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Post by Emery on May 9, 2022 14:54:03 GMT -6
Emery had come to the public park again, yet another creature in tow. Moxie was at least familiar with these surroundings however, unlike Price. After all, she had brought him here once before, albeit for only a quick walk. The little kito had certainly seemed to enjoy his environment at the time, trying his best to fit things in his mouth. However, he wasn't quite so little anymore. He had put on some weight since then, and while still small enough for even Emery to yank around, had put on some muscle and height as well. He was quite a bit stronger now, though thankfully Emery's sheer weight was enough to keep him from pulling her over as he dashed forward to snap at the greenery they walked by, yanking on her arm as he did so. It ached a bit, wires grinding against their moorings, but it was difficult for Emery to be upset with him. Emery 6 Moxie 1.1/1.1
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Post by Emery on May 9, 2022 14:58:23 GMT -6
After all, he was just showing enthusiasm. Emery could appreciate that, and was even a bit envious of him. If only she could cavort about as he did... but, no matter. Even if he was a little rude, she intended to teach him plenty today. After all, there was a contest coming up. At first, Emery hadn't thought much of it. She wasn't much for fashion or useless things. Everything she did had a measured purpose and a practical nature. After all, she didn't have an excess of energy to burn and needed to ensure her own health- a few extra minutes spent on making herself look nice could mean not eating a meal later in the day. So for the most part she had avoided frivolous things such as contests, focusing instead on her own pets and studies. And yet... the one that had recently come up sounded a little interesting, even to her.
Emery 7 Moxie 1.2/1.2
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Post by Emery on May 12, 2022 14:37:54 GMT -6
It was a strength contest. Other contests usually involved plenty of ribbons and shiny fur and cute tricks to make the judges ooh and ah. By comparison, this one sounded a lot more... practical. A lot more objective. A strong creature was strong- this wasn't up for debate. A weight lifted, an object destroyed, these were all things that could be measured. Emery wouldn't have to do anything particularly fancy to show off her pet's strength- it would speak for itself. And Moxie was in fact her strongest pet. He was still quite young right now, but based on how hard he was pulling on the lead, he still had a great deal of muscle packed under that smooth skin. Of course, that was to be expected- with no front limbs, he would have to be able to raise himself back up with just his legs and tail if he fell.
Emery 8 Moxie 1.3/1.3
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Post by Emery on May 12, 2022 14:42:00 GMT -6
And that was just his body- which wasn't exactly what kito were known for. More than his limbs, his most impressively strong feature was his bite strength. Kito were known for snapping down on their prey more than anything else. Breaking bones and quickly swallowing what was left of them whole. It was terrifying to watch in an adult (or so she had heard), but in a juvenile she was sure that jaw strength would be sure to wow the crowd. It wasn't like it would be difficult to train him either- he loved biting down on things. Still, she would have to be careful to not let her hand get stuck in those fangs either... or else she was concerned she wouldn't be able to get him to let go. That was a problem for her in the future however- and hopefully one that could be solved by some thick enough gloves.
Emery 9 Moxie 1.4/1.4
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Post by Emery on May 12, 2022 14:48:21 GMT -6
That being said, she would have to teach Moxie some other things too. As it stood, he was... remarkably poorly trained. No leash manners, no manners at ALL, really. It would be a wonder if he even listened to her while onstage during the contest. So she would have to teach him some more minor tricks first. She glanced around- nearby where they were walking, there was a small alcove away from the field, where a few bushes and trees made a half circle around a patch of grass. From the path to there, the ground was nice and smooth as well, making it easy for Emery to step off the path and walk over there before setting her bag underneath a tree. Perfect. With that out of the way, she tied Moxie's lead to a thick branch as well, making it impossible for him to run off. After all, she likely wouldn't be able to catch him.
Emery 10 Moxie 2.0/2.0
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Post by Emery on May 12, 2022 14:54:28 GMT -6
With Moxie now restrained, Emery could work on training him a bit. First things first, she knew she had to start with his name. A pet's name was the easiest way to get them to pay attention to future tricks, and she couldn't imagine their training session getting much further without it. After all, Moxie wasn't... an especially bright creature. Luckily, she had a few tricks up her sleeve to help him. And by that, she had brought some food for him. Kito, despite being plants, were obligate carnivores. Meat scraps weren't too hard to come by in the labs city however, and Emery had brought a bag of them along, a small foam box of them in a paper bag so he wouldn't be able to see what she was holding. She popped it open now, the foam squeaking loudly. There they were, sitting pretty- now all she had to do was get started.
Emery 1 Moxie 2.1/2.1 Name 1
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Post by Emery on May 13, 2022 9:15:10 GMT -6
"Moxie." She said, stating his name plainly and clearly. It didn't seem to get his attention though- he was busy gnawing at a large log next to them, perhaps trying to wrest out a grub or two to eat. She wasn't about to be ignored that easily, however. Emery cranked up her volume and repeated Moxie's name- not any more aggressively or with a different tone, just louder to try and get him to look at her. It worked- he finally turned his head her way, looking at her blankly with his glossy black eyes, a shard of bark still poking out from between his vice grip teeth. He even held her gaze as she struggled with the paper bag for a moment, finally pulling out a bit of meat with shaky hands. That definitely got his attention, and the kito soon trotted over, leaping up and down before she could even drop it.
Emery 2 Moxie 2.2/2.2 Name 2
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 8:59:32 GMT -6
She obliged him however, and dropped the chunk of meat right into his waiting mouth like a claw machine. He shook his head a few times, growling playfully, before finally devouring it with a single snap of his jaws. It didn't take long for him to get off track again, distracted by the trembling of a nearby leaf in the light breeze. That was fine as far as Emery was concerned however- it meant that she had the opportunity to get his attention again. "Moxie." She said, keeping her volume level. He twitched his head at the leaf, looking at it more closely- no doubt in preparation of biting it. "Moxie." She repeated again, trying not to turn up her volume this time. Finally he turned to look at her again, quicker than before... but more briefly as he turned back to the leaf and chomped down on it, stopping its trembling for good.
Emery 3 Moxie 2.3/2.3 Name 3
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 9:03:09 GMT -6
Still, he HAD looked over to her when she spoke, and he seemed to have done it quicker than last time, so another treat was in order. He dropped the leaf as she pulled out another piece of meat. He had only grabbed it for the sake of destruction after all, and not because he was actually interested in eating foliage. He quickly snapped the chunk of flesh out of her hand as she offered it to him, swallowing it as quickly as possible. It looked like he wasn't the sort of creature to savor his food. After that, she nudged her foot at the leaf again, causing him to nudge at it once more, trying to pick it up off the ground despite his jutting teeth. It didn't work too well however, and soon he was back to not paying Emery any mind at all, practically headbutting the ground to try and get the leaf instead.
Emery 4 Moxie 2.4/2.4 Name 4
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 9:06:50 GMT -6
Emery watched him play for a moment before saying his name one more time. "...Moxie." She said, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Thankfully, the best was what she got- he snapped his head up immediately, with various dead leaves and bits of dirt adorning his fangs. It was a little gross, but it was exactly what she wanted out of him. "...Good job, Moxie." She said, tossing him an extra piece of meat along with his usual treat for performing the trick perfectly. It looked like it was a little difficult to get tricks through his head, but once they stuck, he was more than happy to obey. He wasn't the smartest, but he didn't see any need to disobey Emery either. She could work with that... but they weren't about to stop here with his education. She still had a few things in mind to teach him.
Emery 5 Moxie 3.0/3.0 Name 5
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 9:57:25 GMT -6
The next trick shouldn't be too difficult- she already had just the thing for it. Emery slowly opened a pouch on her hip, pulling out a piece of string with a feather attached to it. She wiggled it around, and Moxie immediately perked up, looking at it. She dropped it to the ground, and he ran up to try and bite it, but she yanked it away just in time, dragging it a few inches away from where his jaws snapped closed. He tried that a couple more times but in each instance, Emery was able to keep it away from him. She didn't give a command yet- she was waiting for him to display the behavior she wanted first. He chased the string around like that for a bit, slowly growing more frustrated until he finally lashed out with one of his taloned feet instead of his powerful jaws.
Emery 6 Moxie 3.1/3.1 Jump 1
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 10:02:54 GMT -6
He stomped near it, and Emery threw him a piece of meat for getting a step closer to the correct action. "Good job, Moxie." She was, of course, trying to get him to jump on it, using his body weight to slam down on it full force. Sure she could try doing this by teaching him to leap in the air first, but she wasn't sure how she would pivot that into him using it in an aggressive fashion. It was best to try and teach him to use it offensively first and worry about other applications later. Still, for now he was only trying to stomp on the lure (which she noted to herself to try and turn into a trick of its own later. If it worked, why not? It was more to show off for the judges.) Now she needed him to jump on it- but she had an idea on how to convince him.
Emey 7 Moxie 3.2/3.2 Jump 2
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 11:48:17 GMT -6
The next time he went to stomp on the string, Emery instead yanked it up, dangling it above his head. Moxie slammed his foot down where it was, pausing for a moment before looking around for it, realizing it wasn't where he thought it was. Emery waggled it a bit more to get his attention. "Jump, Moxie. Jump." She said, trying out the new command. He lifted a leg, waving it at the fluffy feather. "Come on. You can do it. Jump!" She said, cranking up her volume just a little bit louder. Finally he hopped in the air a bit- not far enough to actually grab the string, but enough that Emery could consider it a slight success. "Good jump, Moxie." She praised in her monotone, and tossed him a small chunk of meat at his feet. He seemed surprised for a moment- had catching the fake prey given him real meat?
Emery 8 Moxie 3.3/3.3 Jump 3
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 11:52:05 GMT -6
Either way, he wasn't about to question it. He grabbed up the piece of meat, swallowing it quickly with his characteristic enthusiasm. Emery didn't hesitate, dropping the string back down for him to chase. He seemed a lot more sure of what he was supposed to be doing now- especially once Emery gave the command again. They worked their way up. Moxie would give a hesitant hop onto the feather tied to the end, barely putting his weight on it before hopping off again. Emery gave him treats for this, but tended to give him bigger chunks when he put more effort and ferocity into it. She wanted him to be able to (theoretically) use this in the heat of battle, after all. The longer they went on for, the more excited and confident her kito seemed to grow. He definitely seemed to be getting the hang of it, which was good- Emery's arm was starting to get tired.
Emery 9 Moxie 3.4/3.4 Jump 4
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Post by Emery on May 17, 2022 11:57:13 GMT -6
She decided to try it one more time, just to make sure Moxie got the idea. She took a couple steps back and waggled the string gently, letting him get a good bead on it. "Moxie, jump." She said, and it was already clear what she was referring to. She watched as he bunched himself up before taking a mighty leap, landing squarely on the feather attached to the end of the string. His foot ground it into the dirt beneath them, and Emery was sure that if he had leapt upon a living creature it would have done some damage. "Excellent jump, Moxie." Emery said, yanking up the string once he got off of it. Before he could try to follow it, she threw him a particularly large chunk of meat, balling up the string and putting it away in the meantime. That move would do him well in the contest- she could only hope that she could teach him well in the meantime.
Emery 10 Moxie 4.0/4.0 Jump 5
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