.0 Leap 5
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Post by Emery on May 8, 2024 19:24:46 GMT -6
The next trick on the list was the most important one- and the one that would be most difficult to train, admittedly. Argos, being a runic gargoyle, had massive, rough-hewn wings. They weren’t the most elegant to look at, but Emery knew from her research that they weren’t just for show. Along with winged gargoyles, runic gargoyles used them to quickly traverse the interior of their cavern homes without needing to climb and maneuver their way across the rocks. And if they fell from a tall height while climbing a wall or other surface, there was little to no danger of them getting hurt, seeing as they could just catch themselves with their wings on the way down. Apparently Argos hadn’t learned how to use his by the time she acquired him however- he had never done anything but walk in the whole time she had known him.
Emery 1 Argos 15.1/15.1 Fly 1
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Post by Emery on May 8, 2024 19:25:45 GMT -6
So today she was looking to rectify that- to teach him to fly. That was easier said than done though. For one, Emery wasn’t athletic. For a second, she couldn’t fly. Still, there were a couple things she could use to her advantage here. She had the huge rock structure set up in the middle of this training area, perfect for various species of creature to climb. Argos was curled up on one of its shelves right now, peering down at her idly. Emery nodded at him politely, and dug around in her pocket. She still had plenty of his preferred treat left- a bunch of soft, easily chewed stones made of different minerals he liked. He moved almost imperceptibly as she opened her pocket to check the stock. She knew to pay attention- that was the only indicator she was going to get that he was interested in what she had.
Emery 2 Argos 15.2/15.2 Fly 2
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Post by Emery on May 8, 2024 19:26:09 GMT -6
From there, she held up one of the stones in front of her, just a foot or two away from the structure. “Argos, come. Leap.” She said, using two of the commands he already knew. He slowly got up from his repose and tilted his head at her curiously, his face fixated on the stone she was holding. She held it still, wanting him to be able to aim carefully. After all, she was going for ability here, not precision or grace. He wasn’t going to fight people with flying, he was going to fly. Then he launched off, throwing himself off of the ledge with surprising speed. Emery tried not to flinch as he moved. He landed in front of her, his wings held wide like a parachute. He held up his hand for the stone. “...Good job, Argos.” She said, and placed the stone back on the ledge.
Emery 3 Argos 15.3/15.3 Fly 3
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Post by Emery on May 8, 2024 19:26:25 GMT -6
He looked up at it and narrowed his eye sockets before crawling back up after it. Good- that meant he would be reset for the next attempt at this trick. Emery was glad that he had used his wings to parachute down. That was the movement she wanted him to make. From there, she could work him up to gliding and then, ideally, full flight. For now, she just needed to increase the distance he was jumping to her from. Emery backed a bit further away while Argos crunched on his treat, pulling out another stone to replace the last one. When he looked up at her again, she held it up. “Argos, fly.” She said, setting the new command word. Then, she used the ones already familiar to him again. “Come. Leap.” She said, beckoning him forward across the slightly longer distance. He bunched his limbs up again, eyeing her carefully.
Emery 4 Argos 15.4/15.4 Fly 4
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Post by Emery on May 8, 2024 19:26:41 GMT -6
He leapt, this time spreading his wings out fully, almost gliding before landing in front of her. His landing this time was more graceful- more of a proper landing than a crash, and he recovered from it quickly. Good- now she just needed him to finish up with figuring out how to glide and then hopefully she could get him to a distance where he would need to flap. She praised him again but still set his treat up on the ledge once more, obligating him to reset himself for another try if he wanted to eat. At least climbing wasn’t difficult for him- it was something that came easily to a runic golem. This time Emery backed up even further, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t getting too far away. When she was ready, she pulled out another rock and Argos got himself into position, more ready than she was for another try.
Emery 5 Argos 16.0/16.0 Fly 5
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