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Post by Èdan on May 31, 2021 14:45:39 GMT -6
Currently Handling:
Atrum / "Art" Shadowling, Male
Level: 20 (0/5) / Loyalty: 20 (0/5)
Cunning: 5 Sentient Average Top Speed: 30 mph Power Levels: 1 Special Requirements: None Notes: None
Stamina: 1 Strength: 0 Resistance: 0 Dexterity: 1 Mentality: 3
Special Abilities: Shadow Immunity, Ethreal Knows: Soul-Strike, Spook, Name, Come, Follow, Stay, Go Away, Hitch a Ride
To train:
Foreign Language - Common I (2) - Complete
Foreign Language - Common II (2) - WIP
Previous Records:
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 10:48:12 GMT -6
Lisan Milkun
The dawn had barely begun to creep over the horizon, but the courier has already found his way to the park grounds. It's early, far earlier than it should have been for many, and the others would likely chance it only if they absolutely had to. So, in his mind, the perfect time - Fewer to none eyes, peace and quiet, and certainly a good deal or privacy, in order to tackle this particular challenge.
Only, he had barely reached the designated training yard when the challenge in question revealed its true scope. He checks the slip of paper for the instructions, but no matter how many times he does so, it still adds up to the same notion - the beast in the pen is the one he's meant to train, except that is no small foal barely the shoulder-height of a person. That.. is a very large problem, waiting to trample other problems under it's long feet.
Well.. Faex.
. 1 . Lisan: 23 (4/5)
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:00:20 GMT -6
The courier leans up against the fence for some time, considering his options. There's a few moments where he almost turns and walks away, but it never quite gets further than a prospective step. This is foolish (Part of him says). But also an opportunity.. (Another part reminds him). Finally, with a sour grimace and a fist tapped against the fence, he groans and climbs over, into the yard.
So.. Make this thing 'less scared' was the agreement. Make it find its courage (And hopefully survive in the process). How on earth these city-folk did this on the regular with any notion of having a long life-expectancy eluded him, but he gets the sense he's going to find out one way or another. The beast doesn't notice him, not yet.. but he gives it time, strolling across the grass to approach it. The eyes watch for movement, for signs (Warnings) of what's inevitably to come.
. 2 . Lisan: 24 (0/5) ( Hardy: 1 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:22:26 GMT -6
Without fail, he's not even half way across the yard when the beast suddenly rears its head, ears pointed forward and displaying several types of nervousness at once - And there it is.
It had begun with the hounds, way back when, sending them into whining, fleeing fits. The horses soon followed, even the half-blind ones that were older than dirt (And smelled about the same). The hawks nearly blinded him when they would not settle, no matter the training, the commands, the treats and goading. All in all it seemed that the whole of the animal kingdom had an Issue with him, something they Sensed rather than saw. Something that could override even the most careful training, short of war beasts (And even they never quite settled entirely).
He never could figure out if they were onto something, but ultimately it didn't matter - This sense was not something he controlled, but it could certainly be something he could weaponize in specific situations.
. 3 . Lisan: 24 (1/5) ( Hardy: 2 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:27:55 GMT -6
The courier stares the beast down (Or rather, up, considering the height difference) and takes a step forward. The head immediately flinches back. Another step, another flinch, this time with the clear indication that the baakir is just about ready to bolt. He stops there, hands in pockets, seeming little more than an everyday humanish on their way to work at the Docks. But he doesn't need to be the imposing figure of the knight here.. The beast's Sense will do the work for him, if he's lucky.
Humanoids and animals differ in a lot of ways, but at their basest nature, they are more alike than many realize (And most accept). Humanoids might be blind to this Sense of his, but put one in a corner and have them be stared down by a dragon, and they're no different to a beast of prey who would claw their way out of a box to escape.
And he's not looking to box in the baakir, not yet.
. 4 . Lisan: 24 (2/5) ( Hardy: 3 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:35:22 GMT -6
He needs the beast to find its courage, it's spine. Merely scaring it wont make it brave, just further feed into its instinct that escaping is the only way to resolve a confrontation. Not everything that works on humans works on animals, mostly because humans can be swayed with words far quicker than any action ever could. But animals don't understand words, to them they're mostly just noises. They understand tone, perhaps, at best, but it's the actions that cause a reaction.
So he waits. A game of reverse chicken - Not so much who blinks and moves out of the way first, but to see who relaxes first. The baakir is a giant pile of corded wire with a tensile strength capable of snapping him in half in half a dozen different ways (And just because its scared doesn't mean he's safe..) so while his outward posture is casual, it's a forced kind of relaxed - Should anything go wrong, he's already figure out three different escape paths of his own.
. 5 . Lisan: 24 (3/5) ( Hardy: 4 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:40:50 GMT -6
Several minutes pass, to the point that he's starting to question if he read the description of these things correctly - Surely their vision was not based on movement and its actually smart enough to see that just because he isn't approaching, it doesn't mean the danger has passed. Eventually, the patience pays off, as the baakir turns its head to check its surroundings. For a prey animal faced with a predator, it wouldn't be the smartest of moves, leaving itself open just like that, but it's an indication that maybe, just maybe, its no longer considering him the biggest issue around.
He changes posture, relaxing the shoulders, and that's enough to pull the baakir's laser-guided focus right back on him, but it's progress.. Slow, arduous (Annoying) progress.. The thing's nose seems to twitch a mile a minute, and he can only imagine the rapid-fire computations going through its simple brain as its trying to understand what's going on.
. 6 . Lisan: 24 (4/5) ( Hardy: 5 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 11:50:14 GMT -6
It's not exactly pity, but he doesn't envy the beast, either - It's not like he himself has any better idea. Some things just Are the way they Are. Whether a blessing, a curse, a circumstance of one's birth or some other worldly or otherworldly notion. He's long since given up trying to find a reason, and grown infinitely tired of hearing other people's interpretations of it. And now this poor beast it trying to computate why this seemingly plain-looking humanoid is ringing alarm bells all around its brain, like he's a divining rod for danger.
Several minutes pass again, before the baakir moves first - Again to check its surroundings. This time he takes a step forward, bringing its attention back to him in a sudden snap of the head. Sure, there's always other dangers around you to keep an eye out for, but right now out of everything else, he's making sure that he is the biggest concern.
And if this beast learns to deal with him, well.. Perhaps there's hope for a spine yet.
. 7 . Lisan: 25 (0/5) ( Hardy: 6 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 12:33:32 GMT -6
The game of reverse chicken continues. Many mistake attrition to be too difficult because it requires extensive focus, and the current stand-off against flight-or-flight-or-something-else is anything but focus-based. It helps, certainly, but he has something far more valuable to succeed at a battle of attrition - Patience. Out-wait them, out-plan them, (Out-live them).
If the creature bolts, it learns that running solved the issue and he needs to start again. If he doesn't seem as great of a threat any more, he needs to up the ante to make sure the alarm bells keep ringing in its tall head. Fear isn't something you run from. It isn't even something you face head-on, as so many people like to think (As he himself used to think).
Fear is a constant. It is a fact. It exists regardless of anything else and it drowns if it remains a stranger to you. The trick isn't to avoid it or beat it through sheer will.
The trick is to learn from it.
. 8 . Lisan: 25 (1/5) ( Hardy: 7 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 12:40:44 GMT -6
Any time the baakir's head moves, any time it shifts or relaxes, he takes a step closer, bringing that aura of disquiet, that Sense that much nearer, and making it that much of an immediate concern. Like scaling up the jump height meter by meter, before taking a dive into water. The top of the jump might seem far away from the ground, but if you've already jumped from the previous steps, it doesn't seem half as bad.
So what's a little more fear? What's a little more panic dancing on the very edges of your mind, just far enough to tickle a notion of fleeing, but not so close as to actually make you run? (What's a sweetness of the in between? Of risking, but not provoking?)
Eventually, he's crossed half the distance from where he began, and though the baakir stamps and stammers from time to time, it has remained in relative place. But the more the ante is upped, the higher the stakes become for him as much as the beast. He'll need to be sure before risking more.
. 9 . Lisan: 25 (2/5) ( Hardy: 8 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 12:48:41 GMT -6
So he backs up, slowly and cautiously. Hands in pockets, facing the beast, but confidently backtracking towards the fence again. The beast's gaze does not leave him, but each step away sees it relax more and more, seeming satisfied that whatever force was causing it disquiet was loosening its grip on it. Once at the fence, he finally hops over it to the other side, fully leaving the beast's vision. Minutes pass, as the baakir does not trust so easily for the danger to be past (And it would be right), but eventually it begins to meander about again, looking for food or entertainment, he can't tell.
He leans up against the tall fence and watches for a time - The beast might not realize it yet, but this would be it's reward. It faced down a danger without fleeing, despite the instinct to do so, and now it gets to relax. More importantly, it solved a problem by standing its ground.. A smart beast would take this as a lesson. However, seeing as he wasn't too confident about the intelligence of this one, it didn't hurt to go over it a few more times, to be certain.
. 10 . Lisan: 25 (3/5) ( Hardy: 9 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 12:59:36 GMT -6
In the next few hours he becomes a presence of various qualities. The first time he jumps back into the yard and makes to approach the beast again, he is a Threat. The same as before, with not too much change. So he plays the battle of attrition against the beast's instincts a second time, slow and arduous though it might be - Just enough to keep it nervous, not enough to make it run. Eventually, satisfied that he's managed to approach close enough (And not feeling particularly adventurous to risk the hooves), he backs out again, leaving the beast to be.
The scenario plays out a few more times, almost step-lock to each other. An observer might point out that nothing has changed, and he's merely trying to break through the same wall without too much success. An observer would simply lack the patience to understand the overall scope, much less the goal - Even walls crumble to wind and rain and fire.
He's all the more glad it's still far too early for there to be people up and about the City.
. 11 . Lisan: 25 (4/5) ( Hardy: 10 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 13:46:59 GMT -6
It's tense enough as is, trying to be careful around the gangly beast, without a back seat trainer on hand to complicate matters.
He leaves and returns and leaves again, playing the same old game of approach, to further push the boundaries of comfort for the beast, and gradually his status goes from Threat to Danger. The change is subtle, but important. A Threat is immediate, whereas a Danger gives a reason to be concerned.. but otherwise doesn't provoke an immediate response.
Some more times of leaving and entering and leaving again makes him an Inconvenience.. and then finally an Annoyance. Good.. Now they were making actual progress.. A Threat or Danger is something which gives fear the power to determine how you act and behave, but an Inconvenience or Annoyance gives those specific reigns over to anger.
And where fear made one flight, anger made one Fight.
. 12 . Lisan: 26 (0/5) ( Hardy: 11 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 13:53:02 GMT -6
If the baakir isn't entirely sick from seeing him by the end of this, he's done something wrong in the process.
The approaches begin to differ from there, to provide variance and to cover for error. After all, a single target standing just a little close isn't likely to be comparable to facing down one or more opponents in battle, especially if the opponents are actually looking to cause you harm. Of course, with humans all battles are at least partly a posture and show - a psychological warfare as much as physical. The beast might not have much of a psyche, nor understand the subtle nuance that entails, but overt posturing is something humans and beasts tend to have in common.
One does have to wonder at the connotation.
So he tries to play the part as much as he can, as safely as he can. He starts to pass the baakir in circles, jumping into the fenced area at increasingly random parts, sometimes walking faster, sometimes running, sometimes not moving at all.
. 13 . Lisan: 26 (1/5) ( Hardy: 12 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 1, 2021 14:00:34 GMT -6
To the beast's credit, it does flinch and react to each proverbial poke and prod, but it does not run. A lot of the times it trumpets what sounds like a warning call and quickly spins to face him, but not daring to go further. And always, always keeps him in its sights (Smart girl).
He can only wonder what must be going through the thing's head, as its instincts quietly and persistently rewire themselves. He started off as a presence that the thing didn't even know what to do with, something Other (And Other meant death), but now it's shaking its head, flapping its ears and giving off small bellows at the sight of him, regardless of if he's close or far. He went from Other to something more akin to a very large gnat. A gnat that ate at the insides of the beast's brain with a subtle disquiet, but one all the same.
Which was progress, but a spine didn't quite make. A prey animal who didn't run was still prey in the eyes of the hungry.
. 14 . Lisan: 26 (2/5) ( Hardy: 13 )
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