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Post by Emery on Jul 31, 2024 14:58:06 GMT -6
The next trick was an easy one... in theory. Some creatures learned it more easily than others. Emery had plenty of dry, crunchy leaves left over from teaching Pyrrhos his last move, and she was going to put them to good work this time. Today she was going to teach him 'no'. To leave something alone. It was never a pleasant thing to teach creatures, given that it was impossible to reason with an animal about why it shouldn't have something, but Emery was hoping it would go over more smoothly with an elemental golem. After all, they were designed to work with people and didn't have much in the way of survival instincts. As a result, there wasn't much of a reason for him to disobey her. But still, only time would be able to tell. Emery picked up a snow shovel- the metal scoop would do well in forcing Pyrrhos to keep his distance.
Emery 1 Pyrrhos 22.1/22.1 No 1
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Post by Emery on Jul 31, 2024 18:50:24 GMT -6
First things first, Emery set a leaf down on the ground. She knew that these perfectly dried, crunchy leaves were like catnip to Pyrrhos- he adored watching them burn. She gave him no order to anything in particular to it, but even in the absence of her guidance he still toddled towards it, reaching out tendrils of flame towards it to burn it up. Emery immediately gave the command. "Pyrrhos, no-" She said, but it had already gone up in flames. "Agh." Emery muttered under her breath, her arm still lifting the shovel. She needed to be faster than that. That was her own fault- but at least Pyrrhos had heard the new word by this point. She shuffled a bit further away so she'd have more time to react once he went after the treat. He didn't seem keen to follow her- after all, she hadn't given him any commands to do so.
Emery 2 Pyrrhos 22.2/22.2 No 2
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Post by Emery on Jul 31, 2024 20:00:49 GMT -6
Then she picked up her bag, opening another baggie held within- revealing even more crunchy leaves. She had to keep them where Pyrrhos couldn't see after all, or else he'd simply attempt to incinerate ALL of her things. She took one out and allowed it to drift to the ground in front of her. Almost immediately, Pyrrhos registered what it was and began to walk towards it robotically. "Pyrrhos, no." Emery said, though it hardly stopped his forward march. Finally, Emery plunged the shovel into the dirt in front of him, redirecting him off to the side. "I said no." She said, but he simply paused for a moment and tried again, walking himself into the shovel over and over again as if it would give way any minute now. Emery was... unsure how to feel about this, but she simply kept repeating the command every time he tried again.
Emery 3 Pyrrhos 22.3/22.3 No 3
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Post by Emery on Aug 1, 2024 9:56:13 GMT -6
After a very, very long time of doing that, Emery was starting to lose hope. Perhaps she was wrong about this, and Pyrrhos was simply too... well, simple to comprehend such a command. But then, Emery pushed him back with another repeat of "No.". The scoop by this point was red hot, and she could feel the heat radiating off of it from here. And yet... this time Pyrrhos, for whatever reason, didn't walk forward. Perhaps he had simply forgotten what it was he was trying to do. Emery paused for a moment as well, waiting to see if this was just a momentary hesitation. When it became clear that he was just standing there however, Emery finally let him take his prize. "Good no, Pyrrhos." She said, lifting the snow shovel to reveal the leaf. He perked up upon seeing it, his purpose restored, and he walked over to burn it.
Emery 4 Pyrrhos 22.4/22.4 No 4
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Post by Emery on Aug 1, 2024 12:10:26 GMT -6
As the leaf turned to ash, Emery took another few steps away and dropped down another one. Perhaps this had finally gotten through his head. Pyrrhos almost immediately saw it and began walking over to it, but Emery kept the shovel by her side this time. "Pyrrhos, no." She said, and to her surprise, the golem stopped. He was still staring intently at the leaf, but didn't budge. "...Good no, Pyrrhos." She said, and he resumed his steady pace towards it. Thinking for a moment, she decided to try again. "...No." She said... and he stopped. Emery did that a few times, practically playing red light, green light with him and nudging the leaf around with her foot before she decided that that was probably good enough. He clearly knew how to obey the concept, even if there wasn't any higher level understanding present in his skull. His obedience was all she needed.
Emery 5 Pyrrhos 23.0/23.0 No 5
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Post by Emery on Sept 2, 2024 10:07:05 GMT -6
It was time for another round of training for Argos. It felt like it had been so soon since she last taught him things like how to dig for gems, but here they were again on the training grounds. The gargoyle seemed just as enthusiastic as always- which was to say, not at all. This time however, instead of working on his basic skills, she wanted to make sure he was more ready in... perhaps more of a "combat" sort of way. After all, there were many dangerous creatures down in the mines, and Emery could only barely defend herself. Argos wasn't much more capable, but he could at least take more hits than she could, giving her time to get away- and then he could easily escape himself, with the aid of his burrowing abilities and wings. Still, it was her duty to make sure he was ready for such a situation. Emery 6 Argos 22.1/22.1 Stone Skin 1
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Post by Emery on Sept 2, 2024 18:15:40 GMT -6
What she wanted to do today then was to toughen him up a bit- his skin, specifically. Gargoyles like himself were already practically made of stone- it was one of their defining features, in fact. But Emery could tell that he still had some soft spots around the edges, especially in delicate places like along his joints and under his chin. They made glaring weak points on an otherwise impenetrable creature. Still, there were ways to toughen up such soft spots. She was sure that by applying rougher materials, she could get some calluses to form on those points... or at least, whatever passed for calluses on a creature as strange as a gargoyle. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but luckily she had plenty of patience- and so did Argos, for that matter. Together, they would get it done eventually. She just needed to check her supplies first.
Emery 7 Argos 22.2/22.2 Stone Skin 2
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Post by Emery on Sept 2, 2024 18:33:42 GMT -6
First and foremost, she brought a velvet bag. Rubbing it with her hand briefly, she felt the clink of its contents against each other- semiprecious gems that she had brought back from the mines. They were pretty cheap to any vendor here in the city, but Argos loved to eat them as treats- or perhaps, just to covet sometimes. She had found several in his sleeping spot after all, and it didn't seem like he was saving them until later as snacks. The next item however, was a bit harder to transport- it was a massive tub full of a special silicate sand. Specifically, it was false sand, made from grinding existing rocks down instead of from a beach. That meant that the individual grains were rougher and sharper- digging ones hands through it would likely rub off a few layers of skin within a few minutes if you were a human.
Emery 8 Argos 22.3/22.3 Stone Skin 3
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Post by Emery on Sept 2, 2024 18:47:26 GMT -6
Argos however, was not a human. As a result, it likely wouldn't have the same injurious effect- but it would certainly be tougher on his body than normal sand, which would force him to build up the strength of his skin along with the strength of his muscles. With the tank sent up, Emery was ready to begin. "Argos, come." She said, and waved him over to the tub. She helped him up and into it- a task in and of itself, considering how incurious he was. He only barely glanced around once he was standing in the sand, blithely accepting whatever situation Emery put him in. Apparently it was all the same to him- or perhaps she just wasn't worth the effort. Once he was situated however, she gave the order. "Argos, dig." She said, pointing at the sand. It was time to begin- with the easiest way to get the sand to flow over his skin.
Emery 9 Argos 22.4/22.4 Stone Skin 4
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Post by Emery on Sept 2, 2024 18:55:53 GMT -6
The gargoyle needed no further instruction or encouragement. Almost as soon as Emery gave the order he began to dig instantly, like a well-oiled machine. His arms moved back and forth in perfect counterbalanced harmony, his long claws digging out fistfuls of sand easily, tossing it behind him and sweeping it to either side with his tail to prevent drifts from piling up. His brow furrowed in concentration- or perhaps, he was noticing the roughness of the sand, how it chafed against his skin. It would be hard not to, given that it was designed to be like that. Still, he remained silent and obedient, digging a hole down into the tub. She had made sure it was wide and tall- tall enough that he'd be able to fit his whole body into the hole he was making, allowing the sand to eventually cover every single part of his body.
Emery 10 Argos 23.0/23.0 Stone Skin 5
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Post by Emery on Sept 4, 2024 8:29:49 GMT -6
She stood by, watching as he dug, his body slowly sinking into the sand around him. She could see that it was definitely rubbing up against his skin, and even though Argos did not have eyes, he blinked heavily to try and clear it out of the shallow sockets. Still, he kept on digging despite his apparent discomfort, as Emery had not yet given the command to stop. He was easily one of her most obedient pets, if emotionally distant. That was fine by her however- she did not need friendship, simply the following of orders. Soon she heard a dull thunk, and recognized what it was. Argos had hit the bottom of the tub. "Argos, good. Enough." She said, and tossed a couple of the stones into the pit, watching as they were snatched out of sight by a quick hand. She waited until he was done eating, the crunching noises faded away.
Emery 1 Argos 23.1/23.1 Stone Skin 6
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Post by Emery on Sept 4, 2024 8:36:22 GMT -6
When he did not emerge immediately, Emery called him. "Argos, come." She said, and finally the gargoyle begrudgingly hopped out of the bin. "Good." She said, and gave him an appreciative pat on the head before turning to the bin. Emery picked up a stick. She didn't want to have to touch the sand herself any more than she had to- such a material would be hell on her internal circuitry if it managed to make its way inside her clothes. She dug the stick into the sand, filling back in and covering up the hole Argos had just made until the surface was the same as when he started. Good as new. Now it was time for a repeat- for as many times as it took for him to toughen up. She wasn't expecting it all to happen in one day, of course- it would take multiple sessions for him to improve.
Emery 2 Argos 23.2/23.2 Stone Skin 7
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Post by Emery on Sept 4, 2024 8:40:20 GMT -6
For now though, she urged him back into the tub to repeat his Sisyphean task. "Argos, dig." She said, digging her pointer finger into the silica sand again for emphasis. Argos stared at her briefly- perhaps comprehending her command, or perhaps that was the closest he'd ever get to complaining. Regardless, he didn't seem to question it after that and began to dig again, using all four of his limbs to move the loose soil. Emery stood close by, watching his progress. He didn't seem to be slowing down or hesitating, but she did notice that his little irritated twitches were increasing in frequency. Good. If it was irritating him, then that meant he was on the way to getting used to it, pushing through his discomfort. She just needed him to repeat this enough times that it no longer bothered him, no matter how many times he dug into it.
Emery 3 Argos 23.3/23.3 Stone Skin 8
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Post by Emery on Sept 4, 2024 8:48:15 GMT -6
Once again, Emery waited until Argos hit the bottom, and rewarded him with more treats for his trouble. He didn't need to be goaded into leaving his hole after that- he seemed to get the picture by now, as unpleasant as it was. It didn't take long for Emery to fill in the hole after that and have him dig again, assaulting a different patch of the tub. The roughness of the sand still seemed to bother him, but now that he knew the pattern, he seemed to at least be trying to push through it. She had him continue to repeat this, over and over, until the sun started sliding from the sky. After that she actually pulled her gloves off, running her scarred hands over his body, testing his joints and weak spots. They felt rougher... but perhaps that was just her imagination? They'd have to keep practicing to be sure.
Emery 4 Argos 23.4/23.4 Stone Skin 9
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Post by Emery on Sept 4, 2024 8:51:30 GMT -6
So she returned the following day, having him repeat the same old practice. And the day after that. And the day after that. At first, Emery continued to not be able to tell how tough Argos was, but soon enough (well, within a few weeks) she was able to feel a noticeable difference in his skin. Thicker, less pliable, more difficult for her to poke and pull. The gargoyle put up with her ministrations well enough, and now knew the tub like the back of his claws, but after a few weeks of this practice she decided that he was done with the training for this. She was sure he had some knowledge of boredom as well- chances are he was relieved to be done too. After all, his skin was now thickened, more armor like- there was no reason to continue. All Emery had to do was rest easy with the knowledge that he'd be better prepared for mining.
Emery 5 Argos 24.0/24.0 Stone Skin 10
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